Slight moment of panic then, when I thought the computer was so old I wouldn't be able to get on here! But as with everything else here, there is a way around these things that Europeans deem so essential.
So, this is my 4th full day here and it is incredible. There are so many things that I've done or seen for the first time, and the amount of life here is insurpassable. I arrived in Lomé at 3.35 am Friday morning and after a long visa wait including a hairy 20 mins when the man took my passport away and wouldn't give it back (!) filling in 2 forms and paying £5 too much because apparently they 'don't give money back' at the airport... I finally got out and was met by Sarah. We drove through the city which was deserted (deceptive first impression as in the daytime it is anything but deserted) and arrived at my host family's house at about 5am. I was not expecting Mama (my host mother, the absolute epitome of an African momma) to be awake but she was, and so was Léa who is our sort of maid/cook. That just about sums up Togo, as everyone is truly on your side. Whenever you enter somewhere, so school or back home after work or even to this internet cafe (sadly lacking in the cafe part...) you are greeted by 'Bonne arrivée' followed usually by a 'comment ça va'. In the streets we are hounded by cries of 'yovo' which is Ewé for 'foreigner' or rather 'white person', but these are not in the slightest mailicious. In the case of the children, it's delight and curiosity and sometimes fear as some of them have never seen anyone white before - they even sing us songs which mainly consist of 'yovo, yovo, ca va bien avec toi'! In the case of the adults, it can just be a sort of observation, or a greeting and most also ask how we are. The thought of a Togolese receiving the same welcome in London is unimaginable and it's sad to realise how isolationist we can be as a culture and society.
So far in the city I've seen the Grand Marché - TERRIFYING but tremendously exciting - and the beach - nice but no sunbathing, as you should cover up stomach and legs here and no swimming as there are huge rip currents. Interesting fact I've learnt - the road which runs parallel to the ocean is supposedly the old German route - it's actually the third version of this as the others are now about 100/150 metres out at sea! Lomé has so much to discover but as most of you will know, for 90% of the time I have absolutely no idea where I am, how I got there or how to get back... Hopefully this will improve by month 7...
The other truly terrifying thing about Lomé are the moto-taxis. (Mummy stop reading now.) I don't advise that your first foray into motorbikes should be on the back of one of these. They squeeze through gaps smaller than people and I've rarely seen one brake - they prefer to beep as an alternative. Add to this the other cars on the road, and the taxis-voitures which also don't seem to have brakes plus the people walking or crossing who often have babies on their backs, buckets or similar on the heads or a combination. On only my second morning here I saw a man carrying an extremely long plank on his head - flat so stuck out for at least a metre either side! These taxi-motos are however strangely thrilling, and give a great adrenalin rush, but aren't so good for bad tummies... The one annoying thing is the bartering that goes on. You have to know what price you want to pay, what you would pay if you had to and how much the driver is likely to exaggerate these figures. You can end up refusing them as some just will not budge on their prices, using the excuse that there isn't a fixed price (quelle surprise...) and you also have to take into account the 'yovo' factor which can probably add a good 10% onto the price. At the moment I haven't taken that many but took my first on my own today which was scary indeed! Especially when the engine began to just cut out and fail to restart... (told you not to keep reading Mummy!)
The main roads are normal (ish) roads but most of the residential areas are not paved at all, just red sand - don't think my feet have been this continuously dirty for so long ever! The dust penetrates everything and the other volunteers have warned me that soon you just give up trying to be clean al the time... I'll let you know when I get to that point! Houses are mostly sqaureish concrete blocks, with some kind of courtyard and then covered, tiled terrace area. The one where I am staying has 2 rooms on an upper floor as well but I think that is unusual. All the cooking is done outside, either in the covered and tiled area or the covered corridor where there is a fire, so if you go outside around 6-8 pm the mix of smells is just delicious! I'm liking the food here so far - colico is my favourite at the moment (like roast potato but better) followed by dgege (couscous with sweet milk or yoghurt and ice with sugar à ta plaisir) and then perhaps fufu (kind of pummelled sort of starchy something... takes a little like chewing gum and looks a LOT like it) will become the third but I think it's rather an acquired taste... But thus far I've had something different every day which is lovely, and have eaten à l'africaine a couple of times, but haven't yet managed an entire meal. In 7 months we will see how African I become - everyone has told me that after that length of time I will be practically Togolese, and Mama says I have to marry a Togolese man and have African babies so that I never forget coming here!! Don't think I'm likely to either marry (although not for want of offers!) or forget here in a hurry!
One last lovely thing - in Togo, traditional names are the day of the week that you were born and Mama was struggling with my English name so now at home I am Amave, for Saturday which is coindicentally the same day as her! What a small world... Takes some getting used to but already know that an 'Amave!' requires a 'Mama!'
Have so much more to say about the school and all that but will leave that for another time as only have 5 mins remaining on the clock here!! (4 mins now as it takes so long to type as am on old French keyboard). Bonne soirée à tous et à tout à l'heure. Yooo!
Last thing - Simpsons has just come on TV here!!
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