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Articles Tagged ‘West Africa’

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September 14: The village chief and the photographers

Thursday, October 12th, 2006

During one of the coffee breaks, I asked Jean about a man who was wearing a knit skullcap and a beautiful suit. I wondered if he was a Muslim. Jean said he was a village chief who also teaches at a school in another town. Admiring his beautiful clothes, I asked if the villagers paid a tax to the chief (to support his lifestyle). Jean replied it was quite the opposite. Villagers can come to the chief for help with a problem, or to settle a dispute. If the villager has done something wrong, the chief charges a fine. If he helps a villager with something, he may ask for any kind of payment “to return to his house” since he was brought out of his house to solve the problem. But that money and those goods get used to help others in need. Being the village chief is not a job of luxury. To me, he is like the village social worker.

The photographers

It was also during this break that many teachers asked to have their picture taken with me. There were two photographers running around taking pictures of everyone, then charging them 300 francs for a copy of the prints. I bought several pictures of myself. By the end of the week, though, I found their aggressiveness irritating. For example, the photographers wanted me to buy all of the pictures that were taken of me; they couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a picture with my eyes closed or looking away from the camera. On Friday, one photographer tried to sell pictures to me even as he saw me getting in the car.

Posted in Africa, Togo, Travel | No Comments »

September 10: The land of coconut milk and honey

Thursday, October 12th, 2006

The Grand Marche and the cathedral

Mary had arranged for a program employee to pick me up at the hotel at 10:00 to take me shopping and then come to her house to do laundry.

After stopping at the ATM, the supermarket, and the jewelry stand, we were soon at the entrance to the Cathedral in the center of the city. Its white and dark orange colors were striking, but not as striking as the crowds of people around the church and the cars pouring out from the church among the crowd. It’s a wonder no one’s feet got run over as the cars left the church. The church was having a service, so I couldn’t go in and take pictures. I got some nice shots outside and around it though.

Shopping for clothes and fruit

After seeing the cathedral, Sonya and I walked through the market and I bought my first yards of cloth with her help. While waiting for Alex to pick us up, I had my first coconut. It was only 50 CFAs. The coconut had been shaved. First, the woman carved a hole in the top so I could drink the juice. In America, coconut usually tastes sweet. But the juice I had was like unsweetened, slightly milky water. I drank about half of it. Then Miguel and Kemal walked up (a nice surprise) and I offered some to them. Kemal said I was very brave.

When I could drink no more, the coconut lady poured the remains out onto the dirt road. Then she hacked the coconut open with a machete. I was instructed to take the top piece of the coconut that had been cut for drinking and use it to scoop the coconut innards out. They were bland and gelatinous and thankfully there wasn’t as much “meat” as juice. But I’m still glad I had the experience.

Hanging out in the afternoon and evening

From there I went to Mary’s to get my laundry and have lunch. I met her husband and daughter and one of her four stepchildren. We played a card game that was a cross between gin and war. I lost terribly but had fun nonetheless. In the evening I had a beer and then went to dinner when I didn’t see Kemal anywhere. I decided to have the plat du jour, which turned out to be chicken in a mushroom cream sauce. It was delicious.

After I finished, I walked back into the hotel and saw Kemal. He and Miguel were getting ready to have dinner. I agreed to go back with them and just have dessert. When we arrived, they recognized others from the same company: Enrico from Italy, and Trickey from Tunisia but working in Italy. (Hope my sitting with Italians doesn’t offend any Germans out there). We made a large table. It was nice to have people to sit with, especially people from other countries who got along well.

I told Miguel and Kemal that the special was good, but when the men tried to order it, they were told the special was finished (that’s Togo/French English for all gone) for the day. I didn’t see chocolate mousse on the menu, but I asked if they had it anyway and got it. But again, when the men tried to order it, they were told it was finished for the day too.

Posted in Africa, Togo, Travel | 1 Comment »

September 2: First Night in Lome

Monday, October 9th, 2006

Arrival and immigration

When the plane arrived from Paris at Eyadema airport in Lome at 6:30 p.m, it was already dark. Nevertheless, I could make out palm trees around the airport. My UCR colleague Carol, who spent 3 years as ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Africa, Togo, Travel | 1 Comment »

Togo (West Africa): Links to Photos

Monday, October 9th, 2006

I got back on American soil on September 22 after
nearly 3 weeks as an English Language Specialist in Togo (
West Africa). It was absolutely fantastic. I took
nearly 300 pictures which I’ve whittled down to 4
albums, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Africa, Togo, Travel | 1 Comment »