FAQ #1: Have you had any more snake incidents?
Answer: Yes. Thank you for asking. As you may recall, I found a snakeskin in my shower room my first week at post. Since then, I have had two snake incidents, one involving a dead snake at the end of my “driveway” (someone had apparently gotten there before me with a stick). The other was a live snake found on my property.
I may be 25 years old, however, in that panicked moment I did the only thing I could think of. (Hint: it did not involve a stick.) I called my mother, of course. Between my sobs, my mother asked if I had a big stick around. “Could you SOUND anymore Togolese right now???” I wailed then quickly added “…could you Google it and see if it’s poisonous?”
I’ll tell you what; my mom did me one better by sending me an identification book for snakes of West Africa. I have since identified my neighbor to be a non-venomous West African sand snake (of the green headed variety).
It was during this same conversation that my mother gently pointed out that perhaps the abundance of mice chez moi was attracting all the snakes in my village to the available food source. Although still burned from her stick comment, I agreed. In addition to her sound logic, I was tired of cleaning up mouse droppings every morning. Thus, I went in search of a cat.
Due to the lack of Petcos around, I started my search by asking people I passed on the road if they had any cats for sale. After a week of “nos” and confused looks, I found a woman who had cats but asked me to clarify, “is it for eating?”
“No.”
“I have some cats that are ready for eating...”
“Thank you, but I am just looking for a baby cat that will catch mice.”
After thinking for a moment, the woman agreed to meet me by the road the next day and added a parting thought. “You know…after it catches your mice you should eat it.”
“Got it.”
And this, my friends, is my fierce hunter and best companion, Wrigley:
(Nicknames/Aliases: Lizard Breath, Wriggle-butt, and, my personal favorite, Rigatoni.)
When I called my parents to tell them about the new addition to our family, my mom was full of questions: “What does it eat? Where does it sleep? What color is it?” My father, worried for his Persians (rugs, not cats), had only one question: “It’s staying in Togo, right?”
There are two roles parents play in this world: The Bad Guy and The Softie. If you ever want to know which one you are, get a kitten. I always pictured myself in the bad guy role until I woke up with a kitten on my head and kitty drool on my face. Apparently, in this life, I have been cast as a softie.
I am happy to report that Wrigley now sleeps outside and guards me from mice and lizards. Here is a picture of his first capture. (I’m such a proud momma.)
He hasn’t caught any mice, but he hasn’t had to. Sensing his fierce hunting capabilities, the mice left as soon as I got him.
FAQ #2: What does your house look like?
Answer: Like this:
FAQ #3: How hot is it?
Answer: Hot enough that Wrigley sleeps like this:
It's hot. After spending a night in a shared bed with my friend Kristina, I mentioned the next morning that our movements throughout the night made me feel like a rotisserie chicken. Due to the extreme heat and lack of circulation we had to constantly keep turning to help keep cool. We're not even in the hottest season yet, folks.
FAQ #4: What kind of work are you doing?
Answer: I have a lot of projects started and lots more ideas, but I’ll give you some of the more major ones for now:
A) Aids Ride: Volunteers in all regions (and some of our Togolese counterparts) of Togo spent a week in October biking through remote villages (about 50K a day) doing presentations and skits on HIV/AIDS. Everywhere we went, we created quite a commotion (and hopefully educated some people along the way). Here are some pictures:
B) University Club/English Club: I have been participating with the local English Club of the Lycee (High School) in my village. When I speak in English, the class erupts into laughter because they are not used to hearing American English.
I am also starting my own club at the Lycee with students that are interested in applying to universities in the United States. Our club will practice English, study for the SAT and TOFEL, save for the exams and eventually (hopefully) practice for visa interviews!
C) Red Cross: There’s a group of women in my village that are affiliated with the Red Cross and meet once a week. They help the community by doing small health talks within Pagala and urge mothers to get their babies vaccinated. I have been going to their meetings every week and will help with their organization and execution of their village outreach. They’ve also asked if I can do some business talks with them outside of our meetings which I’m looking forward to.
D) Village Savings & Loans: As start-up costs associated with bank accounts (or even microfinance accounts) are too expensive for most Togolese to open, I am looking to form groups of women to collectively save their money. I would also like the groups to become a source of support and encouragement for expanding businesses. [Side note: in order to meet more women to form these groups I have been going to my village’s baby weighing each week which has been a lot of fun!]
E) Clubs for Kids: Once a month I go to my regional capital of Atakpame and work with an established NGO that supports families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Peace Corps Volunteers affiliated with the NGO come to Atakpame to work with the kids on different life skills (income generating activities, nutrition, decision making, etc.). We play games, do some lessons and have a great time.
I have expanded on this idea in my village as well as there is an NGO that supports orphans by sending them to school. One of my cluster mates and are going to start holding a monthly club based on the NGO in Atakpame and work with these kids as well.
F) Honey & Bees: The Peace Corps Center where our annual meetings are held (in-service trainings, camps, etc.) has a bunch of bee hives that are used to show the Natural Resource Management volunteers (and their counterparts) how to keep bees for honey (and sometimes wax). I will be collaborating with some Togolese counterparts already producing honey and some other volunteers to see if we can get production up on the hives enough to create a small business for the village.
That's all the news I have for now. Hope everyone has a healthy and happy holiday season!
