Reflection

This was a great trip and I accomplished my goal of experiencing a francophone country outside of France.  I was able to see a different culture, but also use a language I already learned.  This was a great experience that enabled me to see how people can think and act differently within a country and in different countries.  For example, there are some people in Togo that highlight the positive influence of the French and others that disagree and cling to more traditional means or mentality.   

Peace Corps

We met two girls in the Peace Corps, Alicia and Mary, who came to the technical school with us and to lunch at the principal’s house.  They had been there for a few years so they knew the local language, how to eat with your hands, and all things Togolese.  It was interesting to see how they were so acclimated and used to the life style.  Their project is helping a local program called PromoHandicap to “provide a basic service and education to the blind, deaf, and mute children of the Keran Prefecture in Togo, West Africa; to help alter the public opinion that these children have no value or function in society, and to provide them with a safe and secure environment to learn.”  This program is important because special needs schools are usually far away and too expensive for students to attend.

http://promohandicap.blogspot.com

School Visit

Technical School

In Kara, we had the chance to visit a technical high school where we were able to talk with the students about American and Togolese culture.  We also surprised them with a laptop and they gave us a handmade wooden plaque a student made there for a final project.  We are excited to hear back about the progress that the laptop has enabled.  Before going, the principal introduced us to the prefect (which is like a mayor) of the area.

More Fun Back in Lome

Le Musée

The museum in Lome included artifacts from the various regions and tribes in Togo.  This was just recently established as the importance of conserving traditional culture grows with the increasing development.

Fete a la plage

One of our last days in Lome, our friend Celestine took us to her pharmacy convention at the beach!

Sight Seeing in Kara

Blacksmith

Up north in Kara, we got to see a few more iconic sights of Togo.  At the blacksmith, they were making the metal part of a shovel which takes a few hours to make just one!  

Castle Tata

Castle Tata is a traditional village close to the mountains where they make houses out of wood, clay, and raffia roofs.  The tall mounds represent gods that are placed throughout the house in various sizes.  

Plane Crash

The plane crash memorial was to commemorate the former president who survived the crash.  They left the plane exactly how it landed.
  

Mountain Climbing

At the top of the mountain we climbed was a stone hidden in a small hut, which legend has is the foot print of the first man on earth. 

Water Reserve

The water reserve sustains the city of Kara and is not completely full until late summer.

Funeral at Mosque

We had a chance to see what a funeral at a mosque was like because we knew the colonial whose brother died.

Split Mountain en route

On the way to Kara, we passed a mountain that was split in half in order to people to drive through.

La Norriture Togolese

Youki

Le pate

Making Fou-Fou

Making Yam Fries

Les mangues

Youki is a product made in Togo that I would compare to various flavors of Fanta.  My favorite is Youki Moka.  Le pate is a churned corn mixture that is put into a mold and served with a vegetable and fish sauce.  Fufu is similar but is churned yam served with sauce.  The fruit here is so good and fresh since it is picked and served right away.  Mangoes are the group favorite and we are eating as many as we can because they definitely don’t taste the same at home.  When in doubt-fry it.

White/Blanche/Yovo

"A multitude of nations, but one family"

That is how I am mainly identified here in English, French, and Ewe.  The three white girls in Africa are definitely getting a firsthand experience in what it is like to be a minority.  Most people stare, some will say how they wish to come to America one day, some invite us over for dinner, and others are not quite sure what to do.  Also, it is assumed that if you are white, you have money.  As soon as the girls and I are seen, the price of a souvenir, food, or even gas goes up.  Dr. Adewui often has to explain that we are students and don’t have the money.  It is an interesting experience for both sides.

Landa Elementary School Visit

“Bon soir la classe!”

 One of our first afternoons in Kara, we went to visit a local elementary school (college en francias) that had several hundred students, but only a few classrooms.  The school had some locals perform a traditional dance only done in their area.  We also got to introduce ourselves to the school and answer some questions they had about the U.S.  The students were very well behaved and liked hearing us talk in English (of course I couldn’t resist talking in French though).

La Vue du Nord

Les montaignes

Up north is much more scenic with mountains and lots of trees in comparison to the maritime region down south that is more developed and flat.

Safari!

L’elephant et moi

In Kara, we got to go to two animal reserves.  At the first, we saw zebras, water buffalo, ostriches, tortoises, monkeys, and various antelope-like animals.  Don’t worry, I wore my khaki shorts.  Later that day, we went to another reserve to see, pet, and feed elephants!  They were fenced in, but it was still really cool.  There was also a donkey walking around too…

Sight Seeing in the South

Le Lac du Togoville

Example of Catholic influence:

Togoville is the city that Togo was named after (meaning water coast).  Pope John Paul II visisted here and built a bridge from the water to the Catholic Church that is now used like a seminary.  The legend is that a former pagan went out on the lake, saw the spirit of Mary, and rushed back to tell the village of his conversion. 

Slave Trade Memorial

The slave trade memorial we visited was out in the middle of a grass plain near the ocean.  It had a simple brick boarder with a plaque and a well.  The well was used to purify returning slaves and wash them clean of their memories abroad so they would not want to go back or be influenced by other cultures.

Virgin Forest

Example of traditional African belief in voodoos, or mystic gods:

Here, there is a blocked off area of land where people live according to very primitive and traditional African lifestyle.  We did not go into the forest, but walked around the outside village to see how they live, where they keep their voodoos, and observe the food sacrifices they make for their ancestors. 

The two most common religions are Muslim and Christian.  There are mosques and churches everywhere.  The influence of colonial missions can be seen with prevalent catholic churches, however many Christian Africans may still go to see a traditional priest in crisis.

Time for School!

French Class

I got to sit in on a French class for two days and check out what the advanced level is like in Lome.  We also got to go to an African American Lit class at the Universite of Kara up north which was cool.  They were discussing themes in Purple Hibiscus and how to structure a paper.

French students, what you can expect in classes at Universite de Lome:

·       Classes run 8-10 and 10:20-12 M-Th and just until 10 on Friday.

·       Each time period, a different professor comes in for a different class.  They all have their own teaching styles, but basically there is some lecture, examples, and note taking.

·       Classes are posted on a weekly schedule on the door and include grammar, writing, etc.  There are no history or civilization courses.

·       The only exam taken is the Delph exam at the end which is optional.

·       Most of the students in the class did not have French as their first language so you are all on the same page.   (Many of the students were Nigerian as English is their official language.)

·       There are no books, only handouts.

·       There is two of each level: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Le Chambre

Lome

Kara

Here’s proof that I am not sleeping in a tree (which some tribes used to do if animals where a threat to the area)…but the mosquito net in the Kara hotel up north was appreciated for a of the few bigger, unidentifiable bugs that crept in the room. 

Cultural Events at the Universite de Lome

Cultural Fair

Miss Universite

Nigerian Culture Event

At  Universite de Lome, there was a cultural fair we visited where students came from all over the country to display what traditions their region has (with a  Mainstage layout).  Later that night, we went to a Miss Universite pageant where contestants modeled outfits, answered questions, and danced the traditional dance of their region.  A few days later, we stopped by a Nigerian culture event that included singing, dancing, a drama, and serving local food.

Free Time

A la plage

Art Market

Our number one free time in activity in Lome is definitely the BEACH!!  Yes, Lake Michigan is nice, but the South Atlantic Ocean is pretty cool too.  The beach was sandy and the water was really warm.  Our professor overheard some people arguing who thought we were Belgium which we thought was amusing.  Although Togo is right on the coast, there are only a few spots to swim because of all the ports.  When we weren’t at the beach, we were at the art market, streets lined with people selling jewelry, woodwork, fabric, food, and more.  Also, we had a chance to go to a Discotheque at Hotel Palm Beach one night.  Luckily, there were lots of newer songs in English playing.  Yup, Nikki Minaj is in Africa too.

In Kara, up north, we like to go to the pool at Hotel Kara, walk around with our friends me met at the Universite here, and go to the Cyber Café because we don’t have wifi here!!

Scenery

Outside my bedroom window

Outside the car window

La nourriture

Le petit dejeuner

Here is our typical breakfast and a great example of the French influence in Togo.  Togo's two main resources are cocoa and coffee that they export.  Historically, this was good for the economy and people could then buy more material things and adapt a more developed lifestyle.  However, this is still a very noticeable contrast here between traditional ways of an African lifestyle and modern lifestyle.  While you can have a three course meal in a restaurant, you can also stop at the side of the road and get a mushed corn mixture that you eat with your hands.  However, the northern regions remain more traditional and will eat mostly with their hands and cook African staples like the mushed corn deal (le pate) that tastes like grits/cream of wheat.

Cultural Fair

Les etudiants nigerians

Here are some Nigerian students at the Universite de Lome who were putting on a cultural event.  They did a traditional dance (every tribe has their own), sang, and performed a skit.  We are going back here tomorrow for French class.  There are students from all over Africa that attend this university and not all African countries speak French.  I will get to be in a class where students are in my same level and do not have French as their first language.  For example, Nigeria's official language is English so there are many Nigerian students here learning French, so we're all on the same page.

First Full Day

5/16 (A typical day in Africa where you never know exactly what will happen next)

Woke up to a rooster!  Good Morning Africa!  We got up around 9 and had le petit dejeuner avec du pain, le confiture et bien sure, le café au lait (J’ai ajoute le chocolat, le poudre NesCafe).  Traditionally, one would have a hot soup made with corn.  It's very sour and you would have to grow up with it to like it.  After breakfast, we went to see the colonial, who is in charge of the transportation in Lome.  No big deal, but he was formerly the  body guard of the president.  In his office, we toasted and talked for a little while.  He commented that women have more courage (les femmes sont plus courageux) and are seen more on study abroad trips to Africa.  

We then went to Dr. Adewui’s brother-in-law’s house.  He wasn’t there, but we toured his house and talked to the kids.  The house was very nice-9 bedrooms!  This is an example of an upper-class house, but usually houses are small concert buildings with a tin roof, or traditionally a round wood and clay house with a thatch roof.  The son, Edward, helped us with getting Dr. Adewui’s phone.  Then we went to Celestine’s pharmacie where she works and then back to the hotel to each lunch (fried chicken et les frites).   Next stop was the U.S embassy where we verified our passports.  Edward was outside so we picked him up and went to the Universite de Lome cultural fair where we were the only 3 blonde white girls in a sea of all Togolese students.  However, there were a few English speaking students who were more than happy to walk us around.  It was interesting to see the different cultures from each region.  After, we stopped at Dr. Adewui’s sister-in-law, but she was not there, so we went o Dr. Adewui’s sister’s brother’s (Frederic) office to say hi.  Then, we went back to the hotel for dinner that night (le poisson, le salade, l’anana et le riz ), discussion, and finally headed back to our rooms and called our families (on the phone, phone card, and charger we progressively worked on getting throughout the day).

Every day there are lots of people to meet, places to go, and food to eat!  Formalities and visits are an important cultural norm that help keep relations.  Plus, everyone was excited to see us and thank us for coming to their country.  We felt very welcomed and definitely experienced the Togolese hospitality.

Flight and First Impressions

5/15 Lome, Togo

Wow! I can’t even begin to process what just happened in the last day.  Detroit to Paris was about 8 hrs.  We left at 9:50pm our time and got to Paris about 11:30 their time.  There was only a slight misadventure leaving Detroit.  As I checked my carry on for some gum, I realized my laptop didn’t get put back in.  So, I went into instant panic mode, but we eventually found it.  The flight wasn't too bad, but there was some turbulence towards the end and we all felt a little queasy.  But wait!  Let me tell you about the crazy lady I got stuck next to-Theresa.  She was, no joke, just like a brunette Kim from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  She was a nervous wreck, but I think I did a pretty good job of distracting her.

We finally got to Paris, landing in the Charles de Gaulle airport which you have to shuttle around to go to the different terminals.  We only stayed a couple hours and were off again around 1:30pm and got to Lome at about 7pm Togo time.  I’m not even going to explain the time changes, but all you need to know is Togo is 4 hrs ahead of Detroit.  On the Paris to Lome flight, I sat next to Emmanuel, a Togolese who was coming back from Illinois, where he was getting his masters.  He was very informative about his country, but also praised the U.S.

We eventually arrived in Lome and got to walk down the steps out of the plane-so Pan Am!  We then rushed on a bus to take us inside where we were introduced to Celestine (Dr. Adewui's former student who now owns her own pharmacy) who gave us the VIP security/luggage check free pass and led us out the back to a Land Cruiser that took us to our hotel where we had dinner (fried chicken, baguette, pasta, salad, and pineapple) and settled in for the night.  Togo gets dark around 6 so we will usually be in by 8. 

As we were driving from the airport to the hotel, the girls and I were culture shocked like deer in headlights as we obvserved the Lome streets at night.  We knew we were going to Africa, but this was AFRICA, the unedited, national geographic, travel channel, real life version.  

There are few paved roads, lines, signs, and lights-so driving is crazy.  Mostly, everyone has motorcycles.  Lining the streets are people everywhere eating, talking, carrying things on their heads, and selling.  The hotel we are staying in, Amy’s hotel, is directly in Lome, the capital city.  Electricity and water is limited here because of so many people in one area.  The lights take a while and flicker before going on and the shower may or may not turn on...

Departure

Togo Visa

I'd like to update the last sentence of my first post and say, today is finally May 14th and departure is only several hours away!  We depart from Detroit at 9:50 PM, arrive in Paris at 11:30 AM, depart Paris at 1:50 PM, and arrive in Lome (the capital of Togo where we will be staying) at 6:05 PM (not 6:00, 6:05).  I just googled "time difference between Michigan and Togo" and found this awesome website called happyzebra.com (coincidence?  I think not) that says Lome, Togo is 4 hours ahead of us.  So, I will be in Africa tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6:05 PM our time or 10 PM their time.  I hope that means I can go right to bed when we get there after trying and failing to sleep on a plane.
Packing and planning has been quite the process.  You have never seen so many lists, trips to Target/Meijer/Walmart, or lists.  Did I say lists?  I have packing down to an art, but I'm glad to finally be on my way!
I would attach my pre-departure essay on what I will be researching while in Togo, but I'm not sure how so I'll spare you that and give you the thesis: "I hope to explore the influence of Togo's participation in the International Organization of the Francophonie through the politics, language, and culture in order to broaden the insight and perspective of Africa as a whole."  Basically, I'm observing Togo as a French speaking country.
Well, the next time I write, I'll be in AFRICA!  I don't know how good service will be, so don't be worried if I don't respond right away.

Pre-departure

Mikaela, Me, and Jordan at a trip meeting

Hi! Thanks for following me on my exciting trip to Togo, Africa.  This is just a quick test post to introduce myself, the program, and what my blog will entail:

• My name is Ashley Budzol, and I am graduating from CMU this August.  I am going on this study abroad program to finish my French minor (Togo is a francophone country) and apply some background information from my English major (such as themes from African American Lit).  Be prepared for some French and lit quotes!
• This program is open to all majors and is tailored towards what academic area the student wishes to pursue.  The trip is three weeks long and is broken up between spending time in the south (Lome) and the north (Kara) where we will be having classroom discussions, experiencing local culture, and taking trips.  Dr. Adewui, a professor here at CMU, will be leading the trip as he is originally from Togo (so don't worry, he knows exactly what we should and shouldn't eat!).
• The purpose of my blog is to advocate this program by sharing my experiences traveling.  Part of our assignment is to keep a daily journal and explain a picture we took in connection with the culture.  Time permitting, I will be uploading these photo reflections as my blog and including historical context in comparison to Africa as a whole and also to U.S perceptions.  

I will post soon about what I will be researching specifically while abroad (I already checked out half the library on all things Togo!).  Other than that I am currently immune to many things, have obtained my visa, and have ordered the necessary Vera Bradley travel accessories of course (hey, it's my birthday).  Take off is May 14th, just a couple weeks away!