From Bloggin' in Benin to Goin' to Togo!

As you might have noticed, the name (and URL) and address of/on my blog has changed. I am thrilled to report that I did recieve medical clearance to transfer from Benin to Togo to work for two years as a health volutneer (Community Health and AIDS Prevention or CHAP volunteer) in Togo for the next 2 (yes, two!) years. It is like doing the Peace Corps all over again in another country that is similar, yet also different, from Benin. Togo and Benin are similar in many ways. However, as you might imagine there are numerous differences as well as similarities.

Work:
I will work with two associations (called CREJE and AKARALE) of people living with HIV. This is the exact work I wanted to do and honestly, the whole reason I am staying. Since being in Benin I've noticed how a lot has been done towards diminishing the effects of HIV from a preventative education standpoint. This is absolutely necessary and vital. However, I have not seen as much activity being done as far as the care and support of those already infected and living with HIV. This got me really interested as to what was actually going on in Benin and in other Sub-Saharan African countries... so much so that I developed a passion and (and compassionate) drive to help in this specific area under the umbrella of HIV/AIDS. I was willing to stay in Benin but also willing to transfer to another country within Sub-Saharan Africa. Long process made short, I decided as far as the work that I could do, Togo was the best fit for me. Which, if you look at a map, is the country to the West that shares a border with neighboring Benin.

Post / Town:
Yes, that's right... no more village for me (although I really miss living in the bush, literally!). I will live in a town called Atakpamé that is in Central/Southern Togo and known for its many hills/mountains. It is on the paved main road that connects all the major towns and cities in Togo and therefore acts as a (beautiful) pit stop for taxi's, buses, etc. traveling North (towards Sokodé or Kara) or South (towards Lomé, the capitol) of it. It is a fairly big town (about or more than 50,000 people) that has a large market, bank, post office, restaurants, etc. It is the capital of the immediate region of Togo and also hosts several NGO office headquarters.

House:
I will have a bigger house (with three rooms) but aside from that it will be similar to how I lived in Lobogo, Benin as far as having electricity but no running water and living in a compound (although not gated compound) with a family.

Social:
There are two SIL (associated with Wycliffe) women who live in Atakpamé who work towards the translation of the Bible into the local language spoken there. They have published an Ifé/French dictionary and are currently in the process of starting to publish the New Testament (after many many years of hard work) which is very exciting! There is also a Christian volunteer I have been talking to that lives in the province surrounding Atakpamé (named Fabiola).

Visiting the U.S.:
If you extend for a 3rd year or 3rd and 4th year, the Peace Corps pays for a round trip plane ticket to your home of record for a one month vacation. PC Togo said they are flexible as to when I go home. If I have my choice, I would love to be home from late October until the end of November. This way, I won't be home for Christmas (it'd be nice but realistically, I'm not ready to deal with stress, commercialization and hype of Christmas if I want to be relaxed, be with people that are relaxed and get recharged to come back for another 2 years). I've always loved the Thanksgiving holiday more than Christmas anyways. (And I would be home for Halloween even though I could care less - but I thought I could dress up as a Beninese/Togolese woman with my hair braided, something on my head, baby on my back, in African fabric that doesn't match, flip flops, etc.). This means I would live and start work in Atakpamé for four months before coming home. Just in time to be back in Atakpamé on December 1st for World AIDS Day (which is a big deal in Atakpamé - first year maybe I could observe the festivities and activities and second year probably take a very active role in planning portions of it). I have not been outside of Benin for the last two years - so, I technically am long overdue for a vacation - anywhere .. especially to the U.S. to see friends and family. More than anything else, I just miss my family.

My feelings:
I secretly think I'm crazy for doing two more years as a PCV but on the other hand... if I love the work (like I hope I will) then I will not mind staying. I do love Africa. However, I'm definitely not staynig for Africa. I'm staying for the work. If I couldn't stay for the very specific kind of work I want to do, then I would just leave. (After much prayer, I've decided that its possible to pursue a second masters degree when I go back to the U.S. (at some point) in Social Work so that I could eventually be an HIV Case Manager (Social Worker) - which would mean taking cases of people that are HIV positive and developing a care plan with them with the end goal of discharging them to live independently with HIV. So, essentially what I will be doing in Togo will be along those same lines but at the same time, slightly different mainly because of where I am doing it but also because of my role. Either way, I'm pysched. I do feel rushed in leaving here and saying goodbye so much more quickly than I had originally expected .. but, because Togo is right next door, I feel better about doing that as opposed to going somewhere else further away, not knowing when I would be able to visit Benin next. I would like to come back to Benin the first week of September to see the new trainees swear as PCVs and celebrate PC Benin's 40th anniversary... and to see people and places I miss in Benin. I also feel like my time in Benin has been extremely difficult but at the same time extremely rich ... with so many incredible experiences, places and people I love and will miss, etc... blah, blah.. I know. I'm glad that Togo is so similar to Benin but then at the same time am ready to move on and explore all over again (I think! It is tiring to think about though! It took me so long to feel confident about the in's and out's of Benin).

The next three weeks are going to be utterly insane trying to finish up at school, say goodbyes, pack my house, do tons of paperwork, buy last minute gifts and other things, have exit interviews with PC staff, etc....

Thanks for bearing through this long post talking about me changing posts (places to live/work)!I appreciate all of your support ... you don't even know, couldn't have lasted this long without it.