Hello everyone! The last month has been pretty busy, which is why I haven’t written anything in a few weeks. So, I’ll try to give a quick overview of what I have been up to.
Two weeks ago I had my post visit. This is when all trainees go and spend a week at their permanent sites in order to get acquainted with the area and some of the people we will be working with come December 5. It’s a nice time to see if you will like where you will actually be living and working. Some people say that this can be a make or break time for many trainees. I am happy to say that I loved my post and the people there.

My house is really nice by Peace Corps volunteer standards. There is a large living room, my bedroom, and guest bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom with running water. It is in a really quite, secluded compound with one other Togolese woman. I have a really nice porch to sit on during the day when it’s too hot inside, and there are a bunch of red and yellow flowers growing around it. The one downside to the house is that it is really close to a mosque, so needless to say, I will be waking up everyday around 4:00AM for the daily prayer call.

The people I will be working with are also really nice. They all seem to be really motivated to work with me, and to get a lot of great projects started. I think I will have to be careful not to take on too much right off the bat, but I’m happy to have the option of a lot work. I also really liked the other volunteers that will live close to me. They had a party for the new volunteers the last weekend of post visit which was a nice way to end the week.

So, after the party, me and the three other new volunteers in my region took our first bush taxi ride back to Tsevie. A bush taxi is a small van that would fit 15 people normally, but we had about 22 people in ours. Aside from being pretty hot and crammed, not to mention we had to stop about ten times along the way out of town, it wasn’t all that bad. However, I started feeling a little nauseous about half way through the drive. I kind of just figured I was car sick, and I would feel better once I got back to Tsevie. So, I got back, and while being a little cooler, the nausea continued to get worse as the night progressed.

So, by about 3:00AM my body had effectively rid itself of everything that could have possibly been in my stomach. I will spare you all of you the intimate details, but let’s just say that was by far the worst I have ever felt…EVER. I started to freak out a little when I couldn’t keep any water down and I called the medical unit in Lome. So, they had me come to Lome to get checked out. Fast forward a couple of days, and the results came back that I had an intestinal parasite. The good news is, I survived! The medical unit gave me a load of medicine, and I am happy to say I am feeling much better now, and am back in Tsevie.

Other than all of that, everything else is pretty normal. We are going on a little field trip this week which I’m really excited about. Thank you to everyone who has sent me emails and packages. I couldn’t make it here without your love and support. I miss everyone so much and hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat some pie for me (but don’t tell me about it, unless you want to hear me weep with jealousy)!