Happy belated holidays everyone! I am going to try my best to quickly sum up what has been going on with my life since I last updated. I hope it’s not too boring…

The Men As Partners (MAP) training I did in November went really well. The first day was dedicated to explaining the history and significance of MAP. There is a large guide book which explains MAP, and lays out many activities that participants can do with groups of men and women. So we trained twenty participants how to use the guide, what the target audiences were, and how to plan an activity with a large group. Then they had to go out into the community and practice doing one of the activities from the guide with a group of students or apprentices. I was so proud to see how well they took to the ideas we were presenting, and to see how excited they were to share these ideas with other people in the community. I felt really good about the results of this project and about the sustainability of the activities as well.

So right after the MAP training, I went up to Bassar to celebrate Thanksgiving with some other volunteers. We had a really delicious meal consisting of garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed carrots and green beans, stuffing (sent from the states), apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and turkey. The turkey was actually pretty funny since none of us knew how to cook it and we didn’t have an oven big enough for the thing. So we ended up grilling it which went alright. Not very traditional, but at least it was cooked! The day was pretty good overall. I ended up getting a little homesick, but it helped to know that I would be home for Christmas.

In the beginning of December, I got to go up to the north of Togo for the first time! I had a meeting for the magazine I work on, Lève-toi Jeunne Fille, in Dapaong which is the regional capital of the Savanna region. While we were up there, my training group also celebrated our one year anniversary of being sworn in. It was so great to see everyone together again. It also felt really good to have one year done! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. Time here passes so strangely. The days can seem to go on forever but the months fly. With only ten months left now, I am really starting to feel the rush to accomplish all of my goals here in Sokode. There are so many things I want to do and I always felt like I had tons of time to finish them, but now the time is passing faster than ever!

So then I had a couple of weeks to just be in Sokode before I went home for Christmas! I can’t even describe how happy I was to see everyone at home. The two weeks went by so fast, and now they seem kind of like a blur. I got to spend most of my time with my family in Dallas, and one night in Austin which was great! It was also really funny to see the things I had totally forgotten about in the states that were amazing to me. A few examples: ATM machines, people standing in lines, highways, public restrooms, mirrors everywhere, etc. I think it’s safe to say I spent the two weeks in a state of wonder. Anyway, thank you to everyone who made my visit so wonderful.

Now, I’m back in Sokode and gearing up for the next few months of projects. I have quite a lot on my plate, so I should be pretty busy. The most pressing project at the moment is the middle school I am building. I won’t go into too much detail, but I started this project with my friend Thommy who came to visit in September. We are currently finishing up the fundraising and starting construction in February. If you’re interested in more information for this project, we have a really great website you can go to! www.educationtogo.org. Check it out!

I also wanted to address the 20/20 special that aired a few nights ago. I haven’t seen it, but I have heard that it may not have made Peace Corps look so great. I have always felt that my safety was a top priority of the staff here in Togo. If anyone saw the show and has questions about what was said, feel free to email me and I would be happy to talk about my personal experience. That’s pretty much all for now. I hope everyone had a great holiday season, I know I did!