And counting . . .

As of sometime this evening I will have been a PCV for 2 years.  My dad will be somewhere in his late sixties.  And so it goes

One thing, among many, that is different about northern Togo vis'a vis southern Togo is the number of women one sees on motos, or mopeds.  A friend of mine visiting from down south actually brought this to my attention when she was up here.  you see a lot more women driving motos here than in the south.  I dont really know why this is.  true, the majority of women drive mopeds instead of motos-- i assume because mopeds are easier to ride with skirts. i think there are more mopeds up here because they come down from burkina.  but there still seem to be more women driving in general up here.

ive been craving chocolate chip cookies recently.  a lot. 

the weather has finally changed.  a tan haze permanently rimes the sky.  i woke up this morning and thought it was foggy-- until i realized, again, that fog is soft and grey, not khaki and and crunchy.

vegetation is dying.  except for mango trees, they are sprouting leaves.  i can begin to see things in the distance again.  the kids play football in drifts of golden leaves under the neem tree by my house.  the air is dry and dusty.  my allergies, such as they are, have been noticeable.  D's allergies are so bad she has to drug herself to sleep at night.  benedryl is wonderful.

i found a roadkill viper on my way into town today.  at least i think it was a viper.  it was short, fat, and spotted.  what was left of it anyway. 

i was laying in bed one night last week about 1 am.  i couldnt sleep because of a bad reaction to something (dont ask).  anyway,  i was laying there and heard something in the other room.  that did not sound like a cat.  i shined my flashlight around the corner and a goat bolted out through the curtain that is my front door.  i managed to drift off to sleep until something woke me up again.  because i am smart like that i figured it was the goat again, so i waited until i actually got into the other room before turning on my flashlight.  sure enough, same goat.  only this time it got confused (blinded?) and ran into the corner instead of out the door.  i neglected my glasses but i could see well enough to grab my broom handle and start wailing on the thing.  i realized that this goat was apparently lacking in the brains department, so i stopped beating it and drug it out from the corner.  whereupon it missed the door again and jumped up on my lit picot, trampling a pile of books.  beating did not dissuade it.  i wound up having to wrestle the goat out of my front door and sent it on its way with a kick.  it hasnt been back.

another holiday season in togo.  i find that i do not really miss most of the crap that goes with the holidays.  like the constant jingles, ads, commercials, etc. 

N'tilabi and Adji dug up a basin of huge sweet potatoes from my garden last night.  it was a pretty sight.