...allo yovo!Well I know, so long and no word from the girl in Africa you all know so well. I promise to keep better attention focused on updating this from time to time but with lack of connectivity well, let's say...this is all you get.
HUmm..where to start...
let's see,
* In 20 days I will be posed at the start of the Accra Marathon in an attempt to run 26.2 miles in the African heat, while hoping someone will toss me a water bag before I dehydrate.
*In two months I will be going to my first African tradeshow/artisinal exposition in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso where the woman who I have been helping expand her batiking business will be debuting her new line. http://www.siao.bf/ Check out her products on my other blog.. aklala de Togo http://aklala.blogspot.com/ We are also hoping to market some of her product to a Whole Foods Representative who will be visiting Togo. We are going to develope other styles using organic cotton and natural plant dyes.
*Currently due to flooding and poor road conditions travel within Togo is hard and my once paved road that passes through my village is turning into a dirt path. There was a bridge that collapsed on the Route Nationale (main road that connects the port of Lome, Togo to the other land-locked countries to the north) and most of the traffic has been redirected through my road. This means all the large and overloaded Titans have caused the road to crumble turning into a mudpit. It's amazing how fast the road has crumbled. This has made travel hard and I am forced to stay at post more often. Which also means lack of access to internet which is in the town 28k south of me.
*I am having a great time in village and feel well loved by all. I have never felt so popular in all my life and at times is extremely exhausting. I walk through town and do my Miss Togo wave, as they all sream my name..."Adjovi...Adjovi" The other day it was "Fatima" as I practiced the art of fasting and the life of a Muslim for one day during this years Ramadan.
*When it rains I stay inside and convert locally harvested chocolate beans into fine dark chocolate truffles...you'll see... I make my own chocolate and roast my own coffee here through having access to the raw materials. I have been transforming the grains in an attempt to do a feasibility study on taste and quality.
* I finally started my little box garden where I have radishes, carrots, onion, tomato, cucumber, pepper and ...broccoli (not found in all of Togo) With the rain we have been having things are growing in full form.
* I am anticipating another visit from Wil, hopefully in the coming months. We will camp out on my rooftop under the African starry sky since I have constructed a ladder to get on top. It's like my lookout tower now, where I can spy on everyone in village.
*Chances are you might see me in Chicago for Christmas where I may fall victim to the effects of cold weather on a girl who has spent the last year and some in Africa. Right now I have a cold, though I think it is more due to the mildew from the humidity and dampness as well as all the dust in the air from traveling down dirt roads, while following semi trucks.
* I would love to hear from you all and let me know about life "stateside"..life, loves, family, friends, jobs, politics (They LOVE Obama here in Togo and probably most all of Africa) You mention the US election and all they want to talk about is Obama.
I miss you all!!! Let me know the news...you know I'm at a disconnect here and am missin' NPR bigtime..let alone contact with all of you.
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