Every morning I’m up by 5:30am. I awaken to the sounds of roosters crowing right outside my window. I take a bucket bath, eat breakfast, which usually consists of bread and peanut butter or cheese, sometimes an egg, and a banana or an orange. Class is from 7:30am to noon. We break for lunch, I walk home (take another bucket bath), rest for awhile, and then walk back to the tech house. We start class again at 2:30 and go until at least 5:30. My favorite part of the day is walking to and from class. The people are so friendly…all of them. The walk is probably about four city blocks. Some of the children have begun to watch for me. They start yelling at me, and run towards me with open arms when they see me coming down the block. Some of the braver ones run up and hug my knees. I’ve taught some of them to high-five/low-five and knuckle punch. They caught onto it very fast, and laugh, and laugh when we go through our greeting. Seems like there’s a few more children waiting for me, along the way, every day. During these walks I realize and notice how, poor and desolate everything is in Tsevie. The roads are red dirt clay. Trash is burned in a pile in front of the compounds. The smell of burning rubbish permeates the air. There are roosters, and baby chickens, and goats roaming about, all along the way, and everywhere you go. Women and men are walking down the road balancing a variety of items on their head. (More about the landscape of Togo later)
When I return home for the evening, I take another bucket bath, eat dinner, visit with the family and do my homework. I am usually quite ready to go to sleep by 8:30.
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