Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Hello again one and all.
So I got a phone call the other day saying that I got a position being one of the national coordinators for Camp UNITE which was one of the camps I did last summer and that I had a meeting in Lome the next day (today) so here I am in Lome and I thought I should take advantage of this chance to use free internet.
So Melissa and I just bought some cheese and some sliced bread (sliced...its amazing) and doritos and orange juice and I'm sitting here pretending that I'm back in the US. Its great.
So like I said before we had stand fast for the elections so I spent 3 weeks in site and it was great. I've started training for AIDS ride which is a bike ride where 12 volunteers in each region bike around and teach people about AIDS prevention. Basically I get to do condom demonstrations infront of middle school kids. However middle school kids here are anywhere from 12-25. I'm super excted about and I think it will be really fun. I'll def take a lot of pictures and up load them for you all.
I also decided that I am going to go to Accra Ghana around Thanksgiving with my friend Joelle. I am SO excited. Ghana is commonly described as being "paved with gold" however one volunteer pointed out that it might be just as meaningful to say taht it is paved . After that we are celebrating the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps in Togo and its going to be a huge celebration with all the volunteers and some Peace Corps admin from DC. Super neat huh?
Basically things are going well just a big busy but I am really in good spirits.
And Megan (my sister) is coming and we are going to South Africa for christmas. I have so much to look forward too!!!!!!!


************ BIG NEWS *************
So I just got another new phone number because I couldn't get calls or texts from the states on my last phone but now I can get both!
the number is 0112289112964
So text! And I will respond!

I'm going to go eat a sandwich and try to upload some pics.
I love you all
Tami P
So I am borrowing my site mate’s computer right now and I figured that I should take advantage of this time to write a nice blog entry that I can post later.
We are currently in Stand Fast, which means that we can’t leave our sites because this Sunday there is going to be elections. It’s the parliamentary elections so everyone thinks it is going to happen with no problems. In the past for the presidential elections there was a lot of violence. Especially in the south where there is a lot of opposition to the current government. But now things seem better. There have been tons of k rallies over the past week (campaigning is only the two weeks before the election) and there are a lot of parties running. Which is great, right? I had a guy tell me the other day that this is the first time in Togo that people can express their different views. He said that in the past if people wore the colors of opposition parties they would be beat (and often were). So things are looking up. Go Togo! I guess we will see for sure come Sunday. There are lots of EU representatives here to make sure that things go smoothly. We as PCVs are required to stay out of politics all together so I won’t go into detail or anything about any of the parties but if you are interested check it out.
So I am spending my stand fast in my new gigantic house. I am getting furniture made that should be ready this week (less than the 6 months it took me to get my last furniture). Hopefully that will make my house feel homier. Don’t get me wrong I am not at all complaining about my house cause it is amazing. For one thing I have electricity (hence me using a computer in my house). And that means that I can charge my ipod and listen to music more than 4 hours a week. And I have a refrigerator so I buy lots of vegetables and keep them for more than a day and eat yummy salads and other delicious food every day. And I have running water, which makes everything so much easier. I don’t have to leave my house to go to the bathroom, which is great. Although thankfully I am not sick at all for the first time in months and months (knock on wood). Basically things are looking up.
I even have prospects for work, although right now everyone is working on campaign stuff so I just planning stuff that I will do later. But people actually approached me and said they wanted to work with me. Its great. This year is going to be totally different from the last, in a good way. My friend Rachel said that a friend of her who did Peace Corps described it as “the first year was the worst year of my life and the second year was the best” I can handle that. And I’ve started working out like for real, either jogging or biking an hour in the morning and doing some strength stuff chez moi. Basically I’m a whole new lady.
Only bummer lately is that I lost my cell phone. Which does suck, but a friend of a friend had an extra, nicer one so he gave me that…for free. For now I have a new number (2280841420) but after stand fast I’m going to go to Togo Cell and try to get my old number back. And talk to them about getting international texts because I can’t get them with this number either.
Well I’m going to get ready for bed, but I will post pictures of my house when I get my new furniture. I love you all!