Today I began my day with a breakfast of a simple egg omelette, bread, butter, jelly, tea and a croissant and OJ that I left mostly untouched and prepared to go out. After a short nap, I went with Joseph to have lunch at a restaurant downtown, where I ate a whole small "dorade" and fries. I tried the "atcheke" (manioc) which came with his plate and will be sure to order that next time. At lunch, Joseph learned that his younger brother had passed away in his hometown, and so after lunch he dropped me off to nap and hurried over to see his family. He returned a couple of hours later, brought me a cell phone, and took me on a tour of the city.
We saw the major banks, the markets, the beautiful seaside (he said that he and others had planted the coconut trees lining the edge of the sand some 20 years ago). We went to the border with Ghana which is right in the city, where I took a picture of the sign that read "Au Revoir Bon Voyage, Bye Bye Safe Journey." I thought it was sweet and a bit funny. Right after I took the picture (this whole time inside the car), a man outside pointed at my camera and said something along the lines that it wasn't allowed and pointed to the small sign where it said something about visual images weren't allowed, but Joseph basically told him it was alright and we continued on our way. I then made sure to ask Joseph each time I took pictures again, but he assured me it was fine everywhere else.
Joseph pointed out this empty well-kept road as being the way to the president's house. He said that it's well guarded and we drove past the vast grounds where he resides. He said that before they held a Summit there (probably the African Summit), the president invited the rich people who could afford it to build villas on the grounds to host visitors and this turned into a "cite" that is protected and where the rich live in this extravagant homes inside the compound walls. We drove through the back and there were restaurants with Vietnamese food and a pizzeria and a large pharmacy that all serve this area.
At the end of our tour, and after the sun had set a lovely red in the sky, we went to visit the President at her home to see if I liked it. It reminded me of a smaller version of some of the homes in Buenos Aires with the enclosed patio in the front and plenty of plants. She has two grown children, a nephew and her husband and two maids who live with her. The room where I will be is small, but the house is very nice and I hope it will work out. She seems very kind and tomorrow we will discuss what kind of food I will want to have.
We finished our day by eating dinner at my hotel (after I got credit for my phone and was able to speak with my parents). I had a really tasty peanut-based sauce with fish and rice…hopefully I will remember the name when I see it because it was very good. I haven't had fou fou yet, but Joseph said it's one of his favorite dishes.
I am very lucky and look forward to meeting the staff of Microfund Togo on Monday, followed by my much-awaited field visits to meet the clients and write about their progress. I'm guessing my future entries will be shorter as I begin to have more work to do.
3 comments:
dalia, i like how attentive your host family was in setting aside a day to discuss what you would like to have to eat. what service. marvelous.
it is very impressive the way you said thing .I am a Togolese and for the first time someone is saying thing the right way .The reality of the country not the American news way and I would like to thank you for that.Thanks for the work in my country GOD will Bless you for the time .I leave in Atlanta and it will be a pleasure if I can participate in any way to help some one.do not get me wrong thanks for all you did .
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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