The people - the culture. ( A volunteer's experience).

http://voresafrikanskeeventyr.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/indfodt-togoleser-naesten/ (in Danish)

 Native Togolese... almost


After spending a week in sunny Togo we start getting used to the hot and humid climate, the spicy food and the time difference. Yet we do not feel completely integrated in the local environment, but the people we have met so far has done their absolute best to give us a good start. Especially Alain and Esso have been taking really good care of us.
Saturday night they took us out to show us how the Togolese people likes to “party”. The beers are at double size and half prize, the music is loud and African, and the dance floor is always filled. To our big surprise we discovered that the night clubs have air-condition, which might be the only place in the country you find this. So with a sleeping Cæcilie at the backseat of the taxi and a watch showing 5 am, we can conclude this as a successful experience. 
Then there is the food. We can already say now that if you do not like fish, carbs and spicy food, Togo might not be the place for you. Furthermore, the portion sizes are HUGE. Our Togolese mother, Rose, used to be very generous with the portions, and she feels a little insulted when we don’t finish. This has resulted in a bag filled with rotten food in our room. Oops. Last Sunday we went to visit Esso at his place, where he served us the traditional Togolese dish called fufu (stamped yams), which was accompanied by chicken with spicy sauce and is eaten by using the hand (Marie was not fond of this while Cæcilie really dived into it). This is up till now the strangest kind of food for hangover we have tried. On the other hand, the most delicious local food we yet have tried is grilled fish with fried banana plant and pepper sauce. Yummy! 
Last Friday we went sight-seeing in the city with Arnaud and Esso. Among others we visited “Le Grand Marché” (The big market), where we met yet another one of Essos friends, a german guy who had his own jewelry stand.
We also went to the beach, which is surrounded by big palm trees and the most beautiful azure blue water.
Yesterday we had our first day at the school ”Le Semeur”, where we observed the English classes. It was with a few grammatical mistakes but a lot of engagement Mr. Edoh preformed the teaching. Today we were supposed to be at the school as well, but this has been canceled because of a strike among the teachers. So right now we are not working, and we don’t know when the strike will be over. We are just enjoying the spare time, but also looking forward to getting started with the work.   


Wedding engagement and negotiation

 Last Friday we went to ”Festival des Grillades” with some of our local friends, and afterwards to the night club called ”Rumba”. We ended the outing on the beach at 6 am, where we watched an incredibly beautiful sunrise over the azure blue sea. (Or, not really, the sky was cloudy and the water was grey. The other version just sounded better)
When we arrived at home the whole family was already awake and had started the preparations for the big engagement party held for Rose’s niece. Groggy and with tired footsteps we sneaked into the room and stole a couple of hours of sleep, before we put on our African dresses and were ready to participate in the event. On the terrace sat uncles, aunts and cousins all dressed in colorful African clothing, chatting and eating adjomo (small African biscuits). When everyone was arrived the party moved into the living room, where an older gentleman started giving a speech and a lot of pictures were taken. What the speech was about is for us impossible to say – the whole thing was in the tribe language called “ewe”. After the speech started what to us looked like the dowry negotiation between the two families. After a discussion that lasted about 15 minutes, a large suitcases covered in colorful fabric were brought into the living room and the content was shown to the guests. In the suitcases was found a big amount of different alcoholic drinks and sodas. These presents has a symbolic value and is given to the bride’s family by the groom’s family as a kind of “payment”. The parents play a very important role in terms of getting married, as they have to give their approval of the marriage.
The bride herself was not present during the negotiation, but was afterwards brought into the living room accompanied by her sister. Then the groom had to propose to her in front of all the guests and their blitzing cameras.
And then came the food!  The dowry was shared between the guests, and afterwards the potato salad, rice with spicy sauce and akoume where served. (Akoume is a kind of firm porridge made of cornflower and water, in the same style as fufu). This was accompanied by a green sticky sauce called ademe. 
Sunday we went on a trip with the organization, SEEDS TOGO, and a new volunteer named Roberta, to a village named Togoville. After a three hour delay we finally took off, which is pretty much becoming the standard here in Africa. Going by car the trip was supposed to be 30 minutes… we thought. The trip would in car be around three hours, and after half an hour we arrived by a lake thinking “what is going on?”. As it turned out, the rest of the trip was in a boat crossing the enormous “Lac du Togo”. The whole situation was really funny, because of the fact that almost none of the Togolese could swim. So it was with shaking hands and nervous expressions they got into the boat, which was slightly leaking, without any rescue equipment and only controlled by one man.
At the other side of the lake we were met by a tourist guide who guided us through the deserted town, where we desperately tried to find something to eat. It looked like a totally different country than Lomé. There were absolutely no western prints, no constant sound of honking, no shops or stands. Food was nowhere to be found either, but like in Lomé there is the “500-meter rule”: You NEVER have to walk more than 500 meter to find an ice cold Guinness!
In the village were a lot of voodoos with a lot of different purposes, and they even had a real chief, whose house we went to visit.
On the way back in the boat the mood was extremely good in spite of the hunger and the fear of drowning. There were sing-alongs, national hymns (three different kinds: from Denmark, Togo and Lithuania) and a bit of gospel as well. 
This has been a very eventful weekend, of which kind we would love to have more of. We have experienced a new side of the culture, and once again we can confirm that Togo definitely is the exactly right place for us to be.