Here are a few more updates on the kids in Togo...
The market is my new favorite place because there is a plethera of cheap and generally good (albeit spicy) food.
My student-teacher relationship with just about every kid in the school is growing rapidly, and I am constantly finding myself wanting to spend more time hanging around there during the breaks and lunch periods.
I am going to start a Kabiye class with a few of the students, who got a kick out of the idea of being a teacher for a student who is a heck of a lot older and paler than they are. I am stoked for it too, that will be conversational language number 4 (behind English, French, and Gaelic)!
I talked with John de la Croix, who is currently in charge of the monastery while the Prior is away in Germany (should be coming back this week and hopefully with the replacement part for the generator = electricity and running water!!!!!!!!!). But he said that we are still welcome at the monastery and that we haven't pissed anyone off to the extent that they want to get rid of us! He was actually surprised that I approached him to talk about it, because in general the monks regard Colin and I with a large amount of respect and enjoy having us around.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my students all think that I have soft hands from not working enough. Part of that is them trying to get me into the field to do their work and the other part is actually true! Their hands are like rubber and tough as nails! This is coming from someone who worked on a grounds/maintenance crew for a year and a half, rowed for the better part of 4 years, landscaped this past summer, and played a multitude of other sports that toughened up the skin on my hands. I couldn't help but being reminded of Jaws when Quin makes fun of the doc for counting money all his life. I will admit, I was a little enerved by them calling me soft, but after seeing what they do for chores and just as a general way of life; well it's kind of true!
Last Thursday, Colin and I went to Dapong and then made it into "No Man's Land" between Togo and Burkina Faso. Yep, that was an experience. Watching all of the commuters go coming and going to the two countries over a small strip of wasteland that was riddled with smoking piles of trash and broken down vehicles and butchers cleaning steer hides/hacking up half of a carcass was pretty interesting to say the least. Not to mention, we were told not to go into sight of the BF guards, because for one, Colin left his passport in the bus, and two, we didn't exactly have visas to get into the country. The monks just thought that we would get a kick out of walking into the wasteland!
That day in Dapong, we also had lunch with the Bishop who the monks invited to the Jubilee celebration in November. The food was pretty darn good!
I have also transcribed half of a French grammer book in my attempt to be able to better communicate with everyone. I think it's working.
And lastly, the Huskers are finally going to beat the living daylights out of Texas! GBR
Oh, almost forgot...the videos from the dance are finally uploaded! Good things come to those who wait! If I don't get the link working on the blog, they can be accessed by going to Youtube and typing in gsullivan1518 into the search bar. Enjoy!
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