I've been here a little over three weeks but it feels much longer - not necessarily in a bad way at all but it's hard to remember my daily life before because my routine here seems so comfortable. I spent the weekend reading, swimming at the ambassador's pool which makes a nice late afternoon outing. It was quite hot and humid here this weekend and remains so today so that, not being a hot weather lover, I have to be very motivated to leave my house (which is nice and cool due to being well shaded by vegetation and having ceiling fans in every room). So I will leave if I know I can be cool at the end of my outing - going to the office to use the computer and phone fits the bill as does going to the pool.
French is very necessary here - I'm taking lessons twice/week and also trying to study at home but it's been hard to make the leap into speaking French. I know I'll have to eventually.
Last week I went to the local women's book group which meets once/month at rotating houses. There were about 15 women there of all ages and several nationalities. It's mainly a book exchange - you bring a book or two that you've read and talk about them, then people borrow them or not. You can get your book back eventually or you can donate it to the box of books that the group has. I borrowed a short novel in French which I'm reading with a "dictionnaire" close by.
I also went to the international dinner which happens every 2 weeks at a different restaurant - a good way to try different places and meet a bunch of people. We ate at a Lebanese restaurant just around the corner from my house - it was convenient and pretty inexpensive and the food was decent.
The embassy also has social activites - I went to a cookout at the pool there yesterday and ate my first burger since coming to Togo, cooked by Marines who are posted at the embassy.
Tomorrow, I make first site visit to some volunteers so it'll be my first trip out of Lome - looking forward to it!
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