First the high point of the Christmas season: I got a cute little Togolese puppy who is going to end up looking like all Togolese dogs with large pointly ears that usually stick up, a long tail and a kind of skinny overall build. They're medium sized usually. I got him on Christmas Eve Day from a guy on the street who was standing with 2 other guys all holding puppies in their hands. There are a few areas in Lome where you can find dogs for sale on the street like that. So, needless to say, you don't really know what you're getting and you kind of have to hope for the best. My little dog, Toby, was very shy for about a half a day and now he spends a lot of time following me around or sitting on my feet and chewing my toenails. He is pretty good about doing his business outside already. I'm leaving the kitchen door open when I am (or my cook is) home so that he can go in and out when he wants to. He sleeps on the floor of my bedroom at the foot of the bed beneath an overhanging blanket so it's like he has a little shelter. Overall, I'm really happy with him - he's a good companion and cute and soft.
So I went back to the States at the end of October and was met at JFK by my friend Judith who was hungry for breakfast. I had already eaten breakfast but had been hankering after a hamburger for months (although I did find a decent cheeseburger here in Lome). We asked a guy on the street where we could find a diner and he gave us long directions which turned out to be 100% accurate (although we were skeptical). Judith had breakfast and I had a hamburger deluxe just like when we were in nursing school together over 30 years ago.
My hamburger deluxe and Judith's breakfast.
I spent a few days in NY (got there just in time for the unseasonal snow on 10/29 which took out our power along with many other people's in NY and CT). Saw Tim and Julia's new apartments in the snow and had a nice brunch in Brooklyn. Then I went to Washington, DC to spend 3 weeks being trained in my duties at the Peace Corps headquarters. The days were kind of long but I did learn some things I hadn't known. I saw a lot of movies (the best was The Descendents) and ate out a lot. I flew up to Boston to visit my mother the first weekend I was there and Pat came down to visit the long weekend of Veteran's Day. We spent time exploring Washington including taking a tour of the Capitol which was what we were waiting for in this photo.
Since it was Veteran's Day we saw all the war momuments including the Korean War which I'd never seen before. It was a lovely fall day - a little on the cold side which was fine with me.
At the end of the training in DC I flew to Chicago to see Ben and Evan and then back to NY to finish my dental work and cook up a Thanksgiving dinner. I flew back to Togo the day after Thanksgiving to find that it had been very busy for my co-worker in my absence and the busyness continued for the next 3 weeks. Now she and nearly the entire staff are on "annual leave" which is about a month long. Many of the Volunteers are also away - mostly back in the US but some traveling locally or in Europe. So it's pretty quiet - kind of like January used to be in a college health service. I had a quiet and strange Christmas - after all those years in a cold place with seasons it's particularly odd to be in this hot place where nothing really changes for Christmas. Christmas here is low key - a few lights here and there and a few Christmas displays in stores. Mostly there were a lot of fireworks going off for the few weeks before and now continuing after Christmas. Lots of young boys throwing them into the street - you have to watch out a bit for that. I had fondue and pecan pie on Christmas Eve with my friend Susan and we watched "The Bourne Identity" which we both really enjoy. It actually takes place during the Christmas season as there are decorations visible in many scenes and, of course, there's a lot of snow so that was nice to see. On Christmas Day, I went to a luau although I got there a bit late and missed most of the food. But it had a nice tropical feel to it which was only appropriate. I had my own little tree which I brought from the US and decorated with icicles I made from cutting strips of a plastic bottle and bending over a candle which was fun and surprisingly easy. They're kind of hard to see in the picture above but they're there. I'll be back in the US at the end of March - I've got my ticket all booked so I can look forward to it. I wish everyone a happy New Year. My resolution will be to post more often!
