Joyeux Noel!

I think this is going to be the most unusual Christmas ever, but I’m looking forward to it just the same. After a month of Mogou (with a couple breaks up to Dapaong), I’m ready to kick back at my friend’s house with some running water, electricity, and vegetables. She’s been a great hostess: overhead shower, yogurt, vegetable soup, Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”… it’s been quite the vacay, and it’s just started. It was so nice to talk to my fam and hear about the snow and Christmas-y things.  It was about 90 degrees again today, and since her town is about 80% Muslim, it’s not exactly “beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” But we’re celebrating just the same. I splurged and bought 2 music video DVD’s: Toofan and Akon.  We jammed to “On va vous deloger” all afternoon, which roughly translates to “Our music is so good it’s gonna drive you out of your houses.” I love how French has a verb for that. But anyways, tomorrow we’re killing a chicken and making chicken fajitas, decorating the house, and probably singing “Deloger” all day. A very joyeux Noel.

To update, Mogou is going well. It’s been slow moving, but I’m getting more and more comfortable living there. I had quite the pump saga, which is actually still continuing, but is getting better. There are 6 pumps in Mogou, 3 of which are functional right now, for 2,000 people. With the end of rainy season, the creeks dried up and the pressure on the pumps is really starting to be noticeable. There were a couple days in a row in which I couldn’t get water because there were too many people at the pump (so my water girl told me—don’t worry, I’m still too wimpy to carry all that on my head across town). So I talked to Affaires about it, and the next day he had organized meetings to discuss fixing two of the broken pumps. Great! Let’s get to it.

Pumps in Mogou come with committees, I’ve found out, so we met with the committees and discussed what was broken, where we can get parts, and how much it’s all going to cost. Unfortunately for the pump closest to my house, the part is a $40 cable that may or may not be in Lomé (the secretary of the committee is going to call his brother down there and see what he can find). At one point during one of the meetings, (after we had decided that families with multiple wives did in fact have to contribute more to the fundraising for new parts) someone turned to me and asked, “Damigou, what does your village do when the pump breaks?” Ummm, call the plumber?  Togo is teaching me more and more about what I don’t know about infrastructure. Similarly, after contemplating my gas stove, which runs off of a tank that I have to refill, I asked my parents how the gas gets to our stove in our house in America. And why don’t we have to turn the gas off when we’re done? Gas lines, I’m told, that run underground all over the country. And then there’s a meter that says how much we use. Magic! Stuff I should have thought about more… or should have asked Carrie about.

Besides problemes d’eau, I’ve been doing lots of hangin’ in Mogou. I’ve been to all the churches and the mosque, and even the Catholic churches’ picnic last Sunday. They had a clothes auction to raise money for the church, and some ladies made rice and beans and tchakba. So fun.

It was exams last week, so the director of the CEG asked that I not come up to the school because the students would be distracted. Fair point. When I head back this week it will still be winter break, so my activities will have to resume after New Years. Have I mentioned I have a chicken? Her name is Eloise, and I’m planning on cooking her up for New Years.  It sounds kind of like Halloween: people come to your house to greet you, and you serve them food and drinks, and then they continue on to the next house.  I might hand Eloise over to my neighbor to cook… she actually knows what she’s doing with la sauce.  I’ll let you know how it all goes!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I’m thinking about you and sending all my good vibes westward. Daz, I totes thought of you the other day when I was having a moment… Forward, forward, forward! ; ) THANK YOU for the letters! Megan, I’m writing back as soon as humanly possible!! I miss you all tons and will post again soon!  Xoxox