Story of My Life....

So today was just kind of ridiculous. I would say frustrating, but it was all so funny that that word just doesn’t fit. All day, Hannah and I were steeling glances at each other that wordlessly said, “Is this seriously happening right now?” Whether it be for good reasons or bad reasons, so many things made us ask that today. We spent the day in Lome interviewing church facilitators. We’ve done this in the north, but never in the city, and it was… an adventure. Our day started out with Will picking us up in his truck where he had fresh chocolate croissants waiting for us. Yes, the alternative spelling for that last sentence is b-e-s-t-b-o-s-s-e-v-e-r. Then, we get to his house and realize (because I forgot to check my texts, whoops) that we are an hour too early for our first meeting. We were planning to meet our translator, Mawousse, at Will’s and to borrow Will’s moto so we wouldn’t have to pay for three motos to drive us around all day. Will had to leave as soon as we got there, but Mawousse wasn’t getting there for another 30 minutes at least, so Will left us his keys which we were to then leave with his landlord so he could get back in later that day. Will peaced out and Hannah and I waited for Mawousse.

When he got there, he asked for the key to Will’s moto….. you would think that one of the three of us Americans would have thought of this, since it was the whole reason we had gone to Will’s in the morning, but alas, we did not. Hannah looked through the house anyway incase there was an extra key, she found one that said “Italy” on it and excitedly shouted down to us to ask if it was the right one. Mawousse and I just kind of looked at each other and shook our heads. “No Hannah, but thanks anyway!” Mawousse then showed me his key as an example of what it would look like. It’s a strange little circle key that just seemed to mock me. You see, yesterday, Hannah and I borrowed Will’s keys and wondered what the strange little circle one was for…. We even asked someone what it was because we were so curious. Well, now I know. And I don’t appreciate the way I feel it mocking me. I then knew for sure that Will had it with him and we wouldn’t be able to borrow the moto. There was now no point in having had Will pick us up and leave us his house keys…. except we still got chocolate croissants out of it, so I think it was worth it.

            Mawousse then decided that the next best alternative would be to take his moto… it’s more like a dirt bike than a moto though. That’s important for the story to make sense. So we lock up at Will’s leave the keys with his landlord and catch a moto for me as Hannah hops on the back of Mawousse’s. We then took a really pretty moto ride to the university. The campus is very lush and tree-covered, which is a nice change from the usual city atmosphere. We pulled over on the side of some random road and waited for the church facilitator we were supposed to meet at 9:30. The next 40 minutes was characterized by confusion, impatience, and gawking. Confusion because we were trying to reach the church facilitator and describe to him where we were (but the best landmarks were unidentifiable buildings and trees, so… that when well). Impatience because we literally waited 40 minutes on the side of the road. And gawking because there was literally a herd of cows that we saw off in the distance slowly walking towards us. They were the strangest cows I had ever seen, and to be on a university campus, it was just so juxtaposed. They walked with in 2 feet of us and I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

            Just as we sent a text to our church facilitator saying we were leaving because we were late for our next appointment, he showed up. We had a great interview with him though and I’m glad we stayed. He is studying English at the university so we didn’t need a translator for the first time in over 25 interviews. It was lovely. I actually understood everything he was trying to communicate! Celebrate the little victories, that’s my motto.

            After the interview, we went to get back on the motos. Hannah and I have the habit of always switching seats to subconsciously keep things fair, so I went to ride with Mawousse this time. Only, it was a little more difficult than I was expecting. Hannah, by a stroke of luck had chosen to wear pants that morning which is why she had such a successful moto experience the first time. I, unfortunately, chose a maxi shirt. Word to the wise: floor length skirts are not the easiest things to finagle when trying to ride a moto, especially this moto. Because it was a dirt bike style moto, the back of the seat is a lot higher than a regular moto, but doesn’t look it, that little deceptive thing…. So I went to get on the back (mind you, Hannah, the church facilitator, Mawousse and two moto drivers are all watching me…) and I didn’t quite make it. Between the mess of skirts and my failing depth perception, I nearly wiped out. Thankfully, I was wearing my Chacos (always ready for anything in those) and with some uncoordinated looking hop moves, managed to save the situation. Attempt two was also a failure, but by the third time and with my skirt gathered as modestly as I could manage, I got on. Whew.

            I thought that would be the end of my moto troubles… but I was wrong. All motos have this exhaust pipe on the back right-hand side that is scalding hot. You have to remember to get on and off on the left side to avoid getting burned. Hannah and I were told that we won’t be truly “Togolese” until we get our first moto burn on our right calf, and I am SO determined not to. Hannah fell victim last week and has a wicked burn that is still healing. (In her defense, her water bottle fell and she quickly hopped off the right side to grab it, forgetting for a moment the impending doom that awaited her on that side… an honest mistake.) So I am constantly aware of the exhaust pipe area and steer clear of it. I didn’t think that this bike would be different, but instead of being on the back right, the pipe was on the upper left, RIGHT where my leg was. Poor planning, bike designers. Seriously? Who does that? So as I was getting off, I burned my upper left leg, of all places. My cat like reflexes saved me from a bad burn, but still, it’s there and I’m mad at that sneaky exhaust pipe.

            From there we met two more church facilitators. One of them gave us each literally a liter of soda, which was so kind, but simultaneously terrifying. I knew I would have to finish all of it to not seem rude, so my tactic was slow and steady. I’m not a huge soda drinker to begin with, so this was a test of my will power and stamina. I made it though. Just in time. And all I could do to help Hannah was look at her in pity as she still had half of her bottle at the end of the interview. They told her to finish it so we could leave, and she drank as much as she could, but just wasn’t gonna win that battle. She gave up and tactfully made some joke about how it was so good but she is so full and they let her go. Whew.

Then, we made a friend in a jewelry shop. He asked if Hannah and I were married… that’s a default red flag. I was on edge, but I decided later that he was really just trying to be nice. He then tried to get me to try on silver earrings (which I realized later he was trying to give me as a gift. So sweet.) A little while later, we came back and he gave Hannah a silver bracelet, which he refused to let her refuse and promised to make me one too, since I didn’t want the earrings. When he was just fitting one on Hannah, I was a little concerned that this was the first step of his elaborate marriage proposal plan, but then he offered me one too and it felt more normal. Being in pairs is so nice sometimes. It makes situations way less awkward. So, as we left, I decided the scales had tipped from being a creepy situation to being a really sweet one where we made a new friend.

            From there, we were only supposed to see one more church facilitator, but Mawousse pulled a fast one on us and snuck another in. He’s so great and without him, we would probably be doing way less research. We always get tired and want to go home, but he keeps us moving. We had a great interview with her but it was past 1 PM and we thought we were going home so we could finally eat some lunch and type our notes. Nope! No rest for the weary or those who work with Mawousse. Back on the motos we went. Only this time, Hannah rode with Mawousse (which she volunteered for with the memory of my skirt fiasco still fresh in her mind. What a sweet friend) and they literally nearly tipped over. It was kind of hilarious. I tried not to laugh, but we all know I’m terrible at not laughing when I’m not supposed to be laughing. No actual tipping though, just near tipping, so it was all good.

            So we got to the next church facilitators shop and he did the unthinkable… offered us a sachet of water (they sell water in little sachets, or bags, on the street. It’s about 2 cups worth). I wanted to burst at the thought of drinking anything else, but we took them to be polite. I used my slow and steady tactic again and we ended up having another great interview with him. And it was really thoughtful of him to offer us water, I don’t want to seem ungrateful, it’s just too much hospitality in one day really isn’t good for one’s bladder.

At this point, Hannah and I just wanted to get home. It was 2 PM and we hadn’t eaten lunch and after drinking so much, I just really wanted to use the bathroom. Mawousse then informed us that we were near Kwasi’s house (Kwasi is sort of our boss here) and we must go for a visit. This was one of those times when I knew it would be culturally inappropriate to refuse, though I did kindly say we needed to hurry home. So, we took yet another moto ride to Kwasi’s around flooded out streets. I was just kind of laughing at everything at this point. It was so ridiculous. My burn was hurting, we were hungry, it was hot, and I was beginning to judge a little less harshly all the people who just go to the bathroom in the street. I think I know how they feel now. There’s not always a bathroom when you need one, so they just go wherever they want. This is something that really bothers me about Togo and I’m trying to get over, so this experience gave me a little more empathy for them. A little… but not enough for me to get over it. I know I have especially high standards for hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation issues, but come on people! That’s just not okay.

            Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and wrap this up. We sat at Kwasi’s for maybe 15 minutes, just chatting. This was after Mawousse pulled his moto into Kwasi’s house because there “are a lot of robbers here.” The cherry on top of my day. Finally, after I literally laughed out loud out of a little desperation when trying to transition the small talk to how we need to be leaving, we had our chance. Hannah and I each hoped on regular motos (with hopes of never having to ride the deathtrap dirt bike again) and rode off into the sunset. We made across the city to our apartment where we thanked the Lord for indoor plumbing. It really was a great day, just sprinkled with little moments of ridiculousness.

            To top everything off, I burned my finger on a match when I tried to light the stove for dinner. Two burns in one day. Glad I’m still laughing at all this. Happy for days with hard work and lots of excitement. I think it was that chocolate croissant that got me through. Or maybe God’s strength. Probably both…. A winning combination.

            So keep praying for us. We head up north this Saturday to give our survey to as many people as we possibly can in 5 days. It’s gonna be a little intense. And it’s our longest stay up there yet, so pray for stamina. Good research and stamina and more growing. Those are my prayer requests this week.