Well I reluctantly dropped my parents off at the airport on the 21st after three weeks of adventure and lots of food. I am sure many of you have heard all the stories by now but here is my account of my parents trip to Togo. . .

I picked my parents up from the airport on July 4th where I found out they narrowly escaped being sent back to the US due to the absence of their shot records. After many hugs and kisses I swept them off to the five-star hotel where we would be staying for the next couple of days. Just kidding, I really took them to My Diana's Hostel, fully equiped with an electric fan, toilet that flushes (sometimes), and a bed with pillows that are as hard as a rock. We spent the next two days touring Lome, manuevering our way through the hectic market (the meat market was especially shocking for my mom, non-refridgerated meat had her cringing), and we visited a "zoo" where we saw snakes, crocs, monkeys, and ostritches.

The morning of the 7th we rented a van from a chauffer who lives in my village and after picking up 130 mosquito nets, we started the 70 km trip to Koudassi. The driver had called ahead to tell the village that we were on our way and when we arrived we were greeted by a mass of women and children dancing and singing a welcome song for my parents. We drove straight to the cheifs house where we were greeted by even more people. After introductions and greetings we were whisked off to my house to unload luggage and get situated. The only problem was I had forgotten my keys in Lome. So, while my neighbors broke into my house for me, my dad, mom and I waited patiently on the porch with about 100 other people veying to get as close to my parents as possible. Eventually we got settled in and people began to disperse. My neighbor Adjowa (aka my Togolese mom) wasted no time in providing my parents with their first Togolese meal, pate and gboma sauce with fish, if their insides were squirming they didn't let it show. After lunch my parents got the full tour of the village and by the end my mom was (and I quote my older sister Sarah on this one) "a melting pad of butter." However she quickly adopted the stove fan, a fan woven out of palm fronds and used to start fires, as her new best friend and biggest ally in combating the African heat.

The next day my villagers had a party for my parents which included lots of food, skits, speeches, dancing, and singing. The highlight of the party was my parents doing the traditional Togolese chicken dance. I hadn't laughed that hard in a year. I highly recommend watching the video I took of them, it is sure to put a smile on your face. To be fair they did pretty good for their first time and this is coming from a chicken dance professional.

The next day, Thursday, was market day in Koudassi and therefore the best time to do vilage talks and distributions. Based on my last mosquito net distribution I was prepared for all out chaos, but to my surprise things went pretty smoothly. I strated out giving a talk about malaria, the importance of using a net, how to hang a net properly, and what to do if one gets malaria. My dad got to help pass out the nets and my mom was the designated photographer. Thank you again Mt. Spokane HS, almost every household in Koudassi is now equiped with a mosquito net! After the distribution we decided to visit the next village over for some local made beer called tchouk. Well, after a 3 mile walk in the Togo heat at 2:00 in the afternoon my mom was really looking forward to an ice cold beer. To her disappointment she discovered that tchouk is niether cold nor (in her opinion) delicious, but the experience of a local "pub" was entertaining enough to make the trip worthwhile.

Friday my parents got a first hand experience of a day in the life of a Togolese farmer. The farm we went to is about a mile into the bush and due to the rainy season, most of the trail and surrounding area is submerged in a couple inches of water. At farm my parents each took a turn cutting firewood with a machette and we waded through the rice field before heading home. My mom got to try carring a load of wood on her head like the locals due, not as easy as it looks. I quickly took over for her and she got to be in charge of carrying Berkantine instead.

Saturday my parents got to experience their first bush taxi ride on our way to Kpalime, a city about an hour away from Koudassi. Since the taxi we were taking already had 6 grown men in it, my parents had to squeeze into the hatchback while I shared the front seat with another guy. In Kpalime we were able to find gifts for people back home, fresh fruit and food for dinner, 2 chickens, and an ice cold beer for my mom. On the way home we decided to name my chickens Sarah and Samantha after my sisters. The story behind this is in the Northern region of Togo it is common to name your chickens Samantha. Well it seemed fitting that if I named one Samantha the other should be called Sarah. When we got the chickens home and untied their feet we discovered that Samantha had a hurt leg and couldn't walk. I was optomistic that with some TLC she would make a full recovery, my mom however began planning the spices she was going to use preparing the chicken for dinner. Well I am happy to announce that Samantha is alive and has made a full recovery. After getting the chickens situated my Dad also helped me plant a garden with cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and green beans. So in a month or two, with the eggs from my chickens and vegetables from my garden, I will be eating well.

Sunday my parents and I were invited to my colleagues house for dinner where they were introduced to sodabi, the Togolese moonshine and drink I am named after (Whitney in Ewe is 3 shots of sodabi). I was anxious about my parents drinking this because it is so strong, but like my dad said, "the stronger the better, it will kill any of the bacteria that might be growing in my stomach." After pate, fish, and a couple more shots of sodabi, the night ended with about 50 children gathering to sing and dance for my parents.

The next day in Koudassi was spent packing and preparing to leave. My dad also made a bunch of much needed repairs around the house. For the first time in a year I have a gate that closes, a shower that drains, and a latrine that is fit for human use. The day we left, my villagers held a goodbye ceremony for my parents where they presented them with gifts to thank them for coming to visit Koudassi and for allowing me to be here. My villagers really loved my parents and continually ask me when they will be coming back. They couldn't believe how tall my dad was and they said my mom was so beautiful and looked younger than me.

After roughing it in Koudassi for a week we decided to travel to Accra, Ghana and experience some more of West Africa. We crossed the border with no problems and while looking for a taxi we met a lady who works with an ONG in Accra who generously offered to take us to Accra (a 3 hour ride) in her air-conditioned Land Cruser. She then assisted us in finding a hotel with a swimming pool, cable TV, hot showers, and buffet breakfast. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This wasn't the end of out lucky streak either. The day we arrived we decided to visit the Accra mall which is basically like walking into the US. There is a food court, a huge grocery store, and a movie theater. After sulking to my parents about the fact that, that same day Harry Potter was being released in the states and I was missing it, we visited the movie theater and voila! Harry Potter was premiering the very next day. Needless to say the next couple of days were spent gorging on American style food, watching movies and the Disney channel, swimming in the pool, and just relaxing. Not exactly what my parents were expercting during their trip to Africa, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Now my parents have arrived safely home and I am back in Koudassi taking care of chickens and getting ready for three of my friends from college to come. We will be traveling to Egypt for 10 days so look for lots of pictures and stories to come!

As far as work goes, I have submitted all the paperwork for the dispensaire project and opened the bank account for the funds. An ONG called AGAIB will be funding 95% of the project and Mt. Spokane HS has provided the 5% commuity contribution. The total cost of the project is $35,000 US. It is a huge project but once it is finished everyone in my village and the surrounding villages will have access to quality healthcare (and I will probably have an ulcer). I'm just joking about that last part, but this is probably one of the most stressful things I have ever done. I just keep reminding myself that worthwhile things just don't happen, it takes lots of patience and perserverance.

Well, that is all until I get back from Egypt. I hope you are enjoying the summer sunshine. On a closing note, as I was sitting on my porch writing this my neighbor came over to inform me that the night before he had hung a canvas bag with a live snake in it in the tree in front of my house. He was keeping it there until the morning so he could perform a ceremony with it. Well, sometime during the night it escaped and they think it might have sought refuge somewhere in or near my house. Only in Togo, la vie est toujour comment ca!