...email access is unreliable

So sorry for failing to post anything in case you were checking this. I only have a few minutes left to use this computer so this will be short but I wanted to let everyone who I havent't been able to email yet or who hasn't emailed me (and shame on you btw!) that I am doing fairly well and survived the almost 3 months of training and am now officially a sworn-in PC volunteer. My whole training group and I are in Togo's capital of Lome for the swearing-in ceremony and festitivies. There was a big event at the ambasador's swanky residence where we got served samosas - my first Indian food in months, and Indian is my favorite -- and ice cream, which is a major treat here. I will post pictures from the swearing in, including one of me giving a speech in the local language I learned (Cotokoli) that was apparently broadcast on TV and the radio. I heard the radio broadcast when I was at an internet cafe the day after the ceremony so I was able to witness my own birth as a Togolese celebrity.

Tomorrow I head up to the site of my posting, Togo's second-biggest city, called Sokode, to work with an NGO that is helping to administer a USAID/US embassy scholarship fund that helps girls stay in school by helping to pay school fees and to pay for books and uniforms and the like. It's a really exciting project and because the city is big there are lots of other NGOs I can approach to see if they need help as well. Being in a bigger city also means lots of amenities -- like good internet access -- as well as a house that was not the mud hut I promised. Instead, I'll be on a compound with a family in my own separate unit that has indoor plumbing, electricity (to run the ceiling fans and fridge!!!), plus 2 large bedrooms.

I'm being kicked off the computer now but hope to post more, including pictures and more information about Togo, soon...