Snow emergency parking bans

The year before I left for Senegal, I lived in Cambridge, with a car and no off street parking.  I signed up for e-alerts from the city of Cambridge regarding snow emergency parking bans--when they went into effect and when they were lifted.  So last winter and this, I am still getting the alerts because I could not figure out how to unsubscribe.  Each time I received an alert, it was sunny and beautiful and at least in the 70's if not 80's here in Dakar.  I just figured out how to unsubscribe.  I think I will miss them, I think I enjoyed gloating just a little.

Togolese Salad and breakfast in Ouagadougou

I loved this salad that you get to Togo. I'm told there is a similar one in Ghana.  Easy to make--

In a large bowl, toss cut up tomatoes, cucumber, cooked beets, onion, parsley, torn lettuce, 2 hard boiled eggs sliced, cold cooked spaghetti, add vinaigrette dressing, then some mayonnaise.  You can leave out any things you don't like or add others that you do, like grated carrot or avocado.  They tend to dump on lots of mayonnaise, I asked for just one small spoonful.  Dede enjoying the salad.

For breakfast in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, I had an omelet sandwich and tea at this woman's stand each morning.  One morning she had some veggies that she cooked along with the eggs, one morning she was out of gas and she had to cook on a charcoal grill, one morning I had to go across the street to buy the bread--the other days, it came with my order.  The fabric she is wearing, is printed to celebrate international women's day, the logo on her right shoulder. 

Togo Road Trip part 2

The international highway to Kara goes through the mountains.

La route de Kara Passe à travers des montagnes.

We visited a typical rural school. There are three classrooms, kindergarten/1st grade, grade 2/3, and grade 4/5, total enrollment 92 children. 

Nous avons visité un école rurale typique. Il y a trois salles de classe: une salle pour le Cl et le CP, une salle pour le CE1 et le CE2 et une troisième salle pour le CM1 et CM2. L'effectif total d'élèves est de 92. 

We visited a village of fortified houses in the Tamberma valley. It is an UNESCO world heritage site. 

Nous avons egalement visité le "Tata Tamberma" (chateaux fortifiés) dans la vallée de Tamberma. Il s'agit d'un patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO (le site de Koutammakou)

There is lots of good eats in Togo, if you know where to find it. The women are making a dish called kom, made with fermented corn. 

Au Togo, il y a beaucoup de bons plats, si vous savez où les trouver.  Les femmes prepare un plat, dit kom.

There are lots of wonderful fruit. The pineapples are so juicy.

Il y a aussi beaucoup de fruits; les ananas sont juteux. 

In Dapaong, in the northern part of Togo, we visited a workshop and training center for women. 

Au nord du Togo, nous avons visité le CEDAF (Centre Diocésain d'Autopromotion Féminine) à Dapaong. 

They even have on-site child care!

Il y avait même une garderie dans le centre (c'est pour rire).

We came to the border between Togo and Burkina Faso at Cinkasse. We said goodby to Togo and entered Burkino Faso. 

Enfin, nous sommes arrivées à Cinkassé, à la frontière entre le Togo et le Burkina Faso. Il fallait quitter le Togo pour entrer au Burkina Faso. 

Togo Road Trip--Part 1

The different regions of Togo -- Les differentes regions du Togo

Togo is a west African country, bordered by Benin to the east, Burkina Faso to the north and Ghana to the west. Its southern border is on the gulf of Benin. Togo is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Togo is known for the diversity of landscapes.  The southern sandy beaches lined with coconut trees,

Le Togo est un pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest dont les pays limitrophes sont Bénin à l'est, le Burkino Faso au nord et le Ghana à l'ouest. Sa façade sud est ouverte sur le golfe du Bénin. Le Togo est l'un des plus petits Etats africains. Le Togo est connu pour sa grande diversité de paysages: une côte sablonneuse bordée de cocotiers au sud,

the green hills and valleys, 

des collines, des vallées verdoyantes,

the small mountains in the central region,

et des petites montagnes dans le centre du pays.

the dry rolling savannas with baobab trees in the north. 

des plaines arides et de grandes savanes parsemées de baobabs au nord.

Lome is the capital of Togo. It was very hot when we were there and the harmattan, the dry wind that blows from the Sahara desert, greeted us! We ate a lot of Fan Milk.

Lomé est la capitale du Togo. Il y a fait chaud quand nous y étions, et c'est l'harmattan, un vent sec venu du Sahara, nous a accueillies. Nous avons mangé beaucoup de Fan Milk.

We stayed with Dede's cousin. His family was very kind and welcoming.

Nous sommes restées chez le cousin de Dédé. La famille a été très aimable et accueillante.

We visited the children's school.

Nous sommes allées visiter une école.

Then we took a motorcycle taxi to Dede's uncle's home. 

Puis, nous avons pris un taxi moto pour aller chez l'oncle de Dédé.

Also, we went shopping in Lome central market.

Nous sommes aussi allées au grand marché de Lomé.

In Kpalimé, we saw many waterfalls.

Á Kpalimé, nous avons vu plusieurs cascades.

We met the family of Dede's half-sister in one of the small nearby villages. 

Dans un village de la région, nous avons recontré la famille maternelle de la demi-soeur de Dédé.

We toured their coffee and cocoa plantation.

Nous y avons également vu leurs plantations de café et de cacao. 

We also visited another village known for its painted doors and shutters. 

Nous avons egalement visité un village célèbre pour sa peinture de portes et de volets.

I love eating pounded yams, called fufu.

J'ai adoré l'igname pilée, dit fufu.

Dede loves it too.

Dédé l'aime beaucoup aussi.

We saw a hydroelectric dam near Atakpame, a joint project of Togo and Benin.

Nous avons visité un barrage l'hydroélectrique près d'Atakpamé; il s'agit d'un projet entre le Bénin et le Togo.

Atakpame, a town in the mountains, was developed by the Germans.

Atakpamé, ville dans les montagnes, a été développée par les Allemands.

continued.....

Shopping at the fabric market--again and again!

The first day my college friends, Vicki and Nalla, were in Dakar, I took a personal day from school, and we went to the fabric market.  It is hard not to fall in love the riot of colors and patterns.

A sampling of fabric from Lome, Togo.  Not all of these fabrics are mine, Marje and Dede bought some of them as well.  There are several that we divided up. We said we need to coordinate and not wear the same fabric on the same day to school. 

On the way to Kara, Togo we stopped at leper village, where they do batiking.

 I bought a small quilt, several dresses, the map of Togo, and the purple and green fabric for a dress. 

Our last stop before leaving Togo was Dapaong. We visited a workshop and training center for women. They made soap, made clothing and wonderful weaving. Unfortunately, we were running out of money, so I only bought a few little items and took photos of all these other lovely items.