Field Trip & End of Training

Tuesday August 2, 2010

This past week has been a combination of fun and stress. Earlier in the week our group made a trip to Atakpamé, the regional capital of the Plateaux Region of Togo. In Atakpamé we met with Peace Corps Volunteers that are working in business, health, girls empowerment, and natural resource management. Atakpamé is a beautiful city, with rolling hills and beautiful hillside homes, it reminded me very much of the Oakland Hills of California. While there we met with local artisans, a Director of Social Services, checked out some Peace Corps Volunteer’s homes, and learned about a Take Your Daughter’s to Work Campaign that some of the volunteers did in village. This is of particular interest to me because growing up my father’s company held an annual take your daughter’s to work day and at a early age I was exposed to the business world through this specific event. Having a successful campaign for young girls is of great importance here in Togo as many girls are not afforded an opportunity to attend school and those that are have no concept of career pathing . Before coming to Togo, I envisioned my work to be focused on capital management, supply chain management, and business consulting. While I am extremely interested in working in those areas, I believe that there is so much opportunity to empower the women and girls here and expose them to sustainable, successful enterprises that will allow them to break the cycle of poverty.

After our trip to Atakpamé it was all business as I had one week to pass my language requirement to swear in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Today I found out that I passed the exam and now am speaking at the Intermediate- Mid Level!!!! I have also been taking local language classes in Ewe and will be speaking both Ewe and French in my village.

Even though I am excited to go to post, I will truly miss my host family. They have been so supportive and so great to me while I have been in Togo. Each person has a different host family experience but mine has been extraordinary. On Thursday, my father and mother will accompany me to Lomé as I take the oath to become a Peace Corps volunteer. While these past two months have been filled with ups and downs I am so glad to have taken this opportunity and take the next step to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo!