Peace Corps Invades Togo
Peace Corps Invades Togo
Lome, Togo West Africa
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
We come in Peace…
There are many Peace Corps Volunteers in Togo, West Africa, there is very large office within maybe 5 block of my hotel room.
There is an invasion of new American Peace Corps people, hmmm, are they volunteers, they are paid small and room and board. Nonetheless, Lome, Togo has an invasion of new Peace Corp Volunteers, I needed to move rooms to help the hotel accommodate some of them, they are walking around like fresh meat ready for the lions, and they are sure young.
I do not know why we, I mean the USA purchases Toyota Land Cruisers and not American made vehicles. I will be nice, however, I am being more cautious as they are driving around in my neighborhood, I have a real fear of being ran over by a big White Car in Africa.
I am waiting for the Signs of Peace.
I have been giving them a big American,
- Hello -
Or
- Whaz Up? -
It would be interesting to learn how these young men and women have been trained. I think it is possible they have been trained to not say hello back, there is a very high ignore me ratio. Then again, I do suppose young people would ignore an older man in the USA also, I just do no remember.
Ambassadors of the USA in action, hehehe, what fun.
Hope the lions do not eat them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_of_peace
I think of the sign of peace, is to shake hands in USA culture.
Peace Corps Invades Togo
Labels: Peace Corps, Togo, Togo Volunteers, Volunteer
8 Comments:
Maybe they read Rule #2 that posted a while back. In case you forgot, you wrote, "Do not associate with Peace Corps persons."
http://www.hobotraveler.com/2007/03/more-enjoyable-africa-travel.html
I suppose in a round robin way, that logic could make sense, do to you, what you do to me. I am holding fast, I have not associated with Peace Corps, however sort of a Mickey Mouse rules, I also say this about many groups, then I have the exceptions to guides. I do believe the Peace Corps drivers are dangerous though.
Hobo we are tramps that looks for jobs, not the best people to invite in the house, normally thought of as bums. Therefore I agree, I do not normally associate with bums, so I must stop talking to myself.
Peace Corps
Quote:
The program officially has three goals:
- To help the people of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained workers;
- To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served;
- To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Stop Quote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_corps
Interesting set of goals, glad I am read that on the Wiki.
The word Corps defined:
group of associated people: a group of people who work together or are associated Example : the press corps
I guess I am assuming that Peace means to work together towards Peace, I suppose by not saying anything, there is sometimes peace. I do know not answering the locals here is sometime more peaceful than to listen or answer.
I pretty much talk to anyone who comes at me in a respectful way, however I am a brave sort, been to some pretty bad place alone.
On the other hand, not getting technical or doing this picky word thing, I suppose if we supported the Taliban, we shoud always support the Taliban... hehehe
Ok, my rules have helped me to enjoy West Africa better this time, but are they rules or guides.. hmm?
http://www.hobotraveler.com/2007/03/more-enjoyable-africa-travel.html
Why buy American made vehicles? If they're buying Toyota, then perhaps its because Toyota is either cheaper or better at the job?
American cars do not have a good reputation. they are renowned for consuming a lot of fuel and not going very fast. In the USA or the developed world, there is a petrol station every few miles, so it doesn't matter that the cars use lots of fuel. But in other parts of the world, perhaps not so useful.
If I was buying a Vehicle, I would buy German or Japanese, in that order.
Hard to explain, Ash you are making this over-simplified, and I swore off thinking or talking about he Peace Corps, however would you like an American teaching at the British School, the values of Britain.
This is a paid by the USA, by my tax money, not a NGO.
Sure, I wouldn't want American teachings in a British school (unless I was doing American studies or American literature). doesn't mean I don't get any. When I was at school I remember doing American history, religion and literature.
but I don't see why it matters what brand of car the government buys with your money. It might seem unpatriotic to invest American money in an overseas economy, but I think that's short sighted. the chances are that the country these cars are made in has its whole economy based upon the American model!
Thinking about it another way, I don't really care whether the medicines and military weapons my government buys are from the UK or the USA or India or France even, so long as they are the best.
America has taught the world to look for excellence in consumer products. I expect nothing less of America than to buy the best: regardless of where it is made.
Ok, Ash, I will conceede to your point.
Quoting you:
"America has taught the world to look for excellence in consumer products. I expect nothing less of America than to buy the best: regardless of where it is made."
There are many conflicting feeling here for me, I am 100 percent in favor of the Peace Corps.
I am from the USA, I do "look for excellence." as you say.
Peace Corps is more or less also what people do not like about the USA. They do not like an American comeing and telling them "America is better." or this is the "American Way."
I do not want to get in the cultural aspects of what is better or not better.
I do believe in the search for excellence the Peace Corps should be more strict in their monitoring of Peace Corps Volunteers.
The problem is this, if I want to find a Peace Corps Volunteer, I need to go hunt for the Party and the Peace Corps Hotel, here in Lome that is the Chez Mommy or something like that, as I understand a Vietnam womens runs it.
I was looking from Kpalime of my trip to Atakpame to find one, to ask, "Do you know if it is safe to ship a package from the USA to Togo?"
I did not find one in the villages or anywhere, but I did not go look for the party as I cannot be bothered.
The Ugly American Sterotype, the movie one, not the book one is maybe about the idea of living in the AC, Made for Americans, never leave the resort mentality of the USA people. I feel, hear, sense, and know Europeans do not want to hear American complain about the bad service of the world.
We are spoiled, the level of service sometimes makes it close to impossible to believe that a poor person, who wants my money, can ignore me, then they demand service. This is again the American, and I do this, I do not accept or tolerate bad service, I do want excellence.
Therefore my problem here is I do want excellence, I want the Peace Corps to know, they are the Ambassadors to my nation, they are the representatives of my country, the one I love. I love the USA, and I truly do hope the world can someday have the same benefits I have lived with all my life. I am proud to say, I am from the USA.
I also want to say about every Peace Corps Volunteer, “I am proud to see he or she if from the USA.”
I would say, maybe about one in ten makes me proud, the others make me nervous. Geez, am I going to need to feel shame for them. It would be very easy to write one them nasty newspaper or TV articles and portray he Peace Corps badly. I want excellence, and I demand 10 time more of myself, than of others. It is 3:18 am in the morning, I am working, annoying habit of mine, I woke up about 3:00 and did not just go back to sleep.
Peace Corps is Five times better than an NGO or ONG I have every met, in comparison to the other volunteer organizations, they are top notch. I however am American, and I do demand better.
I am American, it is my cultures proper manners to say,
“Hello, my name is Andy,”
Shake the person hand, and give a big American Smile.
I was surrounded by American and I tested them, I said hello to everyone person I met that I thought was American. Nobody shook my hand and only about 25 percent even said hello back.
Amazing to me and makes me very angry, I want to go and grab them by the throat and shake them.
“You are my tax money, you are what is suppose to be the best of the best, you are the Corps, you are the carrier of the American Way, what in the F.. is wrong with you?”
“Learn some manners!”
I guess the truth is, I am annoyed with the big white Toyota land rovers, and all Toyota probably did was win the bid.
There is a saying, if you want to know me, walk a mile in my shoes. The Ugly American concept is with all countries, there is a group of expats who work in the offices, the go eat in the French restaurants here, they drive the big cars, and they want to tell Togo how to live.
To know how Togo lives, you have to live like a Togo person, the going gets tough, business is difficult here, how to get an computer from Lome to Badou and not break it, yes the American way, the military way is to just pay your way there, this is not the Togo way, they do not have the money.
One of their goals:
“To help the people of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained workers.”
I had a real estate business, I have a business, I am sometimes amazed at my techie in India, what he does, how can I push, he is chatting with me on Yahoo Messenger and the electricity is cut, happens every other day.
I wanted him to go talk to a travel agent in India to find the price of a ticket from Delhi to Ethiopia, he has to ride in a India transportation from Margao to the main city of India and then deal with an amazingly rude culture, then get lied to on a minute by minute basis. I traveled in Goa, I was in India for four months.
If you want to show somebody or train someone in business, you have to obey the rules, you have to do business under the same conditions are them. If you can do better, then maybe you can teach me and I will respect you.
Kevin Sites lived in the 125 US dollars a night hotel, the Shagrila in Katmandu, Nepal, do I respect him, no, he paid his way around, has Yahoo support staff, etc.
I do not know, I think the Peace Corps should live like Togo people, if that is too difficult then go home. I think about buying a motorcycle all the time, a Sanya cost 325,000 CFA and then 25,000 for insurance and 25,000 for a license plate.
I am a tourist, six months of my life in West Africa and I have taken public transportation everywhere, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger.
I do not know the answers, I do feel and believe if you desire to help a culture, there is a need to endure the same hardships as they do, then maybe you can have the empathy to see a solution. I have source of information the Togo people cannot even dream about, I can think of solutions, similar area of the planet, I know cultures that do this and that this way. I want to teach them how to cut up a Pineapple like Thailand to prepare to sell.
This country is about getting in a vehicle with a bunch of fat women, having an elbow in your ribs for two hours, the door handle cut your side, they try to put one more person in the back of the car, the driver wants to box because he knows I have the money. If I was carrying a computer from Lome, to Badou, would they rob me?
I am living in a room, it cost 6000 per night, the girl I know in Atakpame, pays 3000 per month. The cost of room in the tourist area for a local is about 10-15,000 per month, in the Baguida area it is cheaper, about 5000 to 10,000. How do I know, a Togo person told me their rent, I had them up close and personal.
I can feel the Togo people, the are laughing at us... They are saying to themselves, some more of them stupid American coming to give us money for no work.
....The cost of one of them cars would buy the village, then you want to tell me how to do business, show me how to do it the way we need to do it, I do not have 50,000 US for a car, I get paid 30 US per month.
Thanks Andy, I understand what you mean now. I agree, it seems like accidentally rubbing people's faces in money to drive big cars etc.
Dear Andy,
I AM a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, and you've got it all wrong. That's the point: we live in small villages. I don't have electricity. I don't have running water. I live in a mud hut and my villagers surround me. I live the exact same life as them.
We don't come into our villages and say "This is how you do it," or "This is the American way." Instead, we move into villages, get a feel for the life and problems of the village, and help where we can. We have access to project money, project ideas, materials and other things that villagers will never be able to get without us.
Do we party? Of course we party. Everyone parties. And after spending a few weeks out in the bush with our villagers, speaking the local language and living the local life, we get together and do the American Thing, which admittedly, is partying. Most Peace Corps volunteers are young. We party. Get over it. We do more than just that.
As for the cars, haven't you noticed? All the cars here are Toyotas practically. And only Toyota makes the Land Cruiser that can actually handle dropping us off in our villages, many of which are several km into the bush with no roads, just sand. The cars are not the issue here. Your misconception of this entire organization is.
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