Settling in

We're settling in to Dapaong.  We've gotten our first mail, had our house blessed, killed a nasty spider, found a surprise in our eggs, enjoyed a lot of African food, figured out when to shop and where to shop and what we can buy at a good price and what we can buy at a not so good price, and our woodwork order was delivered.

Sam and Liza were really excited to open our first mail.  FYI- We've learned that it takes about 20 days to receive mail from the United States (if all goes well).

Sam telling the workers how to set up the tent for our house blessing.

All the produce for the festivities. (note the coffee table, temporarily, in our kitchen)

We had a house blessing service with holy communion.  It was a great way to demonstrate to the students at CLET how to proclaim Christ's presence (and not another) amidst a family and their dwelling.

All the students and faculty at the CLET and members of Alpha & Omega Lutheran Church were invited to the house blessing service.

Empty courtyard the day after as the kids enjoyed a beautiful day.

A little "friend" Micah found in our bathroom at midnight.  Anybody want to identify it for us?

Surprise!  This might not look like much of a surprise, but we haven't seen any white eggs since we left the States.

David really gets into his African food.  Here he's eating cassava.

Less than $10 for all this organic produce.  Anything that can be grown or made locally is extremely cheap and everything that is imported is extremely expensive.  Of course, we have to wash all the produce in bleach water before we can eat it, but our salads are extremely tasty and worth the extra step.  Incase you are wondering, from left to right we have: tomatoes and peppers in the blue bowl, lettuce in the salad spinner, mangos, oranges in the green bowl, bananas, carrots, melon (so cheap I feel like I should give the lady more, about 20 cents a melon), cucumbers, eggplant, and plantain. 

We hardly had any counter space in our kitchen when we moved in. We had to use our coffee table to prepare food, but it is less than 2 feet off the ground, so we had this made by an excellent woodworker to prepare food on and store things.

We also had this made to put our propane tank in and have a place to put things by the stove as well.    Now, I can let David safely crawl around in the kitchen!

These 2 pieces of furniture along with an armoire, desk, and a couple of tables and chairs have really helped us feel settled in.  When you are living out of containers, because there's no where to put things, it's kind of hard to feel settled in.  The house blessing certainly helped a bit as well.

First couple of weeks in Dapaong

Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?)  Is a very common question these days... 

While walking around the market I wonder what lots of things are, especially the spices in little bags which are not labeled.  Yet, thankfully there are lots of familiar things as well.  This picture was taken  on the first trip I made to the market when it started pouring rain and the ladies were covering their produce.

"Liza, you can lay on my shoulder," said Sam in his sweetest voice, 

while others were packing up the trucks to move our belongings from Pastor Gaugert's house to our house.

This is the normal view out our front windshield, as we turn onto our road.  

You can see the wall around our house just behind our neighbors sitting under their tree.

Following the opening service and Micah's installation at CLET. 

Various professors and officials associated with CLET, as well as others representing the Lutheran Church of Togo.

Our family

Our new church where we will attend, Alpha & Omega Lutheran Church

Youth Choir at Alpha & Omega

...because there are no rules on the road.

But we do care about everyone's safety, so the emergency break was on the whole time.

Sunset near our house.

I saw a lot of these along the road from Lomé and thought maybe they were logs for a fire.  

Come to find out, they are yams.

Liza watching Madam Léni, our house helper, show us one way to prepare said yams.

David loving and devouring said yams.

We are still settling in.  Some much needed preperatory work on our house is finished, but we are waiting, and will be for about a month, on some wood work to be finished.  Then we will have places to put things and more counter space in the kitchen to cook efficiently.

Sam helping put up his own mosquito netting. 

Micah and one of our guards getting tools out of the truck before bringing in our new mattress.

It only took a week of sleeping on an air mattress before we got around to buying a mattress for Micah and I.  (The kids already had mattresses.)

I'm still getting used to our food options here as well as settling in...

I wrote down "1 pintade" on the grocery list.  This is what I got.  

A live guinea-fowl on my kitchen floor.  

The kids watched with intrigue as our guard butchered the pintade. The process included finding an egg in the process.  

Our Pintade! 

If the order of these posted pictures seem random, indeed, much of our daily life has been the same.

Lomé to Dapaong

 We started out in Lomé looking for a land cruiser and found THE one our first day amongst all these vehicles sitting in the port.  This is only one of 2 lots we went to.

We made a down payment and paid the rest the following day.  It would have been nice to take it then and there, but since we bought it in the port, not technically in Togo, we had to wait for a lot of paperwork to be completed.  Thankfully, we didn't have to do any of the paperwork ourselves.

While we waited, we stayed at a nice hotel in a 3ish bedroom place, pictured behind David.  We spent a lot of our time working out details with the truck and buying things to furnish our house in Dapaong.  That's our refrigerator in the box waiting to be taken inside.

We visited ORCA (a store with home furnishings and toys) a few times and gave them so much business that they gave us a nice discount on all our purchases and even delivered a few things to our hotel for us.  There is also a Lebanese Restaurant beside ORCA where we ate several times.

I was trying to take pictures while we were driving down the road, so this is the best I could get of the Chinese store where we shopped a few times.  It's not the semi truck, it's the orange building behind the truck.

We were right across the street from the port where we could see the cranes moving all the containers around.  Lomé has an extremely busy and important port for the greater part of western Francophone Africa. We saw a long line of ships on the water and the trucks on land all waiting to get into port.

The kids were very excited to see the "new" truck, until we showed them where they'd have to sit. Kidding!  Not until we add bench seats back there anyway.

We took the wrong exit off the highway and ended up on this dirt road instead of a paved road.  These dirt roads are very common, fortunately there are paved roads (for the most part) all the way from Lomé to Dapaong.

A land fill in Lomé.  Although most trash is burned instead of going there.

David turned 10 months while in Lomé.

This is where we finally gave up trying to get to Dapaong the first time, a country school yard.  Our truck just didn't have any get up and go.  We later found out that the clutch plate was all messed up. 

So, back to Lomé where we spent 2 extra days waiting on the clutch plate to be fixed.

On our way to Dapaong the 2nd time.  We left before sunrise and were more prepared for keeping the kids entertained.  We let them watch movies on my laptop (on top of David's carseat).

We saw tons of charcoal in bags like these that villagers were trying to sell on the side of the road, along with fruits, veggies, cheese, bread, palm oil, live chickens & guinie hens.  You name it, you could get it on the side of the road.

We had a lot less traffic the second time around, yet there were still plenty of over loaded trucks to pass along the way.

Even more than trucks, we saw mopeds and people walking right along the side of the national highway.

We are at a high point in the rainy season, so the rivers are really full and the trees are very green.

We drove from Lomé to Kara, about 2/3 of the way to Dapaong, 6 hours, with out letting the kids out of the car.  We stopped at a German restaurant that had a play ground and we were there for 2 hours.  The kids really needed to stretch, it was the perfect stop for them.

After our lunch break the roads were a little bumpier and dustier.  We were following Rev. Jacob Gaugert who is about to pass the semi as soon as they cross the non paved bridge. The semi is loaded down with colorful woven rugs.  I couldn't tell you how many trucks we passed like this!  You can also see kids trying to sell us eggs on the side, err, middle of the road.

Northern Togo has some little rockies.

We started seeing little huts like these here and there.

We saw more and more livestock as we got closer to Dapaong.

Driving through Mango, we saw these guys on the back of the truck.  We thought they were holding down the top, but as we passed it looked more like they were just hitching a ride.  Mango is about an hour south of Dapaong. This is where a new hospital just opened, the closest one to Dapaong.

Nous sommes arrivés!

22 Hours

Thankfully we were able to check in our bags the day before our flight with the help of Micah’s brother and a fellow Togo missionary friend from Albertville, who also transported our bags to Geneva for us.  The big day started out early with Micah’s brother leaving to catch a 7am flight back to the states.  We proceeded to get ready and pack the few remaining bags we had to carry on the plane with us.  We learned from our last experience that we shouldn’t take as many carry ons as possible with 3 little ones, 2 of whom need to be carried and aren’t able to help carry anything else.  This time we only had our sit and stand stroller (which we were able to take all the way to the plane at least, but then unable to get until baggage claim again), Liza’s carseat (which for some reason they wouldn’t allow on our first flight, but we talked them into allowing it on the second and longer flight) and 4 small bags.  Since we didn’t have much to carry-on, we decided to take the bus to the airport instead of a taxi.  We had no problems with security, except they wanted to go through 2 of our bags.  I guess they don’t like you to carry on sun block or yogurt, even in small amounts, but they let us take it anyway (you know, because we had kids).

The kids loved the moving walkways through the airport, always a crowd favorite.  They may have even liked them more than the play areas, but we “made” them play at the play areas instead.  Both Geneva and Brussels had play areas for kids.  These were the highlight of my day, you know, besides moving to Africa!  If you’ve ever had to wait at an airport without a play area with little ones, you know why.  Before we knew it, it was time to board our plane to Brussels.  Our first flight was only in the air for an hour and not too eventful.  Our second flight was 9 hours and seemed like an eternity.  Our kids don’t sleep much in the car and apparently they sleep even less on airplanes.  David had a really hard time staying asleep.  When he’d actually fall asleep, his naps were very short.  Liza finally fell asleep for the last couple of hours of the flight.  She even slept through our hour stop in Côté D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).  Sam didn’t sleep at all.  He was getting really tired towards the end (about 11:30pm France time), but I wasn’t about to carry him off another plane so I kept him awake by counting down the minutes (not days) to go to Togo.

When we arrived in Lomé, Togo we walked down stairs from the plane to the run way and got on a bus that drove us to the baggage claim (not far away).  Before getting to the baggage claim we had to go through immigration.  First we had our temperatures checked (standard practice since ebola) and were handed a disembarkment paper to fill out, one for each of us that is.  We also had to pick up a Visa application for each of us and fill those out as well.  Lots of paper work at midnight with 3 little ones.  And of course Sam had to go to the bathroom, which was on the other side of the immigration bureau.  Thankfully, they let Sam and I through to use the bathroom.  While Sam was in the bathroom I was able to see a few of our bags go around and wanted so badly to go and start collecting them, worrying a little that someone else might just pick one up and claim it as their own.  We made it through immigration, less a 150 euros for the standard 7 day visa.

When we got to baggage claim we were swarmed with guys who wanted to help get our bags.  We tried saying no, but they didn’t listen.  Thankfully after getting all 10 of our checked bags together on 3 carts all but 2 of the guys left us alone.  We were then met by a guy who wanted to check our baggage claim tickets to make sure that they were all ours, which made me wonder if they checked everyone’s tickets.  Hopefully they did, as to not let anyone take someone else’s bags.  

We still had to get our bags through customs and the security machines before we were free.  They let all but one through.  They wanted us to open it up, but it was zip tied shut and of course we can’t take anything sharp on the plane, so we couldn’t open it.  They still wanted to open it, so they found something to cut the zip tie.  They proceeded to ask us what things were and if they were for the baby.  Finally they asked if they could have our alarm clock.  Micah and I both said, NO, with an “are you kidding me” tone of voice and they said alright you can go.  We counted all our bags again and rolled them through the door and there we found Rev. Jacob Gaugert waiting for us.  We rolled the carts to his truck, but not with out a few more guys trying to help.  They weasel their way in to helping by just putting a hand on your cart while welcoming you to the country and talking the whole time, so you don’t get a chance to tell them no.  At this point we were just making sure that ALL the bags were getting put into the truck and that the kids were safe inside.  We gave the two men who had helped us since baggage claim a little money and then we drove away.

Sam fell asleep right away in Micah’s arms in the truck and missed out on the “fun” ride to our hotel.  A very bumpy road would be the understatement of the year.  There is a reason why we are getting a land cruiser.  And not just any land cruiser, but a land cruiser that rides high, has a front livestock guard, winch, and a safari snorkel, yes a snorkel. This is for passing through flooded out roads.

We arrived at the hotel and got the kids to bed and finally laid down at about 3:30am France time.  Just a 22 hour day, not too bad, to move to Africa.

Differences

Just a few days until we leave Albertville, France and I'm reflecting on our stay here....

I think after 7 months, we've finally adjusted to living in France.  I guess that means it's time to pack up and move on to an even harder adjustment.  Just thinking about adjusting to life in Africa is a little daunting.  It takes me back to when we made the move here to France.  Adjusting to living in a foreign place was no easy task.  When we first arrived in France we were hit with so many differences large and small.

1. Airport.  Not so much the language barrier, but that we couldn't get our strollers until baggage claim and that those picking you up are not allowed in baggage claim.  Thus we had to carry everything from the plane (including 2 very sleepy kids) all the way from the plane, through customs, to baggage claim and then we were still on our own (but with wheels) until getting through 2 sets of security doors.  Feel free to read or reread my post on that experience.  http://wildauersgototogo.blogspot.fr/2015/01/mission-impossible.html

2. Time.  The time is 7 hours different.  Jet lag really hits you when you move across an ocean with kids.  It took our kids several weeks to adjust to the time difference.  The first few nights they would wake up for an hour or more in the middle of the night ready to go for the day...but it wasn't day.

3. Food.  It's hard to imagine now, but the first time I went to the grocery store, my mind was blown.  I didn't know what anything was, what any of the labels said, how much anything cost, nor how to cook it (and I like to cook).  Thankfully, it only took a few times of going to the store, to figure out what things were, how much they cost, and that food here tastes so much better and is better for you because they don't add a ton of preservatives.  Without having a car, it took us a few weeks to really stock up on the essentials.  I won't miss trying to get home while lugging a stroller tied down with bags of food (that easily out weighed the kid sitting in the front of the stroller) every week.  On second thought, maybe I will.  We will see how things are like in Togo...

4. Language.  You would think this would have been number 1, but surprisingly I think we got by a few days without the language barrier being a problem.  Of course knowing French would have helped at the airport and at the store, but you can find ways to communicate without words; it's just a little more challenging.  Eventually though, you really need to learn the language to get by and not make so many mistakes.

5. Schedule.  We didn't have much of a schedule before moving to France.  Pastors don't have a 9-5 day job, they work all the time, here and there and everywhere, thus making days a little less orderly.  I actually really like order, so this was a nice change for me, albeit difficult to follow a schedule with kids.

6. School.  I had been out of school for 7 years and Micah 9, so getting back into school mode was a big challenge and of course we had the added kid obstacles as well, 3 kids that is.  I admire any full-time student with kids.  It is not easy and something I would prefer never to do again (haha, I still have more language learning to do).

7. Sicknesses.  I had never had conjunctivitis before coming here.  Now the kids and I have had it twice, a few weeks after getting here and now a few weeks before we leave here.  Liza and David seemed to be sick all the time with all the different viruses that were passed around between the little ones at the nursery for the first couple months.  Then allergens really hit in the Spring here.  Apparently being surrounded by mountains isn't all glorious.  Allergens are trapped with no where to go, but to your eyes and nose and throat.  I wish I would have brought a bunch of allergy medicine with me (it's not cheap here).

8. Housing.  I don't know how I almost forgot this one.  Moving to an apartment building with kids (who love to be kids - read: love to be loud all the time) and tight spaces can really try one's patience.  Yet, the community has been great for all of us and the kids have loved having friends to play with everyday.  Even though the friends will be missed, I am definitely looking forward to having our own house again.  And even though Sam is trepidatious about speaking to the African kids in French, I think he'll be just fine and will pick up a few tribal languages before we know it.

Here's to moving to Africa!  Although I might not be looking forward to dealing with all the challenges we will face, I am ready to get there and conquer them.  It's been a long time coming and I am excited to see how our Lord Jesus will bring us through to our new home in Togo.

Sam is really excited about moving to Togo.  David is just going with the flow.  Liza on the other hand is reverting back to bad sleep habits and clinging to mama.  I pray that I don't get so caught up in the move that I forget to give my children the needed attention which will aid them in adjusting to this major change as well.

Moving to Africa...Soon

I was trying to find pictures to go in this blog post and the latest ones are of houses in Dapaong.  I suppose that's a good topic to write about!  The house we thought we'd be living in is occupied by another missionary family (different organization).  Bummer, but hey, that means there's another family, with kids, who will be homeschooling as well.   We've been working with Jacob Gaugert to find a house to live in, and we decided to go with a 3 bedroom house with lots of space outside for the kids to play and a gazebo which we can *hopefully* use to eat outside most of the time.  This house also has AC units already, which may have had something to do with our decision.  Especially since we just went though a week long heatwave - canicule, in French - here where temperatures were just as high as they will be in Dapaong.  I have to admit, I am not looking forward to the heat or being so close to the sun.  I get heat rash and burn easily when I'm out in the sun.  Yet, somehow I will make do.

Our house in Dapaong 

We are wrapping up our time here in Albertville.  I stopped taking classes as of the end of June to stay home with the kids and get things done before the big move to Africa.  Samuel's last day of school was July 3rd, though he has wanted to keep going to school at home with mama as his teacher.  I've been trying to have school with him as much as possible while accomplishing tasks at hand.  So, we go on a lot of field trips!

Samuel enjoying a taco on his last day of school

We took a field trip on the train to Chambery last week to the travel clinic.  David and I still needed to get the yellow fever vaccine.  The others got their yellow fever vaccine in the states, but the earliest a person can get the yellow fever vaccine is 9 months old. Thus, David and I (since I'm breastfeeding) had to wait.  Thankfully, David just turned 9 months.  We went on 2 field trips to the pharmacy to pick up medications for a travel medical kit and for malaria.  And we took the bus on another field trip to go shopping for other "necessities" like sandals, bed sheets, and a can opener!

Recess: Bucket of Fun

We are getting rid of all of our winter coats and clothes and most of mine and Liza's pants, since we will be wearing skirts and dresses all the time (outside of the house anyway).  I'm starting to clean the apartment and soon will start to pack everything up.  Today I planned out the rest of our meals here to use up all of our food and will go grocery shopping one last time Wednesday.  Final exams begin Thursday and end next Tuesday.  Please be praying for Micah!  We have learned a lot of French in a little over 6 months and even though we still have a lot to learn, we are looking forward to moving to Dapaong to truly be immersed in West African life, culture, and language.  There, we must use all that we have learned.

Family Picture in Albertville, France

Conflans Medieval City and the Alps in the Background

So what day will we finally make it to Togo?  We move out of our apartment July 28th, pick up Micah's brother, Matt, at the airport in Geneva and spend a week with him in Germany.  Upon returning, Micah and Matt will leave the kids and I in Geneva while they drive back to Albertville to get all of our bags, come back to Geneva and check them into the airport.  The next day we will fly to Lome, Togo.  We will arrive in Lome at 10 that night.  August 6th is the day we finally make it to Togo.  We will spend about 2 weeks in Lome getting our visas, buying a car, and shopping for other needed items like pans, fans & cans of food.