Togo!

I meant to come to Togo on Sunday, but there were no coach buses running to Togo on Sunday, so I arrived here yesterday (Monday) but not on the bus as planned (when the bus schedule says that the bus leaves at 5:30 am, 8:30 am, and 2:30 pm, apparently that really means that the bus only leaves once at 6:30 am) but on a shared taxi instead. After 3.5 hrs, I made it to the Togo border from Accra and went through some surely unnecessary hassle crossing the border on foot where I was escorted all over the place in this tiny square, filling out forms, going into this room, showing my suitcase, and of course shelling out some money here and there at different "check points" which I'm pretty sure is not legit.
Tom, who also works for the Clinton Foundation in Togo, met me on the other side and we went into Lome (the capital) which is just 2 km from the border (Togo itself only has 52 km of coastline). I feel a little guilty to say that our apartment here is quite luxurious - AC in the bedrooms, warm showers, internet, and a washing machine!
My French is coming back in pieces, and on top of that I have a lot to learn, now that this will be a whole different type of work. I'll be following Tom around a bit and meeting different people here in Lome before i get started on any projects.
Everybody who has been to Togo seems to really like it, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the country better. It is definitely nice to settle and unpack the suitcase. Food is good so far!

:)