Dearest Gentle Readers,

I am back with another update from Ghana. Well…. partially. This past February I haven’t been in Ghana much. Instead, I travelled to Togo for the mid-term seminar. There I met some other volunteers, all from Germany, that work all over Ghana, Togo and Sierra Leone. Two weeks of reflection, fun and exploring….

On the first day we got to know each other better and enjoyed many fun games. By the time we finished playing, the sun started to rise. We accidentally spent all night getting to know each other ?

We spent the next day talking about our volunteer service, learning about the different cultures in the different countries, and about what new foods we love in our country of service. I am happy to report that all our spice tolerances have gone up! All of us have settled in well and are enjoying our volunteer service very much.

The next day we went to a village close to Kpalime where we went to see some bats. The bats are a holy and protected animal in this village. There is an old story where the bats protected the local villagers from invaders that wanted to kill them and take their lands. Ever since then, the bats have become sacred and protected. It was very nice walking through the forest and seeing the bats hanging from the various trees.

After our forest hike, we went to see the first German settlement in Togo. For this one, we had to walk deeper into the forest and up a hill. This old settlement looks like a big house. Today, it is used as a holy temple where people come to fast and pray. Close to the house, is a German graveyard where the first man who settled in Togo was buried.  

We then went to visit a local family who has been brewing palm-wine, the traditional way, for generations. They told us how they brew the wine and even let us taste some. It had a unique taste.

As you can see, the seminar in Togo was a mix of fun, sightseeing, learning and lack of sleep. I have made a lot of new friends and connections that I hope to keep in the future.

 Yɛbɛhyia bio