down south... way down

American Thanksgiving in Togo…. need I say more? oh yes, yes I do…. but let it be only this…


“This land is your land
This land is my land…
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream Waters….”

I HAD NO IDEA!!!!

I thought the words were

“From Bonn Vista to Vancouver Island
From the Artic Circle to the Great Lake Waters….”

Yes, Southern Baptist (I’m talkin’ Texas Southrin’ Twang and Drawl and pack horses)



The other day I stretched my wings of independence and showed the world just how bad my French REALLY is.
I went into the market on my own.
Now, I think I could have been doing that since the beginning, but it’s just so easy to rely on those around you and not have to think for yourself… Anyway, I’ve got my own “friends” in the market. Those who know that I have no idea about what’s going on, and they don’t make too much fun of me, they appreciate the trying.
There’s MY peanut lady… she roasts peanuts and cashews and candies peanuts…. mmmm (I like her!) ok, my first day in Togo I went to coffee break and looked at the table… and looked again… and looked again… it had a row of wine bottles and gin bottles. Here in Togo they are all recycled to hold nuts! I think when I go home I’ll have to start siphoning my peanuts into bottles… it’s so satisfying shaking a handful out! Try it out.
I’ve got MY own apple lady now (I just got her that day… or rather she got me! She saw me walking towards the market and she came running over and told me she had something to show me…) EVERYONE has the same stuff in the market, but you don’t really want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so you sort of spread your shopping around… It’s really about who’s friend you are… not about weather or not they have what you need, because if you need it and they don’t have it, they’ll find it for you and be sure to have it the next time you’re there…
I’ve got MY own Vegetable lady.. and she knows what veggies I like, so she starts piling them up before I say anything. Then there’s the fruit stand lady and her trainees… she runs the show, and sends them scurrying around. She has the best mangos and pineapples… and she has eggs too… and I’m usually convinced to buy two or three other things that I didn’t need there… the part that I love the best is that then they carry everything for you to your car… on their heads while dodging the motos (motorcycles/mopeds) and cars and pedestrians… I love it.
So I went to the market with a small list of what I needed to buy… I came back with three times what I needed… I was having too much fun.