Three Years in Togo: Another Reflection
June 12th marks three years in Togo. It feels as if no time has passed, and yet, somehow, I have lived an entire lifetime in Togo. Someone recently asked me what are some of the greatest challenges that I have faced during my time living and working in Togo. I smiled as I thought back to my initial worries and challenges: learning new languages, managing the heat and spicy new foods, fighting off cockroaches in my latrine, learning how to negotiate a price at the market, hailing a taxi flying down the highway, and the list goes on and on. I think about how as time went on and I began to figure out how to navigate my life in Togo, the challenges I faced didn't disappear, but they certainly evolved. Soon I upgraded to learning how to set boundaries, managing new work and friend relationships, reserving time for myself, and exploring different regions of the country. It felt as though I was evolving rapidly and constantly leveling up. Each level getting more advanced with more ...