What do you dream about when you’re far from home?
After volunteering for two years in Togo, I was ready to come home. Yet as my departure approached, the anxieties set in – with whom would I practice my French? Where would I eat plantains with rice and peanut sauce? Who would express as much excitement about my daily front door exit as the Togolese children?
After volunteering for two years in Togo, I was ready to come home. Yet as my departure approached, the anxieties set in – with whom would I practice my French? Where would I eat plantains with rice and peanut sauce? Who would express as much excitement about my daily front door exit as the Togolese children?
I had no desire to extend my time, but the thought of malls, Fox News and the job search almost made me want to run screaming back to village.
Then I arrived and rediscovered some of the joys that I’ll probably start taking for granted in two months. But for now, I’ll continue reveling in:
1. Cheese
At home, there’s cheese on everything! Cheesy fries, extra cheese on pizza and a Parmesan shaker on the table, cheese fondue, free cheese at art openings, cheese enchiladas – how I missed you, cheese.
And while I’m on the topic of food, let’s talk about fruit. Apples are available for sale in the streets of big West African cities, but one costs the same price as two hard-boiled eggs or four small bags of plantain chips. I’ll sorely miss the mangos and pineapples of West Africa, but try finding fresh berries or peaches at an open-air market in Togo.
2. Seasons
Photo: *micky
Togo’s hot season, rainy season, and the windy season, called harmattan, are not the same as the standard winter, spring, summer, fall cycle. I usually run from cold weather, but now that I’ve experienced heat rash and hot season,
I’m ready to watch the leaves change, snuggle under a down comforter, don a scarf and make a snowman. Or at least watch the snow fall while drinking hot tea inside a heated house.
3. Extended daylight hours
Living near the equator means nightfall comes around 6 PM all year long. Sure, the day isn’t really longer at home, but when the sun sets at 9, it feels like I just got a gift certificate for extra hours. I’ll use my extra hours to go for an after-dinner walk, or read at an outdoor café until I have to start squinting around 8:45.
4. Hot showers
Photo: avancini
After two years of bathing from buckets and cold showers, I get excited every time it’s shower time. In Africa, I planned to save water when I returned by keeping my showers short, but my deep appreciation for hot water constantly flowing from the shower head has made this challenging.
Is there more waste in running the water or turning it on and off between shampooing and conditioning? Until I know for certain, I’ll have to let the hot water run.
5. Flush toilets (with toilet paper!)
Great for running to when the cheese, fresh berries and Wendy’s Frosty with fries give you digestion difficulties. In Togo, you can go just about anywhere if nature’s call is too loud and you’re not shy. If you’re well-prepared, you’ll have remembered to pack your paper handkerchiefs (for sale almost everywhere for about 20 cents).
Not so in the States. I haven’t tried it, but I think dropping my pants in the park or in an alley would get me arrested. But losing the freedom to go outside has been replaced with the knowledge that no matter where I am – on a road trip, in the park, at the store – a toilet is nearby. A flush toilet with toilet paper, a sink and paper towels or a hand drier. But I’ll take my paper handkerchiefs, just in case.
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Mmmm… Kettle chips. I forgot about those. I’ll have to get on that. And yeah, the grass is always greener. Winter’s on the way, as are the obscenely early Christmas decorations, and instead of enjoying it, I kinda want to skip it and spend it on the beach again.
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Flush toilets for sure.
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I hear you about the showers. When I served as a PC in Kenya, I took extra long showers when I had to go to HQ and stay in a hotel. While the bucket bath *worked* in theory, it never failed that I would towel off and discover a huge dirty patch that the water never fully rinsed off.
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Nice! Our HQ only had a cold water shower that we weren’t supposed to use.
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Peanut butter and margaritas.
… but not at the same time.
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I missed margaritas a lot too. And Mexican food, although there were ingredients to make rockin’ salsa and guacamole. But no chips.
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i agree with all of those things linda. my trick in “saving water” is to only shower every 3 or so days. then you can take long ass guilt free showers. yeah! one other thing i missed was just the variety of foods availabe. sushi, italian, indian, raw!, or many grocery stores stocked fully with whatever your heart desires (and sometimes doesn’t) so that you yourself can cook whatever you want in your fully furnished kitchen with appliances (incluing a dishwasher..and i’m not talking about the kids). great article linda! felicitations!
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Every 3 days? We’re not in Togo anymore… although I guess it’s less of an issue since it’s not 90 degrees every day.
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It’s always the food, definitely. I’m a vegan and my partner is lactose intolerant so we’re okay on the cheese front, but oh my god, the BREAD! I miss French bread so hard. The square, prepackaged, sweet thing they call bread makes me weep.
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My bed. I’m a restless sleeper and I’ve purposely sought out the best bed in the entire world, so when I’m away from it, I’m always tired.
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silence. i’m living in a big city for the first time in my life, and the thing i miss most about home is quiet! closely followed by surfing (no waves in copenhagen) and decent thrift stores. and by decent i mean cheap, not a second-hand shop where the clothes are the same price as at H&M (as is the case in copenhagen). and last but definitely not least, mexican food!!!
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Yeah, I missed the good, cheap thrift stores when I lived in Geneva, too. Cheap second-hand clothes in Africa, though – not a problem.
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When I lived in Japan, I missed cheese, drugstores, canned chicken broth, pizza by the slice, and the security of knowing that every public bathroom I entered would have a flushing toilet. Now that I live in Ireland, I still miss pizza by the slice. Come this Thursday, I will be missing turkey. Sigh.
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Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t miss much. And since I’ve lived “overseas” all my life, I might occasionally long for particular things from particular countries, but on the whole, if you don’t know where “home” is you can’t miss things from “home”.
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I’m with you guys on the thrift stores and I also miss spicy food, bagels and decent pickles.
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I missed ice, bagels, and a comfortable bed.
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The variety of food is what gets me.
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Linda knows what it means to adjust to what ever situation she finds her self in.
When she graduated from a private HS she was given 12 awards. In college Linda made a significant contribution to the school paper as well as holding down two or three jobs. Linda is blessed with an American father and a Swiss mother. Speaking different languages is not a problem for Linda. Hiking in the Swiss Alps is a way of life for Linda. Where ever she is Linda adopts to the situation.
Linda entered a Marathron while teaching AIDS in Togo. How do we know these things, we are her grandparents.↵ -
Hehehe… uh… thanks, Grandma and Grandpa (I wish you’d added what you missed in all your travels).
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I miss Reese´s Peanut Butter Cups , Dungeness Crab , Sourdough bread , Dr.Pepper and Root Beer , and Target stores to get cheap everyday stuff.
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While you can get almost anything your heart desires in Panama, it all comes at a price… a hefty price. So while I splurge occasionally, there are still some things that are out of the budget: pickles, reuben sandwiches, and cheesecake!
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