Went to visit a "farm" here in Togo Saturday. And, in true African style, we never really saw a farm, but we did have a very interesting cultural experience!
First we went to the local market, but a lot of the stalls were empty because of rain the night before and there was too much mud and too many puddles for very many vendors to come out. We did find some nice pre-made dresses in the fabric section of the market though. Since there are no changing rooms here, we tried them on over our clothes, with every lady that passed, or stood watching and laughing, giving an opinion.
As we left the market, we ended up getting right in the middle of a protest march/parade - anti-president - and were surrounded by locals dressed in yellow and and waving palm leaves. One guy had even made a giant pair of glasses out of twisted up palm leaves. Got out of that shortly after joining.
some of the demonstrators.
Then we headed off to meet up with Edith's (our guide and translator) friends who owned the farm. After meeting with them, turns out they had arranged for us to meet their village chief. So we stopped off at a compound area and were ushered in to sit on some really nice wooden chairs and couch, with plush cushions under a huge tree in the middle of a dirt clearing. The chief came over and shook our hands and welcomed us to his village. Then a big silver cup of water was passed around to all of us - one at a time - and we each took a sip out of it. After the chief and his entourage had also had some to drink, they told us that if we hadn't drunk out of the cup it would have been a sign that we were bringing war, not coming in peace. He then went on to thank us - on behalf of Mercy Ships - for coming and serving the people of Togo. After a few more pleasantries and being told that we were welcome back anytime and would always have a place to stay with them, we went on our way.
After we drove through a bunch of mud puddles and over a few mounds of sand, around some
fallen trees, we arrived at the 'farm'. We got out of the truck and were ushered to another 'living room' under the trees. This one with leopard print cushions, and then Edith and her friends started bringing out dishes of food. Turns out, she had cooked a huge feast for us, so that we could have some true African food.
It was DE-licious!! Then she sent a couple local guys off to get fresh coconuts for us, but it was taking them a while, so she took us on a walk around the 'farm'. So, originally, this farm had some goats and chickens, but all the goats have died off and the man who owns the chickens wasn't there, but we get to see chickens all the time anyway.
So Edith took us on a trek through the woodsy area around a little man-made pond, and
showed us the local plants, and told us how they were used for medicinal purposes. A very important one, was the quinine tree. The locals would boil the bark in water to make a very bitter drink (quinine) and use it to cure malaria. She also demonstrated some fine skills with a
machete. She let each of us try our hand at machete-ing, we all needed lots more practice!
We kept hearing some pigs grunting nearby, so we asked if we could go see them. Edith
went and talked with the family that owned the pigs, and they said we could come. The pigs were in concrete pens inside a small compound area next to the family's home. In addition to the pigs, there were also rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, goats, and chickens. So we ended up seeing a bit of a farm after all.
pics of me with any of the cutie pie kids I have been taking care of, but here are a few that the communications dept has taken. Our little ortho patients are some of the cutest! They come in all smiles, ready to be everyone's friend! They have loads of fun playing with the toys and just being cute! As I look at their big, beautiful smiles I feel a little bit mean, 'cus I know that 
the next day they're not gonna be quite so happy with their little casted legs. But, not to worry, in about 2-3 days, they are right back to big ol' smiles! So.....we send 'em home.
