Hi everyone! How are you doing? Hope that life is treating you well in America. Sorry I haven’t given you any substantive updates in a while; the past few months have been a whirlwind. It all passed in such a … Continue reading →

Girlhood in Togo is, in a word, difficult. Girls have so many odds stacked against them that it’s hard to know which trial is most pressing: they are obliged to spend hours doing thankless housework; they are discriminated against in … Continue reading →

One morning in late July, I went with my friend Mamanaa to help weed her rice field. Rainy season was in full swing, the dampened soil wooing farmers au champ each morning. The lazy days of hot season had given … Continue reading →

DISCLAIMER: One of my solitary hobbies is writing letters to authors who have moved me, engaging in a one-sided dialogue about what they mean to my Peace Corps life. This is the first of those letters that I’ve felt compelled … Continue reading →

Abby! I can't believe we're on the internet at the same time! I'm in Accra, and I'm assuming you're in New Haven :) Thanks for the kind comment, lady. I sent you a letter a couple weeks ago, so you should get it soon! xoxxxxoooooo, Heidi

Heidi, this is beautiful. I miss you a lot and am glad to hear such an illustrious tale of your time there. Congratulations on making it through a whole year. Hope to hear from you again soon!! xoxoxo, Abby

Heidi, what a magnificent writer you are! I would treasure a book of all your articles and I'm sure Prof. Peskin would also.

Dragonflies sleep in trees. I learned this early on in my experiment in village living. Walking to my latrine one evening, I spot a cluster of them perched on the tendrils of moringa that hang over my shower wall. They … Continue reading →

Hi Myra! That soungs like so much fun haha. Oh the joys of awkward attempts at sports. I just started the book, I'm really excited about it! It's good so far. I've been reading a lot of good things lately -- have you read The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner? I feel like you would really enjoy it. As for trashy magazines... haha I wouldn't waste that money on them either! For future reference if you ever need to send stuff abroad, the USPS International Flat Rate Box saves you a lot of money of shipping. Also, the other day I just reread the card you sent me and it completely made my day. Your kind words are always so soothing. You are amazing and I'm so happy to have you in my life! Love, Heidi

PS: I wish I had a Pocket Version of you that could make wise comments to me throughout my absurd days :) Miss you!

Scott! Yeah, improved cookstoves are another activity of mine that I forgot to mention :) They are really fun to make (yay playing with mud!) and the women seem to really enjoy them. It's cool how they're just an adaptation/cheap upgrade to what they already do -- no epic change required!

I'm so glad you were able to keep busy! A lot of your activities sound pretty interesting - I'm incredibly jealous! The idea of a Shea Butter Conference is astounding to me, by the way. Also - Rotary International is fantastic, I'm sorry to hear the solar oven project is running into barriers. Not sure if you're in any place to make suggestions, but they might want to look into fuel-efficient stoves like the ones International Lifeline Fund uses - they are built to use minimal fuel and they heat up really fast, which solves the same time management/deforestation/fuel-cost problems as solar ovens.

Way to go Heidi; wish I had been there to cheer you on. Iwas playing indoor socceer but had to give it up due to my own eager spacsticity; and fear of killing myself since I crash and fall down so much. Just lucky we have such great personalities.Right. Did you read the book I sent you? Sorry ,I had a whole bunch of People etc packed but I could not get myself to pay another $40 for trash magazlnes. Hope you are well. You are amazing. Love, Myra

I can totally relate to this post. Uganda was pretty much wandering, cooking, reading, and chatting. I wish I had geckos to talk with! I hope life is treating you well :)

You write so beautifully Heidi, these posts are great! A package will be sent to you this week from Reno! So happy that both you and Brynna are now experts at poultry vaccination! Love you- Karen

In what is at most a brave display of my village’s progressive commitment to gender equity – and at least a fun excuse for the women to do something other than cook, clean, and fetch water – the ladies in … Continue reading →

Written April 10 Alas, my first ever business trip to Ghana (conference-expat-heaven) has come to an end. We have been cruising along back to Togo for quite some time when I lock eyes with my friend Whitney. She motions for … Continue reading →

Hey everyone. Just when you (and I) thought I was a lazy disgrace to Peace Corps, bumming around Togo on the taxpayer’s dollar, a funny thing happened: I started doing stuff. My Peace Corps philosophy is to wait for community-initiated … Continue reading →

I stumbled upon the essay below while writing my thesis last year, and now seems like a good time to share it with you. After all, the process Wainaina documents with such brilliance and fury is not just How to … Continue reading →

Written April 30 “Et le chaleur?” a smarmy neighbor asks me. And the heat? My immediate reaction is to get ticked off, defensive. “In America, I lived in the real desert,” I tell them, contrasting a mental snapshot of Arizona … Continue reading →

We Peace Corps Volunteers, like all people thrown en masse into a situation with no set instructions, compare ourselves to one another like it’s our job. It’s like high school: you are surrounded by the same small group of people, … Continue reading →

Greetings from Togo! Wow, I’m truly sorry it’s been so long – so long, in fact, that I actually forgot my blog username and password haha. So… How are you?! Wherever you are in life, I hope you are well … Continue reading →

Written on: le 15 Fevrier 2011 So there’s something you need to understand about village life. We may not have a lot of water, vegetables, or things to do, but we have A LOT of time. And not just any … Continue reading →

Written on: le 6 Fevrier 2011 Mamanaa is beautiful. Not immediately, not loudly. But the more time I spend with her the more I notice her skin, stretched out taut over his bones like a ripe eggplant; her eyes, glossy … Continue reading →

Written on: le 23 Janvier 2011 It is Sunday morning and most of my neighbors are going to mass. I am blessed (haha, I couldn’t help myself) to live adjacent to the Catholic mission in my village, and right now … Continue reading →

Written on: le 2 Janvier 2011 They say every story has a moral. I’m not so sure about this one, but here goes. New Years morning in Togo is like Halloween night in America: the kids all go door to … Continue reading →

Written on: le 28 Septembre 2010 I have just taken the second-best shower of my life. Yesterday was the best shower, but I won’t bother you with that story. Abbreviated version: I was so hot that I was angry (like, … Continue reading →

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 “I love airports!” squeals my friend Angela as we slide onto the DIA exit ramp, signs for terminals and wait areas popping up beyond the dash. Airports… the word association frenzy begins in my head. Airports. … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, when my Peace Corps future was still up in the air, I randomly stumbled upon a copy of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, children’s book creator extraordinaire — at Blockbuster, of all places! That lovely … Continue reading →