"I Carried a Chicken"

This line kept going through my head as I made my way back to my house after purchasing 3 chickens for our Christmas dinner. As I hauled my live chicken by its feet through a field, I kept repeating the line, in the manner of Baby in Dirty Dancing: "I carried a watermelon." There are infinitesimal moments that pass everyday, when I am simply living my life, I just happen to be doing it in a West African village. Then there are the times when I strike up a conversation in my Ewe-smattered French, or I squeeze in next to a goat in a bush taxi, or I find myself walking through a field holding a strangely resigned chicken by its feet. Sometimes Africa still feels like a dream. Granted, a dirty, smelly, colorful, difficult, enlightening, educational dream, but a dream nonetheless. I look around every once in awhile and think "how the HELL did I get here?!"

By the same token, I also realize how much I've adapted. Riding in a bush taxi to Lome the other day, I remembered writing in my journal my first day. Things like "I saw my first woman with a baby on her back!" or "ohmigod, that guy has a sewing machine on his head!" I've since realized all you really need to raise a baby is a pagne and you can carry anything on your head (or on a moto, for that matter). As I thought about this, I watched children pass by barefoot and naked, goats wandering the streets and women calling to each other as we drove by. I realized that these sorts of things make up those infinitesimal moments when I'm "just living" my life. They seem ordinary...when did that happen?

Enough of my ruminations. The reason I was buying chickens in the first place was because I hosted 13 volunteers and friends for Christmas. It has been a hard time for many of us, and I think being together is important. Our of sheer boredom I have turned into quite the Holly Hostess, a Martha Stewart on crack, you might say. When all you have in Togo is construction paper and time, it's amazing how many snowmen and snowflakes you can create. I gave up only when I got a blister from my scissors. You may think I'm kidding. I'm not. Christmas went really well. A few people showed up a day early to bake Christmas cookies and decorate the house. People really went all out and it was really nice. We had a big dinner Christmas Eve and then Christmas morning we all opened presents from our Secret Santas. Gifts ranged from a teeny-tiny Titanic tank top (incredible) to Jesus pagne. It was a hard day but we had a good time. Thank you to everyone who sent me packages, it was wonderful to get them and all your holiday wishes.

The day after Christmas, I went with Ashley and her three friends from the States to Anecho, where I held a monkey. I'm not going to lie, it was one of the cooler experiences I've ever had. Her name was Rosaline, and she was really sweet and loved the attention. Pictures below. Happy New Year everyone!








Jesus pagne


Teeny Tiny Titanic Tank Top



"Would you like to touch my monkey?"

My Birthday

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes! I truly had a great day here in Vogan. My neighbors prepared dinner for me and threw me a small party, and it was a good time. I'll write more about the day later, but here are some pictures. Happy Thanksgiving to all!


My dance partner, Mick


Mawusi loves Sodabe, the local moonshine



Preparing dinner

Georgette, my French tutor

My girls and me

Random Stuff...

I've settled down at post and the day to day stuff has become more comfortable. A few interesting things have happened since my last post. I've also made my pictures smaller so I can upload more of them. These first few pictures were taken in Anecho, a town right near the Benin border on the coast, about an hour from Vogan. David and I went out with some friends from Vogan and ended up having lunch with 3 Togolese priests, who then gave us a walking tour of their village, which was really nice. We ended up having a really great day (and David got drunkity drunk on the local moonshine). I love getting out of Vogan and having these random experiences.

I've been going out with my Togolese counterpart, Michel, to some of the small villages around Vogan. We've been visiting middle schools and in general I've just been getting to know the area. I'm going to be starting a Life Skills class at one of the middle schools, so we're trying to pick which one. Below is a picture of a calabash tree. It looks like fruit on steroids. Each one is much bigger than my hand.

I've also met an artist, Joseph, who lives in Vogan. He sells some paintings to the US and I've really enjoyed going over to his compound and hanging out while he works. He lived in Nigeria and received most of his training there so he speaks English really well. Below is a painting he gave me (!) and he has more for sale (and I have more photos) if you are interested. Just let me know.

I recently got running water which is, by far, the most exciting thing that's happened to me. I can now take (cold) showers and most importantly, do the dishes with running water. Bucket baths have never bothered me, but washing dishes in buckets kinda sucks. My landlady's father died, so she held his funeral at our house. Now, funerals here in Togo tend to be a full-blown 2 day all night party. The funeral service is thrown in there as well, but huge speakers are rented and music plays all night while the body arrives at the house at about 4am. There's dancing and singing and cooking, and in this case, 6 bulls were slaughtered outside my front door. Below is one of them. He kept looking at me accusingly.

On the upside, I was invited to the funeral lunch, which was amazing. There were even grapes and watermelon, two things really hard to find in Togo. There was also a great performance of traditional Togolese dance.

No expense was spared, and my landlady has a LOT of money. I ended up talking and hanging out with her daughter, who just graduated from the Montgomery College in the States. It was great to be hanging out with Togolese people and speaking a weird mixture of Franglais and Ewe. We had a really good time. But I haven't had a good night's sleep in about a week, owing to the funeral, and this little guy below:

This is my new puppy, Mick. I inherited him from another volunteer, and he's just about the sweetest dog in the world. The kittens have gone to their rightful home (I was just taking care of them) so now it's just me, Mick, and Azi, my tripod cat. Mick sleeps all day and is extremely chill till I turn the lights out. Then he proceeds to bark at everything. So I REALLY REALLY need a good night's sleep. All of the region's volunteers are coming to my house for a party (to welcome our new volunteers to post) on Friday night, so I'm not going to get much rest. I think that's about it for now. I'm doing some quick shopping and banking here in Lome and then heading back to post. I've found now that I'm comfortable in Vogan, I don't really enjoy how expensive and crowded Lome is. I'm lucky enough to find pretty much everything I need at post, so the only real reason to come here is internet and the bank. I miss you all and thanks for all the continued letters, packages, emails, etc. They're really appreciated!

My next door neighbors. They brighten my day and make me laugh :)

Off and Running

Orange Season in Vogan!

This week has been quite the rollercoaster, in a good way. Martha moved out, which was sad and surreal (I can't believe that will be me in 2 years!) However, I feel like I'm finally starting to get my feet under me. I was actually busy (aka had at least 1 thing to do each day) and I find that really helps me. A few interesting experiences:

Michel took me to his church service on Sunday. One might imagine, as I did, a service full of energetic music and vibrant colors. One would be wrong. Michel had mentioned that there would be a minister from Nigeria who would be preaching in English. Turns out my French isn't as good as I though. The minister from Nigeria was actually a TV with a VERY bad sound system and a man yelling Ewe over it with a microphone. In order for me to hear the English, the church members promptly kicked people out of the front row for me to sit. This was a nice gesture, but I couldn't understand a word. Then they decided it would be best to give me headphones. So there I was, the yovo in the front row, wearing headphones, a cord reaching over the laps of my Togolese neighbors. The service ended up being an hour and a half message from God (aka scripture study), another half hour "a pieds" (standing and swaying and praying) and then announcements (in Ewe) and a durge-like song from the choir. I was quite out of place and uncomfortable, but how many people can say they've been to a West African Pentacostal church service?

The day Martha left, I attended a festival with David and some Togolese friends. It was labeled "La prix d'independence" but David and I realized it was kind of like the Togolese Grammy Awards (music, not old women like my mom thought). There were groups set up all around the perimeter, dancing and drumming. I truly believe there's nothing more energizing in this world than West African drumming. My face hurt from smiling so much. I was then given a plate of food with very little that I could identify. However, I polished off the best chicken I've had in Togo. When I remarked about it, my friend informed me that it was not, in fact, chicken. There was then a loooooong awards ceremony under a brilliant African sun, but I had an adorable 4 year old boy napping on my lap, so who can complain??

Finally, I started with my young women's group. I was told in stage that drawing women out of their shells to talk about their problems would be difficult. Not the case with these women. Michel had to translate from the Ewe, so it was slow going, but I had a group with some dynamic women. They were open and honest about the prevelence of "patrons" (basically sugar daddies) and the necessity of having one, sometimes just to get money to eat. They discussed the dangers of HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy. It was a great conversation, although I admit the problems are daunting. And I'm realizing more everyday that many, if not all health problems are a direct result of poverty. So how can I help break the cycle?

Despite the looming questions, I am beginning to feel more at home as I make friends and find things to do. Vogan is alive with campainging as parliementary elections are to take place ina couple weeks. It's really interesting to see. As a security precaution, I will be staying in Vogan the next few weeks, so texting is the only way I'll hear from you. Feel free to do so....just remember the time difference! As it begins to get chilly for all of you, the cool rainy season is ending here. It's averaging 85 degrees inside with the fan on and raining only once a week!

Interesting Happenings in Vogan...

A few days ago, a couple Togolese friends of mine stopped by the house. They asked if we had heard what happened in the fields of a village 10k from Vogan. It turns out that 6 people had been killed and their heads had been taken. After speaking to a few others, it seems that the heads fetch a good price on the gris-gris (sorcery) market throughout much of West Africa. A few days later, Martha and I got a call from our director, who reported that apparently it had happened throughout the Maritime region, with the people taking heads, necks, and draining blood. I must admit, the strangest text I have ever, or will ever receive came from David that night: "Just talked to Brownie. She told us to stay in Vogan because blood and body parts are in high demand." Huh. Interesting.

The incidents all happened far outside of the big towns, to people headed out to the fields, so I have NOTHING to worry about in Vogan. I am in Lome now to check out the new trainees, but I'm perfectly safe. I just don't go out after dark. The Togolese are scared, as is evident when the streets empty out early and market days like Tabligbo's (a neighboring town) are not as busy as they should be. Obviously gris-gris stuff like this is NOT something that most people take part in, although the presence of gris-gris and its power is something taken very seriously by many Togolese. This is not a normal occurrence and many believe it was a foreigner. All I know is it has caused for a dramatic week in village, and I'll be happy when things return to normal and I can stop worrying for my Togolese friends.

In other news...Martha has bought 2 kittens for our homologue as a going away gift. We have saved them from certain death after buying them from the Vogan market, and they are the most adorable morsels ever.

Each fits perfectly into my palm and just watching them is endlessly entertaining.

Village continues to be an adjustment and will be even more so when Martha leaves in a week. Then I'll truly be starting my independent service. Due to the awful flooding up North and throughout Africa, they have pushed back the start of school. Over 200,000 people in Northern Ghana alone have been displaced, and Togo was hit really hard as well. What this means for me is that it will be another month before I can really start my health club in the middle schools. I am hoping in the interim to start a young women's group, to talk about the issues that they face, make a couple friends, and get to know some more people in village.

Thank you to everyone who has been sending emails, letters and packages. I have good days and bad and sometimes the homesickness just creeps up out of the blue and hits me like a punch to the gut. But I'm hanging in there and slowly starting to build a life here. I'm inheriting a dog within the next month, Mick (as in Jagger). So that should help with the loneliness. I'm in Lome scoping out the newest batch of trainees...it's nice not to be the newbies anymore!

More new pictures!

Two days at post and I was bored. So I came back to Lome and now there are new pictures on Flickr. Enjoy!

Swearing In

I am writing this a few days after swearing in, because this is the first moment of peace I've gotten since I came to Lome. The volunteers know how to have fun and I am exhausted. Good thing I'll have 2 years at post to catch up on sleep.

Our swearing in ceremony (see new pictures!) was really nice. It was held at our PC director's house and a lot of host families, embassy staff and Togo TV were there. I have no been seen by fives of tens of people on national Togolese television! There was a speech by our Country Director, then one by our training manager, "Queen" Blandine, the most assertive, toughest Togolese woman I've met so far. We each had to give a short speech in whatever local language our village speaks, so I had to speak Ewe in front of everyone, which was actually kind of nervewracking, surprisingly enough (I wrote mine on my hand, see below). We took our oath, given by the ambassador, and then we were done. All in all, a pretty short and sweet ceremony. We all were wearing clothes made from pagne, the fabric that everyone buys here and gets tailored. There is very little "pret-a-porter" clothing here. So we look pretty fashionable and colorful, as you can see in the pictures. My complet (outfit) was given to me by my host Mama, who did a great job picking it out for me.

After swear in, we partied. And I mean partied. We headed to a popular yovo bar for a little while, then headed to a dance club where about 30 of us took over the dance floor. We met more people from the embassy (aka Marines) and I was amazed to realize they're not allowed to leave Lome. What a different experience from the PCVs. But I wouldn't mind giong to a few embassy parties....

Lome has been quite the culture shock for me. After 3 months in a tiny village, the Western conveniences of Lome really threw me for a loop. There are lots of expats living lives here with a lot of the same comforts of home. We even got a ride in some guy's Lexus yesterday...complete with ipod dock. We have running water at our hotel and real butter with our bread, which is utterly fantastic. The last time we stayed here was on our way from America, and I remember not really liking the food. Now I'm eating my face off at every opportunity. I had 3 full plates of macaroni and cheese the other night. I've lost 10 pounds in country, but I think I've gained at least 5 back in the last 4 days.

There are also supermarches here. I walked into one and my jaw dropped. I had to stop myself from buying a 9 dollar box of Special K (Kate, I thought of Kim, let her know!). I was so excited. After shopping in a bustling outdoor market made up solely of tomatoes, onions and dried fish for 3 months, seeing cheese was incredible. I bought a big block of cheddar and shamelessly gnawed on it as soon as I got out on the street.

Now it's our last day together as a stage. Tomorrow we all head to post. I'm not nervous, I think mostly because I love my house and I know David and Martha will be there. But I will miss the comforts of Lome and my friends from stage. It's amazing how quickly we adapt to our surroundings. I adapted well to Agou-Nyogbo when we were in training, and I fell right back into a more Western culture in Lome. I think Vogan will be a mix of the two. I am really looking forward to getting there and destressing. I feel like I could sleep for 3 days straight.

My Ewe speech

Ashley and me hitting the kegVogan, prefecture VO. Represent.
Look! There are BOYS in our stage!Partying it up

Stage

As I sit down to write a blog post, I find it very difficult because I don't know where to begin. How can I possibly start to describe the differences in culture, environment, everyday life? I think this is, besides having spotty internet, the reason I haven't blogged much.
I am coming up on my last week of training before I swear in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have been here for 2 months. Sometimes it seems like it has flown by, other times it feels like an eternity. I think about the last time I took a hot shower (in DC) and it feels like a year ago. But I also remember looking at the training schedule and crying, thinking there was no way I could survive 11 weeks, let alone 2 years. But here I am. We lost two girls along the way, but the remaining 13 of us are pretty proud, as we should be. Training has been a whole lot of sitting and listening to lectures (sometimes interesting, usually not), living with a host family, eating unknown food, crapping our pants (not me, thankfully), being eaten by mosquitos (at one point, I had 62 bites below my knees. Take a moment to imagine that), learning French AND the local language, and living in close quarters with 12 other stressed, emotionally charged women. All in all, it's been a challenging 2 months. I will be extremely sad to say goodbye to my host family, especially my mom and my little brother, but I am excited to get to Vogan and begin my work.
What is my work? you ask. Fabulous question. I don't really know in what capacity I will be of use yet. I will be working with a small NGO called CASIEJ, an organization dedicated to educating youth about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases. Michel, my Togolese counterpart, seems motivated and interesting. He has worked with PCVs before (I am a replacement) and seems really excited to have me.
As you can see from my pictures, my house.is.amazing. I live on the 2nd floor (2 story houses are a rarity here) with a white-tiled terrace that's as big as the rest of my apartment put together. Vogan is a town of about 9,000 people. It has a huge market on Fridays but is small enough the rest of the time to be managable. David, a small enterprise development volunteer, will be placed there as well, so collaboration on projects (and movie nights!) is a possibility.
I have dealth with more homesickness here than I ever could have expected. In addition to wicked culture shock, it's hard to realize that, although I know I am loved and missed at home, I am on my own. I had to do the same in Italy, but it was not compounded with culture shock the way it is here. As a white person in West Africa, it is ALWAYS apparent that I am a foreigner. Things in the culture continue to surprise me every day, and we volunteers are grappling with all this without the constant reassurance of our support system, our safety nets. Which can be pretty scary. But then something will happen, like I'll notice the clouds rolling in over Mt Agou, or a singing, drumming, colorful funeral procession will march by. Then I'm reminded that even though sometimes I feel like I'm falling, I'm having quite the adventure.
So I guess that's training. Thanks so much to those of you that have sent letters. Although emails are deeply appreciated, mail day is by far the highlight of our weeks here. Keep it coming. I miss you all!

A Glimpse into my day

(Written on July 8 but not posted until July 30)

I thought I'd give you some idea of what a day is like here in my village, although that will be changing soon when I am sworn in and begin working in Vogan.

Today is Sunday and I had a really good day. I slept in until 7(!), which is about two hours longer than normal. My rooster was kind and didn't start squawking until about 7:30. I rallied and took my bucket bath cold (after 6:30 in the morning my mom seems to boycott heating the water for me). It's been downright chilly here lately (like, in the 60's), which makes for pleasant sleeping but not so pleasant for bucket bathing.

I had Quaker Oats for breakfast. What's funny about the oatmeal is that they actually call it "Quaker Oats." However, in the back woods of African, the French has morphed "Quaker Oats" into sounding like "Cacaway." Since "Caca" means "poop" in French, it took me a little while to catch on the first time my mom asked me if I wanted any! So, I ate my Cacaway and then played out in the compound with Jonas, my little brother. (See Pictures)

I have other siblings beside Jonas (6 in total), but I have a harder time playing with the older kids. Once out of the toddler stage here, kids begin to work. They are fascinated by me, but their laughter and amusement doesn't come as naturally as it does to Jonas. He's still a baby (1 1/2) and therefore doesn't yet have the gravitas that the others seem to. It's also hard, since I don't speak Ewe and the kids who haven't started school don't know French. My little 7 year old sister Patricia helped me do my laundry today. She's so much better at it than I am! I felt bad that she was helping, but all I could say was "thank you" over and over again, because that's the extent of my Ewe. Jonas, however, lights up my day. When I come home from school he runs as fast as he can to give me a hug. I've taught him "dancer" in French and then we dance. He actually knows the word now, so when I say it he starts jumping around. He's been a savior to my mood many times.

So, back to my day. I brought out my sheets to be washed and I was completely helpless. I've gotten okay at washing clothes, although all four of my knuckles on one hand bleed every time. But I was at a loss on how to do my sheets, so my mom basically did them for me. Here's how washing goes:

• Two buckets, one cleaning, one rinsing
• Place clothes in first and cover with water
• Scrub the crap out of each piece with a technique I've yet to figure out without making myself bleed.
• Empty water, refill bucket, start all over
• After second washing, repeat if desired. (The second washing is NOT optional)
• Rinse by basically washing everything, just without soap
• Empty water, rinse again
• Ring the crap out of clothes
• Slap and snap clothes and place on line
• Remove one-half hour later when it starts to pour

This is why basically nothing I own fits anymore. What I wouldn't give for a dryer. Oh, and also I've lost a good 5 pounds or so, so that doesn't help.

I've been really adventurous about food (for me, anyway) and tried foufou for the first time today. I do NOT understand the appeal. Basically, one boils the yams until soft, then you just pound it in this huge mortar and pestle until it reaches the desired gooey, gummy consistency. I ate with my hands for the first time today (not my left), but mostly 'cause there's no other way to eat it. Luckily, my mom makes an awesome peanut sauce with tofu, so I was okay. I'll keep trying to like it, but I'm not making any promises.

I hope this gives you some insight into my daily life here. Please keep your cards and letters coming. Getting mail is very exciting!

Pictures!

Pictures, pictures, finally pictures! Click on my link at right to access the few I've had time to upload. The internet in Togo is not the best, in case you haven't noticed. Spent the week at my site, Vogan, and as you will see, my house is amazing. I can't wait for the last 3 weeks of training to be over so I can head out to post. I love and miss you all!

Im' sitting in an internet cafe in Kpalime, the closest big town to our village, and half our group is in tears cause we're all talking to home for the first time in a week. It has been pretty difficult, but on the upside I walk to my training in the morning and realize that Im going to lessons in a village in Africa, which is pretty damn cool. We're in the foothills of the largest mountain in Togo, Mt Agou, which makes for a pretty paradise-like area, if it werent for the malarial mosquitos, the latrine (read: a hole in the ground with a box on top), the huge spiders, the amoebas and the parasites...
My host family is really nice. I have a little buliding in the compound to myself. Families here are large and live in buildings surrounding a central courtyard. So my family lives around the courtyard. I have a mom, a dad, 4 siblings, and then another couple who have 2 kids. At any one time there are about 10 kids running around my compond chasing after me and yelling "yovo!" (which means white person) and waving at me. Sometimes they are the only things that make my day a little better. I'm learning french really quickly, which is good. I like the language and I'm actually learning a little Ewe as well, the local language.
My host family is nice and cooks good stuff that I can eat, and theres a light in my latrine, which is REALLY exciting because it means no cockroaches so far!!!! We have no cell reception and no internet in my village but today was our afternoon off so we all came to Kpalime (the largest close town) to get calls from home. We're all a mess now cause we talked to parents, etc. which is really hard when you're homesick. My village is small but I have electricity in my rooms (very exciting). Since we cant drink the water here,everything seems to revolve around getting water, filtering water, brushing teeth with filtered water, staying hydrated....Ive never thought about water so much in my life. Im exhausted partly because Im trying to stay healthy, partly cause Im physically tired, but mostly cause I'm emotionally and mentally exhausted. I have to speak french with my host family, and I'm learning phrases in the local language, Ewe, at the same time.

Here and safe!

I'll write more as soon as I can!

15 Days Togo....(that never gets old)

With 15 days and counting, I have officially ended my Goodbye Tour and am at home in Philly, waiting for two highly anticipated guests. I am learning how to put my tent together (I don't DO camping) and I stand back, amazed, at how much gear I have. I wanted to let you all know that the Peace Corps has informed us that we will be spending our 11 weeks of training in homestays in a village outside of Kpalimé (we're not supposed to say exactly where for security reasons. I feel so important). If you look at a map, Kpalimé is north of Lomé on the border with Ghana. Apparently it's in the "beautiful green and mountainous Plateau Region" of Togo. I will be attending training sessions in "Language, Cross Culture, Technical, Personal Health and Safety, and Bicycle Riding and Maintenance in various places (e.g. under a tree, in a school classroom or in one of your homes)." Bicycle riding under a tree. This is my job, how cool is that?

Who Says Saying Goodbye Can't Be Fun?

Thanks to my dear friend Kate, I had a fabulous going away party last night. As you can see from the pictures, I think everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone who came. It was really important to me to have everyone together, and I really had an amazing time. I love you all!

Gettin' To Be About That Time...

A crappy week last week convinced me that I was ready to leave Boston. A great week this week has me torn in half. As the weather gets nicer, Boston comes alive. There's softball and Frisbee and whiffle ball in the park across from our apartment. My room is sunny. My cat is happy in the open window. I have a slight sunburn from lying out in the park with some great roommates. It's hard to imagine leaving it all behind. I'm in the middle of packing up my office since Friday is my last day at the Joslin. Saturday is my going away party, and the realization that I'm leaving has hit me like a Mac truck. Friday I'll say goodbye to coworkers who have become friends over the last two years. I know I've made the right decision. I am excited, nervous, scared, happy...but above all I know I'm doing the right thing, despite the moments when it's hard to breathe. Today it's a little harder to breathe.

Assignment

I thought you all might like to know what I'm supposed to be doing in Togo. Below is my assignment as the PC describes it. I've heard from many PCV and RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) that the original description doesn't necessarily match what you actually do. But this will give everyone a little more of an idea. This material is all property of the Peace Corps.
Program: Community Health Expansion and AIDS Prevention (CHAP)
Job Title: Heath and AIDS Prevention Extension Agent (imagine that)
Primary Duties:

• Heath services management improvement
• Community health promotion
• Health education
• Youth education on population issues and HIV/AIDS/STI prevention
• Community development

Here's an idea about where I will probably be living:

• Based in a village or small town. Villages general range from 500-3,000 people and are often only accessible by dirt road. There will most likely be a small clinic and perhaps a primary school

Cool, huh? There is a lot more information that goes into greater depth, so if you want to know more, just ask. I'm going to add some links for people who want to read more about Togo and/or the PC.

10 Weeks from Today

I board my plane to Togo. I found someone to sublet my apartment, I handed in my letter of resignation. I guess this means I actually have to go! I will be moving out of my apartment and away from Boston in 5 weeks, and I leave work in 4. I see this as sort of a test entry since nothing too exciting is happening now, but I'm new to the blogging world and am stressing about how to compose this stuff. I need to start working on my witty observations about the world around me. More to come as I begin to pack and do all of that fancy stuff. I'm hoping to have a little get together in Boston the weekend of the 28th for my friends here. And the goodbyes begin...