An American in Togo

Sure it involves being called "Yovo" everywhere you go and missing peanut m&ms and fast internet, but as an American in Togo, I've run into more complicated challenges as well. Now into my 5th month in Togo, I've become fairly familiar with the various differences between the Togolese and Americans on a cultural level. To name a few:

-Child punishment: There's a phrase that's used here, "En Afrique, il faut le baton". It basically means that there is no effective alternative to teaching (a child) a lesson than through beating with a stick, and the Togolese often say it in response to Americans' horrified faces after witnessing such a scene, as if their speaking of it as a generalization will make us feel any better about it. But the truth is, the average American will disagree with beating a child as punishment (and when I say beating, I mean really beating) no matter what the argument. I still can't watch whenever it happens. But the Togolese don't understand how our methods could be effective at all.

-Teaching system: In school, a teacher will stand at the front of the class with a lesson written on the blackboard. He will go orally go through everything written, perhaps adding a few statements, but usually the students are too busy to pick up on any extra information because in the meantime they are frantically trying to write down everything in their notebooks word for word from the blackboard before the teacher erases everything and fills it up again with new information. The right answers on the test are the word-for-word responses that came from what was on the blackboard. An American would argue: is that learning, or is it just memorization?

-Interruption and Privacy: In Togo, it is not uncommon for a friend to just walk in in the middle of a doctor's appointment and start chatting about daily affairs with the nurse, or even just sit in on the appointment and wait until the nurse is finished diagnosing the sick patient. Health professionals or administrators or teachers will stop mid-sentence in front of a room full of people to answer a telephone call that might last 5 minutes (which is a long time). At a bank, people will stand right next to you as you request money from the teller and count your money, or, if they are a friend of the teller, you might get cut in line, even if you've already been standing there for an hour. All things that are incredibly frustrating and invasive for Americans, but the Togolese will rarely complain about it.

I think as Americans, we come in thinking we've got it all 'right'. But what happens when you try to do something differently? For example, I came in thinking, "Ok, I disagree with the Togolese teaching system, so I'll just teach my own way - the American way". Reaction? Blank faces; the kids don't have a clue what you're doing, or how to respond to your method. Try punishing a Togolese kid with reason or logic; I've run into the strongest stubbornness I've ever encountered in my life. The fear arrives in their eyes and the obedience comes only when someone starts waving a tree branch. I've learned quickly that it's not easy to just transfer American methods and ideas and havie them succeed here. It's not that simple, which means that our way is not a universally adaptable way - which is humbling to realize. What's also humbling is being caught up in thinking, for example, "the way they can treat their children is so wrong", but then realizing that I have never seen children as caring, devoted and obedient to their parents in America as they are here; they obviously do something 'right', and if anything, 'better' than Americans do.

In one of my recent experiences at a bank here in Togo, the teller had just given me my money, and a guy walked in, waiting to be served after me, and he came up to the counter and propped his head on his hands and just watched me count my money. After a few seconds of growing exponentially disturbed and feeling like my money was being coveted and thinking, 'great - this isn't doing anything to fight the stereotype that Americans are rolling in dough', I turned to him and asked, "I'm sorry, do you mind giving me some space?". He seemed very confused as to why I was so irritated. Only 2 minutes later, he pulled out almost triple the amount of money I'd taken out to make a deposit, completely unbothered by the fact that I hadn't completely moved aside. Something about that whole situation later struck me as amusing and ironic. As an American, I value the respect of privacy. And when I feel like my privacy has been violated, my thoughts immediately move to an awareness of the potential negative consequences that can come about as a result. But somehow it's a little different here...(Disclaimer: don't worry mom - that story wasn't to say I'll no longer be on my guard)

I think America is great. And because it's great, I think it's common for Americans to travel to underprivileged areas and perhaps be mildly horrified by differences which lead us to instinctively think, "Wow, we really have/do it better". And sometimes maybe it is 'better', but other times maybe it's not. Because sometimes I think we just don't get it. Because the reason the Togolese may not always be horrified or complain is not always because they're "just used to it" - but because it's based in some cultural norm or value which we frankly need a lot of time before we can maybe ever fully grasp. I really am not trying to say that I think it's wrong to disagree with something that goes on here (and thus act on it), but I've really started to come to terms with realizing that it's important to be aware that 'right' or 'wrong' has a degree of cultural subjectivity. In other words, what may be wrong for Americans may not always be so inherently wrong for Togolese. The same goes for the right.

I think, not just as Americans, but especially as Peace Corps volunteers, we come in expecting to change lives, and I absolutely think there's the possibility for that. But it requires not being so egocentrically American.
It's a very humbling realization.