Togo Diary (June July 2026)

This diary is the record of my stay in Togo during June and July of 2026.

June 13 Saturday

Setting Up Teams

Unless I am forced to do otherwise, I usually work with consultants in teams of two or three. That way, the consultants can discuss things with one another. They can also jar each other’s memory and help each other understand the task at hand. If they are older, it takes some of the burden of the session off them so it seems more like an extended group discussion. 

I have worked with one speaker before, but do so only if I need to. For example, in the case of Kua, there were only a handful of elderly speakers left, and only one of them was easily available to work with. So the grammar of Kua was mainly written on the basis of work with one person.

Working with more than two or three is also a challenge, and more like a focus group session, getting opinions and perspectives. If there are too many people, the consultants tend to get distracted, and start chatting with one another and other people.

This summer, I have organized three different teams. First there is a team of two men. I will work with them in the mornings. Then there is a team of two women, and another team (also women) formed of two elderly speakers. Those latter two teams will alternate the afternoon sessions. The reason to have more than one team is so that I can get recordings of the lexical items from various people, and get a better idea of the phonetic variation in the lexical items. Also, by having several teams, interesting alternative lexical forms come, and interesting additional insights about meaning and usage come up. 

So the ideal set-up is: two or three teams, each with two or three people, for a total of six to nine people.

It has taken me a few days to get the team structure worked out, contacting people, talking about possible consultants, checking availability. One of the main criteria that is important to me is that the person speak Kpelegbe well, and doesn’t mix with Gengbe too much. This criterion is a bit tricky, since people generally don’t realize that they are mixing, until I point it out. Most of it depends on how much time they have spent in Lome and at what age they spent that time there. So it is very important for me to get this information right away.

By Monday of next week, everything should be working smoothly.

June 13 Saturday

Getting Settled

I got in Tuesday night (June 9th) after dark. Wednesday through Saturday I spent getting my workplace together, and getting my teams assembled and doing some preliminary work. There were lots of challenges just getting everything set up. 

Here is a picture of my work place. From left to right: my PC with FLEx, my Macbook pro with Praat and various resources, the Zoom H4n, my notebook (I still write everything down), some books on animals, snakes, trees of West Africa, and a dictionary French-Ewe (written by Rongier). In the background is the house I am living in. It has electricity, so there is no reason for me to set up a solar panel. In this same village thirty years ago, there was no electricity. Fieldwork for me then was a very different experience.

There is also internet access! 

I buy a daily ticket for 200CFA at a bar next to my house. Then I enter the number in the morning and have access for the day. As it turns out, it is very useful for me. First, I use it to translate back and forth from English to French, even in cases of very specific west African usages of words. Second, I used it a few times to find names for birds. Sometimes the consultants only know the name of the bird in Kpelegbe (Ewe) not in French. I just entered the description of the bird (as the consultants gave it to me: the color, the tail, the size, the behavior), and asked Gemini to identify the bird for me. It gave me the name (and the justification), which I then looked up in my bird books. Then I had the consultants verify that the picture resembled the bird they were describing. So I am fairly confident of the bird name. I could never have done this without Gemini. To me it seems like a break-through.

The only drawback of the whole setting is that we are on the street, and depending on the market day, there are lots of motorcycles (zemidjan) going by with passengers. There is also an annoying grinding sound from a moulin down the street that people use to grind corn and beans and other things. It is a small business. For some periods, the noise is almost constant. The result is that my recordings are not as clean as I like them to be. But I can somewhat mitigate the effects by making sure the consultants speak at a constant distance (around half a foot) from the mic.

June 6 Saturday

Trip to Kpala

Lome is increasing in size at a rapid rate. Outlying areas that used to mostly farm land, are now busy economic centers. Kpala is one of the current outer areas. The paved road only takes you about halfway there, and the rest of it is on a dirt road. To give you an idea of the length, we spent about 20 minutes on the paved road, then over an hour on the dirt road. 

During the rainy season (now) the dirt road is muddy and filled with a series of treacherous potholes and little lakes that need to be skirted and dipped into constantly, like a roller coaster ride, but lasting for an hour. To even begin to understand this, you need to image a torrential overnight downpour in west Africa and the havoc it causes on the roads.

I needed to go out to Kpala to visit my wife’s elder brother. He has been feeling ill, and he is also the family patriarch, now that my wife’s father has passed away. I was told in very clear terms that coming to Togo and not visiting him right away would be completely unacceptable. I suggested a phone call to catch up with him. That suggestion was met with expressions of disbelief. So I accepted my mission.

We were four, my wife sister, and her two grandkids, who are too young to be at the house by themselves. So I called Gozem (think Uber) for a car. The other option would be zemidjan (motorcycles), but the trip is long, and I fear riding the zemidjan. More on that in another post.

We piled into the car and headed off. Arriving at the turnoff from the paved road, the Gozem driver suggested the dirt road was so bad that we had to take several detours. I have since understood that this is a standard Gozem trick. They are paid by distance (measured by the Gozen app). The longer the trip, the higher the payout. So they suggest alternatives that are longer, but not necessarily easier. If you accept the suggestion, you are responsible for the increase in price. As it turns out, we paid 6,000 CFA. That was 5,600 CFA, plus a little tip for the driver. In Togo, that is a very high price, but as I said, I had to get out there.

Once we got to the general area of Kpala, the brother’s son sent the taxi driver the exact coordinates (localization). As we were driving, the app would tell us when to turn, right or left. So that is how we proceeded. It seemed to me that the driver was following the directions basically at chance levels, trying to find the least muddy route. We also stopped several times to ask pedestrians supplementary directions. Several of the holes were so deep, I was afraid that water would get into the engine, or the car would get stuck somehow in the mud. Then there were the ever-present zemidjan swerving dangerously in front of us on the muddy road.

Finally, we arrived exhausted at our destination, which is a house being built in the bush on the outskirts of Kpala, which is on the outskirts of Lome. We got there at around 11:30am, and spent the whole day until 4:30pm. It turned out to be a great visit. I am happy I went. But the trip there and back was exhausting.

June 6 Saturday

Water in Lome is a problem. Some people have running water, but many people go and fill up on water from somebody else’s tap. Two large containers cost 25 CFA to fill. As you can imagine, if you have a large household, those expenses add up. In our house, we are lucky enough to have a well in the house with natural ground water. I do not drink it, but it looks clear enough for other purposes.

I thought drawing well water would be a perfect replacement for my light weight training that I had started at the NYU athletic center. Each small bucket of water takes thirteen pulls to bring it up from the bottom of the well. To fill a whole bucket for washing takes about five smaller buckets, so that is 80 pulls. That is great set for arm strength, exercising all kinds of arm and upper body muscles. What a stroke of luck!

But so far I have been unable to execute this idea. Here is the usual course of events when I start drawing water at the well. The “other” below is literally anybody else that happens to be nearby, including relatives and neighbors and even people I do not know. This conversation has happened in one form or the other several times already:

Other: What are you doing?

Me: I am drawing water for my bath.

Other: Here, let me do that.

Me: I would prefer to do it. It is good for my body.

Other: (chuckles)

Me: I really like to do the lifting.

Other: Let me see your hand.

Me: Why do you want to see my hand?

Other: (gesturing to open my hand)

Me: (opening my hand) 

Other: (feeling the palm and fingers of my hand, squeezing them) Your hand is soft. You will hurt yourself. (If somebody else is nearby, they will both confer and agree that my hands are too soft).

Me: No, I am OK, I really can do this.

Other: Give me the bucket.

Me: This is not the colonial era. I can draw my own water. Please.

Other: (takes the bucket from me and starts drawing water, chuckling)

Me: OK, let me at least bring it to the shower.

Other: You will just hurt your hand (grabbing the bucket and taking it to the shower).

Is it really true that the Togolese do not want me to damage my fragile fingers, and that is why they will not allow me to draw water? I think that is not the full story. Rather, I am a guest from a foreign country, and they just want to make sure I am comfortable and taken care of. Drawing my water is one sign of that. It is just a form of respect and hospitality.

June 6 Saturday

A few more observations on low-carb in west Africa. 

When you visit people in Togo, they like to buy you something to drink. It is a social custom. There are different BB (Brasserie du Benin) varieties of beer available which people will offer you. But these always have fairly high carbohydrate levels. A large bottle can contain 20 grams of carbohydrates, which can cause a significant glucose spike on an empty stomach. So far, I have not found any “light” beer options available. When I try to describe what a light beer is, people do not seem to understand the concept.

One option here would be to just have a very small glass of the beer, just to show solidarity and friendliness. That would be manageable and refreshing. Also, if you have the glass of beer after a meal high in protein, fats and fiber, it is even better.

Another even better option is to opt for a low-carbohydrate beverage. When offered a beer yesterday, I said I prefer sodabi, which is a locally made hard liquor (made from palm wine). Everybody started laughing because it was completely unexpected that I would request this, but they bought out the bottle anyway, and I drank two little shot-glasses of it. Everybody was happy. Sodabi is often supplemented with various roots and additives for flavor. Just to be on the safe-side (as far as carbohydrates are concerned), I would recommend the regular non-medicinal sodabi (with nothing else added to it).

Just think ahead to a set of drinks that you would be comfortable drinking. Then be ready with your request when people offer you something to drink. In the coming weeks, I will try to develop some non-alcoholic options for people who do not drink.

Now, let’s discuss fufu.

Fufu, made from pounded yam, is probably my favorite west Africa food. It is usually served in a heaping mound (e.g., two cups) covered with “light soup” which has meat of some kind and “garden eggs” (agbitsa) and perhaps other vegetables. You eat the fufu with your hand in little balls. When you scoop out a little ball, you make an indentation with your thumb that captures the soup when you dip the ball in. Then you put the ball in your mouth and swallow (with minimal chewing). It is smooth and very tasty, much more tasty than the day-to-day corn porridge that people eat (called akple or akoume, depending on the dialect).

Fufu is a starch made from yam, and as such has a sky-high carbohydrate level, with very little fiber, kind of like mashed potatoes. So this is not a good thing for a low-carb diet. My working compromise is to each at most half a cup of the fufu, but then to eat lots of meat and vegetables from the sauce. If you are going to somebody’s house, and it is a festive occasion, chances are they will make sure there is lots of meat in the sauce, and you are free (even encouraged) to eat as much of this as you want. And the sauce will also include vegetables of various kinds that you can eat. The vegetables and meat will ensure that you have fairly good levels of protein, fat and fiber, which can offset the carbohydrates from the fufu. People might be surprised at the small quantity of fufu that you eat, because it is considered to be a delicious a festive food. But if you explain your dietary restrictions, they will understand.

June 4 Thursday

Today is a rest day. I am not heading out into the zemidjan (public transportation motorcycles) packed roads today, just staying at home trying to get ready for my work.

On Tuesday morning, I went to buy a smart phone, which meant applying for a local phone number as well. The phone cost me 70,000 CFA (roughly 124 dollars). I need the phone for three things: (a) making local calls, (b) Whatsapp (c) Gozem (which is the Togolese equivalent of Uber). All three are absolutely essential nowadays.

In the afternoon, I went to Champion and tried to stock up on some basic foods I could take the village. Unlike in Botswana, there are very few “supermarkets”. In Togo, most people buy things in open air markets that resemble American farmer’s markets, or on the side of the street in their neighborhood. When I was in Champion, there were perhaps two other customers in the entire store. The Togolese consider it way too expensive, and many of the goods are not their normal day-to-day needs. 

The Champion stores seem to be owned by the Lebanese. They are the equivalent of the Indians in Botswana, who control the large grocery stores there (like Choppies). The Lebanese also sell cars in Togo and probably have a hand in many other areas of the economy.

I went to Champion looking low-carb foods that I could use to supplement the kinds of foods that are easily available in the village (mostly very high carb foods, like corn and yams). I found canned peas and string beans, some packaged cheese (like Vache Qui Rit), some tuna fish, and something called paté in French, which I don’t like very much. So I have not really cracked the low-carb puzzle yet, but I am making some in-roads here and there.

June 4 Thursday

My west African breakfast. Not exactly low carb, but very healthy and filled with lots of fat, protein and fiber: two fried eggs, one cup of black-eyed beans, one whole avocado sliced up. There is also some gali on the side (dried crushed cassava), but I ate very little of that. It is just to make the beans crunchy. Very tasty, very filling. Like I said, my goal is not to eat keto or zero carbs, my goal is to control blood glucose levels, and I think this breakfast is perfect for that.

June 1 Monday

We arrived at JFK terminal 1, for Air France, at around 8:15pm. I was accompanied to the airport by my wife and daughter, for which I am very grateful! We took Lyft for 80 dollars, which was the cheapest rate at the time. I wanted to give the Lyft driver a cash tip, and my daughter looked at me like I was an alien. After some confused back and forth, I finally understood the system. I checked in at the "priorty" counter (no people at all). Then we sat around and talked, taking pictures, until around 10:00pm. After that, I passed through security, which took about half an hour, even though I was in the "priority" line (remember the business class). Brief note: you do not need to take off your shoes to go through security now. Then I headed right for the Air France lounge, found the most comfortable chair, and had red wine and some very nice cheddar cheese, great for my low-carb lifestyle. Just a note: There is a shower in this lounge as well. I don't need it, but that is good to know for the future.

Arriving in CDG, the flight was 20 minutes late, so I had to run to make my connection. Luckily the arrival and departure were in the same terminal (E), and within walking distance. But I had to beg the security people to skip ahead to the front of the security line. Even then I had to budge in front of the flight crew for one of the other flights. I arrived at the gate jogging just as my flight was boarding, and jumped into the priority line. Another 30 minutes, and I would have missed that flight for sure. 1.5 hours of transit time on an international flight is not really enough time for a connection. 

May 31 Sunday

I leave for Togo tonight at 1am. Off to do two months of fieldwork on Kpelegbe, a dialect of Ewe. 

I bought a ticket for 8:30pm, but Air France changed it on me. I dislike the departure time because my normal bedtime is around 10:00pm. I will be a zombie by take-off. 

Once again, I splurged on business class for both legs (JFK-CDG, CDG-Lome). Because of my weight and height, economy is really off limits, and even premium economy is a stretch now (I swear it is getting smaller and smaller every year). So I just bit the bullet and paid for business class. The seats are bigger, and you can recline horizontally at night for a nap. I have spent a whole lifetime paying for the cheapest possible travel deals, let me travel in peace for these last few years before I wrap it up.

My primary goal for this trip is to double the size of the Kpelegbe dictionary, from 700 words to 1400 words. I am bringing a bunch of picture books of birds, animals and trees to get the process going. I also hope to be able to start up the Ewe online dialect database during this trip with some preliminary on-the-ground planning and data collection. 

The prospect of going into the field is thrilling. I can only take so much of the standard academic routine before going a little crazy. I try to do fieldwork every summer or every other summer, and I take a study leave for a year every three years. I know it sounds really decadent and spoiled, but without those trips I would definitely not have stayed in academics. I would have chosen some other profession all together.

This is the first entry in Togo Diary 2026. I will try to post regularly during the whole trip.