Hey a quick update: everything is good. Dog is good. House is good. Work is good.
What to do (or not do) in TOGO or rather in a large village or small city
Drink:
Hard stuff- served at outside temperature (80-90 degrees)
Sodabe = grain alcohol distilled from palm wine
Taco Taco = liqour distilled from manioc (cassava)
Strong Bull = rum flavored with fake coffee flavoring, purchased in plastic bags (about one and a half shot)
Blue Nile = Gin flavored like bad gin, purchased in in bags similar to Strong Bull
Beer- served luke warm or luke cold, rarely cold
Awooyo = my beer of choice, amber like the the hair of the girl that got away, smooth like the surface of a cystal clear lake on a windless day, has won two international awards in the last 40 years (6.2% Al. Cont.) (550 f CFA - 66cl)
Lager (La-Ja) = good beer (475 f CFa - 66cl)
Pils (Piss) = tastes like skunky Lager (475 f CFA - 66cl)
Flag = tastes like skunky Pils (don't know the price becuase i never get it)
Castel = average (don't know the price becuase i never get it)
Eku = German beer that doesn't taste like German beer (don't know the price becuase i never get it)
Guiness = not the same as an American or European Guiness, but some say the like it, highest Al. Cont. (don't know the price becuase i never get it)
Wine- served warm
Bonita= red "wine", tastes like a box of wine (comes in a 1 l box)
Don Garcia = red "wine", not as good as Bonita (comes in a 1 l box)
Sangria = girls seem to love this drink, I think it tastes like bad fruit juice mixed with crappy liquor (comes in a 1 l box)
Other- warm
Palm Wine= take a fallen palm tree cut a whole in the trunk on the top and bottom and watch the liquid drip, usually comes in a blue plastic5 l motor oil container and served in a small calabass, tastes sweet at first with a delayed chemical aftertaste, first one must blow or tip the large ants out of the drink, next consume in one pull
Tchouck= like many things Tchouch can be spelled a million different ways, but in the end it always tastes great, made from millet it tastes sweet and alcoholic and looks like whats in your stomach before you throw up, usually comes in a large garbage can or 25 l container and served in a medium to large calabass, in the calabass the pinkish-brown liquid should be bubbling (continuing to ferment)
Tchackba= basically the same but a little different, made up north and they claim that it is more alcoholic but my personal research has neither confirmed or denied that hypothosis, you get drunk either way
Tobacco: Tobacco is grown throughout the north and a little bit in the south of Togo
Cigarettes- not from TOGO
Concorde Rouge = classic smoke of the village folk (one can buy singles at a time for 25 f CFA for 2 or a pack for 250 f CFA)
Concorde Verre= menthalated for her pleasure, men i my village say these are womens smokes (same price as the Rouge)
Fine (feen)= twice the smoothness of a Concorde Rouge and twice the price (50 f CFA for 2 or a pack for 500 f CFA)
Royal= made by Rothsmans, regal quality at a reasonable price (50 f CFA for 2 or a pack for 500 f CFA)
YES= "Just Say YES", catchy no? (that is their real slogan) (25 f CFA for 2 or a pack for 250 f CFA)
Supermatch= I have only seen the advertisement
Pipes-
In the Tamberma Vallay up north everyone smoks pipes, they are of all natural construction (wood, clay, leather and cotton string) They cure the tabacco in baobob (the big tree from Lion King) juices and then dry it, mix it with pounded tobacco that turns into a filler and pack a bowl and smoke all day
Snuff-
Assra= This is ground tobacco mixed with minerals, medicines, tree roots, dirt and balm. This is used to clear up your nose during the tricky flu season. In reality, I think it does nothing but make people sneeze, cry and have a headache for at least a day.
Steps to snort Assra (things you shouldn't do)
if you put your hand like you are going to flip a quarter into the air it creates a little bowl between your nail and your index finger, fill this with the powder, plug one nostril and sniff in real hard, although it seems like it would be easy to wipe a powder from under your nose after only half of it has actualy entered your nostril creating black buggers, looking at the men that use assra often don't seem to have the capacity to wipe it from under their nose