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...Back to People Introduction People - Hotel Agbeviade Tuesday Nov 11 2003 Amedzi Koffi Agbeviade - (Patron)  Amedzi
is my African Papa here in Africa. He owns and operates a hotel in
Kpalimé with great pride and determination. Agbeviade isn't
his real last name, but people think it is because that is the name
of his hotel. "Agbeviade" means something like "live
a little bit of life" in Ewe. He has taken me on as his own son,
teaching me the ways of the Togolese, and even giving me girl advice
on occasion! He is truly a blessing to have in my life here in Kpalimé,
because I feel I can talk openly about what I am experiencing at any
time in Togo. If I am happy, he laughs with me, if I'm confused he
lends an ear.
I am starting a section called "Amedzi quotes", which will consist of things Amedzi has said that make me laugh. back to top
Every now and then, at the dinner table, Christine will let a an amplified fart out of nowhere. She'll start laughing, Amedzi will jump out of his seat and say, "Tim! How can you sit there at the table with this poison in the air?! I'm staying away untill it settles!". At this point Christine starts talking about how it's a perfectly normal and necessary thing to do. Then we keep talking about farts for about 10 minutes before resuming normal discussion. Fridy November 14 2003 Kossi (Bellhop/Waiter)  Kossi
is one of the two bellhops at Hotel Agbeviade. He greets me enthusiastically
at the front door every time I come home, always exchanging the customary
Ewe greetings.
Kossi insists that he is my little brother, even though he is older than me. He is always laughing, and I try to pull something new and Canadian out of my bag of tricks every few weeks to keep him fascinated with Canada. He really like the hemp/bead necklaces that I have that Laura made for me, so he has said he will send an African gift back to anybody in Canada who can make one for him. I also showed him how to toss a Frisbee, which he loved, and showed him a nifty magic trick that amazed him. Overall, he's really fun to have around. back to topFridy November 14 2003 Mossi (Bellhop/waiter)  Mossi
is the second bellhop at Hotel Agbeviade. He is much quieter than
Kossi, and always calls me "Monsieur Tim", and then laughs
to himself.
He is always polite, always smiling, and seems to enjoy his job. In this picture he is serving some fresh cut pineapple. mmmmm... pineapple. Like Kossi, we always exchange the customary Ewe greetings whenever I arrive back home. I don't really have much more to say about him, because I haven't quite figured him out yet. Thursday November 13 2003 Yao-gan - (Cook)  Yao
is the cook for the Hotel. He is a great cook, and truly takes pride
in his work. Every now and then I see him watching cooking shows on
the TV (that gets 2 channels). While his name was Yao, it has been
changed to Yawogan, because I am ALSO Yawo, having been born on a
Thursday. So, when there are two children in the same household that
were born on the same day of the week, you add -gan to the older one
and -vit to the younger one. Therefore, I am Yawovit.
One day he ran into me in the Marché while I was trying
to buy a grass matt. The price was 1200 francs (3 dollars), which
I knew was way to high, but I didn't have the energy to barter anymore
because I had just spent an hour bargaining for the drum that I
had bought that day. So, I asked Friday November 14 2003 Rose (Housekeeper)  Rose
is one of the two housekeepers at hotel Agbeviade. She is a bit older,
speaks very softly and slowly, and seems convinced that I am cannot
wash my clothes, clean a bathroom, or change my sheets! The reason
I say this is because I will usually do each of these activities with
her help, then when I'm done she will do it again!
The day that I bough my Djembe (drum) I brought it back to the hotel right away. She was cleaning one of the rooms, and when she saw my drum she asked "do you know how to play?" I said "yes". Then she replied, "You know how to play, I know how to dance!" So I sat down and played, and she danced through the garden of the hotel Agbeviade until we were both tired! back to topFriday November 14 2003 Sika (Housekeeper)  Sika
is the 2nd of two housekeepers at Hotel Agbeviade. In Ewe, her name
means 'Gold'. She is younger, and almost always wears very colourful
clothing. I run into her often on my way to work. She first taught
me how to wash my clothes "African style". She laughed and
laughed the first time I tried, but was very impressed how much I
improved on my second try.
When I took this photo and showed her the picture on the back of my camera, she was totally amazed. When I told her that I was going to put this picture on the internet, she didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Sika as nicknamed me "Timtim". So, once when Rose was also there I called her "Sikasika". Her and Rose burst out laughing, because apparently in Ewe, 'Sikasika' means "fresh fish"! back to top |
Christine
is my African Mama here in Kpalime, and is Amedzi's wife. They laugh
together freely, and co-run the hotel. She is quieter than Amedzi,
and I think that on occasion she has some trouble understanding my
French. None the less, she is great fun and works very hard to keep
many aspects of the hotel running. She keeps Amedzi eccentricity
in check on occasion, and they have a very fun relationship.
Yawo
to buy barter for me. I handed him 800 francs and said, "buy
it with this", which he did. The merchant then became very
angry, and got in a heated argument with Yawo because since I was
a Yovo, I she has the right to rip me off! Even at 800 francs the
price was too high; it should have been more like 400. So, Yawo
and I quickly scurried off back to the hotel.