Since I've been here, I haven't been able to take all that many pictures of ordinary life in and around Lomé; as an outsider, I feel quite awkward about sticking a camera into people's business (or into their "beezwax," as my 6 year old cousin would say) when I have no right to, and I don't want the Togolese to think that I-- and by the term "I", I mean other Westerners as well, by association-- have no respect for their privacy. And in any case, as soon as you show your camera, it becomes nearly impossible to capture "normal" life, as people get rather worked up about the thing-- whether they become angry because they believe in the Voodoo concept that a photo captures the soul, or whether they become excited since they've never seen a picture of themselves before.
But a couple of days ago, I went to the market with one of my cabin mates, and while in the car, I was able to get some shots of some pretty average Togolese life on the beach road. Since we're located in the port, the road that stretches along coastline the is the main road that we usually take first in order to get anywhere else, the road along which we barter for taxis and zemis (moto-taxis), and it's the road that leads home to the big white floating ship after a long day's expedition.
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