This place can be very odd, as in, I witnessed some Togolese justice the other 
day. A village near me had caught a guy stealing a moto, so they beat him, 
dug a pit, put a tire around him and dumped him into the pit, still alive, 
and set him on fire. When I asked my French instructor about it, he said 
that sort of thing was pretty common.

I have been shamed into writing a spam letter after reading the one from 
Chris Shaw today. I have not been very good about updating everyone on what 
is going on in my life either. Togo is good, it is not RCI, it can never be; 
but I can deal with the differences.There is a great deal more poverty and 
that is all I can say. The spirit of the people is lacking due to their 
political situation, but I am banned from speaking out about that. We have 
no regional houses, but we do have consolidation centers. My house is the 
Maritime consolidation point. My house is nicer than most homes in the US. I 
have 2 bedrooms, a bath with a shower and separate tub, a kitchen and a 
20x20 liiving room. Oh,I forget to mention the huge courtyard and the roof 
deck. I am very busy with programs with other volunteers, we have a very 
good program here in that we do joint projects coordinated by the SBD 
volunteer, which is my assignment. I am currently on vacation in the US.  

I had dinner with Dawn last night and we are going to an Alliance Francaise soiree 
tonight. The culture shock of being back here is more than I can handle. I 
am reasonably sure that I am moving to South Africa after I leave Togo to 
work for a refugee housing foundation. If you haven't heard by now I have a 
HCN girl friend about half (well, maybe a third) my age who has given me a 
totally new lease on life. Love you all, Don