Hey ya'll! Thanks for the messages.
Looks like you already found a good site for Togo (lonely planet is premiere amongst travel sites). I'll try and remember everything you guys asked:
Work: Yes, I work for the US government. The pay is pretty good, free housing, free schooling for the kids, no utilities, etc. Housing is great, we live in a five bedroom villa I could never afford back home. Togo is an interesting place to live, as there is so much potential in this country for a real transition to democracy, if only the old demagogue would realize how much he is hurting his country by sticking around. EU has pulled aid for Togo, and the USG doesn't have any significant programs here, no USAID, but a large Peace Corps contingent.
Benin: The plane crash traumatized me. As it stands, I already hated flying, and seeing the aftermath of a crash was horrible. It's impossible to describe the smells and sounds etc. Basically, the crash happened on December 25 in the afternoon. That evening I received a call from Washington informing me that it appeared there were Amcits on board. The consular officer in benin was on leave, so they needed someone to go out there and help out. So the next morning I drove out (it's about 2.5 hours from Lome to Cotonou). When I arrived I started the rounds of the morgues, armed with pictures of a woman and two children (who were residents in Togo and the wife and children of an American). I found the girl that afternoon, and the boy washed up that evening. Identifying bodies was horrible, many had started to decompose or were mangled from the crash. There was no organization, so basically I had to go to every morgue around (6 I think) and ask to view the bodies of all women and children. I actually found the woman that day as well but because her body was severely injured, friends and family were unable to identify her. A forensic specialist flew in from Lebanon on Monday (most of the passengers on board were Lebanese) and confirmed my initial ID. I id'd the girl based on the photo, the boy based on a birthmark and the woman based on hair color, length and stature. There were also a couple other passengers on board we suspected were Amcits and had to treat as such until we could confirm their status.
The worst part about it was dealing with the father, the Amcit who was in Lome during the crash. I broke the news to him each time I found one of his family members, and watched him just dissolve into sobs. Here was a man who 24 hours before was a father and husband and twenty fours later was a widower with two dead children.
I really love my job, and I realize how lucky I am to be able to do some of the things I do. I'm an incredibly lucky person because I have a great family and a husband that treats me very well. I just occasionally get lonely, because I'm so far away and because I don't relate well to many people. Being raised as a witness places you at certain distinct disadvantages, unfortunately.
