You know you're in Africa/Togo when...

* There are more military personnel at the TV station than the border (because coups are the greater threat)
* You're excited to have a lizard roaming your walls because the bugs are worse than the reptiles
* A good machete is half the price of a small jar of peanut butter
* Kids love talking with you because you're a stranger
* A good road equals only a couple potholes every ¼ mile
* The woman carry more weight on their head than you could in your arms
* Your attempts at kicking a soccer ball are great entertainment to the local children
* 85 degrees with 85 percent humidity is one of your more comfortable days
* You're happy the electricity was out ½ an hour (instead of ½ a day)
* Your church service has more rhythm and harmony than most of your CDs
* Someone you'd consider anemic in the US is a candidate to donate blood
* Modesty (for women) means not showing any of your thighs, but clothing above the waist is optional
* You know people who never graduated high school, but speak 4 languages.
* Cats are a delicacy (no, I did not eat one)
* You are bored with diagnosing malaria, but your professors back in the states are stoked to make the diagnosis
* You've seen twins delivered by C-section without an MD in the operating room
* A shopkeeper insists he's not ripping you off because his sandals are made with “Italian plastic”
* A nine passenger van carrying 12 people is considered below capacity
* People run alongside a semi-truck going up a hill with cement blocks so they can stop the truck if it starts rolling backwards
* A simple greeting brings out a huge smile
* Your pictures of medical conditions are better than the textbooks
* You can buy Barack Obama boxers in the market (a few booths over from the fish)
* A shopkeeper knocks 20% off his “very-final price” (as opposed to his first “final price”)
* Dancing and drums are normal in a Baptist church
* You've been far more blessed than you have served, and “sacrificing” time and comforts to come is a great misnomer, because your joy is far greater than anything given up