I'm part of a family!

this keyboard sucks. I know most of the keys but still make a lot of mistakes so bear with me. I have been here for 12 days now and so much has happened i don't know where to begin. We spent the frist few days here in the training center compound, learning about how to adjust to a new country. we weren't allowed outside of the compound until a few days later. i am in a city close to dakar, called thies. i think it's the second biggest city in senegal. i moved in with my host family three days ago. we are living with host families for our language training. this weekend, however, we are all returning to the training center for more training. basically all we do here is learn how to live and what is expected of us. Oh and we get lots of shots.

my host family is great. the language i am learning is called Pula Futa, it is a dialect of Pular. we have had two days of language training and living with our host families and i must say, it is a non stop learning experience! at school we learn things nice and slow and then when class gets out everyone talks fast and i can't understand a thing. it sure doesn't help that the city i am living in speaks wolof. the only people i know that speak pula futa is my family and i think they only do it when i ask them how to say something. i love my family. i have a dad, a mom, 4 sisters ages 16, 11 y/o identical twins, and 8. then i have a little brother age 3. He is adorable and follows me around everywhere. My family is very hospitable, which is normal in senegal. the culture here is very different and i often don't know what to do so for now, they do it for me. i think i am like a tall, pale, pet to them. when walking in the streets, ether alone or with others in my class, we are often given 'celebrity treatment.' we get lots of stares and lots of people shout greetings to us. they are generally very nice. the kids love shouting 'toubab!' at us, which means foreigner. the kids always want to touch our hands.

so, so far so good. lots of language training to do and lots of agroforestry learning to do. it will be hard work but also very rewarding. I like it here and think that i will have a nice, enlightening two year here.

until next time!
oh and sorry this is so bland.