They're eating my furniture!!!

HI ALL
So much happens in a week i have to keep a record of everything in a little notebook and bring it with me to the internet cafe...training is still going well, id say better; i got moved up in my french class because i told the language placement person i was not being challenged and apparently my teacher agreed, so now im in the intermediate class and its much better but not too challenging, thus...perfect! our 4th week is the beginning of immersion week, thus we can only speak french to our trainers and classmates outside of technical sessions in most areas of the building. if we speak english we get extra homework, its like being in 1st grade all over again. tech sessions are interesting; we learned about tree grafting and marcotting, basically cloning, and got to practice it. i was pretty fascinated by this, and since we have to do a presentation on something agroforestry related, im thinking this will be mine. we also build mproved cookstoves in a few traditional kitchens in the community and my familys home was chosen. thus, all the volunteers came to my house and i learned 1; my mother is the most beautiful mother 2; my sister is the prettiest of everyones sisters 3;my house is way nicer than everyone elses...so hey, im not complaining. i also found out this past week that my mother is a princess in the town...now im not sure what this means but i think shes the cheifs daughter, not sure... however, there are a lot of other albinos in town and the fact that 2 of my siblings are makes me think that its a recessive trait in the chiefs family..lots of kids, high percentage of albinos!? i also met my grandmother last night because she wanted to meet an american...she speaks no french; so we shared a lovely plate of eggs which she ate without teeth and i left for school. lovely morning. my oldest sister left this week for the university so i wont be seeing her again but my mother keeps telling me to call her...speaking on the phone when i can hardly understand french in person is not my idea of a good time, so im trying to avoid this. my 2nd oldest sister and i have started reading some old magazines in french together and i learn my french while she learns her english...i think this will be really helpful. my youngest sister cleaned my feet the other day and even picked my toenails clean with a stick from the broom...this was slightly awkward: i have also done a lot more baby holding and being spit on by my cousins son...no more pee thankfully i have joined a writing group with a few PC people and we had our first meeting on sunday; it was really really interesting and nice to be forced to sit down and write about our experiences; etc...perhaps i;ll write a book and force you all to read it. i have also created a band , yes i am in a band, with 5 guys who can actually play instruments. i play these plastic tambourines that my real mom, USA mom (thanks mom) gave me to give to cameroonian children as a gift. we had practice at my house the other day and my brothers requested bob marley, were overly excited and sang bob marley all night afterwards, and then the brother that i think hates me was really nice to me for 3, count em, 3 whole days!!! i told the band we are practicing at my house every week. cockroaches...should have learned from the basement of soil science that where there is one there will be others. i have killed 5, and the worst was when i, idiotically, hung a wet shirt partially in my closet to dry...took it out the next day to have 3 AHHH cockroaches run down my arm while i danced around shaking them to the floor and then smashing them t death. add to this the fact that some termite like things, which my sister called petits fourmis, little ants, are feasting on my desk and quickly turning it to sawdust. these dudes are little but wow are they making quick work of my desk, i am very sad to lose my desk, because then i will have naught but a bed...oh well im keeping the thing till it disappears into a pile of dust. ummm thats pretty much it! we are having a speghetti dinner tonight and im on the garlic bread comittee; so i hqve to go figure out how to build a stove outside to make garlic bread for 42...problem solving skills have never been put to bettter use! thinking of madison as it gets closer to halloween, and pumpkin patches...aw im jealous, Kate