Sanuko!! (that's good day in fufulde). This morning, I woke up at 3am to either a baby lizard or cricket crying in my ceiling. I've found that whenever I throw my shoe at the ceiling it stops for about ten minutes, then slowly but surely wails away. So I got an earlier start than usual today and went for a nice run and watched the sun rise behind the hazy hills of the village that's starting to feel very much like home.

Speaking of lizards, the other day during a training session we were having outside in the back yard of the training center underneath a thatched roof mat, a lizard fell from the roof directly onto my friend's head. It then tumbled onto her lap, and she nonchalantly flipped it off of her skirt onto the ground. It was so Peace Corps-esque, she didn't even flinch! So the lizard was lying on it's back with one leg seizing for a few seconds, and then it died. By that time, the whole class had lost it. I of course got the giggles and couldn't control myself for a good fifteen minutes. Ahh, wildlife.

I went to a big soccer match last weekend. Cameroonians are crazy about football- a few people had their bodies painted green and white and wore big yellow afro wigs, and every time a goal was scored, everyone got up and danced. The game started off right with a goal by the Garoua team in (no joke) the first ten seconds of the game! The Garoua team beat Zimbabwe 4-0! Then sun was beating down hard and it was about 100 degrees out, but it was pretty exhilarating.

Big news. . .next week I find out where my post is! We're also having a big Halloween dinner and party at a bar in town on Friday. I'm planning on being Sara Palin, so if anyone has some good quotes or costume tips (from SNL, possibly? i heard there's been some good skits lately), feel free to send them my way.

SO first of all, I'm sorry I haven't been in contact with well, anyone, yet. . .but I am at my first internet cafe in Cameroon and I'm going to do my best to update you all!

I'm in the Northern province of Cameroon in a small town outside of Garoua which is the third largest city in Cameroon. Right now it is very green and savannay with little mountains popping up here and there. In a few months, it will be very arid. I'm living with a butcher named Oumarou, his wife Didi (she's 24) and four beautiful children, who are great at teaching me French and Fufulde. It is hot, hot, hot here and I sweat buckets most of the time. I think I'll adjust to the heat, though I don't know how I'll ever handle Minnesota winters again once I do.

I really like it here. Everyone greets everyone they pass on the street, and a parade of children follow me on walks. Bucket baths are awesome and wake me up like nothing else. During the day, I go to Peace Corps school and spend about half my time there in language lessons and the other half learning all about community health. Last week the focus was on well, diarrhea. I really liked learing about water sanitation and hygeine projects from current Peace Corps volunteers. Next week we get to start working with community groups! My french is coming back quicker than I thought it would, which is great.

And now for a few stories. . .

Yesterday, I was eating dinner and my little host brother says that the men are going to go kill a bull. When I woke up this morning, the entire head of a bull was sitting in my courtyard.

I did laundry for the first time this week. My host sisters were watching as I clumsily thrashed the clothing around in my bucket. They came up and showed me how to rythmically move your hands and lather, scrunch and squeeze clothing dry all at once. I tried to mimic their movements, but I didn't quite get it right so they pretty much did everything for me. Somehow, my fingers still wrinkled into prunes (which was hilarious to them) and theirs remained as pretty as can be.

One morning, I was eating my breakfast of beans and bread, when my host mother Didi sat beside me and sprayed perfume under each of my armpits. I think she was hinting at something. . .

Well, that's all for now, folks. My phone number is 74199802. If you call me, it's pretty cheap for me. I can text message you as well, but I don't have any numbers right now. I love and miss you all!!

So today, I woke up in Philadelphia for my a full day of staging, or orientation. After the alarm clock went off twice, I got up and walked around the bed, tripped over my suitcase and walked into the mirror on the wall. Off to a good start. . .

Everything has been amazing so far. I love this group of volunteers and I'm pretty pumped up and ready to go. To Cameroon tomorrow!!!

The address you can reach me at from September 20 to December 5, 2008 is:

Brianna Haenke

Peace Corps Trainee

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 215

Yaounde, Cameroon