Today we had class all day again. It was really hard to get up because yesterday was so relaxing. I'll probably end up going to bed way early. We learned a lot about what our lifestyle will be, what problems we'll face, and what we'll need to change in order to adapt to that life. The food will probably be a lot different even from the different food we've been eating already because the village i'm going to is 4hrs inland. Also we won't have electricity or running water so I'll have to adapt to that. One of the volunteers demonstrated how to take a bucket bath, pretty hilarious. But i guess that will be my life shortly.

Then we went to lunch and learned to eat with our hands. It may sound strange and unsanitary but it really isn't bad at all. Everyone washes their hands, then you sit around the big food bowl and everyone has their own little area of food. You eat with your right hand and do not touch the food or the bowl with your left hand. The left hand is for wiping in the restroom, I bought toilet paper to take with me. Also you can't lean over the bowl because it is unsanitary to mix food from your hand back into the bowl to possible mix with other peoples food. So while it still may look or seem to you like it's "savage" to eat like that it's actually not bad at all and I don't think disease is spread much through the food bowl. I'm learning so much about the culture, I never knew that people lived this way, it's great!

I also had 2 hrs of language training in the afternoon in which I learned numbers and currency and market phrases. We are going to the market tomorrow morning, I plan on buying some fabric to have traditional garb made for me...can't wait!

After the language lesson we got our cameras and went to a crocodile pool. I took lots of pictures so don't worry you'll see them soon! At first was a history and culture museum of Gambian people and things. There are things called jujus that do various things, for example one is a hoof of an antelope and it kills the person to whom it is pointed if the pointer wants it to. There were also the ceremonial costumes that are worn at circumcisions and stuff like that, they actually still use them so I can't wait till i'm in village! Then we saw the crocodiles and I petted one, there's a picture of that too. But I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos, thank God for the malaria prophylaxis! So I headed back to the air conditioned bus but those mosquitos just love me and I can't stop itching!

That's the update I have for today, it was a pretty fun day but I'm exhausted. Hopefully tonight I can go find a cold pop at the store and sit back and play some oregon trail. haha doug brought it on his computer and i'm hooked!