December 6, 2013 I woke up at 4:55 am to the sound of something crawling around above my head. I thought it was a mouse at first, but after hearing it fly around I’m quite certain it was a bat. My biggest fear was it coming through my tablecloth-like-material ceiling. I got out of my mosquito net in my pajama shirt with my headlamp on full strength. After a few seconds of following the noise, I decided a video might be fun for some day when I’m looking back on this crazy life. It’s not funny in the moment, but man I bet I’ll think it’s funny one day. I’m hoping my cats got that stupid bat, but who knows what happened to it. I couldn’t go back to bed after that, but I didn’t hear it flying/crawling back and forth. (Hilarious side note: mouse in French is souris, bald in French is chauve, and bat in French is chauve-souris. Literally bald mouse…day just made.) So, now it is almost 8 am and I’ve had 3 cups of Nescafe and am almost ill. I think I need some water to top off the caffeine. It’s surprisingly cold this morning, or maybe I just haven’t been up this early before. I have jeans and a sweatshirt on; it feels so homey and comfortable. I truly am a Montana girl. Like Jess said in one of her encouraging cards, I do think being from Montana, being a Bjerke woman, and having been camping before makes living in a village in Cameroon a little better. I am stubborn, used to climbing around outside, and popping a squat. The things I’m not used to are the critters and their steroid induced size. Makes me grateful for winter back home. I’ve embarrassingly asked a young man here to come in to kill a large spider in my kitchen. He laughed and said, “You are scared?” I responded with an emphatic “OUI.” He probably had a good laugh to himself and probably to his family and friends. I just want to say that I CAN kill spiders that don’t look like they can eat my hand off. It is getting closer to Christmas, I’m excited but it doesn’t feel like it at all here. Thanksgiving came and went and my birthday passed without much contact with family and friends back home. I’m trying to enjoy the holiday things I love. Heather sent me a mini Christmas tree and stocking, which I love and have strategically placed out of the reach of the kiddos. Also, I am listening to A Hometown Country Christmas, the CD of Christmas back home. I can never get sick of it. There’s even the song my Uncle Brett used to sing in church with his girls. It always makes me smile. The holiday season without family, friends, Bjerke food, and snow is rough. I’ve done this before, but I had Skype, internet, some comfort food and a sister for Christmas. It is depressing at times, but I did enjoy a trip to a nearby town with electricity, which means cold drinks, and the company of some fellow PCV’s. We ate lots of good snacks like baguettes, olives, dark chocolate, and wine. All things you can’t find here in Mayo-Darlé. I also hoarded some Vache Qui Rit, or Laughing Cow Cheese, to bring back to post with me. It is sad that is my version of cheese right now. But, at least it’s cheese and it doesn’t need a refrigerator. I brought back carrots, apples, and green peppers. Again, rare treats here in village. Yesterday, I went to a meeting with an Anglophone lady in village. That was nice, she helped translate some of the Fulfulde for me. Also, the meeting was just a group of women who save money together and help each other out when needed. It was great to be able to observe. I went to the house of the woman, who took me to the meeting, before we went and she gave me a big bowl of rice and beans. I was hungry and it was food I like, so I ate it all, I was stuffed. That was just the beginning. What I didn’t know was food is a part of this meeting. I was fed couscous and sauce, a beignet, kola nuts, and mullet (or some sort of thick drink with the texture of curdled milk). I finally had to say no to the mullet and I think the lady was like, “WHAT?” I tried, I really did, but my stomach was full to my throat with food full of acid, I wanted to run home and drink water and have a Zantac (which I did do eventually). I shoved the kola nuts and beignet in my pocket to go (Yep, that’s right, I pulled a Dean Bjerke). I gave the kola nuts to my neighbors and the beignet to my cats. Next time I know to bring some sort of to go container so I can take the food but not shove my face at the moment and, also, not to eat a whole bowl full of rice and beans before the meeting. Besides that, it was interesting and the women were very kind, welcoming, and obviously very giving with their food. Oh, and make that 4 cups of coffee and twice through A Hometown Country Christmas.