I'm really not good with titles

This is the post where I really wish my camera was working so I could share a photo of my new kitten, Lulu. She's cute and already spoiled. I'm sure some of you are asking yourself, "Wha? I thought you were allergic to cats?" Yes, I am. But my house seemed like a big lonely place and I thought maybe I was only allergic to American cats. Heh. Of course, I'm sneezing and itching a little but her companionship is worth it. She's apparently fatter than normal kittens because I feed her until she stops eating. People here don't really have "pets." They have goats that eat the grass, big dogs to scare people away, and cats that hang around their yards because they've fed it from time to time. Surprisingly, however, there's a vet in my village. He specializes in farm animals, but I told him I had a cat and I wanted to treat her for insects and worms and such. So, he went to Bafoussam and found me some medicine. Now, if only I could get her to always use her litter box. Yeah, I made a litter box.

School is coming along. I've experienced some minor discipline problems but I noticed if you threaten to send them out and count them as absent, they tend to take you seriously. Also, taking points off works too because their marks are very important to them. One day, I honestly felt like a clown in front of the classroom for the students' amusement. I was pretty unhappy about it, but I spoke to some colleagues in the English Dept. who are incredibly supportive and helpful. If there's one thing I love about my job, it's the support that colleagues give one another here. The volunteer before me wrote that I should depend on my colleagues. I'm now seeing what she meant.

Beginning Monday, I'm heading to Bangangte where I'll teach a group of girls English. I think I mentioned this before, but the volunteer before me worked with this group of girls who attend the center for continuing education. I met with the director and she's super nice and in a way, kind of reminds me of grandma, my mom's mom. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something that connects the two in my mind. And the center's not far from my host dad's pharmacy so I'll get to visit him. I'll be working every Monday morning and this means I can also buy stuff from the "Boulangerie," which makes pretty good bread and benets. We don't have a bakery in my village. I keep telling people if they open up a bakery here, they'd get a lot of business from me, but everyone says it's too much money to run one. They say it's better to just make the 30 minute drive to buy the bread.

I think if my village were Opelousas, Bangangte would be Lafayette, and Bafoussam would be Baton Rouge. The driving time is the same and it seems like Bangangte's a little bit bigger and has many more options. And Bafoussam's the capital, where I can find lots of things that don't exist around here. I try to limit my visits to Bafoussam, because like Baton Rouge, the traffic sucks and it's not a fun place to be.

This Sunday is Teacher's Day and there's a big party somewhere. My principal said if I didn't go, it would be bad. It would seem like I don't like being a teacher. Hah, imagine that! He said this in English, so I think I should take it seriously. I hear there will be plenty of beer. I'll let you know how it turns out.