"Africa hot"

I am pretty sure I now know the meaning of "Africa hot." My digital thermometer on my alarm clock in my room read 88F this morning when I woke up at 6am. I refuse to look at it during the day. I don't even want to know.
I am doing AWESOME, no doubt due to the prayers of my loved ones back home! My host family is absolutely wonderful. The mother is the business owner and seems to have some status in the community since other women curtsy to her. She is beautiful and caring and generous and patient with me. She comes home from her boutique in the evenings to make sure my meal is being prepared properly according to PC standards(by the girls who live in my compound who I think are the nieces of the father)so I don't get sick, and then goes back to her boutique to close up shop. She (as well as the rest of the family) are always up when I wake in the morning and when I go to sleep at night. The father is an administrator for the athletic association in this city (I'm pretty sure). He is also very nice and caring. I think my accent is too much for him beause he understands less of what I try to say than anyone else, though he continues to try until my 20th "Je ne comprend pas," when he breaks it down in english for me:) He is great. Their son is 16 and my favorite of the family. He is always helping me and his sister and his mom and dad. He is learning english as I am learning french so we compare notes. You teach me and I teach you. He plays soccer (although I'm not sure when) so my goal is to get out there and play with him soon. The daughter is 7 and oh is she 7. She is sweet and always somewhere close to me watching every move and helping me practice pronunciation of the easy stuff - counting to 100 (which my host father would not let me quit when I got to 80), days of the week, months of the year, etc. The father is Muslim and everyone else is Catholic. I have recently befriended the very fluent english speaking Priest who comes to dinner sometimes. The family dynamics are so wonderful (and so different from the families a lot of volunteers have). The 4 of them interact so nicely. I love it.
The compound I live in is interesting. There is the building I live in which contains 3 seperate really small apartments - me and the mom and dad in 1, the kids in another, and not sure what's in the other. There is another identical building which houses some members of the father's extended family. The "shower" and "toilet" areas are at the far corner of the compound. I am required to bathe twice per day - before breakfast and dinner - which I have no probleme with (see Africa hot at top of post). Bathing under the stars is something else. Also in our compound are 2 goats (1 baby), 2 dogs, and 5 chickens. So yes mom, I finally live on the farm you always wanted me to - though I don't do any related work:)
So a day in the life...wake at 6am (to the sound of that darn rooster for the 4th hour) and bathe. Then I have breakfast with my host sister and brother. Discuss the night's plans with the host mom and dad and say good-bye. Bike to school where I have 4 2-hr training sessions varying between french, safety and security, culture, and health (Thursdays are shots days - today I got 2). Bike home, study, bathe, eat dinner, "talk" (fumble through french) with the fam about the days activities, go to bed. I stay really busy, but I am learning a lot and getting to know some really great people.
That's all for now. I'll be gone until Tuesday, so I'll try to catch up then. Thanks so much for all the well-wishes. Love you all!!