Life is better!  Language is still really tough, and these French keyboards suck, but I'm much less on edge now that it's the weekend.

Big news: I got a cell phone!  It's free for me to receive calls (hint hint), but probably not free for you to make international calls, so check out skype.com and keepcalling.com for cheaper calls.

My number: +229.66.02.10.60

The best time for me is 4-5ish ET, but 12-2 ET works on most days.  I think I missed a call from home yesterday -- sorry mama!  If that happens, try calling back 10 minutes later... I now have my phone set on "ring" instead of "silent", so you have a much better chance of reaching me now.

Benin celebrates their independence day tomorrow, plus it's the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Benin, so big day of fetes with the host family tomorrow.  We're watching the parade and speech, then heading over to Moubarack's first birthday party in the evening.  I'll try to take pictures if it's safe enough, and eventually I hope to upload some... Fingers crossed for amazing internet.  Hugs to all, and thanks for the comments -- it really helps to know yall are reading!