You have a button on your arm

This is what my new host sister said to me yesterday, because here anything round on your skin is a bouton. The button on my arm was a new mole. From the sun. So she told me that I have to wear sunscreen.

I've moved! To Cite Asecna in Ouakam, a busy quartier of Dakar close to the airport and 40 minutes by bus to class. I love it. It's like a village in a big city, with quieter streets but just as much life as the rest of Dakar (maybe more) and everyone seems to know each other. I live with a host mom, and host sister, and three host brothers who I rarely see because they work nights at a big grocery store. My host mom teaches home ec and is great, and my host sister is 21 and studying to be a doctor. I really like them both and I get to practice my French with them and eat meals with them and watch TV with them every night. My host sister is partial to Mexican soap operas and American TV shows (Lost, House, Grey's Anatomy) dubbed in French. Lost is way behind here, but it was fun to watch a show I like in French.

So the new situation is good. My old one was not; and it's not the fault of the family I stayed with, they just weren't very good at including an exchange student in family activities and basically didn't talk to me. That was the way their family worked, and that's fine, but I wasn't learning anything. And now I am. It's a good change.

They also keep telling me that I'm going to learn Wolof. Considering that I can really only say "hello," "how are you?", and "thank you" I'm not sure if they're being polite or genuinely optimistic. But that's Senegal for you, I guess. People are really friendly here, and I've also noticed that they often say funny things when they enter a room, like, "you're sitting?," "you're eating?" - generally stating the obvious to start a conversation. It's nice.