This is what I have learned about what my life will be like for the next three years:
• I better get used to eating rice. Lots and lots of rice.
• Marriage proposals will come quite frequently.
• Don’t EVER look into the latrine.
• Crystal light packages are a very strong payment method when trading with another volunteer.
• Rats love to live in your ceiling.
• Taxi brousses—bring something to put in your lap. That way you can’t fit another person in the car and your lap ends up the additional seat.
• My bike and me might just become best friends.
• Books will try to prevent the boredom
• If is see a bat, do not freak out. I guess it’s quite frequent.
• Coloring books are a huge hit with the children, but once you give them one, they most definitely will come back for more.
• My name will be changed to “vazaha”—aka white person/foreigner
• A five minute walk may take an hour. Everyone wants to speak to you on the way.
• Did I mention that I better like rice? Pretty much guaranteed for at least two meals a day. Good thing I loveeeee rice!
And this is just one month of reading of blogs from volunteers in Madagascar. Just the tip of the iceberg. As the time dwindles down, I get more and more antsy. And I get more and more excited. Is it weird I’m sorta excited to live without electricity? It is isn’t it…
It's a mad Mad Land out there. 
Wanna cook Malagasy food? Check out http://www.youtube.com/lemurbaby with recipes.
Haha– funny tip about the taxi brousses. What is one supposed to put in your lap to prevent someone from sitting on it? Does a backpack suffice, I wonder?
I’ll have to get some coloring books to bring as gifts for kids… I just went to Michael’s and happened upon a massive sale of kid’s tchotchkes (30 cent packets of hair elastics, $1 boxes of temporary tattoos, etc) so I did a bit of stocking up for things to bring kids.
And I’ve been hearing a lot about the constant presence of mice/rats in volunteers’ houses…. I am pretty rodent-a-phobic so this will probably be my toughest challenge… eep!
I would assume a large bag would definitely suffice, but who knows. And Party City cringes whenever I walk in because I have stocked up on little things to give kids.
I hope things are going well with you and PC preparations. It’s exciting! Only four months away…
I promise to send you stuff ;) I have a whole cabinet full of stuff n I promise to hide it in ways you wouldn’t know lol… We will come up with our own secret language … I miss u but I know you will do well ;) lots of love and best wishes