Whats up vazahas?

Hello everyone!
Well it has been quite the week. I put a little update on my facebook but Ill give you guys the whole story here.
So birthday:
First of all thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! It was a birthday like no other thats for sure. I woke up and everyone said happy birthday and did the three kisses on the cheek thing. my host mom made a big effort to say happy birthday in english so that was nice. then i got to talk to mom and dad on the phoen before school-yay! school was a trip to this mining cite. its really terrible its ruining the environment and only helping a few already rich people and its all to mine for the stuff that makes toothpaste white. ya. bad news bears. so we toured the new port they built for it, the mining cite, and then the conservation zone that they set aside because they had to (a whomping 10 percent of the land) it was crazy cuz the mining cite was like the dessert and it used to look like the conservation cite which is rainforest. but it was very eye-opening and informational. after the tour we had lunch-there was peanut butter and laughing cow cheese we were so excited! then they brought a cake out for me and everyone sang in english and french and malagasy it was really nice. the cake was really tasty there was fruit in it. also there were some guys from BBC there filming a documentary on madagascar (if you see this on tv you should watch it i might be in the background!) and they had a super fancy lunch so i got their leftovers gifted to me too. it was something like a shrimp cocktail and little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. fancy smancy. when i got to my house it was just a normal night. my director said that they dont really celebrate birthdays here only for little kids-which is sadly probably cuz many kids dont make it past their 5th birthday :(  but my little sister did sneak some cookies under my pillow and gave me a hair clip. shes my little pal here i love playing with her. the big deal rightn now is learning how to shuffle and play war. then theres always the macarena she gets a kick out of that. anyways that was my birthday. oh also some ladies on the street gave me necklaces but now i think they are going to hunt me down and make me buy more from them they already have cornered some of the other kids. the street vendors are so frustrating because theyre everywhere and i really dont need weaved hats and necklaces rightn ow but i feel bad always turning them down. also a lot of times they send the kids after you and they just pull at your heartstrings. its tough. but anyways moving on to the next day...
Wednesday night I got really sick. I think it might have been bad oil that they cooked manioc fries in? but i figure we all are going to barf here sometime or another so might as well get used to it. it was pretty dismal though and as i was barfing a centipede crawled out of a crack in the wall next to me and i was just like really this is not happening.
Then the next morning we went to a fishing village. but not just any fishing village. no it was a village 2 hours away and literally it was more intense than the indiana jones ride at disneyland. the roads are paved and theres tons of potholes and mini rivers and they still drive really fast and crazy!!! and this whole time i was still feeling sick! mayhem!! but we made it there, took a hike to the beach, then helped the fishermen pull their really heavy boats onto the beach, then interveiwed them. it was really interesting they live such a hard life but they are so happy and proud to be fishermen. after we finished talking to them we drove ON the beach-on the sand- to this AMAZING picnic spot! had a really good lunch and went swimming in the ocean! after lunch i felt a lot better but i still kind of took it easy and just waded out and literally sat in the ocean about 100 plus yards out. it was so shallow and warm and amazing like out of a movie. probably what you all have imagined me doing this whole time but it was my first experience like that and i think i really really needed it.  then we had malagasy class-ive decided this language is basically insane and impossible but oh well. then for the ride home 3 other girls and i sat in the bed of the truck for awhile it was soooo awesome! so that was probably the worst and best time so far all in one day.
then on friday i lost my phone in a taxi. called my driver and the only lady who had been in the car was still there but she said she didnt see it so basically she pocketed it. i was really mad at myself for this but oh well its fifteen bucks for a phone here so i got a new one and ill be more careful. there are many worse things that could have been lost.
Anyways the weekend is pretty uneventful. Think i enjoy school more. met up with some friends today at the vazaha hotel-the only place you can really go to hang out and not feel awkward because theres lots of other vazahas there. the whold vazaha thing is getting so old. people are always talking about us and watching us and i know its not rude for their culture but itsjust really exhausting for us.
OH YEA church! went to church at 5:30 last sunday. there were prob about 800 people there and i was the only white person and people were watching me the entire time. it was lutheran but i didnt recognize anything and it was all in malagasy so i basically sat there through it for 3 hours. and before it started i had to go up to the pastor and prove that im lutheran and i cried in communion and everyone just stared at me and i was just so uncomfortable. its just so different because i feel so safe and loved and comfortable at my church so it was just rough feeling the opposite of that and missing home. going to try to make tomorrows church experience better though.
so yea ive been a bit homesick but this week flew by so im trying to just remember that and enjoy life here. its pretty rough sometimes though. it really is a third world country its unlike anything ive ever seen its so difficult to describe. but its really an experience.
For wildlife: ive seen a chemeleon, frogs, lizards, turtle, lots of stray dogs and chickens, oh and a dead shark! a normal looking one and then a little hammerhead and two sting rays that someone caught and were on the beach! it was sad cuz theyre not supposed to fish hammerheads especially babies. touched the shark it was so bizarre! a lot like a wet suit. but this upcoming week were going to a national park to camp for 3 days so were hoping to see lemurs.
Ive made some good friend sin the group theyre all really nice and we vazaha it up together.
Anyways think thats about it! I miss you guys a lot! it hard to imagine that PLU just started school and people are living normal lives in america. dont take anything there for granted-and by anything i mean ANYTHING -even toilet paper (someone gave us notebook paper to use as toilet paper this week!)
Ill try to post again soon. Thanks so much for all the thoughts and prayers you all are awesome and i love you very very much!