rats and fender-benders

Hey!
I have a lot to update you all on this time. I didn't think I was too squeamish until I got to Africa. First of all, we have rats. We noticed rat droppings in our kitchen cabinets and our trash was everywhere about 3 nights ago. The night after we noticed, my housemate came into my room and screamed bloody murder. A rat ran behind my bed as I was sitting on it. Needless to say, we freaked out. Then, she went into her room and I was in the hallway that connects the rooms. She started screaming again and a rat ran out of her room into the kitchen. All three of us ended up crouching on top of the dining room table screaming. It brought my confidence in our outside house guards down because they never checked on us after we screamed for 10 minutes. So the next day, a guy came to put rat poison around the house. He climbed into the Attic and fell through the ceiling into my bedroom. The good thing is that he didn't get hurt. The bad thing is that I came home to rat poop all over my bed. It is hard to wash things here because I don't have a dryer. Anything I wash needs to have at least a day to hang dry.
Next story:
Since the ABC rotation cars don't work very well, they were so nice and bought a new car! It is an automatic so that me and my housemates can drive it! We got it this afternoon and I was so excited to drive it! Katie and I had to get gas on the way to the market so we stopped. While still in park after our gas tank had been filled, a HUGE semi flatbed truck drove right in front of me and took the corner too sharply. I honked when I noticed he was getting too close but then he ran right into the car. all three sets of tires went over the front bumper of the car. It was a frightening thing to see it coming but not have enough time to back the car up. Katie and i were fine and the car isn't in bad shape, but the irony of the situation is great. I got my first experience dealing with Malawian police, truck drivers, and gas station owners.

My class is doing well. I am becoming very attached already. The more I enjoy my kids, the more motivated I am to teaching them well. I am motivated when I see improvement. Thanks for all of your prayers for that!
My roommate Megan might have malaria so keep her in your prayers. My roommate Katie has been having a lot of health issues since she's been here so just pray for our whole house I guess. I have been healthy since I've been here and owe it to Gods grace. It is common to get sick here, especially with malaria, but I haven't had any severe problems. Thanks for your prayers!

Did you know you can put blue food coloring in mashed potatoes and then you have blue potatoes? Try it, it's awesome!