Finding place in a new family

I've been living with a family since Friday and though there's been some semblance of a routine I still mostly feel like I don't know what's going on, like who people are, who isn't related and who is, who lives there and who doesn't, when we eat, what we eat, where we eat. Last night was my host sister's birthday; she turned 23. We had a big party for her with people from the family (cousins, sisters, brothers, aunts, and who knows who else). My host sister, La La (probably not spelled like that, but that's how it sounds) is really into music; she loves to play the guitar and sing. So as a surprise on her birthday my host mom invited one of her favorite local singers, a man named Cher to sing.

It was a lot of fun to meet some of the extended family and to see how people interact and relate to each other and to also see my family break out the red carpet of food and goodies and other luxuries that we don't ever see (cake and soda pop). And as I was sitting there on the couch looking on as more and more people came in and fell into their tried and true familiarities and affections, I started missing my own family and my own people. It's hard to see that and be so far away from home knowing that even a phone call is difficult. But soon someone picked up the guitar and we started singing American songs and then learning songs in Wolof and singing happy birthday and I felt better and I felt like I could make a place for myself here.

This is LaLa; isn't she beautiful?

The American girl is Stephanie; she is also in the program and lives down the street from me.

This is the special guest singer, Cher.

The middle girl is Amina; she's my sister. The other two boys are neighbors/cousins.