What I've learned so far:

Walk around, leave your house, do not watch that next episode of the West Wing; Never underestimate the value of greeting someone; Start projects early, things will rarely work out as they planned; Do not try to put another food object in a plastic container after you have repeatedly put fried fish in that container; Someone will always answer your question, but you have to be willing to ask first; Determine what you think is your capacity for patience, then double it; Your attitude that day will be directly reflected in the actions of your students; Take advantage of what resources you can get your hands on; Sometimes, you just need to sit in your house, drink red wine and stalk your US friends on Facebook; Regular dreams about food are not something of which to be ashamed; Be strong; You are the teacher, and you are in charge, which means that sometimes, you have to walk out of the classroom before your students walk all over you; A song is a powerful incentive; Sweating while not moving is possible; Emails from home will always come when you need them most; It is easier to waste time on YouTube Mobile than it is to waste time on full-bandwidth YouTube due to loading/downloading.bandwidth issues; Pounded yams. Eat them; You will become accustomed to three-inch long cockroaches in your latrine faster than you would think; After about four months, you tend to forget what you don’t have; You will be surprised at the people who you miss; Some of the best things can be purchased from atop a person’s head; People’s perceptiveness will surprise you; Just dance; Tragedies in the US will still reach you even if you are six time zones away; You will learn as much, if not more than, what your students learn from you; Don’t spend so much time doubting that your colleagues will come through; Surround yourself with good people, with them you can do anything; You can do this.