Life in mamfe

to continue a previous post...
-i have met lots of "big men" here in mamfe: the mayor, deputy mayor, numerous chiefs, and princes (eldest sons of chiefs). everywhere i go people greet me, which is nice. it makes me feel like im living in a community. i was recently invited to a palace. a friend of the deputy mayor, named prince charles invited me to his palace at besongabong. he is a character. he is a nigerian film star and producer that returned here after the death of his father. he always wears a straw hat. he is currently working on a film for american release, "voodoo assassins". if you see it, make sure to watch. anyway, he lives in a beautiful place. the inside reminds me of england, with cream walls and gold borders on everything, including the furniture. it definitely felt like a palace.
-we had the launching of the school year at my school. its a big event, hosted by a different school each year. all of the principals and vp, and government officials come. its like a big conference, with classes to go to and snack breaks and things. the students sang and had tradtional dances to entertain everyone. after, there was a big meal that i helped cook. all of the women know that i cant good traditional food, so invited me to watch them cook. all i really did was peel plantains and watch them prepare coki. after though, i got some to take home with me. that was a special treat.
-i have started teaching. i teach all of the form 2 biology classes (there are 5 different streams). each class has between 80 and 100 students. so far, its going ok. i try to speak slowly so they understand, and im trying to be strict. its difficult though, when classes are randomly cancelled, people come into classes to make announcements, or tell students to leave bc they havent paid school fees. there is always something to distract the students. i have my first test next week, so we will see if they are learning anything.
-this weekend we had teachers day. we all bought teachers day pagne (mine was blue and said teachers day all over it.. there are books and teachers on it too), so i could have an outfit made. my outfit had a matching top and bottom, and my hair was braided. everyone complimented me, that i looked like a true african! we all got together at the grandstand (a set of bleachers) and heard speeches from the big men. in between speeches, each school in the area sang or danced. when they were finished, we "marched". we all walked in a line past the grandstand. i thought it was going to be a parade through town, but no, it was about 20 seconds long. after, we met for food and drink.
-i had a true mamfe experience. as i was trying to post a while back, the power went out and i lost it. its not unusual for the power to go out, so i just left, thinking i would come back later. the power didnt come back that day, but we didnt think anything of it. we all thought it would be back the next day. nope. nor the next or the next. the water is actually connected to the power, so there was no water. i learned the hard way, to have a water storage container. over 1 week later, the power and water came back. that doesnt sound like very long, but when you dont have water stored, you depend on the rain to do dishes and flush the toilet. when there is no water, those things dont get done. also, showering with a cup of water (we call them bucket baths) do not make you feel clean. needless to say, the first thing i did when water returned was take a shower.


i spend most of my time here visiting. i have a lot of free time outside of school, so i visit friends in town, or in my neighborhood, and spend hours just sitting. the location changes, but its nice to relax and visit with friends. here, you dont even have to talk. sometimes you just sit in the company of someone else.
i also try to fix up the house. i have to clean almost everyday, but my neighbors say that i dont do it properly, so they always come to help me. the little kids can cook and clean better than i can!
my goal for myself is to learn how to cook. every week, one of the women teaches me a new food. maybe by the time i get home, ill be able to cook something nice. we'll see...

here in mamfe

so im here in mamfe.. (and a little bummed. wrote a huge post, then the power went out)
lots of things have happened. ill try to catch up:
-gave my presentation in french. i gave traditional recipes and brought in spices to show the class. i got a 98.7%. very nice.
-went to yaounde for the weekend. we had to do banking, and had a few training classes. other than that, ate a ton.. had a cheeseburger, pizza, chinese food and 2 milkshakes. everything was so delicious, even though all of that milk made me very sick. i had not eaten cheese or had ice cream in 3 months, so i had to catch up. i also bought a really cool batik tapestry. next time i go back, i plan on buying more.
-had SWEARING IN! i am now an official volunteer. all of the important people from town were there.. the chief, mayor, the us ambassador, host families, etc. some women gave a traditional dance and music. the town also honored the director, and had him dress in traditional pagne, juju (beads), and gave him a throne, staff and some other accessories. it was really neat to see.
-went out dancing swearing in night. i had one last dinner with my host family, then went out. for the first time in 3 months, no curfew, so we all stayed out all night. we went dancing at cristal, for hours. it was really fun
-the next morning, left for mamfe. we took a bus to dschang, dropped off a few people, then continued to buea, where we had to switch vehicles. from there to kumba, where we met up with another volunteer and had a chicken dinner.
-discovered that my ipod was stolen. i think i know who took it, and im NOT happy. i had a lot of my photos saved on it, so they are all gone. im hoping it will turn up, but not holding my breath.
-the next day came to mamfe. found out that my house is still not finished and will not be for another month. i was living with another volunteer. sleeping on the couch for a month gets old, real quick. to break it up, spent a weekend in okoyong with will. he works at an all girls catholic boarding school. we ate all of our meals at the convent, but they were good meals. also spent a few days in kembong with lauren. she taught me how to cook 2 meals: geloff rice and porridge plantains. they were better when she made them, than when i make them.
-met my staff at school. they are all really friendly. through them joined the staff social (amicale), a womens group, and an njangi/tanteen (sort of a savings program). all of them meet monthly and have food and drinks. its nice.
-finally, i moved into my house. it was ready later than expected, and i slept on the floor for a few nights. that was no fun, but at least it was my own place! its beautiful. i have a tiled veranda, a large parlor with wood patterned ceiling, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small back veranda. its a duplex, and they are still working on the other house, so i have to put up with construction, but thats ok. there is also a little bit of work in my own house, but thats ok too. i made friends with the man that is laying tile next door, and he is around to help with any problems i have.
-speaking of problems, i have had 2 slight mishaps:
1 - on my birthday, i thought i would treat myself to a nice long shower in my new house. after my nice long shower, i discovered that the drain doesnt work, and gallons and gallons of water leaked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.. then that leaked into the hall. after my nice long shower, and to clean up all of the water, using just a towel. it was not fun.
2 - after the drain was fixed, i went into the bathroom one day and found water on the floor. i tried to find the leak.. i thought it was from the hose that led from the wall into the toilet. as i touched it to see, the hose fell off and started spraying water everywhere. i was soaking wet, and had to call over the tiler to turn off the water for me.
i guess its not a new house without mishaps.