The past few weeks have been pretty busy here. First was youth week. It is actually one day (February 11), that has turned into a week long celebration. First, there is preparation for youth week, so many classes were cancelled. Then came youth week, so again classes were cancelled. It is a really nice idea though. All of the schools in the area compete and have different activities for the students to participate in. The kickoff for youth week was bilingualism day on Feb 5. We had an assembly at school. First we had a speech from the vice principal, in english and in french. That was followed by songs and speeches by the students in both languages, and a debate about why we should be bilingual. The debate was funny. One reason against, was that learning more than one language is "prostituting that language". I guess its hard to find reasons against a good thing. In between all of those were traditional dances. I took a bunch of pictures and short videos. Most of the girls dancing were my students, so that made it even more interesting for me. They were really good too. At the end, there was one dance with a juju. One boy was wearing a dress and mask, dressed as the juju. Im not sure how to explain it, but its kind of like a spirit, and people are afraid of it. It was really funny. I guess if the juju bends down to you, you have to give money. Of course, it bent down to me. I didnt mind though, bc the boy was so entertaining. After he finished, all of the students followed him to find out who it was. It was funny. Following that day, there were boys and girls football (soccer) matches, handball, and a knowlege bowl. Sadly, my school did not make it to the football finals, held on youth day. On the actual day, we all went to the grandstand to watch the students march. The march started with the nursery schools, then primary, secondary, technical schools, nursing, and teacher training colleges. Each group wears a different uniform, so i took tons of pictures. My favorite was one primary school. Instead of wearing uniforms, each child was dressed in traditional clothes. The girls were dressed as married women, with head wrap, and wrapper tied around their waists. Then boys were dressed as elders, with traditional robes and caps. They were hilarious. They actually won at the march, so their school received money from the government. After the march, i met up with a few friends to relax and have lunch. The next day, it was back to school. Quite a few students tried to say that it was "resting day", but i knew better.
That saturday, i was invited to a wedding in Bakebe. The baliff (called Maitre here) was having his tradition wedding, even though he's been married for over 5 years. There are 3 weddings here. First is usually the traditional wedding, then court wedding, and church wedding. The traditional wedding is after the man has talked to the family of the woman, and they accept him. At the wedding, the man speaks with all members of the family and pays the bride price. The bride price is usually a sum of money (200,000fcfa) to the family of the bride, along with certain items, like machetes, hoes, cloth, a pig, goat, chickens, and whatever else the family wants. Then, all of the men in the family can ask the man for their share. They can request money for any amount, and the man will have to pay. He could end up paying millions for the bride price if he was asked. This is all done in private, so no one outside the family can see what is happening. When they are finished, before they come out, everyone eats kola with groundnut paste for luck (i guess). Then the family comes out, followed by bride and groom, and everyone feasts. The court wedding is obviously at the court. It is where they sign the marriage certificate. Usually family is present at the courthouse, and after there is a feast. Then there is the church wedding. They have the church portion, then go home for a feast. Sometimes they wear ashwabi (everyone wears the same cloth, so they all match). Anyway, I went to a traditional wedding. It was the same as I just mentioned, and there was a huge feast afterwards, with goat, pig, chicken, fish, and beef. Most was slaughtered that day, so it was fresh. After the feast came dancing. I didnt feel like dancing, since i was already getting harassed by the men there. If i tried to dance, it would have been worse. Around midnight, we drove back to mamfe.
My next event was the following weekend. I traveled to Buea for the Mt. Cameroon Race. Starting at about 6am, hundreds of people run up to the summit of the mountain, then run back down. It usually takes about 4 hours. I met a group of PCVs, and we had a tent there where we talked about HIV/AIDS. We had posters, and handouts, and the idea was to talk to people after the runners left, while waiting for their return. I was amazed at the turnout. With all of the volunteers, we must have spoken with hundreds of people, at every age. We tried to talk mainly of ways to protect yourself (not sharing blades, being cautious with blood, protected sex, getting tested, etc). We also wanted to explain that having HIV is not the end of the world, and you can still lead a happy, healthy life. I answered so many questions, and people were really open to learning more. During down time, i wandered around the area. There were companies there, giving out tea and hot chocolate, and there were traditional dancers and entertainers. I guess here, people dont understand why we have clowns. Here, they have men that dress as women and dance around. It was very strange. I definitely did not understand it. I guess thats a cultural thing. At the end of our time there, i started to talk with 2 secondary school kids. As we talked, more and more kids came up, until i was surrounded by about 25 kids. They were listening and asking questions, it was great. We decided to play an HIV learning game with them, then we played duck, duck, goose. It was a huge hit. For the first time since i've come here, i actually felt like i was doing something useful, something to benefit others. Our tent was definitely a success. The next day, we went to the beach in Limbe for a short time, then back to mamfe.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
February 2009
Ever since the holidays, things have been pretty busy. School started up again… the students have been terrible. I’ve had to keep entire classes after school, taken marks from exams, and sent many students out of class. The kids stress me out, but some good things happen that make my job worth it. One day a student asked why I am a volunteer. A big group of students came over to hear the answer, and they were all amazed that someone would give up their time and money to help others. We have been talking about the US a lot, and students have been asking a lot of course related questions during class. That is really exciting here, bc most kids don’t ask questions. They aren’t raised to question things if they don’t understand, so I’m glad that they feel comfortable asking me.
I’ve finally started receiving bills at my house. I received a water bill for 14,000 cfa, which is out of control. Its only supposed to be about 1000. Of course, I had to pay first, dispute later. Many of my neighbors are also receiving really high bills, so we think that this is a common problem with everyone. Since that bill, I’ve had another that is lower, so I’m hoping it will stay that way. I also received my first electric bill. That wasn’t too high, but when I went to pay, I waited in line for over an hour, and it didn’t move at all. Then someone was so mean to me that I almost cried in the office. It was really embarrassing. Someone was talking about me in pidgin, and bc I’m white, apparently I can’t understand the language. I was just so frustrated that people think that I don’t understand anything. It happens all the time here. Looking back, I had no reason to get upset, but its too late now. I’ve had a lot of bills at my house too, bc my brand new house was built poorly. The plumber comes almost weekly, and the electrician a few times too. I love my house, but it’s a huge pain. My water is turned off more than it is on.
I’ve had many visitors at the house. I have a neighbor (her name is Othance) that comes over to spend time and helps me with some things, and quite a few of the neighbors come over to visit. There are a few younger kids next door, and their friends come over all the time. We look at science books, and maps, and they tell me what they are studying in school. Its kind of fun, and educational. I want kids here to learn that education can be fun. It sounds really cheesy, but they are raised that they must go to school and learn, but it doesn’t matter if they like it or not. Everything is memorization, and there is no application for knowledge. that’s why I want them to have fun when learning new things. Anyway, Othance was over at the house studying while I was out one night. I returned home, and she said that she had a surprise for me. I thought maybe she cleaned the floor or something. She brought me to my spare bedroom, and there were 3 small kids sleeping in the bed. She explained to me that the smallest one (who is about 5 years old) wet the bed. The father drove that child from the house and said he had to find another place to stay. He also told the extended family not to house them. Two of the older siblings (that visit me sometimes) left with the smallest and they decided to come here to sleep. Its obvious that I wouldn’t turn them away. Then Othance told me she had another surprise. The oldest two weren’t really sleeping - they wanted to play a joke on me. They got out of bed, and since the power was out, I made some popcorn, and we played cards by candlelight. It was kind of fun. The next morning, we all got up really early, to prepare food for the kids before they went to church. After church, they came back over, and helped me clear the yard. They are such good kids, I like when they visit.
We had a big even at school. The social group of teachers had a visit from another school, GHS Eyumojock, a school close to Nigeria About 20 teachers from their school came to visit our school for an overnight. In the morning, they hiked up to see the school, then saw our German hanging bridge (built in early 1900s). I missed that part of the morning, but I met up with the group at the Army Canteen. That was the site for the next group of activites: table tennis, cards, draughts (checkers), and a volleyball match. I played cards with the principal of Eyumojock, and I won two games. That was exciting. The volleyball match was such a close game that it was really entertaining. Next came a soccer match, but I skipped it bc I was tired and needed to rest. In the evening was dinner and dancing. There were so many speeches that we didn’t eat until almost midnight, then of course, I was chosen to lead the dancing. Who did I have to dance with? The principal of Eyumojock. Then I skipped out early to go to bed. Everyone else was up all night dancing.
The next week was Obama’s Inaguration. Everyone here loves Obama. They think that he will do a lot for Africa. I try to explain that Obama has lot of other things to do first. The inauguration was a pretty big deal here. I was invited to a party for it, but by the time I arrived, it was pretty low key. I went with a few friends to a bar here that has a TV outside so we could watch. Everyone there knew all of the political figures. People here are really interested in American politics. We watched Biden swear in, then Obama stepped up, and the power went out. Luckily, it came back on in a few minutes, so we were able to catch the tail end of Obama. It was really interesting to share the Inauguration of the American president with a group of Cameroonians.
That weekend, I traveled for a meeting in Fontem. I took a car, but I was amazed that it could travel on the terrible road. There were some parts of the road that were all mud, even though it hadn’t rained in weeks, and such huge dips in the road (they call the gallops here) that the car was almost sideways. It was kind of scary. In fontem, I met up with all of the volunteers in this province, for the Southwest Provincial mtg. The next day, we went on a hike through the bush to see some waterfalls. We were warned that it would be difficult, but I was not prepared. First there was a one hour hike, up and down hills to get to the bush. Then we hiked 2 hours straight down the side of a cliff. It was so steep that I crab walked in places to get down. I almost died a few times, when I slipped and almost fell. By the time I got to the bottom, I was exhausted. Then we had to hike over some huge rocks, to get to the falls, and then up another hill. The falls were beautiful though. There was about 5 different falls, each flowing into the next. There was a pool of water where some people swam, but it was too cold for me. Then came the trip back up over the rocks and up the cliff. I literally thought I might die at one point. It took me about 3 and ½ hours to get up the cliff. There were a few of us.. I referred to us as Team Slowpoke. The we had the hour hike back up and down hills to get to town. I was completely exhausted, and my whole body hurt. It was terrible. For the next few days I could barely walk. It was nice to see the falls, but I don’t know that I’ll make that trek again.
The next day, I went to Dschang to visit my friend Ben. He lives outside the city, up in the mountains. During the few days I was there, I had a few cooking lessons (since I can’t cook anything), I read my book, sat outside, and just relaxed. I haven’t had such a relaxing holiday ever. One day we traveled to Mbouda to visit some other volunteers. We took motos there, had some dinner and checked email, then left the next day. One day, Ben was sick, so we walked into the mountains to go to the health clinic. On the way, we stopped to see a medicinal garden, some pigs (I haven’t seen pigs here at all), and the Cameroon Tea Plantation. Apparently Cameroon makes tea and exports it. When we arrived at the clinic, I ran into a health volunteer that lives at the clinic. I hung out with him while I waited. A couple days later I returned to Mamfe. I got up early to take a moto to Dschang, then a car to Fontem, then I couldn’t find a car to Mamfe, so I took a moto. The bike ride was about 2 and ½ hours, and I was so glad to be off of that death trap. Thank goodness I was wearing my helmet. I thought we were going to go down a few times. My whole body was tired after that journey, and the driver wouldn’t take me the whole way to Mamfe, so then I had to take another car. The trip was exhausting. After that, it was back to school and my usual busy schedule. Next post, coming soon.
I’ve finally started receiving bills at my house. I received a water bill for 14,000 cfa, which is out of control. Its only supposed to be about 1000. Of course, I had to pay first, dispute later. Many of my neighbors are also receiving really high bills, so we think that this is a common problem with everyone. Since that bill, I’ve had another that is lower, so I’m hoping it will stay that way. I also received my first electric bill. That wasn’t too high, but when I went to pay, I waited in line for over an hour, and it didn’t move at all. Then someone was so mean to me that I almost cried in the office. It was really embarrassing. Someone was talking about me in pidgin, and bc I’m white, apparently I can’t understand the language. I was just so frustrated that people think that I don’t understand anything. It happens all the time here. Looking back, I had no reason to get upset, but its too late now. I’ve had a lot of bills at my house too, bc my brand new house was built poorly. The plumber comes almost weekly, and the electrician a few times too. I love my house, but it’s a huge pain. My water is turned off more than it is on.
I’ve had many visitors at the house. I have a neighbor (her name is Othance) that comes over to spend time and helps me with some things, and quite a few of the neighbors come over to visit. There are a few younger kids next door, and their friends come over all the time. We look at science books, and maps, and they tell me what they are studying in school. Its kind of fun, and educational. I want kids here to learn that education can be fun. It sounds really cheesy, but they are raised that they must go to school and learn, but it doesn’t matter if they like it or not. Everything is memorization, and there is no application for knowledge. that’s why I want them to have fun when learning new things. Anyway, Othance was over at the house studying while I was out one night. I returned home, and she said that she had a surprise for me. I thought maybe she cleaned the floor or something. She brought me to my spare bedroom, and there were 3 small kids sleeping in the bed. She explained to me that the smallest one (who is about 5 years old) wet the bed. The father drove that child from the house and said he had to find another place to stay. He also told the extended family not to house them. Two of the older siblings (that visit me sometimes) left with the smallest and they decided to come here to sleep. Its obvious that I wouldn’t turn them away. Then Othance told me she had another surprise. The oldest two weren’t really sleeping - they wanted to play a joke on me. They got out of bed, and since the power was out, I made some popcorn, and we played cards by candlelight. It was kind of fun. The next morning, we all got up really early, to prepare food for the kids before they went to church. After church, they came back over, and helped me clear the yard. They are such good kids, I like when they visit.
We had a big even at school. The social group of teachers had a visit from another school, GHS Eyumojock, a school close to Nigeria About 20 teachers from their school came to visit our school for an overnight. In the morning, they hiked up to see the school, then saw our German hanging bridge (built in early 1900s). I missed that part of the morning, but I met up with the group at the Army Canteen. That was the site for the next group of activites: table tennis, cards, draughts (checkers), and a volleyball match. I played cards with the principal of Eyumojock, and I won two games. That was exciting. The volleyball match was such a close game that it was really entertaining. Next came a soccer match, but I skipped it bc I was tired and needed to rest. In the evening was dinner and dancing. There were so many speeches that we didn’t eat until almost midnight, then of course, I was chosen to lead the dancing. Who did I have to dance with? The principal of Eyumojock. Then I skipped out early to go to bed. Everyone else was up all night dancing.
The next week was Obama’s Inaguration. Everyone here loves Obama. They think that he will do a lot for Africa. I try to explain that Obama has lot of other things to do first. The inauguration was a pretty big deal here. I was invited to a party for it, but by the time I arrived, it was pretty low key. I went with a few friends to a bar here that has a TV outside so we could watch. Everyone there knew all of the political figures. People here are really interested in American politics. We watched Biden swear in, then Obama stepped up, and the power went out. Luckily, it came back on in a few minutes, so we were able to catch the tail end of Obama. It was really interesting to share the Inauguration of the American president with a group of Cameroonians.
That weekend, I traveled for a meeting in Fontem. I took a car, but I was amazed that it could travel on the terrible road. There were some parts of the road that were all mud, even though it hadn’t rained in weeks, and such huge dips in the road (they call the gallops here) that the car was almost sideways. It was kind of scary. In fontem, I met up with all of the volunteers in this province, for the Southwest Provincial mtg. The next day, we went on a hike through the bush to see some waterfalls. We were warned that it would be difficult, but I was not prepared. First there was a one hour hike, up and down hills to get to the bush. Then we hiked 2 hours straight down the side of a cliff. It was so steep that I crab walked in places to get down. I almost died a few times, when I slipped and almost fell. By the time I got to the bottom, I was exhausted. Then we had to hike over some huge rocks, to get to the falls, and then up another hill. The falls were beautiful though. There was about 5 different falls, each flowing into the next. There was a pool of water where some people swam, but it was too cold for me. Then came the trip back up over the rocks and up the cliff. I literally thought I might die at one point. It took me about 3 and ½ hours to get up the cliff. There were a few of us.. I referred to us as Team Slowpoke. The we had the hour hike back up and down hills to get to town. I was completely exhausted, and my whole body hurt. It was terrible. For the next few days I could barely walk. It was nice to see the falls, but I don’t know that I’ll make that trek again.
The next day, I went to Dschang to visit my friend Ben. He lives outside the city, up in the mountains. During the few days I was there, I had a few cooking lessons (since I can’t cook anything), I read my book, sat outside, and just relaxed. I haven’t had such a relaxing holiday ever. One day we traveled to Mbouda to visit some other volunteers. We took motos there, had some dinner and checked email, then left the next day. One day, Ben was sick, so we walked into the mountains to go to the health clinic. On the way, we stopped to see a medicinal garden, some pigs (I haven’t seen pigs here at all), and the Cameroon Tea Plantation. Apparently Cameroon makes tea and exports it. When we arrived at the clinic, I ran into a health volunteer that lives at the clinic. I hung out with him while I waited. A couple days later I returned to Mamfe. I got up early to take a moto to Dschang, then a car to Fontem, then I couldn’t find a car to Mamfe, so I took a moto. The bike ride was about 2 and ½ hours, and I was so glad to be off of that death trap. Thank goodness I was wearing my helmet. I thought we were going to go down a few times. My whole body was tired after that journey, and the driver wouldn’t take me the whole way to Mamfe, so then I had to take another car. The trip was exhausting. After that, it was back to school and my usual busy schedule. Next post, coming soon.
Christmas 2008
So, I havent written in a long time but I wanted to catch you up on my christms vacation. Just before the holiday, I rushed and rushed to give an exam, to mark, and record all of my grades. I wanted to finish everything before leaving, and I almost did. All of the grades are recorded by hand in special books. Two of the books that I needed were missing, so I had to leave my marks with the vice principal. I found out later that there was an argument about it, because no one wanted to fill them for me. Anyway, I was filling early bc I had to miss one week of school for my In Service Training for Peace Corps. On that Saturday, I was up early to do some things in town before leaving. Close to midday, I left with my postmate Will and our counterparts to go to Buea. The journey wasn’t too bad, but it rained halfway through, so the road turned to mud. At one point, there was a huge truck carrying oranges that got stuck in the mud and blocked the road. We tried to help move the truck but it was too big, so we (about 25 cars) had to wait for another big truck. That truck came nose to nose with the other and pushed it backwards. It was kind of interesting to watch. At the halfway point, we stopped for food, and I ate chuku-chuku, aka porcupine. It was delicious. I was sitting in the middle of the front seats, and I was very very uncomfortable. When we finally arrived in Buea, it was after dark and I literally had a bruise on my butt. A friend was supposed to arrange for a hotel for us to stay the night, but of course, forgot. We took a taxi to find one and "rooms no dey." We went to another hotel, and what did we hear? Rooms no dey. A third? Rooms no dey. Come to find out, there was a convocation ceremony, so all of the hotels in town were booked. Seven hotels later, still nothing. I had to call another volunteer in the area to see if they knew of anything. We ended up with a sketchy half-built hotel, with no running water, where I had to share a bed with will’s counterpart. It was not the best nights sleep.
At 5am the next morning, we were up and on the road again. We stopped in the largest city in cameroon, Douala, which I do not like. Its like any big city. Too many people, too many cars, traffic jams, smog, and bugs. I’m a smaller town kind of girl. There was only one thing that I liked about Douala, and it was that our bus said it would leave at 9:30am, and it did! Most vehicles here wait until they are full to leave, and they never leave when they say they will. We continued on to Kribi for IST, and arrived in good time. We checked in and our hotel (Hstel Paradis) was right across the street from the beach. We met a few other volunteers and went out for lunch. This town in known for their fish, and the people we were with don’t like fish.. It was a little strange. I also learned that most of the volunteers here don’t like Cameroonian food. I don’t know if its bc they don’t try it or what, but I love it. I’m trying to think of ways to make it back in the US. Anyway, we got lunch, and sat at the beach, then had a big group dinner. It was nice to see people again, though I have kept in touch with the people that I am close with. Classes started the next day, where we talked about program planning and funding and similar topics. The worst was the funding session, bc it was all in French. Most of us picked up very little from that. I wasn’t happy bc the counterparts sat in with us on that session. At the end I could see dollar signs in my counterparts eyes. He wants me to build a road, dig a very deep well on the top of a hill, and build a computer lab. None of those things are in my job description. I don’t have that kind of money, and those ideas are unrealistic. We don’t even have electricity at my school - how will we have a computer lab? Anyway, every day at lunchtime, I went to sit by the beach and relax. After classes for the day, I did the same. I swam a few times, but there was a strong current so I got nervous. Kribi is beautiful though. I took pictures. The photos look like postcards.
At the end of IST, I stayed an extra day to see Les Chutes de la Lobe. They are one of the only waterfalls that flows directly into the ocean. We took a pirogue (carved out wooden canoe) around the bay. It wasn’t very steady, so I was afraid I would fall in. Then, our boat had a hole in it, so we started to take on water. Luckily, I have the thinking of Macgyver, and I plugged the hole with my finger. It did the trick. When we returned from the boat ride, we went for a swim. We decided to swim across the bay to a small beach. It was reasonably close, but the current was so strong that it took a long time to get there. I was exhausted when I reached it, then we had to turn around and swim back. The current was with me on the way back, so that was a lot quicker. Then, I decided to buy some artwork. If I had more money, I would have bought more, but I got some good deals on some paintings. I am very happy with my purchases.
From there, I headed to Yaounde. I had to get my eyes checked. Ive been seeing a lot of spots, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t eye worms (that’s a real thing I could get here). My 5 minute appt told me very little though, but I’m pretty sure no worms. In Yaoundé, I did some fun stuff, like eat pizza and a salad, Chinese food, watch an american movie. There’s nothing like watching a movie where Martians kidnap Santa, while in Cameroon. From Yaoundé, I went to Tiko. I was intending to stop in Limbe (the beach), until I got a txt from Peace Corps saying not to go. Apparently, the Bakassi Freedom Fighters ( a Nigerian rebel group) threatened to invade, so it wasn’t safe to go. Last year, some oil rich land (bakassi) was awarded to cameroon and they want it back. They have kidnapped workers from oil rigs, and robbed some banks in their efforts. They never invaded, but Cameroon was prepared, with scores of military in the area. I stayed with some volunteers and had a quiet xmas. It really didn’t feel like the holidays to me, so I was planning on anti-Christmas, where I went to the beach, and didn’t give or receive any gifts. When I arrived in Tiko, all of the kids were so excited about the holiday, so we listened to xmas music, and danced around a small xmas tree, and we had some small gifts to open on xmas day. Xmas eve we had a big dinner and then a big breakfast xmas day. I was kind of bummed bc it seemed like xmas was over, but I heard from one of my Mamfe friends that was in the area, and he invited me to spend the day with his family. I went, and it was really nice. iThe whole family was there, so i met everyone, and his son was visiting from Sweden. He is a footballer (soccer player) there and he brought some of his footballer friends. That was interesting.
I left the next day for Mamfe. It is a tiring journey, but it was pretty short. I came home to no water bc the faucet had broken while I was gone, and the water had to be turned off. What a welcome. I relaxed for a few days, and helped one of my neighbors on the farm. I cleared weeds with a hoe, at 6am. I left with blisters on my hands, but it was an experience. On New Year’s Eve, I went to see the Chinese people here, and have dinner with them. Then I met the mayor and some friends out in town. It was fun, but I was so tired that I had a hard time staying awake. At one point, I gave a radio interview. That was weird. I hope no one was listening. Typical of Africa, everything ran late. We counted down the new year at 12:08am. Then it was home to bed. New Year’s Day, I was invited to the Palace at Besongabong to celebrate. We had lunch then drinks, and met many big men and chiefs from the area. In the evening, they all gave speeches. They didn’t want to tell me what it was about, but they were all members of a secret society called Ekpe, and they were saying their greetings. I have a few friends that tell me some things, so I’m not completely in the dark. I rested the next day, then visited Lauren (another volunteer) in Kembong. It was nice to have a mini holiday before going back to school. It was an action packed holiday, but nice. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as well!
At 5am the next morning, we were up and on the road again. We stopped in the largest city in cameroon, Douala, which I do not like. Its like any big city. Too many people, too many cars, traffic jams, smog, and bugs. I’m a smaller town kind of girl. There was only one thing that I liked about Douala, and it was that our bus said it would leave at 9:30am, and it did! Most vehicles here wait until they are full to leave, and they never leave when they say they will. We continued on to Kribi for IST, and arrived in good time. We checked in and our hotel (Hstel Paradis) was right across the street from the beach. We met a few other volunteers and went out for lunch. This town in known for their fish, and the people we were with don’t like fish.. It was a little strange. I also learned that most of the volunteers here don’t like Cameroonian food. I don’t know if its bc they don’t try it or what, but I love it. I’m trying to think of ways to make it back in the US. Anyway, we got lunch, and sat at the beach, then had a big group dinner. It was nice to see people again, though I have kept in touch with the people that I am close with. Classes started the next day, where we talked about program planning and funding and similar topics. The worst was the funding session, bc it was all in French. Most of us picked up very little from that. I wasn’t happy bc the counterparts sat in with us on that session. At the end I could see dollar signs in my counterparts eyes. He wants me to build a road, dig a very deep well on the top of a hill, and build a computer lab. None of those things are in my job description. I don’t have that kind of money, and those ideas are unrealistic. We don’t even have electricity at my school - how will we have a computer lab? Anyway, every day at lunchtime, I went to sit by the beach and relax. After classes for the day, I did the same. I swam a few times, but there was a strong current so I got nervous. Kribi is beautiful though. I took pictures. The photos look like postcards.
At the end of IST, I stayed an extra day to see Les Chutes de la Lobe. They are one of the only waterfalls that flows directly into the ocean. We took a pirogue (carved out wooden canoe) around the bay. It wasn’t very steady, so I was afraid I would fall in. Then, our boat had a hole in it, so we started to take on water. Luckily, I have the thinking of Macgyver, and I plugged the hole with my finger. It did the trick. When we returned from the boat ride, we went for a swim. We decided to swim across the bay to a small beach. It was reasonably close, but the current was so strong that it took a long time to get there. I was exhausted when I reached it, then we had to turn around and swim back. The current was with me on the way back, so that was a lot quicker. Then, I decided to buy some artwork. If I had more money, I would have bought more, but I got some good deals on some paintings. I am very happy with my purchases.
From there, I headed to Yaounde. I had to get my eyes checked. Ive been seeing a lot of spots, and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t eye worms (that’s a real thing I could get here). My 5 minute appt told me very little though, but I’m pretty sure no worms. In Yaoundé, I did some fun stuff, like eat pizza and a salad, Chinese food, watch an american movie. There’s nothing like watching a movie where Martians kidnap Santa, while in Cameroon. From Yaoundé, I went to Tiko. I was intending to stop in Limbe (the beach), until I got a txt from Peace Corps saying not to go. Apparently, the Bakassi Freedom Fighters ( a Nigerian rebel group) threatened to invade, so it wasn’t safe to go. Last year, some oil rich land (bakassi) was awarded to cameroon and they want it back. They have kidnapped workers from oil rigs, and robbed some banks in their efforts. They never invaded, but Cameroon was prepared, with scores of military in the area. I stayed with some volunteers and had a quiet xmas. It really didn’t feel like the holidays to me, so I was planning on anti-Christmas, where I went to the beach, and didn’t give or receive any gifts. When I arrived in Tiko, all of the kids were so excited about the holiday, so we listened to xmas music, and danced around a small xmas tree, and we had some small gifts to open on xmas day. Xmas eve we had a big dinner and then a big breakfast xmas day. I was kind of bummed bc it seemed like xmas was over, but I heard from one of my Mamfe friends that was in the area, and he invited me to spend the day with his family. I went, and it was really nice. iThe whole family was there, so i met everyone, and his son was visiting from Sweden. He is a footballer (soccer player) there and he brought some of his footballer friends. That was interesting.
I left the next day for Mamfe. It is a tiring journey, but it was pretty short. I came home to no water bc the faucet had broken while I was gone, and the water had to be turned off. What a welcome. I relaxed for a few days, and helped one of my neighbors on the farm. I cleared weeds with a hoe, at 6am. I left with blisters on my hands, but it was an experience. On New Year’s Eve, I went to see the Chinese people here, and have dinner with them. Then I met the mayor and some friends out in town. It was fun, but I was so tired that I had a hard time staying awake. At one point, I gave a radio interview. That was weird. I hope no one was listening. Typical of Africa, everything ran late. We counted down the new year at 12:08am. Then it was home to bed. New Year’s Day, I was invited to the Palace at Besongabong to celebrate. We had lunch then drinks, and met many big men and chiefs from the area. In the evening, they all gave speeches. They didn’t want to tell me what it was about, but they were all members of a secret society called Ekpe, and they were saying their greetings. I have a few friends that tell me some things, so I’m not completely in the dark. I rested the next day, then visited Lauren (another volunteer) in Kembong. It was nice to have a mini holiday before going back to school. It was an action packed holiday, but nice. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
