Summer 2009

After returning from Egypt and Morocco, things were still busy. I had my mid-service training (complete with medical tests) in Yaounde, then training in Bangangte. I had extensive medical tests in yaounde, and all that is wrong with me is yeast in my intestines. Apparently that is very common, because we eat so little dairy. We had a nice time hanging out, and had some great group meals. We made pad thai one night, that was delicious. We also went to a place called Café Yaounde for dinner for a volunteers birthday, and it is my new favorite restaurant. It is Italian food, prepared by Italians, and it is amazing. Expensive, but amazing. One Saturday that I was in yaounde, a bunch of us went to a Rasta party. Late in the evening, a bunch of rastas, and other people meet to play drums. Its very tribal music, with only the drums, no other instruments. We all danced the night away, and it was really fun. Dancing was difficult, bc it was hard to find one beat, so I’m sure we all looked stupid, but it was great. We didn’t leave until about 4am.
I left for bangante a few days after that, to help with training for the new volunteers. Things were busy there, and then I traveled back to yaounde for the 3rd of july party at the US Embassy. It was my first visit there, so it was neat. The embassy prepared hamburgers, and the rest of the food was potluck. I never knew there were so many Americans in Cameroon. There were hundreds of people there. We hung out for a while and ate, and then visited the American marines that stay at the embassy. That night I left for Bamenda, so I could return to Mamfe, but when I arrived the next morning, I was too tired to travel. I instead celebrated 4th of july with a few volunteers.
I returned back to Mamfe just in time for the Ed volunteer’s site visit. I finally found out who my new postmate would be, so Lauren and I showed her around.
Later in the week, I headed to Buea/douala to pick up Kevin. I was nervous for his arrival, but everything worked out really well, and we had a great time. During his visit, we visited the beach in Limbe, training in Bangangte (for model school), Bazou to visit Brandi, Bamenda, the palace in Bafut, and all of the sights in Mamfe. The best times we had were just relaxing and hanging out. I forgot how nice it is to have him around all the time. We watched movies and met my Cameroonian friends, and cooked meals. Felicia taught Kevin how to kill a chicken, and we prepared a delicious meal. Edward really liked Kevin and bought him a chief’s necklace and bracelet. All of my friends wanted to meet him and spend time with him, so I think Kevin really enjoyed his visit. There are always the difficult things, like no light, no water, vehicles stuck in mud, waiting everywhere, things moving slowly, people being late, etc, but kev took it all in stride. He didn’t really complain, ever. One highlight of his visit was Lauren’s title ceremony. Lauren received a title from one village, Ogomoko. The country director, and Lauren’s APCD came and received their own titles. It was a cool ceremony, with monikin dancers, speeches in the dialect, Ejagham, and lots of food. Kevin got sick once, but only for a few days, so it wasn’t bad. I hated taking him back to the airport. It was so sad for me to see him go, knowing I wouldn’t see him for another year. He left, arrived home safely, and I started to prepare for school.