Mamfe Send off

My Mamfe send – off party was planned for May 22, 2010. There was a lot of preparation involved, since there electricity has been terrible for a long time, and we are in the beginning of rainy season. A few weeks before the event, I made invitations and Jessica (my roommate) helped me disburse them. We also decided to get ashwabi (matching fabric to make clothing). This was not my idea, but I was all for it. For major occasions here, they usually wear matching outfits, so they look like a family. We decided on a fabric, which looked strangely Hawaiian. We also decided to have a pig roast, the same thing we did for Lauren’s send off back in December. It was such a hit with everyone, that we thought it would be a good idea. The few days before the send off were extremely busy, as I was just finishing up school, and trying to do everything myself. As the party approached, I had to delegate, big time.
The party was at Stanson’s house, as he has a huge veranda and a huge yard. My house was going to be a little too small for the 100+ guests invited. My neighbors were extremely helpful, and offered to do the cooking. The menu included pepe soup chicken, fufu corn and vegetable, dodo (fried plantains), geloff rice, and the pork meat. It was a very Cameroonian medley, but most of them don’t like American food anyway. We rented a canopy, in case of rain, and chairs. My friend George also helped a lot, and he arranged for a DJ to come. It was turning into a raging party, and every few minutes extra people asked if they could also come.
The day of the send-off, I had arranged for everything. I just had to do some last minute shopping. I was excited bc I thought I would have time to rest that day. I was definitely wrong. I ended up having to cook the rice, pick up extra plates for the party, pick up my dress, etc. I definitely did not have time to rest. All of the volunteers in the area came for the party, and we decided to get ridiculously African outfits made. Mine looked ore flamenco than anything, and I added satin. It was classy. Jessicas looked like an 80s prom dress, and Stanson had an up and down made (button down shirt and trouser). We looked awesome, and arrived at the party.
Unfortunately, there was no light in town, and there was a big football match. Eto’o Fils, the Cameroonian football player, plays on a European team, the same team that was playing the night of my send off. Many, many people came to the party, but since we didn’t have a generator, many of them left to watch the match. That was depressing. Soon after, I arranged for a generator, so we could have light. The food came out really well, and there was a lot of it. Unfortunately, we couldn’t roast the pig, as the head broke off, but we grilled it, and it was delicious. The party wasn’t bad. I didn’t have any time to sit down, as I was arranging things, and helping, so it was tiring, but good. Speeches were made, and I tried not to cry, and gave my own short speech. I basically thanked people for coming and for the great memories.
After the party, a group of us went to Peroza, the nightclub in Mamfe. We went with the owner, so he bought 2 bottles of whiskey for us, and told us that we could play some American music. We expected this, so we made a CD in advance. The club was really fun. We danced like crazy, and they let us in for free. We all wore our ashwabi, and we danced up a storm. We finally went home around 3am. Overall, the party was a success. I received gifts, and opened them the next morning. I received some clothing (mostly cabas – muumuu like dresses), some jewelry, and 2 ebony canes. The canes were a little random. Anyway, it was fun.

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