The robbers came back to our house last night. I was woken up around 1:00 to a squealing pig outside of my room. Luckily Eric heard and got up and ran them off, his pig is safe for the time being. The pig sty looked a little rough though; the thieves had torn it up to get the pig out. I feel really bad for Eric and hope that this is the last time they come back.
We had In-Service Training (IST) last week in Kribi, which is in the South Province of Cameroon. It is a beautiful beach and I took advantage as much as possible considering we were in sessions until 4 everyday! The sessions were helpful and got me excited about being here and starting work. We learned how to apply for money through Peace Corps or Embassy’s for projects. I got some good ideas on how to teach illiterate women business classes (which I will start in March). So far, there is not been much done with illiterate people and if there is it has not been reported or written down for other volunteers. I am really hoping to learn teaching techniques for these women that I can pass along. I also asked to be one of the editors of the SED gazette when our now SED volunteers COS in August. This is the time where we apply to be on committees such as Gender & Youth, Environmental, Diversity and so on. I may apply for Diversity or Environmental, not quite sure yet. All I know is that I really want to be involved.
On the way to Kribi we passed through Yaoundé and there I had the best night. I will have to say that during my 7 months here, this ranks pretty high as one of my favorite experiences. The group that was staying at the case (transit house) consisted of people COSing, Mid-service and our IST group. Needless to say there were a lot of people present which made for a great weekend. We decided to go to a “Rasta party” not too far from the case. I was reluctant at first because I was tired and really was looking forward to a good night sleep. Thank goodness I was talked into going. The party was outside where there was a bonfire, bar and tables. In between the fire and bar there was a group of men sitting on stools, rocks and what not playing some of the best music I had ever heard. As the night progressed people started dancing. It was fun to watch because Cameroonians can dance beautifully and in ways that I know are impossible for my body to move! Unfortunately, towards the end I was pushed in front of the band and had to dance. I felt so incompetent in comparison but I threw myself in and just had fun. I don’t take my camera out at night any more but I really wish I had pictures to post of this.
While I was gone I put out rat poisoning to try to get rid of the mice. When I arrived home on Tuesday, I was welcomed with a horrible smell. The poison had worked! I found two dead mice. I was doing a happy dance until I got Pockets home, where lo and behold she finds a baby mouse. I am starting to think they are never ending!
I almost forgot to add, that while riding down Commercial Avenue the other day, I happened to glance over and see a nice looking 4 Runner. Now this isn’t too unbelievable but what made my day was the beautiful palmetto tree and moon sticker on the back window. It is amazing how far South Carolina’s popularity has reached!!!

December 2, 2009

First I need to start off by telling everyone that I ate grasshoppers and they were amazingly delicious. There is about two weeks out of the year where they come in swarms to the North West region. Market mami’s catch them and then sell them live at the market. The grasshoppers that I ate were cooked and actually tasted like pork, just crunchy. I would recommend trying them at least once, if you ever get a chance. I will admit that I still prefer our “grasshoppers” in the U.S. (you know, the pecans covered in chocolate).
Thanksgiving was a success although extremely tiring. Kristin and I met in Bamenda on Wednesday morning to take care of all the shopping. The plan was to buy 3 chickens (alive) and all the other ingredients for macaroni casserole, fried rice, mashed potatoes, coconut pie, banana bread and sweet potato pie. Luckily for us other people were bringing things such as homemade stuffing, mac and cheese, brownies and pecan pie. There ended up being around 25 people at my house, 20 of who spent the night. It was definitely a full house but great to be around a lot of American’s on such a special holiday.
The highlight of the day (besides the actual eating) was when Erin killed her chicken. It was an experience to watch and is one that I have to admit I could never do, nor do I really want to. I was proud of her for following through. She was a part of the entire process: she bought it, killed it, plucked it and then ate it (I am actually the one who cooked it). By eleven o’clock I was dead to the world even with a house full of guests but waking up at 6 to begin cooking really took it out of me. I love being a hostess (as most of you know) but man oh man is it harder in Cameroon! The entire time I was cooking, I was day dreaming of being in mama’s kitchen with two ovens, ones that you actually can tell the oven temp.
The dry season is finally here and although I have been looking forward to it for some time, I have to admit I miss the rain. The roof of my house is tin and it makes for a soothing noise to go to sleep to. On the up side there is no more mud or getting soaking wet every time you step out of your house. The down side of dry season is the dust, which I am told is not even bad yet. I have to soak my feet in steaming hot water to get them clean, which is a pain because I have to warm the water on the stove. I never realized that cold water doesn’t remove dirt that well. Kind of a gross thought actually, considering that I have been taking cold showers the whole time I have been in Cameroon.
I have just thrown a mouse out of my house for the second time in two weeks. Instead of eating them, which I thought is what cats do, Pockets likes to play with them. I think that the mama mouse had babies and I am dreading finding out how many there really are. The first night I found Pockets playing with the mice she was in the bathroom and would catch it in her mouth then let it go just to catch it again. Well, it got away from her and she became very upset. Luckily for her I found it on the counter in the kitchen and threw her up there with it. She happily put it back in her mouth and continued playing with it back in the bathroom. Finally I got sick of her torturing it so I threw it out side. A couple of hours later I hear her again in the bathroom, playing with something. Lo and behold it was another mouse but to my dismay she let this one get away too. Unfortunately it went into my bedroom and which made for an interesting night. For a couple of hours all I heard was scratching and running around and then I heard it messing with some things in my chair. I hopped up grabbed Pockets and threw her in the chair with it. Pockets could have been less amused. I basically shoved her face within an inch of the mouse and she could have cared less. She looked at me as if to say, “You woke me up for this?” The next thing I knew the mouse launched itself at me and then ran under my bed. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep that night. I kept having visions of little tiny mice running all over me in my sleep. Yuck.

November 27, 2009

I have so much to say that I am not really sure where to begin, so I guess I will just go in chronological order. Please forgive me if I go on too long, I will try to get everything in without rambling too much. First and foremost, I would like to say that I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is now at this very moment breaking out the Christmas music. I for one am and at this moment I am enjoying Otis Redding’s soothing voice singing White Christmas. It makes me a little home sick but really happy at the same time.

I was invited to a funeral by my friend Jane a couple of weekends ago. I know this sounds a little odd because in the U.S. you go to funerals if you know the person or someone who was close to the deceased. It is not that way in Cameroon. The family invites everyone and anyone to come celebrate their family member’s life. There is a lot of food and alcohol and in my case even local dignitaries. I later found out that the event I attended is not even the full deal. It was only the burial, the actual celebration will be held in a couple of months when all the grandchildren could be present. The celebration will be even bigger and will include dancing and much more food. There was a crazy amount of food and beer and at this moment I can’t imagine what the actual celebration will be like but I hope I get invited. I met some interesting people and stayed thoroughly entertained the whole time. While everyone was eating a sudden thunderstorm popped and annoyed us all. Sitting under a metal tent was not the place to be and those thoughts were reinforced when I watched a lightning bolt touchdown not 10 feet from me. I have never seen lightning that close and I hope I never have to again. My favorite part of the afternoon was when I went into the room where the ma’s were cooking/preparing food. I hung out there a while and was introduced to a lot of people. They are such a welcoming group and it meant a lot to me to be included in their family event.

That following week I was invited to have dinner with the US Ambassador for Cameroon. She was passing through Bamenda and invited all the volunteers nearby out to a very nice Cameroonian dinner at a restaurant called Dreamland Cabaret. It was by far one of the nicest restaurants that I have been to in Cameroon. The conversation ranged from how the volunteers were doing to her and then our opinions of Cameroonians and their political opinions. It was nice to talk to her and hope I get to again next time she comes through.

Last weekend I went to my post mate’s send off party in a neighboring village. It was a large fete and a lot of volunteers came to wish Seth well and celebrate his two years of work. In the evening we made our way to the Fon’s palace for dinner and drinks. The Fon stood up and talked about Seth and how much he had done for the community. He then was given a title and a beautifully hand stitched shirt and hat. It was a great experience and I am thankful that I was able to meet the Fon and hopefully work with that village in the future. The Fon was really taken with Kristin, I quickly reminded her to watch out of she might find herself a 30^th wife. It did work in our favor though because he invited us to spend Christmas at the palace. I politely declined because I already have plans with a Cameroonian friend and her two little girls for Christmas. Who knows what Kristin will do? Personally, I think she really wants to be a princessJ

I’ll write about Thanksgiving soon…

October 27, 2009

Every muscle in body hates me right now and I can’t really blame them. This past Saturday Kristin and I climbed Mount Boyo in Njinikom. I really was not prepared for what was ahead of me, but at the end of the day I had Kristin’s approval and her agreement to climb Mount Cameroon with me. In other words, the real test will be Mount Cameroon and how I handle sleeping and cooking outside. I assured her that it wouldn’t be a problem for me with my history of being raised at the camp, camping in North Carolina and on Bull Point. I think she is still a little bit wary.
In my mind, I had envisioned this nice walk and an easy morning but quickly realized I was sorely mistaken. We left Kristin’s house right after 8 and started making our way to the base of the mountain. My first warning should have been that I was sweating and out of breath before we even reached the actual trail but in my haze of no caffeine it just didn’t register. After we began the “real” trail, it was pretty much straight up on slick mud, rocks and tree roots. When the trees finally gave way and we could see the plateau, hope sprang anew for me but then was crushed immediately by how much further we had to go!
We then hit the pampas grass part and it got really tricky. There were no longer any trees and the grass covered the trail that was still slick mud and rocks. We slowly made our way to the side and continued on to the part that we would have to climb up to reach the plateau. I didn’t realize we would actually have to climb to reach the top, it is probably better that Kristin didn’t share this information with me before hand. We finally made it and the view was unbelievable and well worth the effort. At the top there was a beautiful metal cross that overlooks all of Njinikom. We sat for a little while and enjoyed the cool air and the feeling of contentment in finishing what we set out to do.
Little did I know that going down was going to be ten times harder than going up. After watching Kristin climb down the rocks, I went after her and made it safely down with her coaching from under me and David and Emmanuel’s coaching from above me. On the way down I must have fallen at least 15 times by slipping on the trail (the mud and loose rocks did not make it easy) or my foot finding many of the holes that dropped off the side of the mountain. Every time I slipped and fell I would burst out laughing and occasionally let a few curse words fly. By the time we made it back into the trees my rear end was completely brown from the mud and my wrist and ankle hurt badly, but I was still in a great mood and exuberant with the overall experience. Now whenever I visit Njinikom, I can look up at Mount Boyo and yell, “I beat you!”
I now know that Mount Cameroon will not be a problem because I have been assured by Cameroonians that Mount Boyo is more difficult than Mount Cameroon. Mount Cameroon is longer but the trail is well kept and not nearly as dangerous! I can’t wait but in the mean time I think some major conditioning on my part is needed.
Hopefully one of these days I will get some pictures uploaded…

October 20, 2009

I am sitting here in my lovely Cameroonian house writing to you by candlelight (and one crappy lantern). I am lucky enough to have two other volunteers here and they are making the power outage a little more bearable. The power went out the Monday before last and has only come back on for a handful of times since. This makes keeping my computer and phone charged, pretty much impossible.
Time here seems to pass slowly with an oddly comforting southern grace that reminds me of home. I am trying to appreciate the lull while it is occurring because I know that my two years here will not be like this. I have been keeping myself busy with pidgin classes twice a week and visiting the women’s groups. I just keep reminding myself that everything is little by little or in pidgin, small small cash monkey.
This past Saturday, Nkumu Fed Fed had their 2009 Back to School Scholarship ceremony. I wasn’t sure what to expect but what occurred was fabulous and entirely inspiring. The grand stand in Bali Center was completely filled with students from the surrounding schools, representatives from the women’s groups, town officials and members of Nkumu Fed Fed. After all of the protocol and speeches form the appropriate people, during which point I was introduced (and I had to speak to them in the local language – not an easy feat), the best part occurred and was when the gifts were given to the students. The older ones received slips of paper, which were incredibly important.
Nkumu Fed Fed USA branch along with another non-profit called Place of Hope (who is based in north Caroina) had raised a little over 2 million FCFA that was dispersed by paying students tuition and giving other gifts. Cameroon’s public education system is not what American’s are used to, there is an incredible amount of fees on top of tuition and it is impossible for a lot of children to go to school. It can be really disheartening to watch. Seeing these students getting the ability to continue their education was an amazing experience for me. The smaller children were given notebooks, books, back packs and so on. Their faces were my favorite part of the whole day. Each child was grinning from ear to ear, either showing off their new back pack or proudly holding their stack of books and notebooks. I am so happy to be working with a group that wants to give back to their community and recognized the importance of educating the children who are their future leaders.
The next day I found myself (along with Kristin, who I pulled along for the ride) trying to find a taxi to Batibo (a village past mine) to meet an “eccentric old white lady”. I really had no idea what to expect but definitely found myself (as did Kristin) pleasantly surprised. The ride from Bali to Batibo was beautiful. The winding road with views of mountains and valleys miles away was, as is always, breathtaking to me. The lady we met is named Susan and she is Argentinean by birth. Susan attended nursing school in the U.S. where she met her husband, a Cameroonian. The moved back to Batibo and raised a handful of children who all now live abroad. Her husband has passed away and she is now retired and loves keeping in touch with the local Peace Corps volunteers. While we were visiting she had the local orphans over for lunch and, funny enough, to watch Madagascar 2. The children were precious and I was lucky enough to learn that Seth had held a summer camp for them last year. I hope that I can follow up with this if the volunteer replacing him does not, or in the very least assist in making sure it happens again. After getting my butt kicked in ping pong and a great lunch of vegetable rice and carrot cake as dessert we took Susan’s car further up the road to another village called Ewoh. De-Ann from my stage lives there and Susan wanted to meet her before she leaves for her vacation in South America and North America. The car ride was fun but I was pretty happy knowing I did not have to do it very often.
I visited another women’s group on Monday morning and am very happy to feel that there may be a few women who really want to take my business classes (as long as I have Bridget there to translate). It was a great feeling and really makes me look forward to beginning teaching. Next I headed over to meet a lady at the hospital. I was introduced around and then we trooped off to Bamenda to meet Dr. Okwen. I will be carrying on where the volunteer who I replaced left off. She was teaching the hospital staff basic management and leadership skills. I was very excited leaving this meeting and knowing that I now have another avenue of work to venture down.
Next week I am hoping to visit my friend Jane, who is a teacher at a local school, to get to know her class. She teaches elementary school and I am keeping my fingers crossed that they might be interested in starting a letter writing project with Eve’s 5th grade class at Sarah Collins in Greenville.
Other than that things are moving pretty slowly. Some days are really hard and other seems to fly by. I am trying to keep myself busy by reading and learning how to cook some local dishes. I will admit though I am really hoping that this power issue gets worked out. Reading by candlelight is nearly impossible and I don’t want to burn out my headlamp!!!
I have found that my post office box works but it can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks for something to arrive, so if anyone want to practice their antiquated skills of letter writing it is always welcome. My address is :
Catherine Hipp
Bali Post Office
B.P. 31
North West Province
Cameroon, Africa
So for now, I bid you good night or bonnuit if you prefer.

September 30, 2009

I have been invaded by flies and I am not in the least bit joking (or enjoying it for that matter). I have killed around 15 just today with no help from Pockets. I will say that I am glad to know that she likes eating flies but I really wish she would master the art of catching them. I keep picturing Jeff Goldbloom in that fly movie, God – I really hope that I don’t become that person. At this very moment Eric is off to find “gum” to close up the space underneath my front and kitchen doors (where the nasty little intruders are coming from). I really hope it works, if not I may just go crazy from the constant buzzing!
I have visited a rural women’s group twice with Bridget (the warden of center). The second visit we asked them to fill out a few questions about their group. The questions were simple things such as when the group began, how many members there are, what are the goals of the group, etc. Basically all we got in a response is that they want to help the rural women of the area and they need money to finish their meeting space. It is all really frustrating but hopefully I learned from this experience. Next time I plan to sit there and go all lawyer on them (Jeff – hopefully I’ve learned a thing or two from you over the years). I will not accept simple answers, I plan to lead them to get the answers I want. I really want this information so that I can figure out how to help them, what skills would be beneficial for me to teach them and to begin a database of all the local women’s groups for contacts purposes.
I am meeting with Mr. Clerkson tomorrow to set up my pidgin schedule. I am really excited to get started on this. I have learned how to say hello in the local patoi and really hope he will teach me a few other needed sayings in that as well. After my meeting with him Bridget is going to teach me how to cook something. I am not sure what yet but I had to buy corn and palm oil (whad-ya-know). I will pick up some huckleberry tomorrow when I go into Bamenda. So far it is sounding pretty interesting but I am fairly certain that it will not be too healthy! I did make really good fajitas the other night. Whoever would have guessed that I would know how to make salsa, guacamole and tortillas four months ago?
Speaking of eating, I do have one interesting story to tell before I sign off. A couple of weeks ago I was eating at a restaurant with two other volunteers. After finally understanding that they only had chicken or tomatoes with rice we all ordered “poulet avec pommes frites”. About an hour later we should have known something was up when the waitress brought out plates for us. A few minutes later we were served a big platter of potatoes, greens and chicken. We all dug in and were enjoying the meal when Thyrn noticed that all the chicken parts were crappy. A neck piece and a foot made an appearance along with other parts that were less meaty. We didn’t think too much more about it but Thryn and I stopped eating the chicken and Ben kept on. I wanted another serving of potatoes and green beans so I flipped some of the chicken parts out of the way and in the process turned over the whole chicken head. I almost threw up then and there. It didn’t help when Ben picked up the foot and started shoving it in my face. Finally Ben put the head in a napkin and placed it on his plate. Needless to say, I have not ordered chicken since.
I am not sure if I will ever really get used to this country…

September 9, 2009

I believe I am here to stay. I am slowly but surely getting settled in and acquainted with my town and Bamenda. Last weekend I had my first “dinner party” and it turned out really well. As with everything here, it was a hassle to prepare for and of course the cooking took ten times longer than it would have in the states, but it was well worth it and the food was awesome.
Market shopping here is a lot of fun. Each market is different and varies from village to village and town to town. Bamenda’s market is huge and occurs every day (except Sundays). You can find anything there from fresh vegetables, American clothes (that I think come straight from Good Will), plastic containers, pots and pans, meat (alive or already butchered) and so much more. If you are claustrophobic these markets are not the place for you. The experience is amazing but there is no doubt that you have to prepare yourself to be in the right mind set, which is patient and tolerant of others. There are always young boys walking around selling something (generally pens, cigarette lighters and so on) and they are constantly deranging you to buy something. They will actually follow you for a good little while. As you are getting harassed by these boys, each shop owner calls out to you to come in and look and whatever they are selling. The markets are crowded and the idea of personal space is often forgotten. The market in Bali is different, it is an outdoor market that occurs once a week and is rotating. For example, the market this past week was on Friday so this week it will be on Saturday. I actually love going, it is exciting, exhilarating and fun to try to haggle with the owners over price. I would definitely recommend not wearing any clothes that are easily pick pocketed and always keep you purse tightly on your shoulder.
Now, that I have described to you what the market is like. I have to describe what a hot mess Kristin, Tess and I looked like at the Bamenda market last Friday. Tess, Kristin and I agreed to meet at the Dreamland to get lunch and then head to the market. Tess was on her way to Yaoundé for a meeting and Kirstin needed to do banking. After lunch we headed to the market. So here we are, three white girls (which draws a lot of attention regardless), tromping down Commercial Avenue with packs, a rolling suitcase and a cat carrier. As we enter the market it begins to rain (I still can’t believe that I didn’t hear one peep out of Tess’s cat). At this point we decide to just go straight to the meat part and forget everything else. Once we find the meat guys, we have two arguing over who gets to sell us the meat, but Tess quickly squashes that by speaking to them in Pidgin and telling the other guy to calm down and basically get over it. Next, is the ordeal of finding a place to have the meat ground. The first place we are directed to doesn’t work for reasons that are beyond me, the boy just said that the machine was worried. I am still not sure what that was supposed to mean. Finally we find a man who will grind it by hand for us, I had to pay double what I would have for it to be done in one of the machines. It was well worth it because the meat loaf was fabulous, but I have a feeling that I will not be cooking meat very often.
On Saturday I went to get my kitten from Courtney in Bamenda. Her cat had had three kittens and I got the only one that lived. I was so excited to get a cat, not only for the company but to hopefully control the mice, cockroach and spider problems that are prevalent in this country. I already have a mouse but I have not seen it since she has been here (I am taking that as a good sign). While I am once again walking down Commercial Avenue holding a cat I keep having people screaming out to me, “Is your pussy for sale?” or “How much for your pussy?” In the pidgin language, cat is pussy and they love to use it with white people because they know that it has an altogether different meaning. I found it a bit disconcerting but pretty damn funny at the same time. One other thing I should point out is that different tribes in Cameroon eat dog and cat and a whole lot of other bush meat. This is a very big thing in the North West and especially my area. I really hope that I never eat either and if I do, I will never know it!
I named the kitten Pockets and she is absolutely precious. She is into everything, for example while I have been typing this she has attacked my purse, knocked over a glass mug full of incense (yes, it broke) and has been chewing on my cell phone charger cord. She is now curled up next to me dead to the world. On the other hand she does sleep through the whole night with me in my bed. Although she wakes me up in the morning by pouncing on my face, I still love her. She also likes to sleep on top of me or curled up right next to me. I am truly scared that one night I am going to roll over on her and seriously injure her.
Last week, I went with my counterpart and the other two employees of Nkumu Fed Fed for protocol. I met all the appropriate people and was pretty excited about it. I met three or four police guys who all promised to look out for me and other important people in the community. I am looking forward to starting working and getting to know them better. I was also happy to find out that the first deputy mayor is a woman. It is nice that the North West province has such strong, smart women in positions of power. It is not this way through all of Cameroon and I am extremely thankful to have been put in an area that women are already empowered. I will begin meeting all of the women’s groups next week and will hopefully make some great contacts. But for now that is all but I will keep you posted as things develop.

August 29, 2009

I am not sure where to begin or if I can even do justice to my thoughts and feelings about the past week and a half. I guess I will say that life is, without a doubt, full of twists, turns and plenty of dead ends that you were not expecting. At these dead ends it seems best to stop, re-evaluate and then decide your best course of action or direction.
I swore in as a United States Peace Corps volunteer on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. The ceremony moved along fairly quickly with no major African disasters (except the inevitable rain). The U.S. Ambassador and the Country Director slipped out quickly and left us to celebrate. Our group, decided to spend some time at Chez Pierre, spending the last money that he will be getting from trainees for a long time. We then moved to the Hotel Cristal where we partied till the wee hours of the morning. Superlatives were given, with me taking three in all. I am sure no one will be surprised by what they were: Most likely to be broke in 3 months, Most likely to have the most visitors and Most likely to receive the most packages during service. As you can see, it did not take the other volunteers very long to get to know me.
Stanson, Gloria, Kristin and I left the next morning for the North West. The plan was to spend the night at the case in Bamenda and then go on to post from there. In previous blogs I have described traveling in Cameroon, as stated earlier, it is almost always packed and quite uncomfortable. We all were extremely anxious about how on earth we were going to get to post with our luggage, bike, trunk, and water filter. Luckily, Peace Corps rented the bush taxis for us so there was plenty of room for us and all of our stuff. Just outside of Bafoussam I saw the most horrid thing that I have ever seen in my 26 years of life. A man had been burnt to death. He was laying face down on the ground with his arms tied behind his back. The scene was so fresh that the ashes were still smoking. We guessed that he must have been a thief. Mob justice in Cameroon is no joke and something that I hope to never see again. We arrived safely and enjoyed a great meal at a restaurant called, Uncle Sam’s, where we all had cheeseburgers and split pieces of pizza. We were in Cameroonian heaven!
On Friday, I received word from home about Mark. To this day I am still in shock. I never imagined my life without him in it. He was always there was a smile, a joke or a willing laugh. I will always regret not being there to see him in the hospital, not being able to say good bye, to be at his funeral and most of all not being able to share the grief with all of his friends and family. I continuously remind myself what a great night I had with him before I left. We had planned just to grab some dinner at the Oyster Bar but in the middle of dinner, he casually mentioned that Kenny Chesney was playing at the Bi-lo Center in downtown Greenville, and that they had dropped the ticket prices dramatically. What did I think? At this point the concert had already begun but he thought we could at least make it before the second act finished. I thought, “What the hell, why not” and off we went. This is just one example of how Mark loved life and was always open to doing something fun whenever the mood struck.
I am thankful for all of the memories that I have had with him over the years including; church, plenty of concerts, the Peach Shed, Lander & Clemson, “the cut”, him being the ring leader in my first and only keg party, mountain weekend in Gatlinburg and so many more. I might have to talk Gage into going with me to retrieve the numerous bulletins that are stuffed in the chairs in the church balcony. Another outstanding memory was when I went with him to his formal in Columbia his junior year of college. After the “fraternity party” part was over we headed down to Three Rivers Festival where Outkast was playing. Mark refused to change out of his tux and told everyone who looked at him funny that we had just gotten married and were leaving for Tahiti in the morning. My cheeks were sore the next morning from smiling and laughing hysterically all night. I want to thank you Mark, for making my life better and richer from just knowing you. I count myself an extremely blessed person to have known you.
The same day that I found out about Mark, I was unlucky enough to get mugged while trying to get back to the case. It really was not a big deal and I want to apologize if I needlessly made anyone worry too much. I headed into Yaoundé on Sunday morning and had all of my papers redone and made it back to post by Thursday. I have since been cleaning my house, which at this point seems impossible. On the other hand I finally am finding my two summers of cleaning beach houses extremely beneficial!
I now find myself at the in between point where I am settling in and figuring my way around this foreign country and town. Before I left the South Carolina, Connie started a journal for me that a lot of people wrote in. Christa Emminger wrote a quote that fits how I feel right now perfectly. For now I will leave you with that, “It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but that place in between that we fear… It’s like being between trapezes. It’s Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There’s nothing to hold on to”.

August 17, 2009

I am two days from swearing in, yes two days. After spending 74 days here I felt like it would never happen. For those who do not check Facebook or speak to my family regularly I passed my language evaluation, thank goodness! So far the best words that I have heard hear in Cameroon were, “You did it, it’s over. Start packing.” I have no idea what level I made, but at this point I really don’t care. I am just over the moon to be going to post on Thursday!
The past couple of days have been busy. A large group of trainees went to eat dinner in town on Saturday night. I had to pick up two dresses from the seamstress (which is another story entirely) so a friend and I made it to the restaurant before everyone else. We went ahead and ordered our food, thinking that it would help when the other 15 people came in. The fact that they probably had to kill at least 10 chickens also factored in. We ended up getting our food at the same time as everyone else but two people didn’t. By the time our bill arrived, our table had been charged for two extra chicken dishes. After some great French speaking by Gloria, we got it straightened out but we had been there a total of 3 hours. 2 of which were waiting on food drinking luke warm beers. This service is very normal in Cameroon and in all actuality probably better than in a lot of other places. I’m not sure how many times we reminded each other that we were not in the U.S. and to sit, relax and enjoy each other while we can.
Sunday brought another interesting trip to chiefdom near Bafoussam. This experience was incredible and although I probably should have been studying for my French exam, I do not regret going. When we arrived, we were greeted by groups of women singing and dancing. Then we were given a tour of the outside parts of the chefery. In my opinion, the best part was when we were shown the magical forest that the chief goes into before he becomes the next chief and when he is ready to die. Along the walk we saw the traditional guards who then walked with us into the palace. At this point, it has begun to rain and no one really seems to care. We continued on, to see the absurd amount of houses that he has for his wives (which number around 100) and then were greeted by even more groups of women all wearing the same pagne. Each group was singing different songs and then the sky let out and the down pour began. We were told that this was good luck and that now they were going to make it stop raining. I am guessing this was the opposite of the rain dance.

August 14, 2009

I haven’t written in a while and it’s because I keep waiting for a good story or something to say that will be interesting but tonight it occurred to me that by doing this I am not being fair to you or myself. If I don’t share with you what I am feeling along with the funny stories, what good am I doing? Stage is winding down and that by no means, means calming down. We, the other trainees and I, find ourselves consistently inundated with meaningless paper work, important ceremonies, final assessments and any other possible thing that has been missed in the past 11 weeks. We have been given instructions for getting to post, which is basically the do’s and do not’s, and what we are responsible for. A lot seems repetitive and the rest seems like common sense but if there is one thing I have learned here, it is that common sense is not a shared quality amongst everyone.
I passed my Independent Exploration Project with flying colors (a 95%) and all fives on my last TDA. It was a relief but I am still behind in French and have not had my final evaluation yet. Out of the 15 SED Trainees, 3 of us have not reached our target language level. In the past two weeks I will have completed close to 60 hours of one on one language training. This is actually a great thing but when you are the sole person receiving all the attention, it can be overwhelming and extremely exhausting. The test, which was supposed to take place on Saturday (tomorrow), has now been moved to Monday. The general opinion seems to be, “great, more time to study”, but for me, I just want it over and done with. It is basically like pulling off a band aid, do you really want to make it last longer than it has to?
I find myself becoming slightly anxious about the fact that I will be here, in Cameroon for 2 years. I already miss my family and friends to a depth I could not have imagined, but have never wanted to complete something more in my life. My reasons for being here are still driving me but they do not make me forget what I am missing at home. For me, please take today to be grateful for what you have. Even if it is as simple as picking up the phone to call a parent to say hello, it is a luxury that I do not have. I miss the most obnoxious things but what I miss the most is communication. Although I am extremely grateful for the level of communication that I have here, it is hard to adjust to not hearing people’s voices regularly. A cold drink and clean feet are very difficult to come by and doing anything quickly is near impossible. I love it here but it has definitely taken some getting used to and I believe that will continue for the next two years!
I would like to add a thank you for the constant thoughts and prayers. I really need them and greatly appreciate them! It means a lot to know you are there thinking of me!

August 2, 2009

“If at first you don’t succeed, try again”, I keep repeating that saying over and over in my head. We had our Language Proficiency Test (LPI) last Friday and received our new levels on Saturday. I moved up one level, when I needed to move up two. I have two weeks to get ready for the next test and if I don’t go up another level I will have to stay in B-town an extra week or two until I speak French well enough. Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers going because I desperately need it!
Saturday we were given our bikes and had a training session on general bike maintenance. Brad and Heather- you would be so proud. I now know how to remove the tires, fix a flat, repair a broken chain, adjust the breaks and a couple other things. After class, another trainee and I rode into town for lunch. I forgot what a work out biking can be, especially with a lot of hills! We had a blast but I couldn’t help but feeling like bible salesman. If you can picture it: two Americans riding new bikes, with helmets and back packs on and everyone was staring at us. When we got back to our neighborhood I had a group of about 10 kids start running along with me, yelling “Le blanche est sur le velo!” Two of the children raced me all the way back to my house. I was dying laughing the entire time, sometimes children can just make your day!
I am really looking forward to using my bike at post and am hoping that it will help stop me from wasting money on moto’s and taxis. I plan to use it to go to work and into Bali Town. Who knows, maybe when I build up my endurance I will try the trek into Bamenda! But for now I think I will take it one step at a time!
We visited B-town’s Chief this morning and I learned another big difference between Cameroonians and Americans. Time means completely different things. We were told to be at the SED House before 10 to go to the Chiefery. Well, in actuality that meant leaving at 11:15. I was getting extremely frustrated thinking of everything that I could have been doing during that time (washing clothes, studying French, reading War and Peace, etc.). All of the Americans kept discussing what constructive things they could be doing with this spare time while the Cameroonians laughed, talked and generally had a good time. In hindsight, maybe we could learn a few things from them. As a general population they seem a lot happier and a whole lot less stressed!
The Chief of B-town belongs to the Bimilake (not sure if I am spelling this correctly) tribe and there are 15 chiefs in the dynasty. He was educated in England and has an engineering degree but came back to B-town to be the chief. He has 20 wives and sixty something children, but he wasn’t sure of the exact number. When he was asked if you had to be a polygamist to be a chief his answer was yes and that he wanted to tell us what he told a newspaper once. He believes that every man is a polygamist but that their country’s law makes it illegal. At least in Cameroon it is recognized and legal. Basically, he believes that no man is faithful or can be. This chief is also not known for empowering women or helping bring about more women’s rights! Somehow I am not in the least surprised by this, but I feel extremely sorry for him because he truly believes this to be true. Although I had a difficult time with his beliefs and opinions, we had a good time looking inside his home. We also had a wonderful lunch that was prepared by two of the previously mentioned 60 wives. Oh, I forgot to mention that each trainee that went had to give 1000 F CFA for a gift to the Chief. You cannot go empty handed to him but on the other side, you don’t leave empty handed either. We were offered what wine was left. All in all, I thought it a pretty good trade! Hopefully one day I will get some pictures posted of all these great things I have been describing to you!
For now, I must go work on my Independent Exploration Project (IEP) which is on Eco-Tourism in Cameroon. I am excited about the project but not excited about presenting it in French this Saturday!

Welcome to the land of Palm Oil and Carbohydrates

I promised my friend in stage that I would title my next blog that. It is the blatant truth and although the food is fabulous, it is heart stopping (literally). Cameroonians cook with an incredible amount of palm oil and the daily diet is loaded with carbohydrates. This includes but is not limited to, rice, potatoes, pasta and vegetables cooked in tons of palm oil which is ten times worse than regular vegetable oil. Needless to say I am looking forward to being at my own house and controlling my diet. The men volunteers tend to lose weight (with I have already witnessed with my own eyes) and the girl volunteers tend to gain weight. Jeez, I love the female body. While the guys have to poke extra holes in their belts to keep their pants up, we have to have dresses made that we can fit into!
Time is passing quickly and my next LPI (language proficiency test) is on Friday. I have changed language instructors again and now are back with Monique full time. I think that I have improved but some days I feel that I am back where I started. Being in Anglophone for a week really through me off and has also made me seriously question the need to continue with French. I know that I need the basis but it is extremely frustrating and I really want to begin learning Pidgin and the local patois of Bali. I am still working hard and will continue to do so until I have a good grasp on French. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only the seventh week that I have been learning it!
Stage is only three more weeks but it seems like a life time. I am finding it difficult to be on such a tight schedule with every minute of everyday planned for us. It is also interesting to live with a family again. It is also hard because I feel like an imposter most of the time. I try to balance it out by getting other trainees to come buy sheets and towels from my home stay mother! They are great and extremely patient with me but I hate not helping and it is almost impossible to do so. I feel like a boarder, which I guess in essence I am.
So, the dress didn’t turn out as well as I hoped. It is huge and the “pocket” is quite odd. I am going to take it to another seamstress and have it fixed. I definitely learned my lesson and will not be drawing any sketches but taking dresses or pictures out of magazines as examples. A lot of the girls have had good experiences and had some really cute things made. I am going to bow down to their wisdom and follow along their golden path that hopefully will lead to (if not Oz) a really great seamstress.

July 19, 2009

I am safely back in B-town after an extremely tiring day of traveling. I caught a ride into Bali town, where it would be easier to catch a taxi into Bamenda. I was quickly grabbed (because the fight over passengers) and then had to wait as it filled up. Time was passing so I jumped out and offered to pay for an extra space if we could leave now. Luckily it worked and off we went with me in the front and four adults and two small children in the back. Paying double definitely has its advantages but I felt pretty guilty. It was by far the fastest trip into Bamenda that I had the whole week, I have to admit that I am glad his speedometer did not work or I might have had a heart attack!
Kristin finally made it to Bamenda after her bus and then taxi broke down from Njinikom. We then were squished on to a bush taxi for the two hour journey to Baffausom where we then had to take a taxi to get another bush taxi to B-town. By the time I finally got home my entire left side was asleep and I woke up this morning with bruises down the right side of my body (the side that was jammed up against the side of the bus). To tell the truth, although I make traveling here sound awful, it can be quite fun. The main thing is to remain patient and forget all about personal space. If you can do that, you will be fine and the people watching is incredible!
I just finished lunch and have already had a very productive morning. I went with my home stay mother to her seamstress to have some material made into a dress and ended up buying a skirt and top. I really hope I end up staying in Cameroon for the two full years because these outfits are definitely not style appropriate for the U.S. but I actually like them. Who knows, maybe when I get home, I’ll start a fashion trend. I seriously doubt it but you never know! I also managed to get all of my clothes washed and now I am just keeping my fingers crossed that the rain will hold off in time for them to dry!
On a side note, a couple people have asked about what to send in care packages. Please do not feel the need to do this. My understanding is that is extremely expensive and I don’t want anyone spending unnecessary money but letters are wonderful things to receive! If you are really adamant and want to still send something, a few small things that I can’t find here are crystal light singles, crest toothpaste, and baby wipes! Hand sanitizer is always welcome to! Thank you for all of the emails and prayers they are all needed well received!
As stated in the previous blog, I want to share a little about the landscape that I have seen in Cameroon. For starters, Cameroon is called “Little Africa” because of the span of different regions and environments you can find here. The grand North it is extremely hot and arid. This is where the largest population of Muslims is in the country. I have not been there yet but hope to visit during my two years here.
The regions that I have been in are Central, West and North West. All of these are very similar in terrain and plant life. Everywhere you look you will see plantain and banana trees, corn and other tropical trees. In the Northwest it is also common to see pineapple plants everywhere. I feel like I am in the jungle all of the time, but what we Westerners call the jungle, Cameroonians call the forest. I asked about the planting seasons and was told that you can plant whenever but for corn there are generally two seasons, one in early spring and the other is now till the end of summer. I think I will try my hand at planting some corn, tomatoes and beans.
All three of these areas are mountainous and some people have been comparing it to Ireland because of the green, fog and mountains. These areas are also at very high elevations, so there are always clouds all around. Some days it seems like you could just reach out and touch them. It is beautiful and I stare all the time. I hope that I continue to enjoy the views and don’t become too used to it like I do with Beaufort’s beauty.
B-town has horrible red mud that makes the South Carolina up-state red mud look like a cake walk. It is impossible to get out and clumps to your shoes and then it dries in hard patties. This is extremely annoying because Cameroonians judge you on the cleanliness of your shoes. I have taken to carrying an extra pair of shoes in my pack, it makes things much easier. This is also where the baby wipes come in to play, keeping your feet clean is almost next to impossible!

July 17, 2009

When I first arrived in Africa some volunteers were talking about blogs and some interesting names they had seen. The one that stuck with me was, “thoughts from under the mosquito net” and as I sit here in my comfy bed in Bali it fits perfectly. I arrived in Bali on Sunday, July 12 and have been staying here the whole week. There is much to tell but after looking back over my previous blogs I realized that they have been sorely lacking a few significant things. Two of those are descriptions on travel and the environment in Cameroon.
I must begin with travel because it is the most amusing and I want to keep you interested so that you keep reading! Kristin and I left B-town at 9 a.m. Sunday morning after waiting an hour for the bus/van to fill up. When I say fill up, I don’t mean to the comfortable 16 passenger standards we are used to. At one point on the second leg of the trip Stanson counted 22 people, luckily we were jammed in the back and no one could climb in with us. After picking up the second bus in Bafoussam we seemed to be moving along pretty well considering the roads and it being the rainy season. After a quick stop for gas, where I managed to talk the attendant into handing me a cold diet coke through the window, we were off. A few minutes later we began to experience van trouble. Every few feet the vehicle would shutter and then cut off. Out would go the driver to mess with the gas tank and on most occasions the engine. So now our trip that was supposed to take 3 hours ended up taking more like 6. At one point Kristin, Stanson and I were taking bets on how many feet we would gain; the best was when we actually lost feet (we were on a hill).
I just want to state that this travel experience is the norm for Cameroon. Every taxi, bush taxi, bus, and moto that you see will try to fit as many people as possible and with those people go items such as large bags of vegetables, live stock (such as chickens or goats) and luggage. Children are also not counted so they have to sit on their mother’s lap. It is common for a mother to hand off a child to the person next to her, even if she doesn’t know them. Thank the Lord that this hasn’t happened to me yet!
Today I ran into Bamenda to check some emails and visit a market mama that promised to sell me some pop (a.k.a. bouille – which is like cream of wheat). On the way home I was jammed in a compact car (a corolla to be exact) with 6 Cameroonians. The best part was that all of these tiny little spiders were crawling all over me. I couldn’t figure out where the hell they were coming from… it was absolutely ridiculous. Just so you understand this is not the most packed car I have been in. Earlier in the week there were actually 8 people in the car (four in the front and four in the back). I’m not even sure how the guy was able to drive the car! Oh, I almost forgot the best part! As the driver was trying to fill up the taxi (because I refused to pay 1000 CFA for a solo ride) he ran into a woman. The hit was not hard but it definitely could not have felt good! She immediately started yelling at him through my window. All I could do was sit there with my mouth agape! Amazing!
The volunteer that showed me around Bamenda said that he had been hit by a moto and the story seems completely viable. It is almost as if they aim for you, even when the whole road is clear. It is really frustrating and my blood pressure level goes up every time I have to walk somewhere, even in B-town but the larger cities tend to be worse.
My house in Bali is nice. I have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and living room. It is fully furnished but in need of major cleaning. I spent almost two hours today working on the shower and it is still not finished but I feel a lot better about it. Spider webs are everywhere and I think they will be impossible to fight but I am going to try. I need to put up new mosquito nets over the beds and air out the linens but nothing really major. I am happy that I will be able to use my settling in money for CAMTEL (internet) and a refrigerator!
Having the house ready to go was extremely helpful for site visit. Not only was I able to stay there and get a good idea of what to expect for the next two years but I was able to host Stanson when he couldn’t get out of Bemenda early enough. Then Kristin stayed for a couple of nights when the volunteer that she was staying with got malaria and typhoid (she had just returned from visiting Limbe). One night Kristin and I got to experience our first bit of Cameroonian night life. Eric, who is the caretaker for the house and property that I will be living in, invited Kristin and I to a club in Bali Town.
We decided to check it out and at around 9 p.m. a friend of Eric’s came to pick us up. We went to a club/bar where we drank “fresh” Castel (a Cameroonian beer) and even danced a little. I need to explain what “fresh” is. Cameroonians as a rule don’t generally refrigerate their beer but they will insist that it is fresh and doesn’t need to be cold. I have a very difficult time with this because I love a freezing cold beer. Eric helped me find a place that when I return she will keep a few beers cold just for me! Yea! The club scene was interesting but we didn’t stay too long because there was a private party. Eric and his friend kept insisting that Sunday nights were the best and that is when the most people where out. I promised to go back after August.

July 10, 2009

This week has been a roller coaster ride and I’m not talking about the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags. This one is more like the Cyclone, full of loop-de-loops and exaggerated drop offs. Monday started off with me visiting the hospital, once again. This time the occasion was to have blood drawn to figure out why my lymph nodes were swollen and why they were not responding to the amoxicillin I was taking.
If you have a fear of needle, Africa is not the place for you. To get the blood drawn, I was directed into a waiting room, where I sat on a bench with three other women. A minute later a huge Cameroonian man walked up to me and demanded that I give him my arm. The next thing I knew, a needle was in my arm and the blood was flowing as the three women gawked at me. By 3:30 that afternoon I had absolutely no idea what was going on but a man showed up and handed me medicine with a note telling when and how to take it. I know the man thought I was a moron because I dumbly starred at him waiting for more. More of what he said? Hmmm, this isn’t rocket science, it actually is pretty basic. I just want to know what I have, what I’m taking, if I’m supposed to return if I don’t get better, and so on. Well nothing is basic in Cameroon. It was four hours later when I finally knew that I had a staph infection and a few more directives from the doctor.
Yesterday morning we received our posts. I have been anxiously waiting for this announcement for the past couple of weeks. It was extremely important to me because I continue to struggle with French. I had put in a request in to be placed in one of the four Anglophone spots. I have been praying earnestly that this would happen. Thank God that He is true to His word and will not give me more than I can handle. My post is officially in Anglophone in a village called Bali about 20 minutes from Bamenda in the North West Province.
Today we met our counterparts and will continue our workshop through tomorrow with them. My counterpart’s name is Helen and she is the director of a NGO called Nkumu Fed Fed (which means Group of Sisters). Nkumu Fed Fed is a non-governmental organization that promotes women and children’s rights. The NGO is completely run and funded by professional women from all over. There are two branches in the US, one in D.C. and one in Oklahoma. Their two main objectives are empowering woman and fighting against child abuse. A few of their secondary projects have to do with things such as: loans for children to attend school; environmental projects; and HIV/AIDS Awareness. I am extremely excited about my counterpart organization and counterpart. I can’t wait to get to post and start working!
I will travel to Bali on Sunday to visit my site for the week. During my stay I will visit Bamenda to set up my bank account, the NGO I’ll be partnering with, and other PCV’s in the area. I will also get to stay at my house in Bali. Helen told me that I have a very nice house (please remember this is African standards). I was pumped to hear that I have two bedrooms, running water and electricity. The house also comes with furniture, which is awesome because I won’t have to spend of my money on purchasing a bed and other much needed household items. She also mentioned something about a boy who the NGO pays to help out. I can have him run errands for me and so on. Sounds great!

July 7, 2009

I have just finished typing up an assignment (completely in French) for tomorrow by candle light. The power went out as soon as I finished eating supper. I have begun to get used to it but it doesn’t make it any less of a hassle. The computer is probably going to die any moment.
Today we had our field trip to Baffausom and Banjoun to visit two companies that are similar to the ones we will be working with at our posts. It was an extremely frustrating day for me because everything was in French and I did not pick up any of it. On top of that I am not feeling physically up to par. There is no doubt, Africa is not a walk in the park but so far it has been worth it. Keeps your fingers crossed that it continues that way!
Oh, my French level went from Novice Low to Novice High. I am still riding the short bus but hopefully I will get to where I need to be by August 19!

July 5, 2009

I have officially been in Cameroon for exactly a month. There are some days when it seems like a year and then there are others where I feel that the plane just touched down in Yaoundé. I continue to struggle with French but keeping hoping and praying that my effort will pay off by the end of stâge. I have been having extra sessions every morning at 7 a.m. with Monique and I think it is helping. The SED volunteers had our LPI (Language Proficiency Interview) on Saturday morning. I don’t feel that I did that well but it had to be an improvement from when I first spoke with Gaston in Yaoundé. We will find out tomorrow what level we placed at, I began at Novice Low, and then continue classes from there. I am praying that I at least went up to Novice High. I have to obtain Intermediate Mid for Anglophone and Intermediate High for francophone.
We had a party at the SED house last night to celebrate the 4th of July. Throughout the day and into the night I kept looking at my watch thinking of what I would be doing if I was home (11 a.m. – put the boat in, 6 p.m. move the boat in front of Port Royal, etc.). I was okay with not being there because I know I have the rest of my life to enjoy 4th of July’s in the States or where ever I choose. It was just a little weird to be in a different country but to still be celebrating the United States’ Independence Day. All of the Ed volunteers are on site visit this week so they were not able to come to the party but we still managed to have a pretty good time. We cooked hamburgers (and thanks to Stanson and Oliver, we had cheese from Baffousam), got pommes frites and had some pretty good cake. Chez Emmanuel stayed open late for us (he made plenty of money off all the beers we bought).
Our Cameroonian trainers came and celebrated with us for a little while. It was nice to see them in a more relaxed atmosphere (most of them even danced). I have to say that although they relaxed enough to dance; they wouldn’t give up speaking French. It was extremely annoying to me! I was pumped to find out that Norm does the West Coast swing, for you that don’t know, it is very similar to the Carolina Shag. It was fun to get to show a little bit of South Carolina to some of the other volunteers. Norm is a SED volunteer who is COSing after our stage gets sworn in. He has been filling in for our APCD throughout training and has been a great resource for us newbie’s. Alec set up is tight rope and every one had a try, I now have a lovely bruise on the inside of my leg to show for my effort. I know no one is surprised by this bit of information.
Holy cow! I just finished eating my dinner and my mouth is on fire. Fair warning for anyone who wants to visit Cameroon, the food here is extremely spicy. Thank goodness it is something that I like and can tolerate because I think that a few other volunteers are having problems with it. The spaghetti, as they call it, is unbelievable. Of course it is nothing like the spaghetti we have in the states. It is more similar to Thai food but I am hoping that my sister will teach me how to make it before I leave for my post. Speaking of post, we find out on Thursday and I am extremely anxious. There are four Anglophone spots and I am praying that I get one. They all would be great but there is one that is practically at the beach – that would be incredible. I don’t think my luck is that good though!

June 27, 2009

B-town, West Africa

Calm down, deep breaths, get yourself dressed, instead of running around and pulling on your threads and breaking yourself up
If it’s a broken part replace it, if it’s a broken arm then brace it, if it’s a broken heart then face it. And hold your own, know your name and go your own way. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way and everything will be fine.
Hang on, help is on the way. Stay strong, I’m doing everything. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way and everything, everything will be fine, everything.
Are the details in the fabric? Are the things that make you panic, are the thoughts results of static cling? Are the things that make you blow and the reason go on and scream. If you’re shocked it’s just a fault of faulty manufacturing. Everything will be fine, everything, no time at all, everything.
Hold your own, know your name, go your own way. Hold your own, know your name, and go your own way. Everything will be fine. Everything in no time at all, hearts will hold.
- Details in the Fabric, by Jason Mraz
“Head under water and they tell me to breathe easy for a while. " Sarah ...

I’m taking Jason Mraz’s words to heart these days and Sarah’s lyric line is a perfect example of Peace Corps pre-service training. Every day is slightly more challenging than the one before. Language is still coming extremely slow. I was told today that I will have language training by myself next week. This is pretty much the parallel of riding the short bus in the Peace Corps world (at least that is how I see it). I’m staying positive and if riding the short bus will help my French, sign me up!
The SED trainees received our businesses on Monday that we will work with over the next six weeks. My business is a Beaureatique Cyber Café. The business has three computers that people use for the internet. The other two computers are used for assisting people with computer project or teaching sessions. The business also sells paper and other supplies and will make copies for its clients. I was extremely thankful when I realized that my lady spoke English! She would like me to do some marketing and increase her client base. This should be an interesting task! When I went with her on Monday to see the store and we were discussing when I would be back, she quickly said, “Oh, I expect you every day for at least 30 minutes”. I about fell over! We are only required to go once a week and that time is scheduled into our day. I quickly made it clear that I am extremely busy and would come as much as possible. I went back on Wednesday and will probably pop my head in tomorrow. It should be great experience for what I can expect when I get to post.
Spain and the US played on Wednesday night and we were allowed an extended curfew to hang out and watch at Chez Pierre. Almost the entire group was there, plus the PCV’s that were visiting (Kate, Nick, Elise and Jim). We all had a good time, even when the drunken Cameroonian came in and told us that we were too loud. The PCV’s were in shock, Cameroonians never think someone is too loud. They tend to party into the wee hours of the night with no thought to how loud they are being to their neighbors. The US won 2-0 and the next day David told us that the Cameroonians were upset with us for not celebrating our win with more jubilee! I have to add that I got home right around 10 and the house was completely dark and the gate locked! I had to ring the bell, which is loud as a siren, and then Jim starting beating on the gate when they didn’t immediately respond. Finally my brother came and let me in. I felt so bad but then again they knew when to expect me! This living with a family and not being able to communicate is a pain in the ass!
As I’ve stated before, Cameroonian’s love soccer (au football). A week ago B-town had their 2nd game in the tournament against Yaoundé. I thought the first game was crazy and after seeing this one, that was a gross understatement. The crowd had almost doubled and they now had a full out band on one side and then a group of men on another side with African drums. People were running around waving the B-town flag and some even went as far as to paint themselves. The gendarmes had doubled, if not tripled in number! B-town ended up winning 4-0 (an extremely high scoring game)! Yaoundé just couldn’t seem to get it together. Unfortunately, the next game in the tournament is not in B-town so we will miss it but I am hoping fervently that they will continue to win!
Later that evening I went on a promenade with my home stay mother, Berline. I didn’t quite understand what this term meant. I thought we were just going for a quick little walk. Oh hell no! We stopped by her cousins’ store, then her aunt’s bar, then her other cousin’s bar, where she pimped me out by giving my number to some man named Francis who didn’t speak a lick of English. God, I pray he doesn’t call, that would be a disaster! After that short stop there (where I got a grapefruit Top and some peanuts), we moved on to a bigger bar where we sat with B-town’s goalie’s parents. They were decked out in the yellow/green B-town gear and were in extremely high spirits, which was being aided by large bottles of Cameroonian beer. All in all it was an extremely educational evening; I was hugged and kissed more than any one event in my life!
This week in training we had Gender and Youth Development and HIV/AIDS sessions. Two people living with HIV came and spoke to us. It was unbelievable and so heart wrenching! They discussed how they got it (if they knew), what they are doing to fight it, and how their families were affected. The main problem with AIDS/HIV in Africa is lack of education. People here still think that you can get the virus from just being near an infected person. They also believe a good many other myths that I won’t get into at this time. For example, the man had been a principal at a school and fell extremely sick. The founder of the school had him tested for HIV/AIDS and when he received the results told all his colleagues. He was then sent a letter letting him know he had been terminated. This situation ended up making national news, where the headlines read something to the affect of, “Principal infects at least 200”. Absolutely unbelievable! There are no words. As Peace Corps volunteers (not medical), they ask that we just befriend any HIV infected be come across and just show people that by speaking or shaking someone’s hand the virus is not transmitted.

June 27, 2009

B-town, West Africa

Calm down, deep breaths, get yourself dressed, instead of running around and pulling on your threads and breaking yourself up
If it’s a broken part replace it, if it’s a broken arm then brace it, if it’s a broken heart then face it. And hold your own, know your name and go your own way. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way and everything will be fine.
Hang on, help is on the way. Stay strong, I’m doing everything. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way. Hold your own, know your name and go your own way and everything, everything will be fine, everything.
Are the details in the fabric? Are the things that make you panic, are the thoughts results of static cling? Are the things that make you blow and the reason go on and scream. If you’re shocked it’s just a fault of faulty manufacturing. Everything will be fine, everything, no time at all, everything.
Hold your own, know your name, go your own way. Hold your own, know your name, and go your own way. Everything will be fine. Everything in no time at all, hearts will hold.
- Details in the Fabric, by Jason Mraz
“Head under water and they tell me to breathe easy for a while. " Sarah ...

I’m taking Jason Mraz’s words to heart these days and Sarah’s lyric line is a perfect example of Peace Corps pre-service training. Every day is slightly more challenging than the one before. Language is still coming extremely slow. I was told today that I will have language training by myself next week. This is pretty much the parallel of riding the short bus in the Peace Corps world (at least that is how I see it). I’m staying positive and if riding the short bus will help my French, sign me up!
The SED trainees received our businesses on Monday that we will work with over the next six weeks. My business is a Beaureatique Cyber Café. The business has three computers that people use for the internet. The other two computers are used for assisting people with computer project or teaching sessions. The business also sells paper and other supplies and will make copies for its clients. I was extremely thankful when I realized that my lady spoke English! She would like me to do some marketing and increase her client base. This should be an interesting task! When I went with her on Monday to see the store and we were discussing when I would be back, she quickly said, “Oh, I expect you every day for at least 30 minutes”. I about fell over! We are only required to go once a week and that time is scheduled into our day. I quickly made it clear that I am extremely busy and would come as much as possible. I went back on Wednesday and will probably pop my head in tomorrow. It should be great experience for what I can expect when I get to post.
Spain and the US played on Wednesday night and we were allowed an extended curfew to hang out and watch at Chez Pierre. Almost the entire group was there, plus the PCV’s that were visiting (Kate, Nick, Elise and Jim). We all had a good time, even when the drunken Cameroonian came in and told us that we were too loud. The PCV’s were in shock, Cameroonians never think someone is too loud. They tend to party into the wee hours of the night with no thought to how loud they are being to their neighbors. The US won 2-0 and the next day David told us that the Cameroonians were upset with us for not celebrating our win with more jubilee! I have to add that I got home right around 10 and the house was completely dark and the gate locked! I had to ring the bell, which is loud as a siren, and then Jim starting beating on the gate when they didn’t immediately respond. Finally my brother came and let me in. I felt so bad but then again they knew when to expect me! This living with a family and not being able to communicate is a pain in the ass!
As I’ve stated before, Cameroonian’s love soccer (au football). A week ago B-town had their 2nd game in the tournament against Yaoundé. I thought the first game was crazy and after seeing this one, that was a gross understatement. The crowd had almost doubled and they now had a full out band on one side and then a group of men on another side with African drums. People were running around waving the B-town flag and some even went as far as to paint themselves. The gendarmes had doubled, if not tripled in number! B-town ended up winning 4-0 (an extremely high scoring game)! Yaoundé just couldn’t seem to get it together. Unfortunately, the next game in the tournament is not in B-town so we will miss it but I am hoping fervently that they will continue to win!
Later that evening I went on a promenade with my home stay mother, Berline. I didn’t quite understand what this term meant. I thought we were just going for a quick little walk. Oh hell no! We stopped by her cousins’ store, then her aunt’s bar, then her other cousin’s bar, where she pimped me out by giving my number to some man named Francis who didn’t speak a lick of English. God, I pray he doesn’t call, that would be a disaster! After that short stop there (where I got a grapefruit Top and some peanuts), we moved on to a bigger bar where we sat with B-town’s goalie’s parents. They were decked out in the yellow/green B-town gear and were in extremely high spirits, which was being aided by large bottles of Cameroonian beer. All in all it was an extremely educational evening; I was hugged and kissed more than any one event in my life!
This week in training we had Gender and Youth Development and HIV/AIDS sessions. Two people living with HIV came and spoke to us. It was unbelievable and so heart wrenching! They discussed how they got it (if they knew), what they are doing to fight it, and how their families were affected. The main problem with AIDS/HIV in Africa is lack of education. People here still think that you can get the virus from just being near an infected person. They also believe a good many other myths that I won’t get into at this time. For example, the man had been a principal at a school and fell extremely sick. The founder of the school had him tested for HIV/AIDS and when he received the results told all his colleagues. He was then sent a letter letting him know he had been terminated. This situation ended up making national news, where the headlines read something to the affect of, “Principal infects at least 200”. Absolutely unbelievable! There are no words. As Peace Corps volunteers (not medical), they ask that we just befriend any HIV infected be come across and just show people that by speaking or shaking someone’s hand the virus is not transmitted.