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 30th 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…
