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!