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.