Work and the Casual Random Adventures

Breaking news in the Adamawa! The rain has finally arrived!!! There was nothing better than standing outside as the cool drops of water fell on my face washing away the dust and dry season. The rain doesn’t come every day but when it does, it’s a beautiful thunderstorm. Only a few more months and the rain will water the land every day.



Entertainment while washing laundry and writing letters

Even though I feel like I just wrote a blog post, I wanted to share a few stories of my adventures this week. It started out with getting invited to dance in a music video at Lake Tison. A few volunteers have become friends with a famous Cameroonian singer and she wanted her American friends to participate in her music video. Gretchen and I were planning on hiking to Lake Tison anyway to train for Mount Kilimanjaro so why not be in a music video? Of course Cameroonian time played its role and the music video crew were a few hours late but we still had fun hanging out with a bunch of musicians. (Hint: they are just like any musicians in the states: party, drink, and can pick up a guitar and just make up a song). When the cameraman arrived, they dressed us up in costumes (my guy friend had to wear a wrap cloth around his waist and they drew white marking all over him). Thank goodness, my costume was just a green pagne pants and top. We then found out that some Italian friends were going to be at the Ranch (lodge by a lake owned by a Frenchman where people used to hunt) in Dibi (half hour away) so we left afterwards to go spend the night hanging out with some Italians and have a fabulous dinner of Italian food with some fried frog legs on the side. It is weekends like this one that baffle me. They are unexpected and spontaneous but always fun and show me that I may have days where I work and get stressed with not understanding how I can help make things better here, but then Cameroon surprises me with amazing people and crazy experiences.

Relaxing at the Ranch in Dibi

I also was able to attend a “baby shower”. I was told to stop by at Assiatou’s home to see a new baby and I walked into blaring music and a crowded room full of women and babies. The newborn baby was about a week old and sound asleep even though I could hardly hear myself talk. Women were coming in with gifts including pagne, washing tubs, a suitcase, and buckets. They made me sit on the couch and I don’t there was a moment when there wasn’t someone’s baby in my arms. For hours, people just came in, sat and chatted for a while and then left. I tried to make simple conversation in Fulfulde, but it is difficult to understand especially with the loud music. When I finally left, I passed women sitting on mats outside the door and all lined up beside the walls of houses. What a scene to see and an event to experience.

Baby Shower in Beka-Hossere

Those were the events of the week and then there was the work. We had a beekeeping conference in Ngaoundéré for three days. Each volunteer brought a Cameroonian counterpart. I invited my friend and Carl’s landlord, Issa. Issa actually makes beautiful silver jewelry in our village and is quite famous for it throughout Peace Corps Cameroon. We sat in sessions to learn about hive making, cultivating honey, and transforming it into wax candles and soap. We also visited an actual beekeeper in Ngaoundéré which was fun until the bees got a little mad and I found it safer at a distance. I now remember why I never was interested in having bees in the U.S. I start shaking from head to toe when I am around them. Issa on the other hand was so happy to learn and helped the beekeeper. So I figure, I can just help teach villagers about beekeeping and Issa can actually show them. We are going to build our hive on his property this week and hopefully if we build it, bees will come!

Beekeeping Seminar

 
 

Visit to a Beekeeper

Also this week we had our Soy Project Formation for the new participants. This session is when they learn about growing soy and transforming it. The session is taught by a colleague from the local Ministry of Agriculture.  We had it all planned and ready to go when Rachel and I stopped by the place where it was supposed to be held and found out that a Delegate was planning on using the room the next day just like us (even though we booked it before him). Talk about rude along with corrupted government officials. Anyway, we had to call all the participants that night and tell them about the new location. Unfortunately only 4 of the participants showed up at the session although we also had a meeting in the room next to it with the old participants from last year who just formed a cooperative. The meeting with cooperative went really well and we hashed out some problems. My supervisor for Peace Corps was visiting me that day and attended the meeting. I thought he would be disappointed that there were such a small number of new participants, but he was ecstatic to see the new cooperative and told me this kind of project is much bigger than normal for a new volunteer and I shouldn’t stress about it. And of course Cameroon had to surprise me again when the women in the cooperative decided they wanted to visit the President of the Co-Op because she had been sick for a long time. My supervisor and the rest of my counterparts agreed so we ended the day in a small home in a village near by, meeting with the President. Although we are having budgeting problems with having to support two groups (Soy Project and the Cooperative), I feel that this stressful day was worth it just see everyone discussing the problems together. We are working on applying for another grant for the project and hopefully figuring out a way to make it sustainable.

Soy Project Seminar

To top off the week, I met with a farmer in Ngaoundéré and visited his nearby vegetable farm. He has been working with Peace Corps volunteers for years and gosh, his farm shows it! I have never seen so many different kinds of vegetables here before. He has even bought strawberry seeds from France and now has fields full of strawberries! Of course I forgot my camera but he sent me home with a bag full of fruits and vegetables! Including eggplant, parsley, basil, lettuce, celery, beets, leeks, and strawberries! Most farmers here only grow bananas, mangos, potatoes, cassava, and onions. Most days that is what I live on. But tonight it is going to be an awesome dinner! I hope to help the farmer by teaching about soy and business practices. He is interested in transforming soy into soy milk and tofu. Also he really needs to learn about running a business since he sells his product in the Ngaoundéré and Garowa markets. It is so refreshing to meet someone who is motivated to learn and is already successful at what he is doing. His son is helping him sell in the market while attending the nearby University where he studies political science. I asked him what he would like to do after he finishes college and he said he wants to teach. He said many of his friends who get the opportunity to learn like the Americans, go to America or Europe. But he wants to stay in Cameroon and help his community. He actually quoted John F. Kennedy in broken English “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. And he wasn’t just saying this to impress me, he meant it.

Gifts from a local farmer! Strawberries!!

Recently I watched “Blood Diamond” and afterwards walked outside my house a little shaky. It the first movie I had watched in Cameroon where the scenes including the homes and markets look just like where I live. It bothers me more that some of the scenes in that movie are what I expect are happening up north where Boko-Haram is killing innocent people in villages just like mine. I am safe in Ngaoundéré, but let’s not forget about the atrocities happening up north.

On a happier side note, I remember two moments where I laughed a little bit to myself. When we were in a beekeeping session and the lecturer asked if someone had a toothpick (he needed to release honey from the honeycomb). If someone asked that in the U.S., I doubt anyone would have a toothpick, but here, where they are used after every meal, someone had a bunch in her purse. Another difference is with tissues. Tissues are not used here for the nose, but to wipe the sweat off your brow or the schwarma guy wraps it around the meat sandwiches to use as napkins. If you have a stuffy or runny nose here, just snot rocket it into the bushes. I have never tried and to be honest, I don’t think I ever will.

Collaboration, Sharing, Friends, Burgers, and the Beach

After three weeks away from my village, I am finally back in Beka-Hosséré! It was a fun trip visiting Bemenda, Limbé, and Yaoundé. We had our IST Conference (it is always after we have lived 3 months at our post) at a nice hotel in Bemenda with hot showers and cooler temperatures. It was awesome to see my stagemates and share/hear stories about our adventures. Our counterparts from our villages also came to the conference for a few days so we could learn and collaborate together. Everyone shared projects that they had started or were going to start which made us realize that many of us are hitting the same barriers and the best we can do for each other is to share our ideas. Everybody’s post is different. For example those volunteers in Bemenda, they speak English and Pidgin which is difficult but they are not confronting the same problems as some of us who work in French speaking regions. Some people work in cities where they have so much area to cover and others work in small villages where there isn’t even cellphone reception. We all have issues but thank goodness it sounds like a majority of us like our villages and plan to stay the two years.

Stagemates!!

 

Stagemates reunited!

The conference was interesting especially working with my counterpart and discussing our soy project. I had a moment of frustration since I have found that I am torn between working in my village and focusing on projects that are in a variety of villages. I have a unique situation since I am so close to Ngaoundéré so I have more opportunities to work in the city and help the neighboring villages, including mine. I found out that I will be the last agricultural volunteer in my village so I need to use these two years to finish up projects and not start anything too big that won’t be able to sustain itself after I leave. I realized during IST how much my work means to me and my work is the reason I am here. Sure I have met amazing people and seen wonderful new places but my main reason for being here is my work. I think that is the same for many volunteers. We can party and go on adventures, but when we are alone in our villages, it is the work that gets us through the day.

IST Sessions

During IST, we visited a working fish farm and a mushroom training center. It is inspirational to see successful businesses and organizations that improve their community. We also learned about behavioral change and how to help our communities accept new ideas. Even though I was feeling a bit lost about what work I can actually do here, I am grateful for the information given to us during IST.

Fish Farms

 

Mushroom Training Center

 

Packing bags for growing mushrooms

Other than attending sessions, my friends and I danced our way around Bemenda and made up for the time we had been away from each other. I don’t think I could ever forget my stagemates; they are the people I spent my first few months in Cameroon with and the people who I confided in when I was missing home.

Agribusiness & Health Stage at IST

We went to Limbé Beach after the conference and it was my first time experiencing a warm water ocean! Thankfully the hotel rooms had air conditioning and the ocean was close because it was humid! The place very beautiful with the picturesque jungle next to the black sand of the ocean beach. I haven’t felt that clean in 6 months. When we were not in the water, we visited the city of Limbé with eating amazing fish by the water (oil rigs in the distance) and also visiting the local animal conservatory which also has a restaurant with hamburgers. Oh my gosh, how I miss good hamburgers. The animal conservatory saves primates when their parents are killed by hunters. There were gorillas, chimpanzees, drills, and many primates I had never seen before. Some of them were even out past the fences and stealing cracker wrappers off the ground. Hamburgers, beer, gorillas, friends, air conditioning, and the beach equal good vacation.

Fish! (and oil station in background)

 

Limbe Beach

 

Hamburgers!

 

Limbe Creww

 

too cute

 

Animal Conservatory

After leaving Limbé, we made our way back to Yaoundé to catch the train to Ngaoundéré. I spend a few days in the capital city and enjoyed some pizza with friends including going to the local Hilton Hotel for happy hour and some awesome drinks. Looking out onto the city lights from the top floor of the hotel, it felt more like I was in a city in America than in Cameroon. As much as this trip was amazing and fun, I was ready to go back to village when I got on the train. Of course the train broke down early in the morning and we had to sit for a few hours until another engine could be brought to us but hey, it’s Cameroon.

On the top floor of Hilton Hotel with Yaoundé city behind us

 

My view from the train as we came into the Adamawa region

As soon as I got back, we had our St. Addy’s Day party (St. Patrick’s Day party in the Adamawa). Each region is famous for a holiday party and ours just happens to be my favorite (Green!). It was great to meet some new people from other regions and celebrate, but I was definitely partied out after weeks of socializing.

Playing pool just before St Addys day. The Cameroonians were impressed that I beat the Americans :)

Now back to work with the soy project. I am finding out how difficult it is to understand the culture here especially when I don’t realize the differences until after the fact. We have our orientation for the new soy project participants next week and I am realizing how much paperwork I am expected to prepare. Money is always a problem so we are writing another grant proposal for the project. The problem is that the people in charge of this project already have jobs and a lot of work to do. There are a few that are motivated but they need their travel expenses paid and this project takes a lot of time outside of their regular jobs. I just keep thinking about the 32 Board of Directors at my hometown fair in New York that do not get paid to organize the fair. Gosh, after working Cameroon, working in the U.S. will be a breeze.

A few guys came up to me in my village and asked about business classes and agricultural sessions. One of my friends that sells food in the market asked me for money so she could buy tomatoes and then sell them in Beka-Hosséré. Definitely need to teach some business classes. The students are also talking about where they want their garden at the school to be so that is still a possible project. Every day is an adventure and I never know what to expect.

Yesterday, my postmate’s dog went running with me and we passed two dogs fighting over a very large, very dead snake. Today I woke up to my neighbors yelling “goat” in Fulfulde and banging on my door. A goat had gotten into my chicken house, the door had shut behind him and he was proceeding to break the roof while trying to get out. By the way, my chickens are now laying eggs and my cat, Annie, is not scared of me anymore but has learned how to beg for food. Plus I received two amazing packages, one with homemade honey from my friend, Russ and the other with seeds and homemade jam from my friend Serena!

Life isn’t a breeze here, but these are the moments that make me laugh. And then there are moments that make me cry, like when I got a ride back to my village by the Director of Peace Corps Cameroon and as I got out of the car, my neighbor’s kids knocked me over with hugs and kisses, so excited to have me home. Normalcy is now watching movies with them; Hercules in French this week. I had some sadness when I found out my 19 year old cat in the U.S. had died, but I have these other moments of love & acceptance to keep me sane. One day at a time and in the words of my postmate as we rode a mototaxi down a very bumpy, unsafe road: “I think I can, I think I can”.

The Three Month Mark

It is 8:30am in Beka-Hosséré as I sit and write to you while sipping some coffee (using my beautiful new mug that was given to me by one of my best friends I have met here). The electricity has been working a lot better here with only a few blackouts a week. I feel very lucky. But then I wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t have electricity like most of the other volunteers in Cameroon. I wouldn’t be able to watch a movie and curl up with hot tea while I’m sick. I would probably go to bed or try to read a book. I would have to say though that Peace Corps volunteers in Cameroon probably read more books than students in college. In the United States, I would read every night before going to bed, but like everyone else in the US, I would complain about being too busy to read; when really I was just always distracted. Here in Cameroon, there are not many distractions and a good book can save your life. I have done more reading here than I did in college, and I was an English major. Anyway, this life takes some getting used to. I am reaching my three month mark and I’m not sure if I feel any more at home than when I first got here. The call to prayer still surprises me in the morning and the kids yelling to each other in Fulfulde still confuses me until I remember where I am. Until I step outside to feed my chickens, this life doesn’t seem real.  My new kitten does bring some normality to the picture. She acts like any other kitten especially when she is tearing up my couch. This house is probably the best place to raise a kitten because I don’t care what she tears up since everything in this place has been passed down from volunteer to volunteer and is so old it doesn’t matter what is shredded.

The way I received this kitten is totally a page out of the Cameroonian book. My birthday was full of surprises including one of the bean mammas bringing her daughter over to my house to bake me a cake. She had told me the week before that her daughter was going to bake me a cake (which I was thrilled about) but I did not understand that in the Cameroonian way of thinking that she actually meant: she and her daughter will come to my house in the morning of my birthday and use the ingredients that I bought to bake the cake in my kitchen. Thank goodness I had most of the ingredients anyway and gave her some money to go buy the rest in village. She ended up making two brilliant cakes and they stayed to party with us which was amazing.

One of our Bean Mamas and her daughter baking my cakes

Some of my friends made an apple pie, lemon squares, and carrot cake! One thing I am learning here is that volunteers find ways to make food that I would have thought impossible here. And when a volunteer finds a U.S. baking ingredient in the “secret store” in Ngaoundéré, it is a reason for celebration and the news is spread from volunteer to volunteer as if someone had invented a new way to go to space. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday in my little village. All my friends, including volunteers and Cameroonians, came to my house to celebrate. One of my Cameroonian friends from my village entered my house with a grain sack and handed it to me saying Happy Birthday. I open it and there is a little kitten at the bottom. As soon as I pull her out, she is a spitting image of one of the cats going crazy from the cartoon, “Aristocats”. I quickly shoved her back in the bag and walked away with only a few scratches. It took her two days to come out of the sack and about a week and a half before she would stand to let me touch her. She still hisses and spits if I sneak up on her, but at night she now sleeps on my stomach. Most cats and dogs are not treated like pets here in Cameroon because they are only allowed to live with a family if they serve a purpose. Cuddling was not in my cat’s vocabulary when she arrived at my home. But thankfully with my postmate, Carl’s encouragement, I stayed patient and now my kitten is a great companion. Her name is Annie, short for Anniversaire (birthday in French).

Birthday Party!

 

Me & Annie

I had met another Cameroonian in Ngaoundéré who had worked with volunteers in the past and he heard about my birthday celebration and decided he was going to stop by. Of course he came very late when most of my other Cameroonian friends had left and it was just me and the other volunteers eating cake and watching a movie. We ended up taking a walk outside to wake up and he asked me “is this a part of the American tradition for celebrating birthdays?” I told him that really the only tradition is sometimes a cake and singing Happy Birthday. That really we just do what we want or feel like doing on our birthday. Right now I just feel like taking a walk outside and having an adventure with my friends. He was so surprised and later wrote me a text message that said thank you for including him in my party and that he loved seeing us Americans having so much fun together. Sometimes it blows my mind to think about how I perceive Cameroonian celebrations with their strict cultural traditions and then compare it to how Cameroonians might see Americans celebrate. Just the regular food for thought that goes on in my mind while living here.

Getting Henna Tattoos for the Wedding

 

Don't worry, its temporary, Mom

Another event in village was a Muslim wedding. This was a first for me and my postmates. Jasmine and I had both gotten henna tattoos and I had gotten a new dress made for this occasion. We had no idea what to expect, but it was apparent that all of the villagers were so happy that we had at least gotten the tattoos. We were told to meet at a friend’s house to go to the wedding together. Of course no one could give us a real time for this wedding to start because time isn’t really essential here. We were told to follow them with no real explanation. I find that this happens a lot here. I usually have no idea what is going on until after we get there. We are led to an area where there is music playing (a man on drums and another playing an instrument that sounds like bagpipes) and then we are told to go in this house. Of course I regretted wearing my nice shoes that take some effort to take off since we always have to take off shoes every time we enter a house. We sit down on the floor in the house. I try to sit in a sort of Indian style and immediately the Cameroonian woman with us moves my legs so they are lying straight out in front of me. She then sits Indian style next to me. Some things I just don’t understand. Minutes later we are told to walk in a small parade and I find out we are leading the groom to the Chief’s house. We all enter the Chief’s house (take off our shoes again) and sit for about a 3 minute prayer. Then we go outside to another house and pray again. Mind you, we haven’t seen the bride yet. After this we are told that the men are going to the Mosque to pray and that we can come back a little later for the dancing. Carl and I decide it is a good time to go eat and have a beer. We get back around 10pm and we can hear the party still going on outside the Chief’s house. There is music on the loud speakers with the typical high pitched whining sound every few seconds that you sometimes get if the microphone is too close to the speakers. As soon as we join the party, there is a couch moved to one side of the area for us to sit down. It can be an honor to feel like a King and Queen at a party but it is awkward when you have done nothing to deserve it except being born in America. The dancing kind of reminded me of my high school dances except nobody is touching each other and you all dance in a circle. Sometimes people would throw money inside the circle for the groom. I never really saw the bride and not sure why. Carl and I danced a few songs with everyone and they were all ecstatic when we joined in the fun. I really enjoyed it but we were tired by midnight. Sometimes the work here is just always being aware of what you look like and how you act because everyone is always watching. When we left at midnight, the party was still going and half the children were curled up asleep next to the couch. Needless to say, the village was very quiet the next day.

Wedding Parade to the Chief's House

 

Wedding Parade

 

Wedding Prayer (That is why I'm holding my hands in front of me)

 

The Dance Party

 

Most of these kids were sleeping by midnight

 

Me & Carl sitting on the couch they set up for us to watch the dancing

 

Beka-Hossere volunteers ready for our first Muslim wedding

I also got to experience Youth Day in Cameroon.  We started our morning by going to Gogo Inna’s house (she is pretty much the leader of all the women in the village). Of course as soon as we sat down they gave us food (rice with a beef sauce) and I was very glad I had only eaten a small breakfast. Then we watched as they filled little plastic bags with popcorn, candy, and little chips. These were to be given to all the children who were currently outside all dressed in their best. One of the women wanted us to meet a baby that was just born. I wasn’t really sure why but we didn’t argue and went to another house where there was very loud music playing. Gogo Inna came out with a very very tiny baby and told me to take some pictures. Thank goodness she told someone to turn down the music because the baby could possibly be only a few days old. I took a few pictures and then Gogo Inna gave the baby back to the mom. We left and I really had no idea what that was really about. Maybe a Muslim baptizing ceremony where people see the baby and it is given a name? Usually the naming ceremony happens a week after the baby is born which would explain why it was so young.

Gogo Inna and the newborn baby

 

The children dressed in their best

After seeing the baby, Carl and I went to Ngaoundéré to watch the Youth Day parade. Roads were blocked off as hundreds of people filled the streets leading up to the Place de Fete which is a large stadium-like area with a grand stand on one side for the important people to sit. Walking in it felt like I was back home attending a Countryfest concert. There was a long line of food venders (including one of our bean mamas) and hundreds of people standing facing the grand stand so they could watch the parade. Each school has a different colored uniform and the students would sing and march (picture the marching to be similar to the military in other countries with legs and arms swinging out in front of them as they walked) as they passed in front of the grand stand. The line of school, church, and sporting groups was so long that we had a difficult time finding the school group from our village. The parade was supposed to start at 8am, we got there at 10am and by the time we left there was still many groups in the line waiting to march. Plus who knows if they started on time. As much as I dislike waiting in line to march in the parades in my small town in upstate NY, I will always appreciate them from now on when I think of all the children standing in the hot sun for hours upon hours in Ngaoundéré.  The Youth Day parade was still a brilliant sight to see with all its colors and people coming together to celebrate children.

Youth Day Parade in Ngaoundere

Other than the many fetes (celebrations, holidays) going here, I have done some work with the soy project and prepared my needs assessment for the upcoming conference in Bemenda. I have had a very difficult time getting people to attend the soy project meetings but we finally chose out new participants and had our first meeting with them. The leaders of the soy project want to keep the project going, but the fact is they are not paid to do this work. While volunteering might be a norm in the US, here it is not a known word. It is very discouraging when I call people to schedule a meeting and then they either show up two hours late or not at all. I know that what I am doing is not normal for a new volunteer. Usually because of language barriers and being new to the culture, new volunteers do not start projects until after a few months. I took over this project from a previous volunteer but many of the participants are expecting me to know what to do like he did. It has taken a few meetings and some brilliant help from another Peace Corps volunteer who has been here for years, to finally get everyone on the same page. When I get back from my conference we will have a training session for the participants on growing soy and hopefully participation will get better.

 

We saw a Chameleon!

I will leave this week for the Peace Corps IST Conference in Bemenda which volunteers always have after 3 months of service where we will learn about applying for grants, submitting reports to Peace Corps, and other topics that will help us with our projects. Our counterparts also attend the conference for a few days so they can have a better understanding of how they can help us. I can’t believe that even after three months, this place still feels as strange to me as when I first got here. But I find that my French has gotten so much better and now I take things for granted that was difficult for me a few months ago, like catching a mototaxi or ordering food. I need to be grateful that I have a safe home, amazing friends here, work to do including a soy project that most new volunteers don’t have, and some trips to look forward to including a trip home in May and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. And now I have three chickens and a cat. I may have times (usually around 2pm) when it is too hot to walk outside and I feel the need to hop on a magic carpet and go home, but I remember that the rain will come next month and maybe it will wash away the dust and show me a new side of Cameroon where the fields will grow again and the river will be more than just small puddles for people to wash their clothes in. Maybe, just maybe I will start to understand this place.

The Rollercoaster Lifestyle

The best way to describe my life here is to compare it to riding a rollercoaster, like maybe the Comet at the Great Escape. I haven’t made it to the top of the ride yet or experienced the thrill of descent, but I have made some wonderful friends and they have helped me through the ups and downs of everyday life here. It was tough to be away from home for the holidays, but my fellow volunteers and I did our best to celebrate Christmas with food, stockings, and Christmas movies. We even sang some karaoke! The majority of the people I know in my village are Muslim and so they do not celebrate Christmas. I’m sure the Christians in my village go to church, but my friend and I decided to go a Lutheran church in Ngaoundéré for Christmas Eve. I did not completely understand the sermon in French but it is was nice to feel a little bit of home in the church with Christmas trees, Christmas paper chains, and singing. We plan on going to another church possibly for Easter.

Christmas in Ngaoundere

 

New Year’s Eve was just one big party in Ngaoundéré. Cameroonians celebrate just as much as Americans when it comes to New Years. I made it past midnight dancing at one of the clubs, but when I woke up to the call to prayer at 5am, I could still here the music from across the street at the bar. It was a fun night celebrating the start of 2015 with both my American, German, and Cameroonian friends.

New Years with view of Ngaoundere behind us

During the holidays, I visited a small village about an hour from Ngaoundéré called Mbang Mboum. My friend, Aliz, is the Peace Corps volunteer there. It was wonderful to see where another volunteer lived and experience the differences/similarities between her village and mine. Aliz has been there for over a year so she has so much knowledge to share about her work and her life here in Cameroon. Unfortunately, her village is being relocated after she finishes her service because a Chinese company is building a dam nearby. I was so shocked to hear that an entire village that has been there for so many generations will be moved without them putting up any of a fight. The people will receive compensation for starting a new life somewhere else, but I can’t imagine a change like this ever going smoothly in the U.S. As much as we as volunteers would probably want to stop this from happening, we are not supposed to get involved in politics or anything that would jeopardize our stay here. Mbang Mboum is a wonderful little village and Aliz took Gretchen and me to see the beautiful nearby waterfalls. Gretchen, Aliz and I are like the three Musketeers! We are planning on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in July. We started a GoFundMe account to raise money and we are thinking of giving some of the money we raise to a Cameroon Education or Agricultural Project. We will let you know what we come up with!

Waterfalls in Mbang Mboum

We also took another trip to the Ranch de Ngaoundaba which is a camp near a lake that felt more like a vacation. The rooms are nice and there are hot showers! The main building had a dining room where all the guests ate meals together and a game room with a pool table. The animal heads on the walls made me think of this place as a scene from Ernest Hemmingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" where the character goes on an African Safari. I found out that the camp used to be used by people from other countries who came there to hunt and experience the “African Safari”. It is owned by a Frenchman who is very welcoming and even has a few walls by the kitchen that had been painted by a fellow Peace Corps volunteer. In the nearby village, this same volunteer helped the local women start a Soy Restaurant. I left the Ranch with a sun burn and some great memories with my new friends.

My first time enjoying a lake and the jungle!

I also got to see Lac Tison with my friends, Gretchen and Fidel. There was a hilarious moment when I decided to jump into the lake from the huge rocks we were picnicking on. Most Cameroonians do not swim and will only wade in the water by the shore. I didn’t want to risk getting a disease that is carried by the snails that live on the shore so I thought it would be much safer to jump into the deep end of the lake. My Cameroonian friend, Fidel, started to freak out and kept asking me to please, please do not go in the water because if I drowned, he would not be able to save me. After about an hour of him pleading, me laughing, and then me finally giving up, he finally said I could jump in but at my own risk. I finally jumped into the cool water and swam toward the nearest rock. About a minute later, I look up to see a crowd of Cameroonians around my friends. They had been across the lake and saw me jump in so of course they had to get a closer look at this crazy white lady. Fidel was so relieved I was okay and commented on my amazing swimming skills. Gretchen held back a laugh as she said “She was just doggy paddling”. I couldn’t stop laughing about the whole situation for weeks.

Lak Tison

I’m sure there are many things that I do here that my Cameroonian friends think are crazy. I made some bird feeders to attract some of the birds closer to my house. It was always nice to watch them at my home in the U.S. Of course I am having a difficult time getting them to use the bird feeders, but they probably have never been fed chicken feed in plastic jars hanging from trees in Cameroon. I also bought three chickens from a friend in my village. One rooster and two hens. I have no idea what kind they are or how old, but hopefully in a few months they will start laying eggs. I paid the kids to build a chicken coop for them, but I still have to bring them into my kitchen at night. In the U.S. my Mom and I had to worry about the fox eating our chickens, but here, I have to worry about people stealing them. Chickens are food here in Cameroon and they can feed a family.

Birdfeeders in my front yard

 

My chickens!

I have been trying to figure out what I can do to help my village and what projects are needed but it takes time to learn the hidden cultural rules and find the people who are the “diamonds in the ruff” that have the courage/ambition to help their community. I have had moments where I am happy or at least feeling useful: Hanging out in the bean mamma’s little “sit down” area under a straw thatched canopy and finding people generally interested in drawing a map of their community. Sitting in my hammock outside my house, writing in my journal as the kids color beside me. Helping my neighbors clean the corn so they can make cous cous. Meeting a volunteer from Slovenia who is teaching English in Bemenda but wanted to visit Ngaoundéré and see more of Cameroon. And one day I went shopping for material to make a dress for a village wedding with my neighbor’s wife. About halfway through what felt like an awkward date, I realized she just wanted to hang out. I really dislike shopping in the U.S. but I put on my best face and picked out material, met with a seamstress and looked at shoes with her. When we got back, we talked about getting henna done on our feet and hands for the wedding. I was starting to feel like I was at home and just shopping and planning for a big party. Then her husband came in and proceeded to tell me that next time he will permit her to go with me. I think she might not have asked for permission to go shopping. Most of the Muslim men in my village have multiple wives and they each have their own house or hut. The wife I went shopping with cannot have children so she lives alone in her house. She was close friends with the last female volunteer in my village and I hope I can be her friend as well as a model for how women should live, with rights and dreams.

Having Cous Cous Maize with my neighbors (the women and men eat separate & we eat with our hands)

 

Carl and I hanging out with the kids before dinner. This little guy loves Carl!

 

The students at the nearby school planting trees

 

Charles Angels in Beka-Hossere

 

Hanging out at my house

 

Helping clean the corn with my neighbors

 

A village dog that hangs out with me sometimes (he runs away if I mention a bath-haha)

 

Cows in my backyard

I have been trying to look into agricultural projects, especially at the school and my garden is mostly ready for planting. My three month conference in Bemenda is coming up soon and I have to hand in a report about my community’s needs. I was so happy to receive some brilliant packages from friends and family! Everyone at home has been so amazingly supportive. Your cards and presents are what get me through the ups and downs of this roller coaster. It is amazing how I wake up every day not always having a schedule and by the end of the day, I cannot sleep because so much happened that I have to think about. Next weekend is my 27^th birthday. We are celebrating at my house in my village. Maybe at age 27 I will feel a bit smarter or at least figure out how to get those birds to eat from my bird feeders.