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.