Visiting Home & the Perspective

It has been a whirlwind journey from visiting home in New York to coming back to Cameroon. I was so nervous to be visiting home so early in my Peace Corps service but it proved to be a good decision. I was able to see two of my best friends get married and even caught the bouquet at the second wedding! I remember crying every so often on the plane ride home and wishing that I could just apparate (Harry Potter term) and be in JFK airport. When I finally saw my father as I got through security, all my emotions exploded in my face and I can’t remember ever feeling more relieved. My poor Dad had to listen to my non-stop story telling all the home until he got me some Starbucks coffee and I shut up a bit. I was able to wake my Mom up at 11:30pm and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. It was good to be home.

Great to see my family!

 

Party with Friends :)

 

For the first few days I felt as though I was in a dream and at some point I would wake up in my bed in Cameroon. I would walk around in the fields by the barn and just enjoy the spring breeze and the ability to just be me without all the stares I was used to. I could hug and play with the dogs without people asking me why and I could sing out in the barn where no one could hear except for the goats and chickens. I didn’t have much time to relax like this for too long. My Mom and I went shopping for gear to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and I used my Dad’s car to drive around and visit friends. The weddings were amazing and beautiful. I got a cold on my second day home and my stomach didn’t ever settle from the new food but that didn’t stop me from enjoying every second home. I got to meet the students in a French class who had written me letters. They were all so wonderful and asked brilliant questions. I don’t think they realized how helpful it was for me to talk about Cameroon. It helped me digest all the thoughts in my head now that I was at home. And to top it off, my parents invited people over for a party and I was able to see many of my friends all at once.

When my last night at home came, I felt kind of hollow. Steak cooked on the grill, strawberries for dessert, and watching the Amazing Race with my parents made my visit complete. I was ready to go back. My airlines however had other ideas. My flight to Istanbul, Turkey was so late that most of the passengers, including me, missed our connecting flight. Turkish Airlines then sent me to Nairobi, Kenya to catch my next flight to Douala, Cameroon. Once we arrived in Douala, I realized only one of my bags had arrived but of course it being Cameroon, they said that I had to wait until I got to Yaoundé to make a missing baggage request. Our flight to Douala had arrived so late that the flight staff were afraid that they would not make it back to Nairobi before the airport closed so they said they could not take us to Yaoundé. We had to stay in a hotel and catch the flight the next day. Well most of us didn’t want to do that. Plus Douala is a little dangerous for an American so I was not ready to spend the night. We asked the airlines to book a bus to Yaoundé so we left at 6pm on the bus and arrived in Yaoundé at midnight. A couple passengers were really nice and found me a reasonably priced taxi ride to the Peace Corps office. I spent 5 days in Yaoundé waiting for the airlines to find my bag. I ended up going to the Yaoundé airport to see a friend off to the U.S. and looked in the lost baggage area just in case my bag was there. And it was! The tag on it had the incorrect number so who knows when the airlines would have found it. (They can’t just look at the name on the bag and contact me of course!) But being typical Cameroon, the official saw that my ticket number didn’t match the number on the bag and I had no paperwork but it must be my bag so he just gave it to me. Bribery and laziness are a big part of Cameroon business.

Annie & the chicks

I found out that my three chickens had been stolen while I was gone, but there were 4 chicks left. I must say I had a point where I wondered if Cameroon really wanted me there. But I threw my courage into my heart and made my way back to Beka-Hosséré. My neighbors were ecstatic to see me and I was collided with hugs. They were very sorry about my chickens and had adopted the chicks into their care. Everything was so different now that it had been raining more. It was green everywhere! My garden was overgrown with weeds but it was nice to be surrounded by green and have it be a bit cooler weather. I gave my neighbors their presents which included Washington County Fair t-shirts, t-shirts from my Mom’s work (Sutherlands) and a Washington County Fair stuffed animal. I gave my other Cameroonian friends little bottles of my Dad’s homemade maple syrup (it was interesting trying to explain maple syrup) and more t-shirts. Everyone is so happy with their gifts. Amadou was practically jumping with joy when he received his soccer ball. My trip finally seemed to conclude in my mind. Now back to work and prepare for Kilimanjaro.

Dada with her Fair cow

 

My neighbors in their new shirts!

 

Amadou with his new shirt & soccer ball

We had a meeting with the Soy Cooperative when I got back. Well we tried to. Most of the women showed up for this meeting, but the leaders of the group had forgotten that there was a meeting in the office that day with some of the “grands”. The Délégué (boss of my work partners) pretty much kicked us all out of the office because he didn’t want it to be swarming with people when the big guys came. It was embarrassing for us and for the cooperative members. I had never met the Délégué before but I could tell by how he rang a bell for people to come into his office (he can’t walk two feet to talk to someone) and how he talked to us like he was God, that he is another reason I do not like to work with the “grands” here. They are the people with the power and they see the rest of the population as the “petites” or their servants. The cooperative members were angry, we were angry but we rescheduled the meeting and hoped that people would come back. They did thank goodness and we had a successful meeting on Friday. Successful meaning mostly everyone showed up, most of the problems were discussed and plans were made for buying the soy seeds for planting. There were three women (mostly the executive board) that still do not want the one man to be in the group so that was a conversation with raised voices and pointed figures. The problem with most groups in Cameroon is that when money is involved, everyone wants their fair share. And yes, men are threatening to women in this country in that they have more power most of the time. But this man in the group is willing to work with the women and has proven to be more reliable than most of them. There are many other problems this group needs to deal with but they always focus on the one thing they understand: one male member. At least most of them left happy and we made plans to meet in a couple weeks to distribute the soy seeds. The participants in the new Soy Project will be there as well so that we can give out all the seeds at one time.

Finally good news, my grant for the Soy Project got approved! I am not sure when the funds will arrive but at least the project will keep going!

I went for a run the other morning and found the fields behind my house full of people working in the cool weather. I felt a little bad about running when they were working so hard but I was glad to see the growing tomatoes and corn lining the road. The rainy season is very late but people already have growth in their fields. The soy project participants are being told to not plant until July 1^st so that we can make sure it is raining every day. The soy needs water and cannot dry out otherwise it won’t progress enough to be cultivated in September.

Tomatoes & corn growing in the fields by my house

I am so happy I was able to visit home. It gave me the chance to think about my experience in Cameroon. I find now that I feel more comfortable living in the U.S. Before Peace Corps, I felt like I didn’t deserve to live in such a comfortable life. I didn’t understand the parts of the world where cultures were so different. There is only so much you can learn from books and T.V. But now I at least have an understanding of why cultures are different, why we have what we have in the U.S., why most of the time we deserve that comfort, why we must cherish it, and most of all I found out how thankful I am that I know people in the U.S. that work hard to try to make their community a better place. Sure not every American is like that and not everyone wants to visit places overseas, but there are some that care enough to make America a great place. Cameroon has changed so much over the years and it is getting better, but it needs more motivated people to be educated and then go back and help their communities. I am so thankful I am an American and I am so thankful for all of you.