How to put into words how I feel? I just left my village, my
home and said good bye to all my friends (Cameroonian, American, German &
Austrian) in the Adamawa region. I am in the capital, Yaoundé to do medical
appointments before taking the big step to be back on US soil. After two years
in Cameroon, I realize that this place has become another home and the American
home I dream about all the time was just another life. For all of you who read
Peace Corps volunteers’ blogs or know a PCV, then these statements will sound
familiar. The point is that we all feel this way; this bitter sweet feeling of
leaving our PC country. So rather than bore you with my feelings, I will just
share some pictures and their captions from the last couple of weeks.
We had out final meeting for the soy project and gave out the certificates to all the participants. They are all so motivated and excited to keep growing soy! I am so happy that even with the rough start in 2014, my work has been worthwhile in Cameroon and my work partners are ready to keep teaching people about soy.
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| 2016 Soy Project Graduates and Leaders |
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Waiting for the rain to stop at one of the last volleyball club games (Alex decided to take over teaching the club!)
Students bring machetes to school so they can cut grass as a punishment if they get into trouble |
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| Meeting the Ngaoundere firefighters (they may not have the best equipment but they have one fire truck!) |
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| Last visit to Lake Tison |
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| Need a snack? Try Parle-G crackers and Laughing Cow cheese (kind of like real cheese) |
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| Last meal in my house (spaghetti and fried tomatoes) |
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| Guyia and Fatimatu trying on my clothes and bandannas that I gave them (little big) |
One good idea on how to say good bye to all the people I met
in two years is to do it in small doses. I am overwhelmed by how many people
cried (me too) and gave me gifts. I gave them photos of our adventures together in hopes that they will remember me because I know I won't forget them.
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| Sionie who always sells me good tomatoes and onions |
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| Good friend and seamstress, Valarie |
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| Djanabo- she runs the Peace Corps office in Ngaoundere and takes care of all of us Adamawa PCVs |
The ASEED (Association for helping orphaned and abandoned children)
children gave me small tokens as gifts along with singing and dancing for me.
Seeing their happy faces as they danced made my heart glow. We plan on doing
another fundraiser for them during Christmas so please keep them in your
thoughts during the holidays and give what you can so that they can keep living a brilliant life supported by Sister Carine.
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| ASEED children & Sister Carine |
My good friends generously planned a pool party with amazing
food and even cake! It rained but we are thinking that like weddings, maybe
that means it will be a good future for all of us and we will all meet again.
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| Good friends! |
The morning of leaving my house and Beka-Hosséré was the
most difficult. I had packed the night before and that morning my neighbors and
I sat on my porch playing Go Fish until Max came to pick me up. I tried to make
it a quick goodbye so after they helped me pack the truck, we took a group
photo and I gave each of them a hug. Hugs and crying are not usual for
Cameroonian Muslims (only at funerals). But to my surprise, they hugged me back
with love and the tears ran silently down our cheeks. The mother, Aiya was
sobbing so hard that she wouldn’t even look me in the eye. Even as I write
this, my eyes start welling up. Honestly, I care about people but no one told
me that when I joined Peace Corps, I would want to stay and watch the children
grow up just as though they are my own family.
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| My Cameroon family |
I will spend the next week with other PCVs who are finishing
their service and then we will fly to Paris; spend a couple days celebrating
and then I will take the train to see my Aunt and cousins in Switzerland. By
November 20th I plan on waking up in the morning, drinking a cup of
good coffee with my mom, walking with Finn out to the barn, breathing in the
crisp New York air, and sitting down in the field where there are no ants to
bite my butt (well hopefully). I cannot wait to see my family and friends yet
in the back of my mind I have no idea what it will be like to go from cold bucket
baths to hot showers; spaghetti omelet sandwiches and cous cous to cereal and
BLTs; mayonnaise and hot sauce as the main condiments to ketchup available
everywhere; bargaining for a 30 cent motorcycle ride to no motorcycle taxis;
waking up to call to prayers & children crying to the silence of a farm
with only the rooster to remind me of Cameroon (or is it that the rooster
reminds me of the US?). I know I won’t miss the corruption here or the way I
stand out in the street, but does it really matter? No, what matters is that I came
to Cameroon with a goal, I achieved it, mostly and added bonus: I loved and was
loved back. Seems like a pretty good relationship to me. For now, I will just
live, share, and smile. Thank you for all the support everyone and see you
stateside soon. If you do decide to ask me about Cameroon, thank you because
maybe by talking about it, I will figure out what I am trying to say. And
hopefully you will learn more about this country that I called home.
