lundi 27 décembre 2010

Christmas in Cameroon

So I am still here- things have been busy the last few weeks so in this post I will take some time to update on life here in Cameroon.

I am no longer the newest person in the area- my post mate finished her two years and now not only did I get a new post mate but 2 other volunteers opened 2 new posts in the area- all 3 are health volunteers but now the west Adamawa area is really growing- there are 6 of us- very exciting.
The new improved and enlarged West Adamawa group

School has been going well- we are into the 3 sequence (there are a total of 6). The younger classes are still somewhat challenging there being over 60 students in each one and of course12 year olds do enjoy chatting.We are obviously on break right now for the holidays- 2 weeks just like in the states. And actually I even missed the entire last week before break- not for vacation though- for IST.

Yes IST or in-service training. This is a weeklong training thatall volunteers do after being at post for 3 months- yep already been here in Banyo actuallyover 3 months so I had to go for IST and meet back up with the rest of my stage or group that I trained with in the summer. Our training was at Kribi- one of the better known beaches in Cameroon. And I must say although you would think a week at the beach sounds like fun it really wasn’t. I was gone for 11 days and of those 11, 6 were spent in vans and agencevehicles traveling. In fact it took just 3 days to get to the beach to begin with. And once I did make it to the beach, we all had training everyday until 5 so beach time was rather limited. But despite the traveling and long days, it was super nice to re-group with everyone and hear about everyone’s experiences so far. It was really a great time to share and be with other people who understand what life is like here.

Kribi

So after IST, I had some errands to run in the capital on my way back home to Banyo. Picked up lots of packages with Christmas and birthday gifts- thanks family! And even made a visit to my host family in Bafia- caught upwith them and even got some pineapple which Bafia is known for their pineapple so that was a nice treat. Then I finally made it back to Banyo after a 16 hour trip from Bafoussam (I swear every time I make the trip, somehow it takes longer and longer). But even though I was back, things didn’t slow down- there was Christmas!

For Christmas, I had lots of cooking and of course decorating and presents. I got to spend some time with other Americans like some of the volunteers in the area and even some of their families who came to visit and even went out to the missionaries for Christmas dinner. Overall Christmas was very enjoyable here but I did miss my family and “It’s a Wonderful Life” if anyone would care to send that for Christmas next year,it would be much appreciated.


My house decorated for Christmas-snowflakes, stockings, Christmas tree. Also the one time of year when the chimney is actually quite perfect.

So now I have one week left or a little less before school starts back up. And of course New Year’s is still coming up. I think I have gotten a few invites to events for New Year’s so hopefully that will also be a fun holiday celebration. In the meantime, I will be trying to catch up on pretty much everything and hopefully not only catch up but get something other things done in preparation for the coming weeks- I’ve got 2 trips to make to the capital in the next 2 months, lots of fetes and birthdays, the GRE and of yes of course work here. Busy busy but I am still really enjoying everything. Time is still flying- already over half a year in Cameroon- crazy.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Holidays!

jeudi 18 novembre 2010

Fete de Mouton

So another Muslim holiday has come- fete de mouton or "festival of sacrifice". This fete comes approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. The big thing for this holiday is the killing or sacrificing of a sheep (in commemoration of Abraham's sacrifice of a ram for God). People have been preparing for this fete for a while- hence the sheep all over the place. And apparently most holidays for Muslims here (like Ramadan and this one) involve celebrating over three days although I'm not quite sure what exactly occurs during those days. I did though see festivities for 2 days this time.

Things started Wednesday. First and foremost- no school- yay! So instead of going to school, I went to see the prayer for fetede mouton. All Muslim men (boys) go out to this huge field outside of town to prayer (there is a particular prayer for the fete). Hundreds of men came out and my postmate and I were not only the only white people but the only women (when I asked I was told the women 'don't want to come'however I believe they are more so not allowed to come to the prayer because usually the women are separated from the men during prayer so that wouldn't be possible in the open field). But yes my postmate and I went and even got to sit on chairs under a tent with thebigwigs of the area (they also came to watch even though they are not muslim so it wasn't too weird to just watch everyone pray).
Poor little sheep waiting to be sacrificed right after the prayer

The prayer altogether lasted maybe 5 minutes. Then the first sheep sacrifice was given at the field although a bunch of kids and people stood around so I wasn't actually able to see that although I did see the poor sheep before he was gone. After the prayer, we went back into town and waited to be invited to some fetes.

Men praying on the left and then me with my friend right after the prayer

In the afternoon, some of our friends invited us out for a drink (soda- they don't drink alcohol) and to my surprise they showed up with an entire meal- they brought igname (kind of like potatoes but not- really almost no flavor), rice, tomato sauce, bread and of course- mouton (sheep). Then directly after eating with them, I came home and my neighbor was feting as well and invited me to eat more food and more sheep. They had killed their sheep earlier in the day so I was kind of glad I wasn't around for that - although I did see the blood still on the ground and the lovely skin of the animal hanging on the wall. Oh and my neighbor said she would show me the head...still waiting to see that...

Skin from the sheep my neighbors killed...still on the wall right now by the way

So Wednesday was prayer, sacrifice and lots of food. Then today there were more festivities- although not as extensive. And unfortunately there was school. But then this afternoon- surprise- there was fantasia again! Who knew! So I went out this afternoon and stood with everyone to see the horses and also try not get trampled when one goes loose. And this fantasia was even more fun than the one for Ramadan because I got to see a bunch of students and other people I knew.

Overall fete de mouton was a success and I can't wait for Ramadan and fete de mouton to come again next year. I already know I will miss these holidays when I get back home-nothing like them there.
Yay- Fantasia again!

dimanche 14 novembre 2010

Mt. Djumbaul

Banyo is in the Adamawa region which is rather mountainous and therefore of course there mountains surrounding Banyo. And there is one mountain in particular, Mt. Djumbaul (I think that's the name) which people climb during dry season. So right now dry season is slowly creeping in and I have been dying to climb themountain since I got here so when my postmate said she wanted to climb it one last time before she leaves, I was totally in. So we have been waiting for a good time (you have to wait for the path to clear up and also for the rain to stop). Well this weekend the time finally came.

We (my postmate, 2 friends, and myself) headed out for the mountain around 7:30am Saturday. The path is actually right near my house too- convenient. We walked and walked and eventually came to some steps which were super steep but kept walking. As we got higher, we could see more and more of Banyo and there were huge rocks all around which kept getting bigger and bigger. we reached the top around 9am so only about an hour and a half to get up-not bad.

Now at the top of the mountain, there is not only a great view of Banyo and surrounding mountains, but some history as well. In case you were unaware, Cameroon used to be colonized by Germans (and yes others like obviously the French and British) but the Germans really left a lot behind and you can still see buildings and structures that they built all over Cameroon. So now at the top of the mountain in Banyo, there were a few things the Germans left behind: structures from where they possibly looked out and fought, some homes, and a prison- yes a prison which I dont know how on earth or more so I can't imagine how on earth a prison was maintained at the top of this mountain- having to make the climb up and then be left up there in chains- miserable. But it was really neat to see all these things left behind and also to imagine how life would have been for Germans in Cameroon in Banyo.
German prison

In addition to the history all around, there were also huge rocks (as I already mentioned). But there was one in particular at the top and the 2 friends (Cameroonians) said that people climb to the top of this rock so I thought I would give it a try. Huge mistake. It was an amazing view atop the rock but oh man it was scary scary to climb up and more so to go down- I had to sit and kind of crawl. I told them never again would I climb that rock.
The giant rock we climbed- from the other side though clearly no way from this angle

View from atop the rock
We spent a good while exploring the top of the mountain although it was a bit difficult to walk around since there was still a lot of grasses and plants (it's not quite ideal time to climb) and then we headed back down, stopping along the way to sit and rest and just enjoy the view. It was amazing just sitting and overlooking Banyo- it looked so peaceful from far away. But alas we did have to actually go back to Banyo. And man I must say the walk back or more so down was almost as painful as the walk up. But I made it and we actually finished it all before noon. So it was an overall success and I am so glad that I now know how to get there. I may even try to make it a regular routine to go up the mountain every weekend (I hope). But I do know I will be going up again soon- apparently the teachers and students at my school always climb it together- very exciting. This can all be practice for climbing Mt Cameroon- that is definitely on my list of things to do before I leave.
Back to Banyo

mardi 9 novembre 2010

Market/Tiket Visit

So here in Banyo you can't exactly just go to the grocery store or find a Walmart/Target to do your shopping. Pretty much there are 2 options- the corner store boutique or the market and to get everything you would need you have to go to both- neither option has everything- theres no one-stop shopping here for sure. The corner boutique has mostly packaged items like cookies (lots of cookies), margarine, NIDO (powderedmilk), candles, paper products, shampoo and bread is really the only fresh food item you can find there. Now the market is where you do your real shopping.

In Banyo market days are Tuesday and Friday. These are the days when truckloads of food and products come in and everyone comes out to dothere shopping. Other days of the week you can certainly walk through the market and find some things, but Tuesdays and Fridays are when you can find some really good stuff and stock up (kind of since most food doesn't last that long and not too many people have a refrigerator).

So in the market you see just a bunch of wooden shacks and stands where people are selling all kinds of stuff. I would say there is some organization to the market but not much. It took me a good week of just wondering through on visits to finally understand the maze of the market. There are vegetables, pagne (fabric), jewelry, clothing, meat, etc. And sometimes it can be fun wondering through and hunting for things but other times that market can be very overwhelming. For one thing, nothing nothing is labeled with a price. It's all up to bargaining or at least being familiar with prices beforehand so you know if someone is trying to rip you off. And then walking thought people are always trying to get you to come and look and buy something. I have tried to leisurely wonder through and kind of window shop if you will but I don't think that concept exists here - peopleget in and get out. So sometimes the walkway is really narrow and/or muddy and people almost run you over. But on a good day, it can be a lot of fun- maybe you find some great things- exactly what you've been looking for and you even dosome great bargaining. A good day at the market can really put you in an amazing mood and make you feel like you really accomplished something for the day.

So today was a market day and today was a special market visit- I went to the market at Tiket (ti-kay). It's a nearby village/area about a 10-minute moto ride outside Banyo. And they have their market on Tuesday which their market is much smaller but the unique thing is that on Tuesday people go out to Tiket to sell and buy cattle. So I went with my postmate to see the cattle market. People came from surrounding villages bringing their cattle to sell. Now we aren't sure exactly but we believe it is some kind of bidding process. We did see all the cattle though being brought into an enclosure and it was almost kind of scary - standing in the same area just a couple feet away from huge cattle so we didn't stay close too long and moved over to see the sheep which are being bought and sold like crazy right now in preparation for fete de mouton (should be next week so I'll explain that fete then). After looking at the animals, we walked though the market. It was super nice because it is much more open than the market in Banyo- things were spread out, you had plenty of space to move. It was quite peaceful and the weather was amazing since we were a little outside of Banyo. In fact, it was such a great experience I am tempted to go out to the TuesdayTiket market more often in lieu of going to the market in town. But really in the end,it's always a love-hate relationship with the market no matter which market it is and you can never predict what the next visit will be like. But unfortunately no matter how bad one market trip may be, you always have to go back again- there's no other choice.
Cattle

Tiket Market

Spices, beans and lots of other things

Pagne

lundi 25 octobre 2010

Let's Talk About School



Well I guess I should share a bit about school here in Cameroon seeing as how that's where I spend a good amount of my time being a teacher and all. But let me preface/warn that school here is so different from school in America that I will most likely end up writing multiple entries and still not even cover but half of how different it is. And even then it's really just one of those things you would have to experience to fully grasp. But I will try. Here we go.

Where to begin- mmm with the students. Let's take a look from a student's point of view. Ok scenario- so it's a week or two before school starts. Youneed to register with the school. When you do so, you must show a medical card with your medical history. You also need to pay which depending on your grade level could vary from not too expensive (10,000cfa) to kind of really expensive (30,000+cfa) (when you at least compare to the fact that school is free in the US). Then you need to get your uniform made. At my school, they all wear a solid blue uniform. Girls must of course wear a dress while boys wear pants and a button up. On your uniform, you must also have your name and class stitched on the chest in red thread. Then if you have the money, you would try to buy some of the books for a few of your classes (but most do not- for example in my class with about 60 students, maybe 6 have the book). Ok now you are set for school.

Well school stars the first week of September but you kind of go maybe if you don't have other things going on. And if you do go, you maybe have class if any teachers show up to teach. Then after the first week, everyone is for the most part finally back and things are moving. So Monday morning you get up and get moving to school. Depending on how far you live, you will want to leave around 6:30am to walk to school and be there by 7:15am. (Now keep in mind this is just my school in my town. It takes me 45 mins - I think other students are even farther). Also it being Monday, you should really try to be a little early for the assembly- every Monday you and all the students line up in front of the flagpole. You watch some students raise the Cameroonian flag and sing the national hymn. Then the principal addresses the entire school.

Monday Assembly

Ok now school can start. You slowly startto see what your schedule is like. As a student, you stay in one classroom with the same group of students all day which the size of your class could vary from maybe 30-100+. Your teachers come in during their period and teach. You have about 8 different subjects although you could possibly not have a teacher for a subject or two. Classes are an hour long starting at 7:30am and ending at 3:00pm. You have 2 breaks a day- one 15-minutes and one 20-minutes. During the breaks, you can go to the 'market' aka the area where a few moms come and sell food like beignets, bread and beans but remember there isn't exactly a cafeteria or placeto sit down and eat. On Wednesday school ends early- 12:40 for clubs which may or may not actually function. And then you could possibly have class on Saturday if a teacher needs to make up classes. Now subjects vary from good old math, English, French, history and sciences But now don't forget manual labor- yes this is a class and you get a grade for it.
Students walking home from school

In class you sit on a wooden bench connected to a table all of which is long enough to fit up to about 6-7 students (small students that is). During class you copy a bunch of notes as you probably don't have books so you will want to make sure you get all the notes you can to study. In your classroom, you only have the desks and blackboard. As a student, you are also expected to keep your classroom clean to the chef de classe (head of class) will create groups of students and you will be assigned a day every week to clean the room.

Ok well that is just a brief intro to school here in Cameroon or at least here in my town Banyo. I'll add more later for sure....

dimanche 17 octobre 2010

Getting Around

So getting around aka like going anywhere is a little different here. You can't exactly just jump into you car and hit the road. Nope.

So starting with the basics- first you can always walk. Yes good old walking on foot. This is my personal favorite mode of transportation and the one I use most often. I walk to the market, to other people's houses, even to school. Walking is nice - you get to see people and enjoy the town, get some exercise and enjoy the weather. Now walking does take some time though so you need to plan. For example, I get up at 5am every morning so I can leave by 6:30am because it's about a 45 minute walk to school. But it's not bad and hey walking is free.

Well if you are running late, maybe it's extra hot out or there's a lot of mud or dust - your next option for getting where you need to go is a moto taxi. Here in Banyo, next to walking this is about the only other way you can get anywhere in town (unless you happen to have your own car which most people don't). So you can find a moto just about anywhere walking down the street. Some intersections are busier than others. And you do need to be a bit cautionary - some of these drivers haven't exactly finished school aka they are maybe 15 years old so you need to first tell them where you want to go. Then tell them 'doucement' so they don't drive like a speed maniac and then of course if along the way it appears they are going in the wrong direction, just point them in the correct one- they are not known for their accuracy or knowledge of some locations in town. But motos are certainly convenient and usually only 100CFA a trip so not bad. And you would be very surprised at what a moto driver can carry or how many people he can fit on one bike. I've seen 5 people on one and I've personally carried a table on another.


Moto drivers in the market

Now by foot and motos are for in town travel. When it comes to travelling to other cities and around the country, you have some other options. There are agencies where you buy a ticket to a city and you usually go in a van. Here is Banyo there are a few agencies to choose from. They are not too bad- it just depends on how long you ride is and how bad the road is. And again, as with motos, you'd be suprised how much stuff and how many people they can cram into one van (look back at my entry about getting to post- you can see just how much crap they can pile on top).



Mayo Banyo Voyage
MBV Van


Another option is taking a private vehicle. Now I have not yet done this to a larger city, but you go to a gare and pay for a seat and then basically have to wait around until all the seats are sold and the car is ready to go. The cars are for some reason usually red and old little Toyotas. And now if you think after 5 seats have been sold that means the car is full, you are mistaken. Nope, at least 7 passengers in a car. And I took a car one time to a smaller town about 45 minutes away- we had 4 people up front, 5 in the back seat and 2 people sat on the roof. Anything is possible.



Gare in Banyo

Then another option if you are heading to the north from maybe the capital is the train. And you cant take this at night but don't think that means you'll be getting much sleep while traveling. Apparently you need to watch your stuff pretty well while on the train.


Now these are just some of the more common ways of getting around in town and to other towns. There are a few more options- like in bigger cities you can take a regular car taxi- but their still not like taxis back home- oh no- just because you are in the car does not mean the driver will not pick up more passengers along the way. They really economise here. Oh and then did I also mention that most of the roads are not paved- yeah. So some things to keep in mind while traveling- wear comfortable clothes, maybe take a book because you will most likely be waiting around for a car or van to leave (oh yeah they never leave on time if they even have a scheduled time to begin with at all), be prepared in case you car breaks down or you get stuck along the road, oh and make sure when traveling to other towns you take your identity card- you will be stopped by the police. And as overwhelming as traveling and transportation can be sometimes, it is certainly an adventure. So you have that to look forward to.

vendredi 8 octobre 2010

World Teachers Day!

October 5 - what do you think of when you hear this date? Just another regular day? Well maybe in America, but here in Cameroon October 5 is a day dedicated to celebrating teachers! It is World Teachers Day (journee mondiale de l'enseignant - it is an international holiday so Cameroon isn't the only country celebrating). But what exactly goes on for this day?

Well the festivities first kicked off or atleast preparation for festivities began about 2 weeks prior when the teachers began purchasing pagne (fabric) for the day. (Yes I don't think I've mentioned this, but of course every holiday gets its very own fabric every year so of course you have to buy it) Anyway so my school began collecting money and fabric came in. Well then of course you have to get something (an outfit) made. Well all the female teachers at my school decided we should all wear not only obvious matching fabric but a matching style outfit. So we all got our fabric and met up at the tailor and after about an hour debate between a dress or a kabba (traditional outfit-) and in the end, the kabba somehow won out. But overall I was happy and didn't mind- it was niceto be included with the teachers and I mean of course I need my very own kabba so mind as well be teachers day pagne.
Teacher Day Pagne!

the kabba!

The next event for teachers day was actually the Saturday before (October 2) - an athletic walk. Teachers (from not only my school, butall theschools in Banyo) were to meet at 6:30am to walk to the market in Tiket. Well now I showed up at 6:30 and thought this would maybe be an hour walk tops. But oh how I was mistaken. Tiket is actually quite a walk outside Banyo. I almost thought we'd end up in Nigeria (not really though). But we walked and walked and walked some more and finally arrived at the market in Tiket - about 45-60 minute walk out. Then before turning around, we of course had to do some stretches and mini-aerobics exercises. Upon returning to Banyo around 9:30am, we were treated to juice, water and of course everyone wants a beer at 9:30am so there was that as well. Andalthough I was slightly tired and sweaty, overall the walk as nice - got to see Tiket and lots of countryside and some exercise.

Now- for the actual October 5. For starters, there was no school (duh) but alas we teachers still needed to wake up early for a parade which was to start at 8:00am. So I got up, put on my kabba and grabbed my camera. Walking to the meeting point, people shout "bonne fete" - very nice. Then well the parade was on African time- so it actually started a little after 9am - we all got into rows, the drums and horn started and off we went down the main strip of Banyo to the technical high school. Upon arrival, all teachers filed in to hear some speeches and a round table discussion all followed by cocktails.
Parade

Then later in the afternoon, there was a football (aka soccer) match between secondary and elementary school teachers. And then even later in the evening there were various parties at people's house with food and drinks and dancing. Which unfortunately I have did not attend - but let me explain - one downside to Teachers Day - there is school the next day. So if you go out and party, you still have to get up around 5am (or at least I do to be at school by 7:30) so I passed on the evening party in exchange for a good night sleep. But all around, teachers day was a nice break from school and a day dedicated to celebrating teachers. And I have another year to do it all again so maybe next year I will actually attend the party.

mardi 14 septembre 2010

Fantasia!


So this weekend I saw Fantasia - and no I'm not talking about the Disney movie although that would have been nice.

So this whole weekend was one big fete (party)- fete de Ramadan to be exact- to signal the end of fasting. Thing semi-started Wednesday night - that was when people waited to see if the moon was visible which if so would signal the end of fasting and the beginning of the fete! But alas, Wednesday night there was no moon to be seen so Thursday was like any other day (aka I had to go to school to teach). But since the fete did not begin Thursday, that meant it would begin Friday!

Friday's events included a prayer which I attempted to attend however no Cameroonian informed me or the other volunteer that the prayer does not actually happen at the mosque but rather much farther out of town near the lycee. So we sat and waited for over an hour at the mosque but although we missed the prayer we did see the Lamido ride into the chefferie. I felt like I was in Aladdin when he parades into the palace. The Lamido came around the corner surrounded by people. Hewas on a horse of course and someone following him carrying a large umbrella (like one you might have on your patio furniture). There were horns blarring and people drumming- rather intimidating.

Anyway- so later that evening, there was 'feting' to be done (franglais for 'partying'). People make lots of food and invite friends over, dress up, dance, etc. I went to my neighbor's house for a bit- had some cake, plantains, chicken, croquettes- all delish. Then later in the evening I went with the my postmate (a healthvolunteer) and her health club that she runs to see them in action (selling condoms at the discotheque). So Friday was jam packed and I was exhausted at night butttt things got even better Saturday....there was FANTASIA!!

Ok before I get to that Fantasia, so Saturday was more feting - more food, more dressing up, more invites to people's houses. So before Fantasia, I went to another neighbor's house for more delish food. This was around 3:30pm and already the anticipation for Fantasia was building up and by the time we walked to the chefferie, there was a huge crowd of people everywhere and it was rather difficult to even find a spot to see...but of course we made our way through.

And now Fantasia! (fawn-ta-zia in french). The simplest way to describe it is like a mini-horse race. Everyone comes out - all the people in town, the big-wigs (like the prefet, sous-prefet, ministers, etc- oh and of course the Lamido). And then different people (I assume part of the chefferie) race horses down the street. And the Lamido waits at the end and all the people kind of salute him as they approach by raising their fists or swords. And the whole time, there are people blowing horns and these women kind of yelling ay,ay,ay every now and then. The actual Fantasia lasts about 30 minutes. But man people hung around the chefferie for hours after- people were still out dancing and just hanging out when I came home Saturday night.

Then Sunday the weekend feting was winding down. There was another Fantasia but not quite as big (the important people didn't come out for this one). But pretty much all day long horns and drums could be heard (at least at my house since I live behind the chefferie). And now all of it is over and we all have returned to regular activities like school. But no worries - there will be another fete in November with more festivities!
Barka de sallah! Bonne fete!

One of horses during Fantasia (although no one rode on this one...)


A little little bit of the crowd....soooo many people and very colorful (although you can't tell in this picture...)

FANTASIA horses!

One of the horn blowers

samedi 28 août 2010

First Week

Well I've made it through my first week at post. Can't say that I've made too much progress on my house but I am very excited and proud that I got one major job completed - getting screens installed on all the windows. Really a lot more work than you think - and I don't mean the installing (because I didn't do that) but I mean finding someone and finding the screens and working with the person to get it all figured out. Also quite expensive. But it's over and done - screens are on all the windows and yet I still have bugs in my house but that's inevitable. At least it's just not as many bugs now.

Next big project - getting the walls painted. Unfortunately I don't forsee this happening for a while so in the mean time I am working on at least cleaning the walls. Which I have done the hallway - that took only about a good 6 hours. Yep. A lot more work than you think.
Home Sweet Home



So question for that day - if there are used sheets on your bed and they have been there for so long that they have started to grow mold and then you hand wash them - are they okay to use? Thoughts?

mercredi 25 août 2010

Banyo or Bust

Well we have officially made it - officially a Peace Corps Volunteer and officially made it to post with all of my stuff and nothing too broken or wet.

All 43 of us swore in on Wednesday August 18th at the place des fetes in Bafia in our lovely matching tacky pagne (I will have to put up pictures later). And had a nice little luncheon with our host families. Then after a fun last night in Bafia, we all packed up our things - which for me somehow in just 2 months my luggage doubled - and we all went to off to our posts. Really a fun travel experience - carting a huge suitcase, duffle bag, 4 boxes, a water filter, 2 helmets, a bookbag, purse oh and a mountain bike across Cameroon. And this time for the van ride between Bafoussam and Banyo - a new record - almost 12 hours. But no worries it really was not as bad as I thought it would be and my neighbor even heated water up for me so I had a nice warm bucket bath my first night.

So how many people do you think can fit in here? If you guessed about 25 your pretty close


Van - I think half of the crap on top is mine

Could your car make it through this? Surprisingly our van did and left the 2 trucks and 2 cars behind


Then things only got better. Sunday 2 volunteers from nearby towns aka towns about 2-5 hours away came and helped me out for a few days. So I had some amazing food - pizza, mexican, spaghetti omelet - all delish. And did some shopping, got to see lots of Banyo especially since some of our moto drivers took a few wrong turns, met lots of important people to let them know I was here - very busy very busy.

And now it's Wednesday - can't believe it. The volunteers have gone back and I am in Banyo by myself (my postmate is in Yaounde for until September). It's only 1pm and today has already been tying. I still have a million things I need to buy and even more things I need to fix in my house like getting screens installed, leaks fixed, and walls painted just to name a few. And it's not like I can just go to Lowes here and buy everything nope - it's just a bit more than that. Oh and if it wasn't clear already, internet is not quite as readily available as it has been so that's also on my list of things to work on.

Well I am off now to hunt for household items and attempt to put on a strong front so I can bargain for at least somewhat descent prices. Wish me luck!

mercredi 4 août 2010

Family Life

So I debated this weeks topic - religion or host family life. I figure since I will be moving out of my homestay house in less than 2 weeks that maybe I should cover that first... and besides I will touch a bit on religion in just talking about homestay life anyway.

So to begin- I will try to give a basic breakdown of the members of my homestay family (I will warn this is going to be confusing)

Grandma Rosalie Ngon - the matriarch of the house
Constance - granddaughter but like 30 some maybe
Poupette - Constance's daughter, 6 year old
Princesse - 11 year old 'sister'
Jeaunot - 13 year old 'brother'
Diane - 12 year old 'sister'
Brice - 17 years old (I think)
Olivier - 22 years old
Meme - an older sister
Dani - an aunt
Man who I don't know name - Dani's husband

So I put sister,brother, etc next to their names but actually they are all like cousins. Only a few are actually brother and sister. And the only one who actually has their mom living with us is Poupette (Constance is her mom). For example, so Princesse and Jeaunot are brother and sister but their mom lives in Yaounde. And then like Olivier is only visiting Grandma Rosalie for the summer (which a lot of them are also doing - so I don't know for sure who exactly lives in the house year-round). Then as another note, this is just the list of people that are regularly at the house and sleep there ...but there is a slew of other people who have come and gone and stayed for various periods of time.

Then another note about names. The majority of the names I have listed are their 'surnames' basically meaning their nicknames. They have another like 3 - 4 names that are their real names but their surnames are just used 'around the house' is the best way to put it. So for example here is Poupette's full name:

Last Name: Ngon First Name: Andreas Judith Merveille Surname: Poupette

If you are lost a little, it's okay - I still don't quite understand. I just know that I had Constance write out what you could call a family tree and that's the only was I was able to learn most of everyone's name (which I still don't know who exactly some people are and it's just too late to even try to ask or figure it out now). But this confusion of family members is the first aspect of family life to comment on - here it is not just the 'nuclear family' (like parents and children) is each house but extended family all lives together and people come and go - it's not just my host family. That's just how they do here - family members are constantly coming and going - one week there will be only 4 people in the house and the next there will be almost 20.

Now the grandmother is retired and to my knowledge, no one else really works (I think Dani's husband is a pastor but I could be totally wrong). And as far as daily family life goes, it is a bit uneventful but also a little hard to describe. No one is ususally awake when I leave for training at 7 but obviously they are all up when I get back around 5:00pm. The kids usually watch TV or play video games (yes they have a playstation - crazy - I think a relative who lives in France gave it to them- you won't be finding that here). We eat 'dinner' around 5- 5:30 which in the beginning we would all sit down together around the table and prayer first and everything but now it's a serve-yourself and eat in the living room while watching TV thing (which is perfectly fine with me). Then we just 'hang out' which means I read or write, they watch TV, play games. Every now and then I play card games with the younger girls.

Then comes 8:00pm.
8:00pm is a special time in my homestay house - it's prayer time. Yep. We all gather in the living room at 8:00pm every night. Then here is the basic schedule
  • Opening prayer
  • Hymn (sung in Bafia- local language)
  • Someone reads a psaum
  • Hymn (in Bafia again)
  • Prayer
  • Reading of a Bible passage by whoever happens to feel like reading (the Grandmother has a Bible reader that has a daily reading & lesson)
  • Answering of questions about Bible passage
  • Reading of commentary of Bible passage (done by Grandma)
  • Hymn
  • Closing Prayer (This changes on a nighly basis - one night is confession, another is wishes, and there are a few other types)
So altogether it's anywhere from 30 mins - 1 hour. And incase you didn't catch it - there are 3 prayers in that whole thing - yep. Again, this is done on a nightly basis and we have never not done it (actually except for these past 2 nights only because the grandmother left for a funeral). Also, so Sunday's are extra fun because not only do we do this in the evening but we also spend about 2.5 hours at church in the morning. Anywhere - enough about that (as I said, I will discuss religion another time).

After prayer, there is usually another meal around 9:30 - 10:00pm or whenever it is ready. Sometimes it is just dinner leftovers, sometimes it is something new. Depending on what they are eating or what time they eat, I choose to partake in this meal but usually I am dying to go to bed by this point. And I have tried to explain multiple times that eating right before bed is not really an American thing (if anything I feel like people try not to eat a good couple of hours before bed) but the Grandmother just doesn't always get that and gets made sometimes if I like don't eat.

Then the family usually stays up till some rediculous hour. I've woken up before at 1am and they are definitely still up. So that explains why they don't wake up till 8 - 9.

Ok now that is the basic daily routine but inbetween all of that there are lots of good times, memorable moments, many misunderstandings and culture clashes. And obviously every trainee here has a slightly different experience. But overall, living with a Cameroonian family has not been that bad. I mean I have never lived with a family other than my own so I was quite worried but I mean they really consider you family. Just the other night when the Grandmother was telling me that she would be gone, she was like 'If you need anything you let me know. You are my daughter' (obviously in French though - they don't speak English). And they have even asked me multiple times about Christmas already and told me I should come back to celebrate it with them.

lundi 2 août 2010

Lions, Hippos, and Elephants

So a few people back home have asked about 'wildlife' that I have come across. I guess this being Africa and all it is an understandable question - safaris, hippos, elephants, etc. Unfortunately, at this point I am sorry to say I have not experienced any 'wildlife' not unless you count chickens, dogs, cats, roosters, and cattle - that is about the extent of it. But don't be too disappointed yet - there are parks in Cameroon where one can see some real wildlife. Waza Park is a big one in the Extreme North that I hope to make it to in my 2 years here. And I will be sure to take pictures and write all about the 'wildlife' then.

On the flip side - here in Africa - a question that many of my host family members ask me is 'what are the differences between life here in Cameroon and America?' And my initial response is always kind of just a laugh - I still don't know how to even begin to explain and what I can explain, they do not always understand. How do you explain the differences and similarities - how do you say what you like versus what you don't, etc. - How do you describe 'Life in America and life in Cameroon' - I mean there certainly are tangible things like food, transportation, etc but to wrap everything up into a few sentences is just impossible. The easiest thing to say is just that there are things here in Cameroon I enjoy, some things I do not enjoy and a lot of things I still do not quite understand but to compare the two places is just not possible - at least not in anyway that I know yet.

vendredi 30 juillet 2010

CFA

So this week's topic - money!

In Cameroon the currency is CFA (say-fuh). During training we receive a bi-weekly allowance of 40.000CFA (that is 40,000 - you use periods instead of commas). Then when we become real volunteers, we will be paid once a month - 160.000CFA - big bucks right... well not actually. Our 160.000CFA equals about $316 give or take. So basically $1.00 = 500CFA. If you would like to look yourself, I've included a link for exchange rates - check it out. Link

(click on more currencies to find Cameroon)

So you are probably thinking that $316 does not sound like a lot of money. Well maybe not in the US (actually definitely not in the US) but obviously this is not the US - it's Cameroon. To give you a better idea of just how the cost of living is in Cameroon, here is mini break down of some common things I buy (at least now during training)

A long loaf of bread : 200 CFA
1 roll of toilet paper: 225 CFA
A boiled egg: 100 CFA
6M of pagne (fabric for clothing): 4.000-5.000 CFA
Toothpaste: ~300 CFA
Single serving of cookies (4 to a pack): 50 CFA
Small bag of popcorn: 50 CFA
Sugar beignet: 50 CFA
Bottle of Beer (.65 L): 500-600CFA
Bottle of coke cola 0.6L: 400-450 CFA
Bottle of water (1.5L): 400 CFA
Rent for my house: 40.000 CFA /month

So in one day, I usually just buy a few snacks (cookies, beignets, popcorn) and an egg and bread for a small sandwich - so altogether in a day I spend roughly 500 CFA aka $1.00. Not too bad - right?
But the key to getting use to the money and living here is not to think about it in dollars- you can't be converting all the time - it just doesn't work that way. You have to just ask a lot of questions - like how much does this usually cost, or what should I pay to get a dress made, etc. And it's also just trial and error. As a foreigner, I am pretty much destined to overpay at some point for something.
500 CFA & 1.000 CFA

Cool little picture right - kids in school - not quite what is on $1 bill

*Side note - 17 days left till we swear-in as volunteers! Almost done!

dimanche 25 juillet 2010

Jabbama!

So incase you were wondering, in Bafia English is not really spoken. Cameroon is a bilingual country but that does not mean that everyone speaks French and English - really there are 2 regions that are anglophone and the other 8 are francophone.

Most people do speak multiple languages though - usually a local language and then either French or English. So here in Bafia the local language is just called Bafia (to my knowledge) and then most people speak French. In Cameroon, there are over 200 local languages.

For Peace Corps training, language is a huge emphasis - in fact probably the area we spend the most time on. In the beginning everyone was in French class (at different levels). Then once you reach the minimum language level (Intermediate-High) and once you know your post, you can start learning any possible local languages. So for me (as I have reached my French requirement) so I have started taking different language classes - Fulfulde to be exact.

Fulfulde is the language spoken in the northern regions (Extreme North, North, and Adamaoua - my region). It is also spoken in other West African countries like Guinea. So Jabamma means 'welcome' in Fulfulde. Language classes are somewhat challenging even though I have learned other languages already (obviously French) because so we are learning Fulfulde but with French translations - no English. So it's a bit slow but going well. And for my site (Banyo) they do speak French there and I mean at my school the students and everyone will speak French but it will be helpful for me if I can use some Fulfulde - you know - help me integrate more.

But now back to language in general - as I said Bafia is spoken here and for example my host family speaks French but they also use the local language - like for prayer sometimes or songs - they have hymn books in the local language and even at church (I have gone a few times now - my host family is protestant) for example there will be 2 preachers - one will say a few lines in French and then the second one will translate to Bafia- kinda neat except the local language is nothing like French so I have no clue what they are saying - it's not like I can pick out words or anything.

Then as far as the French here goes (some people have asked about the dialect and vocab and such) I personally can't really tell a huge difference from the French I have learned or heard in France and here. The only thing would be that here they announciate a bit more and speak a little slower - so that is actually nice and helpful.

Oh and then for English - which I mean I am teaching English here so obviously people in my area (aka students) will speak some English - but even that is not quite the same - for one it is British English - so for example when I teach I need to make sure I follow that - so like 'colour, favourite, etc. And even then there are words that are just different - like they call peanuts here groundnuts in English - so again just being aware of those differences in language.

Overall the languages can be overwhelming and stressful at times - especially when you want to express something but you just can't find the words or maybe there is just no way to explain something - it's too different, too foreign - that can be frustrating so it is comforting and nice sometimes to just use English with other Americans. But at the same time it is very exciting/different to be completely surrounded by French and other languages.


Oh - and one last note - so apparently 'Kaitlyn' is very difficult for people to pronounce/understand ... here I am 'kaat' (like 'cat' but with a longer 'a') 'leen'. I've thought about even using a different name but most people end up just calling me 'Kait' - so that's semi-working for now but just found it interesting how some sounds just don't really exist in other languages thus making it diffiuclt for names to carry over.
Sey yesso!

samedi 17 juillet 2010

H2O

So in a effort to better describe life in Cameroon, I think each week I will write about one particular aspect of living here (instead of trying to cover everything at all once). So to begin - this week - all about water. Yep water. Back home water was something I didn't think too much about other than I really liked having a nice cold glass of water. But here - well things are a little different.



To start with basically all water is contaminated - whether it comes from a well, a forage, or tap. So you can't exactly just turn on the faucet and fill your cup up and having a refrigerator that dispenses water is pretty much unheard here. Nope. Instead you have to boil water and then filter it. If boiling isn't an option, you could add half a tablet of iodine or 2 drops of bleach (eau de javel). Now you may think - ok that is not so bad - boil water a few times a week and filter then fill up your water bottle for drinking. But let me run some things by that maybe you haven't thought about....


Brushing your teeth for instance. Since the water (even tap) is not good to use, every time you brush your teeth you have to drink your bottled water but you also have to clean your toothbrush with the bottled water.


Showering - now not that you are exactly drinking shower water but I always think of Charlotte in the Sex & the City Movie (first one) when they are on vacation and she is showering and forgets where she is and opens her mouth - yeah kind of like that every time I shower - I try to not get water in my mouth. And I mean I do try to make it semi-clean water but adding a few drops of bleach everytime but still definitely not clean water.

If you are out and about and for some reason you did not plan well and don't have clean water with you so you are forced to buy some water - beware- those kids selling nice bottles of glacee (cold) water are no good - that water is definitely not clean as generally those bottles of water are actually just bottles that the kids have filled up with not clean water - always check the seal!

And one last thought for you - if you are out and of course it is hot and you happen to come across what looks to be a nice stream/waterfall/river and you see plenty of other Cameroonians already enjoying the cool water and you think - oh I will just put my feet in - well think twice before doing that unless you would like some schisto or other parasite/bacteria getting in through your skin and possiblyl living in your body for years without you even knowing - yep dont touch that water - at all.

mardi 13 juillet 2010

Pictures!

OK so only 3 pictures but it's more than I had...still have some technical difficulties so again look at facebook for more pictures!

The classroom where most of our training sessions take place


My room - completely equipped with my mosquito net


The street going to my homestay house








lundi 12 juillet 2010

Model School

Well Model School has officially started and is in full swing. Model School is basically summer school for community kids - and for us (as trainees) it is our opportunity to practice teaching in front of a real class with real students.



Last week we had an official opening ceremony - complete with us (the trainees) singing the American national anthem (the Cameroonian students sang the Cameroonian anthem as well). Then last week we mostly just observed various classes - so I watched some trainers and current volunteers teach English to different levels.

Then this week we had our chance to start teaching and I started right away 8:00am Monday teaching terminale (basically 12th grade) English. Each class is one hour and I had two periods on Monday. And while the classes were not a complete disaster, let's just say teaching English to Cameroonian students is not quite the same as teaching French to American students. During the first 10 minutes I got a little worried when they did not understand my directions of just 'read the text with a partner' but rest assured things have gotten better. After re-grouping and getting some feedback from other trainees and volunteers, I had one last class with terminale today and it went a million times better. And really I think this general cycle of things not going so well at first but then gradually getting better is going to be the theme over the next 3-4 weeks of model school as we all learn and adapt to teaching in Cameroonian schools.

So another part of Model School is clubs - every trainee is expected to work with a club and there is a big 'soiree culturelle' (cultural party) at the end of Model School when every club presents what they have been working on. Clubs meet every Wednesday (classes end early specifically for clubs) so tomorrow will be our first official meeting and students will be able to sign up for a club. Some how I signed up for the dance club - not really because I can dance or that I even enjoying dancing but I do feel pretty comfortable in my ability to teach others dance and besides I am hoping that the students show us (there are 2 other people doing dance club with me) some African dance.

And one last note - so my host family just had a bunch of family come into town to stay with us for a while. And some of the visiting family is from France (I mean they are Cameroonian but live in France). So last night we were eating dinner together (fish, rice, 'couscous' - not what you think) and the family member from France pulled out some candy (as desert for everyone). Oh my gosh - never thought peanut M&Ms would be so good...I haven't had any American candy since I have been here but the minute she pulled out the M&Ms my mouth started watering - they were so good. Also so if anyone wants to send anything, I think peanut M&Ms would be a great idea....

vendredi 9 juillet 2010

Site Visit Report

Ok so I have officially survived my first independent traveling experience in Cameroon - my site visit.

So last week everyone went to visit their sites for a little less than a week. My site is in Banyo - which is in the norther region of Adamawoua. So here is the break down of how one gets to Banyo (from Bafia):

1. Take a van from Bafia to Bafoussam - about 2.5 - 3 hours
2. Go to Mayo Banyo Voyage and buy ticket for first bus next morning to Banyo
3. Spend night in Bafoussam (try to find semi-nice hotel)
4. Get up at 5:00am and go to agence (Mayo Banyo) where you fight for a 'good' seat and load your luggage then wait for about an hour till van actually leaves
5. Ride about 10 hours in van with about 20-30 other people (van has technically maybe 20 seats) on dirt road
6. Arrive at agence in Banyo and again scramble to get luggage/bookbag & find moto taxi to take you to final destination....

So when following all of that, I arrived in Banyo (quite exhausted) around 4:00pm last Thursday (July 1) and fortunately I have a post-mate aka another volunteer lives in my same town. Her name is Anna and she's been here almost 2 years so she was gracious enough to take care of my during my visit.

Now about Banyo. During my visit I tried to cram in as much as possible to learn about my site so here are a few things I was able to learn:
- Banyo is surrounded by mountains so absolutely gorgeous
- My lycee is semi-far from my house (about at 10 min moto ride) and it overlooks the town so again a beautiful view even if it does take some work to get there
- I live right next to the Lamido (basically like the mayor) and the main mosque so I have a great wake up call every morning around 5:00am
- My house is really great- electricity and running water on a pretty regular basis. A living room (with a fireplace hmmm will that ever get used?), 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen - oh and its a circle house so very exciting.
- There is a pretty big marche in town everyday and I can find just about most foods that you would want to eat (relatively speaking for Cameroon that is).

So those are just a few things about Banyo. Oh and Happy Late 4th of July to everyone in America! I was also fortunate enough to actually celebrate the 4th of July with other Americans. There are some missionaries at my site so Anna, I, and her boyfriend went to their house (the Smith's) and they made hamburgers, potato salad, German chocolate cake and ice cream - we even 'saw' some fireworks that's to say Mr. Smith had created a document with pictures of fireworks from various cities in America so yes still fireworks though - a very nice little celebration. And overall my visit to Banyo was a super success.

And now I am back at training (we got back Monday) and officially finishing up week 5. Model school has started and I will be teaching next week - Terminale and Cinqieme (basically 12th & 7th grade) English so we will see how that goes. Oh and tomorrow is an exciting training day- mountain bike training!

Well everyone should watch this Sunday - July 11th - the end of the World Cup! What will we do now that soccer will be over? ...

mardi 29 juin 2010

Catch Up

Well I have some extra time today so I thought I'd try to actually write some info on here about what exactly is going on and what exactly I have been doing for about a month now.

First, I have extrat ime today because I am acutally not leaving for my site visit until tomorrow morning. Second, I really really tried to upload some pictures on here but blogger just does not want to cooperate so no luck - but I was able to put some on facebook so if anyone is interested look there.

Now - what exactly has been going on .... well a lot of training pretty much. We have a very jam-packed calendar of 10 weeks of training (so currently on week 4). Training is Monday- Saturday starting at 8:00am each day. Then Mon- Fri we finish as 4:30 and Saturdays we are done at 12:30. Training varies each day but is broken down into 4 sessions with breaks and lunch. Some sessions are language which means a class with just 3 people and a language trainer. Others are technical which means we learn about education and teaching. Then other times we learn about medical or safety info - those are the really fun ones when you learn about all the possible bugs or illnesses you can get. Training takes place at 1 of 2 locations. First there is the main building often called the SED buildng (for the business people) and then there is the lycee which is where us education trainees are most of the time.

When we are not in training, everyone is either just hanging out at the nearby bar or obviously at their homestay house. We do have a curfew (7:00pm) so were not exactly doing too too much and besides it gets dark here around 6:30 and unlike back home where it is still light even when its dark, there are not street lamps here so you don't really want to be walking around after dark. But also in case anyone is not aware, the World Cup is going on right now which just happens to be taking place in South Africa so as you can imagine that is a pretty big pasttime right now and pretty much what I watch with my host family all the time.

Then one last side note about life here - so my diet basically consists of carbs right now - lots and lots of bread and beignets which is quite all right with me (for the time being) and I am actually enjoying it. Also, running water and electricity not quite standards here. We are lucky to have electricity 4 days a week and running water is extremely rare - like I've had 4 showers with running water since I've been here (and I shower twice a day). But all in all it's really not all that bad. And I hope that my own sight has as much as my homestay here.

Well hopefully I have made things a little clearer. And I am sure after my site visit this week I will have even more updates so we'll see in a week!

vendredi 25 juin 2010

Posting

Week 3 is coming to a close and today was a rather exciting day. First, we all got new language level placements (we just retested on Wednesday) and I have officially passed the required language level needed to serve. (Everyone must reach Intermediate-High in French to be in a Francophone area- if that makes any sense to anyone). But the more exciting event today was that all of us education trainees were officially given our post sites. So here is my official city that I will be living and working in over the next 2 years:

Banyo- in the north region of Adamawa (Cameroon- of course)
So as of now I know nothing about this city but we will all be visiting our sites in just 4 days so next I am on the internet I will have lots more to say about Banyo (hopefully).


So for posting, they put everyone's name on the board and you went up, got your name and unfolded to reveal your post and region

Welcome sign from the workshop right before heading out to site visit

The set-up for the workshop - very snazzy...

So outside of the excitement of learning our posts, everything else is going just like clockwork. Training is stil very busy but going well and we are learning a lot. My host family is still going really well although the number of family members have dwindled down to just 3 people (lots of family members come and go- kind of hard to explain) so it's rather quiet at home which is nice- I've been catching up on reading. But right now I am to go finish preparing a 30-minute grammar lesson presentation for tomorrow so again sorry I have not written a lot but I hope, hope to soon really write more and explain things and maybe add some pictures!

vendredi 18 juin 2010

First Week

Ok so I actually wrote this a week ago but just now had the opportunity to post:

so exactly 1 week now that I have been in Cameroon but I must say that is feels like it's been much longer and I don't mean that in a bad way but in the sense that so much has happened and changed in 1 week that it feels like a lot longer (so I will certainly not be able to include everything). But I also must first say it's even weirder to think that 2 weeks ago I was graduating college and now here I am in a little town called Bafia taking bucket baths every day.

We (and the 42 other trainees) arrived in Yaounde last friday evening (June 4). We were bused to our hotel and had a huge dinner. While in Yaounde for 5 days, we were mostly at the hotel or being shuttled to and fro to the Peace Corps Office. Some highlights below:

Saturday night we went to a show highlighting some African dance - very amazing- I think the first moment I actually felt like I was in Africa

Sunday night we had dinner at the PC Country Director's house and got to meet the ambassador to Cameroon

Monday night we finally got cellphones! So by the way - here's my number if you would like to call me in the next 2 years : 011 237 70 83 80 34

Tuesay we arrived in Bafia! - about 2 hours north of Yaounde. This is our training site where we will be until we finish training in August.

So upon arriving in Bafia, we all met our homestay families. What an experience. Everyone was of course nervous but also excited. But my first night went very well and my family is super nice.

But just real quickly turning to actual training - we have training 6 days a week. So I get up at 6:15am every day and off to training for about 8 hours. Very long but it's nice to stay busy.

So I know this is rather short but as you can imagine, internet is a little slow and hard to come by at least right now in the beginning. But overall everything is going great and every day gets better and better.

mercredi 2 juin 2010

my very first day

well I haven't written in a while (clearly) - Ireally dont know where the time has gone - it's been 3 months already - crazy!

I am sitting in my hotel room write now in Philadelphia- my staging location. I have finished my very first day. I am exhausted but even more excited now for everything thats to come.

Back tracking a bit now but since receiving my invitation in February, I slowly but surely started preparing for everything. And once again there was a lot more to everything that I expected. Very intense getting things in order to leave the country for 2 years and I really don't know how most people even do it - fortunately I had a lot of help from my mom and I didn't have too many things like a house or my own apartment or anything to worry about. But still of course I waited until the last minute to do some rather important things kind of like packing which I didnt finish until ooh about 5 minutes before I walked out the door this morning. And I was so worried about going over the limit but apparently I have no concept of weight as my 2 checked bags were only about 60 some pounds all together.



everything pre-packed




and everything packed (actually in my hotel)


And now I sit here in my room - all the months, weeks, days, minutes that have been leading up to it all and now its here. I arrived this morning in Philadelphia and my great friend Ashley picked me up and took me to my hotel- she even got to see some of the other volunteers I'll be with. And then she was off and it all started. What a long day - but it was so great to finally meet everyone. All the planning, researching, worrying about what to pack and if i have enough - its all over now. It's all still a bit surreal - maybe it hasn't hit me yet. But forreal -


tomorrow I am off to Africa.

mardi 2 mars 2010

3 months exactly to go

Well after submitting my application 7 months ago, I officially received my invitation in the mail last Wednesday February 24 to work as an English teacher and AIDS educator in Cameroon, West Africa.

Today I have exactly 3 months before my scheduled departure date for orientation (June 2) and then off to Africa and approximately a million things to do before I am even close to being ready. And even though 3 months may seem like ample time to get your life straight to move to another country for 2 years, it is a bit more complicated since I am also trying to finish graduating college which I happen to be doing just 3 days before I leave for Cameroon.

But I wouldn't want it any other way. It's actually perfect timing and I am quite pleased with how the timeline of my whole application has gone:
July 7: Submitted application
July 30: Interview and nominated for education program in sub-saharan Africa
August: Received medical information
(took a bit of time with classes to get medical info complete)
January 14: Medical clearance & on to office of placement
February 19: Invitation packet mailed
February 24: Invitation packet received-
Country: Cameroon
Program: Education
Job title: English teacher & AIDS educator
Orientation dates: June 2-3, 2010*
Pre-service training: June 4-August 14*
Dates of service: August 19 2010- July 1, 2012*
* dates subject to change

And now even though I've received my invitation there is even more information to update, steps to clear, and things to prepare. Basically I am telling myself that I am still only half way there- until I have completed pre-service training and been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer nothing is for certain.

For now, I am doing my best to read every line of every packet and information booklet I have while also reminding myself that I can't only think about how excited I am to get started- I still have to finish college first.