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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

http://www.xe.com/ucc/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=UCCin404TL

(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!

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!

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.