Tabaski

It's that time of year again when all the Muslims in town shell out money and buy new outfits and the best looking ram they can afford. Yes, fete de mouton happened - this past weekend (november 6) and it was even better than last year. All the regular activities - prayer in the giant filed, sacrifice of the first ram, eating lots of food, Fantasia - all that fun stuff. But rather than write, here are some pictures....

Prayer

After prayer

Fantasia

After Fantasia

So if you happen to be in Cameroon and are looking...

So if you happen to be in Cameroon and are looking for places to visit, you should definitely consider Banyo. It’s in a strategic location particularly if you want to travel north but avoid taking the train. From Bafoussam, just take an agence car straight to Banyo (about 10 – 12 hours – have some music). Once you arrive, spend a day or so hanging out in town. Here are some of the ‘hot spots’ to see….

The market

Now only when you up for peopledisturbing you and trying to get you to buy their products at for much more than you should (just because you’re white of course), you should take a stroll through the market. There are all kinds of boutiques and sometimes you really can find a great item like clothing, fabric, shoes, household supplies and food. The busiest days are Tuesday and Friday but it’s open all week during the day (just try to avoid afternoon prayer times as many of the shops close)

Djouta Fada

The main strip and only stretch of paved road in town – Djouta Fada. The pavement starts right around the market where you can do all your fresh food shopping. Then along the actual road, there are restaurants, bars, the bakery and lots of other boutiques in between.

Chez Denise

If you’re looking for a decent restaurant that isn’t right on the road for everyone to watch as you eat, head to Chez Denise just down a little alley way. It’s still right one the main strip and there’s even a sign to point you in the right direction. It’s private, has a television, cold drinks and usually pretty good chicken and rice.

Dandy’s

For nights out, Dandy’s is the place to go – the biggest, most hoppin bar in Banyo and it’s location is ideal. It’s right in the center of the strip and has lots of good street food mommies who come out at night with dishes like fish, meat, omelettes and fries. The music can be a bit loud sometimes, but there are always cold drinks and a nice atmosphere.

Oasis Boulangerie

A little down the road from Chez Denise and Dandy’s is the fairly new bakery – Oasis Boulangerie. It has nice outdoor seating, a great spot for people watching and if everything there is running smoothly, you can get ice cream, slushies, rotisserie chicken, French fries, burgers and of course pastries like sugar beignets. It’s a nice place to hang out when you’re tired and want to relax but don’t want to be in a bar setting (like Dandy’s)

Lamidat

The chefferie or Lamidat is where the Lamido and his family and entourage live.It is full of history and in fact the current lamido has even written a book about the lamidat in Banyo that you can pick up for 10.000CFA.

The main mosque

The biggest mosque in Banyo and directly across from the Lamidat, it can be a sight to see any Friday afternoon and particularly on fetes like Ramadan and Fete de Mouton. Huge crowds gather here regularly for prayer and of course Fantasia.

Mt Djoumbaul

If you looking for some adventure and activity, you can always take the morning to walk up Mt Djoumboul. It’s not too bad a walk and takes approximately 4 -5 hours up and back. Also at the top, you can see remnants from when the Germans where in Banyo and used the top of the mountain as the location for prisoners.

Now these are just some of the more popular places to visit, but there are many hidden treasures throughout Banyo and nice places to just take a stroll. It really is a nice town and although it’s a bit removed from the major cities, it does have a lot to offer and is worth visiting.

Presidential Elections 2011

Although they're not completely over (as the results haven't officially been announced) all the campaigning and voting is finished for the presidential elections in Cameroon and so far everything has been calm and kind of interesting to observe.

So here's how things went in Banyo...

Leading up to elections, there was various campaign meetings and about a week before elections, tons of campaign posters (mostly for Biya) went up all over town. And the day before, there was a little parade through the middle of town with motos, trucks, cars, posters, loudspeakers, etc.

Parade for Biya in Banyo

On the day of elections, polls were at various schools throughout town. And I actually live right near two schools that we holding elections so I had the opportunity to see 'democracy in action' as some people said. At the schools, lists were posted with the voters registered for that particular locations (they're name, birthdate, profession, etc). Voters brought their voting cards and got in line. I believe the way it worked is that they picked up pieces of paper for each of the candidates then went behind a curtain to make their decision by putting one candidate's paper in an envelope. Then they put their vote in the ballot box. Oh also during the day, nothing was open in town - apparently an order from higher up - not even moto taxis or anything out. So for the whole day, just stayed at home basically. But after polls closed around 6:30pm, was able to go out and about.

So now we are about 9 days from the date that the results are to be announced so be on the lookout...

Voter card - the boxes on the back are for the voter to be fingerprinted once they vote

Women lined up to vote - awesome to see so many of them out

Woman putting her vote in the box

School: Year 2

Well the 2011- 2012 school year is well underway and the first grading period is almost finished. With a new year, there are new teachers, new students, new classes. At the start of the year, I thought that we would have even more English teachers than last year. But I was mistaken and in fact it’s quite the opposite – this year it’s only me and one other English teacher for a school with approximately 1,000 students spread over 7 grade levels (6^th- 12^th grade). Needless to say, we are both teaching more classes and hours this year but of course it still isn’t enough and there are still classes without an English teacher yet. That’s Cameroon.

So this year I am teaching one class of 6eme, all of 5eme (divided into 2 sections), seconde, premiere and I am about to pickup a class of terminale. Most of the classes have about 60 – 70 students although I did luck out with seconde this year – there are only about 20 students and wow what a difference a smaller class size makes. But even though my other classes are still big, it’s not as bad this year because I know the majority of them. So particularly knowing names already helps some with classroom management. Resources are still limited of course but I’m really trying to make more photocopies for students since maybe 8 out of 60 have the book.

There are also lots of new teachers and a new principal all of whom really make it a much more pleasant atmosphere this year. And unfortunately there is still amicale but I’m hoping it will also be better this year – we will see. Oh and teacher’s day came and went this past Wednesday. I bought the tacky fabric again but there weren’t really to many events because of the upcoming elections. So that is something to watch out for – Sunday Oct 9 – presidential elections….

A Weekend Wedding

This past weekend I attended my first wedding in Cameroon. The son of a neighbor was getting married. We have been waiting for the date of the wedding for a while (the date continued to change every couple of weeks). So it finally happened.

Things started bright and early Friday morning with the doting ceremony. You could kind of consider this the exchanging of vowels in a church – it’s what ‘seals the deal’. The man basically gives his bride offering. Next there was lots of cooking for the women. Peeling potatoes with dull knives, plucking chicken feathers, cooking over a wood fire – fun stuff. Later in the evening there was some celebrating at the mother of the groom’s house (where also all the cooking had taken place). We ate food, listened to music, some dancing. Then about 8, all the women loaded into cars to go ‘take the bride’ and bring her back to her house (you could kind of say the equivalent of a bridal suite except she never really left it and stays there for a week).

The next day started again with more cooking which this time I actually helped with a little, kind of, by cutting potatoes. But I had to leave to pick up my outfit for the rest of the event. We had ‘team fabric’ – matching fabric for the party. Then about 5, there was another small event involving the groom. Dancing, music, shouting, throwing of money, painting his hands – all of this was involved. After a short break to rest up some, there was another brief ceremony involving the groom that took place in the ‘bridal suite’ house. I think it was a story or a blessing or something (it was all in the local language so I pretty only understood the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’). Then the real event- the evening party. It of course followed African time – starting almost 3 hours. There was a ton of food and drinks and music however no dancing (rather odd). The groom was there again but still no bride. This time there was at least bride stand-in – her younger sister. Everything wrapped upabout 1am and although all the events were finished, we still hadn’t even seen the bride. So the next day, westopped by to see her and take some pictures. Altogether a very fun and tiring weekend but I don’t know if I’d want to have a similar wedding – the bride not attending a single event – quite the opposite of how things are in America.

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Reception

Stand-in Bride and her bridesmaids (+ us of course)

Ramadan

Well after 30 days of fasting, the month of Ramadan is coming to an end. The festivities started yesterday with the prayer outside of town in a large field. Then parties, lots of food, gifts and greeting people – barka de sallah. And things are not over yet – there’s still Fantasia tomorrow.

Here are some photos from the first day :

Prayer

After prayer...

Friends at prayer

Hanging out with some neighbors

Another neighbor

Home Décor

I still don’t quite understand people’s sense of style here and what’s considered nice, acceptable, etc. And my lack of understanding style here also applies to not just what people wear but how they decorate their homes. There seems to be a few basic essentials that most Cameroonians include in decorating their room or house. Here are some of the basics:

fabric draped over the walls (in lieu of paint)

fabric in every doorway even if there is a door

placemate-like pieces of fabric for the sofa

giant posters with either Arabic writing or half-naked couples hugging with the writing ‘Romance’

fake flowers

other various random decorations such stuffed animals, glamour-shot like photos, Christmas lights year round

Notice the fabric on the couch, the hanging various trinkets along the wall including an old balloon

Fabric everywhere, fake flowers on either side of TV, heart shaped pillows oh this is a male's room