6 Months in Cameroon, Exactly

It has been close to two months since I last wrote, my apologies for keeping you in suspense, haha!!

I now officially have wireless internet and have found a comfy spot on my bamboo "couch" out on my veranda to do my "interneting"-this way I can still be soaking up the Fundong atmosphere while being in touch with the rest of my life and the world at large.

This posting is going to be a melange (French for mixture) of thoughts, observations & experiences since I last wrote.

1) While I'm mixing in another language, let me give you a sampling in Pidgin English and Kom (the dialect and name of the people in Boyo Division-the area that I'm in):

Kom- (the capitalized letters are where the emphasis in pronunciation lies)
too LIE mah = good morning
Response: too LIE may = good morning to you
why EE cee ma = good afternoon
Response: why EE cee may = good afternoon to you

Pidgin-
Ma belay don flop. = I am full.
Ha fo skin? = How is your health?
A komot fo Amerika. = I come from America.

2) Here is some familial news: my Dad is coming to visit from March 28th - April 4th and I can't wait to show him my life here in Fundong. My sister and Brian are engaged, pregnant, and house owners-exciting time in their lives!!

3) I would just like to thank Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for being in existence. I am working on training the members of my NGO to have computer awareness within the next six months (computer literacy to come in the future) and initially was trying to draw upon techniques from my typing 101 classes in middle school - obviously not as productive as a computer program that measures progress!

4) Spiders, flies, and crickets have become my enemies! Though I think spiders always have been, I've never shared an apartment with them and their webs. Flies are plain old annoying and don't hesitate to disturb you here, nonstop. Crickets you may think are harmless, except when they hop into your living space and their chirping echoes all throughout. I have come to greatly appreciate the sealant that is found on our doors and windows in America!

5) There is no single look for Cameroonians. I look around daily and all I see are different features and complexions of varying hues. I haven't yet met people from all of the ten regions of Cameroon, but I suspect that there is not one unified "look." I have watched portions of Nigerian movies (VERY BAD acting) and I can't distinguish a Cameroonian from a Nigerian because of the variety that is here. Additionally, there are many Muslims, called Fulanis, who obviously have their own look - a very beautiful one. The Fulani people speak Fulfulde and tend to live in the Extreme North of the country but they are also interspersed throughout the rest of it.

6) I have developed a guilty pleasure: taking in deep breaths when soil is being burned-I have grown to love the smell! It's a guilty pleasure because it is a little strange and also because it's a bad act that farmers do here, claiming that it helps the growth of crops (they do it during dry season in preparation for the planting in rainy season). It is illegal, but doesn't stop them.

7) Watching Cameroonians brush their teeth is pretty hilarious to me. They suck on their toothbrushes FOREVER, never seeming to BRUSH them. As for toothpaste, I'm unsure whether it is always used-no foam seems to build up as they suck endlessly on the brush, conversing at the same time. [Please note that not all Cameroonians a) brush their teeth b) do it this way]

8) Rainy season has begun...and when it rains, it pours! Granted, the first couple of months of rainy season are SUPPOSEDLY not as bad as June, July and August. I will have to see which season I prefer - I became VERY tired of all of the dust of dry season but I can't imagine "enjoying" all of the mud of rainy season.

9) Speaking of rainy season, I am having a small plot of land behind my house prepared for me, to become my garden. My mom & Nana have sent me seeds (carrots, peppers, tomatoes, basil, etc) and I will get advised as to how to plant and take care of the soil - my green thumb has never been in existence before this point, so I need much help! Having a garden here seems important to me, haven't quite figured out why, but it has something to do with the ease of growing things in this climate and the fact that I'm going to the market every other day to get fresh produce and would love to be able to walk behind my house to obtain some of the items!

10) While we're on the topic of food, I have to say that what I think I miss the most is cold milk and cereal to start my day! I add powdered milk to things, it's true, but it's not cold and it's just not the same. They have Corn Flakes in this country, but boy are they unsatisfying!

11) You can't imagine how incredible it is to be walking down a road or standing in someone's compound and have po-po (papayas), pears (avocados), and mango trees bearing so much fruit. Being that I love fruit so much (right Brian??), I'm just in awe and jealous that the climates I've lived in in the US do not allow for this growth.

12) Place I've visited over the past two months:

~ Wum (north of Fundong): to see Lake Nyos, Lake Wum and Menchum Falls - there was a gas explosion in this area in 1986 that killed ~2000 people.

~ Ndawara Tea Estate: beautiful scenery, first time seeing a tea plantation, largest employer in the NW Region of Cameroon, watched the tea leaf production process, proprieter wants to make it the largest tea estate in the world-currently is the largest in Africa.

~ Aduk: a remote village I trekked 34 km to with my neighbors who teach there, am setting up a pen-pal exchange with Stefanie's classroom in NJ to help give both ends exposure to the other.

~ Banso: a village on the way to Kumbo (east of Fundong) where the road was HORRIBLE. It was a hot day, we were packed in the car unable to put the windows down because the road was deep trenches of DUST, so much dust that the trees were no longer green but orange. I attended a memorial celebration with my 2nd family here in Cameroon (they live in Bambili, where I spent Christmas).
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I've got some travel coming up but will tell you about it the next time!

Happy Easter, Passover and Spring.

Until next time,

All of my love - Stef