One Year Anniversary!
Well I can’t believe that it’s finally here, my one year
anniversary of being in country! It is a little surreal, sometimes it feels as
if I’ve been here for 10 years, other times I feel like I’ve only been here for
a month. I have read over 60 books and have watched way too much TV/Movies
from my external hard drive. I’ve gotten used to things that I never
thought was possible, such as spiders. I’ve learned a lot about Cameroon, but
even more so about myself since I’ve been here, such as how to be more
assertive and stand up for myself. I have also discovered that I will NEVER
want to be a celebrity, I could not cope with the constant lack of privacy for
so long.
For our one year anniversary, myself and a couple of friends
went to a World Cup Qualifying game, Cameroon vs the DRC. It was a great time
and was a great end to an awesome year in Cameroon. Our first day in Cameroon,
we weren’t allowed to go to a game, so it was great to actually have the chance
to go this time. Even better was that Cameroon won! One to nothing!
As one year of my two year contract is over, I have started
thinking about the future. I’ve already looked into grad schools and found 3
really great programs. So this summer in between helping out at training,
travelling to Ethiopia and around Cameroon, I hope to start working on my
applications for grad school.
Two Week Vacation!
After spending over two weeks in Yaoundé I decided to take a
little break and visit some friends. I started by going to Buea, in the
Southwest, to stay with my friend Nate. It worked out perfectly since Sam was
flying out of Douala and wanted to stay in Buea before her flight. Buea was
really great! Especially since Buea is only 30 minutes away from the beach!!
Sam and I went to the beach one day and we were literally the only people
there. It was fantastic! It was great to be away from all of the noise of the
city and just be able to relax for a bit.
After Buea, I went to visit Sean’s post, but in order to get
there I had to take what everyone says is “the Worst Road in Cameroon.” Let me
tell you it wasn’t THAT bad. It was really funny though because there were 8
people in this car which is smaller than a Camry. Four in the front and four in
the back. You might think how is that possible, but like I said, physics don’t
apply within the Cameroonian borders. But what was amusing was the fact that 5
Cameroonian adult men were all complaining, about the car, about the road,
about EVERYTHING. While I was just sitting there accepting my fate. I never
thought there would be a time where a Cameroonian would complain more than
myself! (I think again that just is a good marker of time)
Sean’s post, Ossing, is also in the Southwest and it is very
similar to mine. They are both in the jungle, although Sean’s post is a little
bit more hilly. I really enjoy getting to go to people’s villages, to see what
they do on a day to day basis, meet everyone they talk about. It’s a way to get
a glimpse into their village life, which at times can be different than our
city or Yaoundé life. I think the highlight of my trip in Ossing was going on a
7 hour trek in the rainforest with Sean and his friend Alphonse. The goal of
our trek was to see the bones of two elephants who were killed two months ago
for bush meat, which was unfortunate.(The hunters got about 120,000 CFA for
each elephant, which is about 240$, for a forest elephant) It was a little difficult trying to get to the
Elephant graveyard, which is what we named the place, because we had to cross
some 14 streams and 1 giant river. But it was a great time, especially since I
had never had a chance to go on a trek through the jungle before.
After hanging out in Ossing, I went to Mamfe, only about 40
minutes away on a motorcycle from Ossing. There Sean, Renee, and I had dinner
with the ex-mayor of Mamfe. His house was amazing, even by American standards.
It overlooks the Cross River with the jungle all around it, very picturesque!
He is actually building a pool now, maybe I’ll go back when it’s finished =)
In order to go back to to Yaoundé, I decided to go through
Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest region, since I had never been there. It
was interesting because everyone in the Peace Corps talks about how nice
Bamenda is, but I didn’t really like it that much. I think I am more used to
village life than living in a city, going back to America might be a little
difficult =) It was a nice city, in the highlands of Cameroon and since it is
rainy season there are waterfalls all around that you can see.
Finally in the beginning of June I went back to post because
I had a couple of meetings that I couldn’t miss and it was nice to be back.
Unfortunately I was only back for a week, but my Hibiscus wine was a success (I
was letting it ferment while I was away). My meetings went well, I already know
what classes I will be teaching next year and my class schedule. I am teaching
one more class this year, but it will be the Seconde class that I had this year
who were promoted into the Premiere class (Junior level equivalent). All my
other classes are staying the same. But the best news is that I will have
Thursdays and Fridays off, which means I will be able to travel more.
So things are going pretty well now and I am really excited
for this summer! Sean and I decided to extend our trip, so we will be in
Ethiopia for 31 days now. Which is essentially all of our vacation time for our
2 years here, but I think it’ll be worth it!
