Still Alive!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the long break between posts, but as you know I am in Cameroon and they are NO known for their Internet. I am alive and loving it! But I have left the training site in Bafia and am en route to Dimako in the East, which is where I will be for the next 2 years, starting in August. But this week I will be checking out what is there and I even get to see my HOUSE! Which apparently is on someone's compound Even cooler is that there is a village of pygmies near there!

So far I love it here, despite the little medical hiccup earlier on the trip. But I love my host family, Marie-Claire, the single mother who works in a MFI, her daughter Dianne, 18 (AKA my savior) and her son Borris, 17.

I say Dianne is my savior because she helps me out with everything! Apparently I don't know how to do anything, which isn't true but I don't know how to do it in the African way. She also says to me "Tu n'as pas la force," or you aren't strong enough. So that's fun! She always laughs at me when I do my laundry and yes I do my laundry by hand.

I'll update more later but I hope everyone back home is doing well! I have like a bazillion bug bites or maybe just 20, but it feels like a bazillion!

As ready as I will ever be...

I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Philadelphia, even though I should be sleeping because we have to leave at 7 AM to get our yellow fever shots (without this we will not be allowed into Cameroon). And then it's off to JFK for our 6 PM flight.

Today was staging, or orientation, where we met the other trainees and learned what to expect from the Peace Corps and what the Peace Corps expects from us. So far everyone seems nice and funny and just really eager to get going. We also had to talk about what worried us and everyone shares the sames fears, which is nice as well.

I just don't think it's going to become reality until we actually touch down in Yaounde.

PS Philadelphia is a really cool city. Although I wasn't here for very long, I definitely would like to come back (and not just because of Parking Wars) !

Introduction

First to introduce myself. My name is Michelle And I am joining the Peace Corps, leaving home May 31st to go teach English in Cameroon. I first applied to the Peace Corps way back in September 2009 (the application was a really long process for me), but I decided to defer in order to teach English in France for the 2010 - 2011 school year. Before France I went to Seattle University where I majored in Political Science, focusing on Internal and Comparative politics and minoring in French. 

What first drew me to the Peace Corps, way back in high school was the opportunity to help others. I've always loved volunteering, travelling, and experiencing new cultures, so I thought it would be a great idea to do it all at once! I am even more thrilled to utilize my French skills and even learn another language (not yet determined, Cameroon has over 200 African dialects).