This is where I spend a lot of my free time. It's a fairly big compound with a bunch of children and this one in particular is definitely my favorite.

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 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.

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

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 (6th- 12th 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….

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.

.Reception

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

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 neighborsAnother neighbor

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

In a place where Toys-R-Us and Walmart and all those other fabulous stores don’t exist and therefore don’t allow children to buy every possible toy they could want, children here have to be a bit more creative when it comes to playing games and having toys. There are a old school basics here like cards, marbles and a board game like Parcheesi but most of the time, children end up recycling things to make toys. Here are some of the most common games kids in my town play:

An old tire and a stick - they run as they push the wheel with the stick

Just about the only board game available in town

Toy cars made from wood, old cans, rubber, etc

A game kind of like tic-tac-toe

Well it’s that time of year again – Ramadan. Last year, I had just arrived during about the 3rd week of fasting and didn’t really know what exactlywas going on. But this year, I really wanted to try fasting if not for the whole month then at least a couple of days. Most of the community is Muslim where I am and I felt like it would be a good experience and opportunity to better understand and be a part of my community. I asked friends here about the exact times and other details in preparation for fasting. Then as themonth of July finished, I waited for the first day. According to the projected Muslim calendar, the first day was to be August 1. However, about midnight July 31, I got a couple calls from friends waking me up to inform me that fasting would actually start that morning. So Sunday I got up at 4am to eat breakfast then didn’t eat or drink again until the 6:30pm prayer. (I would later find out that actually some people started on Sunday while others started Monday – either day would have been fine. It’s based on the moon so some say they saw the moon Sunday while others say Monday).

Today makes almost a week now of fasting and I hope and plan to keep going the whole month. Days 2 and 3 were kind of difficult but now I am more ‘adapted’ as people say here and it isn’t too bad although I do really have to be conscious of not eating the whole day otherwise without even thinking I pick up a cup of water or start to grab something to snack on.

As another part of integrating during this time, I’ve been working on trying to cook traditional foods. So first, not really something I cook, but many people break fast by eating dates so I try to make sure that I eat a couple of dates first before eating or drinking anything else. Then I usually eat bouille and gossay (like beignets). The bouille I make and am still kind of trying to perfect and then I buy the gossay but hopefully will learn how to make that too in the near future.

Dates from Saudi Arabia that a friend gave me

Women selling food by my house for 'breaking' fast

So here is one way to make bouille (there are many different variations this is just the particular one I know best).

Ingredients :

small amount of rice peanut butter

sugar (add to your taste)corn starch

Cook the rice first. While the rice is cooking, sift the corn starch (at least here you need to – it has to be really fine to make the bouille smooth). Then put the peanut butter in a bowl and add water. Break up the peanut butter – basically you dilute the peanut butter. You will want to sift that peanut butter water as well to get out any big parts of the peanut butter.

Once the rice is cooked keep the pot on the stove and add the peanut butter water. Stir preferably use a gourde (apparently special for making brouillie). Then before adding the corn starch, dilute that as well with water – make sure to mix well. Then slowly add corn starch while stirring. Keep stirring while the mixture cooks. It should start to get thicker. Then you add sugar depending on how sweet you like it. Then once it all thickens up a bit – it’s finished. You can eat right away or likemost people here, store in a thermos until it is actually time to break fast.

bouille

gossay

School’s out and summer’s in full swing. And just like back home, students take summertime to enjoy hanging out and taking a break from school work. For a lot of students here, that means traveling. After getting their final results from exams and school they hit the road – they go back to their village or to a bigger city like the capital. They usually go work or visit other family. So now at the end of July, Banyo has just about no students left which can make doing work and activities a little difficult when you don’t have participants. However, there are initiatives going on that focus on educating youth. Here are some from this month:

- Vacances sans SIDA which was organized by a youth club and held sessions and debates at the hospital for a week

- Colonie de Vacances which my postmate and I organized to teach about HIV/AIDs and theatre. Participants created skits at the end of the week.

- Weekly activities such as learning to cook, sew and about HIV and STDs organized by the youth delegation

All the activities are meant to empower youthand alsoobviously give them something to do when there’s no school. The activities arefree and open to all youth which here a youth is anywhere from about 10 – 25 or older (kind of like as long as you aren’t married and have kids).It can be difficult sometimes because of student’s unpredictable schedules and also because everyday students leave for vacation. But for those who do attend, they really learn a lot and have fun. And with only about a month left before school starts again, students are really trying to make the most of their time left.

So I know it’s been a while – not much I can do about that. But it is summer break here now and pretty much that means everyone goes on vacation and I have lots of time to enjoy just hanging out and noticing the simpler things of life in Banyo. So here are in fact some daily habits from life here that would probably not really fly back home: - the lack of tissues - people just kind of lean over and blow their nose into the air/ground. Oh and putting your finger in your nose is also quite acceptable.Pretty much tissues are strictly for wiping dust off a chair or bench before sitting down - brushing teeth while walking around outside, maybe down the street – stroll and brush - going to the bathroom in public – quite acceptable particularlyfor men to just go on the side of the street – I mean I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go and out in the open is probably cleaner and less smelly than a latrine - hand holding between men – good friends like to hold hands sometimes right? This does not have the same meaning at all that it may have back in home Now while some of these actions may be seen as inappropriate back home, there are things we do that are not really accepted here. Apparently for a woman to cross her legs has some negative meaning so important to try to remember that when meeting with big wigs. And then of course there’s the left hand – no eating or handing or taking things with your left hand which can be quite challenging to always remember particularly being left-handed. But at least sometimes after they reprimand you about it, they do point out that Obama is left-handed too. Some good hand-holding shots

May20th – National Day for Cameroon. Activties in Banyo began with a parade – a rather long parade with the military, students, youth clubs, and everything else marching. After the parade, a quick drink before off to the Prefet’s house for lunch. And we even had extra special invitations and got to sit and eat inside his house rather than on the lawn. Then a quick rest before the grand evening... the gala de soiree.The evening party 'began' at 8pm meaning we arrived at the time on the invitation and then things actually got started closer to 10. But no complaints - we had lots of food and drink and dancing continued all the way till about 1:30. We ended the evening by going back into town and of course visiting our favorite bakery (just because we were told it is open 24/7 - and yes we confirmed it is). Gala Meal

Dance Party

May 1st Labor Day or Fete du Travail

What does it mean? One of the best fetes ever basically.

You don't have to buy ridiculously tacky pagne. You don't have to pay money to go to parties. In fact you don't even have to walk to the field for the parade. Everything is taken care of for you. You get free t-shirts from companies in town (unless they forget about you as the bakery which I am at everyday did). You get rides to and from the field to go parade. Then after there's juice and pastries. Then therest of the day you just hang out with people. It really is the best fete so far.

The parade continuing into town

Right about to enjoy some juice and pastries

Group photo after the march

So if you didn’t know, Cameroonians are really into sport. Of course they love football (soccer) but they also enjoy lots of other sports. In Banyo, Saturday is sport day and people small to old come out to ‘make sport’. Most people come out to the stade municipal where they warm up with a few laps around the field and then take their pick of activities. There’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, aerobics, gymnastics, handball or some more running. And then you can always go run out to the Baptist Hospital if it’s too crowded for you. And if you really want to get out of town, you can take a few hours and scale the mountain.

As far as entertainment and leisure activities go, there really isn’t too much around town – don’t expect to see a movie theater or park anytime soon. And without a tv or radio or even power a lot of the time, reading is about all you have left whichobviously isn’t bad but not exactly something to do with other people. However,there are a few events that come around that allow you to enjoy yourself, have some laughs and be with others. One of those is a soiree culturelle.

Some traditional dance and costume

Soiree culturelles are in the best terms like comedy variety shows. Groups of people put on different ‘acts’ – a lot of dances, some lip syncing, fake news reports, fashion shows, skits, etc. Most often it is a school that puts on a soiree and the students present different acts.

First soiree I went to a the bilingual school - these girls were dancing

In my time at post so far, there have been numerous soirees at my school, the other schools, in my neighborhood, for weddings, etc. And I must say most soirees are similar. You usually receive an invitation which tells you a time. But of course it’s African time so it’s best to have a student or someone just call when the event is about to actually start (let’s say if the invitation says 2:30pm, you come around 4:30-5). As a foreigner, I usually get a seat good seat near the center front. They usually block off an area and maybe even make a stage (like desks pushed together with words boards on top). There is always an MC who hosts and introduces each act. On the program, there may be upwards of 30 acts however because it started so late and there isn’t usually outside lighting, many of the acts willbe cut because the sun will set before it’s over. There’s lots of dancing to the latest songs like ‘pinguiss’ or some Lady Ponce even some Shakira and of course some traditional Houssa music. Then there are some skits or maybe even clown acts. And of course there’s news where students just talk about maybe what’s going on at school. During different acts, members of the audience will get up and put money on performers’ heads or intheir pockets if they really like the performance. The audience can get really riled up and excited about some of the acts and altogether it’s really a fun time and better than just sitting around the house. You get out, see lots of people and some great performances. And even though the events are always behind schedule and technical difficulties occur with speakers, etc., every event has a slightly different part to it that makes it exciting to attend and watch.

'clowns'

News Report

Two little kids lip syncing at a soiree for a wedding

Some of my younger students and I on a SaturdayOf all the people I meet here – teachers, parents, functionaries, people in the market, neighbors, other volunteers- I must say that my favorite peoplewho I enjoy the company of the most, who I share and learn from every day, who inspire me, make me laugh and support me, the people who I will miss the most are my students.

I teach approximately 210 students ages maybe 10 – 24. And now I will be the first to say that I do not always enjoy my time in class teaching and that I do not think that I am really making that big of a difference as far as their English skills are concerned. But it is the moments in between classes and instruction, the times outside of school whether passing them on the street, attending a cultural event with them or visiting their families in their homes that I truly enjoy my students and get to see them as they really are.

One of my funniest students

Particularly in the past few weeks, as I’ve had more time and energy to spend time just chatting with people, I have spent a great deal of my free time meeting some of my students’ families and seeing more of their life outside of school. And in doing so, I have begun to appreciate and love even more my students. They are caring; they are inquisitive, funny, understanding. They are actually interested in things and ask questions. They are not afraid to chat or joke with me. They are the people I trust the most and who I go to when I have questions. They welcome me into their lives and want to be a part of mine.

Some of my 1ere students

One of my 6e students met me at 5:40am just because he wanted to go to do sport with me on a Sunday. And the same day another student in the same class came as well andran for an hour with me. Just the other day, I was at the field running at 6:30am and a boy came and began running. I quickly recognized him- another different student who had just come to see me and chat for a bit. I climbed the mountain earlier this week with a student. Last week, while I traveled, I left one of my 6e students the key to my house to look after my cat. In the past week, 3 of my students’ families havewelcomed me into their homes, offered me food and chatted with me. Students stop by my house just to say hi. I see them all the time just walking down the street – they always have a big smile and are glad to see me. When I came back from traveling last week, a number of my students told me how much they had missed me. And I too had missed them. They also think to the future and clearly hope to have me in their lives – some of my younger students have already asked to marry my daughters one day and older students have already invited me to their weddings in the next 10 years or so.

My students at home with their other siblings...of the 4 who go to my school, I teach 3 of them

The students who asked about marrying my daughters

Although there can be rough days in class with them, there have been many a bad day when it’s just being with them that puts me in a better mood and reminds me why I enjoy being here. I don’t think I will ever have relationships with other students like I do here with them. They are more than my students- they are my neighbors, my friends, my family. And I already know I will miss them the most when I leave.

6e Students on a Saturday

A lot of planning and preparation went into the celebration of Women’s Day in Banyo – I was actually even at one of the meetings held at the Prefecture with women and delegates in charge of organizing events. Activities lasted an entire week starting with the first event on Wednesday March 2 - a ‘sport walk’ around town. The next day was kind of like community service work – women’s groups went to different places in town to do ‘public service’ aka clean floors and buildings.

The third day (and first activity I was actually able to take part in because I didn’t have class) was on Friday – we went to the prison to donate food and clothes. It was quite interesting. I had heard stories about the prison but actually wasn’t how I imagined. I mean it was stinky in some parts but the prisoners greeted us with some songs and we said some prayers-it was a nice little visit actually.

At the prison with our donations

Saturday there was a roundtable discussion on the following theme: Egalite d’acces a l’éducation, a la formation, a la science et la technologie: Sentier pour un travail décent pour les femmes. Basically the panelists spoke about how women are equals and should be able to do things like men. It was an okay roundtable but would have been better if it hadn’t started 2 hours late. Oh Africa time.

Roundtable...before it started

Sunday was the big sport day – there were handball and football matches between the girls football group and a women’s group. Activities on Monday included marching practice for the parade and a cultural party- women put together skits and dances basically and present them. However this activity was like the roundtable in that it started 2 hours late and after being at school since 7am I was a bit tired when it still hadn’t started at almost 5 and hence I missed this event.

But I certainly didn’t miss events the next – Tuesday March 8 – Women’s Day. I started by going to my classes which I was told that yes there was school but it was optional to come (only in Africa) so as I only had 2 hours of class anyway and finished by 9:30, I did go to school and wore my Women’s Day pagne so as to go straight to activities once I finished and I did just that. The parade was first at the place des fetes and actually started fairly on time. Different women’s groups and associations walked across the field and lots of people came out to see everything.

Parade

After the parade, I went with my postmate into town for a quick party with the nurses from hospital who she works with. Then we kind of quickly had to get to the Sous-Prefets house for the invitation cocktail. Got lots of food, chatted with the prefetand lamido (who told me I looked handsome- this was said in English and obviously English is not his first language). After the cocktail, we went off to another food event- different women prepared food from different areas that you could buy and taste. There was also music and dancing. By this time, it was ahbout the afternoon and I was also quite tired, sun burnt and had ripped my skirt so I was ready to go home. So the evening was not quite as eventful as others’ evenings were, but overall, I was quite pleased with how the event was celebrated...lots of fun and food.

Yay Women's Day

Happy Holidays ! While holiday season may be over back home, here things are just picking up. I think this month alone there are 4-5 different fetes. And really I think pretty much year round there are all kinds of fetes going on- In the summer/fall, they are more Muslim holidays (like Ramadan) and now in the spring it’s more about national and international fetes. But no matter Muslim or non-religious, the big fetes are all just that- big- lasting anywhere from 3 days to an entire week. Here’s a calendar run through of recent fetes and upcoming fetes: National Bilingualism Week: January 1-February 4 Youth Day/Actually an entire week: February 4- 11 Women’s Day/Actually an entire week: March 1 - 8 Commonwealth Day (kind of like Bilingualism Day): March 9 National Arts at School Day: March 11 Open Door Day (have no clue- guess I’ll find out): March 17-18 Francophonie Day: March 18 Labor Day: May 1 National Day: May 20 Celebration for fetes can range from big parades and soirees with the whole community to small things like maybe events just at the lycee. Sometimes there is no school for a fete (like Youth Day) and other times there is kind of school (like Women’s Day) which means officially there is school however most likely many students won’t come and neither will teachers (although no going to lie, that’s pretty much every day). So in case you didn’t notice the dates, right now we are actually in the middle of celebrating Women’s Day. Activities started Wednesday and continue until actual International Women’s Day- March 8. Now I could write all about the activities butttt I will wait until after the 8th when everything is finished but I will say it involves a visit to the prison, football, a parade and really cool pagne. But until then, Happy International Women’s Day! I think someone should celebrate back home for women, it is an international holiday.

No McDonalds hasn’t made its way to Cameroon, at least not yet nor has any other fast food chain, American or even Cameroonian. But alas there is food available here on the go and ready to eat- hot, cold, and in between. Now you won’t see hamburgers and fries with a milkshake anytime soon (at least not unless you are in the capital city and willing to spend more than 3x what you usually do on a meal) but sometimes the ‘fast food’ can really hit the spot. Fast food can be found in many different situations. My personal favorite is when you are travelling. Instead of you driving up to a drive thru window, the food here actually comes to your window. Yep. As you travel and stop at different towns/villages along the way or even toll stops, children, women, adults will run up to the vehicle shouting whatever food they are selling. You pass the money to them and they pass the food- although you do need to be quick sometimes as you may not actually stop all the long and then the vendor will be chasing after the vehicle. Food sold in this manner various depending on the season and the region/road you are traveling on. Where I travel most, right now you often see oranges, baton de manioc (cassava), peanuts and beignets. But other places, like when I travel to the capital, you can get pineapple, mandarins, coconut, even meat. Now for when you are not traveling but just around in town, there are two kinds of fast food. There is food that for the most part is available during the day either being sold in a particular location- like a vendor near the market- or you can see a child selling food just walking down the street. These kinds of food include: beignets, ‘popsicles’, yogurt, peanuts, hardboiled eggs, baton, croquettes (like hard beignet-ish snack), oranges, beans, ‘street meat’ (soya- meat on a stick). Then if you want something more like a meal rather than a snack, if you wait till the evening, women come out and prepare food on the side of the street. Some popular dishes include omelets (particularly spaghetti omelets- delish), roasted fish and baton or plantains, and bouillie. I would say other than the obvious difference (choice of food), another big difference is that this food isn’t available 24/7 like some places back home. It can be very hit or miss- you may be really craving a particular vendor’s beans and beignets but maybe that day they are not there or all of the food is already gone. Another hit or miss can be the quality/cleanliness of the food. I would say the best thing is to find a few vendors you like and you trust to best ensure you don’t get sick later. And even then, you can never tell so be careful what you eat, particularly when traveling and thus stuck in a car.

So this is actually something I didn’t really even think about before coming but learned quickly about after arriving- trash disposal or more so lack thereof.

When we all first arrived back in June, our firstfew days were spent in Yaounde in a hotel and honestly it did not seem all too far removed from life in America. But soon we were all with our homestay families in Bafia. And I rememberafter our first night with our host families, we all came together to discuss how things had gone and thought training continued to share experiences about life with our families. One issue that quickly came up that many of us seemed to share concerns about was ‘what the heck do we do with our trash?’ It seemed as though trash cans did not exist. And I know personally in my home, there was not a single trash can. Now for food, okay I can understand throwing that in the yard particularly if you are cooking outside to begin with. But I had no clue what to do with paper or plastic items. During training, I think other people found ways to dispose of their own trash. For me- well rather than ask my host family, I realized that there were trash cans at our training building so about once a week Iwould take me trash there to throw away. Now that may seem ridiculous and it kind of was but really even now the question still remains- what do you do with trash?

A sign in Banyo saying not to dump trash....

... And this is the area directly behind the sign...in case you can't tell, there's lots of trash and it al goes right into a stream

Trash really is a big issue in my town although I’m sure if youasked someone in my community about it they may not have a clue. In Banyo, there is no organized trash collection or disposal system. People literally just throw trash anywhere and thus trash is everywhere. Part of the problem stems from the fact that people love littleplastic bags and literally every time they buy anything they get another plastic bag that they then have to get rid of. Therefore, plastic bags are all over Banyo. At home, I think most families just dump their trash if not in their yard then in some larger area that maybe many people throw trashin. And maybe they are trying- maybe thinking that they are disposing of it in a common area like everyone else. However, the biggest problem is that more often than not this ‘common dumping areas’ are right next to water sources such as small streams. Some of these areas are so full of trash that it is quite disgusting and smelly just to pass.

One of the worst smelliest places to pass in Banyo

Every now and then you do see burning the trash. However, walking around town and seeing huge trash piles burning can also be quite stinky and smoky. But really what is there to do? I know the past health volunteer here has tried to educate about the environment and trash disposal but it is difficult. I think the best solution I have heard and what I personally do is I have a hole in my yard that I throw my trash inand then every couple of weeks I burn the trash. But really, the potential to address the trash issue in Banyo is exponential. There is so much that could be done but at the same time it would be a huge project. But hopefully, crossing fingers, Banyo will have an agro volunteer who could possibly focus on environmental education and trash.

Some trash burning in between some houses

Burning trash in my yard

Cameroon is one of a few countries in the world that is officially bilingual- English and French are the two official languages and as such Cameroonians are encouraged to be fluent in both languages. The country has 10 regions- 2 Anglophone regions (regions that were colonized by Britain) and 8 francophone. Therefore, there are Anglophones (English speakers) and Francophones (French speakers). Personally, I think that Anglophones are much more inclined to be fluent in both languages (since they are more so forced to be familiar with French because the majority of the population speaks French including the president). And for Francophones, there is this overwhelming thought that English is very difficult to learn and particularly with students, they fall back on the common saying ‘c’est dieu qui donne l’angais’ as an excuse for not trying in English class. To encourage and embrace both languages, Cameroon celebrates National Bilingualism Week and in fact we just celebrated this past week. For this week, there is a lot of emphasis to celebrate and put on all kinds of activities for this week particularly in schools since schools are where Cameroonians would be learning to speak either English or French. This year’s theme was ‘Quality bilingualism, a window to professionalism/Un biliguisme de qualite, une ouverture au professionalisme’

In Banyo, the first part of national bilingualism week was to encourage everyone at school to speak English all week long (our school being Francophone, we were to embrace the other language but for example, at the bilingual school, the Anglophone teachers and students were to speak French). Of course this isn’t really easy to carry out, so our school planned all kinds of other activities. We held different competitions for different grades levels. For example, sixieme students could write a poem (in English of course) entitles ‘Cameroon my beloved country’ or terminale students could write a newspaper article of their choice. We also had a poster competition for all students- the best poster to promote bilingualism. Wednesday there was a roundtable discussion held at the Bilingual lycee in which a panel of teachers and other professionals spoke about bilingualism and addressed the theme for the week. Students from all three lycees attended the event.

Then Thursday was the big final celebration at our school. Classes ended early and all students were invited to attend the bilingualism week party. Different students (particularly from English club) presented different things like poems, dances and songs to administration and students. Then at the end, we gave out awards to students and staff such as the ‘Most bilingual student’.

AMIPELB: Amicale Personnel Lycee de Banyo(this is on the front of our matching tracksuits)

Ok I have been waiting to talk about Amicale for a while but after this weekend, I think it is a good time to write about it.

Now if you are familiar with French, then maybe when you hear ‘amicale’ you think of amitie or friendship which is where this word comes from. Amicale is in the simpliest way like a group or more so extended family for teachers. Most lycees in Cameroon have an Amicale group. The group at my school meets the first Friday evening of every month. The meeting agenda usually has 5-7 topics: welcome, review of last meeting’s minutes, finances, family updates, outside activities, word from the administration. Then after all the talking, there is food and a drink for everyone. Now this might seem all simple and straightforward and even I thought it was too in the beginning. But there is so much more to it.

In the beginning of the year, a listwas posted with all the Amicale members broken into groups (one group for each month). So one group of about 4 teachers ‘hosts’ the meeting (with one of those actually having the meeting in their house)- if youare male, hosting means you give money to purchase food but if you are a female, you give money but also cook all the food- as I discovered during the first meeting as I was in the first group to host. I had to go to the market and buy all the food and then help cook all of it which you start cooking in the morning maybe like 8 or 9 and continue through the meeting until it’s time to eat. For the first meeting, we started around 5pm and atearound 9pm.

Outside of the food, there is the actual meeting. So I have already mentioned some of the topics, but I’ll talk a little more about some of them. Finances- some of this is basic like you have to pay to go to the meeting (for the food anddrink) but then there are all kinds of other ‘accounts’ you could call them. Here’s a break down of them:

Tontine- this is like a rotating savings kind of. There are 3 different ones at my school (25,000CFA, 10,000, and 5,000). This group is optional. If you participate, then every month you give that amount and one person in the group gets all the money and obviously it changes every month. It’s a way for people toget large amounts of since most people at least in Banyo don’t have savings.

Secours- This is like an emergency account that youcan give money to if you choose to. The money that is collected is used to help other members- like if someone has a baby or maybe someone is sick or something of that nature.

Savings- There is another savings account that you can give to and I believe you earn interest. This is also optional. This money is also available for members to borrow money from and I think you pay back with interest (hence how those who give to itwould get extra money back in the end).

Now some of the other topics discussed at this meeting certainly involve issues going on at the school but also activities outside of school. For example, the first couple of meetings, there were long debates about track suits- yes matching track suits for the teachers- so we had to discuss color and style of course. And now you may wonder why would teachers need matching track suits- which brings me to the next part of Amicale- also the reason I finally decided to write about it- the trip.

Back of our matching outfits

So one thing Amicale groups do is pair up with other lycee’s Amicale groups. Well last year apparently my school hosted another school so this year it was our turn to visit their school. The trip would be for a weekend in January. And now you would think- okay a weekend trip obviously can’t be that long because school goesuntil the afternoon Friday and obviously starts back Monday morning so this school must be in a near by town. Oh no,not at all. Our Amicale group planned to go to Bafang- in a completely other region- the West. The trip was this past weekend, and now it was a lot of fun, but let me definitely tiring. We left Friday, got to Bafang at like 7am Saturday and went straight intoactivitiesuntil like 3am Sunday, then left Sunday late morning and got to back home extremely late. I think it would be like the equivalent of going from Virginia to Florida for lessthan 48 hours- yep. But so it works like this- we pay for our transportation (like rent cars for the weekend) and then the hosting school plans all the events and food and housing.

Friday we had a set time to leave and but of course left actually 3 hours later. I came on time (I don’t know why) and I think I finally knew what I had gotten into when the principal showed up with a whistle and another teacher came with a horn both of which could be heard the entire trip. But like I said, it was fun (except the traveling). Although I was exhausted even when we arrived, the other school welcomed us with songs and hugs in their matching track suits. They had planned a full day for us starting by visiting the prefet and sous-prefet of Bafang. Then we got to visit their lycee. After that we saw some more sites of Bafang- a waterfall and the chefferie- all of this before noon. In the afternoon, we finally got to shower and rest some. Another female teacher was my host, so I went with her and met her family and stayed in her home. After some rest, it was time for sport. We all came our own matching track suits and while the women didn’t actually play, we did support on the side. There was a handball match and then the big football match. After the games, my host came back to the field to pick me up (she had been cooking for the evening). When we arrived back at her house, I asked her how much time we had before dinner- the program had said 7pm- she responded ‘oh 8 or 9’- I was shocked – thinking that it was just so late and I was already tired but oh well. So I took a nap and didn’t actually even wakeup till after 8 (when she woke me up). But we got cleaned up and dressed and went to the hotel de villefor the ‘gala’. I think it was about 10 when we finally arrived. Dinner was served closer to 11 and then the party really got started. To open up dancing, there is always a first dance with all the important people and someone pairs up males and females. The dance is really awkward but only lasts about 30 seconds. After the opening dance with the principals and prefet and such, the floor was open for everyone and everyone was dancing all over the place. I think some even danced till morning- there were still a lot of people going when I left around 3am.

Line up before the football match Dancing, dancing

Me with the teacher who hosted me

The next morning, we were scheduled to leave at 7:30am but of course when you count African time in, it was more like 10am. We were so late getting back, I knew almost no one would be at school the next day and sure enough, maybe 4 or 5 teachers came (most of who were not on the trip and hence not tired). And now Tuesday, 2 days later, I think some teachers are still recovering but it certainly was a trip unlike any other I have or probably will take in Cameroon and I am already looking forward to the next Amicale trip.

OK so this entry may not be that appealing, but I thought I would write about all the paperwork that’s involved with being a teacher since it is a big part of what I do and takes quite some time. Now being a teacher even in America involves paperwork however, there are some differences. Like last year for instance around this time while practicum teaching, I would take attendance and record grades and although I would have hard paper copies of records, the primary way of tracking everything was electronic. As you can imagine, posting grades online so that students can check at home is not quite an option here. In fact, everything is paper-based and hand recorded. Now I know computers and internet have not always been around and that teachers in America usedto do everything paper-based but I don’t think that people would really comprehend until they actually had to do it. So I will give a general break down of some of the paper-work at school. And keep in mind that although this is all about school, just imagine how all kinds of other establishments keep records here without regular use of computers (there are computers here but not everywhere or as common as back home)

Daily Paperwork: As a teacher on a daily basis there are two important books that must be completed: Cahier de texte (log book) and the registred’appel. The cahier de texte is one big book that every teacher is to write a summary of every lesson they do. Each class has their own cahier that stays in the classroom. As the teacher comes in, at the end they are to fill in the cahier in their section (it’s broken down by subjects) with the date, time, how many hours, what they taught and their signature. This book is important because wheninspectors come to the school, they look through the book to see what has been going on. And as I’ve heard before, if you don’t write it down, it’s like it never happened.Cahier for the class I oversee- lovely pink In addition to the cahier de texte, the registre d’appel is also to be completed every class and usually stays with the cahier (so again there is one for every class that is usually in the classroom). This book has a roster of all the students in the front with their numbers. Then all the pages have carbon copies. This book is how attendance is monitored. Every class period the teacher is supposed to call roll (usually you just call the numbers rather than names of students). If there is no teacher and aka no class, a student will usually call roll for that period. At the end of the day, the original is torn out and turned in to an administrator while the copy stays in the book. And for report card time (I don’t know for sure as I’ve never seen it) but I would imagine that someone has to go through by hand to calculate how many absents a student has.Registre d'appel for my class

So in addition to these two books, there are report cards to fill. School here is broken down into 3 trimesters with 6 sequences (2 to a trimester). Usually around week four or five of a sequence, teachers start giving exams. Which that also involves lots of paperwork. And this I know teachers even in America have to deal with- grading or as they say here ‘marking’ exams. But something that does take more time is the actual administering of the exam- no photocopies here unless you want to pay for it yourself which with almost 200 students I don’t think you want to. So instead I write my exams on the blackboard. Then after all the marking and returning of exams, it’s time to fill report cards. There is a huge book- bulletin de notes- and again each class has one (if aclass is super small, maybe two classes will be in one book). These books are kept in the vice principal’s office. There are again original pages and then carbon copy pages. A teacher is in charge of every class and at the beginning of the year, that teacher must go through the bulletin de notes and write every students name in order along with their date and place of birth (I have a sixth grade class with 65 students- it was a lot of fun trying to ask them their birthdates and write everything in 5 times each). Then when it is around the end of the sequence, all the teachers who have taught that particular class will check the book out from the vice principal to begin filling grades. A teacher must write their name, the students’ grade, the coefficient (basically the weight or credit of the class), the coefficient times the grade, then comments and signs. Once all the teachers of various subjects have filled their grades, the teacher in charge of that class must do averages and rankings. So for example, once I see that all the teachers have written in grades for my sixth grade class, I take the book home and have to go through adding up every student’s grades, finding their average, ranking them, then writing comments and signing every report card- took about 3 hours the first time. Then I also have to hand back all the report cards and deal with any miscalculations or errors (which obviously do occur when you are trying to add and average so many different grades). The bulletins de notes are kept at the school all year long and throughout the years as obviously they are the only record of a student’s work. You can't quite even tell how big this book is here but on the left you can see the a sample report card- notice to the far right it's filled out with lots of red- this student didn't do well Well those are the biggest and most time consuming items to be filled, but there are still a few other forms that are filled out every time (such as how many hours you taught each class, how many students passed, failed, etc). Oh and did I forget to mention also that for all paperwork, certain colored pens are to be used- yes. Mostly blue for the cahier de texte and registre d’appel. For the report cards, you use blue if the student passed but red if the student failed. Just one more thing that makes filling out paperwork fun- having to switch back and forth between colored pens.

So I am still here- things have been busy the last few weeks so in this post I will take some time to update on life here in Cameroon.

I am no longer the newest person in the area- my post mate finished her two years and now not only did I get a new post mate but 2 other volunteers opened 2 new posts in the area- all 3 are health volunteers but now the west Adamawa area is really growing- there are 6 of us- very exciting.The new improved and enlarged West Adamawa group

School has been going well- we are into the 3 sequence (there are a total of 6). The younger classes are still somewhat challenging there being over 60 students in each one and of course12 year olds do enjoy chatting.We are obviously on break right now for the holidays- 2 weeks just like in the states. And actually I even missed the entire last week before break- not for vacation though- for IST.

Yes IST or in-service training. This is a weeklong training thatall volunteers do after being at post for 3 months- yep already been here in Banyo actuallyover 3 months so I had to go for IST and meet back up with the rest of my stage or group that I trained with in the summer. Our training was at Kribi- one of the better known beaches in Cameroon. And I must say although you would think a week at the beach sounds like fun it really wasn’t. I was gone for 11 days and of those 11, 6 were spent in vans and agencevehicles traveling. In fact it took just 3 days to get to the beach to begin with. And once I did make it to the beach, we all had training everyday until 5 so beach time was rather limited. But despite the traveling and long days, it was super nice to re-group with everyone and hear about everyone’s experiences so far. It was really a great time to share and be with other people who understand what life is like here.

Kribi

So after IST, I had some errands to run in the capital on my way back home to Banyo. Picked up lots of packages with Christmas and birthday gifts- thanks family! And even made a visit to my host family in Bafia- caught upwith them and even got some pineapple which Bafia is known for their pineapple so that was a nice treat. Then I finally made it back to Banyo after a 16 hour trip from Bafoussam (I swear every time I make the trip, somehow it takes longer and longer). But even though I was back, things didn’t slow down- there was Christmas!

For Christmas, I had lots of cooking and of course decorating and presents. I got to spend some time with other Americans like some of the volunteers in the area and even some of their families who came to visit and even went out to the missionaries for Christmas dinner. Overall Christmas was very enjoyable here but I did miss my family and “It’s a Wonderful Life” if anyone would care to send that for Christmas next year,it would be much appreciated.

My house decorated for Christmas-snowflakes, stockings, Christmas tree. Also the one time of year when the chimney is actually quite perfect.

So now I have one week left or a little less before school starts back up. And of course New Year’s is still coming up. I think I have gotten a few invites to events for New Year’s so hopefully that will also be a fun holiday celebration. In the meantime, I will be trying to catch up on pretty much everything and hopefully not only catch up but get something other things done in preparation for the coming weeks- I’ve got 2 trips to make to the capital in the next 2 months, lots of fetes and birthdays, the GRE and of yes of course work here. Busy busy but I am still really enjoying everything. Time is still flying- already over half a year in Cameroon- crazy.

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Holidays!

So another Muslim holiday has come- fete de mouton or "festival of sacrifice". This fete comes approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. The big thing for this holiday is the killing or sacrificing of a sheep (in commemoration of Abraham's sacrifice of a ram for God). People have been preparing for this fete for a while- hence the sheep all over the place. And apparently most holidays for Muslims here (like Ramadan and this one) involve celebrating over three days although I'm not quite sure what exactly occurs during those days. I did though see festivities for 2 days this time.

Things started Wednesday. First and foremost- no school- yay! So instead of going to school, I went to see the prayer for fetede mouton. All Muslim men (boys) go out to this huge field outside of town to prayer (there is a particular prayer for the fete). Hundreds of men came out and my postmate and I were not only the only white people but the only women (when I asked I was told the women 'don't want to come'however I believe they are more so not allowed to come to the prayer because usually the women are separated from the men during prayer so that wouldn't be possible in the open field). But yes my postmate and I went and even got to sit on chairs under a tent with thebigwigs of the area (they also came to watch even though they are not muslim so it wasn't too weird to just watch everyone pray).Poor little sheep waiting to be sacrificed right after the prayer

The prayer altogether lasted maybe 5 minutes. Then the first sheep sacrifice was given at the field although a bunch of kids and people stood around so I wasn't actually able to see that although I did see the poor sheep before he was gone. After the prayer, we went back into town and waited to be invited to some fetes.

Men praying on the left and then me with my friend right after the prayer

In the afternoon, some of our friends invited us out for a drink (soda- they don't drink alcohol) and to my surprise they showed up with an entire meal- they brought igname (kind of like potatoes but not- really almost no flavor), rice, tomato sauce, bread and of course- mouton (sheep). Then directly after eating with them, I came home and my neighbor was feting as well and invited me to eat more food and more sheep. They had killed their sheep earlier in the day so I was kind of glad I wasn't around for that - although I did see the blood still on the ground and the lovely skin of the animal hanging on the wall. Oh and my neighbor said she would show me the head...still waiting to see that...

Skin from the sheep my neighbors killed...still on the wall right now by the way

So Wednesday was prayer, sacrifice and lots of food. Then today there were more festivities- although not as extensive. And unfortunately there was school. But then this afternoon- surprise- there was fantasia again! Who knew! So I went out this afternoon and stood with everyone to see the horses and also try not get trampled when one goes loose. And this fantasia was even more fun than the one for Ramadan because I got to see a bunch of students and other people I knew.

Overall fete de mouton was a success and I can't wait for Ramadan and fete de mouton to come again next year. I already know I will miss these holidays when I get back home-nothing like them there.Yay- Fantasia again!

Banyo is in the Adamawa region which is rather mountainous and therefore of course there mountains surrounding Banyo. And there is one mountain in particular, Mt. Djumbaul (I think that's the name) which people climb during dry season. So right now dry season is slowly creeping in and I have been dying to climb themountain since I got here so when my postmate said she wanted to climb it one last time before she leaves, I was totally in. So we have been waiting for a good time (you have to wait for the path to clear up and also for the rain to stop). Well this weekend the time finally came.

We (my postmate, 2 friends, and myself) headed out for the mountain around 7:30am Saturday. The path is actually right near my house too- convenient. We walked and walked and eventually came to some steps which were super steep but kept walking. As we got higher, we could see more and more of Banyo and there were huge rocks all around which kept getting bigger and bigger. we reached the top around 9am so only about an hour and a half to get up-not bad.

Now at the top of the mountain, there is not only a great view of Banyo and surrounding mountains, but some history as well. In case you were unaware, Cameroon used to be colonized by Germans (and yes others like obviously the French and British) but the Germans really left a lot behind and you can still see buildings and structures that they built all over Cameroon. So now at the top of the mountain in Banyo, there were a few things the Germans left behind: structures from where they possibly looked out and fought, some homes, and a prison- yes a prison which I dont know how on earth or more so I can't imagine how on earth a prison was maintained at the top of this mountain- having to make the climb up and then be left up there in chains- miserable. But it was really neat to see all these things left behind and also to imagine how life would have been for Germans in Cameroon in Banyo.German prison

In addition to the history all around, there were also huge rocks (as I already mentioned). But there was one in particular at the top and the 2 friends (Cameroonians) said that people climb to the top of this rock so I thought I would give it a try. Huge mistake. It was an amazing view atop the rock but oh man it was scary scary to climb up and more so to go down- I had to sit and kind of crawl. I told them never again would I climb that rock.The giant rock we climbed- from the other side though clearly no way from this angle

View from atop the rock We spent a good while exploring the top of the mountain although it was a bit difficult to walk around since there was still a lot of grasses and plants (it's not quite ideal time to climb) and then we headed back down, stopping along the way to sit and rest and just enjoy the view. It was amazing just sitting and overlooking Banyo- it looked so peaceful from far away. But alas we did have to actually go back to Banyo. And man I must say the walk back or more so down was almost as painful as the walk up. But I made it and we actually finished it all before noon. So it was an overall success and I am so glad that I now know how to get there. I may even try to make it a regular routine to go up the mountain every weekend (I hope). But I do know I will be going up again soon- apparently the teachers and students at my school always climb it together- very exciting. This can all be practice for climbing Mt Cameroon- that is definitely on my list of things to do before I leave.Back to Banyo

So here in Banyo you can't exactly just go to the grocery store or find a Walmart/Target to do your shopping. Pretty much there are 2 options- the corner store boutique or the market and to get everything you would need you have to go to both- neither option has everything- theres no one-stop shopping here for sure. The corner boutique has mostly packaged items like cookies (lots of cookies), margarine, NIDO (powderedmilk), candles, paper products, shampoo and bread is really the only fresh food item you can find there. Now the market is where you do your real shopping.

In Banyo market days are Tuesday and Friday. These are the days when truckloads of food and products come in and everyone comes out to dothere shopping. Other days of the week you can certainly walk through the market and find some things, but Tuesdays and Fridays are when you can find some really good stuff and stock up (kind of since most food doesn't last that long and not too many people have a refrigerator).

So in the market you see just a bunch of wooden shacks and stands where people are selling all kinds of stuff. I would say there is some organization to the market but not much. It took me a good week of just wondering through on visits to finally understand the maze of the market. There are vegetables, pagne (fabric), jewelry, clothing, meat, etc. And sometimes it can be fun wondering through and hunting for things but other times that market can be very overwhelming. For one thing, nothing nothing is labeled with a price. It's all up to bargaining or at least being familiar with prices beforehand so you know if someone is trying to rip you off. And then walking thought people are always trying to get you to come and look and buy something. I have tried to leisurely wonder through and kind of window shop if you will but I don't think that concept exists here - peopleget in and get out. So sometimes the walkway is really narrow and/or muddy and people almost run you over. But on a good day, it can be a lot of fun- maybe you find some great things- exactly what you've been looking for and you even dosome great bargaining. A good day at the market can really put you in an amazing mood and make you feel like you really accomplished something for the day.

So today was a market day and today was a special market visit- I went to the market at Tiket (ti-kay). It's a nearby village/area about a 10-minute moto ride outside Banyo. And they have their market on Tuesday which their market is much smaller but the unique thing is that on Tuesday people go out to Tiket to sell and buy cattle. So I went with my postmate to see the cattle market. People came from surrounding villages bringing their cattle to sell. Now we aren't sure exactly but we believe it is some kind of bidding process. We did see all the cattle though being brought into an enclosure and it was almost kind of scary - standing in the same area just a couple feet away from huge cattle so we didn't stay close too long and moved over to see the sheep which are being bought and sold like crazy right now in preparation for fete de mouton (should be next week so I'll explain that fete then). After looking at the animals, we walked though the market. It was super nice because it is much more open than the market in Banyo- things were spread out, you had plenty of space to move. It was quite peaceful and the weather was amazing since we were a little outside of Banyo. In fact, it was such a great experience I am tempted to go out to the TuesdayTiket market more often in lieu of going to the market in town. But really in the end,it's always a love-hate relationship with the market no matter which market it is and you can never predict what the next visit will be like. But unfortunately no matter how bad one market trip may be, you always have to go back again- there's no other choice.Cattle

Tiket Market

Spices, beans and lots of other things

Pagne

Well I guess I should share a bit about school here in Cameroon seeing as how that's where I spend a good amount of my time being a teacher and all. But let me preface/warn that school here is so different from school in America that I will most likely end up writing multiple entries and still not even cover but half of how different it is. And even then it's really just one of those things you would have to experience to fully grasp. But I will try. Here we go.

Where to begin- mmm with the students. Let's take a look from a student's point of view. Ok scenario- so it's a week or two before school starts. You need to register with the school. When you do so, you must show a medical card with your medical history. You also need to pay which depending on your grade level could vary from not too expensive (10,000cfa) to kind of really expensive (30,000+cfa) (when you at least compare to the fact that school is free in the US). Then you need to get your uniform made. At my school, they all wear a solid blue uniform. Girls must of course wear a dress while boys wear pants and a button up. On your uniform, you must also have your name and class stitched on the chest in red thread. Then if you have the money, you would try to buy some of the books for a few of your classes (but most do not- for example in my class with about 60 students, maybe 6 have the book). Ok now you are set for school.

Well school stars the first week of September but you kind of go maybe if you don't have other things going on. And if you do go, you maybe have class if any teachers show up to teach. Then after the first week, everyone is for the most part finally back and things are moving. So Monday morning you get up and get moving to school. Depending on how far you live, you will want to leave around 6:30am to walk to school and be there by 7:15am. (Now keep in mind this is just my school in my town. It takes me 45 mins - I think other students are even farther). Also it being Monday, you should really try to be a little early for the assembly- every Monday you and all the students line up in front of the flagpole. You watch some students raise the Cameroonian flag and sing the national hymn. Then the principal addresses the entire school.

Ok now school can start. You slowly start to see what your schedule is like. As a student, you stay in one classroom with the same group of students all day which the size of your class could vary from maybe 30-100+. Your teachers come in during their period and teach. You have about 8 different subjects although you could possibly not have a teacher for a subject or two. Classes are an hour long starting at 7:30am and ending at 3:00pm. You have 2 breaks a day- one 15-minutes and one 20-minutes. During the breaks, you can go to the 'market' aka the area where a few moms come and sell food like beignets, bread and beans but remember there isn't exactly a cafeteria or place to sit down and eat. On Wednesday school ends early- 12:40 for clubs which may or may not actually function. And then you could possibly have class on Saturday if a teacher needs to make up classes. Now subjects vary from good old math, English, French, history and sciences But now don't forget manual labor- yes this is a class and you get a grade for it.

In class you sit on a wooden bench connected to a table all of which is long enough to fit up to about 6-7 students (small students that is). During class you copy a bunch of notes as you probably don't have books so you will want to make sure you get all the notes you can to study. In your classroom, you only have the desks and blackboard. As a student, you are also expected to keep your classroom clean to the chef de classe (head of class) will create groups of students and you will be assigned a day every week to clean the room.

Ok well that is just a brief intro to school here in Cameroon or at least here in my town Banyo. I'll add more later for sure....

So getting around aka like going anywhere is a little different here. You can't exactly just jump into you car and hit the road. Nope.

So starting with the basics- first you can always walk. Yes good old walking on foot. This is my personal favorite mode of transportation and the one I use most often. I walk to the market, to other people's houses, even to school. Walking is nice - you get to see people and enjoy the town, get some exercise and enjoy the weather. Now walking does take some time though so you need to plan. For example, I get up at 5am every morning so I can leave by 6:30am because it's about a 45 minute walk to school. But it's not bad and hey walking is free.

Well if you are running late, maybe it's extra hot out or there's a lot of mud or dust - your next option for getting where you need to go is a moto taxi. Here in Banyo, next to walking this is about the only other way you can get anywhere in town (unless you happen to have your own car which most people don't). So you can find a moto just about anywhere walking down the street. Some intersections are busier than others. And you do need to be a bit cautionary - some of these drivers haven't exactly finished school aka they are maybe 15 years old so you need to first tell them where you want to go. Then tell them 'doucement' so they don't drive like a speed maniac and then of course if along the way it appears they are going in the wrong direction, just point them in the correct one- they are not known for their accuracy or knowledge of some locations in town. But motos are certainly convenient and usually only 100CFA a trip so not bad. And you would be very surprised at what a moto driver can carry or how many people he can fit on one bike. I've seen 5 people on one and I've personally carried a table on another.

Moto drivers in the market Now by foot and motos are for in town travel. When it comes to travelling to other cities and around the country, you have some other options. There are agencies where you buy a ticket to a city and you usually go in a van. Here is Banyo there are a few agencies to choose from. They are not too bad- it just depends on how long you ride is and how bad the road is. And again, as with motos, you'd be suprised how much stuff and how many people they can cram into one van (look back at my entry about getting to post- you can see just how much crap they can pile on top).

Mayo Banyo Voyage MBV Van

Another option is taking a private vehicle. Now I have not yet done this to a larger city, but you go to a gare and pay for a seat and then basically have to wait around until all the seats are sold and the car is ready to go. The cars are for some reason usually red and old little Toyotas. And now if you think after 5 seats have been sold that means the car is full, you are mistaken. Nope, at least 7 passengers in a car. And I took a car one time to a smaller town about 45 minutes away- we had 4 people up front, 5 in the back seat and 2 people sat on the roof. Anything is possible.

Gare in Banyo

Then another option if you are heading to the north from maybe the capital is the train. And you cant take this at night but don't think that means you'll be getting much sleep while traveling. Apparently you need to watch your stuff pretty well while on the train.

Now these are just some of the more common ways of getting around in town and to other towns. There are a few more options- like in bigger cities you can take a regular car taxi- but their still not like taxis back home- oh no- just because you are in the car does not mean the driver will not pick up more passengers along the way. They really economise here. Oh and then did I also mention that most of the roads are not paved- yeah. So some things to keep in mind while traveling- wear comfortable clothes, maybe take a book because you will most likely be waiting around for a car or van to leave (oh yeah they never leave on time if they even have a scheduled time to begin with at all), be prepared in case you car breaks down or you get stuck along the road, oh and make sure when traveling to other towns you take your identity card- you will be stopped by the police. And as overwhelming as traveling and transportation can be sometimes, it is certainly an adventure. So you have that to look forward to.

October 5 - what do you think of when you hear this date? Just another regular day? Well maybe in America, but here in Cameroon October 5 is a day dedicated to celebrating teachers! It is World Teachers Day (journee mondiale de l'enseignant - it is an international holiday so Cameroon isn't the only country celebrating). But what exactly goes on for this day?

Well the festivities first kicked off or atleast preparation for festivities began about 2 weeks prior when the teachers began purchasing pagne (fabric) for the day. (Yes I don't think I've mentioned this, but of course every holiday gets its very own fabric every year so of course you have to buy it) Anyway so my school began collecting money and fabric came in. Well then of course you have to get something (an outfit) made. Well all the female teachers at my school decided we should all wear not only obvious matching fabric but a matching style outfit. So we all got our fabric and met up at the tailor and after about an hour debate between a dress or a kabba (traditional outfit-) and in the end, the kabba somehow won out. But overall I was happy and didn't mind- it was niceto be included with the teachers and I mean of course I need my very own kabba so mind as well be teachers day pagne.Teacher Day Pagne!

the kabba!

The next event for teachers day was actually the Saturday before (October 2) - an athletic walk. Teachers (from not only my school, butall theschools in Banyo) were to meet at 6:30am to walk to the market in Tiket. Well now I showed up at 6:30 and thought this would maybe be an hour walk tops. But oh how I was mistaken. Tiket is actually quite a walk outside Banyo. I almost thought we'd end up in Nigeria (not really though). But we walked and walked and walked some more and finally arrived at the market in Tiket - about 45-60 minute walk out. Then before turning around, we of course had to do some stretches and mini-aerobics exercises. Upon returning to Banyo around 9:30am, we were treated to juice, water and of course everyone wants a beer at 9:30am so there was that as well. Andalthough I was slightly tired and sweaty, overall the walk as nice - got to see Tiket and lots of countryside and some exercise.

Now- for the actual October 5. For starters, there was no school (duh) but alas we teachers still needed to wake up early for a parade which was to start at 8:00am. So I got up, put on my kabba and grabbed my camera. Walking to the meeting point, people shout "bonne fete" - very nice. Then well the parade was on African time- so it actually started a little after 9am - we all got into rows, the drums and horn started and off we went down the main strip of Banyo to the technical high school. Upon arrival, all teachers filed in to hear some speeches and a round table discussion all followed by cocktails.Parade

Then later in the afternoon, there was a football (aka soccer) match between secondary and elementary school teachers. And then even later in the evening there were various parties at people's house with food and drinks and dancing. Which unfortunately I have did not attend - but let me explain - one downside to Teachers Day - there is school the next day. So if you go out and party, you still have to get up around 5am (or at least I do to be at school by 7:30) so I passed on the evening party in exchange for a good night sleep. But all around, teachers day was a nice break from school and a day dedicated to celebrating teachers. And I have another year to do it all again so maybe next year I will actually attend the party.

So this weekend I saw Fantasia - and no I'm not talking about the Disney movie although that would have been nice.

So this whole weekend was one big fete (party)- fete de Ramadan to be exact- to signal the end of fasting. Thing semi-started Wednesday night - that was when people waited to see if the moon was visible which if so would signal the end of fasting and the beginning of the fete! But alas, Wednesday night there was no moon to be seen so Thursday was like any other day (aka I had to go to school to teach). But since the fete did not begin Thursday, that meant it would begin Friday!

Friday's events included a prayer which I attempted to attend however no Cameroonian informed me or the other volunteer that the prayer does not actually happen at the mosque but rather much farther out of town near the lycee. So we sat and waited for over an hour at the mosque but although we missed the prayer we did see the Lamido ride into the chefferie. I felt like I was in Aladdin when he parades into the palace. The Lamido came around the corner surrounded by people. Hewas on a horse of course and someone following him carrying a large umbrella (like one you might have on your patio furniture). There were horns blarring and people drumming- rather intimidating.

Anyway- so later that evening, there was 'feting' to be done (franglais for 'partying'). People make lots of food and invite friends over, dress up, dance, etc. I went to my neighbor's house for a bit- had some cake, plantains, chicken, croquettes- all delish. Then later in the evening I went with the my postmate (a healthvolunteer) and her health club that she runs to see them in action (selling condoms at the discotheque). So Friday was jam packed and I was exhausted at night butttt things got even better Saturday....there was FANTASIA!!

Ok before I get to that Fantasia, so Saturday was more feting - more food, more dressing up, more invites to people's houses. So before Fantasia, I went to another neighbor's house for more delish food. This was around 3:30pm and already the anticipation for Fantasia was building up and by the time we walked to the chefferie, there was a huge crowd of people everywhere and it was rather difficult to even find a spot to see...but of course we made our way through.

And now Fantasia! (fawn-ta-zia in french). The simplest way to describe it is like a mini-horse race. Everyone comes out - all the people in town, the big-wigs (like the prefet, sous-prefet, ministers, etc- oh and of course the Lamido). And then different people (I assume part of the chefferie) race horses down the street. And the Lamido waits at the end and all the people kind of salute him as they approach by raising their fists or swords. And the whole time, there are people blowing horns and these women kind of yelling ay,ay,ay every now and then. The actual Fantasia lasts about 30 minutes. But man people hung around the chefferie for hours after- people were still out dancing and just hanging out when I came home Saturday night.

Then Sunday the weekend feting was winding down. There was another Fantasia but not quite as big (the important people didn't come out for this one). But pretty much all day long horns and drums could be heard (at least at my house since I live behind the chefferie). And now all of it is over and we all have returned to regular activities like school. But no worries - there will be another fete in November with more festivities!Barka de sallah! Bonne fete!

One of horses during Fantasia (although no one rode on this one...)

A little little bit of the crowd....soooo many people and very colorful (although you can't tell in this picture...)

FANTASIA horses!

One of the horn blowers

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?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 CFA1 roll of toilet paper: 225 CFAA boiled egg: 100 CFA6M of pagne (fabric for clothing): 4.000-5.000 CFAToothpaste: ~300 CFASingle serving of cookies (4 to a pack): 50 CFASmall bag of popcorn: 50 CFASugar beignet: 50 CFABottle of coke cola 0.6L: 400-450 CFABottle of water (1.5L): 400 CFARent 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!

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.

Sey yesso!

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.

OK so only 3 pictures but it's more than I had...still have some technical difficulties so again look at facebook for more pictures!

The classroom where most of our training sessions take place

My room - completely equipped with my mosquito net

The street going to my homestay house

Well Model School has officially started and is in full swing. Model School is basically summer school for community kids - and for us (as trainees) it is our opportunity to practice teaching in front of a real class with real students.

Last week we had an official opening ceremony - complete with us (the trainees) singing the American national anthem (the Cameroonian students sang the Cameroonian anthem as well). Then last week we mostly just observed various classes - so I watched some trainers and current volunteers teach English to different levels.

Then this week we had our chance to start teaching and I started right away 8:00am Monday teaching terminale (basically 12th grade) English. Each class is one hour and I had two periods on Monday. And while the classes were not a complete disaster, let's just say teaching English to Cameroonian students is not quite the same as teaching French to American students. During the first 10 minutes I got a little worried when they did not understand my directions of just 'read the text with a partner' but rest assured things have gotten better. After re-grouping and getting some feedback from other trainees and volunteers, I had one last class with terminale today and it went a million times better. And really I think this general cycle of things not going so well at first but then gradually getting better is going to be the theme over the next 3-4 weeks of model school as we all learn and adapt to teaching in Cameroonian schools.

So another part of Model School is clubs - every trainee is expected to work with a club and there is a big 'soiree culturelle' (cultural party) at the end of Model School when every club presents what they have been working on. Clubs meet every Wednesday (classes end early specifically for clubs) so tomorrow will be our first official meeting and students will be able to sign up for a club. Some how I signed up for the dance club - not really because I can dance or that I even enjoying dancing but I do feel pretty comfortable in my ability to teach others dance and besides I am hoping that the students show us (there are 2 other people doing dance club with me) some African dance.

And one last note - so my host family just had a bunch of family come into town to stay with us for a while. And some of the visiting family is from France (I mean they are Cameroonian but live in France). So last night we were eating dinner together (fish, rice, 'couscous' - not what you think) and the family member from France pulled out some candy (as desert for everyone). Oh my gosh - never thought peanut M&Ms would be so good...I haven't had any American candy since I have been here but the minute she pulled out the M&Ms my mouth started watering - they were so good. Also so if anyone wants to send anything, I think peanut M&Ms would be a great idea....

Ok so I have officially survived my first independent traveling experience in Cameroon - my site visit.

So last week everyone went to visit their sites for a little less than a week. My site is in Banyo - which is in the norther region of Adamawoua. So here is the break down of how one gets to Banyo (from Bafia):

1. Take a van from Bafia to Bafoussam - about 2.5 - 3 hours

2. Go to Mayo Banyo Voyage and buy ticket for first bus next morning to Banyo

3. Spend night in Bafoussam (try to find semi-nice hotel)

4. Get up at 5:00am and go to agence (Mayo Banyo) where you fight for a 'good' seat and load your luggage then wait for about an hour till van actually leaves

5. Ride about 10 hours in van with about 20-30 other people (van has technically maybe 20 seats) on dirt road

6. Arrive at agence in Banyo and again scramble to get luggage/bookbag & find moto taxi to take you to final destination....

So when following all of that, I arrived in Banyo (quite exhausted) around 4:00pm last Thursday (July 1) and fortunately I have a post-mate aka another volunteer lives in my same town. Her name is Anna and she's been here almost 2 years so she was gracious enough to take care of my during my visit.

Now about Banyo. During my visit I tried to cram in as much as possible to learn about my site so here are a few things I was able to learn:

- Banyo is surrounded by mountains so absolutely gorgeous

- My lycee is semi-far from my house (about at 10 min moto ride) and it overlooks the town so again a beautiful view even if it does take some work to get there

- I live right next to the Lamido (basically like the mayor) and the main mosque so I have a great wake up call every morning around 5:00am

- My house is really great- electricity and running water on a pretty regular basis. A living room (with a fireplace hmmm will that ever get used?), 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen - oh and its a circle house so very exciting.

- There is a pretty big marche in town everyday and I can find just about most foods that you would want to eat (relatively speaking for Cameroon that is).

So those are just a few things about Banyo. Oh and Happy Late 4th of July to everyone in America! I was also fortunate enough to actually celebrate the 4th of July with other Americans. There are some missionaries at my site so Anna, I, and her boyfriend went to their house (the Smith's) and they made hamburgers, potato salad, German chocolate cake and ice cream - we even 'saw' some fireworks that's to say Mr. Smith had created a document with pictures of fireworks from various cities in America so yes still fireworks though - a very nice little celebration. And overall my visit to Banyo was a super success.

And now I am back at training (we got back Monday) and officially finishing up week 5. Model school has started and I will be teaching next week - Terminale and Cinqieme (basically 12th & 7th grade) English so we will see how that goes. Oh and tomorrow is an exciting training day- mountain bike training!

Well everyone should watch this Sunday - July 11th - the end of the World Cup! What will we do now that soccer will be over? ...

Well I have some extra time today so I thought I'd try to actually write some info on here about what exactly is going on and what exactly I have been doing for about a month now.

First, I have extrat ime today because I am acutally not leaving for my site visit until tomorrow morning. Second, I really really tried to upload some pictures on here but blogger just does not want to cooperate so no luck - but I was able to put some on facebook so if anyone is interested look there.

Now - what exactly has been going on .... well a lot of training pretty much. We have a very jam-packed calendar of 10 weeks of training (so currently on week 4). Training is Monday- Saturday starting at 8:00am each day. Then Mon- Fri we finish as 4:30 and Saturdays we are done at 12:30. Training varies each day but is broken down into 4 sessions with breaks and lunch. Some sessions are language which means a class with just 3 people and a language trainer. Others are technical which means we learn about education and teaching. Then other times we learn about medical or safety info - those are the really fun ones when you learn about all the possible bugs or illnesses you can get. Training takes place at 1 of 2 locations. First there is the main building often called the SED buildng (for the business people) and then there is the lycee which is where us education trainees are most of the time.

When we are not in training, everyone is either just hanging out at the nearby bar or obviously at their homestay house. We do have a curfew (7:00pm) so were not exactly doing too too much and besides it gets dark here around 6:30 and unlike back home where it is still light even when its dark, there are not street lamps here so you don't really want to be walking around after dark. But also in case anyone is not aware, the World Cup is going on right now which just happens to be taking place in South Africa so as you can imagine that is a pretty big pasttime right now and pretty much what I watch with my host family all the time.

Then one last side note about life here - so my diet basically consists of carbs right now - lots and lots of bread and beignets which is quite all right with me (for the time being) and I am actually enjoying it. Also, running water and electricity not quite standards here. We are lucky to have electricity 4 days a week and running water is extremely rare - like I've had 4 showers with running water since I've been here (and I shower twice a day). But all in all it's really not all that bad. And I hope that my own sight has as much as my homestay here.

Well hopefully I have made things a little clearer. And I am sure after my site visit this week I will have even more updates so we'll see in a week!

Week 3 is coming to a close and today was a rather exciting day. First, we all got new language level placements (we just retested on Wednesday) and I have officially passed the required language level needed to serve. (Everyone must reach Intermediate-High in French to be in a Francophone area- if that makes any sense to anyone). But the more exciting event today was that all of us education trainees were officially given our post sites. So here is my official city that I will be living and working in over the next 2 years:

Banyo- in the north region of Adamawa (Cameroon- of course)

So as of now I know nothing about this city but we will all be visiting our sites in just 4 days so next I am on the internet I will have lots more to say about Banyo (hopefully).

So outside of the excitement of learning our posts, everything else is going just like clockwork. Training is stil very busy but going well and we are learning a lot. My host family is still going really well although the number of family members have dwindled down to just 3 people (lots of family members come and go- kind of hard to explain) so it's rather quiet at home which is nice- I've been catching up on reading. But right now I am to go finish preparing a 30-minute grammar lesson presentation for tomorrow so again sorry I have not written a lot but I hope, hope to soon really write more and explain things and maybe add some pictures!

Ok so I actually wrote this a week ago but just now had the opportunity to post:

so exactly 1 week now that I have been in Cameroon but I must say that is feels like it's been much longer and I don't mean that in a bad way but in the sense that so much has happened and changed in 1 week that it feels like a lot longer (so I will certainly not be able to include everything). But I also must first say it's even weirder to think that 2 weeks ago I was graduating college and now here I am in a little town called Bafia taking bucket baths every day.

We (and the 42 other trainees) arrived in Yaounde last friday evening (June 4). We were bused to our hotel and had a huge dinner. While in Yaounde for 5 days, we were mostly at the hotel or being shuttled to and fro to the Peace Corps Office. Some highlights below:

Saturday night we went to a show highlighting some African dance - very amazing- I think the first moment I actually felt like I was in Africa

Sunday night we had dinner at the PC Country Director's house and got to meet the ambassador to Cameroon

Monday night we finally got cellphones! So by the way - here's my number if you would like to call me in the next 2 years : 011 237 70 83 80 34

Tuesay we arrived in Bafia! - about 2 hours north of Yaounde. This is our training site where we will be until we finish training in August.

So upon arriving in Bafia, we all met our homestay families. What an experience. Everyone was of course nervous but also excited. But my first night went very well and my family is super nice.

But just real quickly turning to actual training - we have training 6 days a week. So I get up at 6:15am every day and off to training for about 8 hours. Very long but it's nice to stay busy.

So I know this is rather short but as you can imagine, internet is a little slow and hard to come by at least right now in the beginning. But overall everything is going great and every day gets better and better.

well I haven't written in a while (clearly) - Ireally dont know where the time has gone - it's been 3 months already - crazy!

I am sitting in my hotel room write now in Philadelphia- my staging location. I have finished my very first day. I am exhausted but even more excited now for everything thats to come.

Back tracking a bit now but since receiving my invitation in February, I slowly but surely started preparing for everything. And once again there was a lot more to everything that I expected. Very intense getting things in order to leave the country for 2 years and I really don't know how most people even do it - fortunately I had a lot of help from my mom and I didn't have too many things like a house or my own apartment or anything to worry about. But still of course I waited until the last minute to do some rather important things kind of like packing which I didnt finish until ooh about 5 minutes before I walked out the door this morning. And I was so worried about going over the limit but apparently I have no concept of weight as my 2 checked bags were only about 60 some pounds all together.

everything pre-packed

and everything packed (actually in my hotel)

And now I sit here in my room - all the months, weeks, days, minutes that have been leading up to it all and now its here. I arrived this morning in Philadelphia and my great friend Ashley picked me up and took me to my hotel- she even got to see some of the other volunteers I'll be with. And then she was off and it all started. What a long day - but it was so great to finally meet everyone. All the planning, researching, worrying about what to pack and if i have enough - its all over now. It's all still a bit surreal - maybe it hasn't hit me yet. But forreal -

tomorrow I am off to Africa.

Well after submitting my application 7 months ago, I officially received my invitation in the mail last Wednesday February 24 to work as an English teacher and AIDS educator in Cameroon, West Africa. Today I have exactly 3 months before my scheduled departure date for orientation (June 2) and then off to Africa and approximately a million things to do before I am even close to being ready. And even though 3 months may seem like ample time to get your life straight to move to another country for 2 years, it is a bit more complicated since I am also trying to finish graduating college which I happen to be doing just 3 days before I leave for Cameroon. But I wouldn't want it any other way. It's actually perfect timing and I am quite pleased with how the timeline of my whole application has gone: July 7: Submitted applicationJuly 30: Interview and nominated for education program in sub-saharan AfricaAugust: Received medical information(took a bit of time with classes to get medical info complete)January 14: Medical clearance & on to office of placementFebruary 19: Invitation packet mailed February 24: Invitation packet received- Country: CameroonProgram: EducationJob title: English teacher & AIDS educatorOrientation dates: June 2-3, 2010*Pre-service training: June 4-August 14*Dates of service: August 19 2010- July 1, 2012** dates subject to change And now even though I've received my invitation there is even more information to update, steps to clear, and things to prepare. Basically I am telling myself that I am still only half way there- until I have completed pre-service training and been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer nothing is for certain. For now, I am doing my best to read every line of every packet and information booklet I have while also reminding myself that I can't only think about how excited I am to get started- I still have to finish college first.