Well it has been way too long since I’ve updated my blog (sorry Mom!) so here is a rather brief update.

My parents and brother came for a three week long visit over the holidays- it was SO great to see them! We first went down to the beach at Kribi for a couple of days. There we stayed in this funky cottage along a stream and a couple minutes from the beach. We took a canoe ride to visit a pygmy village; the river was so beautiful. After that we had a memorable feast of fresh shrimp right along the sea and rode out to the Chutes des Lobes, one of the few waterfalls that go straight into the sea. We made our way up to my village and got to enjoy the experience of travelling in Africa (complete with 6 hour road blocks and stops by the police). We spent about 10 days in Bandrefam so had plenty of time to see my daily life there; laundry and getting water at the source, traditional foods, greeting the Chief and having a billion people come by my house to greet us. We visited the town of Foumban which is a hub of crafts and had a long but fun day of visiting workshops and bargaining for masks, copper bracelets and wooden bottle openers. We also visited a great museum in Baham- the docent there was so knowledgable and seemed thrilled to share her culture with us. Our final day trip in the West was to the waterfalls in Bafang; it was so beautiful there and we got to hike down to the bottom of the falls (of course I fell attempting to cross the stream and get closer to the falls!). After leaving village we went to the beach at Limbe for a couple of days. There we were able to relax and get the red dust from village off while soaking in the ocean. We again had fresh grilled fish right by the sea and also visited a great restaurant by the gorilla sanctuary (where we saw gorillas, drills, baboons etc). I had an amazing time with my family; it was great to see them again! I really loved sharing parts of my Cameroonian life with them, plus it was fun to play tourist here!

Right after my family left I went down to Yaounde for my Midservice, where we shared best practices and had medical check ups (I’m still healthy!). More importantly Midservice was a chance for me to catch up with friends, many of whom I haven’t seen since IST in April. It was great to see everyone and helped me to get over the inevitable home sickness after my family left. Plus it was fun to explore the big city of Yaounde.

To be honest it was a bit difficult for me to get back into the groove at post after all my travels and being with family and friends. But now I’m back into all of my daily tasks and work too. I’m still doing some work with tofu, my womens group and a high school health club. But right now my main focus is my library projects; a community library in Bandrefam and one at the Lycee de Batoufam. (Visit booksforcameroon.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsFviXAfqt0, or check it out on facebook). We are having French books donated and I am working to build up the capacities of our libraies; ensure that the spaces are secure, build shelves and train librarians on library management.

So basically its been a great couple of months and even with a little bump in the road (my ‘midservice crisis’) things are going really well here. I am loving my life in village and am trying to enjoy every moment of it!

Since I’ve been back from Tanzania I have been keeping really busy- which has been great! Julie and I organized two three day long summer camps. The first was in nearby Bangafokam and was all girls. There were two adorable little 8 year olds but it was mainly girls 15 to 25. We covered HIV/AIDS, the immune system, the reproductive system, puberty and family planning. Instead of just lecture and having the girls take notes (we provided pens and notebooks so they could keep the information) we also did a lot a role playing and theater games. In one we have lions (opportunistic diseases) attack a baby elephant (the body) who is protected by mama elephants (the immune system). Another similar game shows how HIV attacks T4 cells and how you then develop AIDS; all of these games went over really well! We also played the Game of Life where the girls were given play money and could then buy anything (phone credit, beignets, healthy food, shoes etc), but sometimes they ‘got sick’ or had to unexpectedly spend money; all this was to help teach them about making smart choices when spending money and the importance of saving.

The second camp was in Bandrefam and this time it was for both girls and boys. The girls were for the most part really young, but eventually some older girls showed up too. The boys were in a separate classroom the first day and were together with the girls for the rest of the camp. I think next year I’ll keep it to just girls since they seemed a bit shy or embarrassed having boys around too. Also three days was barely enough time to cover everything…although I was so burnt out by the end! It was a really great experience for me and I loved the chance to get to know some of the youth a bit better. Oh and also we learned how to crochet little purses out of plastic bags (a fun activity and a chance to talk about recycling) and learned how to make soap- both of which are things I plan to show more people in village.

Last weekend the elites (their word, not mine) and the development committee had a meeting in village at the Chefferie. Julie and I set up a table to show them some of our work and to talk about what is Peace Corps. The GIC Paysans Plus sold all of their honey and the shea butter that women are making sold out too! It was a great opportunity for the elites to better understand my role here in Bandrefam. Also I got the chance to discuss the library project a bit. We have a tiny library now but are hoping to move it to the new technical school that is being built. Also we’re hoping to secure some more French books; another volunteer is working hard to get books donated and shipped here. I am asking the development committee for their support in this project; they would have to build bookshelves, get a librarian etc as part of the community contribution to the project. Anyway, we’ll see where that project goes!

That meeting kicked off a two week long festival in village. Every evening there is a soccer game and this tournament is a pretty big deal. Everyone dresses up a bit to watch the games, theres music and food too. I’ve received 40 free HIV tests and on Monday we’re giving them at the health center. I’ve been making announcements during the soccer matches and am really trying to target the youth. I’m a little worried that it’ll only be mamas showing up for a free test and that the younger people will be too scared or embarrassed to come, either way it should be an interesting day!

So a couple of months ago Tiffany proposed a perhaps outrageous idea, since she was going to be in Ethiopia why don’t we meet up in Tanzania to visit Anna?! Soon enough Amy was on board too and before I knew it I was leaving village to begin the adventure. It was a bit weird to be on a plane with elite Camerounians although I ended up meeting a man who is originally from Bandrefam and he thought that it was hilarious that I know a bit of the patois and that I actually enjoy living in a village. Anyway, I made it to Addis where I had a layover and then joined Tiffany for our flight to Dar es Salaam. I think I made a bit of a scene with my waterworks when seeing Tiff (and again later with Anna and with Amy). Finally all four of us were reunited and we made our way to a restaurant for yummy Indian food (I ended up going there three times, I recommend the kaddai paneer) and later back to the hotel, all the while catching up. That evening Tiffany and Anna gave me a much needed hair cut then we rested up before the next mornings ferry ride to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar was really beautiful and I loved the Islamic influence in everything from clothing to architecture. The first day Anna wasn’t feeling well so Amy, Tiffany and I braved the crooked streets on our own armed with the couple of Swahili words we knew. (Luckily this area was pretty touristy so getting by wasn’t a problem). The next morning we went off on a spice tour, which was a really fun time! We went for a walk to see how the spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, tumeric, lemongrass, ginger and more…even a natural lipstick) are grown. Afterwards we were served a delicious curry then headed off to the beach. The Indian Ocean was beautiful and it felt really good to be in the water (while I love living in the mountains I definetly miss being by water). After the tour we continued beings tourists by spending the late afternoon at a beach bar drinking delicious mojitos and margaritas then a seafood dinner at a market by the water. The next morning we did a bit more souvenir shopping then jumped on the worst ferry boat ever! Two minutes after opening my book I decided it was absolutely necessary to get some fresh air out on the deck. Soon enough I’m grabbing for plastic bags and am sick off the back railing; no need to feel embarrassed though because everyone was sick and stumbling around and generally struggling. Finally the ferry docked and I made my way to dry land and where we spent the rest of the afternoon recovering…then out for more Indian food! The next morning we hopped on a bus to Mikumi National Park for a safari. Once we got to our lodge we grabbed some rice and beans (which were simple compared to Cameroonian rice and beans which is generally laced with msg and doused in palm oil, mmm!) then hit the trail! Immediately we saw animals: giraffes, elephants (including babies!), zebra, wildebeest, impalas, a warthog, crocodiles, hippo heads popping out of the water and many birds. In the middle of our chatting about how rare it is to see lions, especially during the day, our driver makes a turn and there are two lionesses just hanging out next to a zebra they’d killed the previous day! It was so great! The whole afternoon was fun and it was especially nice to be there around sunset.

The next day (after a fabulous English breakfast including coffee) we got on another bus to Mbeya, Annas banking town. Spent the day there buying food for village, eating pizza (!) then hanging out with some of Annas volunteer friends. The following morning we took a lorry up to Annas village, Ilembo, which is in the mountains. That afternoon we went to visit her counterparts, Nahasibu, village for his grandfathers funeral. Well he was already buried but we greeted all of the family that was there and then prayed with them at the grave. We greeted everyone in a mix of Kimalila (her tribal language) and Swahili…not sure how successful I was but greeting people is a really big part of the culture there. Even when Anna and I ran out to buy milk that turned into an hour long adventure as we had to great everyone. We then spent that evening eating yummy food at Annas house, really we spent much of our time in village cooking, baking and just hanging out- which was perfect! The next morning we went to help out with baby weighing. Now in Bandrefam this consists of maybe seven mamas who come to the health center for vaccines and to weigh their babies (to ensure that they are not malnourished). So I was not quite prepared for the hundreds (I really don’t think this is an exaggeration) of mamas and babies who were there. It started with Anna giving an animation about diarrhea where we all sang a song together (in Swahili) about diarrhea and the importance of clean water- the women loved it and I think the lesson was well received. We then spent the next few hours helping to get babies and kids into a harness to be weighed; some enjoyed it others really did not (me, I had fun!). While in village we also ate several traditional meals (ugali, which is basically cous cous) with Annas friends. The first was a party with her orphans group where they even killed a chiken and we got to watch the whole process; it was more fun than it maybe sounds! The following day we made ugali and beans with her friends which was a great experience and finally we ate…you guessed it Ugali!...with her widows group. All in all I think the time in village was a perfect balance of new cultural experiences and straight chilling with friends! When it was time to leave Ilembo we had to haul ourselves onto a 3.30 am bus…which wasn’t so bad especially because then we headed off to Utengule, a coffee plantation. We spent a nice morning drinking coffee and enjoying the scenery, although we may have had too much coffee as we were all feeling jittery or even slightly ill afterwards. Ah well, we finally wrapped up our last evening all together eating Indian food. Tiffany and I had a twelve hour bus ride the next day back to Dar, which surprisingly wasn’t too bad. Then we had more Indian food, obviously. Like coming over, all of my travels home went really well and I made it safely back home. I had such an amazing two weeks, it was so so great to see friends from home!

Last friday, May 20th, was the Cameroonian national day to celebrate its unification. To celebrate I went to the mairie in Bayangam to watch the parade. People here parade every chance they get; Youth day, Womans day...they just love to parade! So I went down there with Julie and our friends Marjolie and Ma Suzy who brought about 200 skewers of tofu to sell. We found the Bandrefam traditional dancers and danced around the drum circle with them. School children and groups from the various political parties marched in the parade. There were also men from one of the secret societies who had rather creepy masks and long robes, I asked but they didn't even want me to take thier pictures.

The following day we went to another volunteers town, Bandjoun, for a tofu demonstration. This whole tofu thing has been really successful. Julie used another volunteers recipe which we eventually perfected with Suzy. I think the key to it was really having a Cameroonian women do the cooking, she could intuitively know when to take the soy milk off of the fire and several other little tricks. Basically you just soak the soy beans for about 10 hours then grind them at the wet mill. Add a liter of water for every cup of beans used then squeeze out the water. This gives a milk which is what you put on the fire, but make sure to save the remaining soy product to make a sauce for dinner (it really yields a lot of food!). Leave the milk on the fire until it boils, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't boil over, then take it off the fire and add a generous ladle of vinegar (I recommend Soliel rouge brand, it seems to have enough alcohol to work). Leave the lid on for a bit while the milk coagulates. Once its cool enough again squeeze out the water, at this point you can add grated onions, peppers and maggi cube for flavor. Put it all in a sack and stick a rock on it- even sit on it- to make sure that as much water as possible escapes and to solidify the block of tofu. Et voila, tofu! To make it especialy pleasing to the Cameroonian palate deep fry it in peanut or refined palm oil, put on raffia skewers with onions, add pimante sauce and enjoy!

Ma Suzy is really motivated and has been succesful in making tofu to sell in village for 100 cfa per skewer, or brochette. We've been teaching other women to make it too and really pushing the nutritional value of soy. Its great because its cheap to buy the beans or people can start to grow them. Within the culture here children basically never eat meat, fish or eggs. Meat is really just for men, its too expensive for the rest of the family. Many women and children fill up on starches but remain malnourished due to a lack of protien (and other nutrients), so hopefully women will learn and accept the importance of protien and will use soy in thier own cooking. Its also really rewarding to do these demonstrations, women are always amazed that you can make meat that tastes like chicken out of milk!

After a 15 hour train ride I'd finally reached Ngoundere for a week of In Service Training. Stepping off the train I could already see how different the grand North is from the South; its hotter, flat, savannah and most people milling around are wearing traditional Muslim attire. I was really surprised by how much calmer it seemed up north, here in the south people are very loud and aggressive! The first part of the week was spent with our counterparts the rest was just us volunteers. It was a great opportunity for Serephin, my new counterpart, to get to know Peace Corps and to better understand my role here. And of course it was also so good to see everyone from stage again!

From Ngoundere I took a bus up to Maroua in the Extreme North with some friends for some vacation time. Maroua is a really pretty city with naam trees lining the streets, the shade is so nice! We visited the market (bought several varieties of mangoes!) and spent a couple of days just relaxing with other volunteers and eating really good food. There is a great artisinal market there where I found some pagne that can't be found here, a cotton blanket and some jewelry. I'd picked up a bit of Fulfulde and attempted to use it while negotiating prices which vendors thought was hilarious. Abdu is the 'PCV' leather guy, so I visited his shop and got a couple of totally free range, handmade wallets and also commissioned a purse- so much shopping, so much fun!

We took a day trip up to Waza national park which was only a couple of hours away. I saw warthogs, monkeys, lots of birds, antelopes, another antalope-esque animal, ostriches and GIRAFFES! I've always wanted to see a giraffe in the wild, I think their just hilarious animals, those necks crack me up.

We also made a trip out to Rhumsiki which is a tiny village in the mountains surrounded by these huge ancient volcanic plugs. We got to Mokolo late afternoon and still had to moto for over an hour to get there. Riding westwards at sunset in this incredible, almost lunar, landscape was really beautiful. For dinner we went to the amusingly named Vegitarian-Carnivore restaurant- it was delicious! The owner was really welcoming (“Bienvenue, Bienvenue” all night long) there was a guest book to sign filled with entries from other PCVs. The following morning we went on a guided hike down and around one of the large volcanic cores then to the village itself. There I spun some yarn with mamas and saw some intricately carved wooden figurines. While there I also had my fortune read by the feticheur; a sorcerer who told my fortune by watching the movements of a crab. Our guide acted as translator and I'm told that the crab “adored” me. Apparently I'll be contented by my time in Africa, will be very successful in work (more so than my husband), will have a boy and a girl and will not have any major health problems in my life. Needless to say I was happy with the experience!

By the end of the whole trip I was pretty exhausted and looking forward to getting back to Bandrefam. The train ride seemed even longer heading back but getting back to the dirty south felt pretty good!

Last week my friends aunt passed away and yesterday I went to the internement. All week the family spent time at the house, staying with the body and waiting for family to come into village for the ceremony. Friday night everyone stayed up all night (well, I didn't last all night) to be with the body- which I think is a really nice tradition, people giving up so much of thier time to spend with a loved one for thier last night on earth. There was wailing and crying and singing, then a church service and afterwards more wailing and crying, and yes, singing too. There was a band complete with trombones, trumpets and snare drum so the mood wasn't too somber (although the wailing was a bit unnerving). The next morning I went back to the house before the body was moved to the church for another service. Then the band led us down by the fields for the internement, at her husbands home. I had a comfortable seat on a root by a bunch of mamas- comfortable that is until a man comes up, chuckles, and says 'Now you'll see some of our traditions' and puts two freshly cut goat legs onto a bamboo pole. I asked and was told that this is done so that future generations won't have the same problems as the one which just passed.

In other news- it rained today! I haven't seen rain since November so it was a surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain on my metal roof. The sound actually masked the noise of roosters and my neighbors radio so I was even able to sleep in a bit! The rain also helped to lessen the dust which made my walk to the market today much better.

I’m alive! Sorry its been a couple of months since I’ve posted a blog; not only has it been an ordeal getting internet at my house but also time is, surprisingly, flying by. The days seem long (roosters crowing around 6-- many of you know that I’m not much of a morning person!) but the weeks go by quickly. I can’t believe Januarys almost over!

So what have I been up to since swearing in? Well initially I was busy getting my house set up; fixing some cracks in the walls, adding bars to the windows, painting, getting a bed and kitchen stuff etc. I’ve ordered a dresser and bookshelf to be made of bamboo, unfortunatly they won’t be ready until March. But they’re made at this great center that provides room, board and physical therapy for disabled Cameroonians and in exchange they make furniture- seems like a great way to spend my PC stipend! It now really feels more like home, its so nice to have my own place! I also have a little veranda where I like to hang out with some tea watching the goats, the kids or the sunset.

The first month at post I spent a lot of time just walking around, getting to know the village. The holiday season was a good time to get to village in that kids were out of school and people weren’t working in the fields as much. I often eat dinner at Emmanuals house or with another neighbor, Mama Alice. She and I also have prepared koki together a few times, so far its my favorite local dish. People here are really generous with food; I'm often given gifts of avocados, squash, prepared dinners...to the point where its sometimes too much! Luckily I've made some friends who sometimes come over to make dinner at my house, or I can have them come by if I've been given too much cous cous!

The first couple of weeks I also spent just getting used to daily life and such. I get water just about everyday from a pipe in the forest, its a 20 minute round trip (did I mention that its uphill on the way back?). This is also where I do my laundry. The typical 20 litre bidons, plastic jugs, people use are just a bit too much for me to deal with so I use a 10 litre bidon and make a lot of jokes about how weak I am. There is a market in Kamna every eight days, I usually walk there (its about an hour) as its a nice walk and a good way to chat with people ('You walk in the dust just like us!). Two days before the Kamna market is Lietwe (mispronounced by me as letszo), which is the local market and meeting day. The market is mainly root vegetables, maybe some tomatoes and onions, but its good to just hand out there. There are also a bunch of meetings on Lietwe that I've been going to either alone or with the nurse, Simplice, to introduce myself.

In terms of work I initially did a fair amount of protocol with Emmanual and with my counterpart Annie; I met with the chef du village, the gendarmes, various ministres, prefets, and sous-prefets. I've spent a lot of time at my health center just hanging out to observe and chat with the nurses and anyone who comes by. The first week at post I did a vaccination campaign with Simplice which was a great way to see the village and to meet people. Emmanual belongs to a GIC (a government recognized community group) Paysan Plus, and I've been going to thier Sunday meetings. They're main projects are pig raising, bee keeping and general agricultural concerns. I went to the Club Sante at a nearby school before thier holiday break, I was really impressed with how organized and engaged the students were, but there won't be another meeting until sometime in February. Most of what I've been dong is just keeping my eyes and ears open; getting to know people, explaining my role here and listening to thier health concerns.

I've also been going en brousse with Adija, a Fulbe woman who lives in village, who has been helping to introduce me to the muslim families that live there. Its really pretty out there and the women (I have yet to meet any of the men besides Adijas husband, Ahmadou) are really nice and welcoming. Earlier this week we went to her friends house for a fetes des enfants; twins had been born last week--they were tiny! We ate rice and goat, then I hung out as they spoke in rapid fire Fulfulde, after prayer we ate more rice (in cous cous form) and goat, gave gifts and then I was given a ton of rice as we were leaving. Again, people are genrous with thier food! It was a great (but long) day!

Sorry this is such a quick (but too long) summary. Happy (belated) holidays!

Thursday afternoon I returned home right after training was over. Both of my families have wanted to braid my hair and I'd finally caved in. I had resisted it because 1) I knew it would be painful and 2) I knew my head would end up looking rediculous. My sisters took turns over nearly 3 hours braiding my hair. (And yes, it was painful and I look slightly rediculous). This was all in preperation for my cousin (I'm using the term 'cousin' loosely- I'm not quite sure how we're related) Boniaface's wedding, which was yesterday.

Friday evenings my family is usually at church until 8 pm. I returned home just before 7 looking forward to relaxing for a bit before dinner. Instead, I returned home to about 30 relatives and guests. There were five or six bonfires going on in the courtyard out back. Mamas were frying plaintains and fish, breaking down chicken and goat and doing other preperations for the next days celebration. And although the sounds of palm oil frying, traditional music and laughter kept me up most of the night it was neat to be right in the middle of it all.

I was able to invite several of my friends to come along and as the wedding was to begin at 2 we made sure to be at my house by 1 so as to grab a moto together to the church. My mama suggested we go hang out in town because, "In Africa we don't really respect time. If you get to the church at 2 it will be empty. Just be there at 3." I should have known; I'm slowly getting used to everything running late here. So we went into town, enjoyed some yogurt in the shade and got to the church just after 3. Eventually we began what I like to think of as the pre-show: singing, clapping, dancing in your seats which lasted a couple of hours. Finally the wedding began; it was pretty much like a wedding ceremony as we know it. White dress, veil, father gave her away, exchanging of vows and rings, me nearly losing it and crying...the usual. It was a great experience, I really enjoyed getting to meet all of the family and guests and helping out a bit with all of the preperations.

Today I'm meeting up with some of the other stagiares to make some christmas cards and listen to some holiday music- even if its hot and a bit humid today with Thanksgiving around the corner I'm looking forward to beginning the holiday season! We are celebrating Thanksgiving at our training site; some of the trainee have even bought a turkey, Gobbles, who is living out behind our training site right now. This afternoon I'm picking up my swearing in pagne (we all will be wearing the same fabric, like Destinys Child). Swearing in is on the 1st, so soon- I'm so excited to move to post!

I spent last week visiting my village, Bandrefam. Its only about 2.5 hours away from Bafia by bus so my travel was pretty easy. It was raining when I got to the village Kamna so I had to wait a bit before taking a car up the hill to Bandrefam-- its not a fun moto ride when theres a lot of mud! I stayed with my site mate Julie and spent the week visiting the chef, seeing the library, going to several meetings in nearby towns, doing an English class with the neighborhood kids, doing an HIV awareness formation at the high school, meeting people, checking out the market in Kamna...lots to do! The head nurse at the Centre de Sante (health center) gave me a lab coat and I had to apoligize and explain that I'm not a doctor. Regardless, I witnessed a labor which was an intense first day for me. (The mama eventually was sent to the hospital due to complications as the labor was premature.) I also was able to read, took a long walk through the fields and generally relax; it was a nice break from training! We ate dinner several times with Julies counterpart, Immanual, who is also my landlord. I tried and liked the local dish koki, which is kind of like spicy tofu. Also had plenty of guava, passion fruit and avodacos...I'm looking forward to all of the fresh goodies available to me there! Bafoussam is about 45 minutes away and is the capital of the West region; I went there to set up my banking. While there I had some cheese, ice cream and took a gamble on a salad--all was delicious and luckily didn't get sick from the street food!

My house is coming along; I now have a bamboo ceiling, cement floor in my bedroom, a door between the kitchen and bedroom and a window is about to be installed. Theres a bit more to be done (like my latrine needs walls...) but its bigger than I remembered and I am just so excited to paint, get furniture and make it my own! It was hard to come back to training but I feel reenergized now. I have a lot of ideas for work that can be done in village but particularly as I'm opening a post I'll need to take my time, observe, figure out the community needs and generally just not get too carried away!

BANDREFAM!! In the beautiful West Region!

After much anticipation and general hooplah we recieved our post announcements last Thursday. I did not really have a specific place in mind, but in my interview with my health program director I told her that I would very much prefer to live in a village, would like to be in a Francophone area, don't want to be too far from another volunteer and I threw in the fact that I prefer cooler temperatures, but I get it- its Africa and I expect it to be hot. Et voila! C'est Bandrefam; really this place seems to have it all! So my village has about 4,00 people and I'll be paired with a health center but can also of course work with community groups, schools etc. I'll be about an hour, I think, from Bafoussam where I'll be doing my banking. There are other volunteers just a short moto ride away. Only percieved bummer is that biking will be difficult as its pretty hilly.

As it turns out we had a field trip scheduled for Tuesday to go visit the agro volunteer in Bandrefam. Thats right- I have a post mate! My village is about 2 hours from Bafia and its such a pretty drive up through the mountains. Everythings lush and green...I am so looking forward to living there for 2 years! I even got a sneak peak of my house; its little with a dirt floor kitchen, bedroom and cement floor livingroom. My landlord said that I could even add another window in my bedroom if I want! It seems like a huge undertaking to paint the cement brick walls, buy a bed, stove, pot, table and all the other things a little house needs. But I'm looking forward to it all (and my site mate said that she will help me find things) and I can't wait to have my own space! Next weekend we have our official site visits so I'll hopefully get more time to explore Bandrefam and should also be going to Bafoussam to set up my bank account.

On another note I have begun learning Fulfulde, but I'm still spending half of my language classes working on French. Its really cool to be learning a totally new language. Its espcially interesting learning from French to Fulfulde, no English. I won't really need Fulfulde in the West but it'll be great when I go up to the grand north.

I've gotten a lot of questions regarding my daily life here, so I've decided to describe some aspects of life here:

Money: We use the CFA (“say-faa”), 500 CFA equals one USD. To put that into perspective a text message to to US costs 150 CFA, a beer is 500, lunch (with pineapple or papaya!) is 600 and my dress was 3,200 CFA. Much like the euro the bills are all various sizes and colors.

Climate: The weather here is pretty tropical feeling to me, generally humid and warm. Often enough it cools off and is great; it rains from time to time although I believe that the rainy season is nearly over. The last few nights its been raining really intensely which is annoying because its SO loud on our metal roof that its hard to sleep!

Transportation: The main means of transportation, if you're not walking, is a moto. These motorcycles are everywhere and I always forget to walk towards the side of the road so as to not get runover! You just start walking and can hail one as they pass, tell them where you're going and negotiate a price. I've been told (since I am une blanche) that I should figure out the price before taking a ride or else I'll end up paying more than the normal rate. The ride and the breeze are fun, although I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon! I've also been issued a bike, although I am not sure how practical this will be in the mud or the mountains- but for now its nice to bike to training!

Clothing: This varies region to region but generally you can buy pagne which is printed fabric and then take that to a tailor to have clothing made. I bought some colorful pagne last weekend and went to the tailor Wednesday to have a long skirt, top and a dress made- I can't wait to pick it up next week! Getting clothing made is a fun process! Here in the Central region the women aren't as conservative as I had imagined, pants, skirts, tank tops are everywhere.

Food: This is a big topic that varies between the regions so I am not quite sure what will be available at my post. But for the most part the food so far has been good. Cous cous (which is NOT to be confused with the popular pasta-like dish of the same name) is a staple. It is ground corn that is boiled into a porridge-ish consistency; it isn't bad, just bland and an awkard texture. Cous cous or the other staple of baton de manioc (an even more awkwardly textured boiled puree of cassava roots) is often served with a sauce of manioc leaves, fish, peanuts, tomatoes, okra or some combination of available ingredients. Fish, in this region, is very prevalent and smoked fish is used in many dishes. So far my favorite dinner has been fried plaintains with eggs, tomatoes, onions and hot pepper sauce—yum! The avocados here are soooo buttery delicious! Last Sunday I made guacamole and fries with Old Bay for my family- it was a big hit. Next up my friends and I are hoping to do a mexican dinner soon! Also, the fruits are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING here!! I am constantly given gifts of oranges, bananas, grapefuit and casamangas from my grandmother; its great to have a stash of fruit in my room! Casamangas are these sweet fruit that are smaller than mangoes but similar in texture and taste a bit like pineapple. I also love “prunes” which are a fruit that must be grilled or steamed (sometimes with salt) and have a tangy flavor. The other evening I was given some corrasolles (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling, I couldn't find this word in my dictionary), this fruit is large and ugly with a peel resembling a puffer fish or a pineapple. The white, milky pulp is so delicious, a bit like a coconut, and I literally giggled while eating it!

Sunday before church I went into the forest that Papa owns behind our house with my two brothers to get some oranges. Olivier scaled a tree to shake down the fruit while my tiny six year old brother showed me how to properly use a machete to peel an orange! After the oranges we picked some casamangas, mandarines and guavas- that was the first time I'd ever had fresh guava; its yummy and a gorgeous blend of green and pink! It was a really cool expperience to hang out in this incredibly beautiful rainforest-esque place and eat the freshest food I've ever had!

Yet another week has flown by: Saturday we had class until noon then did some yoga (would anyone like to send me a yoga mat??) That evening all 50 of us stagieres had dinner at one of the mamas restaurants. Sunday I went to the Presbyterian church with grandmere and Blanche (who slept through most of it). Afterwards Sophie and I took a moto into Bafia to visit more of our family. Sidenote: Moto riding is fun and the breeze is great, but the extreme potholes in the dirt roads are terrifying! Anyway we visited Papas other house where I met his third wife, who was very welcoming. Polygamy is very common here, its very much a sign of wealth particularly because Papas wives have their own houses. I went into town with Sophie and my aunt to visit the market and to buy a dress. After life in the village downtown Bafia was certainly overwhelming: motos, horns honking, chickens, people. I bought a pret-a-porter dress which was quite an ordeal as you have to negotiate the price for just about everything here.

The other afternoon us health stagieres visited various community groups around Bafia. I visited a womens collective in Nyamsong II, which is a town parallel to my Nyamsong. It was a great experience to talk to these women who were motivated to begin this organization on their own. The way I understand it is that they agree to work in a communal plot of land and use the proceeds to purchase tools like a wheelbarrow which they share on their private fields. It was just a great opportunity to get an idea of what sort of work I could be doing once at post.

Yesterday afternoon we were issued bikes, which I'd been really looking forward too! The ride home to the village was fun, but just like with motos the uneven dirt roads were treacherous! Hopefully my post will be in a place that isn't too muddy and isn't too hilly so that I can really use my bike. As I've probably mentioned I'll be finding out m post next Thursday-- which is very exciting and yet I'm also a bit anxious to find out where I'll be living for the next two years!

I woke up yesterday on my birthday very excited to open a birthday card from my parents. Today I woke up excited to get on the internet in Bafia. I’m not sure which event was more exciting, quite possibly the internet! Since the post I wrote last Wednesday I have done so much but I will try to recap. On Thursday after training all 50 us went to the chefferie (basically a meeting hall) to meet the chefs of Lable and of Nyamsong. After speeches and photos we did some dancing out side, in the rain, with some guys in local Cameroonian costume.

Sunday I went to the Catholic church with my family which was a pretty cool experience, lots of clapping and singing. The service was half in Bafia (the local patois, or language) and half in French so I could understand most of the French…until I began to tune out the sermon…afterwords my sister Marianne gave me a tour of her school, then I finished my laundry (which literally took days to dry in the humidity) and other chores. In the afternoon Sofie, my younger brother and I walked far to visit the river. Actually we took a moto the last bit of the way there. The river was the Senaga (sp?), the largest in Cameroon. There were SO MANY mosquitoes there. We got caught in a rain storm on the walk back, which was fine because we have a huge extended family and just hung out on our relatives porch until it passed.

Yeserday was my birthday and like I said one of the highlights of the day was opening mail (phone calls and texts were awesome too)! After training we did a Body Pump class as one of the trainees is an instructor--I wish I had pictures because it was hilarious. All these kids came in and were mesmerized by what we were doing (and yes it was humid and sweaty). Then after dinner my mama presented me with a beer (“Its good for your health!”) which was pretty much just a good as a cake!

Wednesday, September 22

I feel like there is already so much for me to share, its crazy to think that a week ago I woke up in my own bed, said good bye to Juno (and Mom and Dad!) and went off to Philly. After a lot of traveling and delays we finally made it to Douala, which is a large city near the ocean. We spent the night in a hotel there then drove about 4.5 hours to Yaoundé; it was a beautiful drive and a great intro to Cameroon! Orientation took place in Yaounde, it was very busy as we had lost a day and a half from the delays, but it was cool to see the capital and the Peace Corps house there is right by the stadium for the Indomitable Lions. Monday afternoon we drove 2 hours northwest to Bafia, which is considered to be a ‘semi-urban city.’ At our training site there we met up with our host families. This year PC has actually altered the home stays, so I’ll spend the first 5 weeks with a family in a rural setting, then a week to go visit my post and the final 5 weeks of training with a family in Bafia (instead of 11 weeks with one family). The great thing about that is that I will be able to experience two different sorts of Cameroonian life; the bummer is that I’m loving my family and don’t want to move! Haha it’s a great problem to have!

Its funny because its only been a couple of days here but I feel much more comfortable than I had expected. My family has been extremely gracious, welcoming and patient- plus theres a lot of laughter! So I live in the first house in Nyamsong (you can google maps it!) with 8 people. Theres my mama, her papa and his wife (my grandmere). I’m fuzzy on the relationships between the other members (there really isn’t a distinction here between immediate family and cousins etc), but I’ll call them my brothers and sisters. Theres my older sister Sofie who is 25, and her 2 year old daughter Blanche. Then theres Marianne who is 16 and two boys, Olivier 12 and Junior 6. I have spent the most time talking with my mama and Sofie, I think because they have the best French (well Marianne and the boys speak well but they’ve been a little shy). They all also speak Bafia, my grandmere keeps telling me the names for things in Bafia which is just too much for me to remember.

I sort of feel like a baby here because everything thing needs to be shown and explained to me. My mama or sisters tell me when I should bathe (via a bucket bath), when to put on pants (to ward off mosquitoes), how to get water etc. It really doesn’t bother me though, I just keep putting myself out there and learn tons of new things everyday. Yesterday I learned how to get water from the forage (a bore hole with a wheel to pump up the water), then I promptly learned how weak I am when I could barely push the wheelbarrow full of bottles of water home! Tonight I learned how to make manioc, which is ground corn flour that is made into a paste then wrapped in leaves and boiled. Everyone thought it was hilarious to watch me attempt to wrap them, but they seemed genuinely excited about my small accomplishment and have been planning future cooking lessons for me. Sofie asked if I have a camera and insisted on taking a picture of me with my baton of manioc. Tomorrow I believe I’ll be meeting the chef of Lable, the town next to mine. And Sunday I’m going to church and to visit the river--big things coming up! Love and miss you all!

Hi! Quick update

Staging went well, met lots of people, did some ice breakers, talked about our aspirations etc for PC. Got up early yesterday to get the yellow fever vaccine then took a bus to JFk where we waited about 6 hours for our flight. It ended up getting delayed and after a restless night of not really sleeping on the plane we missed our connection to Yaounde. So we are currently in a hotel near the airport in Brussels (but we cant go into the city) and are catching a flight out tomorrow morning to Douala, which means we then have to take a long bus ride to Yaounde. One day behind schedule, but excited to get there!

So its finally time! I'm leaving tomorrow for staging (orientation and a bunch of shots) in Philedelphia and then will fly out of JFK on Thursday. After a layover in Brussels we'll continue on to Yaounde, which is the capital of Cameroon. We will spend a few days there for orientation then on Tuesday we'll go to Bafia to meet our host families. This is going to be the craziest week, full of tons of new people and new information!

Before I head off I just want to thank my amazing family and friends, I've said it before but it really means so much to me to have so much support from home. I've spent the past year reading about and planning for this experience and yet I'm not really sure what to expect. Its great knowing that so many people believe in me and will be there for me when I'm homesick etc. Saturday evening we had a going away party which was so much fun! Two of my college roommates completely surprised me by coming (love you girls!) and my brother also flew up from North Carolina to surprise me--it was so overwhelming and greatly appreciated! Saying goodbye to everyone has been really tough. I've focused so much on trying to pack and prepare in other ways that I didn't realize how difficult it would be to leave everyone. But it hasn't been all tears, I've been doing a lot of celebrating too! While I'm a mix of sad and nervous, ultimately, I'm excited to go!

Yes, in just over two weeks I'll be heading off for 27 months to Cameroon! I began this whole long application process last July when I realized that I should probably make some plans since I was out of college. Its been an amazingly fun year but I am ready for a new adventure!

I received my official invitaton on July 27, 2010; it was definetly the best piece of mail that I'd ever gotten! I'll be a Community Development Agent working on a Community Health Project; "The purpose of the community health project is to empower individuals and communities to improve their quality of life by assessing their needs and resources and undertaking their own projects to strengthen local health and community conditions." The first three months spent in country will be all about my training and I will be living with a host family, learning the language and the culture.

I am hoping that this blog will be a good way for me to stay in touch with all of my family and friends. Obviously I am excited (and a bit nervous) to be joining the Peace Corps but its also hard knowing that I'll be away from everyone for such a long period of time. I know that I'll be missing out on many things while I'm gone--so please stay in touch! (Start mailing those letters now as they can take a couple of weeks to reach me!)

*Please excuse any typos in this blog*