Kings in the North

Thursday, November 15, 2012 – Kings in the North

We found out some great and some not so great news about moving to post.  The great news is they will be taking us all of the way there!  Next Friday we will be going taken to Yaoundé in the morning, where we’ll get to hang out for a few hours.  At 4 PM we’ll be taken to the train station, where we’ll board for a really long ride, something like 14-18 hours.  Luckily there will be a bunch of us, anyone going to the Grand North (Adamaoua, North, Extreme-North) on the train.  I’m not sure exactly how many that is, but there is something like 12 of us in the North alone.  From what I hear, usually in situations like this the Peace Corps will just rent out a sleeper car or two, so it will hopefully just be PCVs all together.  We’re planning on getting some drinks to take with us and live it up. 

The train will take us to Ngounderé, where the people posted in Adamaoua will stay.  A couple of private cars (or busses, not really sure) will then take the rest of us; the people in the Extreme-North to Maroua, and the people in the North to Garoua, with us getting there Saturday night.  Those of us in the North will stay there for a whole 4 nights!  In a hotel the whole time!  I’m honestly not sure why we are staying there for so long; I know we are doing banking stuff on Monday.  Part of me thinks maybe it was just a typo, and we’ll only be there for two or three days, but I’m hoping. 

My post-mate will be meeting us in Garoua along with other PCVs to help show us around and buy a few things, and then he will take me and the people in my area to Guider.  Not sure how we are getting from Garoua to Guider, but I’m feeling pretty confident that we will be fine with the help of my post-mate.  Hopefully while we are in Garoua I will be able to pick up some necessities for my house. 

There are only a couple of not so great things.  The first is small – I was hoping that we could spend a night at least with everyone in Ngounderé, but it looks like that will not be able to happen.  The second is a little bigger.  We have to have all of our big luggage labeled and ready to go by Saturday morning at 7 AM.  That means we will have a whole week without most of our stuff, including our water filters, a majority of our clothes, moto helmets, and so on.  Even though we are supposed to send on all of our big luggage, I think I might keep my larger backpack; I do need to have a week’s worth of clothes, toiletries, and everything else.  It’s going to be kind of hard to pack it up too.  The light in my room hasn’t worked for more than a week, and it’s an electrical problem, which my family hasn’t tried to fix.  Plus my room is so dark all of the time I’ll mostly have to do it by flashlight.  I understand that there are logistical reasons that they want our bags early, but a whole week?  It’s a long time to not have most of our things. 

I found out a bit more about my post.  My house has a bedroom and a living room with a bathroom in the hallway.  The kitchen is apparently pretty big but it is in a separate building by itself.  From what I gather, it is in a compound with another family or two, at least three kids in primary school, but there are trees in between the houses so hopefully there will be a bit of privacy. 

We spent quite a bit of time today comparing Cameroon to Westeros in Game of Thrones.  It of course doesn’t fit perfectly geographically, but we think we have it down for the most part.  If you have a map around, have fun with this.  The Extreme-North is beyond the wall, Guider is Winterfell, Garoua is White Harbor, and where a friend of mine is (I can’t remember the name) is The Twins (also in the North region).  That makes Ngounderé The Vale, Bafoussam is Highgarden, Yaoundé is Old Town, and Douala is King’s Landing.  There are some arguments about which is which between the Northwest and Southwest regions – Casterly Rock and Riverrun.  The East is another one I’m not quite sure on either, maybe Herrenhal, maybe Dragonstone, maybe Storm’s End.  The South is definitely Dorne, with Kribi as Sun Spear.  That makes me and a buddy the Kings in the North, which I am fine with.  Yes, I know, we are dorks.  

A picture of Molly Sakic Button that my parents sent me.  I miss her.  Also, congratulations to her middle namesake for getting inducted into the Hall of Fame!

My host-dad showing Adama pictures by candlelight. 

Dancers and drummers during diversity day.  

A great awkward smile for a great awkward candy.  If you can't see, that is Corn Bubblegum.  Don't worry, there is absolutely no corn in the ingredients, and it tasted and had the texture of drywall.  

Where we get our sandwiches everyday.  She usually hooks me up: avocado, an egg, tomatoes, onions, beans, vinegar, peimont, and magi (soya sauce).  

A Nice Family Saturday

Sunday, November 11, 2012 – A Nice Family Saturday

Yesterday I went to Centre-Ville with a couple of friends.  After our training session, where I actually uploaded pictures on Facebook (you’re welcome, Internet), we walked there instead of taking a moto.  It only took about 20 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad.  It was nice to get out and see parts of the town that I didn’t before. 

A friend of mine pointed out to me that I have become this one girl’s fake boyfriend – basically a boyfriend without any of the benefits.  I walk her home from the bar most nights, and she steals my drinks.  She even admonishes me for not keeping my room clean enough.  In return, I get a half-hug.  It’s pretty great.  I went down to Centre-Ville with her and another friend, who we ended up adopting as our daughter.  It’s a kind of weird relationship now, but fun.  Especially now that I realized what’s going on, because the jokes are almost endless. 

We ended up seeing a bunch of PCTs at the restaurant there, so we sat down and got some food – chicken with legumes, fried plantains, and French fries.  After that we went to the boulangerie (bakers) and got a piece for sweaty cake and a piece of sweet bread.  We even went to look at fabric.  It was a great family Saturday; I think next weekend we are going to go to Home Depot, maybe Bed, Bath and Beyond. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

We found out a bit about our logistics for moving up to post, and it doesn’t sound like fun.  First of all, we have to have all of our stuff that we want the Peace Corps to move ready on Friday, a full week before we are actually leaving, so we will have to keep one of our big bags so we can have a week and a half to two weeks worth of clothes and everything else.  Then they aren’t even moving our stuff to our regional capital or anything like that.  For people going to most regions, they have to figure it out from Bafia.  For those of us going to the Grand North, they are taking our stuff to Adamoua and we have to get it the rest of the way ourselves.  At this point we are planning on getting a bus for all of us to Garoua, then I will have to get a bush taxi to my post. 

All of us also get 200,000 CFA for settling-in expenses.  It should be enough to get the basics, but not everything.  Some people got really lucky with what their houses already have; one guy has 3 beds, a couch, a stove, and a refrigerator.  My house has… nothing.  Luckily, I will have electricity and running water!  I am definitely ready to be able to take showers.  It sounds like my post-mate will be able to help me acquire some of the other stuff as well, so that’s good.  He sounds like a nice guy. 

On Tuesday I will finally be going to a dentist for my broken tooth – it’s only been a few weeks.  We are all going in to Younde to get banking done, so I will go then.  Hopefully I will be able to get the money I brought exchanged too so I will have a bit extra when I go to post.  I think I am going to buy the trunk that they gave us too – it will help me move my stuff up and give me a coffee table for when I get up there.  It’s a bit expensive at 13,000, but what can you do?  Alright, time to get ready for another session.  

Me in my swearing-in outfit

Some other trainees in their new outfits.  The guy on the right is the tailor.

A very colorful lizard

The market from our seats in the restaurant

My Post

Thursday, November 8, 2012 – My Post

I got my post today – I will be going to Guider, in the North Region.  It is midway between the capital of the Extreme-North, Maroua, and the capital of the North, Garoua.  Basically, it is as far north in the North region as you can get before going to the Far North.  I’m not the type of person to get really excited about something, and I wasn’t about this, but out of the options available for Youth Development that I could go to, it sounded like about as good as I could get.  While a lot of people from different sectors got some places a bit more ideal for me, Guider doesn’t sound bad.  It has 50,000-75,000 people, which is pretty big for Cameroon; and I wanted a big city. 

The information that I have about it isn’t exactly detailed.  The other PCV there has only been there for a few months, so he doesn’t know everything about the community.  Plus the information I got says I don’t have a house yet – while Guider has running water and electricity, mine may not.  Other people got to know what their places look like: how many rooms, mattresses, if there is a stove, if there is a refrigerator, if they have a latrine or a toilet, if they have running water and electricity, and so on.  I’m really curious to know what my place will look like.  Hopefully next week I will have some more details.  Luckily I do know that there are a couple of other PCVs that will be placed fairly close to me, so I won’t be isolated. 

Guider is in a place where the landscape is called Sahel, which basically means on the edge of the Sahara Desert.  Not exactly desert, but not exactly savannah.  Since it is larger city, most things like food and supplies will be fairly available most of the year, though prices will fluctuate depending on the season.  It’s about 60% Muslim, and a pretty conservative area, but you don’t go into the Peace Corps because it’s going to be easy.  While it is a French-speaking area, I will probably need to learn both French and the language of the Grand North, Fulfulde.  It’s going to make things difficult, but it will be nice to have three languages on my résumé. 

Speaking of my résumé, Grant just sent me the draft paper for our trip to Timor-Leste.  I took a quick skim through it, and it looks really legitimate.  The people who put it all together did a really good job.  It was also nice to see my name under the list of authors – I can’t wait until it is published.  I’m hoping that I will be able to get my research paper that I have to write for DU published as well – it would be great to have three publications by the time I leave here. 

Today is my 20-minute French presentation on the food of each region of Cameroon.  I’m pretty nervous, but also oddly prepared, so here we go!  

Go Indomitable Lions! 

Singing a little Taylor Swift in the bar, luckily using headphones. 

A... ping pong statue?  

That hairy man is making a Wookie sound.  

School Presentation

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – School Presentation

We had our presentations in the schools today.  They went pretty much how I expected them to.  I was with two other people, and we had 15 minutes to discuss something to do with Youth Development – basically, either a life skill or something to do with sexual and reproductive health.  We decided to go all out and talk about a real problem in Cameroon: students having sex with teachers for grades or school fees.  Apparently this is a real problem here.  School fees and test fees are so big here, and tests are required to move onto other grades, combined with the fact that parents are a lot more willing to worry about the education of the son and spend more money on them, gives a lot of pull to the teachers.  Plus having sex with teachers is not taboo here like it is in the States.  Not only is it not taboo, but sometimes it is even encouraged: people think that if they get pregnant from a teacher, they will have a smart child because the father is educated. 

It was quite a big topic to cover, especially considering that there is not really a right answer.  I know that we immediately want to say of course, don’t sleep with your teacher, but a lot of times it’s not that simple.  In a lot of cases, the choice is between something like this and not getting an education.  The family will not always help, and in a lot of parts of the country, having a well-educated girl is not really an advantage – men don’t like being less educated then women here.  Kids are seen as a sign of wealth, so having the more, the better, and a lot of times that’s what they view girls as good for. 

Having 15 minutes to cover this topic, along with 83 – count them, 83 – students in the class, was pretty difficult.  Back when I was teaching I thought the difference between 31 and 34 students was huge; 83 is even worse.  Plus we were in one of the higher grades, when students can go well into their twenties.  My role was basically as muscle – I helped a bit with the presentation itself, but mostly walked around and made sure that students weren’t talking and were paying attention.  I honestly didn’t think it was that useful of an activity, at least for me.  The idea was to give us experience working with students – something that I have a lot of.  Really, students are not that different wherever you are, you just have to find a teaching style that works with them.  Considering that the culture in the Grand North, where I will probably be stationed, is so different from here, finding a style here wouldn’t help.  Plus I won’t be able to really start projects for another 3-4 months, so 15 minutes here doesn’t help. 

Just two more days and I’ll finally find out where exactly my post is.  I really can’t wait. 

Tonight is the election.  My sister said she is going to text me the results when they finally hit.  I know by the time I post this tomorrow, they will probably be out, but if you don’t want to hear my political two-cents, just skip to the next paragraph.  I really hope Obama wins.  The economy has continually improved since he’s been in office, and he at least made steps to improve the health care system.  Really though, I mostly am voting for him for civil issues.  He is not as liberal as I want him to be, but he supports civil rights like gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose.  No matter what, I don’t think that that economic issues should trump social ones.  Plus I honestly don’t see why people would think that Romney would be better with the economy.  If there’s anything that economics of the past few decades proves, it’s that trickle-down economics don’t work. 

Alright, off my soap box.  I really just hope everyone voted, and did some research first.  One thing I can say is that I’ve never just voted on party lines, I always look up whose policies I agree with the most.  It’s especially important to vote if you live in a swing state.  Alright, really done this time.  Next blog I’ll be able to say where my post is!  Miss everyone! 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Obama won!  Four more years!  Hopefully he can get some more crap done this time. So did Perlmutter, and Colorado made some great amendments to its consitution!  I'm very happy! 

Happy birthday mom! 

Also I had a dream that I will be posted in the beautiful island city of Kribi, so I have that to look forward to.  

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Couldn't upload yesterday, today I find out my post!  

A typical meal: beans with baton de manioc (casava) and papaya.

The school we did our lesson at.  One of the buildings has a Jurassic Park feel. 

Our lovely half-finished training center

The path to a friends house, two minute walk from mine.