Are you married?

Are you married? – Thursday, September 27, 2012

So I’m starting to think that not every word in French I don’t know can just be figured out by saying it in English with a French accent.  This Franglish just isn’t cutting it – I’ve started to use my dictionary more and more.  Luckily, my French really is improving.  Both of my host parents told me that even though I have only been here for a day, it seems like I have been here for a month.  They said that I am adapting really well.  Later, I was getting water from the well out back and they kept saying how strong I am.  The only thing that keeps my head from getting big is how often I can’t think of how to say what I want or have to refer to the dictionary. 

I’m not sure what I did to it, but my right hand has been killing me all day, like I hurt a bone in it or something.  No swelling or anything, so I’m hoping it will just go away soon.  My host brother Willy doesn’t really know boundaries either.  He’s a good kid, but likes to walk in my room unannounced after I head to my room at night.  Fortunately, during their Peace Corps orientation, these families are told that we have to keep the door locked at night, so I just have to remember to do that. 

My host mother has also been suggesting – strongly – that her sister might be a perfect match me.  The first conversation went kind of like this:

“Joe, are you married?” (I forgot to say – they didn’t really like to try and pronounce Graham, so I just went with Joe, bit easier.) 

“Nope.”

“Well maybe you could have an African bride?  How old are you?”

“Umm, 26.”

“Well Therese is only 27, a year older isn’t too bad.  She’s pretty isn’t she?” As she shows me picture after picture of her.  “She’s smart too, she goes to university in Yaoundé.” 

She is going to visit her in Yaoundé tomorrow and wants me to send a letter to her.  She said it could even be in English.  I decided to go to bed a bit early tonight instead.  I’m not sure, but I think she was also telling me how cute one of her past trainees was too, so I don’t think she’s set on the sister thing.  Plus I got chocolate for the family today, Cameroonian chocolate called Mamba, so that was a good distraction.  A delicious distraction. 

These blog posts have been taking quite a while to write.  I’ve been watching Burn Notice at the same time.  I saw a few episodes years ago, and the first two seasons were on the hard drive that I copied from Grant and Alyssa and I’m really enjoying it.  It helps that it has Bruce Campbell in it and I’m reading his autobiography right now: If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor.  He has been my favorite B movie actor ever since I saw Army of Darkness.  It can definitely be a corny show, but it is pretty cool too.  Makes me think I could be a spy too.  Plus it’s great to be able to watch some American TV other than the WWE I watched with my host family tonight.  We had a lot of fun laughing at how ridiculous it is. 

I went to the outdoor market today and walked around Bafia after we finished PC work today with a couple of friends from training, Caitlin and Vanessa.  It was really busy and had some interesting stuff, but also a lot of cooked food just sitting around with flies all over it, which was pretty stinky and gross at times.  Plus Cameroonians can be really forward, people were yelling things about “white people” at us pretty often.  The guys are especially forward with American women, but I think it helped that I was with them.  I really just want to get to a point where I can buy stuff without getting screwed.  On Saturday my host mother is going to help me buy shampoo, laundry detergent, and bleach.  I’m not really looking forward to hand-washing my clothes, but comes with the territory. 

Today people were complaining that there hasn’t been enough support in training for emotional things.  One person said both that they didn’t feel like they had anyone to talk to, but also that they didn’t want to talk to people that they didn’t know; I’m not really sure what they wanted.  To me, it seems like they have given us all of the support we need.  The trainers and the PCVs that were helping us have all said multiple times that if we ever need to talk or something that we can go to them.  Plus I definitely think that I could go to any one of my fellow trainees to talk, and I mean any of them.  Plus, for people who feel like they haven’t had the chance to ‘freak out’ and that they feel like they ‘always have to be perfect,’ there has been a lot of freaking out and crying over the past week.  To be fair, I haven’t hit that W curve ‘valley’ stage yet, so maybe I’ll feel differently then. 

I think tomorrow I might try one of the three bars around my house.  Maybe play with some puppies too.  I should probably get up a bit earlier tomorrow though; my host grandmother was really worried that I was going to be late this morning.  Time to hit the sack. 

Ben, CK, and Will with AJ and some Cameroonian beers 

Jesse doing a quite provocative dance with AJ to Paper Planes by MIA

Our first language class, go Youth Development Novice High!  We spent the whole class making fun of each others' home towns.