The Vacation Challenge

Sunday, July 21, 2013

So there were a few things that I forgot to mention in my last couple of posts.  During the camp in Ngaounderé, we had some extra time while we were waiting for the lady to arrive with lunch.  I should probably mention that the Boy Scouts are in Cameroon too, just usually only in the larger cities and more developed areas.  One of the kids was a Boy Scout, probably middle school age, and lead what turned out to be the Cameroonian version of Mafia.  Instead of people being killed by the mafia, they were killed by sorcery, and instead of the town having people hanged they thought were guilty, the village sacrificed people.  The kid was really dynamic and energetic; everyone there, facilitators and PCVs included, was laughing and having a great time.  It’s pretty hard to make people forget that lunch is late, but this kid did it. 

Another thing is that, I assume because of Ramadan, ¾ of the bean and beignet mamas are gone in the morning.  I mean, I guess it makes sense.  Most people are eating breakfast before the sun comes up, so why would they stay open as late as usual (about 8 AM) or even bother opening?  Unfortunately, it also means that I have to go to the far bean and beignet mama and even a few days ago when I showed up before 7:30, she was already out of beignets.  There used to be four within a five-minute walk, now there is one. 

Yesterday we went to the ‘Vacation Challenge’ they have set up for some of the kids at the Center for Women and Families.  This year was a clash of the titans between two dance teams, Tourbillon (whirlwind) de Sangueré and King of Dance de Snec (alright, you caught me, King of Dance got the crap kicked out of them).  It wasn’t just a dance competition though.  There were trivia challenges, races like who can eat a package of cookies the fastest and who can blow up five balloons until they explode, comedy competition, karaoke, spelling bee, then of course a bunch of dance competitions in everything from salsa to hip-hop to break dancing.  It was supposed to start at two, but we are on African time, so my post mate and I didn’t show up until three.  The Vacation Challenge didn’t actually start until about four though, which makes sense.   

Like I said, Tourbillon de Sangueré handily beat King of Dance de Snec, but that’s not to say that the King of Dance team couldn’t dance – they were all far better than I ever have been or will be.  It’s amazing how quick they can move their legs.  My post mate and I were having a conversation about how in some ways Cameroonian kids are much braver than American kids.  They are always willing to get up and sing or dance or do something silly in front of the class.  Granted, classes are 3-5 times larger than American classes, so there are bound to be a higher concentration of outgoing students in each class, but it is still something cool to see. 

After it was finished, we went over to the house of a guy who sells plants – one of the few in the department (county).  We walked around his garden area and saw all of the different plants and trees, everything from manioc to oranges to dates.  After that we went into his house and watched the news – in English!  It was my first time seeing TV in months.  His family is Muslim, so after the sun set we broke their fast with them.  It was a pretty good meal – cucumbers, manioc, bouille (a hot, sweetened corn drink), rice beignets, white bean beignets, hardboiled eggs, and even milk!  It was my first time having real milk in country; I guess he gets it from a guy that has cows in the area.  We had it sweetened with rice in it.  It tasted almost exactly like rice pudding and was a great way to finish the meal.  Of course, we only ate with the men of the family, the women were outside or something, I’m not really sure. 

After dinner the guy showed us maps that he personally made of the Guider Township and the Mayo-Louti Department (that Guider is in).  The one of Guider took him three solid months and the one of the department took him a few years.  He literally made them by measuring his footsteps, using the odometer on his moto, and using a tape measure.  They looked like real, legit maps that were professionally done.  They also looked incredibly accurate – my post mate and I decided that if you took Google Maps or satellite photos, they would not be much different.  He is basically an old-school cartographer, and I’m pretty jealous of that – it’s always been something that I want to do. 

This is also a guy who never made it past primary school.  With almost no education he has taught himself cartography, architecture (I forgot to mention, he was working on designs for a house he is having built in Figuil, a town close by, they looked really good), and horticulture.  He has become pretty well off for the area and is going to be able to send at least some of his kids to University.  I was pretty impressed by the time we left. 

Now we are trying to figure out ways to get our hands on copies of those maps.  Hopefully one day we can gain his trust enough to borrow the maps and bring them to Garoua to make copies. 

The pictures, drawings, and post cards on my wall, most mailed to me with a couple taken here.

My fridge covered in stickers sent by my parents.  Yes, the brand is an Okay God.