The End of Ramadan and a Trip Home Booked

Friday, August 9, 2013

Yesterday was the end of Ramadan in Cameroon.  I’m not sure how they decided it, but we got the call Wednesday night from a woman we know that the decision had been made somewhere in the Grand South (I think it was Foumban, but I always get the names mixed up down there).  We weren’t sure if it was going to be today or yesterday; for my friend in Morocco, it’s today.  It was pretty fun.  We went to this field that has trees interspersed throughout it.  It’s smaller but otherwise the same sort of field that they have by the Grand Mosque in Garoua.  I think they probably have places like this in most larger Muslim-majority towns and cities for festivals like this – the end of Ramadan, Fête du Mouton, etc.  All of the Muslim men line up in rows to pray, with the women are separated further behind them. 

Getting ready to pray

Like the cultural festival that we had before, there were also the ornately decorated horses and men with spears, although this time they just sort of stood there instead of doing the Fantasia that they did before (where they gallop towards the audience gesturing with their spears and then ride away again).  The Lamido, or traditional ruler, was there, along with other government officials.  It was pretty cool to see.  We had friends in town so there were seven of us that showed up.  All four of us guys wore bubus, and looked pretty good too.  People in Guider love it when they see us wearing bubus, but they can be pretty hot. 

During the prayer, there were so many people

After the prayer, everybody started to party.  Everywhere we went everybody wished each other bonne fête and had a huge smile on their face.  People told us that this was the day to eat and party and be happy.  My post mate’s family he lives in the same compound as brought us some food, and then when I got home mine did the same.  I love any holiday centered around food. 

These horses really didn't like their outfits

I’ve had friends visiting from the Grand South who had to head back to take the train today, so I went to Garoua with them yesterday afternoon.  We went out to Yelwa, a neighborhood with some good food that you can’t get in other places, namely pork sandwiches.  There are lots of bars and even a cabaret there.  Yesterday it was crazy, there were so many people there that every bar was packed.  We sat in the back of a bar that we usually go to.  Turns out that there are prostitutes down a hallway behind the bar.  It was pretty interesting watching the foot traffic going back there, and especially the scantily clad women in what is normally such a conservative region. 

This guy kind of looks like Santa

I have officially booked my flight home for x-mas.  I’ll be flying from Yaoundé to Brussels to DC to Denver on December 17^th.  I’ll be able to stay for a whole month and I plan on taking advantage of it.  My two best friends will be flying in from New York for part of it, my sister will be coming from Virginia for a bit, and a couple of my friends from the Peace Corps might even come.  I know it’s still more than 4 months away, but I can’t help but be really excited.  I’ll get to see all my friends from Denver, my family, and my dog.  I can’t wait.  A lot of my friends here have already made trips to Europe, Istanbul, and America.  I’ve been jealous, but I figured I could probably only take one trip, so I should take it when I’m more than halfway done.  I didn’t want to come back and have more than a year left.  At this point, I’ll only have about 10 months left after the trip. 

Drinking a beer at Hidden Bar with our friends that were visiting

On the way back, I’ll fly out on January 17^th and go through DC again, through Vienna, and land in Kharkov, Ukraine on the 18^th.  I’m going to be visiting a friend from grad school that is in the Peace Corps there.  It will be interesting to see what it’s like to be in the Peace Corps in another country, especially one that is as different from Cameroon as Ukraine is.  Apparently Kharkov has all the old Soviet architecture, something I’ve wanted to see.  There is also a bar close to her that has pig roasts and, of course, vodka.  Plus my friend and her husband are great people in general.  I even have a night layover in Vienna on the way out.  I’ll get back to Cameroon on January 23^rd.  This trip will be awesome.