After a few months… a new post!

This is my first blog post in a couple of months and there’s a reason for that; the last couple of months have been probably the most frustrating of my service.  I realized recently that since I got closed more than three months ago and the traveling I had to do between committees, National Girls’ Forum, and training at IST, I haven’t been anywhere for longer than a week in four and a half months.  The only exception is eight days that I spent in Morocco to get my tooth fixed, which of course, subsequently fell back out. 

I’ll go into some of the better experiences, like visiting some friends and that trip to Morocco, in a later post; I figure I should just give a general overview of my life first.  For the last while, I’ve been traveling around spending a few days in one place and a few in the next.  It was OK at first, and an experience that could have been a lot worse.  Unlike most people whose posts get closed, I had work the entire time.  My whole service has been lucky like that.  I’ve always felt busy, which is a rarity in the Peace Corps.  Even with all that, four months without a home is difficult.  I’ve been living out of the same backpack, wearing the same shirts and the same pants, and have spent a ridiculous amount of time on buses and in cases. 

This whole time I thought I was going to live in Ngaoundéré; something I was really happy about.  Ngaoundéré is one of my favorite places in Cameroon, and certainly my favorite out of the ones that were still an option for me to live in.  I really pushed for it and admin listened.  Unfortunately, based on my work it probably wasn’t the best choice for me, and they couldn’t follow through. 

In the last couple of weeks my boss finally got back from DC where she’s been for six weeks for trainings.  Since then, my job has become much more defined.  While all of my responsibilities haven’t been fleshed out and there are still some things up in the air, I will most likely have to be in Yaoundé at least twice a month.  That’s a lot of travel wherever you’re coming from, but for Ngaoundéré that would mean the train twice a month – a long and expensive trip (around 16 hours and $100 round trip). 

There’s also a housing problem in Ngaoundéré – apparently there aren’t any.  There is one PCV who has been living in the case in Ngaoundéré for more than seven months waiting for a house.  At this point, there are two PCVs who are about to leave in Ngaoundéré, but three who need houses, including me.  After living without a home base for more than four months, I’m not willing to wait for them to find a house, and the others have been waiting for longer than me

That means Ngaoundéré isn’t for me.  The most logical choice would then be Yaoundé, since I have to be there so often.  Unfortunately admin doesn’t want anyone living there for a variety of reasons, mainly security, housing is expensive, and it’s hard to integrate in a place that large.  There are other choices around, but they suggested Bertoua, and I accepted. 

Bertoua is the capital of the East, the only region I hadn’t been to.  I have to say, I like it so far.  The East is kind of a weird North/South/forest hybrid.  It’s both the largest and the least-densely populated region.  Bertoua is a small city, about 90,000 people, but pretty compact and busy.  It’s kind of like my favorite neighborhood in Garoua, Yelwa, and seems to be the wild west of Cameroon.  It’s basically like a smaller, dirtier, derangier (more bothersome), and busier version of Garoua.  It’s 5-6 hours by bus to Yaoundé, and while there may be places closer to live, I think it will be the best fit for me. 

My house is a double-edged sword.  It’s a pretty nice layout and the guy who has it now (and is leaving in a day or two) has set it up really well.  It has a leather couch, a fridge, a stove (basically unheard of), and free Wi-Fi.  The reason for that Wi-Fi is the other side of the sword – it’s in the same compound as the case.  That means I will have a lot less privacy.  I may be able to escape to a point by going to my own house, but there will always be people right there.  It’s going to be an interesting last year.