The Grand Duchy of Mayo-Louti

Monday, November 25, 2013

My two post mates and I obviously like naming things.  We’ve been the Dukes of Guider basically since we got here, and we’ve named all the streets in our area.  We also love history and are nerdy, so of course that eventually led us to giving the other PCVs in the country titles.  When we got here we had all been reading Game of Thrones, so we had already thought of Cameroon is something from that or at least Medieval-esque.  When the Extreme North got shut down, that immediately made it beyond the wall, and us on the border.  Well, here is a short introduction to the Northern Realm. 

The Dukes of Guider include my two post mates and myself, and are known as the Grand Dukes of the Mayo-Louti in formal situations.  The Grand Duchy of Mayo-Louti was a part of the Kingdom of Cameroon, but has become largely autonomous due to lack of aid from the greater kingdom in the fight against Boko Haram, colorfully thought of as the Sith.  Helping the Dukes to hold the line in Douroum, Mandama, and Larbak are the Marquesses of Mayo-Louti.  For those who don’t know, a Marquess is like a Count, but the area they control borders another nation, and they are thus entrusted with more responsibility. 

Due to Sith incursions, the territories to the north of the Grand Duchy have been lost, as well as the areas in Mayo-Louti to the west of the Mayo-Oulo river.  Since the closures after the initial raid, the Mayo-Oula forms a natural border for the Grand Duchy on the North, West, and South where it wraps around.  To the North and the West are the Forbidden Lands.  To the East is Chad, which, along with the Kingdom of Cameroon to the South, the Grand Duchy maintains friendly relations. 

The Dukes have many allies within the region, including the Countesses of Garoua, the Baroness of Bibemi, the Lord and Lady of Ngong, and the Baroness of Poli.  Several new Squires have also recently been accepted, into the region in Badjouma Centre, Pitoa, Sanguéré Paule, Admouri, Djalengo, and Bamé.  They will have the chance to be knighted if they last the three months to IST, and are eligible inherit titles after a year.  The Mayo-Louti Grand Duchy and the Northern Realm of the Kingdom Cameroon are the only things holding back the onslaught of Boko Haram. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Today the Peace Corps car brought the Dukes to the frontier to survey the border towns Douroum, Mandama, and Larbak.  We made contact with the Marquesses and some people in their villages.  The purpose of the trip was to see where they live, so in case of trouble the Dukes can come find them.  Unfortunately, the only form of communication available is in-person, meaning going ourselves or sending a moto-driver with a note.  They don’t have phone service, and carrier pidgins have been extinct for a long time. 

The border towns, especially Mandama and Douroum, are located in a really pretty area in the mountains in the Northern end of the Grand Duchy.  It was definitely beautiful, but I sure love my amenities in the heart of Mayo-Louti.   I might have to start pay more frequent visits to the Wall to monitor the situation, hang out with the Marquesses, and go to the market to drink bil-bil. 

Newbies in the North

Consolidation is over and no one was closed!  It didn’t last too long, everybody got along, and I was able to keep working, so it really wasn’t bad at all.  The final result was just that whenever the girls ‘en brousse’ (in the rural areas) travel, they have to text not only the Movement Phone, but us too.  Movement was created after the first kidnapping for the people in the North.  We have to text it 48 hours before traveling to get permission, and then when we are traveling we have to text them when we leave and when we arrive.  We also have to go to Larbak, Douroum, and Mandama to see where they all live so we could find them if we ever needed to.  Luckily the logistician from Garoua is going to drive us, so it will be a lot quicker and save us money. 

Halloween in Guider

I’ve been teaching my youth center kids ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’ and ‘the Hokey-Pokey’ to teach them some body parts vocabulary, help with pronunciation, show them some American culture, and have fun.  They love it, but the Hokey-Pokey is surprisingly hard to teach.  I guess I shouldn’t call them kids though; they are mostly between 14 and 22 (I think, there have been a lot of new additions since I asked them).  All but one of them are women, and a lot of them have kids.  There is usually a baby in the room.  It’s kind of weird to be teaching while one of your students is breast-feeding at her desk. 

Electricity in mud-brick, thatched-roof houses.

Our grant money came in for the latrine project.  We are doing it at a school called Cetic de Lamorde.  It doesn’t have any latrines, so we are building one structure that has four stalls.  So far we bought the cement and rebar, and the school got the sand.  The school is actually paying for about half of the project, either buying stuff like the sand or through the labor, which is awesome because it gives them a lot more buy-in.  The school principal is also a technician, so he is in charge of things.  I went over there yesterday and there is already some progress on the hole.  It’s pretty cool to see some actual physical evidence of my service (other than maps). 

The trees in Guider make it look like an American suburb.
If you only look straight ahead.

The other day I was walking down the street and this random guy stopped me to talk, which happens most days.  He told me that we should start jogging together; that we can run to the bridge (6 km away) and back, then stop at the bil-bil market and drink all day.  Bil-bil is that weak, kind of sour beer that they make locally.  The guy reeked of it. 

The view from Mount Ngaoundere

Yesterday the new Northies got up here!  We had a party for them and one of our friends whose service is up.  There is a place in Garoua that has shwarma, so we got a bunch of those and beer.  It was a pretty fun party, hopefully a good welcome for them.  Our region is still small, about 20 people, but at least it’s getting bigger instead of smaller.  Between the newbies and a couple of people from my stage who moved North, over the passed month we gotten ten new people. 

The Gorges de Kola: now with water! 

The next couple of weeks before I go south will be really busy.  We are having a bunch of people in Guider for Thanksgiving and a food security conference this week, and then another friend up here is leaving so she is having her going away party in Garoua.  I have to take the train on December 10^th to do my mid-service medical tests before my flight home, and I’m going to come to Garoua a day or two early to help my friend move into her new house (hopefully she has her house by then).  I’m getting really excited for my trip home.  Especially to see my dog. 

Friday prayer

Undercover buddy cops for halloween