Friday, November 9, 2012

Welcome to Cameroon



Hi all,

Sorry this has taken such a ridiculous amount of time to start and post. I want to say so many things that every time I sit down to write I get too overwhelmed and end up with nothing to share. I am under the impression that the last time I sent an email it did not actually attach the document that I wrote about life in, so really no one knows much of anything. Since I’m going to assume that’s the overwhelming majority, I will just start from the beginning and hope to cover everything without people losing too much interest.

So the best place to start is probably way back when in Philadelphia (which seems like 2 years ago already). So in Philadelphia we had “staging” which is basically just a one day introduction to Peace Corps and the group you are going to your country with, which is called your stage (en Fracas). In my stage we started with 55 people in Philadelphia. We spent the day in staging then got our “last meal” in the US and had the evening to ourselves. The next day we got on buses and went to JFK Airport in New York City and flew from there to Brussels and on to Cameroon. For those of you who have been lucky enough to fly anywhere with me you know what a fun few days this was for me. Honestly though, the flights were that bad and I made a few new friends quickly. Actually today I was just talking to Michael (who I sat next to on the first flight) about what a basket case I was. The good news is he is amazing and one of my good friends who I am posted by (but now I’m getting ahead of myself).

Anyway, we arrived in Yaounde, Cameroon after 48 hours of travel and we carted off to a hotel in the city. We spent 5 days in Yaounde doing more general information things such as getting money, going to the police station to get our temporary IDs/visas, and filling out an outrageous amount of paperwork. This all seems so long ago to me and so unimportant comparatively now so I’m just going to move on.

After 5 days in Yaoundé we all packed up our stuff, left our running water and Wi-Fi at the hotel and drove 2 hours north to the city of Bafia to live with our home stay families. Bafia is a medium sized village (I’m guessing medium sized, but really I have no idea comparatively). Ok I have to back up really quick… so in our stage there are 55 people that are going to work in 3 different sectors: health (that’s me!), environment, and youth development. In Cameroon there are 5 sectors that work here (business development and education are the other 2). So in our stage because we have so many people there were not enough families in Bafia for the home stays. The health group is the largest with 21 people so we actually live in a smaller village called Bokito with about 10,000 people that is 20 km west of Bafia. Ok so back to the story, we drove up to Bafia, and then santé (health en François) went on to Bokito. So we got to Bokito and a family member picked us up from the training center and brought us to our new homes.

Most of these random terms (and I’ll probably throw in acronyms now and again because Peace Corps LOVES acronyms) will be explained in time, so just keep reading. So yes, my biggest fear was confirmed immediately upon my arrival in Bokito when my home stay family spoke absolutely no English and I of course spoke no French aside from “Hello, my name is Lacie,” mais maintenant pas de problem! Yup the first night we just all sat around staring at one another… good times! Alright, so now I have finally figured out who is who in the family (it took we 3 days to learn names and 5 weeks to learn the relationships). So I live with the Moise family here in Bokito. Papa Anamana is a retired teacher who spends most of his time living/working in a smaller village at his other house where they have a cacao plantation. Mama Sylvie is a housewife and stays home with the 7 kids that live here (yes, you all can imagine what I was thinking when I got the sheet of paper saying I was going to live in a house with 7 kids), but now I love them all dearly (I mean who else is going to kill the mice, cockroaches, and spiders for me?... but again I’m getting ahead of myself). So the kids are wonderful. In the house there are Mama Sylvie’s 3 kids: Sonia who is 16, Junior who is 9, and Miguel who is 7. Then there are Papa Anamana’s 3 grandchildren: Gabrielle who is 14, Elaine who is 9, and Princess who is 7. My French still isn’t the best, but from what I understand Papa Anamana is a polygamist and has 3 wives. Mama Sylvie is 2nd wife and lives here in Bokito. The first wife died, but Papa Anamana had 3 daughters with her, but all are older and at university. One of these 3 daughters is the mother of the 3 girls who live with us. Ok then the 3rd wife lives in the other village at the plantation from what I understand, but again I’m really not sure. So anyway, that accounts for 6 kids. The last one is Papa Anamana’s nephew, Gau-Gau (pronounced JoJo) who is 14 and my protector because he kills everything for me. So that’s my family here in Bokito. We also have 4 chickens that I usually want to kill because they start crowing (I’m not sure if that’s the right term), but they start at about 4:30 every morning (yes Maggie, it is as bad as Jamaica!). So my house, I’m sure you’re all wondering what kind of house I’m in these days. So our house is pretty big comparatively. We have a large salon with a sitting area, a large dining table, a buffet, and a TV. Then there are 5 bedrooms (I think, but I don’t really go into the back room/area, so I could be one off in either direction) and a bathroom (which has running water sometimes). We also have a kitchen/pantry/storage area that is in a different building next to the house. The houses here are basically all concrete with tin roofs and false wood ceilings. In my room (which I get to myself with a lock on it) I have my bed (about queen sized), a small desk, and my trunk (for my fellow Harry Potter fans, I want you all to know how much I enjoy having a trunk with my clothes in it, but I want to know how in the world Harry keeps everything for a year in his and still manages to carry it because I can hardly move mine). So as I mentioned above, yes we have a TV which indeed means that we have electricity, most of the time that is. So yes it’s not exactly “Posh” Corps like some of the people here, but it has been great thus far.

What next… food? Since all I think about is eating, I’ll talk about that next. Mama Sylvie is an amazing cook and I love everything she makes for me. For dinners there normally some sort of sauce with a compliment. The compliments are starch foods such as manioc, macabo, rice, noodles, couscous de maiz or manioc, and/or plantains. The sauces also vary and include tomato sauce, peanut sauce, kom-kom sauce, or some sort of legumes. For lunch I usually have a sandwich or yogurt. I am quickly becoming a Cameroonian because my favorite lunch sandwich is (brace yourselves) a spaghetti omelet. Yes this is exactly what it sounds like… an omelet made with spaghetti noodles added on baguette bread. I know, it sounds crazy right, but it is inexplicably delicious. I have to say I also love the Cameroonian breakfast of beans and beignets. The other amazing part of Cameroonian food here in Bokito is the fresh fruit. Bananas (yes I’m now eating bananas… usually 2-3 a day at least), pineapple (Alli I need someone to get a picture of me eating pineapple Cameroonian style, you’ll love it), oranges and mandarins, mango, guava, and papaya just to name a few. Oh and I almost forgot… fresh avocados!! Yes, the food here is wonderful.

I wish I could tell you all about how much free time I have to enjoy the fact that I’m in Africa, but that would be a huge lie. So how do I pass the 12 hours of daylight… pre-service training (PST- our first Peace Corps acronym). When you heard me talking about Peace Corps, I probably told you it was a 27 month commitment, well I lied to you all, ashia (this is a Cameroonian expression for sorry and can be used both as a nice sorry or a sucks to be you sorry, it’s an amazing word). Our stage is the first to have only 8 weeks of training instead of 11 ½ like there were before. Yes that means we have only 8 weeks to learn a new language (if you came in with nothing like me), the Cameroonian culture, and all our technical skills for the next 2 years. Needless to say PST is quite a bit of work. As I mentioned briefly above we have a training center in Bokito (there is also one in Bafia, but we’ll get there). Most of our sessions are with our individual sectors because we are doing technical training for what we will do at post. That means usually santé just stays in Bokito and we do our individual sessions there. However, there are also some of the sessions that are for the entire stage so we will travel to Bafia once or twice a week to do things as a whole group. This is nice for us because there is always electricity in Bafia (they have a generator) and they have internet there (we don’t have that kind of technology way out in Bokito). Either way in Bafia or Bokito we have class at one of the two training centers from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. We have 4 classes a day that vary, but include language (in small groups of 3-6 people), technical training, cross culture, safety and security, and self healthcare. The titles pretty much explain themselves. Technical training really is just that, we are learning the skills we will need to teach people when we are finally at post. We have really boring days when we just talk about how to assess community needs to really awesome days where we get to do hands on activities that we will do at post with our communities such as tofu and wine making (yes I can now make tofu, soy milk, soy flour, and wine from scratch). There is also cross culture where we learn about things like what to expect when you are traveling or family structures in Cameroon… semi-useful information usually. The other sessions on safety and security and self healthcare are really just information for us while we are in country about obviously how to stay safe and healthy. Along with training we have a lot of homework. We usually have language assignments daily (well I do because I’m in a lower class), technical assignments where we interview our host families about their practices along with weekly quizzes, and a community questionnaire that we need to fill out 50 questions in by the end of training. So yes my 12 hours of daylight are usually fully consumed by PST. Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of days were things go completely wrong and we don’t do anything, like the other day when our trainer didn’t show up so we had our hour and a half session so do nothing. P.S. family: I found Yuker and Bid players and we play cards during lunch or after sessions.

Since I kind of touched on language I’ll talk about that next, because I know it’s another question people had. Cameroon has two official languages, English and French, along with about 280 various tribal languages. The country is divided into 10 regions: Extreme North, North, Adamaoua, East, Central, South, West, Littoral, Northwest, and Southwest. The Northwest and Southwest regions were former British colonies and are thus the two regions were they speak English. Then all the other regions are French speaking. Yaounde is in the Central region, along with Bafia and Bokito. And unlike many developed countries, people that speak one of the languages usually don’t speak the other official language (assuming they have learned either French or English). So what does this mean for me in the country? It means that there has been a very steep learning curve and I have to know French in 8 weeks. The first weekend in Yaounde we did Language Proficiency Interviews (LPI) and are scored based on international language standards for people who work in the foreign services etc. Basically they just care about your oral skills and nothing about what grammar you know. There are 3 levels (Novice, Intermediate, and High) that are subdivided into 3 categories each (Low, Mid, and High). People posted in Francophone regions must test into Intermediate High and people posted in Anglophone regions must test into Intermediate Mid by the end of training. I tested into Novice Low the first weekend. After 4 weeks of language class we did another LPI and I moved up to Intermediate Low. Then we just had another LPI at the beginning of the week after another 2 weeks of language and I tested into Intermediate Mid. So I know these are arbitrary levels that give you almost no indication of what my actual ability is. Well as I said above I live with a family that speaks no English so my French is at the level now where I can talk about more than my basic wants and needs. I am learning how to cook various Cameroonian dishes, I can help the kids do their homework, ask them about what they like to do, explain to my mother what I do during the day and where I’m going and with whom, and most importantly express that the mouse in my room is not my friend and I want you to keep looking for it until you kill it (yes this was last night’s conversation, don’t worry though this was the first mouse that I’ve encountered in 7 weeks… not all the trainees can say that). I can also talk about home and what I did while I was in the US and what family and friends do there etc. Basically my language is great when it comes to reading/writing, but my pronunciation sucks (yes MEEPP/Gernika people, it is like me trying to pronounce species names, but now I actually have to do it until I get it right). However, we just found out our posts yesterday and I made my language level!

Yes, this means I am going to an Anglophone region! So we are now at the end of week 6 of training and everyone found out their posts yesterday. I am going to a small village called Afab which is about 25 km outside the village of Manfe (which I can find on the maps of the entire country) in the Southwest region. I really don’t have a lot of information yet, but I’ll share what I know thus far… I am opening a new post in the village (no other volunteers have lived/worked there). The main focus of the community is HIV/Aids, but there are also needs for nutritional education and water/sanitation.

Again, I’m going to back up quickly. For Peace Corps Cameroon there are 4 areas that health care focuses on: HIV/Aids, Maternal and Neonatal Health, Malaria Prevention, and Water Sanitation Hygiene. Activities vary from educational sessions with community groups (women’s or men’s groups, school clubs, etc) to nutritional demonstrations to larger community projects like building wells and latrines, etc. Peace Corps has also changed the way they do their first few months of service. The first three months at post are just a time to assess the community needs and not to start any projects. This means I will go around the community meeting people and talking to them about what changes they want to make or see happen and what they want more information about. This is also a time to get involved with the health center, schools, churches etc to identify already existing groups in the community.

So back to Afab, I will be doing exactly all of those things for the first three months so I really still don’t know what kind of projects and work I will be doing over the next two years. I can tell you a little more about the village though. There are roughly 1600 people in my village and about 6000 in the area that the health center serves. My house is apparently only about a 5 minute walk from the health center and I live right next to the chief of the village. My program manager told me that the chief is really excited to have a volunteer and looking forward to working with me. Apparently he is very well educated and speaks French, Pidgin, and English. Oh yes Pidgin… this is really what language is spoken in the Anglophone areas, which I’m going to learn. Peace Corps will pay for you to have a language tutor for your first year at post if you want to learn the local tribal language etc. I am going to take advantage of this and be learning Pidgin, but this doesn’t mean my French is useless because I will still need it for traveling around the country etc. Ok back on track, I wish I could tell you all more about my house, but alas, I will see it for the first time the day I arrive at post and move in. However, I do know that I will have cell phone service and running water, but no electricity. I am only about 20 minutes from Manfe though which is a large city and will be where I do all my banking and will have a cyber café etc. Again, because I haven’t been there yet I don’t know much about the climate either, but my program manager told me that it is hot and humid and very flat. The western part of the country is more mountainous and difficult to travel especially during the rainy season, but she told me that my village is in a flat area and always easily accessible (which cannot be said for everyone in the stage). I don’t know much more about the wildlife (or more importantly the critters I will encounter in my house) in the area, but I will keep you all updated on that front. Oh I also know that I do not have a post mate (so there are no other volunteers in my village), but I am in a cluster of volunteers so within probably an hour’s drive there are 3 or 4 volunteers. There is apparently one education volunteer who is only 10 km away from my village so I will be within 15 minutes by moto (yes motorcycle taxi) to him (or so I’ve been told).

Well I keep telling you all I’ll give you more information when I’m at post, so when is that you ask… let me tell you more about that! PST will be finished here in another week and a half (already, I can’t believe it either), then we have a ceremony called swearing-in. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps in Cameroon so our swearing-in is actually going to be a huge deal to bring awareness to projects throughout Cameroon etc. The ceremony is usually just a small get together in Bafia with the trainees and a few of the higher ups in Peace Corps. However, our swearing-in will be in Yaounde with a lot of high officials from the Cameroonian government and officials from the American embassy etc. There will also be a lot of different Non-government organizations (NGOs) and somewhere around 50 Peace Corps volunteers who have already been working in country. The ceremony is on November 21st and is the day that my official 2 year countdown begins. Once I have been sworn in I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer (now I’m only considered a Peace Corps Trainee). I don’t know much more about the ceremony, but apparently it’s pretty important. So then the plan is to spend Thanksgiving together with the stage in Bafia/Bokito and make a traditional (or as close as it gets) dinner and enjoy it together on Thursday. Then we will all leave to go to our posts throughout the country. It should only take me the day to travel to post, so I will most likely get there on Friday November 23rd, but I don’t really know the details of how this will work yet. That’s still 2 weeks away; I can’t plan that far ahead in this country.

Ok so what else? Is there anything else that I need to tell you all about… How am I doing here? I know you’re all going to love/hate to hear this, but I absolutely love it here! I am having an absolutely amazing time and am so glad that I did this. The people are so friendly and welcoming. The climate is amazing (for me) and the landscape is absolutely beautiful. We went on a field trip to the West and Northwest regions last week which is in the mountains and very beautiful. If you haven’t seen them, there are pictures on facebook (Al you should work on showing Mom and Dad so they can see some pictures). It’s a good thing people in this group love taking pictures because clearly I suck at taking/posting pictures, ashia. But yes, I’m very happy here. The people are wonderful, I’m going to be sad to leave them to go to post, but I’m also excited to meet my community and do what I’ll actually be doing for two years. Like I said before I love my host family also, they are so patient and helpful. They definitely take good care of me, really it’s the same as the U.S. Mama Sylvie feeds me when I’m hungry and my host brother kills the critters in my room (sound familiar Mom and Al?). Oh I haven’t told you all about being sick here yet. Yes I have been sick with various things, but nothing too bad. A couple weeks ago I had some sort of intestinal disease, though I have no idea what. I had a fever of 102 for 24 hours along with some other lovely symptoms, but they put me on antibiotics and everything was good after a day. I also somehow managed to get ring worm (which is not actually a worm, but rather a fungus) on my ankle. It has almost completely healed, I still haven’t figured out where it came from because I make it a point to avoid all animals here. Also right now I have a little bit of a head cold, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. But yes, I plan on having a nice long list of various illnesses I have encountered at the end of 2 years.

On that note… is there anything else you guys want to know? I mean I could probably go on for even more pages about stories of botched French, random days at the training center, and things my host family laughs at me for, but it’s 6:15 and I need to be to school by 7 because we are going to Bafia today.

Anyway, I love you all very dearly and hope things are going well!


2 comments:

  1. Wow Lacie- I LOVED that! Im so glad you are having such a great time and that just sounds like an amazing experience! I look forward to hearing about all of the tribal traditions youll get to learn about! I want to know more about the animals of course- any crazy monkeys around? I hope on top of this your keeping a journal! Hopefully youll be able to post again soon! Miss you like crazy! Im going to miss my skiing buddy this year!

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    1. How did you post a reply Allison? No one else can seem to figure it out (myself included). Anyway, I will let you know more about the animals when I actually get to post. Apparently it is densely forested and they eat a lot of bush meat, so that probably means there are a lot of monkeys there. We will see though. Also, I'm going to definitely be missing skiing/snowboarding!! As soon as I get back to the US we will need to do a big trip so I can get back out there :)

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