So I'll start off this post with the random note that a few of my friends and I met the Nigerian Ambassador's son. We were sitting in this amazingly fast internet cafe close to the office, and this guy next to me on his laptop kept mumbling stuff under his breath. It was really weird, but I noticed it was English - which was sadly comforting. He ended up initiating conversation with us (in English!!!) and we told him we were Americans. Come to find out he's the Nigerian Ambassador's oldest son who just got back a few weeks ago from traveling and such. He has lived in New York as well as different places in Europe, and he went to university in Cyprus. It's just funny because my house in Yaounde is on the road of the residence of the Embassy. I walk by it every morning and evening and just gape at how big it is. It really looks like a palace! We ended up seeing him at the internet cafe the next day and he invited us over to see the residence on Friday. It was SO amazing inside. We had these delicious sweet croissants, champagne, juice, spring rolls, and CAKE. I was fantasizing about cake lately so that was an added bonus. I guess the cake was left over from Nigeria's recent 50th country anniversary, haha.
It was funny telling my brother I met him and went in the house because he was so impressed. It's weird to think he's lived on the same road as the residence for years and never been inside or met anyone from there, and I just casually made friends with the son after a few weeks in Yaounde. I guess you never know what's going to happen?
Other than that random bit of exciting news, not much else is especially interesting in my life. I've thoroughly enjoyed being back in Yaounde these last two weeks after muddy Dschang! It's nice to go home to a small family that really cares about me and takes care of me. My mom started buying avocado and sometimes ham to eat with breakfast bread. I never used to eat avacodos, but they're really delicious here. I like spreading it on my baguettes.
I've had a lot of assignments lately, so things have been pretty stressful. I am also getting nervous for ISP time that is quickly approaching. I'm definitely doing motor vehicle accidents and driving in Cameroon as my topic. I need to talk to my director and the staff for ideas of places to visit and contacts to make. I think I'll use the driving schools, government officials, taxi cab companies, car dealerships, and the like. I just need to pinpoint my topic more and do some research. It's difficult when I don't always have internet though! I realized how easy life is at home and at Stonehill in the States. I can just turn on my computer and be connected to the internet within two seconds. Here, everything is a process and often unreliable. It definitely makes me appreciate doings things "the old fashioned way." Sometimes it's just less stressful to write out your homework or essays and spend time really communicating and talking things over with others.
We leave for Kribi on Wednesday morning. It's another city that apparently is more touristy and has a lot of beaches and fresh seafood. I don't really like seafood but I figure if I'm going to like it, it'll be in Kribi where it's apparently so fresh and amazing. We live with another home stay family and I really hope I have children in the house this time! My first two home stays are childless, which is rare. I just want a new perspective and I also have so many kid home stay gifts I need to pawn off, haha.
Last weekend we went to the big Hilton hotel on Friday night for 2-for-1 cocktails during Happy Hour. The view was so amazing on the top floor, and looking out at the city of Yaounde made me realize how beautiful it is. The pool there is also so nice, so I think one hot day we'll go over and pay to swim. Some people paid to swim in the pool in a different hotel which sounded amazing. Also, the bathroom in the Hilton was amazing. I like gasped when I saw toilet paper and soap to wash my hands. When I saw a hand dryer I don't even know what my reaction was! It is such a novel piece of equipment.
Last Saturday we went to Concordia (the restaurant with wireless) in the morning to do some homework. Then we went to our Cameroonian classmate, Ornella, dance competition. Watching all the different groups was so amazing. I have never seen such raw dance talent! It's like we were watching a movie or an extreme talent show, haha. Then we went with SIT to a night club. It was okay but there were a lot of older people and the music wasn't interesting. However, we go to sleep over in the office which was a nice perk.
I can't think of much else that's interesting, but I'll update soon!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A few pictures...
Just a few pictures to hold you over for a while :)
My mosquito net all set up (what a task the first time)
Me at an art school field trip
One of the gorillas at the gorilla sanctuary
At the University of Yaounde with some Cameroonian students
Classic African woman
My friend and I chilling in our nets in a hotel
My bathroom in Dschang
My hill in Dschang (doesn't do it justice!)
More of the hill...
My friend and I at the Chefferie
Another friend and I at the Chefferie
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Sorry this took so long!
So I am officially back from my first two voyages as of last Sunday night. We went to two different cities in Cameroon - Dschang and Bamenda. I had a good trip overall, but it's definitely nice to be back in Yaoundé because my home stay is more comfortable and I like the climate here better. Sorry it took me so long to post again, but things have been pretty crazy lately. The curriculum is really taken off and I’ve had a lot of assignments among other things to do.
I guess I will start with a short trip recap with some interesting tidbits…
First of all, I will just say that Dschang was not my favorite city. I was in a family with two parents who were both very nice. We didn’t have running water and the bathroom was less than ideal. We basically had a hole in the floor where you go to the bathroom. About two feet away from hole is where you wash in buckets. I’m sure I don’t need to describe the smell… My room was alright except I quickly discovered that there were mice in the house. I found many droppings on my things and on the floor. I tried to keep food out of my room but when I came home I found droppings on the bed and even inside my mosquito net. I have no idea how they got in there! If you know me well enough, you’ll know that the summer before last at camp I lived with mice and we did not get along so well. The last few nights I slept with the light on and listened to my iPod in hopes that would deter the mice. When I heard them I basically filled with tears. I really detest mice!
Now more about my parents. Well, my mom did not talk much. She is Anglophone but also speaks French. In the morning, I always had an omelet and bread waiting for me to eat for breakfast. That part was most excellent! I have even become accustomed to eating omelets “natural” which means with some vegetables but no cheese. I love making omelet sandwiches. Otherwise, my mom was nice but just did not speak very much, which I found kind of strange. My dad, on the other hand, was very verbal and interesting. He talked a lot and seemed to really care about helping me to communicate in French and talking to me about Cameroonian culture. My mom was not there for the first two nights when I first arrived because she was away for a funeral or something, so it was just me and my dad. He actually cooked dinner the first two nights which is untypical in Cameroonian culture. He is a fisherman and very proud of it, so we had fish a lot. I don't really like fish but I learned to eat it because there were not a lot of options and it's very popular in Cameroon. He also worked at the University of Dschang as something like a data entry person, I think. He was really cool and I am definitely missing him.
Every morning I would walk to school (which took about 35 minutes) to the University of Dschang. Luckily two of my friends lived kind of close to me so we walked together. However, the walk was treacherous!!! We had to walk up two or three MASSIVE hills composed of mud, rocks, holes, people, and trash. It was so difficult. I quickly learned that I did not have the correct footwear for such an endeavor. Every day I would arrive at school completely covered in mud and dirt. To make it worse, it rained two or three times every day in Dschang. When I say it rained I mean it POURED AND STORMED. Imagine trying to make it up or down a massive mud hill after or during a rain storm. It's not pretty. Even now my toe nails seem to be stained with the remnants of mud. The dirt has a reddish tint and it's not too attractive! My friend even fell on more than one occasion. I just don’t understand how Cameroonians found it such a simple task! I tried to take some pictures of the hills/walk, but they definitely did not capture the situation in full...
One day after school my friend and I stopped at a spot on the street where some guys were selling shoes. My friend wanted to buy sneakers because we were going to a cave and a waterfall the next morning and she only had sandals. We kept reiterating that we needed the cheapest pair of sneakers and he kept showing us the ugliest sneakers. There was even a pair made by Good Year Tires and he made the point that they were American. Indeed. Then he hounded my friend for her phone number and since we were in a hurry I whipped out a fake number and said my phone was at home. Then we left and I thought that was the end of it. Imagine my surprise when I actually saw the kid on campus the week after and I think he figured out I gave him an imaginary phone number. Oh well, haha.
The University, on the other hand, was very nice. I was surprised to see that it was relatively clean and full of interesting people. I definitely didn't like the University of Yaoundé when we visited one time, but Dschang was very nice. School hadn't officially started but we had a nice classroom. There wasn't internet access, but we learned to utilize internet cafes which are very popular in Cameroon. They are really cheap and it's kind of neat to use computers near other people because you end up having some interesting conversations with random people, haha. We also did some interviews and surveys while we were in Dschang for a couple of different projects that are due soon. I was really nervous about conducting interviews in French but it's getting better now and I am definitely improving. :)
I ate a lot of spaghetti omelets during my stay in Dschang. It seems so random but they are SO good. We went to this place for most of our lunches where they made spaghetti omelets with some vegetables and bread for the equivalent of like, 75 cents. It was so amazing. I also ate a lot of bananas and oranges from the street. In addition, I ate way too many cookies and chocolate bars from the street. I need to cut down on the random sweets. In Yaoundé, though, I eat less junk from the street vendors so that's good. I still miss cheese but right now I think I am missing the idea of cheese because I haven't had it in so long and kind of forget the exact flavor of the amazing taste, haha.
A story I will share from Dschang is when I went to a Protestant church with my dad one Sunday morning. We walked to church and when we got there we went into this random side room with math problems on the chalk board. Since he worked at the university I figured it was a group of professors or something. I waited and then he walked me into the church and sat me at a pew on the side where there were not many people. Then he told me to wait and left me alone there and I was so confused. Church started and there was so much clapping and dancing and singing! It was so cool and different, but I was really disconcerted because my dad was not there, haha. All of the sudden, I heard people coming in singing. Then I spotted my dad at the front of the line of singers conducting them. I was like, wow you forget to mention that, haha. So mass continued in and I started to space out a little until I heard a lady speaking in French something about a visitor from the US. I was like um, oh no, maybe there is something else here. Then she announced my name and I looked to my dad at the end of the pew and I stood up. I was so embarrassed so I just gave a wave and then sank back into my seat. It was an extremely strange and funny experience, haha.
I really liked Bamenda, though! It was English speaking. They don’t speak “regular” English, though; they speak pigeon English. It’s so random. Here’s an example:
Person A: Mornin’
Person B: Mornin’ Wut side you kommit?
Person A: I kommit America
Haha, it’s definitely different. We met with the SCNC which is a political group very angry with how the Anglophones in Cameroon have been treated and considered after the country’s independence. They want to leave the country and form their own. The representative was so full of angst; it was a little disconcerting. We also met with John Fru Ndi which is the opposition party to the President. President Biya is very unpopular in Cameroon and serves as more like a dictator. The elections are very corrupt and the government is not successful for serving the people of the country well. The opposition party was interesting to hear from. I guess Cameroon has been called the most corrupt country of the world in 2008. Interesting. Fru Ndi’s house was amazing. We basically had a feast for lunch! We also went to the market in Bamenda and I was surprised to see how organized it was compared to the others I have been to. There was an inside part where you can walk in and there are essentially aisles with organization. It was beautiful. We also found this artisan shop with all these hand crafted and unique items. I got some cool presents J We went to the same restaurant two nights for dinner. It was delicious. I had French fries and KETCHUP one night! Can you believe it? I also had the most creamy spaghetti and tomato sauce. I also ate carrots and green beans (believe it mom) and they were extremely delicious. I can’t believe I’m saying that I miss vegetables… One funny story from Bamenda was before we went in to the restaurant I was with a few friends standing outside and this little boy with a scale came over to us and asked us for money or to buy the scale. I was all like, why I would want to buy a used scale? Then my friend was like, can I just pay you a little bit to weigh myself? So they went to the side of building and she checked her weight, haha.
I guess I will start with a short trip recap with some interesting tidbits…
First of all, I will just say that Dschang was not my favorite city. I was in a family with two parents who were both very nice. We didn’t have running water and the bathroom was less than ideal. We basically had a hole in the floor where you go to the bathroom. About two feet away from hole is where you wash in buckets. I’m sure I don’t need to describe the smell… My room was alright except I quickly discovered that there were mice in the house. I found many droppings on my things and on the floor. I tried to keep food out of my room but when I came home I found droppings on the bed and even inside my mosquito net. I have no idea how they got in there! If you know me well enough, you’ll know that the summer before last at camp I lived with mice and we did not get along so well. The last few nights I slept with the light on and listened to my iPod in hopes that would deter the mice. When I heard them I basically filled with tears. I really detest mice!
Now more about my parents. Well, my mom did not talk much. She is Anglophone but also speaks French. In the morning, I always had an omelet and bread waiting for me to eat for breakfast. That part was most excellent! I have even become accustomed to eating omelets “natural” which means with some vegetables but no cheese. I love making omelet sandwiches. Otherwise, my mom was nice but just did not speak very much, which I found kind of strange. My dad, on the other hand, was very verbal and interesting. He talked a lot and seemed to really care about helping me to communicate in French and talking to me about Cameroonian culture. My mom was not there for the first two nights when I first arrived because she was away for a funeral or something, so it was just me and my dad. He actually cooked dinner the first two nights which is untypical in Cameroonian culture. He is a fisherman and very proud of it, so we had fish a lot. I don't really like fish but I learned to eat it because there were not a lot of options and it's very popular in Cameroon. He also worked at the University of Dschang as something like a data entry person, I think. He was really cool and I am definitely missing him.
Every morning I would walk to school (which took about 35 minutes) to the University of Dschang. Luckily two of my friends lived kind of close to me so we walked together. However, the walk was treacherous!!! We had to walk up two or three MASSIVE hills composed of mud, rocks, holes, people, and trash. It was so difficult. I quickly learned that I did not have the correct footwear for such an endeavor. Every day I would arrive at school completely covered in mud and dirt. To make it worse, it rained two or three times every day in Dschang. When I say it rained I mean it POURED AND STORMED. Imagine trying to make it up or down a massive mud hill after or during a rain storm. It's not pretty. Even now my toe nails seem to be stained with the remnants of mud. The dirt has a reddish tint and it's not too attractive! My friend even fell on more than one occasion. I just don’t understand how Cameroonians found it such a simple task! I tried to take some pictures of the hills/walk, but they definitely did not capture the situation in full...
One day after school my friend and I stopped at a spot on the street where some guys were selling shoes. My friend wanted to buy sneakers because we were going to a cave and a waterfall the next morning and she only had sandals. We kept reiterating that we needed the cheapest pair of sneakers and he kept showing us the ugliest sneakers. There was even a pair made by Good Year Tires and he made the point that they were American. Indeed. Then he hounded my friend for her phone number and since we were in a hurry I whipped out a fake number and said my phone was at home. Then we left and I thought that was the end of it. Imagine my surprise when I actually saw the kid on campus the week after and I think he figured out I gave him an imaginary phone number. Oh well, haha.
The University, on the other hand, was very nice. I was surprised to see that it was relatively clean and full of interesting people. I definitely didn't like the University of Yaoundé when we visited one time, but Dschang was very nice. School hadn't officially started but we had a nice classroom. There wasn't internet access, but we learned to utilize internet cafes which are very popular in Cameroon. They are really cheap and it's kind of neat to use computers near other people because you end up having some interesting conversations with random people, haha. We also did some interviews and surveys while we were in Dschang for a couple of different projects that are due soon. I was really nervous about conducting interviews in French but it's getting better now and I am definitely improving. :)
I ate a lot of spaghetti omelets during my stay in Dschang. It seems so random but they are SO good. We went to this place for most of our lunches where they made spaghetti omelets with some vegetables and bread for the equivalent of like, 75 cents. It was so amazing. I also ate a lot of bananas and oranges from the street. In addition, I ate way too many cookies and chocolate bars from the street. I need to cut down on the random sweets. In Yaoundé, though, I eat less junk from the street vendors so that's good. I still miss cheese but right now I think I am missing the idea of cheese because I haven't had it in so long and kind of forget the exact flavor of the amazing taste, haha.
A story I will share from Dschang is when I went to a Protestant church with my dad one Sunday morning. We walked to church and when we got there we went into this random side room with math problems on the chalk board. Since he worked at the university I figured it was a group of professors or something. I waited and then he walked me into the church and sat me at a pew on the side where there were not many people. Then he told me to wait and left me alone there and I was so confused. Church started and there was so much clapping and dancing and singing! It was so cool and different, but I was really disconcerted because my dad was not there, haha. All of the sudden, I heard people coming in singing. Then I spotted my dad at the front of the line of singers conducting them. I was like, wow you forget to mention that, haha. So mass continued in and I started to space out a little until I heard a lady speaking in French something about a visitor from the US. I was like um, oh no, maybe there is something else here. Then she announced my name and I looked to my dad at the end of the pew and I stood up. I was so embarrassed so I just gave a wave and then sank back into my seat. It was an extremely strange and funny experience, haha.
I really liked Bamenda, though! It was English speaking. They don’t speak “regular” English, though; they speak pigeon English. It’s so random. Here’s an example:
Person A: Mornin’
Person B: Mornin’ Wut side you kommit?
Person A: I kommit America
Haha, it’s definitely different. We met with the SCNC which is a political group very angry with how the Anglophones in Cameroon have been treated and considered after the country’s independence. They want to leave the country and form their own. The representative was so full of angst; it was a little disconcerting. We also met with John Fru Ndi which is the opposition party to the President. President Biya is very unpopular in Cameroon and serves as more like a dictator. The elections are very corrupt and the government is not successful for serving the people of the country well. The opposition party was interesting to hear from. I guess Cameroon has been called the most corrupt country of the world in 2008. Interesting. Fru Ndi’s house was amazing. We basically had a feast for lunch! We also went to the market in Bamenda and I was surprised to see how organized it was compared to the others I have been to. There was an inside part where you can walk in and there are essentially aisles with organization. It was beautiful. We also found this artisan shop with all these hand crafted and unique items. I got some cool presents J We went to the same restaurant two nights for dinner. It was delicious. I had French fries and KETCHUP one night! Can you believe it? I also had the most creamy spaghetti and tomato sauce. I also ate carrots and green beans (believe it mom) and they were extremely delicious. I can’t believe I’m saying that I miss vegetables… One funny story from Bamenda was before we went in to the restaurant I was with a few friends standing outside and this little boy with a scale came over to us and asked us for money or to buy the scale. I was all like, why I would want to buy a used scale? Then my friend was like, can I just pay you a little bit to weigh myself? So they went to the side of building and she checked her weight, haha.
This past week at school has been relatively normal. I can’t believe I have been here for over five weeks now! It’s crazy. Last night at student’s night we watched Sex and the City. I had never seen the television show or the movie, believe it or not. However, just watching that movie made me miss the US so much! It was a nice break. We also went on a scavenger hunt for pizza. There was a restaurant that sold it but the pizzas were so small and expensive. Oh well, it didn’t stop us! It was nice to have a treat. J Other than that, I picked up my clothes from the dress maker and was very happy with the results. I got two different dress styles and also a tunic and fun pants made with the extra material. While I was at the market yesterday I also picked up another dress for the equivalent of like $5. They are just so comfortable and I know I’ll wear most of them in the US too. This past week and next week we are doing a unit on NGO’s so we travel around to various agencies and do meetings and network. It’s really neat.
Also, I have battled a lot with my ISP topic lately. For those of you who are not aware, ISP stands for Independent Study Project. The ISP is an integral piece of the SIT study abroad experience. Essentially, all students choose a topic to research for about a month. You also choose a place to live and a family to stay with. You have an advisor and network and do a lot of interviews and field work. It’s really intense! After a lot of thinking, I believe I have found an interesting topic. I want to explore motor vehicle accidents and form a policy on the topic. This is a hot topic right now at every level in Cameroon, as there are so many deaths. Taxis and cars cram tons of people in cars and seat belts and helmets are very rarely used or required. Even reading Cameroonian newspapers and watching the news, government officials are perplexed by the topic. Since I am a political science major I think it would be interesting to look at this from a policy perspective and potentially after researching and discussing thoroughly I may be able to craft a policy on the topic. Thoughts? J
I’m sure I’ll think of things I forgot.
Love,
Brittany
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)