Nigerian Royalty

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!