Cutting the Cord

Upon arrival in Yaounde every stagiere, depending on their program, is given their resepective calendar for the next eleven weeks of Stag. Our lives are blocked off seven hours a day, Monday thru Saturday, in two hour increments. We live and die by the "cote". I checked it every morning to know what books to read, I can't count the number of times I heard/asked "What sesssion do we have next", and it's where everynight I got to put a big X thru the day showing I was one step closer to becoming a PCV. Well my friends, on August 22nd, 2008 I officially made it! I am now a current Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.
The swearing in ceremony was held in Bangangte where we had our training. Almost everyone affiliated with PC Cameroon was there, several important officials in Bangangte, a few current volunteers, and two members from each of our homestay families. There was a special appearance by the Cub Scouts Chapter of the American Embassy in Cameroon (flag holders), but unfortunatley they forgot the popcorn and I'm positive the memo to the Girl Scouts got lost because there weren't any cookies either. Outside of the rain and loss of power the ceremony went really well. There was a nice luncheon to follow. PC did up certificates for host families (certificates are like gold here) and my mom said she was going to frame hers and put it in the living room. The final night of stagiere togetherness finished with several boxes of wine, beers, dancing, and a slumber party on the concrete floors of the SED house. On Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 there's one big blocked off section on the "cote" that reads "Cutting the Cord". For all of stage this has pretty much freaked me out, but as it turns out my cord wasn't cut nearly as well as the others; pretty much I'm still dangling.
I could write pages on the last month in stage, but after a brief read of my friend Wendy's (roundtwocameroon.blogspot.com) I realized two things: 1.) She does a good job of summing it all up 2.) I'm a Slacker when it comes to blogging! Outside of a Fabulous dinner given by my host family where they let me invite three other friends, made every Cameroonian food under the sun, and even had gifts 24/7 of my time has been spent with Wendy so just check hers. My solo experience yesterday was my first major hangup. While not fun at the moment, an hour after it was over I realized this just some of what these next two years are all about.
Events from yesterday: So even though my landlord has known I'd be arriving for over two months now, that means nothing, and my apartment is still not ready for me yet. The minor problems I can deal with (roof leak, broken locks, very stinky bathroom, cobwebs/rodents), but not having water or electricity poses a different problem. Without another volunteer in my town to stay with I've been traveling back and forth between my house and Wendy's; roundtrip 2 hours. Yesterday was the closest I've come to tears (well pretty much I was crying) when after going from my apartment, to work, to the electicic company, to the water company, back to work, to my landlords, I still have to visit city hall for a signature. I think a large part of upset played into the fact that I expected the day to go something like this: go with my counterpart to the electric and water companies, counterpart does lots of the technical french talking, I sign the papers/pay the installation fees, I can leave for Wendy's, and in three or four days my house will have water and electricity. However the reality: counterpart sends me with another employee who doesn't help at all with the french, I find out I need a list of things at both places, return to work and counterparts out of town, then visit landlord to get some of the documents I need and told by his secretary I must first go to city hall, pay a small amount of money to get the lease legalized and then come back. So I go to city hall expecting to pay something around 2,000-4,000 cfa, but the man refuses to sign unless I pay him 63,ooo cfa! My french was not getting me through this one, so on the brink of tears I phone my APCD who saves the day. Long story short a new law went into effect and I owe taxes on my apartment (not normal for a PCV homestead). My landlord did up the lease wrong, so that it reads I'm renting a commerical business. Consequently, the man was trying to charge me 15% yearly in taxes for a CB instead of 5% for a homestead. While the charge has now dropped to the 21,ooo cfa, the down side is it might be another battle to decide who going to pay it. Trying all this again on Friday when my landlord gets back from Douala. On good note, after spending three hours at the bank on Tuesday I now have a bank account in Cameroon! After waiting in line for over an hour today I was able to withdraw cash. Wendy just kept saying "takes 10 minutes in the US..30 in England". hah! I really will need all three months just to get "set-up".
I've posted the Blog Links to a lot of my other friends; they're really good at covering the day to day stuff and at posting the ever appreciated PICTURES. I encourage everyone to take a look at their blog pages. You get a lot of different persepectives on life in Cameroon and a mix of stories and experiences. Till next time...

Intéressant

A small part of the French vocabulary, a word that has swiftly become a stagier/personal favorite, and one that as PCT’s we certainly get a lot of use out of.  I realize I haven’t posted in awhile but I’m going to take the time with this post to write solely on Cameroonian life au general. All 36 stagiers will be traveling to Yaoundé this weekend for a few days for banking and general wrap-up matters. I hope to nab some free dialup Internet at the Coz to write another post about what’s been going on in the PC world, but for now just a short list of things I think you’ll find très, très intéressant……

Bush Taxis:  Gone are the days of taking a taxi and riding solo in the backseat.  Here you pay a flat rate, climb in the equivalent of a Volkswagen Jetta, and share a ride with seven-nine other people (not including the driver).  While on site visit I usually found myself sitting inbetween or just to the right of the stick shift.

Maïs:  French for corn on the cob.  You see it being grown all over in the fields, being sold all over the market, and at roadside stands.  Now before you’re mouth starts watering because you’re dreaming of Fall aux Etats-Unis J, it’s not what you might think.  Here they eat the short, tougher corn we’re accustomed to feeding animals.  Instead of boiling it and smothering it in butter and salt, Cameroonians grill until partly burned and eat it solo.  While it takes some getting used to I thoroughly enjoy sharing a cob with friends; in particular that one stagier who carries salt in her purse at all times. J

Television: Cameroonians Love It! Chez moi, the television comes on at roughly 6am every morning and isn’t turned off until 11pm.  It’s on during breakfast, I can imagine lunch (I’m at school), and their eyes are glued to it during dinner.  I’ve concluded that Cameroonians have some sort of special hearing, since it’s a rarity for the television to be the only electronic going at one time.  Often the televisions on, radios playing, pots are clanging in the kitchen, my baby sisters crying, and nobody seems to miss a beat.  Seriously, it’s impressive. Unfortunately the evening news is way too fast for my comprehension, but what I can tell you that’s markedly different from the evening news in the states, is that the showing of dead bodies is perfectly acceptable.  There’s typically a crowd of people hovering nearby, and often the deceased has committed some sort of crime so it serves as a statement to others. Nethertheless there it is, and it takes some getting used.

Private Vehicles: Operate with the same philosophy as bush taxis: cram em’ in!  When I go to church with my family all nine of us squeeze in the family car.  Seatbelts aren’t a priority.  On my first day here I rode shotgun sans a seatbelt with my little sister on my lap.  En route to a neighboring town my father signaled our presence around the many, many turns, simply by laying on the horn.  Intéressant.The other day I had to slightly chuckle when a Mercedes Benz made for five drove past carrying eight.  Even first class has a new meaning.

Especially for Jordana: Thanks for the post with questions! Wish I had could put up pics. of the market because that’d be the easiest, but they take way to long to load! Picture this: two Lansing size city blocks filled with brown stalls comprised of general stores, tailors, restaurant/bars, hair salons, etc.  There are several street vendors lining the street selling produce (corn, avocados, peanuts, carrots, bananas, pineapples, passion fruit, etc.), clothing, footwear, or random household goods.  The market here is small-medium size, but once I reach most post I’ll have a huge one.  I’ll be able to find……lettuce on a daily basis J and its rumored even strawberries during season.  Income generating activities for women: the most common is selling produce in the market, some work as civil servants, and many simply do all the work around the house.  I hope to work with the women’s group at my bank so I’ll be sure to post some information on what sort of projects are worked on. Hope that helped!

Especially for Simon: I received your letter today!! It was my first in Cameroon and Much Appreciated.  I had to laugh when I opened it; of course you’d put it in Word letter format, signed, and dated. J  Glad to hear things are going well in NYC. More updates on your end with the next letter!

Dadio: Got your 2^nd pkg. Thanks so much! I’m assuming you sent the second for insurance as it contained the exact same things. J You’d be happy to know I was explaining Chutes & Ladders en francais to my sisters last night and that I’m now set on face towelettes for the next two years. Looking forward to my Sunday phone call…