Il a plu

While it may not sound like much to you, it was rather exciting for me. Dressed and ready to go into the bank this morning I was momentarily delayed….because it started to rain! After months without, all I could do was sit on my front porch and watch as it poured down. In other words, I pulled a Rich Cook. :)
I’ve had a few emailed questions roll in. Answers below:
1. What is a King Rat?
A large rat approximately the size beaver or raccoon commonly found in the bush around Cameroon.
2. What was it doing in the glove box?
Hah! C’est très normale! Animals are everywhere here, and I mean everywhere. Pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens wander all over neighborhoods, get strapped to the top of bush taxis, take the place of a passenger on the back of a moto, show up at the bar dead, or alive, have been known to show at your bank in the same fashion, women carry them on market day like you would your favorite tote, and on special occasions…they’re on your dinner table.
3. What are two or three elements of daily life in Cameroon most like daily life in the US?
While this certainly depends on the volunteer and their respective post, for me I would have to say
1. My schedule. It’s like being in college all over again, minus the late nights of course. From the moment I get up, the program for the day is whatever I decide to make it. Sure I have responsibilities but will I really be held accountable for not doing them. Probably not. I’m a volunteer after all. That being said, like making the grades in school, you’ll only get something out of these two years if you actually put something in.
2. Technology. Given that the nearest reliable Internet is 30km away by no means would I consider myself “connected”. Printing is time consuming and expensive and the last time I check my cell phone plan even in country was anything put cheap. Still, just having my computer equals major efficiency. When researching for projects, writing exams, or preparing emails/blogs, I don’t have to pay at a Cyber. My external hardrive allows me to share movies with other volunteers (Blockbuster after all isn’t an option), which is major for all the time spent chez moi past 7pm. Most importantly, it makes me feel at home.
3. Business hours. While this one is kind of a stretch (even Cameroonians will tell you they never respect time) it is somewhat similar. I hear moto traffic starting around 6am, market “mommies” and commerçants between 6am-7am, and the kids on their way to school between 7am-8am. Several of my neighbors start preparing beignets (friend donuts) around 5am so for me it’s like living next to Krispy cream. While all shops remain open, there’s usually a lull from 12pm-2pm from the intense heat. At 3:30pm the last of the kids are on their way home from school. Around 6:30-7:00pm the mommies are packing up their unsold produce and most stores are closing their doors. While by 8pm most villages would be dead outside of the local bar, my post is New York City. Honestly, this town never sleeps! If I head in to town past 7pm I can find a number of “pot ladies” selling anything from chicken, to brochettes, omelettes with French fries, poisson braissie, etc., etc. Every night there are between 30-40 bars open for service and one “club”.
4. What is the scenery like?
The West is very diverse. If you’re standing in one spot depending on the direction you’re looking you could see mountains, rolling hills, flat lands, cultivated farmland, or scorched earth. The main road is nicely paved and runs directly through town, past the center market and many magasins. Outlying all this are hundreds of unorganized “quartiers”, neighborhoods. All roads are unpaved and because there is no system of garbage collection trash is everywhere. In fact as environmentally unfriendly as this is, mine is thrown in a small dugout hole in front of my house. The kids have usually picked through it within an hour. Many volunteers choose to have a “compost pile”. My method is chucking everything out my kitchen window. Le Meme chose when I know the goats are just going to eat it anyways.
5. Do I find the landscape pretty?
Absolutely. Everything is so natural. On days when I take the back route to my house I find myself smirking every time. Off in the distance on the right is a massive home even by US standards. White pillars and everything the house no joke belongs in Beverly Hills. To my left are my neighbor’s houses and countless of others. Small, dilapidated, lacking any formal architecture, and certainly without paved driveways or manicured lawns they sit amongst rolling hills with the nearby mountains in the background. It’s an innately beautiful scene and I’m glad that when the road splits, I turn left.

New Pics & A Trip to Town

While in Yaounde prior to IST my fellows PCV's and I had some rather interesting conversations on how the everyday things that we now find normal, just really aren't normal. A few days after the Fete in Bafut I was hanging out at fellow PCV's house. That particular morning started off with my friend trying to get in touch with Camtel to reconnect his internet. He stopped by their office two days prior but due to an error on their end the net wasn't working. During the course of several phone calls he was told: "these things happen try again another month", "press 0 to talk to an operator" only to press 0 to be told "your input is incorrect" and then be hung up on. I could carry on with examples of how customer service just doesn't really exist here, but long story short we had to make the trip into town to talk to Camtel.
We wait on the corner of the road for about twenty minutes trying to hail the next bush-taxi or moto that passed. Finally a bush taxi arrived so we pile into the equivalent of a rusty 84'Civic with six other people. I manage to wedge myself between the three other people in front and try my hardest to avoid the stick shift. Oddly enough, I find this to be the best spot. Only a few kilometers down the road we pullover. I'm confused for a bit as we already have our 8 passengers but then..voila! The driver reaches over and pulls from his glove-box the largest King Rat I have ever seen, which he then hands out the window to a friend who's running over to get it! Even the driver kind of chuckled at my face!
Yet a few more km's down the road we see stopped, congested traffic. We had come upon a moto accident that had just happened. The driver on the right has a large gash on the right side of his head, looks delusional, and was still sitting in a pile of glass next to empty beer crates. The other guy doesn’t look much better. While Ive passed dozens of accidents in the States and (as much as I hate to admit it) am one of those people who slows down to get a better look, what was so startling this time was the clear visual I actually did got. There were no police cars or ambulances, yellow tape, or big SUVs blocking the scene. Instead, you had only the two moto drivers on the ground right in front of you and the crowd of pedestrians who were trying to help. Next time I'm hoping curiosity doesn’t get the best of me.
Just before we arrived into town we slow down over two road blocks. The driver slips a 500cfa piece to the gendarmerie which we are assured will go "to the community". Funny how just before Xmas & New Years every gendarmerie made you stop. I overheard one taxi driver say his friend paid 10,000cfa in one day. While our government is certainly not without its fair share of problems, we're lucky to have the one we do. Really puts into perspective just how much a productive and ethical government has to do with the well being of its people. From a microfinance standpoint it's upsetting to think how many businesses might actually work here if they didn't have to go thru the top.
Luckily, once we made it the trip was a total success. My friend got his internet fixed and I found the very last can of mushrooms at the market. Green bean casserole a must have for Xmas! & this time I did not use sweetened and condensed milk :) So while twenty minute car rides like that are nothing to me, something tells me once I return aux Etats-Unis a trip to Meijer just won't quite measure up.