First Week

I have finished my first week.  It was a lot of ups and downs, and it really hit home how bad my French is.  But everyone, including myself, keeps saying it will get better soon.

So since the last time I wrote… We had our swearing in ceremony in Bangante.  It was a big thing for Bangante, Peace corps, and our host families, but none of the volunteers were very excited about it.  Well we were excited about leaving training, but not actually the ceremony.  All the important people (Cameroonian, American and even some Japanese and German) were there.  There were a lot of speachs, very repetitive, thanking everyone who ever had something to do with Peace Corps.  The most important part was our swearing in where we all stood, and said in unison our promise to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.  I’m really looking forward to the whole defending the constitution thing.   Another big thing was that up till this point we were all refered to as “trainers”  but now we could officially be called volunteers.  In the weeks leading up to swearing in when we would complain about training a standard response was always: well soon you will be volunteers and everything will be different.  Not exactly a placating answer.

 Here are a picture of some of the cooler members of my training class.  We all grew mustaches to better defend the constitution.  Notice my American t-shirt.

So after swearing in we all packed up our stuff and prepared to leave the next morning.  It was an interesting experience packing, as every once in a while my brothers would come knock on my door and just watch me pack.  After packing up we all went to the center of town for a celebration of our finishing training.  It was very anti-climactic as many of the Cameroonians got dressed up to go our dancing with us and than many of the Americans just wandered around to different bars before going home.

The next morning we all headed off in our seperate directions.  I went to Yaounde and stayed there for two nights before taking off for Makak.  Usually I will take the train to get to Makak but with all my stuff I took a car.  I hope I will never have to take the car to Makak again.  The car was as old Toyota hatchback, which took about an hour and five different attempts to load the back with all our stuff.  It was so full I had to carry my bag and moto helmet on my lap.  Four people squeezed into the back, and than I squeezed into the front with a man about 6′4, 200 lbs.  So i was half on the seat half on the seat belt, with my side rubbing up against the gear shift and my should against the driver.  This went on for about 2 hours across bumpy dirt roads.  The whole time I was afraid I was going to lean to hard on the gear shifter and hit it our of place.

So I made it to post safe and got all my stuff settled in.  The person I replaced left about a month ago, and I don’t think he had cleaned for a while, making the house a large project to clean.  First of all a description of my house.  It is in a small housing complex.  So attached to my house there is another house, and than about two other units.  So there are about 4 other families that live in close proximity to me.  The house is all cement with a living/dining room, one kitchen, a small bedroom and an external latrine.  There is no running water in the house but there is in the latrine which is a room directly attached to my house.  There is electricity, but goes out every once in a while, more so in the rainy season.

Here is the view from the small porch of my house.  I am in the jungle.  It is hotter than when I was living in Bangante in the West. 

When cleaning my house I have seen so many cockroaches they no longer phase me.  I really did have to battle against them, and everyday I see one or two.  I also found a dead mouse in a foot locked making me think that the person I replaced did not touch certain things for the whole two years he was there.  I have started cooking myself eggs in the morning and eating something in the center of town at lunch.  For dinner the family who owns the house and lives right next to me prepares food for me.  They are both retired teachers, and had 12 kids and something over 30 grandkids.  The mother who I call Mbobo (which is Bassa for grandmother, or honey) is blind.  She lost her vision about ten years ago from cataracts, something that would be easily treated in the United States.  The father who I call grand-pere only has one eye, as he lost his other in an accident about two years ago.  Mbobo hugs me everytime she sees me, which is several times a day as I tell her everytime I leave the house or return.

The food is pretty good.  It is nice not to have to cook and than also to have someone to eat with.  The one day we had a dish, which I didn’t know exactly what it was.  I put some on my plate and than realized that it was grubs.  Insect larvae.  I have eaten a lot of other non-traditional foods, but I don’t think this is one I could eat yet.  So I turned into the 9 year old at the dinner table who doesn’t want to eat his spinach.  Grand-pere sits directly across from me, while Mbobo sits in the corner about 15 feet away.  So I would just wait until he turned to say something to her and than through the grubs back in the pot.  I figure it was save seeing how they have one working eye between them.

In my town the primary ethnic group are the Bassa and predominatly Christian.  Everyone speaks Bassa and French, but with each other they speak Bassa.  So adding to my difficulty in French, conversations in Bassa often go on around me without me having a chance of understanding.  I have learned exactly three phrases in Bassa, but when I use these people go crazy.  It is like I am a trained dog who has learned an amazing trick.  The funny thing is French is just as difficult for me to learn, but people are disappointed by my French ability while they are amazed at the three phrases I know in Bassa. 

One painful experience with my French level, was the saturday fete the youth center had.  I think they have these about once a month and this one was a fete de noel.  I was put in charge of running the ping pong table, which meant I had to keep score and send the winners to go get prizes.  A lot of times kids would come up to me mumbling in french and I finally figured out they just wanted a prize.  The akward part was when they herded us all inside for a presentation.  I was put at the head table with three other people.  The presentation was about “sexualite precous” basically people beginning to have sex at an early age.  The conversation basically went on around me and I just kept hoping it would end soon.  But it went on for about an hour.  These kids looked so bored.  Afterwards the women who is the head of the youth foundation said to me in English “Ben you have nothing to say.”  No thanks for making me feel stupid. 

I have a lot of work to do to improve in French.  But besides that everything else is good.  Since I probably won’t be at a computer again soon, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday Mom!  Bye

Pictures

My family.  Charlie, George, and their friend I don’t remember his name. 

My father and I in our house.  To the left is a picture of him recieving his diploma and a M.L.K. quote.

 

My brother Charlie with my motorcycle helmet on.  We are regulated by Peace Corps to wear this “casque” whenever we ride on a moto.  Making us look very weird when no Cameroonians were helmets.  But it is all for our safety, and the amusement of our host brothers.

The view of Bangante in the morning from my house.  This was pretty much a daily occurence watching the fog move across the hills while I brushed my teeth.

The soccer field in Bangante.  There are very few grass fields in Cameroon, most are this mud dirt type.  You can also see the rolling hills in the background.  You can see me in the foreground sans shirt.

An outfit my brothers gave me.  I came home one day asking if they knew of any tailors in Bangante.  They asked if I wanted Cameroonian clothes.  Than went to their room and got this for me.  It is not in the best shape, or the best made but it makes me feel like I’m integrated.  And I think damn cool.

My room when I first arrived.  It has now become common place but I thought it was pretty cool I got to sleep under a mosquito net when I first arrived.

This is me on World Aids Day.  Actually World Aids Day Eve becuase we were working with the Health Club at the Lycee (Like high school) and World Aids Day fell on a saturday.  Notice the hat which my Grandpa Wixson gave me, which would be very uncool in America but in Africa is appreciated for its ability to block the sun.  The banner I am signing says “Je promets de vivre positivement avec tout le monde sans discrimination” which means I promise to live positively with everyone without discrimination.  This poster was made by a group of people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.  They try to educate people on how to prevent the spread of HIV but also on ending the stigma and discrimination that hurts people and the families that suffer from the disease.

Another example of a poster a group worked on for World Aids Day at Lycee Technique.