Monday, November 28, 2011

The End is Near

28/11/11

So, Stage is almost done, and everything I’ve known having to do with Peace Corps is about to change dramatically: no more rigid schedule, no more curfew, no more John the money man delivering envelopes full of money, no more people cooking meals for me, no more being surrounded by people who come from the same background. Peace Corps is about to get a whole lot more challenging, and Cameroon is about to feel a lot more real. This is what I came for: the real challenges and growing experiences are about to begin.

So, what have I been up to lately? Eating. A lot. And yes, I’m totally serious, that’s definitely been the bulk of my life outside of class-type stuff. Not so long ago, we made a delicious, American style brunch with chocolate chip pancakes, fruit salad, homemade hashbrowns, omelet, and avocado salad. I think that was the first time that I really had hope for good eats in Cameroon.

We also hosted ourselves a really nice Thanksgiving lunch/dinner in Bokito (the village where the Health kids have their Stage.) All of us contributed an item that we made ourselves, and it was possibly the most delicious day of my life. For those carnivorous folks, there was chicken (some of which was purchased from my host family), and for us veggies, we had homemade tofu. There was also guacamole, garlic bread (my contribution), red bean hummus, green beans, 3 different types of mashed potatoes, bruschetta, etc. etc. etc. Even more excitingly: desserts! Brownies, cakes, fruit salads, pineapple deliciousness, and pumpkin pie. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had such a thorough food coma, so clearly Thanksgiving was a big success.



Peace Corps hosted Cameroonian/American Diversity Day for us, as well, which, among talent shows, skits, Cameroonian proverbs, and music, included delicious Cameroonian food. If you assumed that Peace Corps membership came with a dramatic weight loss, you were definitely wrong, my friends. But, the food is good, people continue to be fantastic, and all in all, I’m living just the kind of life that I’ve wanted. Things with my host family have calmed down considerably, and all in all, I’m feeling pretty acclimated to life in Bafia, which means that it’s definitely time to move on to Batouri.

Over the next ten days, things are going to stay roughly the same: class continues on and on and on, and we continue to play massive amounts of volleyball to kill the time. But, when Stage ends, we have a big Swearing-In ceremony that the Embassy attends, as well as all of us and our host families. Every program has matching clothing, too, in clear Cameroonian style. Afterwards, curfew is finally over, so we can go back to feeling like independent people for one whole night. Hooooooooooooooooooooo buddy!

And, that’s it for now. Stay safe, all!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

"People who live in glass houses..."

16-11-11

…shouldn’t get dressed during the day. This “traditional American proverb” provided by the English Club of the Lycee Classique in Bafia. Your life is changed forever now, I know. How I survived this long without that word of wisdom, I’m just unsure.

Cultural misunderstandings and awkward dinner party stories abound here, I may never run out of fuel for lags in conversation in America ever again… that is, if I remember to tell these stories in English, which is increasingly becoming a problem. I’ve just started learning Fulfulde (a language predominant amongst the Muslim Fulani people of Nigeria and Cameroon), but interestingly, these lessons are taught in French. Franfulglais: coming to you compliments of your United States Peace Corps volunteers. Nonetheless, I did have a conversation with my Community Partner on the phone in French and I think we both understood each other pretty decently—SCORE! More and more I’m having moments where I feel like I sound like an intelligent human being in French (or, at least, one who has completed primary school.) I have a long way to go, but it’s always encouraging to feel like you’re making progress
J

Dry season (or hot season, depending who you talk to and what region they’re from) has hit Cameroon, and it’s hitting hard. Oddly, it’s cold at night and in the morning but blazing hot the rest of the day—more than once I’ve woken up with goose bumps. Mosquitos are suddenly far more awful than they’ve been this entire time, and the Moot Moots are even worse (they leave these horribly itchy bites that bleed and are shaped like archery targets.) Thanks Camps Ledgewood, Whip-Poor-Will, and Libbey for preparing me for the awful-ness of having a million bites at all time.

We swear-in on December 8, and that can’t come soon enough. Peace Corps is all about the waiting and the patience-building, but in general, I think that’s a good thing… I’m just feeling ready to do something useful. Plus, I mostly just want to get started on making my house livable. Can we just skip the school work and whatnot and fast-forward? Plus side/side-note: I dropped off new fabric today to the tailor to get a dress made for Swearing-In… I absolutely adore my tailor, she might just be the cutest person I’ve ever met in my life. I hope that I can find a tailor in Batouri who is as fantastic. Double side-note: tie-dyed fabric, I want some. They sell it in Bertoua…yet another reason to be excited to move-in.



I can’t believe how long I’ve already been here. It is insane how much I learn in a day and how many new things I experience. I don’t know another time in my life recently where anything has so fully absorbed me; it’s like being five again because everything’s new all the time. Also, fun fact, I was literally punished for not bringing home my host mother a present from Batouri—good thing I am a pro at washing dishes quickly/effectively Cameroonian style, otherwise I might have felt bad. Anyhow, the living situation with a family and being surrounded by all the volunteers who are clearly so much more knowledgeable than us definitely adds to that whole five year old effect.

Quick other updates: 1) I have finally seen the mouse that abides in my room and, if you so please, I could give you a detailed list of the things he does and doesn’t like to eat. 2) Our cat, Minette, ran away and I’ve been without cuddle time with the cat ever since. 3) We’ve all discovered a frozen yogurt treat near to the school that’s helping us to survive the awful heat, and, thankfully, frozen yogurt exists in Batouri, as well. 4) I have become a pro at hailing taxis and motorcycles, but unfortunately, not a pro at avoiding stereotypical Stephanie bad luck—hopefully that’s next. 5) Thanksgiving: what I wouldn’t give to eat delicious amounts of that food.

Miss you all, love you, and hope you’re all staying safe. Drink some apple cider for me, lay under a warm blanket in flannel PJ pants, and watch a couple episodes of obnoxiously bad TV.

Friday, November 11, 2011

How Far Will You Go?


"I want to warn anyone who sees the Peace Corps as an alternative to the draft that life may well be easier at Fort Dix or at a post in Germany than it will be with us." Sargeant Shriver

"Life is calling, how far will you go?" US Peace Corps Slogan

Last time I wrote, I told you that I was posted in Batouri, but I definitely know a lot more now than I did last week, so consider this part 2 of that first post. Being the person that writes definitely has it's perks, and in this respect, it's definitely getting to choose to ramble on and on and on about my awesome assignment.

POP QUIZ: Where am I posted? What region am I in? If you said Batouri in the East region, on are rocking at your knowledge of Stephanie Gasior... either that or you paid close attention to that first sentence and then did a google search, in which case I applaud your dedication.

Okay, anywho, this week was site visit, meaning that we left for Bertoua on Saturday, left for Batouri early on Wednesday morning with my post-mate, and then returned to Bertoua today. Bertoua has been fantastic, but because that's not my post, I'm not going to go into great depth about it except to say that it has the best fish and best pasteries I've ever had in my life--it is definitely a city to expect more from in the future.

On to the important things: BATOURI! Mike and I arrived Wednesday around 10, and I don't know what I expected to find, but it definitely wasn't what I found. Batouri is pretty moderately sized, but has a ton of government agencies, religious organizations, and private organizations. Unlike Bafia, it's also pretty clean, which was delightful. I don't know where to begin describing Batouri, but I will say that it's spread out, has a lot of different ethnic/linguistic/cultural influences, and is environmentally beautiful. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know the little nuances and finding the intriguing nooks once I return for good in December. It's definitely going to take awhile to get acclimated, but I'm up for the challenge and ready for anything/everything that's about to be sent my way. Getting out of Bafia was definitely the kind of motivation that I needed, and I know a lot of others feel the same way. Plus, it was nice to drink a real cup of coffee and have some freedom to feel like an adult again.

So, while in Batouri, I got to see my house (100% empty, but it has electricity and running water once I pay for the counters for those), visit a logging company, see my host institution (Centre pour la Promotion de la Femme et la Famille), learn about a large number of potential projects (including one with the UN Development Project [fingers crossed]), eat lots of delicious local foods, meet my two post-mates, and generally start to acclimate myself. I'm feeling much more amped about Batouri now that I've had the opportunity to see it, I'm genuinely feeling like it's the right place for me at this point in my life: lots of challenge, lots of opportunity for personal growth, lots of opportunity for community growth (I hope.) So, thanks Program Manager Amadou for not listening to my requests, I think you made an excellent decision on my behalf :)

I am definitely looking forward to having a comfortable home of my own that I can cook food in, although I recognize that it's going to take some time before I hit that point. On that note, I would gladly accept any maps, photos, hand-drawn pictures, post-cards, decorations, etc. that you want to send my direction. Most any of that could fit in a simple envelope, and it'll make a huge difference in making my empty house feel like a home. And, yes, that was a shame-less plug, but I'm assuming that you love me enough to look past that!

I'm also just genuinely looking forward to being done with stage and creating a life for myself: deciding my daily schedule, choosing friends to associate with, grocery shopping, designing projects. All of those tiny things that I took for granted in the States are definitely what I'm most excited for now, although I clearly never rode motorcycles as my main form of transportation in the US. It is wonderful to know that there are so many opportunities ahead of me, it's just unfortunate that I need to go back to a highly scheduled life and living with a family again for the next month. But, if there's one thing that I've learned from the Peace Corps so far, it's patience. A month is a short time, and soon I'll be at post missing the structure and missing the organization.

Much love,
Steph

Thursday, November 3, 2011

POST-It Note

2-11-11

Background information: Cameroon is divided into 10 regions, each of which has a very specific culture and set of stereotypes. The Grand North (Adamaoua, North, Extreme North) is seen as your backwards, Muslim region, the West (N. West, West, S. West) are Anglophone and hence not represented well by the mainstream, the Grand South (South, Littoral, Centre, East) is a hodgepodge (East being the most backwards of all because it’s an isolated rainforest, Centre being the most developed because of Yaounde.)  There are volunteers in all 10 regions (the most are in the Northwest and the fewest number are in the Centre), but Youth Development is only going to four regions: Extreme North, Adamaoua, Southwest, and East.

Actual Exciting News: I KNOW MY POST!!!! I’m going to be a volunteer in Batouri, which is a city in the East. Is it what I wanted? No. Is it what I was expecting? Definitely not. Is it going to kick major butt? ABSOLUTELY. I’m excited, nervous, overwhelmed, and genuinely drained of emotion—it has been a crazy day of processing this unexpected news.


There are currently two volunteers in Batouri, and there’s another two of us going in my class (the other being Mike, an Agroforestry volunteer.) In addition to me, there are three other YDs, one Agro, and four Health PCTs headed to the East. From the description I received, “Batouri is the administrative headquarters of the Kadey Division in the East Region. It is located approximately 90kms from Bertoua. [I]t is a cosmopolitan city… The predominant religion is Christianity.” I’ll predominately be working with out-of-school girls (again, something I said I didn’t want) and with these organizations that work with youth to reinforce their capacities because the vast majority of organizations in Batouri are fairly inactive.

So having wanted/expected the Extreme North, why am I so amped about the East? Excellent question:

·         Having three post-mates! It’s going to be incredible, Mike’s a great guy and the volunteer I called on the phone today (Janelle) is so stoked that we’re coming. She sounds so motivated and apparently has a lot of potential projects lined-up for me. She also found me a fantastic community host (an employee of the Catholic health center) who is amped to have someone to be there and work specifically with the youth community. I’ll meet my community host tomorrow (aka: today, by the time you read this) at the Community Health Workshop.

·         There are so many organizations to work with that are actually active: AMAZONE Literacy Center (works predominately with Muslim girls and women), Esperance Sare Jeunes de Batouri (associated with the Catholic mission but does Income Generating Activities with youth, recreational activities, reproductive health, etc.), a woman’s center, the Tripano Center (works with handicapped people), and Youth Enterprise Without Borders. Apparently all these contacts are stoked, as well, and have lists of possibilities of things that I can help them work on.

·         I’ve been informed by the PCVs that are here this week as well as by my Program Manager that although this is exactly what I said that I didn’t want, I’m going to really rock in Batouri. Because I trust Amadou and YD is his baby, I’m going with it. Having had time to process, I can definitely see that I have a lot of experience in the right areas to succeed here. It’ll challenge me in the right ways, but it’s going to be awesome and I think I’ll have a great support system there.

·         By the end of this, I’m going to be a rock star at French, which is going to be awesome. I’ve put in far too much work and improved too much to not get to use it. Who’s excited to be multi-lingual? THIS GIRL.

·         I can keep wearing pants: that’s acceptable in the East (thank God.) I wasn’t excited about wearing dresses and skirts every day for the next two years up North. And, in general, there’s way more freedom for women in the East. Fun fact: I never thought I’d be excited to get to wear pants, my life is so ridiculous.

·         I can run in a city without the awkwardness of being judged for exposing too much skin. I’m so excited to start being physically active again.

·         Food variety. I’m in the middle of the rainforest, for God’s sake. I am, however, not excited about the bush meat. The East is the bush meat capital of the country, and fish is probably not going to be easily accessible.

·         I’ll be the first to live in my house, which means I can stock it full of awesome things. But, I should also be able to get things from the PCVs that are there. PLUS, since it’s a city, it’s going to (hopefully) be stocked full of things. And, apparently my house is super nice. I’m pumped to see what my market is like. I’ll let you know next time what my accommodations are going to be like, but I have high hopes J

So, we have Community Host Workshop Thursday and Friday, and then the journey starts on Saturday. I’ll be taking a bus from Bafia to Yaounde (two hours), a second bus from Yaounde to Bertoua (five hours), stay overnight at the Peace Corps house in Bertoua, and then take another bus the next day to Batouri (three hours): all this to get through a country that’s the size of California. Be thankful for your highway infrastructure in the States, friends and family. I’ll be in my community for four or five days, I think, which’ll be plenty of time to really acclimate myself to this new, crazy idea of living in the East of Cameroon. [Update: banking situation is ridiculous, so I now will be there Sunday and Monday, take a bus back to Bertoua on Tuesday maybe spending another night at the case before going back, and then leave for good on Friday to get back to Bafia on Saturday. Be REALL Y thankful for your infrastructure in the US, guys!]

On a general level, things in Bafia are fantastic, but we’re all pumped to get out for awhile… having class six days a week and living with people on top of that isn’t always the easiest. Everything in my program continues to be amazing, I’m blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group. I’m definitely looking forward to the next two years of life in Cameroon!

Keep checking here for updates, I’ll definitely have a million things to say about site visit soon. There are new photos headed to facebook of general life in Bafia (like Halloween where I was a mosquito) and of site reveal. Coming up for the future, I think we have another field trip out of Bafia on the docket and then we swear in the 8th of December.

Miss you all, love you all, and I hope nobody was too miserable during that snowstorm that hit PA.

ADDENDUM 3-11-11

My community host, Denise, is possibly the coolest person ever—she’s a nurse at the local Catholic health center and is super sassy. She also happened to show up in a dress that, like mine that I happened to wear today, is lime green. We were clearly meant to be together J Everything she’s said about Batouri sounds incredible, so I’m super hopeful.