We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto

6-1-12

Okay, so we were never actually in Kansas and I’ve never set so much as a foot on Kansan ground, the title’s a stretch… I just wanted to sound witty and have a clever title. I also just finished reading Wicked, so the whole Wizard of Oz reference is just on the mind. Anyways, the point is that I’m out of Bafia, out of training, and definitely more on my own than I’ve ever been and with a language that isn’t my first. The end of training was long and dull, so I’m not going to bore you with any of those details (you can thank me later!) This post is exclusively about my new digs and the beginning of my life here in Batouri, which there’s definitely more than enough to talk about.

I’ve been in Batouri now since the 13^th, and been out of Bafia since the 9^th—it’s amazing how quickly this place is beginning to feel like home and how much I’ve already begun to adjust to life here. All things considered, I think Mike and I are doing an awesome job for ourselves—we’ve been braving the markets and stores together a lot of the time, and we have made of number of Cameroonian mutual friends. Jessica just returned from her wedding, so she and her husband have been introducing us to their friends and helping us out with random house repair stuff. It’s definitely nice not to be totally alone here—it’s definitely an overwhelming experience and having someone to rant to in American English is a glorious thing. I’m really excited for the next two years—all of my post-mates are fantastic people, and we’re definitely going to be able to serve as a strong support system for each other. The other two volunteers in my cluster (Geoff and Julia, their post is Kentzou, which is about 15km from the Central African Republic) are equally as wonderful—the “Extreme East” is where the party’s at!!

On the actual daily level of life here, I’ve been terrifically productive, probably more so than I’ve been since arriving in Cameroon. I don’t want to give you a dull laundry list of things I’ve accomplished, so you should probably just take that at face value. There’s definitely a lot more to explore and to do, though—Mike and I are have been doing the Peace Corps required “Protocol” (aka: introductions) with government officials and random other important people. The process has been a little slowed down between the holidays and travel to Bertoua for the New Year, which was excellent and much needed. My current project includes trying to legalize my water and gas, because apparently the people that lived in my house before me had an illegal connection. I’m terrified to see just how expensive all of this is about to be. Anyhow, Bertoua was great, and I came home with a propane tank in hand, so it’s nice to have cooking as stress relief again (plus, way cheaper than restaurant food.) I’ve discovered a love of peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches, as well, so basically, food and I are at a great place with one another again. Back on the point, it’s been a rough adjustment in general going from having all of my days planned to having no plans at all for the next three months, but I’m making do. Doing little things for myself like making drapes by hand and pasta sauce from scratch helps; yes, Stephanie Gasior is, in fact, your very own little Suzy Homemaker.

For the most part, I’ve been avoiding motos (except at night or when I’m returning from a shopping trip and am carrying a million things) and instead been walking everywhere. I think that’s been making a HUGE difference in making myself visible to my community—I’ve definitely been making an effort to greet every person I see on my walk, and I know that they’re starting to recognize me and, as a result, are willing to start conversations. Considering how short of a time period I’ve been here, I think that’s doing pretty well. I should mention that I make the walk from my house to Centre-Ville probably twice a day or more and it’s about a 20 minute walk and by the end of it, I’m covered in red dust. I think my feet may permanently look like I’ve gotten an exceptionally bad spray-on tan. Jersey Shore Cameroon has a future here in Batouri during dry season. Anyhow, since getting here, I’ve made a couple of Cameroonian friends (eg: my neighbor who’s a teacher at the Ecole Maternelle and another girl who’s my age and a student at the lycée) and that’s definitely helping me feel more welcomed here in town. Christmas Day was really sweet because they all called/texted to check in and send their best wishes, so clearly I’m doing something right so far J

I had a really productive meeting at the local high school this week, which I am amped about. It looks like there’s a lot that I can potentially do there in the future, and the administration is really supportive of PC involvement. I’m meeting with the students for a needs assessment this coming week.

All that said, it’s weird not having such a large, tight-knit community of Americans surrounding me anymore. It’s also weird not knowing automatically where to find meals, how much an item should cost, or where to find things. It’s all a very tiring experience, and that’s a super generalization. Tiring as it is, it’s fulfilling to know that I’m basically doing this all on my own. Looking back through this experience, I’m really proud of how well I’ve handled everything and how much I’ve been able to accomplish. I don’t know that I’d have anticipated that I’d be doing all this on my own if you would have asked me back in the States. Monthly banking is going to feel like a saving grace, I think, because all of the Easties from my Stage are in Bertoua at the same time for that.

Other difficult things about Batouri: SO MANY LANGUAGES. Why use just French in a sentence when you can throw in Kako, Fulfulde, and Cameroonian English, too? Also, it’s generally favorable to confuse the white girl by speaking a million words a minute. My French, though, has increased and improved a thousand-fold since being here—I can’t believe how much easier French has become just in moving here. I’ve picked up a phrase or two of Kako and Fulfulde, as well—not enough to actually communicate, but enough to elicit a smile or two. My Community Host is giving me some materials to study Fulfulde from, and I’ve been trying to get my landlords to teach me a little bit of Kako whenever I sit down with them. Harassment is also fun times here in Batouri, so little Miss Suzy Homemaker has been upping the sass level as necessary (turns out, in general, pretty high.)

Well, friends, that’s basically it—my life in a nutshell: simultaneously busy and chill, exciting and repetitive, tiring and energizing. Amazing how much of life is a contradiction, right?

I miss you all, love you all, and hope you’re having a safe holiday season with family and friends.

Love,
Steph

“You and I, we will live differently. With our hearts in our hands like loaded guns, we’re taking our chance, we’re the lucky ones. This moment is yours, this moment is mine, and we’re going to be fine.” Brendan James—The Lucky Ones