So, here I am: back in Cameroon and very
quickly falling back into the same routine I was in before I left. My house is
a little fuller of American goodies and photos, but it’s also a lot fuller of
red dust, dead insects, cobwebs, and wood-dust left for me by my friends the
termites. The seasons changed while I was gone, but otherwise, things are the
same as I left them. The best way to put it is: it’s a relief to be back.
I know I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been
trying to culture myself and read big pieces of literature I’d never read in
the US. For the past month or so, I’ve been leisurely working through
Steinbeck’s East of Eden, and the other day I found this gem of a
dialogue between characters Adam and Samuel about Samuel’s upcoming travels to
visit his children:
“You’ve earned it. You’ve
worked hard enough on that dust heap of yours.”
“I love that dust heap,” Samuel
said. “I love it the way a bitch loves her runty pup. I love every flint, the
plow-breaking outcroppings, the thin and barren topsoil, the waterless heart of
her. Somewhere in my dust heap there’s a richness.” (Chapter 24, section 1, p.
297)
It’s a begrudging love and one that you
have to laugh at yourself for, but this dry season, Batouri is my version of
Samuel’s dust heap. I can’t easily explain what it is that I love about
Batouri—it’s loud, messy, unpredictable, and far from glamorous, but it’s mine and definitely full of possibility.
A lot of the things that I love about it here are the things that make it difficult and frustrating to live in.
I’ll be the first to criticize Batouri nine times out of ten, but it remains
that I’m possessive, defensive, and loyal to my town to the core. I feel the
same way about America. It’s a blessing to be in love with two places that are
so different and that offer so many different things.
It was great to be back in America and to
spend time with family, friends, bad television, an oven, and a non-foam
mattress, but if you’re reading this, I probably saw you, talked to you, or
you’ve chatted with my family, so I’d rather save some space in this entry to
talk about things that aren’t my vacation. You’d think coming back would be
difficult; no one in their right mind would be glad to be without electricity
again, right? I feel cleansed and refreshed, though. I’m feeling like I can
finish out this last year strong. One last year: that’s all I have left to do
and learn everything that I’m missing. I’ve spent more time in Cameroon than I
have left on my contract. Mind-blowing. Cue a few long minutes of
self-reflection.
Since coming back, things have been calm. School’s
are out for break, and everything in town is pretty slow (minus a steady growth
of toy vendors that keep popping up everywhere.) I’ve had a few meetings since
coming back, but otherwise have mostly spent time trying to catch up on
cleaning, catching up with friends, and trying to avoid getting hit by the
motos. Oops. My friend tells me December is the month when secret societies who
do evil and various spirits/sorcerors try to meet their quota of evil deeds by
causing motorcycle and car accidents; I’m attributing the increased number of
accidents to people drinking too much because of the holidays and not being
able to see well because of the dust. Cultural lesson of the day: superstition
holds a special place in the heart of Cameroonians. Whatever the reason for all
these accidents, I’m doing a lot more walking than usual. I like the idea of
keeping my head attached to the rest of my body. I also like the idea of
someday being able to navigate through the nooks and crannies of my
neighborhood without having to ask someone what road I need to take home; one
year down, and I still get lost trying to get home. Ridiculous. But, back to
the realm of work.
I attempted to teach my youth group
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” which was mostly hysterical and adorable, but
one of my older kids who’s in the English section of the Bilingual High School
mastered it. Little successes, right? The kids are going to sing it at our
Christmas party December 27th. We’re going to prepare Cameroonian
and American food (American food being tofu and french fries…I’m sure the
majority of you are cringing at that,) exchanging gifts of toys and school
supplies that I’ve gotten as donations, and singing the song for the parents
and government delegates who will hopefully show up. I’m also catching up to
speed on the millions of changes that are happening at my host institution (the
formation of a support group for people in town with Hypertension and Diabetes,
the creation of a “governing council” with three separate arms to ensure that
the group doesn’t get swallowed up into the Catholic Mission, the selection of
new families to receive donations, change of days for donations, etc.)
On the horizon, I’ve got a big Christmas
celebration to look forward to, a New Year’s Eve celebration with coworkers in
village, the visit of my bestie from the US, Mid-Service with the other Youth
Development Volunteers at the end of January, and serving as a trainer for the
new Youth Development Volunteers at their In-Service Training at the end of
February. It’s going to be a lot of back-and-forth from Yaounde and beyond, so
here’s to hoping that things with transportation start calming down (which they
should, since December’s already almost over!) It’s about to be a busy few
months, so I’m relishing this last week of quiet and being alone at home!
For those of you who asked while I was home
about easy, always appreciated things to send to me when I’m here: Crystal
Light, packets of cereal and oatmeal, instant soup packets, instant coffee
(bonus points for Starbucks Via!), tea, Ziploc bags, seasoning/sauce packets,
photos, dried fruit, magazines, incense. I hope that helps, if not, I’m always
happy to talk about what random American items I’m missing badly. Finally, for
anyone who may want to know, I bought a second SIM Card for my phone—you can
now reach me at either (237)74 05 79 85 or (237)98 82 41 29.
Take care, everyone!
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