Four Months In!

23/1/12

As of today, I’ve spent four full months in Cameroon, which is really exciting. So much has changed over the past four months, but I don’t really want to spend this entry being nostalgic about all of that—I think I’ve covered all that pretty well over the past couple of blog posts. Instead, I wanted to give you a better update as to what I’m up to work-wise here in Batouri now that I’ve actually started some semblance of work.

As a Youth Development Volunteer, I have a lot of freedom to decide what I want to do, with who, and when. Part of that is because the program is totally new (being in the founding class has its privileges for sure,) but a lot of that is that the program was designed to combine the successful aspects of each of the four pre-existing programs and tailor it to a specific demographic: youth and families. So, over the course of my service, I could choose to work with young mothers on childhood nutrition, secondary students on financial management and goal-setting, teachers on how to approach sexual health in classes, etc. The possibilities are endless, and that’s what I really enjoy about my program: I’m not constricted to any one subject. I also have an awesome opportunity to collaborate with the other sectors, which is great because in Batouri there are volunteers from the Education, Small Enterprise Development, and Agroforestry sectors. The only sector not represented here is Health, and that was a good chunk of my training, and there’s a Health volunteer posted only about three hours away.

Now that I’ve gotten more settled into my house (key word here being “more,” as I’ve still got a long way to go before being established,) I’ve been checking out a lot of the institutions and schools that are active here in the community. Historically, Peace Corps has been really active here in Batouri, but there are a number of other local, regional, and international organizations active here as well. My host institution, Centre Pour la Promotion de la Femme et la Famille, works with women and young mothers giving technical training and general education. It’s a small organization that lacks funding, so while they have a lot of big ideas of what they would like to do in the future, all ideas constantly need to be scaled down because there’s just no money for them to work with. I’ve had two meetings there so far to get to know the staff and become more familiar with their work there, I’m headed back tomorrow with my post-mate to talk more concretely about some possibilities regarding running a soy and nutrition formation there within the next few months.

I’ve also started running some needs assessment-type work at one of the local, public secondary schools. I’ve found a really dynamic Vice-Principal to work with there, and that’s been a huge gift because he’s passionate about many of the same issues I am and he’s not afraid to address these issues head-on. This past week, I had a meeting with about 40 girls to talk about their lives at home, in the community, and at the school. In a lot of ways, their complaints were the same as the ones I would have said at their age: cliques, superiority complexes, and gossip, but there were plenty of other things that they said that were really jarring for me (being scared to walk around campus because of the harassment of boys, teachers blackmailing girls for money and sex, being forced into prostitution to pay for school fees, and being scared of being married off before finishing education.) I hope to be able to talk to the boys within the next week, and with teachers if that’s possible. The next time that the PTA meets, I plan to attend so that I can get a better sense of parental involvement and what parents’ reactions to my plans are.

Last week, I went to visit an organization that’s associated with the Catholic Mission here, Esperance Sare Jeunes. Esperance is one of the most inspirational, well-organized places I’ve found in town. They work with youth whose families can’t afford to keep them at home or send them to school giving them a place to stay, technical training in agriculture, and paying for their school fees. Be on the look-out for photos on facebook from Esperance—they tell the story of that place much better than I do. I’m headed back tomorrow afternoon with my post-mate to meet with the kids there and hear their stories and get a better idea of what the kids think that the two of us can do to improve their situations.

I have a friend who teaches the local language, Kako, to students at a private primary school in town, and he took me to his class last week, which was a blast. Benjamen also teaches illiterate parents to read and write in a village about 10 kilometers from here, so I’m hoping to go to one of those sessions soon, mostly just because I think he’s such a powerful teacher and I want to see what a village out here looks like.

So, work-wise, as you can see, things are going really well! I’m definitely finding a lot of interesting potential projects out here but, more importantly, I’m finding people who genuinely care about the work I want to do and who are realistic about the things we can accomplish together. If this first month and a half of post is indicative of what I’m in for during the rest of my time here, I’m going to be busy but there’s a definite possibility of making a lasting difference in the community, which is encouraging and exciting. As for the being busy part, let’s be honest, you and I both know that I’m thrilled to finally have things to do here (besides just cook delicious things and fiddle around with house set-up, anyways.)

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

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!

"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.

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

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 8^th 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.

Life Lessons from the Field

22-10-11

So, by the time this is posted, I will have been in Cameroon for 1 complete month—I can’t even believe it’s been this long already! Reflecting upon this month, I’ve compiled a list of Dos and Don’ts for your viewing pleasure.

DON’T: Be too jealous of everyone else’s field trips, you’re in Youth Development—the world is your class room! And, more importantly, you’ll have the run of Bafia and of the training center. Who needs curfew extensions and crappy hotels anyways?
DO: Eat chocolate “sandwiches” at every possible opportunity. There’s protein in the chocolate spread, right?

DON’T: Miss an opportunity to break those irritating 10,000 CFA notes. Maybe this time the boutique can finally break it…. No? Better luck next time!

DO: Pile those extra five people in the car: the more the merrier. Ideally, rock out to hard-core gangster rap and raunchy American pop in the process, your drivers don’t speak English anyways. Make sure to reaffirm that stereotype of Americans being awful dancers, that’s very important.

DON’T: Forget to insert a peut-être into every possible statement. Couple it with a couple of “J’ai blaig, j’ai blaig!” every couple of sentences and your language trainers will clearly think you’re following French Immersion.

DO: Play Catchphrase at every possible opportunity. Even better: play Bowls at the boutique and watch the Cameroonians laugh hysterically at the crazy Americans. And, once again, appreciate the fact that because they don’t speak American English, you’re safe describing the wonders of Paul Biya.

DON’T: Forget about that stupid chicken that hangs out at the boutique, it’ll come after your head not once, not twice, but three times.

DO: Be careful as you rummage around your bag for paper in public, you do have a number of fantastically awkward items in your bag compliments of the classes you’ve had this week on teaching Sex Ed and HIV/AIDs awareness.

DON’T: Do Zumba after eating a sandwich with lots of Piment. Heartburn city, folks. Also, don’t be too concerned about the other Stagiares taking photos of all of you pouring sweat and attempting ridiculous Zumba moves, facebook always allows for detags J

DO: Visit your buddies in Bokito and admire their digs—a shower, running water, fridge, and stove? Live in the lap of luxury for those three hours of your visit, and enjoy not wearing shoes.

DON’T: Forget to look around, you ARE in Africa after all.

DO: Be a part of the Dazzling Dozen, and be adorably close all the time. Playing games for class, massage trains, Zumba classes with Charla, team lunch, free hugs: why would you ever want to be with anyone else?

In all seriousness, now, I am so thankful to be where I am and with such incredible people. Things just feel so REAL here—the extraordinary moments and the times where things are genuinely rough. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so consistently challenged and rewarded, and I’m not even at post yet. Given that we’re all in the same situation (new language, new culture, new people, new information, etc. etc. etc. etc,) I’m finding such an uncommonly supportive community here. There’s always a shoulder for a hug, a hand to work out that awful knot in the shoulder from the lumpy bed, a person to try to explain the vocabulary term, and someone else to give advice about what to do about that awful comment someone made about you. I don’t know that I’d trade this group and this experience of Stage for anything, and I am a little nervous about what’s going to happen once we’re all scattered to the wind. But, we’re taking everything one day at a time and not rushing a thing, life here is just too fantastic to try to push forward too much.

Photos of my life are on facebook so that you get a better idea of what I’m up to, there aren’t a lot, the internet is too slow and I’m too bad at remembering to take photos (an indication of just how present I’ve been since getting here.) ALSO: I just wanted to reassure you all that I’m safe and sound—the elections are totally over now (Paul Biya was reelected for the next 7 years) and things have been much more calm than I could have ever expected.

Miss you all, and I hope you’re all having a wonderful fall full of hiking, foliage, apple cider, Halloween parties, and caramel corn.