Discovering Community Development

In June 2011, I received my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. The invitation consisted of a blue folder with a litany of forms and an assignment booklet. It certainly wasn’t as grandiose as the folder I received four years earlier from my university (a full color portrait of George Washington – a bit superfluous, yes?), but it didn’t matter to me for I was one step closer to being a Peace Corps Volunteer! I must have read the first page of the assignment booklet one hundred times over. “YOUR ASSIGNMENT – Country: Cameroon, Program: Community Health Project, Job Title: Community Development Agent…” I could locate Cameroon on a map and had an idea of what a Community Health Project might be, but only a vague idea of what “Community Development Agent” meant. 

Through these past months I have learned a lot about community – how to integrate into one and the roles of each member, institutions and culture in shaping one. I have also witnessed development – development aid in form of UNICEF/UNHCR handouts, development of infrastructure (paved roads!), early childhood development, etc. However, it was very recently that I was able to pinpoint something truly as community development.

This moment came as I took a seat to watch one of my counterparts, Ousmanou, give a presentation on facilitation skills to the group of “Mères Leaders” (Leader Mothers) at our Care Group workshop. Unless you are a Public Health major or a Peace Corps Volunteer, some of those terms might seem a little foreign so allow me to explain:

• Care Groups: The Care Group approach is a community health strategy. The program builds a team of “Leader Mothers” who will represent, serve and present important health information with groups of 10 households each. Each month, “Leader Mothers” will attend a meeting during which health center staff and community health volunteers will train them on nutrition, disease prevention, common illnesses and other healthy family practices. Following the meeting, the “Leader Mothers” will host a meeting for her own group of 10 households, disseminating the information she learned. The “Leader Mothers” will deliver vital health messages at a time that is convenient for the families using culturally appropriate language, stories and examples. This community-based strategy not only improves coverage of important health information, but also provides a supportive social setting for learning and asking questions. The approach was developed by World Relief in Mozambique, but has since been used in communities around the world. My counterparts and I have been really excited about the potential of this program, as is Peace Corps Cameroon. They want more volunteers to incorporate Care Groups into their work and recently brought in a “Care Group Expert” to lead a seminar. During the seminar, we found out that Lokoti is the only community (with a PCV) in Cameroon currently working with Care Groups. We are proud to be the pilot!
• Mères Leaders: “Leader Mothers” (Mères Leaders) are the driving force of this program. We currently have a team of 20 mères leaders (a leader and an assistant leader) from 10 different quartiers in Lokoti. They are responsible for their own groups of 10-15 families.
• Counterparts: Counterparts are the cornerstones of a Peace Corps Volunteer’s work. They are HCNs (host country nationals) who help you plan and implement work projects. A volunteer can have many different counterparts depending on the work they are involved with. For the Care Group project, I am working with three counterparts: Issa, Ousmanou and Abdoulaye. They are all part of the COSA (Comité de Santé), which is a group of people who volunteer their time to assist the health center with vaccination campaigns, nutrition days, etc.

This is the community development I witnessed:

Community (n):

1. a group of people living together in one place; 2. a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals.

The sense of community has been embedded in the project each step of the way. The project itself was suggested only after studying a community needs assessment. Before implementing the project, it was presented and approved by the Lamido and other village notables (as per village protocol). At that point it was understood that the project was not going to be the health center’s project, or my project, but the community’s project with each person playing his or her role to ensure success. In the case of the village notables, their role was of patron – lending their highly regarded support to the project.

During the planning and early implementation stages, I worked closely with three counterparts who through their membership in the village health committee had proven themselves as true public servants. The meat of the project – forming groups in the neighborhoods, identifying Leader Mothers, etc. – can be completing credited to the work that these men did, all voluntary and without financial recompense. This is especially noteworthy since most work in Cameroon isn’t completed without some “motivation” (financial or in-kind bribes or payment).

On the day of the training, this sense of community service that I saw in my counterparts was echoed in each of the Leader Mothers as they introduced themselves and explained why they wanted to be part of this program. They spoke of wanting to be promoters of healthy practices that would help people in their neighborhoods. An older woman spoke of wanting to learn new things, but to also lend her years of experience to the other women in the group. The head of the health center and a nurse attended the training as well to pledge their support and offer their technical knowledge and assistance to the Leader Mothers and their groups. Here’s to not asking what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!

In addition to the support of the community-at-large and the participation of the sub-communities that each Leader Mother represents, that day, during our first training, we created another sense of community – a community of Leader Mothers. Some of the women were friends, others knew of each other, but some had never met or interacted before the training. However, by the end of the training, they had formed a bond – after all, they were likeminded individuals who want to serve their community. The camaraderie was visible on Women’s Day when they marched together and presented a song to the Lamido of our village. They continue to support each other, whether in reminding a fellow Leader Mother of the date/time of our next meeting, or helping to explain a key health message in a different way. This solidarity is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the group transcends the social divide that normally exists between the Gbayas and the Fulbés (the two ethnic groups in Lokoti) at the village level.

Development (n):

a specified state of growth or advancement

Through this project I have seen many states of development. I have witnessed my counterparts developing new project design and management skills while strengthening their already existing skills as community leaders. I’ve observed Leader Mothers developing leadership skills and facilitation skills which lead to them feeling empowered to go forth and make a difference in their neighborhoods. The information they bring to their neighborhoods will eventually lead to less sickness and therefore will allow community members more time to go to school, be professionally productive and be a present, active and dynamic member in the community’s affairs and subsequent development.

Since learning is an ongoing process, I know that my understanding of community development will continue to change and if you will, develop. However, I can say that this Care Group project has certainly given me a comprehensive orientation on the subject! 

The Spring Break That Almost Broke Me

Now I can certainly get behind a week on the beach with a smoothie in one hand and a good book in the other. In fact, that’s exactly how I spent last year’s spring break: lounging on the black sand beaches of Limbé, eating fresh seafood and camping on the beach underneath the stars. This year though, an opportunity with a bit more adventure presented itself; so I spent Spring Break 2013 trekking 40 kilometers in and out of a valley, eating freshly caught river catfish and camping riverside in a national park. On the last Monday in March, five of us PCVs headed out for a three-day camping trip with a Cameroonian guide. We had packed food for more than three days, a hammock, a couple boxes of Cameroon’s finest wine, playing cards, books, journals and of course, our ever-trusty headlamps. With our prepared packs and a whole lot of zeal, we thought, “What could go wrong?”

 As it turns out, lots of things – well, not necessarily wrong, but contrary to what we had imagined and expected. Here are some examples of what we imagined and what we actually received:

 Mbéré National Park

What we imagined: While we not expecting a Cumberland Gap-type National Park with marked trails and picnic areas, we were imagining some semblance of trails.

What we got: During the first hours of our hike, we had trails thanks to the many farmers and cow-herders that have, over time, created them. However, as we ventured further into the valley, the trail became less apparent. As we approached our campsite in the heart of the valley, at the end of our hike, there was no trail at all. Instead we pushed ourselves through dried brush being sure to guard our eyes against any fling-back branches. We were in the definition of the African bush.

 The wildlife

What we imagined: Elephants, black panthers, antelope, monkeys, etc. Mbéré National Park is said to have a lot of elephants. In fact, last year, the army was sent to the area to dissuade the poachers who had been encroaching on the heavily populated area. We had also heard of black panthers and while we weren’t truly eager to cross their path, we were thrilled with the romance of entering such wilderness complete with African safari favorites.

What we got: A lot of birds, a snake, elephant excrement and a plethora of mosquitos. An ornithologist would have had a field day just as the anopheles mosquitos had a field day with us.

Our Guide

What we imagined: Our guide was a middle-aged man who was the brother of the Lamido of Djohong. We chose him after learning that he has been leading a group of French archeologists and Cameroonian archeology students into the valley every summer for many years. Because of this, he had a supply of tents, something we needed. His respectable position in the community and his experience leading foreigners into the park led us to believe that he would be a great guide. And we couldn’t beat the price at $10 a day! Additionally, we expected the friendly, congenial and laissez-faire attitude that many Cameroonians have.

What we got: A man who vacillated between a kind companion and a borderline misogynist. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the area and therefore we felt very safe with him. However, after the first two hours of the hike, his patience with us started to waver. He wanted to increase the pace (this is the first time I’ve encountered a Cameroonian that walks faster than an American). During a pit stop at a watering hole at the hour three mark, we asked him how much longer until we arrived at our camping site (we were told it would be a 3 hour hike). He responded without any hint of joking, that it would probably take 13 more hours because of the women (it ended up taking another four hours, fyi). That was the first of many, many backhanded comments that were made against my friend and me. Insult my ability or skill, but do not insult my sex. This obviously did not make for the most encouraging environment. Later that night though, we broke the proverbial bread by sharing catfish that he had caught for dinner. In sharing his meal and conversation and over subsequent card games, we saw his kind side, which had been shadowed earlier in the day.

The trek

What we imagined: We expected a three-hour hike with moderate difficultly and pockets of advanced difficulty (during the steep descents/ascents). Since French archeologists and Cameroonian students were able to complete the hike, we thought we would have no problems doing so.

What we got: As I mentioned above, our three-hour hike turned into a seven-hour hike, however, the difficulty of the hike mirrored our expectations. As a very goal-oriented person, not knowing where the finish line was (geographically or time-wise) was very frustrating. When we finally arrived at our campsite with blistered feet and drenched in sweat, we learned that the group of archeologists he brings into the valley normally stop and camp at the first watering hole that we stopped at (at the hour 3 mark). They also use porters, so unlike us, they do not have heavy packs to carry. I am glad that we continued to our campsite further in the valley because the site was beautiful. We were camped in the woods, near what could be described as a babbling-brook (but on a much larger scale). So while our goal was unknown for most of the trek, it was well worth it.

Despite all of this, I am still here, albeit with more than a few mosquito bites and the giardia box checked on my “tropical diseases” bingo card. While there were many moments of near agony, I do not regret choosing this spring break. In fact, I think it just put the PCV-skills we’ve been honing to the test – just as in our villages and professional lives, we had to take each unexpected aspect and strenuous incline with the same patience and flexibility. 

A Day of Service

(Like many of these more recent blog posts – I meant to write this post months ago!)

 

World AIDS Day is recognized on December 1^st of every year. It can be acknowledged in many different ways. Some of you have most likely participated in World AIDS Day events – voluntary testing, candlelight vigils, speaker panels, etc. In Cameroon, this day is often a very lively affair. It is celebrated (I use that verb with purpose) through dances, skits, presentations, testimonies, etc. Everyday can be a reminder of what loss the HIV/AIDS epidemic has brought, so World AIDS Day tends to focus on community resiliency – prevention and support, rather than the lost. My original intention was to sit down a write a blog post in honor of World AIDS Day and document the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Adamawa Region (where my village is located), which has the highest rate of HIV in all of Cameroon at 9.1%. Outside of HIV prevention presentations that I have shared with many groups, conversation around HIV/AIDS is limited due to fear in going against religious beliefs and widespread stigma. My hope was that the World AIDS Day events that we planned would provide me with more insights and anecdotes that would be helpful in terms of work and that I could share here. But, as with many things in the Peace Corps (in Cameroon, in life in general?), things didn’t go according to plan.

 

Lokoti did celebrate World AIDS Day on December 1^st… and December 2^nd, with some hiccups. In looking back at the rollercoaster that was planning and implementing World AIDS Day events, I have realized it really mirrored Peace Corps service as a whole. As Peace Corps volunteers, we experience many highs and lows throughout our service. Sometimes the highs or lows can last for a full month, but more often, they change on a daily to weekly basis due to the nature of our work and our distance from the familiar. Let me use World AIDS Day as an example…

 

Holding a World AIDS Day event in Lokoti was very important to me. As the first volunteer in this village, I am trying to lay the foundation through presentations, conversations, demonstrations, etc. for more focused and impactful HIV/AIDS interventions in the future. Additionally, I had heard that the year before an NGO had come to Lokoti and hosted an event that people still talk about, therefore there was a lot of community interest. I was approached by the president of the youth association (L’association jeunes solidaires de Lokoti) and was thrilled at the opportunity for collaboration – after all, the most successful projects are those planned and managed primarily by the community. I was so excited after our first planning meeting with the executive board of the association: the Sport Chair was going to organize the teams and football match, the President was going to handle publicity and equipment (generator, amplifiers, etc.) rental, others were going to prepare a presentation and the Social Chair was going to gather the actors/dancers for the skits, etc. Fast-forward to the next meeting when everyone says they are still working on their tasks. Every subsequent meeting was like this and I started to feel more and more discouraged. I had to keep telling myself to be flexible and that the event planning in the United States that I was used to was unlike event planning here.

 

I found out on the day of the event that my worries were not unwarranted. Up until the last hours of the event, we were running around trying to find another generator and gathering enough benches. The projector we asked to borrow from the health center ended up being in a neighboring town, so we had to send someone to get it. In addition, the Social Chair never did gather people to perform dances, so we’d have to go without. The only thing helping to relieve my stress in those hours was the fact that a lot of people were watching the football match we organized as a type of publicity and that they were going to head to the main event afterwards.

 

After all the running around during the day, we breathed a deep sigh of relief when everything was set up in front of the chief’s house (the benches, the amplifiers, projector, laptop, music, posters, etc.). We were excited to execute the event that we had planned – to have a few speeches and presentations about HIV prevention and then show “Scenarios d’Afrique,” a collection of short films made by young Africans on the subject of HIV/AIDS prevention, support and stigma. We gave presentations, people asked questions and all was good as we pressed play on the first short film. After about 3 minutes of the film, the generators that we had started having problems. After an hour of trying to fix the problem, we had to call it a night – it was around 10pm. I was upset these technical difficulties would be unfixable, but I was assured that with a few changes we could show the film the next night. I was worried no one would show up for the second night.

 

However, despite these difficulties, we attracted huge crowds both nights. There were people of all ages and market mamas came to sell snacks to the masses. On night two, I was marveling at how many people came back, even after the failure of the night before, when across the way I noticed a group of people huddled and yelling. I went over to watch what I thought might be someone dancing as we waited for the film to start. I was shocked to find a boy whipping (with plastic tubing) a young pregnant woman. The woman had arrived in Lokoti just a few weeks before and was living at the hospital. She had walked from the Northwest region of Cameroon and had only a piece of fabric to clothe herself. While I cannot say with certainty, it seemed as though this woman had a mental disability. “Fous” (“crazy people”) here are treated very poorly by many people – it is not uncommon for people to throw rocks at them or shout at them to leave. I stopped this abhorrent activity right away and tried by best to comfort the woman. Coming from the Northwest, she spoke Pidgin English, so I tried my best to communicate with her and eventually we ended up sitting together. She left to go back to the hospital an hour later, but for that entire hour people kept a distance from me, approaching me only to ask me why I wasn’t afraid of her. After that situation, I was surprised to find myself later in the evening joining in on the cheering as some brave youth participated in a condom demonstration relay race and as they answered trivia questions about prevention. I found myself just as proud of certain members of the community as I was disappointed in others just a few hours before. Talk about highs and lows.

 

So in conclusion, no, the event did not run seamlessly or truly according to plan and neither has my service. However, laughs were had, key information was transferred and a community was brought together on December 1^st (and 2^nd) and hopefully my service will have those same effects.

Apple(s to Apple) for the Teacher

Way back in October of 2012, the teachers in Lokoti, along with teachers in all the villages, towns and cities of Cameroon, celebrated Teachers’ Day. On that October 10^th, the teachers sang of educating the future of Cameroon as they marched through the village (no holiday here would be complete without marching). Following the march, we had a roundtable discussion on the need for advocacy on behalf of teachers (a precursor to a Cameroonian teacher’s union?). The day ended with a party complete with food, drinks and awkward colleague interaction.

 

Following Teachers’ Day, I had all intention to write a post about the very people this holiday honored, but never did. However, after attending last month’s teachers’ “Amicale,” I felt inspired to finally put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Amicale is a meeting that the high school teachers (I am included in the group because I teach an English class at the school) have monthly. Every first Saturday of the month we get together to eat, drink and collect money (that then gets redistributed to the “host teachers” for the month). In French, “amicale” means friendly and that is exactly what these meetings are supposed to do – promote an amicable environment amongst colleagues. However, I have mixed feelings on the environment that is actually promoted. In many ways, it feels like a being a fly on the wall of a men’s locker room. But, in this case, I am a very outspoken fly and always make sure the female perspective is heard (there is one other female teacher, but she is much more reserved). We spend a lot of time discussing the meeting policies (you must give 100 francs if your cellphone rings – 20 cents or 300 francs – 60 cents if you are late, everyone must bring two pieces of soap if someone in the group’s wife has a baby, etc.) I spend a lot of this time perusing the room of teachers, checking out their nifty clothes (they are among the most fashionably or at least most interestingly dressed people in the village) and just killing time before the food is served. Last month, I started to think about the group and how I might describe Cameroonian teachers to people who have never met or worked with them before. I settled on four adjectives, which also happen to be green cards in the game, Apples to Apples.

 

I want to preface these adjectives by saying that they are based solely on my opinions of, interactions with and observations of the teachers I work with and are no way descriptive of all the teachers in Cameroon.

 

Cosmopolitan: While the backgrounds of the teachers vary (some being born into poor families  

in rural villages, other being raised in a middle class urban setting), they all attended universities in big cities. For at least a few years, these teachers lived and soaked up everything that comes with cities – diversity, entertainment, modern luxuries (indoor plumbing, internet!), etc. It is not unexpected that these teachers would be very cosmopolitan. Their modern and sleek apparel and attention to grooming (I’m convinced they own stock in Axe, or something like it) set them apart. They are often very well connected and technologically accessorized. Their cellphones put mine to shame and they access their email on their laptops more times in a week then I do in a month. They are also always ready with their digital cameras. In addition to their material possessions, they are also more inclined to delve into “cultured conversation.” The way conversation can vacillate between current events and pop culture is reminiscent of a conversation you might overhear at a Dupont Circle Starbucks (more on this below).

 

Intelligent:       I am not exaggerating when I say that the majority of my colleagues could explain the top five international news stories in more detail and with more historical background then the pundits on CNN. Thanks primarily due to their frequent internet access, they are constantly up to date and informed on current events happening around the world. I especially like talking to them because they provide an alternative to the Eurocentric and Americanized point of view I normally receive. These are well educated Cameroonians who chose to stay and work in their country and so it goes without saying that they want to protect the interests of their country and are weary of superpowers, who in their opinion, view the world as their taking. With every point they make, they reinforce it with historical examples. Sometimes I wish I had my lecture notes from college history classes to use as a cheat sheet in these discussions. They are also extremely informed in the subject of politics – American, French, Senegalese, Cameroonian, you name it. Once I hung my head in embarrassment when they were discussing a speech Joe Biden just gave on gun violence because alas I had not read the speech, instead I had spent my time looking at Buzzfeed’s collection of Joe’s best expressions during the State of the Union. Anyways, between their knowledge and astute perspectives, I full heartedly believe that Cameroon would be in a far better state if leadership in the political system was more accessible for people like these teachers.

 

Touchy-Feely: It could be a product of their modern upbringings (or in some of their cases, their

exposure to more liberal surroundings once they went to university), but the teachers I work with are notoriously touchy-feely. Since in my village, interactions and comments made between the opposite sexes are pretty conservative, the atmosphere with the teachers seems all the more extreme to me. In interacting with me, they are not physically touchy-feely (besides the kisses on the cheek à la francais and some questionable dance moves), however, their comments are quite invasive. They constantly broach the subjects of marriage, sex and infidelity and not in a general sense, but through pointed and graphic questions towards me (or whoever else they are talking to). However, this doesn’t even scratch the surface. They often push further when it comes to people in an inferior position to them. I am spared because of my position in relation to them (being colleagues). Female students at the high school aren’t as fortunate. It is widely known, mainly because the teachers do nothing to hide the fact, that a few teachers from the high school “date” their students. Higher grades can be given, absences erased, etc. by visits with certain teachers. This is an unfortunate, but very real part of the school life (and the culture of corruption) here, which is why giving girls the life skills to effectively negotiate situations is such a key part of the work volunteers do in their communities.

 

Respectable:    Now it may seem counterintuitive that the adjective “respectable” follows the  

despicable behavior that I just wrote about, so let me explain. For every slimy colleague I have, I have a friendly, kind and respectable one (albeit sharing a crude joke once in a while). As is the case for teachers all around the world, these people chose an honorable profession that is often thankless, especially in Cameroon. Teachers get paid around 150, 000 francs ($300) a month, $60 of which often goes towards rent. Sometimes the government postpones paying teachers for months at a time. Due to this, many teachers take on a secondary job, such as farming or selling food in the market to supplement their income. Working conditions are just as meager. We have no photocopier or printer in Lokoti, so if teachers want to mass produce a test or worksheet, they type it using a type writer then print copies with an antiquated printing press-type apparatus. Needless to say, the only materials they receive for their classes are: the classroom itself, a few desks and a chalkboard (they provide their own chalk). Imagine teaching an informatics class without an actual computer, or a chemistry class without any lab materials therefore having to resort to rudimentary chalk-drawn diagrams on the board.  Despite this, the teachers still manage to transfer knowledge to and inspire hundreds of students every year. I have witnessed teachers helping struggling students study for their tests and giving pep talks to students who say they might not continue in school. Additionally, these teachers organize extracurricular events such as “Orientation Day” (think: Career Day), Bilingualism Day, etc. to promote learning in another manner outside of the classroom. They don’t need to spend their time doing this – time they could spend emailing their friends in Yaoundé or cultivating crops to sell, but they do it for the welfare of their students. I’d say all of that is pretty respectable.

 

Later today (I am writing on Saturday, March 2^nd), I get to attend our Amicale for March and spend some time with the teachers I just described. I’m looking forward to sitting next to my fellow Anglophone, Julius, and clinking our “33 Export” beers to our families far away (his in the Northwest region of Cameroon, mine in the United States) and enjoying a delicious meal and hearty camaraderie. At the same time, I’m bracing myself to take deep breaths and hurl poignant retorts when a fellow teacher makes an unsavory comment about the rights of women or gay people (two common topics of conversation). But, as with many situations, I am prepared to balance the good with the bad (apples).

Bilingual Baloney?

During the last week of January, the students and teachers at the high school celebrated Bilingualism Day (have you caught on yet that Cameroonians love their “_______ Day”s – Bilingualism, Youth, World AIDS, Teachers, Women’s, etc,?) .

Cameroon has two official languages – English and French. Bilingualism Day was started years ago to act as a unifying holiday. During the day, people in the Francophone regions are encouraged to speak in English, while French is spoken in the Anglophone regions. The idea is that Cameroonians must make every effort to become bilingual in order to communicate with their fellow countrymen and with the rest of the world.

However, in reality, Bilingualism Day should be called “English and French Day/La Journée d’Anglais et Francais” because it promotes those two languages only and not bilingualism in general – the ability to speak any two languages. In Lokoti, many people are bilingual by the time they start Primary School. If you are Gbaya, your patois is Gbaya, but you also learn Fulfuldé. If you are Fulbé, your patois is Fulfuldé, but you also learn Arabic. It is often in Primary School that children are first exposed to French and English. French is the primary language of school classes, but children start taking English classes from the get-go. While it has been proven that children can absorb languages easier than adults, I can only imagine this overload of languages is confusing for many Cameroonian students. I have seen the results of this lack of focus on any one or two languages. I have read notes and tests of students in the last year of Primary School (the equivalent of sixth grade) and their spelling is atrocious (lefe = l’oeuf/egg, mesi = merci/thank you). This continues throughout high school, as the students have no real grasp of either French or English.

With that being said, Bilingualism Day ensues. This year people gave speeches on the official theme of Bilingualism Day 2013 (“Bilingualism: a cornerstone for the professionalization of an emerging Cameroon”) and there was of course, marching and dancing (in true Cameroonian holiday fashion). My English students made posters with messages that promoted bilingualism and while I applauded them, I still couldn’t help but question the very concept of promoting bilingualism, especially as it is written in the Cameroonian school curriculum.

Baloney or not, at the end of the (Bilingualism) day, I guess I am grateful for the two official languages, for it means I get to hear at least of smattering of my mother tongue daily. 

New Year, New Blog Posts (I Promise!)

The month of September always seemed more like the start of a new year for me than the New Year ever did. This was because September always meant a change of scenery – from the pool to the classroom, or from New Jersey to Washington, DC. However, this January truly felt like a New Year. I rang in 2013 surrounded by friends in New York City and less than a week later, I enjoyed a cup of chai surrounded by friends back in my village, Lokoti.

 

The brief change of scenery, in the form of my (wonderful, amazing, delicious, cold, snowy, festive) trip to the East Coast for the holidays, was exactly what I needed for when I returned to Cameroon, for I was pleasantly overwhelmed with everything I have learned to love about this country. As my taxi driver, Etienne, drove me 40 minutes from the Yaoundé airport to the Peace Corps house, I was as smiley and content as my 6-year-old self in our family car as it crossed over the bay to Ocean City, NJ. Except instead of the smell of salt air, I smelled burning trash, instead of the sight of seagulls, I saw wild dogs and instead of the hum of 104.5FM, I listened to a mélange of P-Square and Lady Ponce blare from street bars.

 

I don’t necessarily love the burning trash or the wild dogs, but I love what they actors in: a hectic and gritty, but lively quotidian life. It was only upon returning after my trip that I realized how I revel in all the constant energy that surrounds me. This new outlook, combined with the familiar when I got back to my village. I was welcomed by the familial faces of friends and neighbors who couldn’t wait to tell me about the return (and improvement in quality) of the electricity! In return, I introduced them to their newest foe turned friend: Rosco, a dog I inherited from a volunteer who just completed her service. All of these things and more have proven the month of January worthy of its New Year status.

 

So in this New Year’s spirit, I was inclined to make some New Year’s Resolutions. Some of them have been going quite well (I’m becoming a Sudoku master with every daily puzzle I complete), others have fallen by the wayside already, such as: “Complete four workout videos a week” (how can anyone seriously stand to listen to that P90X guy?). Blogging is among these resolutions. I resolve to keep up with the blog for my remaining year in Cameroon. With that being said, I have three partially written posts that will posted, belatedly, in the coming weeks (I cannot guarantee that they won’t all end up being about Rosco).

 

Here’s to 2013.

My Camerooniversary and Constant Confusion

I officially celebrated my One-Year Camerooniversary in September, however, one-year ago today I was sworn-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. As will be chronicled in a near-future blog post and has probably been noted by many of you who receive emails from me, Peace Corps service is like no other sequence of mood swings that I have ever experienced (and I’m saying this as a Gemini). However, at the end of every single day, even if it ends in tears or frustration, I can honestly say that I am happy I took that oath one year ago. Everyday I have the opportunity to learn new things. That might not seem exceptional, especially in the age of the internet when everyone and thing can be Googled in a moments notice, but I’ve been learning things that cannot be found online. With that being said, there are still oh so many things that make me question “Why?” (I guess these are the cases in which Wikipedia could be helpful…), even after one-year. Here are 6 such things (the number doesn’t represent anything or mean anything specific – just like many things I’ve encountered here):

1. “C’est qui?” “C’est moi!”: When someone knocks on your door and you ask who is there, 99% of the time they will respond with “It’s me!” I was looking for something a little more specific…
2. “Tu es la?”: In following with the last point, people love to state the very obvious. It is common to hear people exclaim “Tu es la?” (“You are here?”) when you walk in a room or “You are eating?” when you are mid-bite, and of course, “Nassara!” (“White person!”) when you are most definitely white.
3. Coffee or Tea?: Tea is consumed when people need to stay awake, while coffee is known as a beverage you drink when you want to sleep. Sleepy-Time Tea would not have a market here.
4. The rules of hygiene: You are a filthy person if your feet are a tad bit dirty, but body odor, outrageous pit stains, kola-nut stained teeth and cozying up to babies without diapers are acceptable and somewhat embraced.
5. Etiquette that would confuse Emily Post: There exists a very strict etiquette in terms of how your greet people, how you treat elders, how you address a crowd, etc. However, at the same time I am amazed at how many times people fall asleep at public events and while visiting people. With the later, I am not talking about a doze – people take full-fledge naps in their friends’ living rooms. While I’ve been writing in third person and still do not understand it, I’ve definitely partaken in naptime.
6. There’s no saying “Cheese!”: For one year now I have been on a crusade to have people smile more in photos to no avail. Photos are like family heirlooms here, since it is pricey to print out photos and not many people have cameras. When visiting people’s houses, they will often pull out a stack of photos to show you. The photos are a wonderful portfolio of different family members in a variety of different poses (my personal favorite is part thinker – hand on chin, pensive visage, part mid-latrine usage – a strategic squat). However, the smiles are always missing.

In a time when we have access to find answers of many questions ranging from “In what year was the World Food Programme started?” to “What does yolo mean?” (just two of my many Google searches), it is somewhat refreshing to not know why some things are they way they are. If anything, it continues to keep life exciting, even after one year!

[I started writing this before I noticed that one of my fellow PCVs wrote a very similar blog post earlier today. Please check it out for more baffling facets of life in Cameroon: http://peacecorpspeach.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/10-things-i-still-dont-get/ (I especially endorse Numbers 6 and 7)]