FIRST POST

8.25.11

I understand this was loaded up after I origionally wrote it, but finding an internet cafe where I could bring my computer safely was difficult.

Bonjour mes amie!!  The first entry.  This should be lengthy because so much has happened with me being here less than two weeks.  My experiences will also seem like they bounce all over the place because thats how my brain works.  We arrived in the capital, Yaounde, from staging for additional processing and more orientation.  The drive from the airport to the hotel was pretty wild.  One of the first things I noticed was a man on the side of the road with a 2 by 4 filled with nails connected to a rope that he was holding.  I found out that is used for shake downs on cars or motos.  He wasn't in uniform or anything.  That is how most of the road blocks are.  Nails coming out of 2 by 4s or in metal pipes.  We stayed at one of the better hotels in the area for 4 days and 3 nights before driving further south to Ebowala.  It is nice change to not have all the amenities of America.  Usually the unnecessary amenities in America leads to so much waste.  Our hotel was meager by American standards, but we had warm water and air conditioning.  Right next to the hotel were shack neighborhoods.  Not many people throw trash in a designated can or there just isn't one to use.  There is some kind of public works trash clean up, but I haven't found out the details of how that functions.  People urinate wherever and whenever the want to.  Women are a bit more discrete for obvious reasons.  People are selling things everywhere.  There are market areas, but children and adults are selling items all day.  There are many people who sell recharge minutes for phones.  

Most everyone uses pay as you go phones, and the phones are very cheap.  I got my phone for $22 with 1.000 CFA credit.  Its about 100 CFA a minute  CFA (pronounced “See-FA”) is a Cameroonian Franc.  A dollar currently gets me ~460 CFA.  When you want to add more credits to your sim card you give the vendor your number and say how many credits you would like to add.  Say I want to add 2.000 CFA.  He text me from his phone and I receive the text saying the minutes have been loaded to my phone.  A text is 100 CFA as well.  It is free for anyone to receive a call.  Using skype’s telephone service it cost 27 cents a minute.  It is WILD to receive a call on my weak cell from America.  The clarity is fair.  It is also possible to use different sim cards on your phone.  Why does that matter? It cost more to make calls from network to network.  To counter act that people just have sim cards with both networks and change them out when necessary to avoid that charge.  There are two main networks here: Orange and MTN.  I currently have MTN.

Back to the hotel.  It was also above average because they had a public computer with internet AND wireless for people to use.  The bandwidth is sub par, but internet is internet.  Malware and identity theft is pretty big here so I need to delete all history, cookies, and cache before leaving any computer.  The keyboards are subtly different to assist typing in french.  I’ll be able to get down on that one day.  Cyber cafes are interesting.  I have seen a few but only entered one.

The one I entered is in Ebowlowa.  Everything is old school and unkempt.  Old 90s desktops on homemade desks and benches.  Nothing is cleaned or kept in a fashion that would attract you to coming in.  Probably because internet isn't everywhere, so you wouldn't need to entice the public to use your spot.  You pay for time and 30 minutes cost 200 CFA.  you get better deals with the more time you buy.  I have also heard you get a discount if you bring in your own computer, but I’ll find that later on.  It all works with logon codes to track your time. 

The way I’ll be washing my clothes for the next two years is keen.  I fill up buckets with water and add a bit of powder detergent.  Mix that up and soak in my clothes.  The clothes sit in the bucket for about 30 minutes.  Next I’ll take a brush to whatever needs something scrubbed of or I’ll just rub clothes together to agitate it like a washer would.  After that I squeeze out the soapy water from the clothes and drop it into a bucket with clean water do get out any extra soap before I hang it up to dry.  Clean water is used loosely.  We are blessed to have water running into our house, but all the water that comes out is full of sediment and has a strong yellow tint to it.  Not to mention all the microbial dangers that lie within.  Water and electricity is sporadic.  Blackouts are almost guaranteed, but it comes back after a bit.  The water can turn off at any time.  I think a Walmart would make a lot of brains explode here.  

I got a little ahead of myself.  So we are currently at our new house in Ebowlowa.  We will be here for the next month.  Then we travel back up to Yaounde to meet up the other 40 volunteers to start PST.  Our group of 9 is actually experiencing a brand new program with the PC.  We come a month early to learn french.  Its a strong French emersion program.  Ebowlowa was selected for us because most everyone speaks french here.  At the end of week two there will be NO speaking english until its 7pm or on the weekends.  Its a lot of work but its paying off.  Our house is solid.  We have a main living area with furniture, a fridge, TV, and propane stove.  There are 3 huge bedrooms and we all get our own bed with a mosquito net.  Our bathroom has two toilets and shower heads.  The shower is literally next to the toilet and the water is only cold.  Thats refreshing before I go to bed at night.  Makes my feel cooler as I go to bed.  Theres also a good breeze and temperature at night.  There are 2 guards at night to watch the house while we sleep and one during the day who also acts as a janitor.  There is a lot more but its late and I need to study french.  We have french from 8 am to 6 pm with 2 hours of breaks, and then there is homework on top of that.  I stay more updated now that I’m logging everything in a word file.  

8.28.11

Today is Demanche.  Demanche for me involves a lot of free time, but I still use a couple hours to study french.  It is actually the one day where we have nothing scheduled for us.  I’ll put a picture of our schedule on facebook so you get an idea.  Right now its viengt heur (8:00 pm).  We just got done watching Robin Hood, the disney version, in our maison.  We watched Mulan the night before.  It is sureal watching a disney movie in Ebowlowa, Cameroon.  

But today started out a little hood.  No water or electricity.  No water because the pumps that move the water are electric, and there are no backup generators.  But I found out that this happens most every sunday.  The electricity gets shut off.  I don’t know the exact reason yet, but at least we’ll be able to prepare for it next weekend.  It also gave insight into what it will be like to be stationed at a rural post.  We don’t have a well for our use at this house.  

I went to market for bread, carrots, tangerines, bananas, and a bell pepper.  Bartering is getting to be interesting.  Most everything is initially double or triple cost for white people because everyone things your are super rich.  Market was also super busy which was surprising because a current PCV told us that no body works on Sunday.  Quite a few things were open though.  I ate 8 beignet for breakfast.  This mama also sells like a bean sandwich?  I’m gonna hit that up tomorrow.  Or you can get beans and beignets.  There was also this very liquid y porridge.  This mama has the stand though.  A lot of the locals eat there.  In fact!  I’m gonna have a bean sandwich with avocado tomorrow. Uhhhhhhh.  

So after market I came back and started French work.  Verbs...... conjugation...... blah.  While I was working we got a visitor.  It was another current PCV named Lauren.  Justin, the initially PCV (Peace Corps Volunteers) we met in Yaounde, told us about her.  He just said he had mad respect for her because she lives in the south, and that is difficult for women.  She dropped by specifically for the female PCT (Peace Corps Trainees).  *Side note, we are now watching a very funny African sitcom/ soap opera.  We only get one station, its called CRTV*  So Lauren dropped by to share her experience and basically answer our questions, mostly the female questions.  What do you do during feminine time of the month? How to you interact or get accepted with the other women?  What are have the high and low points of your experience been?  Lauren just finished her COS (Close of service) conference in Yaounde.  He two years will be over in December, but she requested an extension.  Volunteers can do that for up to 3 month, 6 months, or a year.  She requested a year.  Your extension work is usually in a more professional environment and it add more to the reestablishment pay.  She told us quite a few volunteers are trying to extend.  I can understand why.  If you have a good gig here, going back to America isn't that much better.  I’ve been out of the news loop for a while, but when I left things were not looking too bright.  

After showing her our crib we went to a boutique that sold beer, most places sell beer here.  Castel and 33 are the popular beers.  There are about twice the size of American beer, or 2.5. and 5% alcohol.  They all cost 500 franc.  Just over a dollar.  This boutique was out of a metal storage container on the side of the road.  On the way we past a big soccer tournament going on and some kids we played soccer with some days before.  I was impressed that these kids remembered my name.  I feel bad because I’m not remembering peoples names.  I introduce myself all the time to practice my salutations and common questions.  After a beer we said a plus tard and went back to the house while she went back to post.  Oh, Lauren is hood for what she has delt with in the south.  Its not my business to put it on here, but she is tough.  Much respect.  

Once we got back Will and I went out with Ryan to try out slack-lining.  I saw it a lot at A&M, like many human would on a college campus.  It is tres difficil.  We tied up to a coconut tree and some other tree.  Cool first experience.  I feel it will be a great way to pay the time and relax after french class.  Ryan is pretty skilled, but he said hes been doing it for a while.  There were a lot of spectators, but that because no Cameroonian has ever seen it (most likely).  We came back before our 7 pm curfew, I shaved, and then we started that movie while we were all looking at french work.        

Its like 8:40 right now and I’m pee double oh peeed.  It feels good to be tired around 8 like most humans should.  Or like they did back in the day without the use of a substance.  Another week of intensive emersion lays in front of us.  This one is going to be the real deal.  Last week was just getting settled in.  At the end of each week we are supposed to receive a report card with are strengths and weaknesses.  I need to hit up the boulangarie for some instant coffee tomorrow after class.  Its like 300 Franc for 60 grams of nestle coffee.  All coffee is terrible here.  I don’t care.  I view it for its function, a stimulant.  Bonne nuit por maintenau mes amie!  Du courage!