13/04/12

13/04/12

So its Friday the 13th.  Its interesting how sorcery and mystical belief are such a large part of the culture here, but there is not “day of superstition” in existence, yet.  I should explain Friday the 13th to my neighbors when I get back to post.  Right now I’m just in the Yao case and its surprisingly quite.  Only Agro steering committee and a hommie for medical reasons are here.  Most everyone left for lunch after our second day of committee work.  Back up.

IST finished great.  It flew by fast because our days were scheduled just like training and the evenings were spent exploring Bamenda or socializing with les comrades we haven't seen in three months.  Or seen together as a group.  Our AGRO group has gone from 19 to 13.  The previous group of volunteers was 29 and is now 28, so our group is tres petit.  I won’t go into the details of why people have left, but our PM gave us some grandpa speech about how our program is holding the “black flag” since so many people have left our program.  Poor move on his part considering he was talking down to the 13 dedicated volunteers who are still in country and missing their friends who chose to leave or had to leave.  Their was an apology later, but it was like being talked to as children.  As for the IST work, it was beneficial, more so for the PCVs.  I think its necessary that the counter parts are there, but some of the topics were just flew over some heads.  Like Thomas, my dude.  He’s not highly educated.  Some sessions were more like college lectures that sometimes droned on.  It was all beneficial info, just some long days.  Nothing really to complain about.  We had great accommodations, beautiful views, our fellow Americans, and got to meet our new American PCMO.  Super solid human being from Hawaii.  She is the new permanent American PCMO that PC Cameroon has been searching for the past year.  We also found out our Country Director will be leaving in July.  Our Director of training will be leaving in June.  Our PC HQ will be changing locations as well as the Yaounde case by the end of the year.  The Agroforestry program no longer exists.  It is now the “Environment” program.  We were told to choose between the Environment or Agriculture program as the name.  Each had their own goals and objectives, but I feel the obviously blend together.  You can’t separate the two no matter how good your wording is.  I’ll go more into this when I get to steering meeting.  Our last day we had a session on what committees you could join.  There is a Environmental Education/Food Security, Gender and Youth Development, Youth Task Force, ICT (Tech stuff), and steering committees for every program.  The steering committees give the feedback that hopefully help shapes each program and progressively improve its qualities.  I’m on steering because they want someone from every region on our committee.  Our last sessions were “Best Practices.”  Thats where current volunteers come and share their personal stories in the field about what has worked, what didn’t, specific projects, collaboration projects, kinda like what you might read in their blog post.  

Other programs peaced out back to post on Sunday, but Agro’s stayed because we had a field trip planned Monday.  Id say more than half went to either of the beaches.  Especially the people from the grand North.  I don’t blame them.  They made the long trip down, why not take advantage of already being somewhat in the area to take some mental days before the 2 day trip back to post.  Shane and I got our hair plated.  Plated is how you say braided in pidgin.  Nothing was open Sunday but we had some barber as his homegirl to open up her weave shop to we could get it done.  I had some awesome shwarma wrap once mine was done.  Oh yea, there was also a club at the hotel we stayed at.  Called Club Rocket.  It was called that because they tried to make the front of the building look like a rocket.  It does, but without the pointy cone at the top.  I didn’t to go into the club because I only brought sandals to IST and it wasn’t “club attire.”  I don’t think I missed too much.  There wernt even mirrors in the club.  Maybe thats not an anglophone thing.  I also heard people had ringing in their ears the next days during sessions.  I was informed that there were people with cameras who would go around and film people dancing and it would be projected on the flat screens in the club, kinda like soul train.  But soul train didn’t have the TVs where they were dancing.  

One thing, actually two things, I really love about the NW region are the mountains and pidgin.  Pidgin is like an undereducated middle schooler speaking some very unique form of slang.  I’m very happy to be in francophone, but I think I would enjoy speaking more if it was in Pidgin.  Our field trip Monday was to the Nazareth agroforestry center and a mushroom center.  The Nazareth place mostly concentrated on raising animals and vegetable gardening.  Not too much on agroforestry techniques.  They raised chickens (for meat and eggs), rabbits, cane rats, and pigs.  Then they also had what I would consider a community garden.  They teach people how to grow and then give them their own plot to practice on.  It was a fairly small scale operation run by the Catholics.  The mushroom place had their work down to a science.  We watched a not very informational documentary on their group for 30 minutes and then took part in the whole process of starting mushroom spores.  This center is so popular Paul Byia even visited it.  They sell a bunch of mushroom related products that claim to do amazing things.  Mushroom milk?  I dunno what that was about.  They also made a delicious mushroom soup before we took the family photo.  After arriving back at the hotel I went out into town one last time to see if I could find anything at the frip, the street thrift store.  I had some Cameroonian say “whats up my nigger?”  Probably because I looked like Shawn Paul.  I just laughed because that blew my mind, au Cameroon.  I didn’t find any shoes at the right price.  I was looking at some Puma high tops from the 80s, but I lowball when bargaining.  I think it helps me out though since I shouldn’t be acquiring too many possessions here.  Especially since I’m addicted to panya.  Anyone ever heard of Settlers of Catan?  Wild game.  That was played pretty frequently.  That night I just talked with the remaining Agros, slept, and left at 6 am the next morning for Yaounde.  Got my braids undone in Yao because I couldn’t sleep in them.  I broke the rib on the case hoop because I was trying to dunk in HORSE.  I got to play ultimate frisbee at the US Embassy that evening which was a trip.  We played with the Marines stationed there.  We had to turn our cell phones off and leave them in the security building.  Go through a medal scanner and get our stuff x rayed at the airport.  There was lush green grass and landscaping on the inside.  A heated pool.  Golf course behind the embassy, not part of it.  I didn’t get to see the Marines house, but I hear its just like an American home.  They have a dock to receive all their American goods that get imported in.  It was a trip being there.  That and dinner were the last things I did in Yao before heading back to post.  Next morning Bertoua then Batouri.  Meep Meep was happy to see me.  Since coming back to post I jumped back into my regular routine.  Worked more with Thomas on his farm, planning on what he and his team will do during May, and catching up with friends in town.  

This past week and a half also went by really fast because I had to be back in Yao for Agro steering committee.  Which is where I am now.  Upon arriving in the case and having internet I saw an email from TIKI telling everyone I shouldn’t be coming to steering.  Once he saw me here there was no issue.  His reasoning is the East shouldn’t be represented because I’m in the only Agro in the East.  There is also “rule” that each region needs 3 sector members to have a representative.  I think its silly and there should be a rep from each region, which there is now.  I got grouped with the South region since no one wants to replace the current rep.  Business this meeting was about changing from Agroforestry to Environment, discussing FITU (Focus In Training Up), and changing wording so D.C. will like the new program goals and objectives.  There was a lot more stuff but I don’t want to get into those details.  We reviewed the good, bad, and discussed improvements for PST and IST.  How the committee is going to change with the new group of Agros.  Developing calendars.  We got a security PC Cameroon update from LaHoma, our CD.  

Crime is up in Cameroon.  There were 15 burglaries in the last year.  Some homegirl in the East had her house broken into.  But she went to the beach before IST and after, so she was gone for over a month.  I haven’t had any issues thank goodness.  I’m pretty prudent though, hence the guard cat.  Some official from D.C. is coming to visit and talk with volunteers in the West and North West because thats where most of the crime is at.  Talk with them to make sure they are “feeling” safe.  Its gotta be so hard to be Country Director.  I can understand why she's ready to leave in July.  I can only pray the next CD is as solid as this one.  I’m getting a local painter to make these Solid Human Award signs for LaHoma and Kim before they depart from PC Cameroon.  While I’ve got the internet I’m getting seeds sent to me from Trees for Life and ECHO.  I also tried signing up on couchsurfing.org but you need to pay and I have no US bank accounts.  OH.  PC Mali closed down.  Don’t know why?  Google it.  The current volunteers have the choice to go home or find other African countries that can take them in.  We are going to take some in, I dunno how many.  I dunno what I’m gonna do with the rest of my day here in Yao.  A lot of volunteers are going to Hilton happy hour.  Its a bar on the top floor of the hotel so you get an amazing view of Yaounde, but 5.000 for 2 drinks.  Its 5.000 for me to get from Yao to Bertoua.  I got my hair cut and bear trimmed so my PM will stop calling me Osama.  I think I looked pretty hood with a scarf wrap and sun glasses.  I’m gonna go walk around Yaounde for a bit and then probably come back and read.  Nothing exciting.  Oh, this is also my first time to stay in the case room that has A/C.  I havent slept under a blanket in months.  Maybe a bed sheet a couple of times but never a blanket since I’ve been in country.

24 more days until I head back to the U.S.  Thats going to be a mind trip going and coming back.  Just traveling to a developed area of Cameroon is a trip being away from Batouri.  Paved roads or sidewalks.  George foreman grills.  I can’t wait to be home but I’m wondering what its going to be like once I get back.  I’ll worry about that when it happens.  I got some awesome mail from friends : )  Thank you again.  Letters are en route so give it 3 weeks or a month.  

Google “Moon Tiger” insecticide.  Actually, it doesn’t come up.  Just some score card for a safety rating on Moon Tiger mosquito coils.  Moon Tiger is a company that makes an insecticide spray here and is probably illegal in multiple countries.  Some volunteers get a bad headache or other reaction after they spray and inhale it.  It kills the nervous system of whatever you spray it on, which doesn’t happen slowly.  So you spray a cockroach and it usually creeps off and dies somewhere else.  Now Meep just kills the cockroaches.  I wish I had a can with me so I could write down the chemicals in it, but its terrible stuff.  Another random thing, last week when I was walking around town I had some guy come up to me and try to sell a “diamond” which was a chunk of quartz.  I offered him a dollar (500 CFA) but no game.  My only plans until I leave the country are work with Thomas, help him recruit more people for his GIC, and get seeds.  I’m out for a walk now.  Peace out mes amies.  Nous sommes ensamble.         

20/03/2012

20/03/2012

I am sitting on a “leather” couch in my room at the AZAM Hotel in Bamenda, Cam in the NW region.  Just finished another delicious dinner offered to me with the other volunteers that are here with me for IST (In Service Training).  In service is training.  IST is something all volunteers PC worldwide do 3 months after being at post.  The all meet up with their counterparts for a week long conference where we get further training and share all of what we observed and learned at post.  I’ll come back to this, I want to start at the beginning of last week and end back up here, the present.  

Last Monday Thomas and I had our first meeting with the other farmer leaders of Batouri to get the information we would present at IST.  Develop the needs of the community, resources available, challenges to overcome, and future work plans.  We passed out 20 fliers and I would have hoped to get half of that but didn’t expect more.  I only passed out 4 and Thomas shared the rest.  14 people actually showed up to the meeting.  Not everyone showed up at 8:30 when the meeting started, which is perfectly normal.  After the meeting Thomas took everyone on a tour of his piece of land to show what he has and where things will be.  We didn’t finish until 11:30.  Thats longer than I expected, but its great.  I though it showed these people we interested, engaged in the conversation, and will hopefully be coming back.  It consisted mostly of neighbors, bee specialist, moringa specialist, and aquaculture specialist.  Thomas is the local soja expert.  I havent seen much soy grown in Batouri.  That will hopefully change if the public develops an appreciation for the plant and want a changed.  After that I had my lunch and then read about the medicinal plants and trees we want to use on his farm.  Tuesday wasn't anything special, just my Fulfulde/French class and Thomas‘ work day.  It was poopy because neither thing worked out, which was cool because my stomach wasn't feeling good.  I think my gastro-intestinal issue is coming back up.  Its groovy though.  I’m getting a blood and stool test done at HQ on my way back through Yaounde to post to see if there is anything living in my body.  I still dont feel 100 percent.  My tummy gurgles frequently.  When I went to that class the teach never showed up, Mohammed.  When I went to Thomas’s he was too pooped to do anything for our workday.  So we talked about when we would meet up the next day to put our poster together.  We also talked about travel plans to Bamenda.  I got a ride from Stephanies counter part who has a car, but he was leaving Friday evening and Thomas couldn’t make that.  Wednesday I meet up with a different Thomas who is the chief du Camtel.  Thats the dude I met on women’s night.  He wants to work on his english, so I could said we could both help each other out with that.  He would speak english to me while I would speak in French and correct each other.  I showed up and his voice was almost gone.  We spoke only for a bit and then I got a picture from him that was took at Women’s Day of us.  I wanted to get a copy from the print shop.  I found out he lives in the Camtel building.  A small perk of being the cheif.  It sucks because his family is in the West region so he is here alone in the East.  They had the space for him in that building.  Its one of the biggest buildings in town but is completely empty.  I think 1 office is in there, his living quarters, and a lot of empty rooms.  There 1 1/2 radio towers at the building (one is not finished).  Once I get cooler with Thomas I’m gonna see if I can climb up with towers to get a bad ass shot of Batouri at Sunrise and Sunset.  I told him we’ll hang out again when I get back from IST.  I had a French lesson that afternoon, but my teacher was in Yaounde and didn’t tell me.  As much as nothing really went as planned this week after Monday, it was groovy because I wasn’t feeling 100%.  Later that afternoon I went over to Thomas’s to put together that poster.  I got the supplies and pictures printed earlier that day.  Imagine who I find at Thomas’s asleep on his village bed?  Mohammed, the dude who teaches the Fulfulde/French class and it also my tailor.  He was in Yaounde which is why he wasn’t at the class. He also hasn’t finished my clothes which he’s had over a month now.  I wanted to show my spring collection of Panya at IST:(  Thats also groovy.  I have 4 more different patterns to get transformed into fly outfits.  Thomas and I got everything on the poster: map of his new farm layout, map of Kadey district (showing where his GIC works), photos, and the information collected on Monday.  He asked me for 5.000 to travel.  I don’t ever give Cameroonian’s money, but I knew PC was reimbursing his travel and that he didn’t have the money up front.  He paid me back no problem now that we’re here.  After that I went to what I thought was going to be a dinner at Fati’s.  Fati is the wife of the guy who owns two big boutiques in Batouri.  Janelle and Jessica were invited and they extended the invitation to me.  I was the first one there and nothing was set up for a dinner and there was just some werid guy there. Weird because he looked like a creeper.  Tight pants (zipper was open), tight shirt, slick jerry curl looking hair.  I found out he is in somewhere in Fati and Ali’s family.  He’s living with them until he returned back to Chad.  He’s trying to find diamonds so he could become rich fast. A millionaire.  He got some kids to get us all drinks and kept saying he didn’t know why Fati wasn’t showing up.  He also gave off a creepy vibe because he kept asking for Janelle’s phone number and was talking about visiting her or calling her.  Janelle told me about this guy creeping on her sometime before this event, but now I had a face to match up to the stories.  We left at 7:30 to go and get some food.  I got a package and a letter that day!  Exclamation point because I want to try and relay the excitement and happiness I felt when I got them.  The contact from those 2 solid humans made my month.  Tons of pictures to add to my walks and some chocolate to eat.  

Thursday.  I know I don’t usually break my post into paragraphs.  Sorry if that bothers any readers.  Those who read this probably know I’m not the most skilled writer and just brain spill when I put up a post.  Thursday morning there was an open house at the school Jessica works at, Lycee Technique.  Or there was supposed to be.  I showed up an hour after it was supposed to start and it was pretty empty.  I ate my breakfast while I waited for 30 minutes to see if more people show up or doors open.  Students were supposed to be out showing their work or skill.  Carpenter kids with their furniture out, girls with dishes they cooked or clothes they had sown.  Nothing changed so I walked home.  Side story, that morning a guy asked me to buy him 2 donut hole (binget)  I spelt that wrong which is why i put donut hole.  It started out like most conversations when someone ask me for something.  A simple salutation and right to the demand.  I respond the same every time.  “Why do you ask me for money/something the first time you make an introduction with me?  You don’t even ask me my name but ask me for money/something because of the color of my skin”  Same response “Oh no, its not like that”  “Its exactly like that.  (This guy was pretty intoxicated and it was 9:30 in the morning)  How come you have money for alcohol but not for nutrition?  I do not understand your reasoning.  Maybe you can work and buy your own food.”  My momma even backed me up and told the dude to leave because he was derranging the people here.  Anyways I walked back home and started a new book called “Deep Survival”.  Another very interesting book I recommend to a person looking for a new book.  I did a little cleaning up of my house and yard.  Janelle called me up and said she was at the restaurant we eat at and that kitten is there.  Next thing I know I had a cat in my house.  She brought home the stray cat for me.  I’ve wanted this cat but the lady who owns the restaurant has always been like “I dunno whose cat that is.”  Right now Janelle is taking care of her and her name is “Meep” or “Meep meep” if you’re excited.  In recognition of Beaker on the Muppets.  Meep is a very loving cat who licks my hair and rubs all over me.  She also loves my yard and being outside.  At 4 pm that day I had a meeting with this dude name Paul who works at STBK.  STBK is the huge logging operation in the East.  The largest in Cameroon I believe since most of the trees are located in the East.  They have another company under its name in Mindourou.  Paul is in charge of the reforestation project they have.  Its very small compared to the rate at which they harvest.  They don’t even plant the main species they chop down, the high priced wood.  STBK sells solely to Italy and they make amazing furniture out the red wood out here.  Justin, the owner of STBK, has a showroom with amazing hand-made hard wood furniture.  I was happy with what I saw a decent start.  They want to plant 20 million baby trees on their plantation, which is ~40 hectares.  I haven't been to the plantation yet.  They only have 6 people working on the reforestation project.  The project was started in 2009.  The definitely need more people but probably won’t get any more because Justin is a businessman.  I told Paul to think about what work I could do with him and his team while I’m gone.  There is some lady who will be in Batouri when I return who works on the project too.  I can’t remember her exact place in things, but she oversees what is being done by Paul and his team.  I need her and Justin’s permission to work at the pipenier.  I’m sure I’ll just be giving manual labor help because they know how to build and run their own propigators and harden off baby tree’s to go in the field.  It will be good experience for me and maybe I could convince Justin to replant the species of tree he cuts down the most.  Thursday was also the day that the Duchies were having a going away dinner.  They left Friday morning.  I was going to go, but didn’t because I wasn’t feeling better.  Not enough to dance.  I watched a movie called The Kite Runner instead.  I would also recommend people to watch that movie.

Friday.  That day was slow.  I didn’t do much but spend the day prepping my house for my 10 day absence.  Asked Benjamin to keep an eye on the house and record the numbers on the electricity counter while I was gone.  Cleaned all dishes, buckets, whatever.  Swept up some and packed all my stuff.  I was leaving with Pere Gaston at 6.  Janelle met me at my house just before 6 to grab the cat and keys.  Pere Gaston actually didn’t show up until 7, no prob since it was a private ride to Yaounde.  We got to go down this private road that I’ve heard about multiple times from other volunteers.  Its for Justin’s logging trucks.  He built it when his company started up so they wouldn’t share the same road as the agency buses.  It helps shave a couple hours off the trip.  Within 30 minutes on that road we saw an agency bus on its side when we came over a hill.  Probably because they came over that hill and coasted down to fast to keep control.  It was a 6 hour trip.  We stopped at hour 5 for food and a break in Ayos.  We stopped on the last 2 hour stretch so Pere Gaston could take a wizz and when he tried to start the car nothing happened.  Luckily we were on a slight downslope.  I got out and pushed for a bit until he could get the truck to start.  A little before Ayos is when we hit paved road which made the trip more comfortable and sped it up a little bit.  One interesting this is they would have a city with its name crossed out on a sign on the left side of the road and on the right they had the name of this city you were entering.  So you could know which town you just left and which you are entering.  We passed through like 5 check points on this road but got waved through all of them.  They usually stop the bigger trucks hauling products.  I think we had to pay 500 CFA at one, but that was like their toll booth.  Right after that toll booth there was about 20 meters of people just selling pineapples.  There were hundreds of pineapples on both sides of the road.  This was around midnight.  We got into Yaounde around 1.  I got at PC HQ just past 1.  1 is supposed to be the cerfew for PCVs, but I got in without a problem.  The case was empty except for 1 other person from my stage.  Everyone else went to the US Embassy to party with the Marines at their house for St. Patty’s Day.  I skped with Logan and talked with Abigale.  People got home at like 2.  I surprised a lot of people.  It was good to see people from the north, extreme north, and just anyone not from the East.  There were about a dozen people from my stage staying at the case before we all peaced out Bamenda.  

Saturday was a rest day for me in Yaounde.  I ate at some Lebanese restaurant.  played basketball, wrote letters, and walked around Yao.  I messed up.  At this paragraph I was called down to the lobby to interact with my fellow humans, so I set this aside to come back to.  I didn’t until a week later so I’m going to wrap it up here and start another post for how IST finished and why I’m in Yaounde for steering committee now.  Nous sommes ensamble.