Friday, April 13, 2012

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.

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