Has it really been only 4 months in my new home ? I just got back from a conference for the Peace Corps and I can not tell you how glad I am to be back home to Bamboué. I can greet people in patoi again, people know who I am, it is great.
A lot of good things have been happening lately. I have been meeting with a few new groups who seem really motivated. One in particular is a group of health delegates. We just did a community survey and are about to analyze it together to figure out where to go next. Hopefully everyone will work well together and we will be able to work on a project. I will try to keep updates about that coming.
Just so that everyone knows and does not worry about me, my water is back for the most part. It comes and goes, but it is not a problem. I am also way better at carrying things on my head now. Even with no hands!
I have been really busy lately and hope to write more soon.
20 April 2010
22 March 2010
Water
How many times a day do you use water without thinking about it? Recently the water in my house was turned off, and now due to the rainy season the pipes keep getting clogged and so there is no water. When I am able to get water it is visibly dirty.
All of this has made me think about all the times I use water and how difficult and dirty life is without water. The obvious times: bucket bathing, after using the bathroom, to brush my teeth, etc. But then also to wash my dishes, to flush my toilet, to wash my clothes, to wash my vegetables/fruit, and to wash my hands while I am preparing food when they get dirty. When you do not have running water, or any water for that matter, it really makes you think about all the times when you use water.
It also makes me understand why people do not wash their hands regularly, and how they use and reuse water regularly. When water is not something that just magically comes out of the faucet; you would think twice for using it just to clean your hands because they feel a little dirty too. (or at least I do now). So this is how and why fecal oral route diseases are so common here. I have been giving health presentations to primary school children talking specifically about this topic. But changing these behaviors will be much harder said than done.
I have not had water for three days now; you may ask how has that changed my life? And I would say, great question. Well I have not washed my dishes for three days for one thing. I flush the toilet once a day if that because it just feels like the biggest waste of water. This is why I wish I had a latrine. But I still shower everyday and wash my hands. The problem is that I need to walk about a half hour to get to the nearest source and back. Now, though since the water is out on most pipes, there is a long line at the source. So I usually can wait for 20 minutes or so. But I am certainly getting better at carrying it on my head!
All of this has made me think about all the times I use water and how difficult and dirty life is without water. The obvious times: bucket bathing, after using the bathroom, to brush my teeth, etc. But then also to wash my dishes, to flush my toilet, to wash my clothes, to wash my vegetables/fruit, and to wash my hands while I am preparing food when they get dirty. When you do not have running water, or any water for that matter, it really makes you think about all the times when you use water.
It also makes me understand why people do not wash their hands regularly, and how they use and reuse water regularly. When water is not something that just magically comes out of the faucet; you would think twice for using it just to clean your hands because they feel a little dirty too. (or at least I do now). So this is how and why fecal oral route diseases are so common here. I have been giving health presentations to primary school children talking specifically about this topic. But changing these behaviors will be much harder said than done.
I have not had water for three days now; you may ask how has that changed my life? And I would say, great question. Well I have not washed my dishes for three days for one thing. I flush the toilet once a day if that because it just feels like the biggest waste of water. This is why I wish I had a latrine. But I still shower everyday and wash my hands. The problem is that I need to walk about a half hour to get to the nearest source and back. Now, though since the water is out on most pipes, there is a long line at the source. So I usually can wait for 20 minutes or so. But I am certainly getting better at carrying it on my head!
16 March 2010
Get Down With It
This morning for breakfast I sucked on a juicy mango. You know what this means, mango season is coming soon. I found some mangos in the Mbouda market yesterday and I am not sure if I could be happier to know that supposedly I will be sick of mangos by the end of the season (I wonder if it is possible). Not to dwell on the subject too long, but mangos here taste different, just like the pineapples. They are sweeter, fresher, and truly amazing. I am not sure if I could eat a mango or a pineapple ever again in the states after tasting the fruit’s perfection here.
Recently I think I have been going through some difficult times, just with feeling like I am alone here and that no one can empathise. But things seemed to have taken an upward turn for now and my daily rhythms feel natural and exciting. In several ways my life has slowed down a lot and relaxed. I am no longer working two to three jobs while taking classes and simultaneously trying to plan the rest of my life. Now I am here in Cameroon living in the moment instead of for the future. I am assessing the needs of the community and figuring out projects to plan and other ways that I can be helpful. Some days it feels like a lot and other days it feels like too little (especially when I think back to how I lived in the states).
So after six months of living in Cameroon, I know that there is still a lot for me to learn, but it is finally my home.
I had a realisation the other day while watching a soccer game. The children at the primary school in Tsopeau (the small village farthest up in the mountains) were playing on the triangle shaped piece of grass that was there. On a side note, grass is an unusual soccer field here, it is typically just the mud/dirt ground. Goals were set up on either end, and somewhere during the game I got lost watching the ball go back and forth. And then I had a moment of clarity, no one was playing by any set of official rules, the children were playing within the realm of what they had. The out of bounds was identified by were the grass happened to end. This led me to think about life in general here. And I think this soccer game example can be projected onto other parts of life. No one here lives by rules that have been created that serve no purpose. People live by what is actually here; they do what they can to get by, and if they can get away with something they do that too.
When I play cards with the children that come over to my house, everyone always looks at the others cards, why, because they can. And they try to play cards that are incorrect according to the rules, why, because if no one noticed then they got away with it. Maybe that is just an example of kids who have yet to learn, but I think they have learned. They have learned that they need to do what it takes in order to win (a card game, or at a job, etc.).
I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, it made me realize that I follow a lot of rules blindly. I know that I am supposed to do something, why, because there is a rule or a law that says so. But then most of the rules that I am used to following do not even apply here. Why should a soccer field be square if only a triangle is available?
Now I would argue that there are still lots of social norms that everyone follows regularly, but because they apply to the current situations, not because it is a rule that descends from the central government. One thing I am learning about life here, (advice from my postmate) is that ‘not only do you have to accept many things the way they are, but you need to get down with it!’ I have started taking this recommendation seriously and it makes life so much easier. There are of course things that I will never ‘get down with’ so to speak, but I can pick the parts of the culture and not only accept it but come to really appreciate it.
Here are some examples:
Carrying things on my head. I have not quite been able to do it with out hands yet, but I realize that this is actually a better way of carrying heavy things. It takes less energy over all and you can keep your hands free. I just need to build up my neck muscles some more and work on my balancing skills!
Importance of food and drink. When people offer you food and/or drink it is important to accept. In particular kola nuts and palm wine are traditionally important. Also I have realized that it is also important to have these things available when people come over to my house.
Local language. Most people speak limited French and really only speak ngiemboon (local patoi). If people are going to take me as a community member I need to be able to communicate and show them that I am trying. I can finally confidently greet people and say several other random things!
Making sport on Sundays. While I run almost everyday, Sunday is the unofficial official day of sports for everyone here. I am very happy that I have been able to ‘join’ the kung fu club and do sports with them Sunday mornings really early, often just before heading to church with one of my women’s group.
Tu m’as gardé quoi? Roughly translated, you were thinking of me, so what did you get me. At first I think I found this really offensive. Why was I supposed to bring you something? But now I joke with them and ask them what they have for me instead. And I have realised that sometimes gift giving can go a long way, I am just sure not to do it all the time or it would become expected.
On a slightly different note, the rains have started to come just as quickly as they disappeared. What does this mean, I will have to learn to get down with it raining every single day and the mud that comes along with it.
Oh life in Cameroon, I love it!
Recently I think I have been going through some difficult times, just with feeling like I am alone here and that no one can empathise. But things seemed to have taken an upward turn for now and my daily rhythms feel natural and exciting. In several ways my life has slowed down a lot and relaxed. I am no longer working two to three jobs while taking classes and simultaneously trying to plan the rest of my life. Now I am here in Cameroon living in the moment instead of for the future. I am assessing the needs of the community and figuring out projects to plan and other ways that I can be helpful. Some days it feels like a lot and other days it feels like too little (especially when I think back to how I lived in the states).
So after six months of living in Cameroon, I know that there is still a lot for me to learn, but it is finally my home.
I had a realisation the other day while watching a soccer game. The children at the primary school in Tsopeau (the small village farthest up in the mountains) were playing on the triangle shaped piece of grass that was there. On a side note, grass is an unusual soccer field here, it is typically just the mud/dirt ground. Goals were set up on either end, and somewhere during the game I got lost watching the ball go back and forth. And then I had a moment of clarity, no one was playing by any set of official rules, the children were playing within the realm of what they had. The out of bounds was identified by were the grass happened to end. This led me to think about life in general here. And I think this soccer game example can be projected onto other parts of life. No one here lives by rules that have been created that serve no purpose. People live by what is actually here; they do what they can to get by, and if they can get away with something they do that too.
When I play cards with the children that come over to my house, everyone always looks at the others cards, why, because they can. And they try to play cards that are incorrect according to the rules, why, because if no one noticed then they got away with it. Maybe that is just an example of kids who have yet to learn, but I think they have learned. They have learned that they need to do what it takes in order to win (a card game, or at a job, etc.).
I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, it made me realize that I follow a lot of rules blindly. I know that I am supposed to do something, why, because there is a rule or a law that says so. But then most of the rules that I am used to following do not even apply here. Why should a soccer field be square if only a triangle is available?
Now I would argue that there are still lots of social norms that everyone follows regularly, but because they apply to the current situations, not because it is a rule that descends from the central government. One thing I am learning about life here, (advice from my postmate) is that ‘not only do you have to accept many things the way they are, but you need to get down with it!’ I have started taking this recommendation seriously and it makes life so much easier. There are of course things that I will never ‘get down with’ so to speak, but I can pick the parts of the culture and not only accept it but come to really appreciate it.
Here are some examples:
Carrying things on my head. I have not quite been able to do it with out hands yet, but I realize that this is actually a better way of carrying heavy things. It takes less energy over all and you can keep your hands free. I just need to build up my neck muscles some more and work on my balancing skills!
Importance of food and drink. When people offer you food and/or drink it is important to accept. In particular kola nuts and palm wine are traditionally important. Also I have realized that it is also important to have these things available when people come over to my house.
Local language. Most people speak limited French and really only speak ngiemboon (local patoi). If people are going to take me as a community member I need to be able to communicate and show them that I am trying. I can finally confidently greet people and say several other random things!
Making sport on Sundays. While I run almost everyday, Sunday is the unofficial official day of sports for everyone here. I am very happy that I have been able to ‘join’ the kung fu club and do sports with them Sunday mornings really early, often just before heading to church with one of my women’s group.
Tu m’as gardé quoi? Roughly translated, you were thinking of me, so what did you get me. At first I think I found this really offensive. Why was I supposed to bring you something? But now I joke with them and ask them what they have for me instead. And I have realised that sometimes gift giving can go a long way, I am just sure not to do it all the time or it would become expected.
On a slightly different note, the rains have started to come just as quickly as they disappeared. What does this mean, I will have to learn to get down with it raining every single day and the mud that comes along with it.
Oh life in Cameroon, I love it!
In the Face of Death
It has been a little while since I have posted so I have two very different blogs that I want to post with completely different vibes. I am posting them separately for that reason. This first one I wrote a little while ago and the next one deals with how I am feeling currently.
Baby Stegura died a few weeks ago. I never got to meet her and I am not sure if my host family will have a doy for her soon or not, but I am sad to face the reality of life (or death) here. Death is a natural part of life here and people are habituated to it. Everyone who works in carpentry makes their special crafts, but they also make coffins. Apparently it is a needed business. I often have read about infant mortality rates in classes, on the internet, etc., but I guess until now I did not feel connected to those facts. Shortly after I heard about the death of Stegura, Rose told me that she was going to a doy for a child that was born at the center the other week. The child died before it was even given a name.
And then I was helping with the prenatal consultations. One lady came in for the first time during her ninth month because she was very sick. During the consultation no one was able to find the heart beat of the child. Later she found out that they baby was dead and she needed to have an operation (which she could not afford) to remove the fetus. During the consultations we identify what number pregnancy this is for the mother. At first I was asking them how many children that they had to figure out the answer, but soon I realized that most people have several miscarriages or children who have died. Now I ask the question differently.
Death is all around, sometimes facing that reality is daunting.
Baby Stegura died a few weeks ago. I never got to meet her and I am not sure if my host family will have a doy for her soon or not, but I am sad to face the reality of life (or death) here. Death is a natural part of life here and people are habituated to it. Everyone who works in carpentry makes their special crafts, but they also make coffins. Apparently it is a needed business. I often have read about infant mortality rates in classes, on the internet, etc., but I guess until now I did not feel connected to those facts. Shortly after I heard about the death of Stegura, Rose told me that she was going to a doy for a child that was born at the center the other week. The child died before it was even given a name.
And then I was helping with the prenatal consultations. One lady came in for the first time during her ninth month because she was very sick. During the consultation no one was able to find the heart beat of the child. Later she found out that they baby was dead and she needed to have an operation (which she could not afford) to remove the fetus. During the consultations we identify what number pregnancy this is for the mother. At first I was asking them how many children that they had to figure out the answer, but soon I realized that most people have several miscarriages or children who have died. Now I ask the question differently.
Death is all around, sometimes facing that reality is daunting.
02 March 2010
Flexible Time
Something that i have noticed from spending a few months at post is that time here is ‘flexible.’ What exactly does that mean…I think it means that no one here lives by a clock. There is a structure to how things work, but it certainly does not depend on the exact time; I would argue that it has more to do with where the sun is (and of course that is closely related to the time). Most of the daily life activities in village revolve around cultivating and working in the fields. Other than that the electricity is far from dependable (that is if the people have it at all) and so making the most of sunlight hours is important.
Surprisingly people wake up very early around 5am before the sun is up to get started on their days, especially on farm days. Here there are basically two different types of weeks occurring simultaneously. There is the Monday through Sunday week, but then there is also an 8 day week that directs most activities. For example every 4 days is a market day and with the big market days happening every 8 days and 4 days later is the small market day. Market days are just as much social events; if not more, than they are about getting food and things for the house. It is a day when everyone comes together in the market place to talk and see one another. The day after a market day is always a farm day. People leave very early to go to their farms and return very late. I am sure that the other days have their designations as well, but for now I am not sure exactly what they are.
I think that in the United States, my life was controlled so much by the time. I never really saw it as controlling me while I was there; I thought it was great to have a lot of structure. But now that I am in such a contrasting situation I see it a bit differently. Instead of things being controlled by time, activities are controlled by other activities. I meet with two women’s groups on Sundays and the one group meets “after church.” Some days that is 9 in the morning, but other days it is 10 or 11 or even noon. It all depends on what time the pastor comes and how into the service everyone is. I would say that almost all of the meetings that I have run on flexible time. They are scheduled to start at 9 or 11, but people start arriving over the next few hours. Thus it takes a while to actually get started. Then once things finally do, the meetings tend to drag on for 3 – 5 hours. I find this very unnecessary and at times annoying. But what I have come to understand is that these meetings are once again a social setting. Everyone enjoys getting to take basically a whole day to see other people and accomplish things at a slow pace.
Priorities are different. It is not about maximizing the efficiency of time used. It is maybe more about slow and steady. People work very hard on their farms and when they have time to be social they relish it. Greetings here can take several minutes, especially in the North I have heard. It is important to say hi to your neighbors and give yourself a break to stay involved in the community. Community membership and relations, I would argue are more important here.
Surprisingly people wake up very early around 5am before the sun is up to get started on their days, especially on farm days. Here there are basically two different types of weeks occurring simultaneously. There is the Monday through Sunday week, but then there is also an 8 day week that directs most activities. For example every 4 days is a market day and with the big market days happening every 8 days and 4 days later is the small market day. Market days are just as much social events; if not more, than they are about getting food and things for the house. It is a day when everyone comes together in the market place to talk and see one another. The day after a market day is always a farm day. People leave very early to go to their farms and return very late. I am sure that the other days have their designations as well, but for now I am not sure exactly what they are.
I think that in the United States, my life was controlled so much by the time. I never really saw it as controlling me while I was there; I thought it was great to have a lot of structure. But now that I am in such a contrasting situation I see it a bit differently. Instead of things being controlled by time, activities are controlled by other activities. I meet with two women’s groups on Sundays and the one group meets “after church.” Some days that is 9 in the morning, but other days it is 10 or 11 or even noon. It all depends on what time the pastor comes and how into the service everyone is. I would say that almost all of the meetings that I have run on flexible time. They are scheduled to start at 9 or 11, but people start arriving over the next few hours. Thus it takes a while to actually get started. Then once things finally do, the meetings tend to drag on for 3 – 5 hours. I find this very unnecessary and at times annoying. But what I have come to understand is that these meetings are once again a social setting. Everyone enjoys getting to take basically a whole day to see other people and accomplish things at a slow pace.
Priorities are different. It is not about maximizing the efficiency of time used. It is maybe more about slow and steady. People work very hard on their farms and when they have time to be social they relish it. Greetings here can take several minutes, especially in the North I have heard. It is important to say hi to your neighbors and give yourself a break to stay involved in the community. Community membership and relations, I would argue are more important here.
16 February 2010
Lost in Translation
I am often reminded of the cultural differences, which may seem obvious to everyone in the United States. But honestly Cameroon is starting to feel like home which allows me to feel comfortable. Recently, though I have had a few cases where I am reminded that I am in another country.
For Valentine’s Day I was constantly reminding Alain (Rose-my counterpart-‘s husband) that this is the day where he should do nice things for her. For example he could cook, give her flowers or chocolates, etc. So then on V-day he told me that this fete lasts for a few days so he would not be doing anything on Sunday, but the next day instead. So then last night he decided that he was going to cook dinner – for her, I thought. Then night time comes and I get an invitation to their house. When I get there Alain is almost finished cooking and Rose, as it turns out, is working at the center after hours because someone was giving birth. He got the memo about making dinner, but I guess I did not emphasize the fact that it was for his wife enough. On va faire comment?
But he was so happy with himself for cooking (husbands here do not prepare food generally), so I guess it was a good experience. And the food was good too: spaghetti with tomato sauce and french fries!
I was visiting my friends the Bororos up in the mountains the other day, they are the muslim herder tribe. The one women, Djanabo, told me that should would gladly braid my hair. So of course I accepted and let her braid my hair. But then when she was about half way through I realized that she was randomly cutting ends off of some of the braids. I am non-confrontational so I did not even say that I knew she was doing it. I have gone through a few emotions from this experience. At first it was sadness, why was she deceiving me? I think I even hit on a little bit of anger after that: what right did she have to cut my hair without asking me? But now I am simply at curiousity: what would bring her to do something like that? All in all I think it is a cultural difference, in the states people do not cut others hair unless they are specifically asked to do so ( or maybe they are a devious little child who thinks it would be fun). My counterpart is asking around to try and figure out why they would do that. I know that they are intrigued by my hair because they often touch it and comment on it. Maybe they are just interested.
The last little story I have is about making a cake. So apparently here there is a belief that when a woman is menstruating she should not prepare things that you have to mix: cake, koki, soap. The other day we made two cakes the women’s group in Bamboué. The first cake we made was a carrot cake. Rose mixed that one up, but left shortly after because I think she remember that she had her period. Next we made banana bread. Another women mixed that up and we put them in the marmite oven together. What would you know, the carrot cake did not turn out, but the banana bread was excellent! I have not been able to understand why this phenomenon happens, but who understands everything they believe?
For Valentine’s Day I was constantly reminding Alain (Rose-my counterpart-‘s husband) that this is the day where he should do nice things for her. For example he could cook, give her flowers or chocolates, etc. So then on V-day he told me that this fete lasts for a few days so he would not be doing anything on Sunday, but the next day instead. So then last night he decided that he was going to cook dinner – for her, I thought. Then night time comes and I get an invitation to their house. When I get there Alain is almost finished cooking and Rose, as it turns out, is working at the center after hours because someone was giving birth. He got the memo about making dinner, but I guess I did not emphasize the fact that it was for his wife enough. On va faire comment?
But he was so happy with himself for cooking (husbands here do not prepare food generally), so I guess it was a good experience. And the food was good too: spaghetti with tomato sauce and french fries!
I was visiting my friends the Bororos up in the mountains the other day, they are the muslim herder tribe. The one women, Djanabo, told me that should would gladly braid my hair. So of course I accepted and let her braid my hair. But then when she was about half way through I realized that she was randomly cutting ends off of some of the braids. I am non-confrontational so I did not even say that I knew she was doing it. I have gone through a few emotions from this experience. At first it was sadness, why was she deceiving me? I think I even hit on a little bit of anger after that: what right did she have to cut my hair without asking me? But now I am simply at curiousity: what would bring her to do something like that? All in all I think it is a cultural difference, in the states people do not cut others hair unless they are specifically asked to do so ( or maybe they are a devious little child who thinks it would be fun). My counterpart is asking around to try and figure out why they would do that. I know that they are intrigued by my hair because they often touch it and comment on it. Maybe they are just interested.
The last little story I have is about making a cake. So apparently here there is a belief that when a woman is menstruating she should not prepare things that you have to mix: cake, koki, soap. The other day we made two cakes the women’s group in Bamboué. The first cake we made was a carrot cake. Rose mixed that one up, but left shortly after because I think she remember that she had her period. Next we made banana bread. Another women mixed that up and we put them in the marmite oven together. What would you know, the carrot cake did not turn out, but the banana bread was excellent! I have not been able to understand why this phenomenon happens, but who understands everything they believe?
05 February 2010
Figuring Things Out
I think that maybe finally I am beginning to find my place here in
Bamboué (actually now technically since I have moved across the street
I live in Bassessa). Everyday I seem to have too many things to do
already.
I have been doing house visits with two of the health delegates to see
pregnant women. The purpose of these visits is technically to prevent
the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child, but none of these
women have HIV. Thus we end up giving them information on AIDS and
they get a chance to have their questions answered. After that we
spend the majority of the visit letting them ask questions about their
pregnancy or health in general. I think that they really appreciate
being able to ask questions and get answers. While the health center
has really good customer service (especially comparatively from what I
have heard), many times the women do not want to go and pay for a
consultation just to ask a question. This is a great opportunity for
the women to understand a little bit more about what is happening in
their body and that a lot of their discomfort should be expected
during pregnancy.
A side not on one of the visits – One of the ladies that we stopped by
was talking about how she did not want to eat a lot and did not want
to continue gaining weight. I was only hearing this second hand
because she was speaking in the local language-ngeimboon
(unfortunately I can not spell it correctly here just pretend that the
‘o’s are backwards c’s that make a sound like an o). But from the
translation I got it sounded like she was having a body image issue.
I was really surprised by this because the culture here does not
generally promote a thin ideal body. I could totally be
misinterpreting the situation, but that is what I took from the
encounter.
I have also been helping out with the monthly vaccination days that
take place at the health center and also out in the community. I
think I am even getting a hang of how they fill out all of the
paperwork for the things, thus I can be of use. People keep asking me
if I want to give the injections, I am not at that point yet, but who
knows maybe I will learn. Two out of the five nurses at the hospital
are village nurses; which means that they never went to school or got
a degree to be a nurse, they have only picked up the knowledge from
hands on experience here at the center.
There are two local women’s groups meetings which I have been
attending as well. I am not sure if I am contributing too much yet,
but now I have started giving small formations about certain health
topics. I am also helping the two groups go through the legalization
process. March 8th is International Women’s Day so I think the women
want to plan a fete for that.
Another group that I am participating in is the local high school
Kung-fu group. Did you know that they did Kung-fu in Africa? I guess
they generally don’t, but David had brought this book about Kung-fu
with pictures in it. It is written in English so they have translated
parts of it and I will help to translate more. Basically, though,
they have come up with their own version from what they understand.
One of the boys, my neighbour Paulin, acts as the instructor and leads
the practices. They meet Sunday mornings really early and Wednesdays
after school (since school gets out early that day). I am slowly
learning a little bit of Kung-fu Cameroonian style and it is actually
a lot of fun. Soon all of the students want to get Kung-fu uniforms
made and organize a trip to the pool in Dschang. I am sure that I
will help in little ways, but this club is more simply for my
amusement. I fit right in with the high school students due to my
height!
*Paulin actually helps out quite a lot at my house, he is really
friendly. I have recently ‘hired’ him as my house boy to clean the
floors and wash my clothes once a week. I struggled with the morality
of this for a while. It is not that I can not do these things myself,
because I am certainly capable, but I end up taking a whole day to do
what he can do in an hour or two. Also I decided that maybe in
someway I am helping the local economy by spreading some money around.
Many times people just ask me for money; I have decided that if they
can do something to help me then I can justify paying them or giving
them something, but I have trouble just giving money. Because then
people will expect that I continue to do that in the future and I do
not want to set that kind of unsustainable example.
I have recently acquired a blackboard for my house. Now I finally
have something for the kids to do when they come over. And now if
they ask me for something, I get to ask them to do a math problem
first to earn what they ask for! I actually really like the
blackboard too because I can doodle on it.
Currently I am in the process of visiting three of the local primary
schools to get permission to work with the kids once or twice a month.
I just received my letter of approval from the arrondissement
inspector in Batcham. Now all I need is permission from the school
directors. There are always a lot of hoops to jump through in order
to get things official, but this has not been too hard. I am really
looking forward to doing activities with the kids.
So that is what has been going on with me, now I just have a few observations:
Kids
Here kids have a fair amount of responsibility. Around the age of 4
they are entrusted to care for infants. They need to work on the
farms from a young age, get water for themselves (which is a task
here), help prepare food, and do the housework. In many senses they
have to grow up a lot faster than I was allowed to grow up. But in
case you were wondering, the children here still do have temper
tantrums and things like that; the responsibility has not completely
shielded them from childhood. And also hitting kids is totally
allowed here and not looked down upon in anyway. It is hard for me to
accept that. It is actually common in schools for the teachers to
punish the children this way, although recently there has been a
campaign to stop this behaviour in schools at least.
So on the one hand children are forced to take on responsibility at a
young age. Yet at the same time until ‘children’ have children of
their own and/or get married they are still considered children. This
means that they really can not get a job and have no way of making
money. While they are in high school for example, they go to school
and help out at the family farm and this is all that time allows for.
And from what I can tell if they have a child then they are adults and
stop going to school.
Trash
I still have not figured out what to do with my trash. My neighbors
burn it, but I have not yet decided how to go about doing that.
Burning plastic is certainly not the best thing for the environment,
and that is the majority of my trash. On top of that I hate the smell
and do not want to contribute to that. With my food scraps I tried to
start a compost, but there is a health delegate who works at the
center that wanted my scraps. So now I just give them all to him.
Paper scraps I keep or shopkeepers take to hand out bread. Then there
are jars and /or containers which I keep or the children use to make
toys. Thus the vast majority of my trash ends up being plastic
packaging. I keep the plastic bags that someone gives you anytime you
buy anything in a collection for some hopeful future purpose. I am
sure that sometime soon I will break down and give my trash to my
neighbour so that it can be burned together, but my trash pile builds
up surprisingly slow.
Cameroonian Companies
There are a lot of Cameroonian companies. Most of the aid money that
Cameroon used to receive went to the government. So in many ways it
is good to know that the money went, I assume, to the creation of
these companies. You can get chocolate made by ChocoCam; tea made by
CTE (Cameroon Tea Enterprise); telephones made by CamTel; maps or
boats made by CamShip; milk, yogurt, or soy products made by CamLait;
ciment made by CimenCam; and BelgoCam raises chickens; and I know
there are many others but right now the names are escaping me. I have
been living in village for a bit now and do not see many of these
products, but almost anything you can get made by a Cameroonian
company. Think about it like this, when you go into a grocery store
and they have the Wegmans brand or something, here it’s the
Cameroonian brand.
Bamboué (actually now technically since I have moved across the street
I live in Bassessa). Everyday I seem to have too many things to do
already.
I have been doing house visits with two of the health delegates to see
pregnant women. The purpose of these visits is technically to prevent
the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child, but none of these
women have HIV. Thus we end up giving them information on AIDS and
they get a chance to have their questions answered. After that we
spend the majority of the visit letting them ask questions about their
pregnancy or health in general. I think that they really appreciate
being able to ask questions and get answers. While the health center
has really good customer service (especially comparatively from what I
have heard), many times the women do not want to go and pay for a
consultation just to ask a question. This is a great opportunity for
the women to understand a little bit more about what is happening in
their body and that a lot of their discomfort should be expected
during pregnancy.
A side not on one of the visits – One of the ladies that we stopped by
was talking about how she did not want to eat a lot and did not want
to continue gaining weight. I was only hearing this second hand
because she was speaking in the local language-ngeimboon
(unfortunately I can not spell it correctly here just pretend that the
‘o’s are backwards c’s that make a sound like an o). But from the
translation I got it sounded like she was having a body image issue.
I was really surprised by this because the culture here does not
generally promote a thin ideal body. I could totally be
misinterpreting the situation, but that is what I took from the
encounter.
I have also been helping out with the monthly vaccination days that
take place at the health center and also out in the community. I
think I am even getting a hang of how they fill out all of the
paperwork for the things, thus I can be of use. People keep asking me
if I want to give the injections, I am not at that point yet, but who
knows maybe I will learn. Two out of the five nurses at the hospital
are village nurses; which means that they never went to school or got
a degree to be a nurse, they have only picked up the knowledge from
hands on experience here at the center.
There are two local women’s groups meetings which I have been
attending as well. I am not sure if I am contributing too much yet,
but now I have started giving small formations about certain health
topics. I am also helping the two groups go through the legalization
process. March 8th is International Women’s Day so I think the women
want to plan a fete for that.
Another group that I am participating in is the local high school
Kung-fu group. Did you know that they did Kung-fu in Africa? I guess
they generally don’t, but David had brought this book about Kung-fu
with pictures in it. It is written in English so they have translated
parts of it and I will help to translate more. Basically, though,
they have come up with their own version from what they understand.
One of the boys, my neighbour Paulin, acts as the instructor and leads
the practices. They meet Sunday mornings really early and Wednesdays
after school (since school gets out early that day). I am slowly
learning a little bit of Kung-fu Cameroonian style and it is actually
a lot of fun. Soon all of the students want to get Kung-fu uniforms
made and organize a trip to the pool in Dschang. I am sure that I
will help in little ways, but this club is more simply for my
amusement. I fit right in with the high school students due to my
height!
*Paulin actually helps out quite a lot at my house, he is really
friendly. I have recently ‘hired’ him as my house boy to clean the
floors and wash my clothes once a week. I struggled with the morality
of this for a while. It is not that I can not do these things myself,
because I am certainly capable, but I end up taking a whole day to do
what he can do in an hour or two. Also I decided that maybe in
someway I am helping the local economy by spreading some money around.
Many times people just ask me for money; I have decided that if they
can do something to help me then I can justify paying them or giving
them something, but I have trouble just giving money. Because then
people will expect that I continue to do that in the future and I do
not want to set that kind of unsustainable example.
I have recently acquired a blackboard for my house. Now I finally
have something for the kids to do when they come over. And now if
they ask me for something, I get to ask them to do a math problem
first to earn what they ask for! I actually really like the
blackboard too because I can doodle on it.
Currently I am in the process of visiting three of the local primary
schools to get permission to work with the kids once or twice a month.
I just received my letter of approval from the arrondissement
inspector in Batcham. Now all I need is permission from the school
directors. There are always a lot of hoops to jump through in order
to get things official, but this has not been too hard. I am really
looking forward to doing activities with the kids.
So that is what has been going on with me, now I just have a few observations:
Kids
Here kids have a fair amount of responsibility. Around the age of 4
they are entrusted to care for infants. They need to work on the
farms from a young age, get water for themselves (which is a task
here), help prepare food, and do the housework. In many senses they
have to grow up a lot faster than I was allowed to grow up. But in
case you were wondering, the children here still do have temper
tantrums and things like that; the responsibility has not completely
shielded them from childhood. And also hitting kids is totally
allowed here and not looked down upon in anyway. It is hard for me to
accept that. It is actually common in schools for the teachers to
punish the children this way, although recently there has been a
campaign to stop this behaviour in schools at least.
So on the one hand children are forced to take on responsibility at a
young age. Yet at the same time until ‘children’ have children of
their own and/or get married they are still considered children. This
means that they really can not get a job and have no way of making
money. While they are in high school for example, they go to school
and help out at the family farm and this is all that time allows for.
And from what I can tell if they have a child then they are adults and
stop going to school.
Trash
I still have not figured out what to do with my trash. My neighbors
burn it, but I have not yet decided how to go about doing that.
Burning plastic is certainly not the best thing for the environment,
and that is the majority of my trash. On top of that I hate the smell
and do not want to contribute to that. With my food scraps I tried to
start a compost, but there is a health delegate who works at the
center that wanted my scraps. So now I just give them all to him.
Paper scraps I keep or shopkeepers take to hand out bread. Then there
are jars and /or containers which I keep or the children use to make
toys. Thus the vast majority of my trash ends up being plastic
packaging. I keep the plastic bags that someone gives you anytime you
buy anything in a collection for some hopeful future purpose. I am
sure that sometime soon I will break down and give my trash to my
neighbour so that it can be burned together, but my trash pile builds
up surprisingly slow.
Cameroonian Companies
There are a lot of Cameroonian companies. Most of the aid money that
Cameroon used to receive went to the government. So in many ways it
is good to know that the money went, I assume, to the creation of
these companies. You can get chocolate made by ChocoCam; tea made by
CTE (Cameroon Tea Enterprise); telephones made by CamTel; maps or
boats made by CamShip; milk, yogurt, or soy products made by CamLait;
ciment made by CimenCam; and BelgoCam raises chickens; and I know
there are many others but right now the names are escaping me. I have
been living in village for a bit now and do not see many of these
products, but almost anything you can get made by a Cameroonian
company. Think about it like this, when you go into a grocery store
and they have the Wegmans brand or something, here it’s the
Cameroonian brand.
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