Last weekend I went to
Malinde, a village about 40min North on the road to Kumba, to visit one
of the girls from my workshops whom I had kept in contact with. She
visits me from time to time in Buea and I told her I would meet her
family and her son in their village. I finally got to Mile 17 (at the
end of town where you can catch taxis and buses to just about anywhere
in the country) and found the vehicles going to Kumba. I know the price
is 700cfc to Malinde but the driver insisted I pay 1,000cfc (whiteman price)...I
refused and waited for the next bus who happily took me for the correct
price. I was about half way there, bag full of bread in my hand when I
realized... I am becoming Cameroonian! Without a single thought
of resistance, hesitation, unexpectedness or surprise... I had bought
bread for the family (it's expected and tradition to always bring
something when you are visiting or when you have just returned from
traveling) and had been speaking in pidgin (or at least attempting to)
nearly the whole time looking for and negotiating my ride and while in
the bus
I
visited the family of 8 (although not everyone was around) for about 6
hours. I tried Egossi Pudding for the first time and it was fantastic!
Hopefully I will learn to prepare it next time I visit. After visiting
with just Janet* and her son for a couple of hours, her Papa returned
from work and was excited to show me the family's garden which was full of orange, mango and coconut trees, corn, egossi and more.
Soon after, the rest of the family returned from the farm. One by one
her sisters started coming in carrying an assortment of things on their
heads. The family was, surprise surprise, extremely welcoming and kind.
Dinah has a twin sister who also has a little boy. The 2 boys were
showing me some dance moves as their mothers played Nigerian hiphop from
their phones. When it came time for me to leave, I did not leave empty
handed. They send me along with 2 papayas, a coconut, 3 egossi puddings,
a pound of boil groundnuts, more than 20 bananas and more than enough
money for transport. I am looking forward to going back for another
visit and spending 2 or more days there. I unfortunately still dont have
a camera but should be getting one soon. I wish I could have documented
the visit with photos, but I will always have visuals in my mind.
Your ears will love to listen
to the play list I made of several beautiful African artists from all
over the continent and beyond. I made just for you guys, to get a little
sense of the talent and diversity that comes from this magnificent and
breathtaking land called Africa. Watch their dance moves and give it a try yourself! The Azonto is a dance everyone should learn.
(it wont allow me to post the video compilation so just click the link and enjoy!)
Let your hands touch the ingredients and prepare Mbongo Chobi while your taste buds savor the results of this delicious masterpiece and my favorite Cameroonian dish:
Mbongo (T)Chobi
Ingredients
5 Mud Fish (any fish will do, but this kind is traditionally used)
2-3 Mbongo Chabi Spice Packets (can find at African herb stores)
2-3 small onions
3-4 garlic cloves
White pepper
6-8 tomatoes
150 grams njansang/djanssan (also found at African herb stores)
10 ripe plantains
optional: 3 cubes Maggie and/or salt (to taste)
Directions
Cut fish into small pieces, clean and gut.
Wash and peel garlic and ginger and place in a blender with onions.
Blend together white pepper and small amount of water.
First prepare you spices by placing djanssan in a coffee grinder (or pestle and mortar) and grind to a powder.
Chop tomatoes into 1inch cubes or smaller.
Add tomatoes to blended mixture and blend again.
Put oil in pot and simmer.
Add 2-3 mbongo spice packets and djanssan into the tomato puree and blend until its properly mixed into a dark paste.
Add 1 spoonful of pepe, salt and Maggie to taste. Mix well.
Poor sauce over fish.
Add sauce and fish to pot with oil.
Cover and cook until fish is done but do not stir because the fish will break into small pieces.
Add a little water if the sauce is too thick then cover and cook on a low heat for 30 minutes.
Peel and boil plantains until done.
At
the end of the cooking time check the consistency of the sauce then
serve immediately with plantains. (Also served with rice and dodo)
This weekend I went to a funeral in Kumba. I traveled to Kumba in 2011 but I have very faint memories or the city (or 'big village' as its referred to) itself - it was around Christmas time and there was a trade fair going on. My friends/family from the wedding in Douala came from Douala to pick me and other family members to head to Kumba together. It took about 1 hour to get there, but that was private car - public transport would naturally take longer since it stops often. Upon arriving we stopped at a relatives house to quickly greet, drop off some things and have a glass of wine. Then we dropped off some family off at one house and the 5 that were left continued to my friend Josh*, Amanda* and Michelle's* house. The three of them are siblings and it was their Grandma who passed.
Friday was the "Keep Wake" which is a huge outside event (rain or shine) at the deceased's house. There were tons of tents put up, a marching band, DJ and live singer. It was huge!! We visited with family, ate and danced all night. It's called a "Keep Wake" because you are supposed to stay awake all night. The marching band moved from tent to tent. When it would head towards another tent, people would pick up all the chairs, move them to the outside and from a dancing circle around the band who would play in the middle. I was getting dance lessons from a few people and had some fantastic conversations (a lot of it in Pidgin!) with new friends. I made it until about 3am, which was better than the wedding (where the same 'all nighter' tradition is practiced).
Everyone seemed to have a slow start of the morning but soon the women were cooking/cleaning and the men took their post relaxing/sleeping in various places around the house. There was a pig slaughtered in the late morning, I watched intentivly like at the wedding. After the funeral service there was the burial. Afterwards, I went to the market with a friend so I could see a bit of Kumba before I left. Their market is huge, beautiful, cheap and PAVED! dat makit no git poto poto. Muea makit git plenty poto poto pas dat won. A feast was prepared for all guests, subsequently we drove back to Buea arriving just around night fall.
Good news, 2 friends/sisters of mine are getting married this December/January!! I'm so happy I will be there for them, can't wait to attend!
I have a busy couple of weeks. Last day with Green Cameroon, Yaounde for visa/residence permit questions, Douala for a craft market and good Indian food, then to Bamenda for the weekend for Angel's first communion. Come back for maybe a day before heading to Kumba then Mamfe for a cultural festival!
"Blak man no de di doty" is Pidgin (most common language in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon) and it literally translates to "black man doesn't die of dirt". It is on some level a type of metaphor or saying here that loosley means, African are very resistant to things here that foreigners will usually get sick from. The examples I was given were water and dust: the water and dust here doesnt make them (black men) sick - but when a white man comes he will get diarrhea from the water and respetory/breathing problems from the dust.
Found this while cleaning up the SDI office.
"We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give."
Although I have only been here for 26 days, I feel like it has been months and I am already dreaming about extending my stay. Cameroon is such a diverse country with so many places I want to visit and learn about. Cameroonians are genuinely hospitable and truly amazing and caring people. I feel so blessed to be spending my time here. I still have 120 days until my 'planned departure date' but since I have not bought my ticket yet...I am temped to stay. On verra (we'll see)
My favorite meal has come to be grilled fish with 'condiment vert', pepe and bobolo. Condiment vert is the sauce seen in the white bowl. It is a combination of ginger, garlic, oil and other spices. I have not yet learned how to prepare it, but I will post the recipe soon. Pepe is a combination of several spices that are ground together and put with everything to give it a little kick! Bobolo is not in the picture but is is a dish made by fermenting cassava leaves and shaping them in thing long loaf that is then wrapped and twisted to keep shut until serving. I prefer it hot but is often served cold. When Cameroonians living abroad come back to visit (or locals are going to visit family abroad) they often bring a suitcase full of bobolo!
House in Maumu Village, Beau, Southwest Region, Cameroon, West Africa.
My first day in Maumu only yielded 6 out of 20 teens who showed up. We
arrived at 3pm and walked around the village for over an hour trying to
round up young teens who had dropped out of school, were pregnant or
already have a child. Everyone was very shy, and some girls even ran and
hid from us as we walked around. I was accompanied by good friend and
colleague Max (aka Delegate) and a local social worker from Maumu named
Henry. By 5pm (it started at 4pm) we had about 6 girls so we talked
about future activists and chose and official time and date for weekly
workshops. As we left on the moto bike I crossed our fingers for a
higher turn out the following week and began mentally planning for next
week' s program.
The
first official workshop is pictured here: to the right is Max
(aka Delegate) and on the left is Henry.
For the second week in a row we had a very low turn out. I was disappointed because I spent the entire last week preparing and planning. I had a delegate from the Regional Delegation of Women's Empowerment open the workshop with words of empowerment and encouragement. Her speech was followed by a representative from Buea Mutual Health. He elaborated the importance of good health and how it leads to productivity. He explained the benefits of Mutual Health (which is a form of health insurance that SDI provides for each participant). The girls were hardly interested and kept turning their attention to the outside world not paying attention. At the end, I explained to them that this program was for their benefit not mine. I stressed the importance of their participation and need for their general interest and want to participate. We took photos of each girl and her child to begin the application process for the health insurance.
House in Maumu.
Before my arrival, SDI had identified 20 teens in
Maumu who we would target to work with for the Teen Mother Empowerment
program. I am unsure how this identification process took place, but it
obviously wasn't the best way - we only had 6 of 20 girls show up.
Because of the low turn out 2 weeks in a row and the obvious lack of
interest, Suliman (SDI director) Max and I had a meeting with the Chief
of Maumu. I wrote a letter expressing my concern about the lack of
interested and overall participation. We told him that if we did not have the serious interest of more than 10 teens we would have to take our efforts elsewhere.
Low and behold the following week we waited until 4:30pm (30min after the workshop was supposed to start) and not a soul had showed up. We packed up our things and took a motobike back to town. That was out last effort in Maumu and we will be taking our efforts to other neighboring villages including Upper and Lower Muea, Bolifanba and Dibanda.
Lesson learned:
You cannot help those who do not wish to be helped.
Mama Africa with Baby Jason. Jason is Bernadette's
(my host family sister) baby, he just turned 5 months.
The markets have always been my favorite part of Africa.
Here at the Muea Market held every Thursday and Sunday, you can find an
plethora of goods ranging from used clothing and African fabric to
toothbrushes, lotions and perfumes to literally heaps of dried foods and
many locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
African prints: the patterns and colors are mesmerizing.
Sardines anyone?
I have a tendency of overloading my self with work but I like to stay busy. Besides the Teen Mother Empowerment Program, I took it upon myself to fill as many administrative roles with SDI and in the office itself as I possibly can. Seeing the mounds of paper documents scattered on chairs, shelves and on the floor throughout the office was unsettling; how can this NGO possible get anything done without any sort of organization or record keeping methods? When the internet is not working and I have nothing of immediate concern to tend to, I go to the office and spend my days organizing. I have purchased binders and labeled them with various headings and one for each SDI project. I hope that this organization helps future volunteers to become more equip with the knowledge of what has happened in the past, how people have done things and where to start once they arrive.
While I am here, I am also hoping to create some sort of 'policy and procedure' document for interns, volunteers and other staff of SDI. There is no sort of record keeping in place so when I went to make the 'annual report' for 2012 there were no tangible records I could find. All of this needs to change. The unsustainability of the projects here are being more and more apparent to me so I am sincerely hoping I will be able to collaborate with Suli and other volunteers to improve the effectiveness of SDI's programs so that the community will see lasting results. In addition, I am aiming to also create an Emergency Preparedness Plan and apply for grants to get more funding for current projects. I have a lot of things on my list, things are very slow moving here, so we'll see how much I can get done!!
Paul lives just up the road and comes to visit sometimes.
He also made a new friend: Baby Jason.
Monica and I getting ready for Sara's Passover Seder.
Once I heard that Cameroon was affectionately referred to as "Africa in Miniature" because of its diversity - I made it my goal to visit all 10 regions of the country. Since the kidnappings in the Extreme North I decided not to go there, but plan to spend time in all the other regions. Cameroonians have told me that Cameroon is the best African country because everything you can find in all of African is in Cameroon, but you cannot find everything that is in Cameroon in any another African country. Here you can find beaches, tropical rain forests, mountains, desert and more!
My first adventure took me on a 5 day trip to Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon in the Central Region. Sara, Monica and I left Friday morning and arrived back Tuesday evening. In Yaoundé we visited the Mefou National Park, made tons of friends, went out to the clubs and cabarets and discovered the city on foot.
Ape Action Africa:
works on the front-line of great ape protection. Their goals are to
address the immediate threats faced by gorillas and chimps in Africa,
and to work with communities to develop long-term solutions to ensure
their survival in the wild. They rescue orphaned and injured gorillas
and chimpanzees, some only days old, hours from death
Baby chimpanzee and mommy.
The DNA of chimps are more than 98% identical to that of humans.
Peek-a-Boo!
Silverback Gorilla
Reminds me of Lion King.
Mandrill
Monkey
On the left you can see bruise marks and on the right you see a scratch.
While visiting Mefou I was attacked by a monkey that somehow got out of
her enclosed habitat.
Our guide was showing us around the sanctuary when I saw a monkey walking around out of the enclosure. I told our guide, Elvis. At first I wasn't scared but then it ran around Elvis and headed towards me! Earlier that day Monica had told me a story about an Australian woman who had her faced ripped off by a monkey - - that story was racing through my head as the monkey latched onto my leg. Elvis advised me not to move or try to run just to be still. I listened. It let go of me and climbed a wooden poll that was directly to my right, the monkey was now at eye level with me so I slowly turned away so that my face was not in front of him, I couldn't get that story out of my head...I did not want my face ripped off. As soon as I turned, the monkey grabbed onto my right arm. She grabbed even tighter and then as she went in to bite me Elvis open hand slapped it off the wood post and onto the ground. She then became very angry and I was very scared at that point. Elvis began to distract the monkey and try to use his body as a barricade. He advised both Monica and I to slowly start walking away and moving down the path away from the monkey. I was convinced she was going to follow my scent and attack me again but thankfully she didn't and we made it out alive. Elvis said I was very lucky it was not a male or the alpha male because it would have been much more aggressive and would have bitten me for sure.
As I wondered around Yaoundé on Easter Sunday I stumbled upon Le Musée Camerounais de la Blackitude (Cameroonian Museum of Blackitude). I figured it was closed so I went to look at the hours as it was open. As I approached the front door a women came out of her house (which was situated right next to the museum) and offered to open the museum for us right then and there.
The artifacts in this museum had several different traditional purposes and significations. Most of them were from the West.
Making the long walk up Mount Fébé in the Bastos area of Yaoundé to see Le Musée d'Art Camerounais (Museum of Cameroonian Art) was definitely worth it. Unlike the first museum I visited, there was tons of information to read on nearly every peace of art in the 3 rooms. I would have loved to buy the book for future reference but it was out of my budget.
The first room had several wooden pipes of all different shapes and sizes in display cases smoked by several different classes of people and for many purposes. The book explain how all members of society smoked cannabis sativa (no joke, that was in the book); the larger the pipe base and mouth piece the high status: therefore women traditionally smoked very small pipes and chiefs smoked the largest. There was one pipe with 2 bowls and one pipe with 3 bowls which were smoked by a father celebrating the birth of twins or triplets.
Traditional masks used for ritual dances.
The next room is pictured below. It was full of statues, masks, stools and beds. Several things were made with geometric patters and/or spider legs. Spiders represented wisdom so it was used often.
One of the 3 rooms in the museum. Notice the stools on the ground: chiefs and quarter heads
would carry these from meeting to meeting, village to village - it was like their portable throne.
View of Yaoundé from Mount Fébé!
I spent the last night in Yaoundé was with some friends at Dani's house (the Algerian Consulate to Cameroon) eating homemade Algerian soup and couscous whilist taking about his work throughout Africa. We had met him our first night out on Friday at a bar where he immediately extended an invitation to dinner. We saw him quite a few more times over the weekend and was very happy to have made that connection.
In only 5 short days I feel in love with the Francophone capital. I made
so many friends that I cannot wait to visit again. I know I will be
going back soon - it was a 7 hours bus ride but very worth it. It is a fantastic place to improve my French as well - not many people speak English.
I had the Teen Mother Empowerment identification on Wednesday after I returned and had spent the entire previous week preparing. Last week I went around to different radio station in the area to broadcast messages about the program, met with the Upper and Lower Muea chief and had a friend pass out announcement/introduction fliers to all 25 churches in the village. I was certain there would be a satisfying turn out.
As I walked around Muea Village before the identification workshop, I noticed that there were some (just 1-3) very nice looking houses amongst more normal looking ones like in the picture of Maumu earlier in the post. I mentioned it to Max and he told me that when someone passes away and there is a funeral celebration, it is usually held at the families house. The family does the major remodeling/redecorating in honor of the deceased loved on and for the funeral celebration. The houses I had seen he explained, had recently had a family member die.
There was a somewhat disappointed number of attendance but my hopes are still high! I had tons of community support and many local adults were interested in helping with the program. They told me that the community center (where the workshop was held) should be full, the message was just not getting out to the teens. They suggest that we find 'social mobilizers' who will go from door to door
I'm starting to understand the logistics of the country/regions/cities
here as well. Buea is a huge city - there are more than 200,000 people
living here (which is a lot to me). Buea is in the Fako division (like a
county) of the Southwest region (like a state) of Cameroon. Inside of
Buea there are tons and tons of small villages. These small villages
each have their own chief. Traditionally, the chief is an inherited
position but sometimes it is chosen by local elders. Below the chief are
"quarter heads" which are just in charge of a very small area (like a
couple of blocks ) of the small village. Also within the village is a
"town crier" which is someone who runs around from door to door
spreading news of some sort. Sometimes the town crier is paid other
times he is not. What a neat form of communication.
Yesterday I went to the villages of Bolifamba and Dibanda which are also known as Mile 16 and Mile 14 respectively. The chiefs were not around so we left the letters introducing the program with their wives asking him for cooperation and to mobilize the 'quarter heads' and the 'town crier' so that we can get the maximum amount of participation. As we were walking around looking for the chiefs 'palace' (it is just the name of the chief's house: it is not usually like the palace on Aladan or anything) Max explained the tradition of greeting a chief. Here in the Southwest region of Cameroon and in the Littoral region right next door to us, people are allowed to greet a chief by simply shaking his hand. The Southwest and Littoral regions are both coastal regions and are what Max calls "more liberal and civilized" because they were the first areas to be infiltrated with white men, they picked up the custom of handshakes. In every other region you must greet the chief by bowing your head and getting on one knee. That is a good thing to know for when I am traveling.
Locally grown fresh bananas: 12 for 300 cfc (= $.60).
10 mangos from Maumu for 500 cfc (=$1).
While I was traveling and studying in 2011/12 I spent some time in Senegal which is where I first discovered this wonderful purple sweet juice. I never learned the name of it but frequently bought it on the street, and even paid one of my friends to make me a couple of bottles to enjoy at home. Once I left Senegal I never saw it again. To my surprise, it is a traditional Cameroonian drink and they call it Folore.
I am pleased to present you all with my first of many recipes from Africa and specifically Cameroon. Here is a short video of the preparation, continue scrolling down to see the full recipe.
Folore - le jus des ananas et des hibiscus
Ingredients
2 Pineapples
2 ½ cups dried hibiscus leaves
2 cups dried hibiscus powder
2-5 cups of sugar (to taste)
10 liters of water
*have rubber gloves available*
Directions:
Put all dried hibiscus leaves in a big bowl with the water.
Cut pineapples into large 2-3 inch chunks and put in bowl. Save all scraps in separate bowl.
Using your hands, squeeze together the pineapple chunks and the hibiscus leaves extracting all of the juice. Literally squeeze and rub the hibiscus leaves and the pineapple together – twist, rub and smash them. When finished, let it sit for 30min-1hour or more.
Transfer to large pot and add remaining pineapple scraps.
Bring to boil and then remove from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Once cooled, put on your gloves.
Remove all of the large pineapple and hibiscus chunks by squeezing all of the juice out.
Strain out all solids with a strainer.
Add sugar to taste.
DRINK and ENJOY!!!
During my visit to Ottawa, our 'tour guide' (more like some dude who talked to us about random things during the bus ride) mentioned a handful of things that we had to do and see while in Montreal. I was half paying attention and half trying to block out the obnoxious drunk(?) Brazilians who were singing/chanting/clapping in the seats right behind me. He mentioned "Jean-Talon Marché" and I wrote it on my 'to do list'.
The entrance
He said the best day to go was Saturday, so naturally I went on a Saturday. It was fabulous!! From the moment I walked through the doors I felt this overwhelming rush of happiness and tranquility. I felt like I was back in Arcata/Humboldt, California. All I could think was, "Finalement, j'ai trouvé une morceau de Humboldt ici à Montréal" (Finally, I found a slice of Humboldt here in Montreal)
In the summer, the market is outside like a typical farmers market - but
since I went in the dead of winter it was inside, which was fine by
me! Jean-Talon is also considered THE most important open air market
in North America! Apparently, people come from all over the world just
to visit it. I guess I fit into that category too.
Des pommes!
Des poivrons colorés
Des fleurs
Des légumes et des fruits
Plus des fruits!
Des champignons
Des tomates
De la laitue
The atmosphere was warm and welcoming; the food was mouth watering with it's bright colors and surprisingly large selection for winter; and it was bustling with smiles and families.
Crème glacée: expresso et sirop d'érable! Yum!
I enjoyed my experience so much that I have went back every weekend since.
Le Métro de Montréal
Living in Montreal has really been quite an experience so far. I always thought of myself as a 'small town' girl but I have grown to really enjoy many aspects of cities, Montreal in particular. My favorite thing has got to be le Métro de Montréal (The Montreal Metro) - it makes getting around so easy!
There are 4 main lines and several bus routes that will bring you pretty much anywhere you want to go! On the website you can also find a link for a public taxi service, but I haven't used that. A monthly pass, which includes unlimited use of ALL forms of transportation is only $77. They also do daily, weekend and weekly unlimited passes as well. If you visit the city - get one of these passes!
It was news to me that most if not all major cities have a metro system, this was the first time I have used one. I think it is a wonderful idea - mainly because such a large form of public transport cuts back on so much pollution from every single person driving their own car. During the weekdays, especially between 8:30-9:30am and 4:30-5:50pm the metros are PACKED! No where to sit, no where to put your things and sometimes there isn't even room and you have to wait until the next one comes. (Weekdays they come about every 5min and on the weekends its about every 10-13min)
I know I'm not the only one who hasn't taken a metro, so I made a quick video to show you want its like. Some of it was filmed on the weekend (very slow, mellow and not busy) but I tried to get my camera out for the busy rush our times as well. Hope you enjoy it!
Je t'aime en chocolat
Last weekend (February 8th-10th) was the 2nd Annual "Je t'aime en chocolat" (I love you in chocolate). It is also known as le nouveau rendez-vous des amoureux du chocolate (the new chocolate lovers get together). This event showcased the most popular chocolatiers in the region. Did I mention there were free samples?
I saw the most detailed and exquisite (and expensive) chocolate that I had ever seen in my life. A box of 10 chocolates was between $15 and $20.
Les petits gâteaux
Many different kinds to sample for FREE!
Macarons!
Bouquet of chocolate :)
Very detailed and intricate chocolates. Each one hand made!
I definitely left with a stomach full of sugar. I was sure to floss twice before brushing that night.
Bharati...Il était une fois l'Inde(Once upon a time in India)
Friday night I celebrated Valentines Day by taking myself to see my first Bollywood play at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier theater in Place des Arts in Montreal. The venue seats nearly 3,000 people! भरती = Bharati, meaning in search of light, is more than a show! It's an exquisite blend of dance, music and Indian traditions! A smile of satisfaction never left my face as the story of unraveled guided by the narration of one man (he was the only one that spoke - the rest was singing and dancing). An Indian engineer who was raised in the US moved back to India for a job assignment. It was there that he met and fell in love with Bharati. The story shows him battleing another man who also wanted to marry her and also obtaining the approval of Bharati's father to take her hand in marriage. It is a journey that uncovers the hidden treasures of the vast country. It would take more than one night to visit India but Bharati gave me a glittering glimpse of the astonishing cultural richness of India.
I wasn't allowed to take video but I found a great preview of the show on YouTube, please watch this...it is magical!!
I had pretty
good seats and managed to get some photos, but they will never do
justice for actually being there - feeling the drums beat in your heart,
darting your eyes from one side of the stage to the other and seeing
over 1,000 brilliantly colored costumes throughout the show! On the left side of the stage they had a band of 7 members playing all of the
music. There were 4 singers who mostly stayed on the right side but were
sometimes placed throughout the stage. Then, at any given time, there
were between 2 and 30 dancers twirling around the stage! It was an
outstanding and breathtaking performance. I was very happy with my
decision to go :)
The band
The singers on the right.
The happy couple at their wedding!
The bride wears red because it is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity.
If you ever have the opportunity to see Bharati or any other live Bollywood play, I highly recommend it!! What a spectacular evening!
