Gender Roles, Cooking, Witchcraft and More

My inspiration for this post started when I was 

sitting in a taxi on my way home from work.

Wait...

Let me back up and fill you in on the taxis over here...

Taxis
When you hear the word taxi, what do you think of?
Personally, I think of a yellow car that drives you where you want to go. There is a tracker of some sort in the middle, and you are either charged by the distance or the time it takes to get there. I also think of NYC because in all the movies I see there are tons of taxi cabs in NYC.
If that is what comes to mind for you, that's a good start.

Here in Cameroon, and in several other parts of Africa, taxis are 'shared taxis'. You stand on the side of the road in the direction you need to go and wait for a yellow cab. In these cabs, there will be 3 (sometimes 4 but usually 3) people in the back and 2 people sharing the front passenger seat which usually leaves the middle person sitting on something uncomfortable and close to the driver. In Buea, taxi fares run from 100fcfa (20 cents) to 250fcfa (50 cents) depending on the distance. Typically this is how it goes:

You are standing on the side of the road.
When a taxi is approaching you put your hand out sort of like you are hailing a taxi. If you are with a friend or two then you must put out the number of places you are trying to get in the taxi. (eg: You are with 2 friends, you hold out 3 fingers).
As the taxi is approaching if he flashes his head lights that means the cab is full (in other instances, like crossing the street, this flashing of lights could mean 'go ahead and cross I will slow down').
If the cab is not full he will pull up next to you, but it will be a quick sort of drive by where you are expected to shout out your destination.
If the driver doesn't hear you he will call you to come to the car or slowly back up for you to say again.
If he hears you and is not going there, he will simply continue driving.
But if he is going there you will get a BEEP BEEP which means "Yes! Hurry up get in the cab!"
There are even secret codes for certain destinations here depending on the direction you are going and the way you make your fingers point. It could mean Mile 16, Muea, Bakweri Town or Buea Town, Campaign Street, etc.

All of this non verbal communication has taken me some time to master. And I am still learning.

OK, now back to my inspiration for the post...

Most taxi's play music, some play recordings of preachers/prophets and others have nothing to listen to at all.
One day, a Cameroonian gospel singer by the name of Elizabeth Tekeh was playing. I always hear her music, and although it is classified as 'gospel', I enjoy it! It is quite catchy and up beat, plus, she has a great voice. That day, I listened closely to the lyrics to the song and was quite disappointing. She is usually recognized as a 'strong empowering woman' but the lyrics she sang seemed to contradict other songs I have heard her sing.

She sings mostly in Pidgin English but you should be able to get most of the lyrics.

Listen to the song here:

I call this song "Marriage" because I can't find the official name and no one here knows it either.
I've wrote the lyrics myself. Everything that looks like this: (is the translation from Pidgin-English and/or my own interpretation and opinions).

Marriage na love o and understanding o
If wona love and understand wona self, marriage go waka fine

(Marriage is love and understanding.
If you guys love and understand yourself, marriage is/will be good. 'wona' is loosely translated to 'you people' or you guys or you {more than one person}
"o" is put on the end of words to show emphasis or exaggeration.)

If you want your marriage fo last, love your wife o.
If you want your marriage fo last, give and provide for your wife.
If you want your marriage fo last, submit yourself to your husband.
If you want your marriage fo last, respect and obey your husband.

(fo is for = to (in this case).
 
submit: verb: accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person. synonyms: give in, yield, give way, back down, cave in, bow, capitulate, relent, defer, agree, consent, accede, conform, acquiesce, comply, accept
obey: verb: 1. submit to the authority of (someone) or comply with (a law). synonyms:    do what someone says, take/accept orders from, carry out/follow the orders of, be dutiful to, heed; 

To me, submit is a very degrading word. When I think of obeying and submitting yourself to someone, I honestly think of the way slavery was in the US [and I'm sure everywhere else]. Where the slave is treated as some sort of animal who is not worthy of making their own decisions and must submit themselves to their master and obey their every command. 

That is just not OK with me.)

If any man play ei part as God talkam for bible
God go favor wona marriage
marriage ei go waka fine

(Which ever men play their part that God has said in the Bible, God will favor your marriage. Marriage will be good.)

Marriage na love o and understanding o
If wona love and understand wona self, marriage go waka fine

If your wife make you vex no holler around people
Callam for inside room
Talkam show say you di vex and a humble woman will say sorry
and marriage go waka fine

(If your wife makes you angry dont yell at her in public. Call her to come inside the room. Tell her that you are mad and a humble woman will say sorry and your marriage will be fine

If the reason he was angry is legitimate to apologize for then I have no problem. But I don't see why it doesn't say If you make ya wife vex say your are sorry and kiss her. )

Bible don say husband na da head of the household
Woman na helper of the husband
Do your best walk with your husband
When you walk with your husband you marriage go waka fine

(The Bibles says that the husband is the head of the household. The woman is the helper of the husband. Do you best do what your husband does/wants. When you do what he does/wants your marriage will be good.

Even if that is what the Bible says, the Bible is a book that was written 3,500 years ago.  
“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change” ― Heraclitus. 
It is not OK that women are still seen as inferior to men. We have a lot of growing to do. Just look at what happened this last year even in places that are supposed to be seen as "equal". This just goes to show, the world has a lot of growing to do.)

If you want your marriage for last, no hide money for your wife
If you want your marriage for last, no hide anything for your husband
Wona work together, hand to heart
Wona reason together
Marriage go waka fine, fine, fine, fineee.

Marriage na love o and understanding o
If wona love and understand wona self, marriage go waka fine

If you want your marriage for last, pray for your marriage
Be faithful to one another
Honest to one another
Transparency every day wona come together
Wona walk together marriage ei go waka fine, fine fine fineee.

Marriage na love o and understanding o
If wona love and understand wona self, marriage go waka fine

This brings me to my next observation...

It's tradition!!

Gender Roles    

"A woman's place is in the kitchen. Except some Saturdays, maybe I will cook for her and give her a break."
This statement was said by one of my students in class. He is 14 years old. There wasn't a soul who out-rightly and openly disagreed with his statement. Not even me, I was trying to be more of a mediator and just let the discussion flow. Most of the boys in the class and a couple girls sat there nodding their heads agreeing.

I can picture the response to that same statement made somewhere else: a cold hard slap in the face and a room full of pissed off men and women alike. The first thing I think of when I hear that statement and others like it is "What is wrong with people!? This is the 21st century!" But, after the steam stops coming out of my ears and I come back down to Earth, I realize...it is just their cultural traditions. And, according to cultural relativism, I am in no such position to be saying that this way of thinking is wrong or even correct for that matter. At the wedding I went to way back when, I remember watching all of the young girls and women waking up early to clean all the dishes and begin preparing breakfast then continuing on to prepare an enormous dinner that evening which would feed all guests. This was all happening while the men were sitting around, drinking beer or tea, eating breakfast, sleeping, smoking cigarettes, etc. But no one seemed to complain - they all knew their respectful places in life.

For my YAN class the main program for the entire year is as follows: learn about computers, choose a problem or issues in your community to research on, then build a website and use multi media to teach others about the problem and advocate for solutions. I won't lie, I was really trying to encourage someone to research somewhere along the lines of gender roles and/or women's empowerment. But, no one took the bait. Even after we had great class discussion prompted by two women guest speakers we had come into class and discuss these issues. It was a bit disappointing to see no one jump on the idea... but it was a very concrete and necessary reminder to me. In the field of International Development, us outsiders, are not here to implement 'correct' way of living and change the way things are because that is what we want to see happen. Just because we think one lifestyle is better than another doesn't mean we are correct. It is about listening to the problems of the people. Then, collectively working towards sustainable and long term solutions to those problems. If gender roles and women's empowerment are not issues that are seen by students as issues, its because they are not issues at this point in time. As much as I see them as problem,s I am not a Cameroonian youth in any sort of position to advocate for women's rights in a foreign country when no one has asked me to do so.

This was a nice learning lesson for me. You can't make people see a problem that they don't think is a problem. You can't tell someone what the problems are in their own communities.

"You don fat"
Also meaning, "You have grown fat!"
To us over in the Western world... this is one of the worst insults you can ever say to a person, especially a girl/woman. I know when I am describing a person who is fat, I will even avoid that word by saying heavy or bigger or large just because of the negativity that is connected with the word fat. But here, the word fat is anything but negative!! I can't even count how many times someone has told me that I have gotten fat or have grown fat. For me, it is usually preceded or followed by the same person telling me, "You are enjoying Cameroon!" Here I would even go as far as saying it is a compliment to be called fat. People, and now myself included, will reply, "Thank you."

Accepting fat as a good thing, and actually being told that myself and others were 'too thin' was a bit difficult. My whole life I have been trained to think that I need to be thin. No extra fat, no rolls on my stomach, etc. Then, I slowly started to reflect on America's idea and perception of 'beauty' as well as the amount of criticism girls/women experience focusing around body image. It's a really sad thing that women are taught to shame their own bodies and criticize every inch of them. I went to Limbe beach with a handful of the 'foreign volunteers' about a month ago. We were laying on the beach in the sun enjoying ourselves. A fat (yes, I want to use that word because it is NOT a bad thing!) Cameroonian walked by all confident and happy in her two piece bikini. She was with some friends and they all walked town to the water. She began posing for photos and simply loving and enjoying life. This girl was big, she was very fat and yet that didn't stop her from enjoying her time at the beach. She wasn't self conscious she wasn't trying to cover herself up - nothing. Then, as I was noticing this scene. The girls I was with began to complain about every little part of their body. Nothing was good enough for them. A couple even began to mock the fat girl in the water. It was a sad situation. I think we can learn a lot about beauty when we take our eyes off of the altered/airbrushed/photo-shopped pictures in magazines, music videos and runways and begin to look at real bodies and real women.

Witchcraft
Lately, there has been a couple of instances of witchcraft going on in the area. People say that it happens year round but this particular time, the months preceding Christmas, is notorious for witchcraft ...and many motor accidents resulting in several deaths. About a month ago, a neighbor of mine said, "What has happened at your school today?" in a sort of panicked state - I could tell something wasn't right. I replied, "I'm not sure, I don't teach there today but will ask on Monday when I go... why what has happened?" She then said, "Over twenty students have collapsed!! No one knows why."

I thought, what on earth could have made more than twenty students randomly collapse all around the same time? I realized that I have really spent a fair amount of time in Cameroon and Africa in general because the first thing that came to my head was… Witchcraft. Yes, witchcraft. You think I’m crazy right? Well people here will think you are crazy for not believing. Cameroon is comprised of more than 260 different tribal/ethnic groups who each have their own dialects and traditional ceremonies and characteristics. Some are more likely to use witchcraft than others. When I arrived to the school in Buea Town on Monday to collect the curriculum booklets for corrections, my students had confirmed my assumptions… Indeed it was witchcraft that caused the children to collapse. No one knows who or why someone would have done that but it happened.

I know there are those on the other side of the world who are in disbelief and maybe even in outright laughter after reading this. "This isn't hocus pocus!" But I challenge you to stay open minded always remember to respect other cultures, beliefs and traditions. I challenge you to look beyond your own cultures, beliefs and traditions and beyond everything you have ever known to be real. Just because you don't practice, believe or have been witness to something - doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There will always be something we don’t understand and can’t make sense of, that’s what makes life interesting!

Witchcraft, magic and charms are all very common there here - all across Africa. My first experiences with it were in Uganda. I had students telling me about people who had died from witchcraft. For example, people were jealous of them so they would poison them or make a charm that would kill them. I laughed. I laughed a lot!! How ridiculous I would think to myself. The absurdity of an idea like that...

Then, something changed inside of me. When I was in Sengeal in 2011, I was witness to ndep. In short, ndep is an exorcism (in Western eyes). But it is much much more than that...it's a traditional  ceremony which is preformed as a type of collective therapy and allows for the public expression of the the individuals particular illness. It is held 2 times a day (at high noon and midnight) for 5-7 days. It is usually performed on young women who, I was told, are most susceptible to being possessed by a wrab. A wrab is a misguided spirit and Yoff Village (where I stayed) was full of these spirits. Friends told me that the spirits were more active and more dangerous during the day time, and that they often leech onto girl's/women's long hair and seep into their body that way. I was advised to wear my hair up and ward off these wrabs by wearing cowrie shells. What happens is, the girl or whomever needs an ndep first falls ill with some sort of mental illness such as insomnia. The family brings she/he to a local witch doctor who prescribes ndep. The Griot drummers use beats to set the patient into a trance that will eventually bring the spirit out of them. It was an extremely intense experience.

But, anyways, back to Cameroon...

Here in Cameroon, witchcraft is an offense that is not taken lightly. It is punishable by law with imprisonment of two to ten years and a fine of 5,000-100,000fcfa ($10-$200).

As for the moto accidents, this was the first one to set off the countless others...
Here was another very major one.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I spent it with Bill and Trixie of the 7th Day Adventist Hospital in Buea...they are both American volunteers who we (the local volunteers) like to refer to as the "Mom and Dad" of the volunteer community. Every Thursday they host a 'game night' where we all get together, sometimes bringing food but usually just smiles. That particular week, we celebrated Thanksgiving - and it was much more than I had ever dreamed possible in Cameroon. We substituted the turkey for chicken and the only thing missing was pumpkin pie! We had cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, deviled eggs, green beans, herb bread, ratatouille and too many desserts to count!!

This year, I am thankful for the opportunity to spend my 25th Thanksgiving in Buea, Cameroon, a place that has become a second home to me. I am thankful for the opportunity to be pursuing 

my dreams :: living and working in Africa, empowering the youth to advocate using new 

media technology and continuing my quest of infinite knowledge.

 Live the life you love and love the life you live.

Sending Love Back Home
I wanted to give a shout out to my sister Hanna who sent me not one but two care packages for Christmas. One of the things I was missing most (besides the obvious family and friends) was the pumpkin theme of things... especially a pumpkin spice latte from Ramones Bakery inside of Wildberries in my beloved Arcata, California. My sister was thoughtful enough to send me mini pumpkin spice creamers.

It is the simple things in life that make me the happiest :)

Thanks Hanna (and Andy!)! And thanks Olivia and Mom and Dad for the letters and pictures!! Cora, I know you still love me :)

If anyone wants to send me a letter, card, package or photos please do so! It makes me whole week brighter - I love hearing from you guys back home. My address is:
Antonia Morzenti
c/o Youth Advocacy Network
PO Box 8
Buea, Southwest Region
Cameroon, West Africa

Youth Advocacy Network

I have been insanely busy with YAN! 

Please check out the details on their website here!

Very small turn out for the weekend catch up class at Lycee!

These are the "Advanced YAN" students who graduated last year and the year before.
They loved YAN so much they wanted to continue working so we have class once a week.

Here is the view walking from the Government High School in Buea Town.
Look at all that green!! Buea is right on the footsteps of Mount Cameroon.

Random Things I Have Been Doing...

I have been cooking... A LOT!!

The Thanksgiving dinner gave me some inspiration for what I can do here.

I've made several beef stews full of veggies, cakes, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, peppered steak, chicken soup with rice and even.... APPLE PIE BY STOVE TOP!!!

I went to a traditional wedding in Kumba. (Groom is on the left)

I started reading this epic book!!

Work has been stressing me out quite a bit so I have decided to make more solo trips to the beaches in Limbe. To get away from Buea, and people, and work, and everything!! 

Holiday Plans

This break is a much needed break! I am so thankful that it is in just 5 short days!

On the 20th I will leave to go to Bangem. It is in the Koupe Manengouba district of the Southwest region and is one of the two 'villages' that the Bakossi people hail from. The other is Tombel. Of course these two places are not the only villages, there are several inside of these areas - they are just the two general names that Bakossi people will give to others when asked where their village is. Here in Bangem is where I will get the see the Twin Lakes that I have heard so much about! One is male, one is female. It is forbidden to swim in the female lake. And apparently, as I mentioned before, if your throw a rock in the lake, it will throw it back out. I won't try this though. Unless I get permission from the chief. I don't want to upset the ancestors.

After about 5 days here just relaxing and exploring, I will go to Kumba and spend Christmas. I have many friends in Kumba so I know it will be a joyful and wonderful Christmas.

My 'sister' is getting married on the 28th so I am going to try my best to attend that wedding. 

After that, I will swing back to Buea to repack and reset myself before an epic journey up to the North and Extreme North regions of Cameroon. Here, my friends Megan and I will be visiting Maroua, Garoua, Rumsiki, Ngaoundere and many other exciting places! We will spend between 10-13 days playing and exploring! :) I can't wait!

Why I've Been Silent Since September

The biggest reason for my silence was MONICA MONTALTI, my best friend and 'sister', leaving in September. We had many festivities for her 'going away'. After she left I needed to make new friends. So I was frequently going to "game night" at the 7th Day Adventist Hospital and meeting with friends for Bonga Juice and dinners at various locations around Buea. I was also eager to show new volunteers around to the markets and all of my tailors. I am now...pretty much the veteran of Buea for the "foreign volunteers" sector... its a big responsibility ;)

Lycee Molyko Club Launching Day

Another contribution to my busyness has been the work I am doing for Youth Advocacy Network. You can check out the bi-weekly updates on the specific work we do each week HERE on their blog.

The smaller less obvious reasons for my silence have been things such as: laziness, procrastination and some small travel.

AND... last week I had malaria - - AGAIN!!!

I would like to take this blog post to catch all ya'll up on what has been happening 

in Buea and in my life. 

First and foremost, I finished my final report and capstone thesis for my Omprakash scholarship and Omrapkash EdGE respectively.


As part of Monica's "going away" we decided to dedicate the last 8 days of her time in Buea to madness. We made a bucket-list of random funny things to do and called it "8 days of Being Married to Madness".

I will highlight the best days...

Monday: Day bender with the Police

This was the event the inspired it all. Monday, one week before Monica's departure we found ourselves a bit bored in the house. She had finished her work at the hospital and mine had not yet began with YAN. We decided to just go out for one drink together and just chat. We met up with our friends from the police station who then invited us to continue drinking with them. It's good to make friends with the police here, especially a commissioner... you can always call them when you are stuck at a traffic stop out of town and pass the phone to the policeman who is causing problems.

Tuesday: Make & chop(eat) Ndole and take a moto bike from Limbe to Buea.

Our dear friend Jane has a reputation amongst the 'volunteer' population that has passed through Buea for cooking the BEST ndole! She said she would share her recipe with us and invited us to her house in Limbe. We decided to take a bike back to Buea, about 30min away, instead of a car. Just to be rebellious and feel the wind in our hair!

Wednesday: Plait hair like a Cameroonian

Aquila is a fun and peppy Cameroonian who offered to plait both mine AND Monica's hair for free!! An amazing deal, 'white-man' price for that would have been around 10$ or so. We invited her and her friend to our house for the day. We bought them Bonga Juice (freshly squeezed tropical juice) and soya (meat on a stick with onions and pepe) to keep them motivated. This style is called "rasta". In pidgin: adon put rasta.

Thursday: Mirror dance & take selfies at Chariot

This 'event' on the bucket list has several inside jokes and local customs that are hard to explain to those who have not lived and experienced Cameroon life. Mirror dancing and taking pictures of yourself are both phenomenons here. All clubs and bars are lined with mirrors. Men and women alike will spend hours dancing by themselves in the mirror. Not only do they do this, but you will constantly see people taking "selfies" where they pose, make a 'sexy' face with their lips, hold the camera out in front of them, and have a photo-shoot of themselves by themselves. At first, and I mean no offense whatsoever, it was a bit hard not to laugh at these things just because they are so foreign to where I come from. But not, we've gotten to the point where mirror dancing and taking selfies are quite normal. So we thought we should dedicate a night to the two while going to the cities best club, Chariot Night Club.

*Interesting Local Fact: Many people say that the major reason why there are mirror is to ward off bad spirits. If a person has sold their soul to satin or if they are spirits back from the dead, they (the bad person or spirit themselves) will be able to see their reflection. Therefore, it wards them away because they dont want to me unveiled for what they are.

Friday: West our matching outfits & glasses

Throughout our time spent in Buea together (7months living together, 4 in the same bed), we had both aquired the same pair of fake Ray Ban 'hippster' glassed for dash (free). While visiting Bamenda, Monica and I bought matching tops. We decided to go to our friends going away party matching!!

Saturday: Find Tole waterfall

The waterfall in Tole is not a touristic site, is it actually a place of spirituality and prayer. Photos were not allowed to be used once inside the gate so this picture is just a picture of the Tole Tea fields along the drive there and back. Tole is a small village about 20min from Molyko where I stay in Buea.

Monday (Sept 23rd) was Monica's official send off party!!

The following day I took her to the airport in Douala and we said our goodbyes, but she will be back!! I miss her dearly and life is not the same without her, but as the Cameroonian phrase goes - "a di manage"... I am managing (in English)

Since my last post I have been able to cross not only one but TWO items off my bucket list!!!Can you guess what they are??

1) I opened a bottle with my TEETH!!

 

2) I went to Yaounde to see a Cameroonian football match... 

Cameroon vs. Libya

Final score = 1-0

People call me Tonia here :)

Then I went back to Yaounde to watch the final World Cup Qualifying match.
Cameroon vs. Tunisia
Final Score = 4-1

This game was insane!!!

As my friend Laglan and I approached the entrance to the stadium I could already see this game was going to be different than the last one... much more intense! There were long lines with those who held tickets, like us, and then crowds of others near the fences and walls and then a million police officers and military. It was complete chaos. Those who had tickets were not being allowed in...for God knows what reason. Laglan said it was because they wanted to take bribes so unless they paid they wouldn't let them in. Either way, it was very hectic. I tried to play my "foreigner in a foreign country" card and speak with the officers to see if they could help. Most of them were trying to be helpful and bringing me to more superior officers to try to get us into the game but in the end they just told me to wait in line with those who had tickets. So, we did just that. I didn't want to take my phone out for fear of it being stolen. There were people climbing walls, jumping fences and throwing themselves over onto the other side to see the game. The police had their belts and batons out whipping people as they wished. Suddenly, the crown next to us dispersed rapidly and I saw a flair had been thrown. I tried to run but I wasn't fast enough... an officer had unintentionally hit me in the back of the calf with his baton that he was swinging carelessly and violently. I played the same card as before and started to cry...I was quickly surrounded by apologetic military and police who eventually escorted me and Laglan into the field.

This is the aftermath - but fear not! I am strong and OK!

Although being 'beat by Cameroonian police" wasn't on my bucket list, it will be added and it will be crossed off. Right there under "be a victim of tear gas" from the strikes at UB back in May.

Here is a video of the match including the 3rd goal (a corner kick) and the crowd going crazy afterwards.

I had a gut feeling that they were going to score. So I looked at my friend who was holding my phone (keeping it safe) and said, "They are going to score, let me see my phone so I can record." Sure enough they scored! 

The weekend was a wonderful weekend in Yaounde. A friend of mine Al who lives in Buea and has his family house in Yaounde was actually around for the weekend as well. He brought me to his village on the other side of Mount Febe and showed me a local artist named NDOFOA. He is BRILLIANT!! His entire house was his workshop and the walls where made into one giant collage with pictures and random things such as bottle caps, pipes and of course every color of the rainbow. He is looking for someone to help him make a catalog to sell his art and get him more 'publicity'. Every time I go to Yaounde, I think I will meet with him and take photos to help him work on it. He is a very nice man and gave me the painting at half price because that was all I had and Al brought me :)

This is the painting I bought...
The longer you look at it, the more things you see.

As I said before... one reason why I haven't been blogging is because of my work with YAN. I have been very busy with lesson planning, teaching, correcting papers, looking for an intern etc.

YAN Club at the Government High School in Buea Town.

Madam Antonia

Bar Camp Cameroon 2013 : Buea, Cameroon

BarCamp is held throughout the year in Cameroon and all around the world. This year Buea was fortunate enough to be the first Anglophone region to host the event. Bar Camp is a the largest annual “non-conference” of passionate individuals who are interested and involved sectors of the digital and technology society. Those attending and presenting include: bloggers, photographers, videographers, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts,  journalists, activists, professors, field specialists and students. It’s a meeting of forward-thinking minds coming together to discuss the countless opportunities and obstacles they all face in the era of modern technology.

BarCamp is referred to as a “non-conference” because of its informal format and random/sporatic scheduling. Nevertheless and undoubtedly, quality discussions, stimulating interaction and a trade fair-like atmosphere are some of its characteristics. BarCamp is seen as a combining platform between Cameroon’s tech and civil society, geared at addressing grand issues of the day. 

A friend of mine, Al (yes the same one who showed me the amazing artist in Yaounde) who works at ActiveSpaces (a organization that incubates local businesses) had invited me to give a presentation at this years BarCamp. He told me that it was going to be a very informal ‘non-conference’ and I would have between 15-20min to give a speech and a powerpoint presentation. Although the expected audience number of 200-300 was not met, I was still able to reach out to a good amount of people. I spoke about the founding of YAN, how it has improved and grown since 2009 and what we are doing presently. It was nice to get feedback from the audience which mostly included focusing more of the curriculum on social media while also advising YAN to work in more schools.

 After the speech they asked me to say a few words to the TV news crew.

Paola is from Italy and doing her PhD in Germany. She is currently doing her research here in Buea at the Advanced School and Translation and Interpretation (ASTI) at the University of Buea. She is focusing on Community Translation. I met Paola a few months back when I was still working for Green Cameroon. She asked to interview me privately since I had said, "Yes, I needed a Pidgin translator when I had first arrived and was working in the villages." I found her about 7 others who needed translation help because of their work here so I rounded them all around to my house for the interviews. She was very grateful for my contribution and invited me to her "sensitization day". The interviews were in late August/early September ad the sensitization took place in November. It was full of funny skits and a lot of advice giving for those who work in the field. It focused mostly on Hospitals and NGOs. At the end, we debriefed. I had an opportunity to give my advice to those with international volunteers coming to work with them - - PIDGIN LESSONS!!! And even CULTURAL LESSONS!!! What to respect, how to act, standards, rules, regulations, etc!

Skit from the Sensitization Day

AIESEC is the largest youth-run organization in the WORLD. They operate in 113 countries or territories and have more than 86,000 members! Here at the University of Buea (UB) they have their very own chapter. The president, Kabila, had invited me to give a short speech to the new recruits of the year. Even thought I was not an AIESEC member, he said it would be good to have a foreigner give my experience in a foreign country as an intern and I could motivate them to want to experience another culture. So... I did just that... IN PIDGIN-ENGLISH!! Ok, a don lie...ano fit fo talk all tings so wen a no fit a talk english (Ok, I lied. I cant say everything in Pidgin, so when I can't say something I just speak in English.) So in the end, it was probably 70% Pidgin English. They loved it!! Everyone was laughing, recording me on their cell phones asking me questions in Pidgin... it was great :)

And in case you didnt hear....

 

 I am an official resident of The Republic of Cameroon.

Na ma tailor ei pikin dem.These are my tailors children.

Festivities in Bakwelle Village

Sorry for the delay...

I was rocked pretty hard with malaria. 

It really wipes you out.

Mentally&Physically.

Dance like no one is watching

From pregnant mamas to old paps, babies, toddlers teens and everyone in between: everyone dances here. No matter how old or how young, where you are, what you are doing, what music is playing... nothing matters - just dance. I think that's why everyone dances so good, because they have been feeling rhythm and dance moves since they were in the womb. I remember watching a voodoo ceremony in Benin in 2011, there was this mama dancing ferociously around a fire with her baby strapped onto her back with a loin cloth...I remember thinking, "Wow, that baby is going to be a great dancer when it is older." Coming from a culture that is much more reserved in its dancing practices, it's a really beautiful thing here to see such a variety of people dancing so freely.. not embarrassed that they might be dancing "pooly", not worried that they are literally the only person dancing in a room - they are simply loving life and moving to the groove.

Another thing that is quite different when it comes to the dancing culture here is Cameroonians love watching themselves dance. In nearly all of the night clubs/bars/cabarets there are huge mirrors where people will stand and dance by themselves in front of the mirror, just watching themselves. At first I found it a bit odd, but to each their own, right? My friend told me that the main reason there are mirrors in the clubs is not for people to watch themselves dance, but to ward off spirits. If a spirit comes to the club, once he/she sees the mirrors, they will leave. A spirit cannot see his/her own reflection and the mirror and that means they cannot stay in the club.

Spirits and ancestors are very much alive here -

 they are part of everyday life.

Bride Price

My whole life I've read about the negatives of bride price, how it objectifies the woman, makes them out to be some sort of possession or object to buy/sell/own and I've openly opposed it. Until now. Tradition is such a beautiful thing and a wedding wouldn't be what it is without hearing the pig squealing in agony as it is on its way to get slaughtered the morning after the wedding. I don't see it so much as a 'purchasing a woman' anymore - its much more about tradition. At least here anyways.

I was told that my future husband should give to my father: 4 full grown pigs, 3 goats, 50 liters of palm oil, 50 liters of palm wine and 1 million cfc ($2,000USD). Not bad ey, Dad?

Libation

I first came across this practice when I went to a Bakossi wedding in Douala with my co-worker and friend Delegate (aka Max). There was some sort of figure in the middle of the room. People were dancing, giving speeches and pouring palm wine on top of it. I was a bit confused but just snapped photos and went with it.

Last week in Mamfe, I watched a friend pour his beer into a glass. I watched him over-pour as the beer 'head' spilled over the top and all over the table. I wish I could say that was the first time I saw that but I see it all the time. I consistently see Cameroonians over-pour their drinks and spill them all over. I always think "What a mess! Watch what you're doing. What poor judgement of how much to pour" among other things. As I watched him, I just started to laugh out loud. He says "why yu di laugh so?" (why are you laughing like that). I said to him "Why don't you stop sooner so you don't make a mess?" He explained to me that when you purposely over-pour a drink to spill, its libation for your ancestors.

I've been renamed. Twice:

Bayangi name = Nsunsu (pronounced: nn sue sue)

Bakossi name = Ebude Mbulle (ay boo day mm boolay)

New addition to the bucket list

-Open bottle with teeth. Only true Cameroonians do this... aka ALL Cameroonians do this...I just hope I don't break my tooth - not too sure how good the dentists are here.

Welcome to Bakwelle Village

Upon arrival we greeted the family we were staying with (My friend Sarah's host family is from the village) and started to walk to the football field to watch the match.

 

In all honesty, I did't watch more than 5min of the football game... I was much too distracted by the adorable children running around me playing and begging for my attention!

This boy has got his poses down!

After the match we strolled back to the house and just passed time with the family and many others in the village. There is only one "store" (if you could call it that) in the village and it is owned by the family and located right at the front of their yard. Because of this, the compound made for a very lively location where people frequently passed by to get a beer, buy some sweets, or just to visit. There were many people around after dark and I was practicing my pidgin with a few of the local mamas. They were quite impressed (...or maybe it was more amused), especially after I told them that I was a Bakossi woman with the name Ebude.

The following morning, Saturday, there was a 'marathon' for the men and women of the village. There was about a total of 20 participants and half of them were barefoot! After the running event we had a lot of time to waste until the 'cultural festivities' started in the afternoon...so we strolled...

"Take my snap!!" "Show me! Show me!"

 

He is making his own chair!

We met in the community hall around 4pm and the activities commenced.

The audience...

Coca cola+wine = drink for the guests

Women's cultural dance

"TAKE A SNAP!" (during the award giving)

This little gal would not leave my arms, I left go and she
just clung to me like a koala bear in a tree.

Enjoy this video of the cultural festivities...

After the festivities we went to Mamfe for a bit of live music and dancing.

The next morning we were on our way to Bamenda and then on the bus back to Buea.

View driving from Mamfe to Bamenda

Little did I know, I had contracted malaria during this wonderful visit.

Jungle Road: 2011 vs. 2013
Ikom, Nigeria to Mamfe, Cameroon 

When I was in Cameroon in 2011 we crossed from Nigeria into Cameroon via the epic and infamous 'jungle road'. There were pot holes the size of our truck. We would literally drive in and out of the pot holes - if it was wet season, there is no way we would have passed through that way. There was rumor that the Chinese were going to pave the road. They have interest in doing that because they export a lot of Cameroon's timber.

When we were in Bakwelle, I was able to see the transformation first hand... I didnt even recognize the road until I friend pointed and said "if you keep going that way, you will hit the Nigerian boarder".

Left is Nigeria - Right is to Mamfe

Bakossi Police Man
We left Mamfe towards Bamenda in a shared taxi. As usual - 3 in the front (including driver) and 4 in the back. We were stopped at a road block for at least 30 min because our driver didnt have 'proper documents'. Just around the time I was about to jump on the next passing bus, the police let him go. At the next stop, all of us, the passengers, were asked for ID. Without hesitation I handed him my certified photocopy of my passport and visa. He looked at the front. Tuned it around. Looked at the back and said, "This has expired,  step out of the car" - All I could think was ...great, now I'm the hold up. We walked over to the shack of a police office on the side of the road to discuss further with his other police colleagues. He was confused... I was issued a 6-month visa in January so he thought it expired in June. I explained to him that I didnt enter the country until March 10th meaning it doesn't expire until September 10th. After he realized his mistake, his colleague noticed something else. "This document is expired! Certified documents are only good for 3 months in Cameroon. You must get them re-certified after 3 months! This is not valid!" This is true, this is something I had been told before but never really listened to because I didn't see it affecting me. "We will have to take you down to the main office." He says in a stern voice... I was not about to get brought in by the police, so I started to talk my way out of it "Abeg sir, a no no me. dey no tell me at police station" - They look shocked from my Pidgin, "What nationality are you!?" I reply, "a bi Bakossi woman, ma name na Ebude" (Bakossi is a tribe here) "No, what county are you from?" "a komot fo Amerika" He looks pleased, "And you are already speaking our language here!? You say you are Bakossi, that means you are my sister!" I look at his name tag, it's a Bakossi name. I say in his dialect "Chang makem" He looked even more surprised and give me a traditional handshake and replied "Makem makem boyum" He told me that I could go because I spoke his dialect.
Thankfull I got out of that mess! But, no worries. I went straight to the Buea Police Station and applied for my residence permit - now I am half Cameroonian for real! And, with this permit, I can go and come as I please for 2 years!!

Work, School, NGO, etc
Work with YAN starts in 1 week. I've been in contact with the previous fellows who worked last year and have been getting some good insight! I am so excited to begin working! Please see my fundraising page and donate what you can.

I am still doing things here and there for Green Cameroon. They just launched their September fundraiser on GlobalGiving. Check it out HERE.

The curriculum I was doing through Ompraksh EdGE has been finished for some time now, but my capstone thesis is creeping up on me. That will need to be finished by the end of the month.

I have this crazy idea of teaching a "CV/resume and cover letter/letter of motivation" class for students here. I've been speaking with several students (Buea is mostly comprised of students) and all of them complain about their lack of knowledge pertaining to CVs, resumes and letters involved in applying for a job. I don't know where I would teach, where I would advertise, how much I would charge (everyone says that if I dont charge no one will take it seriously), or when it would be... but its just an idea I have.

Rainy Season
The season is still wet, but its has been changing... it doesnt rain 24/7 now - we will have torrential down pour followed by overcast or even sun. It's not too bad! But, I am really looking forward to the sun and dry season!!

Cameroonian Football
Tomorrow, I am hopefully crossing off another thing on my bucket list - Cameroon plays Libya in a World Cup qualifier. Went to the market today to get my jersey, leaving at 6am tomorrow morning for Yaounde...wish me luck!! Hope the crowd isn't too crazy, I hope they win, and most of all - I hope it doesn't rain!! Look for me on TV!!