My First Year in Cameroon :: The Good, The Bad, The Ridiculous//Awesome

Today makes ONE YEAR since my arrival in Cameroon, Africa.

1 year-12 months-52 weeks-365 days

8,765 hours or 525,949 minutes.

The Good: The cost of living in Cameroon is SOO cheap and SOO fresh!- I can buy a massive juice fresh pineapple for 150fcfa or 25cents. 4 mangoes (in season) or 4 bananas just picked off the tree for 100fcfa (20cents).

The Bad: Salary here is a joke. That is if people even get paid! Sometimes people work for months without salary and both government jobs and private jobs. Even when they do get paid, it's close to nothing. It is not possible to pay rent, pay bills, feed your children, send them to school with books and supplies, have a tiny bit to buy a bottle of beer every now and again AND save. It's just not possible. It's incredibly sad to see people who are intelligent, hard working and capable struggle like this. Even me, its why I have to leave...the salary is just too low I cant afford to live here.

The Awesome: I am learning Pidgin-English!! What is this you ask!? Well, it's more useful than one might imagine... This "language" is spoken by more than 80 million people world wide. I say "language" because it varies by the location - but a lot of the structure more or less stays the same, it's mostly the vocabulary that changes. Surprisingly, I am picking up on this quite well. I would say after one year I am at or beyond my proficiency in French. At first, I was so confused why educated people who knew English would speak this language amongst each other (I assumed it was for the illiterate) but after inquiring and getting the response, "It just flows" I know understand...ei di flow. This can help me get jobs all over West Africa!! Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Liberia and of course Cameroon. Generally, if they dont speak French, they speak Pidgin :) Or in some places, like Sierra Leone, they call it Creole. Here in Cameroon, Pidgin is a mixture of English, French and local dialects! Pidgin varies even depending on the area you are in within the Southwest and Northwest regions.

The Bad: Not only do I stick out like a sore thumb being a 'whiteman' here in Cameroon (and most of Africa for that matter), there are also several stereotypes come along with being a "whiteman". At first you get quite offended when everyone says "you are white, you have money." but after you realize the culture and how we as westerners are perceived...you can't really get that upset. So people think you are rich and have a ton of money. Therefore, people (not everyone) are constantly asking you for things, telling you how bad their life is, trying to make you pay more, or just flat out saying "take me to your country" or "marry me (or my brother)" or "I love you" or heaps of random other phrases.

The Ridiculous: After living in Ndejje Village, Uganda -- I feel like I am in a first world nation. Actually. Even if the power does go out and I have no running water ever now and again.

The Awesome: I have mastered bucket baths. Believe me, there is a technique and I am proud to say I know it very well.

The Bad: I might have taken a few years off of my life. The amount of oil (red palm oil, ground nut oil and regular palm oil) that the put into food is actually insane. I've seen meals being prepared: at the end they take a liter of palm oil and stir it in. When they serve things at restaurants (or even in homes) you can tip the place and watch the oil pour (yes, pour) off the plate. When the food is sitting in the pot after its finished, you can literally spoon out oil that has risen to the top of the food and pooled in different sections. Plus, they love sugar! They love sugar so much that they saturate their salads (avocado, onion and tomatoes) with condensed milk and most people take minimum 4 sugar in their tea/coffee which already has condensed milk. God help me. 

The Ridiculous: People think that just because I can sit on the floor with my legs crossed that I am Muslim.

The Bad: There are mice and cockroaches all over my house. No, I am not a dirty person. Everyone has them. I have one friend who actually has named two mice that are in her house.

Here I am, shoe in hand, going after a mouse!!

The Good: I have gotten really good at killing the mice with shoes. It worked better when Monica and I were living together because we sort of tag-teamed them and trapped them in but I still manage without her.

The Ridiculous: A friend and I once killed an entire family (of mice). I thought there was just one but one turned into two, two turned into four.

Goodbye family of mice that kept nibbling into my food!

The Good: I LIVE IN BUEA - CAN DRINK TAP WATER!!! HOORAY!!!

The Ridiculous: I used the pumpkin spice coffee creamer that my sister sent me in a care package with my instant coffee and a bit of instant milk and it was like heaven in a cup. I felt like I was getting a Pumpkin Spice Late from some small locally owned organic coffee shop in Humboldt.

The Good: After a year, I am comfortable doing 99.9% of things here along. I know where things are. I know the prices. I know how to talk to people. I know how to be culturally sensitive. And one awesome part: everyone (that is an obvious exaggeration) knows me too!

The Good: Happy Sunday! Sunday is like a weekly holiday here. Nearly everything is close (at least until late afternoon). Everyone wears their traditional clothing and most people attend church and/or their njangi meeting. People are so cheerful and always greet by saying "Happy Sunday" and then you can reply "Same to you." or my favorite, "Happy! Happy!" This is usually a popular phone calling day (see below).

The Awesome: Calling just to greet. At first, I was so confused and honestly a bit annoyed with people/friends/acquaintances who called me just to say HI and see how I was doing. The conversations were honestly like 30sec-1min long and had no purpose or point other than salutations. But now, I call to do the same thing - usually on Sunday! People are so happy and so grateful. I can have a full conversation with a friend, greet her whole family, check on how everything in her life is going and finish within 1min. I literally scroll through my phonebook to call people that I havent seen or talked to in a while. People do the same to me. Its really nice.

The Bad: I care less about littering and artificial and/or toxic GMO foods. In fact, as much as I hate to admit this I cant deny... I have littered here.

The Awesome: I live in a country where there are over 260 different ethnic groups/clans. I've been able to witness some amazingly awesome traditional events!!

Malleh Dance aka Elephant Dance

Pala Pala Wrestling

Witnessing some traditional dances

A Bayangi Juju

The Ridiculous: Everyone ones to adopt you into their tribe/clan so they give you a traditional name... its so difficult to remember them all! So far:
Bayangi name = Nsunsu (pronounced: nn sue sue)
Bakossi name = Ebude Mbulle (pronounced: ay boo day mm boolay)
Bamenda name: Manka (pronounced: ma n ka)
Ibo* name: Ijeoma (pronounced: ee jee oma)
*Ibo is a tribe in Nigera but since they boarder Cameroon there are many who live here now.

The Awesome: I have a solid friend and family base here. I've been to white weddings, court weddings, traditional weddings, funerals, first communions, birthday parties, graduation parties, memorials and more. I don't know what I would do without them and I dont know what I will do when I leave.

small pikin dem

So it has been one full year. A year I will never forget. I have exactly 16 weeks or 112 days until I leave Buea, my new home. It's a frighting thought. An inevitable event, which I always knew was coming. But to have the date set. To actually be purchasing the ticket makes it much more real, and much more sad. Of course I am happy to see my family, go home, start grad school, etc -- but I love my life here. I love my friends. I love my work. I love my students. It's amusing to me to think that some 'volunteers' come for 2 weeks or 2 months and then they leave and never look back. Then here I am dreading my departure in 4 full months, longer than the time some people spend here. I have already began planning my 'send off' party!! Anyways, I am looking forward to getting back stateside. I know the transition will be difficult but I am ready to move onto the next stage...hopefully going back to school at SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont.