adam from up north

11/12/2002:
it's market day. i ran into Adam from Kousséri [northern Cameroonian town bordering Chad] in the market. he's the young man teaching the kids at the Omaru compound Arabic and Qur'an. he's also their imam [prayer leader] for Ramadan. nice guy, nice voice.

i broke fast and prayed taraweeh [evening prayers during Ramadan] with them last night, at the compound. really enjoyed it. a lot of food. good company. Ibrahim, Manjou, Alhadjijo, Usmanu, Haruna, Sani [the older Omaru brothers]...

hold on, there seems to be a mouse stuck somewhere in the kitchen. i'll investigate, then explain...
--OK, strange. no sign of it.

...i was saying that i enjoyed the company, food and prayers at chez Omaru. we ate in Saleh's place [another Omaru brother]. low, soft couches and carpet. very comfortable. but the mold was killing me!

there were pictures all over the wall, of Sheikh Ahmed Tijani and Sheikh Ibrahim [Niasse]. i mean all over. like wallpaper. i even got a brief bio on the latter sheikh from a couple of the guys. something about 75 years, 75 children and 75 "hadiths" [sayings of the prophet]...

i didn't get that last part, but Adam explained that they were poems or odes in praise of the prophet. Adam also talked about the tariqa [sufi path], somewhat indirectly. he's not a follower, but also not one to take issue with it. he's simply keeping quiet, which is wise. i asked him if he thought some of the local followers were being misguided by itinerant sheikhs. he said they weren't. i didn't ask any more questions.

Adam's problem is the food. it's lack of variety. which came as a surprise to me, coming from a northerner like him. but i suppose rice or fufu with sauce and some bland pap [bouillie de maïs] every day can get tired quick. he's just looking for some flavor, he said. probably also missing his family. aren't we all?

so i was saying that i ran into Adam in the market today, buying fruit. avocados, tomatoes and bananas. for a little salad and something sweet. i told him i'd give him dates if he came over to my place. he said he'd come around on saturday morning.

get things done

10/29/2002:
2 positive notes:

i'm in the kitchen again. mama came just in time b/c i was sick of the place. barely stepped foot in it while she was here. God bless her! now it's taken me a week to really step back in there. Ibrahim actually made the observation to me earlier today. he dropped in for zuhur [midday prayer] as the rain started to fall. yes, the rain fell. anyway, i'm not trying to spend all that much time in the kitchen. Ramadan is coming, insha'Allah. that'll help!

i'm also getting out and doing things again. out of bed. out of the house. go see that man. talk to that women. get that. buy that. don't just sit there. get up, get out and get things done. discipline. insha'Allah it'll continue. no excuses. get out there.

that part of my culture

10/13/2002:
lazy Sunday morning. "fields of gold" playing in the background. just ate فتة حمص [fattet humus] earlier. Paul and Christina passed by to greet on their way back from church. Harvest Thanksgiving. conversation got to weddings. tradition. contemporary customs. our place / your place.

i'm enjoying the amount of cross-culture moms is being exposed to. AND exposing people to, for that matter. and, as always with these cross-cultural conversations, we find that we're just as, if not more, similar as we are different.

i walked Christina home. she mentioned how she liked all the stories and insight moms has. esp. in our cultures' commonalities. i mentioned how moms (in being more traditionally eastern) was closer to their culture than i. Christina said yes, but that moms would make sure i'd not lose that part of my culture.

mountains of fruit!

 

also 9/1/2002:

OK... some basic arithmetic, from last night's dinner:

• 2 bananas: 25 cfa here / $.50 there
• 1 papaya: 125 cfa here / $2 there
• 1 avocado: 50 cfa here / $1 there
• 1 pineapple: 250 cfa here / $4 there
• 2 bread-buns: 100 cfa here / $1 there
• total: 400 cfa here / $8.50 there
  

$8.50 = 5,950 cfa... that's mountains of fruit!

about our crowds

8/26/2002: 3 of 5
back and so fresh and so clean-clean! all right, na'eeman 'alaya [an old arab greeting for some who's just bathed, shaved, or gotten a haircut]. what's next on the list?

2. dinner with the young crowd (under 30)... din-din heir. Maggie, Greg, Alain and Kelly. we did pesto/pasta and garlic bread. interesting conversation. cool hanging out with a young, educated, opinionated cameroonian crowd. not that my other "crowds" don't do it for me.

Maggie and i joke about our crowds, they're a little different. mine isn't as classy! ;)

i want to write about...

8/26/2002: 1 of 5
i want to write but i don't want to write. my head hurts. my eyes specifically. glasses seem to be hurting my head. prescription? also got a shot to my eye playing [basket]ball yesterday. not sure what's up?! anywho... i want to write about:

1. family phone calls and update
2. dinner with the young crowd (under 30)... PESTO!
3. talk w/Shawn about sustainable development and
4. Small is Beautiful

OK! i di come...

village life

 
8/17/2002:
by the light of a bush-lamp i di write. here in Ukpwa... chez Saleh. although it's just Mu'aath and i here. we dilly-dallied around Wum until around 4:30pm. got here. chilled. prayed. ate, a lot... fufu & ndjamma-ndjamma. chilled. ate more... dakiri. chilled.

the guys are funny. they talk. tell stories. crack each other up... you know. i relaxed instantly when i goth here. the setting, the quiet, the village. glad i forgot my phone... although there is service out here!

Mu'aath and i will trek to Esu on Monday morning... take a ride back to Wum, insha'Allah. Yusuf if here... from Ngaoundere. good man. modest. well-spoken. kind. i just met Yunus, from Niger. Saleh is a little ill, but off to Yaounde. village life seems to depress him. he wants to study.

Happy Birthday Mama!

early matin, apres-noon

7/25/2002:
rode out to Eric's farm this morning with Maggie. that man is always working. always on top of things. turns out he's been putting his eldest child through school with the njamma-njamma [greens] he grows from them! no joke... bags of the stuff in exchange for school fees. he even had a balance of 12,000 cfa that the school owed him at the end of the year! won-duh-ful wondas!

i'm fatigued now. was debating – well, no real argument – whether to get out of here and get over to the delegation. need to try and talk them down into a more reasonable project, at least for me. b/c if they're expecting me to come up with the funds, then things gotta be smaller. but my brain just couldn't convince my body to leave the house. let alone walk to the delegation.

i'll do so first thing demain matin [tomorrow morning], insha'Allah! i'm gonna nap now... my nap yesterday apres-midi [afternooon] went way over! today, we'll see...

a family dinner

7/18/2002:
just came back from chez Tchouffo. chez nous [our place], that is. Tim, Sherrie and i, and the rest of the family. we all ate a wonderful dinner. pomme pile [sp?] and spaghetti. it's all about the company! and it was as close to a family dinner as – well, yes, a family dinner. jokes. smiles. laughs. jesting. kids making noise. AND even some awkward/dysfunctional moments.

i am much more comfortable know... in homestay. amongst Cameroonians. with myself in this culture/context. part of it is language. i speak french better. part of it is confidence. part understanding. i speak my mind more. yes, indirectly... through jokes and suggestion. but it's better than nothing, and getting better insha'Allah.

a day or 2 in the life...

7/13/2002:
it's been a long day. in fact, 2 long days. we've not accomplished everything on our site-visit agenda, but came close. here and there, a little bit at a time. i'm comfortable saying lisa and mark experienced a day or 2 in the life of a PCV:

teaching...
lisa seems to have learned much about the TTC [teacher training college] program. which is good, b/c thus far it's been vague in PST [pre-service training]. we saw the school. met administrative staff. our principal, included. even a fellow teacher. quite informative.

we also visited the delegation [of education]. met many a teacher. and, of course, my friends around town. unfortunately, paul isn't around. up in Bali [his hometown]. too bad. they would've learned much from him.

mark may not be as satisfied with his 2-3 days here. i cannot really relate to secondary and high school info... we passed the GHS, but did not meet or speak with any teachers. should've arranged for that. he's been sick, too. stomach issues. a good sport, though.

patience...
both mark and lisa have been such good sports on this trip. both such nice people. glad they came! both bright, motivated and positive people. already patient and understanding. a 7-hour Bamenda-Wum journey will do that!

we walked a lot yesterday. today, too. yesterday, to school and back... in the sun. today, out to Lake Wum and back... through the market and up to Maggie's.

food...
we had ice cream on both days, vanilla and strawberry! good stuff. they were impressed. tuna salad and corn last night. pesto tonight. more good stuff.

friends...
glad they met Maggie, as well. she did most of the cooking this evening. Lisa helped, too. Muhammadu and Ibrahim came to visit.

illness...
Mark and i are still small sick... he with those stomach issues. me with what we all think but don't want to say is malaria. we'll see tomorrow.

goûts de culture

6/28/2002:
Mali to Memphis... a CD of malian music & blues. will tell OMZ about it. bought 4 CDs on the street today [ali farka toure, habib koite, salif keita and youssou n'dour], as well. i'd like to send copies back home.

day 2 in bamako. didn't do much. prayer. a little shopping. ate out. everything here seems lebanese owned. at least all the restaurants. like the good Tex-Mex place yesterday, with the ambiance. seems like there are so many expats here... but if i compare it to Douala, i suppose not.

hmmm... not much else to say. except maybe that i sometimes find myself getting bitter and angry (though not for long) about not being posted in Muslim West Africa. c'est dommage. it's really a shame. someone neesd to hear this...

yummy yassa

Yassa Recipe
-veggie oil and marinated meat
-pepper corns and maggi cubes [w/MSG]
-vinegar and diced tomatoes (in water)
-onions (a lot), mustard (spoonful) and salt

1. cook meat (not completely) in a lot of oil, adding spices gradually: pepper corns, maggi, tomato sauce and vinegar.
2. when meat is almost done, add enough water to make it a stew/soup.
3. add onions and mustard then salt to the stew.
4. let cook/simmer until onions are fully cooked.

6/27/2002:
i watched and took notes as the yassa was being made yesterday... yummy! and it seems easy enough.

in Bamako now. at the volunteer house. came in on the train a short while ago. was supposed to leave yesterday morning, but the train was delayed into the evening. 11pm, in fact. probleme tala ["no problem"], though... once we got going, we got going. decent time. 15 hours.

my writing in here has been erratic. long days without much downtime alone. makes for poor reflection. at least calm, collected reflection. still haven't written about the garden. i will, insha'Allah... gotta pray now.

i'm looking forward to eating a cheeseburger tonight! feels like the lack of fresh veggies in my diet here (just rice & sauce) has me craving meat, ironically enough.

okro soup and nuclear war

5/28/2002:
bought my tickets [to Mali] yesterday... June 6th through July 1st. TOT starts this morning, but i have a few more emails to send out to set up the trip.

...full moon out last night. found myself in Marche Mokolo (looking for sandals), so i walked over to Dairou's. they were making dinner... couscous du riz avec sauce du gumbo! [pounded rice with okra sauce]. very good.

met an RPCV from Guider, Dairou's hometown (in the North)... she's married to a Cameroonian, working in CAR. work is well with Dairou. good for him.

Pakistan and India are posturing for war. more later...

her belly must flop

5/17/2002 (convo #1):
2 conversations, one with Doucas and the other with Eugene...

last night, all of Ma Karin's kids from next door (Jarvis, Karin, Doucas and Petula) sat at my kitchen steps while i cooked. cute family. Doucas was sitting on the floor a little further in. watching me intently.

i don't remember how exactly, but we started talking about food–oh! yeah... she goes "ay wan chop!" [i want food / i want to eat]. something about how when she sees food she has to eat. full stop. no discussion.

said it with a confidence and self-assurance that is usually so unlike her. said it like it was an immutable physical law of the universe. also said something about how she has to FILL her belly. when she eats, the belly MUST flop [fill up]. as if the vessel was a different entity all together... one which must be appeased at all costs.

i left the kitchen to get something and came back to hear Jarvis and Karin giggling. i asked "what?"... in my brief absence, Doucas turns to them and admits that her stomach is "biting!"

she's hungry and has got to get some of that food i'm making. no shame. no embarrassment. i look at her. she looks at me and nods her head. holding her chubby little belly.

birthday, good day

5/14/2002: HAPPY [25th] BIRTHDAY TO ME!
good day. not bad. not lonely. happy. healthy. glad i'm here. got gifts from moms and maggie... Buba even brought me some pears [avocados]!

that's all. PEACE.

no shame

also 5/11/2002:
yesterday... not less than an hour or so after eating fish pies and peppa [hot sauce] at school here, i had some serious issues with diarrhea. had to run out to that pit latrine out back twice in the middle of our staff meeting. shame o!

but who really cares?... that's one thing that's changed. when it comes to matters of fact (my digestive system, slips of the tongue or foot, and other previously embarrassing things) there's no shame in my game anymore.

so i left the meeting early. it was a joke anyway. started two hours late and an hour into it with ZERO accomplished. fortunately, i'd arranged for a moto-taxi home. unfortunately, i missed friday prayer that afternoon. and the mon-ee meeting in the evening.

drank a ton of zuhurrat [herbal tea]. boiled plantains and ate them with dates. things seem to be better now, insha'Allah.

Syrian sweet

5/10/2002:
had a thought yesterday while enjoying one of those Syrian sweets moms sent. what i miss most... what i savor most here is Arabic food. took it for granted as something always available. always around. even in the States. its absence here i'm not so aware of until i taste some.

i shake my head in disbelief. i smile wide and savor it. it's not just about food. also about culture. how, back home, i took for granted that i have a dual culture. all the Arabic food i ate (and culture i partake in beyond food) was/is inextricably woven into an American context.

*this topic [being bicultural] still confuses me... hard to articulate my thoughts*

i want to say that Arabic food is sweet. the music speaks to me. in the language i find "rootedness." i have no fear of my American identity slipping away... it's there. it's my Arab identity that i worry about.

and every time i taste a bit of our food i'm reminded of this. i'm overjoyed and worried at the same time. i love this. i am this.

and all of 'this' started with a Syrian sweet.

17 kg of goodies!

5/8/2002:
spent a less than comfortable night at the slum [bamenda volunteer house] last night. got there late. past 8 or 9pm. was raining. dark. wet. people talking about another burglary in the neighborhood. that had me on edge all alone in the house.

sam [the dog] didn't help... banging on the front gate soteh [until, in pidgin] it opened and leaving. all the other dogs in the cartier [quarter or neighborhood, in french] were making noise. not he. guess he's suffereing though... no love from anyone in the house.

anywho... moms is in DC. she decided to show up there and surprise everyone. all is well. people seem relatively happy and healthy. i got moms package from syria. 17 kg of goodies! great package. gotta love moms. she put some thought and love in there:

• music CD's... fairouz, abdelhalim, um kalthum, etc.
• gallabiya [middle eastern robe], table cloth and napkins, and a mortar and pestle
• cheese, halawa, magdoos, labneh, qamr al-din, mulukhiya and smeed

the Cheif of Bu sat next to me on the ride down last night. interesting guy. laywer. son of the old pa who teaches up at school with us. there's this ongoing dispute b/w the two of them. about who's cheif of that little farming village on teh other side of the menchum division.

oh... i went up to bamenda for some mon-ee! got it from the bank this morning.

fasting focus

 

5/6/2002:
fasting today. glad i did. felt a bit week in the afternoon. all right though. amazing how one is used to this feeling... hunger. and what it does to the mind/senses.

felt a little less than spiritual last night. out of focus. guess that's why i fasted. for focus. and it is all about that, fasting = focus.

got a little gift from God... a taste of honey, while i was cooking. i slipped and forgot i was fasting.

achu and mushrooms

 
cinco de mayo:
finally, fourth... today's plan: wanted to clean the house this morning. but i'm waiting to go out to Ardu [Fulani Chief] Sule's to visit Buba. then, around midday, i'm looking forward to to achu [pounded malanga] and mushrooms at the Nshu's place.