2/16/2002:
...just finished with a 2-hour email session here in bamenda. wrote to the country director of peace corps morocco. God helep with that! seems like [an internship at the botanic garden in] Limbe this summer may be possible. got a positive reply from Dr. Ndam. only that the garden may be too wet during that season. rainy, that is.
anywho... i'll ened with one thought. Suhaibu [muhammadu & ibrahim's older brother] came to visit after Friday prayer in Wum yesterday. we talked about a bunch of things. we got into ethnic diversity among Muslims, among other equally interesting topics. at regular intervals, Suhaibu would marvel and say "God is so wonderful!" and say it so sincerely that it touched me.
subhan Allah is what i suppose he was translating... i like it! God is so won-duh-ful!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
walking to wum
2/14/2002:
Sarah got in yesterday... still waiting on the rest of the crew: Chris, Heather and Mike. should be here this afternoon, insha’Allah. Sarah caught a ride with this French family that happened to cross their path.
she hurt her knee and has some pretty bad blisters... she’ll recover though. says the trek was beautiful. worth it. that there was just about no one out there. not even at Lake Nyos. they slept by a river one night, and in what seems to have been a cattle path on another night.
said they woke up to cows all around... kinda scary. i’d like to make the trek myself. Maggie seems to be down, as well. i’m sure we can get a couple other folks to come. we’ll do it from Wum to Nkambe though. just for a twist.
2/16/2002:
well... everyone arrive safely. the day before yesterday. they were a sight! cracked me up. everyone was in pain. sore. tender. battered. blistered. but in high spirits. said the trek was well worth it. beautiful country. interesting stories. they really were too funny.
got a couple of photos... but nothing could capture the sight of all of them walking ever so gingerly to the taxi park. still, i’m sure a sense of achievement helped to sooth the pain... just a little.
we got to rest/relax at the house. God bless mama! had 2 good meals (dinner and breakfast) and 1 good night’s rest. and i got a kind note from Sarah & Chris (with a box of ma3moul as a gift!) back in Bamenda:
“Thanks again for being an awesome host to your dirty, crippled guests."
Monday, November 24, 2008
EE notes for NWP
these are my notes and feedback, as the new NWP EE committee rep, to my fellow PCVs at the "the slum" (Northwest Province volunteer co-house in Bamenda) from our national EE committee meeting (held in Yaounde on 2/9/2002):
Sunday, November 23, 2008
full of grace
2/12/2002 (part 3):
i'm in the process of writing Rama that letter about kids in Africa. in depth and interesting. that said, my letters home still aren't flowing that well...
i'll end with a quote from Mike:
"don't feel bad that you're struggling... Peace Corps is like this."...and a quote from David:
"...some people, for reasons clearly unknown to me, walk gracefully down here on earth. And those of us fortunate enough to be touched by them as they give of themselves live better lives, and learn to treat others better, as modeled by the graceful ones."Mike is a graceful one.
Monday, November 17, 2008
bicultural, bilingual
2/12/2002 (part 2):
had a series of interrupted, interesting conversations with Cheryl in Yaounde. we’ve only sat and spoken to each other twice... so it was nice having such comfortable conversation with her now. she has quite a personality and a head on her shoulders. not to mention class.
we talked about family, moms, brothers, marriage, our biculturalism and Africa... Cameroon, Mali, South Africa and Morocco, in particular. she’s thinking about extending service for a year in Mali. Bamako, actually. had some advice for me about Morocco, too.
about bilingualism... won’t go into depth now, as i’m tired. i’ll elaborate later. basically, every time i go from Francophone to Anglophone Cameroon i come back thinking/speaking French. can’t just turn it off. it confuses me.
i guess it’s the same when i come back from Syria to America. it takes a while to readjust to the different zone and – hmmm... mentality? it's the same confusion that has me wanting to start writing English from right to left and Arabic from left to right (see 4 languages post). i wonder if that confusion translates into, or is reflected in, the national cultural identity of Cameroonians?
during the African Cup of Nations i couldn’t help but be totally amused by the commentary. 5-10 minutes in French, then 5-10 minutes in English. even the pre/half/post-game shows were simultaneously bilingual! 2 anchors... one Francophone, one Anglophone. and often one will be speaking directly to the other (or their respective guests) in one language and receive a reply in another.
“can you say IDENTITY CRISIS?!” i don’t know???... is it forced? is it working? it is strange... at least to me. and talk about a legacy... colonialism’s, that is.
well... i guess i’m not that tired. i did elaborate. that’s all i have to say about language here, for now.
had a series of interrupted, interesting conversations with Cheryl in Yaounde. we’ve only sat and spoken to each other twice... so it was nice having such comfortable conversation with her now. she has quite a personality and a head on her shoulders. not to mention class.
we talked about family, moms, brothers, marriage, our biculturalism and Africa... Cameroon, Mali, South Africa and Morocco, in particular. she’s thinking about extending service for a year in Mali. Bamako, actually. had some advice for me about Morocco, too.
about bilingualism... won’t go into depth now, as i’m tired. i’ll elaborate later. basically, every time i go from Francophone to Anglophone Cameroon i come back thinking/speaking French. can’t just turn it off. it confuses me.
i guess it’s the same when i come back from Syria to America. it takes a while to readjust to the different zone and – hmmm... mentality? it's the same confusion that has me wanting to start writing English from right to left and Arabic from left to right (see 4 languages post). i wonder if that confusion translates into, or is reflected in, the national cultural identity of Cameroonians?
during the African Cup of Nations i couldn’t help but be totally amused by the commentary. 5-10 minutes in French, then 5-10 minutes in English. even the pre/half/post-game shows were simultaneously bilingual! 2 anchors... one Francophone, one Anglophone. and often one will be speaking directly to the other (or their respective guests) in one language and receive a reply in another.
“can you say IDENTITY CRISIS?!” i don’t know???... is it forced? is it working? it is strange... at least to me. and talk about a legacy... colonialism’s, that is.
well... i guess i’m not that tired. i did elaborate. that’s all i have to say about language here, for now.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
cramped discomfort
2/12/2002 (part 1):
two days later [from the tired outline]. here we go...
the trip(s) to and from Yaounde were rough. did the Bamenda-Baffousam-Yaounde thing on the way there. cramped and uncomfortable. HIGHLY! had a friend traveling with me, from bamenda... and he had it worse!
in Yaoudne, the EE [environmental education] meeting was short (relative to the journey, that is)... good group. more on that later...
saw a bunch of PCVs, too. talked to Adam in Bamenda. he’s leaving (ETing) in June. on good terms, of course... he's probably known for some time now. Kay was ill and in Yaoudne. Nat, too. spoke to Kay... she’s leaving her village for another one, also in June.
not sure, but Kristen may still be unhappy with her post.... didn’t see her though. cannot confirm. Robert moved posts, as well. still in the SW though. that’s it for our stage... but i also saw and spoke with a bunch of other PCVs in Yaounde.
had an extended conversation with Mike. i vented. again. totally. was looking for advice. maybe even some inspiration. tough though. i kinda dropped or bounced a lot off him. he did ask one interesting question:
“ideally... if you had it your way, what would you do or what would you want to accomplish here?”
good question. what is/are my goals? figure those out, then go for it... just do it.
two days later [from the tired outline]. here we go...
the trip(s) to and from Yaounde were rough. did the Bamenda-Baffousam-Yaounde thing on the way there. cramped and uncomfortable. HIGHLY! had a friend traveling with me, from bamenda... and he had it worse!
in Yaoudne, the EE [environmental education] meeting was short (relative to the journey, that is)... good group. more on that later...
saw a bunch of PCVs, too. talked to Adam in Bamenda. he’s leaving (ETing) in June. on good terms, of course... he's probably known for some time now. Kay was ill and in Yaoudne. Nat, too. spoke to Kay... she’s leaving her village for another one, also in June.
not sure, but Kristen may still be unhappy with her post.... didn’t see her though. cannot confirm. Robert moved posts, as well. still in the SW though. that’s it for our stage... but i also saw and spoke with a bunch of other PCVs in Yaounde.
had an extended conversation with Mike. i vented. again. totally. was looking for advice. maybe even some inspiration. tough though. i kinda dropped or bounced a lot off him. he did ask one interesting question:
“ideally... if you had it your way, what would you do or what would you want to accomplish here?”
good question. what is/are my goals? figure those out, then go for it... just do it.
Friday, November 14, 2008
tired outline
2/10/2002:
things to write about (just an outline... ‘cuz i’m tired now):
things to write about (just an outline... ‘cuz i’m tired now):
- trip to/from Yaounde... talking to a few PCVs
- EE stuff... write up house feedback & things to ask Mike
- Bilingualism... mine, Cameroon’s and identity crises (or at least language confusion)
- Carton rouge aux travaux les enfants... letter to Rama on Youth Day
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