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.

"the african way"

8/10/2002:
the CD passed by PST [pre-service training] today. he wrote me back in regard to the letter i sent him. interesting points. wants specifics. spoke a lot about HIV/AIDS in his "monthly mailing" and his talk with PCTs [peace corps trainees] and trainers.

i wondered how much sunk in today with the trainers. specifically with regard to one comment about jettisoning the parts of the "African way" that make HIV/AIDS such a problem. for me that translates into things like staying quiet about domestic violence, infidelity, sexism, etc.

i was talking to one of the PC trainers about all this on the ride back from Santa to Babadjou. about how we shouldn't be quiet or "indirect" about what happened happened [domestic violence at one of the trainee host-family homes] in Babadjou.

i know there are things like social norms, customs and community perception BUT all these need to take a back-seat. WHY? if those things keep us from tackling the vital issues (those stated above: HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, infidelity, sexism, etc.) head on, then they're just in the way.

yet part of me cannot deny the power of culture and, even more so, the hurdle of cross-cultural communication. often, "things just don't work that way" and if you try to force them (be it condoms or more direct communication) people and entire communities close up. it's counter-productive.

so where does that leave us? somewhere in the middle, no doubt. somewhere between beating around the bush and forcing it down people's throats. an art, if you will... subtle, flexible, courageous and compassionate. like giving your mother a condom and telling her to protect herself. ya Ilaah... [O Lord]

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.

fam-fam well-well

4/7/2002:
went out to Babadjou today. happy i did. the fam-fam is well-well. Isma was in rare form. baby Rabiah [my newest host-sister] is growing... smiling a lot. Madame Susanee... still working. Mira is fine. Maya, too. Das... good but not working.

they were very kind. another slow Sunday there in the village. we ate a little achu. then spaghetti and white beans. they gave me a goose egg and a bottle full of peanuts. good people. long trip back... not a problem though. patient. quiet. sure i’d get back.

on vas fait comment? il faux supporte...

peaceful people, beautiful place

3/2/2002:
just after maghrib [sunset] at Muhammadu’s place. BIG compound. small village, really. good people. a lot of people. peaceful people. beautiful place. stereo-typically Africa. imagine spending stage [training] in a place like this. with a family like this. would love that. guess that’s why i’m here now. spending the night... peace and freedom.

guests most welcome

a little later than Tuesday afternoon... early AM on Thursday, actually. all is well. a lot of guests passed through here [wum] these past few weeks. a lot. PCVs: Todd/Tate/Robert/Shannon and some HCN [host country national] friends: Saidu (Shawn’s housemate) and my host-mother mira and her two kids. these last 3 most-welcome guests are here right now. they’re all most welcome. you, too!

check this out, speaking of guests... saidu was looking at the pictures on my wall. family, friends, PCVs, etc. he picked my mother’s photo off the reed mat on the wall where they’re all hanging [with the photos inserted between the gaps in the mat]. that’s the only one he choose to look at up close.

later that night, while i’m sleeping, i hear this noise above my head... a flutter of some sort. i recognize that it’s coming from the wall where the photos are. i realize a photo must’ve fallen off. they often do as the mat is beside the window... the breeze does it.

anywho... i go back to bed. in the morning, i wake and roll over to find the very same picture of my mother lying right beside me. not very unbelievable as a coincidence. strange, though, because the wall is at an oblique angle to my bed. i told Maggie the story and she’s like “ha! your mom is coming!”

i laughed. she called last night. my mother. she’s thinking about coming here to visit again. phone line got cut off, though. guests... they're all most welcome!

aho!
Mohamad
9/5/2002
Wum

rich list

10/28/2001:
back in Bamenda... a can of roasted peanuts, one full can of coffee and a bag of avocados richer! oh... and richer b/c i know there’s family back in Babadjou that really cares for me. also spoke to the family back in DC that really loves me.

all is well there... slow to no mail b/c of the ANTHRAX issue in DC. spoke to Aboudi and left Nunu a message wishing both Happy Birthdays. gotta send moms my “wish list”... she’s coming in early december! i don't think that's sunk in for me yet.

i’m in the slum alone. kinda nice but also strange. and yesterday even a little scary. especially after this weird guy came inside the fence and was begging for a place to stay or money. had to talk him into leaving and maybe meeting me in the morning if he really wanted help. anyway... my wish list:

-about 44 items of food, clothes, music, books, electronics...

that's what was on my wish list! i won't go into detail. mostly to spare myself the embarrassment, b/c i can't believe i asked for so many random things. they must've seemed like necessities at the time. in hindsight, they were all luxury items. things i could've either found alternatives for in cameroon, or simply lived (comfortably) without.

what's most disturbing is that i was just coming back from babadjou - from a host family with simple means - carrying a lot of food and a lot of love. you think that would curb my consumer cravings just enough to make my list that much more modest. of course not! to say nothing of the fact that i'd just turned away a beggar the night before from our front door. you can see why i'm embarrassed by my rich list.

"what is little and sufficing is better than what is great and distracting."

back in babadjou

10/27/2001:
cool, crisp Saturday morning in Babadjou. God, i missed this place!... more than i knew. and this family, too. the “small town-ness” is what i miss most, i think. that all the kids know your name. all the elders greet you. that winding dirt road to our neighborhood, i miss that too. the knob... seeing that from the endless different vantage points around babadjou. only difference really is the maize. it’s gone... and more of Babadjou appeared when it disappeared. neat... seasonal changes. not brilliant fall color but it’ll do.

Oh... my room. NEVER thought i’d miss that place! but i do and i’m even comfortable in it. i looked up in there once and thought about the next stagiere [trainee]. how awkward and uncomfortable it’ll 1st look and be. cold, too. i’m tempted to leave a note. about the room, the fam, the town... how it’ll all soon grow on you and then (probably right then) you’ll leave and miss it. it’ll be your room, your family and maybe even your town soon. but maybe they need to find that out on their own... whoever it is.

Kay and i had a small lunch in Mbouda yesterday. the fam at her place didn’t get in until later in the afternoon. we got in at like 10:30am. but i saw Felone running back to her house to see Kay... too cute. speaking of cute. Isma is adorable. bigger... that child is going to be a big girl. and talks A LOT... mostly patois. there are 2 things they can’t get her to stop doing; eating and speaking. the cutest age... also the terrible 2s though. and Mira is due in early December. can’t wait for that... happy and healthy baby and mom, insha’Allah. Petit isn’t here... in Douala. Maya is. Das and Madame Susanne are well... still working. the head of the family and the head of the family.

ate riz avec sauce de arachide yesterday. fine meal. today i hope to prep some coffee to take back with me. also thinking about buying the fam a new propane (refill, that is) bottle. to help out Mira a little... but i don’t want to rob the new trainee from the "country kitchen" experience. i sat there for a while myself yesterday. Mira promised she’d let the trainee work in there with Madame Susanne. no one can keep up with that lady... except maybe Isma. soon enough, insha'Allah.

meeting my host family

6/10/2001:
je suis fatigue. i’ll be short. the drive from Yaounde to Babadjou was a bit long. great group though... the math/science trainees i'll be spending the next couple of months with. it rained as we entered the town. a good omen/blessing in cameroon.

met our respective families at the chief’s reception hall. after some confusion, i understood that Narcisse (aka Das) Tschaffou, his wife (Mirabelle/Sameera) and their 20 month old daughter (Isma'ila) were to be my host family. Jean-Pierre (Das’ nephew, aka Petit Prince) and Susan (Das’ mother) rounded off the family.

the presence of a few friends confused me (relatives???) but that was cleared up at dinner when the family, minus Susan (she eats alone in the kitchen), sat for dinner... rice, fish stew, potatoes, and potato purée.

they’ve got much in the garden in the way of food stuffs, a pig, 2 geese and a compound with 3 buildings. i’m staying in the largest (a white house) with Petit Prince and the geese. accommodations are quite good, actually... electricity, but no running water. petit and i drew water from the well at their neighbors across the street.

seems like i can wash with untreated water OK. boiled my filter’s candles but the seal b/w them and the filter isn’t water tight... will have to ask the PC staff about it tomorrow. bon nuit, je suis fatigue.

oh... Das and i are the same age.