10.31
Happy Halloween! While all of you are celebrating Halloween (sending your kids off trick-or-treating, handing out candy, or celebrating ‘Boulder style’) I’m going to bed early so I can wake up and do my French homework! I am still struggling though French and am going to start getting tutored. Hopefully it will help because I just feel like for the amount of work and time I’ve put into it, I’m just not getting that much better. C’est la vie, right?? Yesterday we did have our party and successfully carved a pineapple! We are on own fifth week here and half way through training! Next week we find out about our posts—I am both nervous and very excited. Since nothing too eventful has happened since I last wrote, besides getting some candy from Yaounde in honor of the holiday, I thought I’d just write some random stuff about life in Cameroon!

We watch TV all the time at my house (which, for those of you who have lived with me, know is a great thing). But the variety of showed here is: Xena Warrior Princess (in French), Angel (yes the sequel to Buffy, in French), Cameroonian music videos, and my new favorite French show “La Vie Devant Nous” (which totally belongs on the WB).

I have realized during the past few nights, as I brush my teeth outside, how amazing the stars are here—especially the North Star. It really is a lot brighter than the others especially when there hasn’t been much of a moon recently.

Rats. First they’re sold roadside everywhere you go and generally killed by a sling shot. And last week, after the clinic visit, we were taken to the bar (at 10 AM with clinic funds) for a “Top.” In Cameroonian, that means any drink including beer or palm wine regardless of the time of day. But we were generously offered some cooked rat as we drank our Cokes and Fantas. I didn’t try it because I kept picturing the rats I’d pictured running through China (big as dogs I hear)…so I regretfully declined, apparently they’re quite gamey.

I guess “Ally” is kind of hard to say in French—my family calls me “Alex” or “Alex-son.” I think I may have officially become part of the family this weekend, though, because instead of coming to get me, they just scream “ALEX” until I come…which they do to each other and for some unknown reason it seems to take a few of them a good 5 minutes to realize their name is being yelled.

The shot count has reached 11. Last week it was tetanus/diphtheria and flu. I didn’t want the flu shot and the nurse told me that was fine, but no flu shot = back to the States. I guess with the avian flu the Peace Corps is pretty adamant about all volunteers and trainees receiving one. I think I’ll be pretty happy if one of those sick little birds decided to cross the Sahara and come here to get us…

Taxi rides. I’ll preface this by reminding you all that I’m a big fan of seatbelts, airbags and doors closing. If you can find a cab here with any upolstery, door handles and a trunk that shuts, you’re in good shape! Generally there are ~6 people smashed in, something of bulk size on the roof and the driver is speeding (blindly) past a semi to avoid a human-sized pothole but is forced to swerve onto the opposite shoulder to avoid a cab going in the other direction, where he misses a passing 6-year-old with a machete by 3 inches. It’s enough for me to completely disregard the road and stare quite hard at the 150 CFA I’m clinging to for dear life.

Tonight the power went out (as usual) but my headlamp light is dulling a bit so I took the opportunity to join my family in the traditional kitchen where they were making dinner. Instead of helping I watched the 5-year-old fan the fire and pick up burning sticks with his bare hands. Being a health volunteer there were probably 1 or 2 interventions I could have done at that time but instead I just watched him. I kept wondering how many glowing embers it would take for him to stop. I think Africa is making me a little insensitive.

To answer some of your questions:
-No, I do not live in a hut but Yes, I have seen a few.
-No snakes yet, just three eyed lizards.
-Machetes EVERYWHERE.
-I hear “La Blanche” (white) maybe 25 times a day and we’re still stared at all the time.
-And, I haven’t bought my drums, yet.

Thanks for all your comments and emails! Your support has been so wonderful and very necessary recently. I love and miss you all!!