11.15
I left Saturday morning to ride a bush taxi with the other PCTs going to the Northwest and our counterparts. We had a coke in Bamenda and planned to create a “Northwest Peace Corps” group (that will hopefully have a cleverer name soon. From there my counterpart and I left for Ndu. I had been for warned about the conditions of the road, but I was not prepared! To make the experience that much more enjoyable I got the worst seat in the bus—Front and middle, between the driver and passenger and over the gear shift. The road for one hour wasn’t too petrifying—flying down mountain roads (think Berthoud Pass with no guard rails) while the driver pumped the brakes and passed other vehicles. Then the road turned to dirt—not United States dirt, Cameroonian dirt roads…HUGE potholes, uneven one-lane with bush on either side. There were times when I just closed my eyes and prepared to flip as the car swayed at 45 degree angle and the tires spun over dirt and rocks. Somehow, 3 and a half hours later we arrived in Ndu, alive. Granted I couldn’t feel my lower extremities for 4 hours, but I was alive! Ndu is a little town in the mountains with no paved roads. There are ~17000 people spread out through a bunch of small communities. It’s Anglophone but that, by no means, equals English! Most people speak Wimwumb (I think) and Pidgin—so much for all of my French studying. There are SO many things that happened these past few days that it would be impossible to write them all, plus none of you really want to read about every detail! I thought I would just write the highlights.
-The road through Ndu keeps going North towards Nigeria, but apparently cars break down before they get there so you have to hike the rest of the road...that can give you an idea of the condiditions! I am going to pass on that road I think!
-While doing protocol, I met with the administration of the town—during those meetings I was told: that they thought the US forgot about Cameroon, that I could be an assistant chief after 2 years, compared to the Israelites being liberated, and my hand so violently shaken that I had to brace myself on the chair.
-During our trip to one of the schools we pulled up in our car and had the entire school chasing after us. They’d stare and stare and if I smiled or waved they’d run away laughing an d return a few seconds later. When we left they sprinted after the car waving.
-I was given eggs (in a plastic bag) as a gift and then had to hold them as we “drove” (ie bushwhacked through paths up mountains and got stuck twice…it’s hard to really explain, again, use your imagination, it’s probably not far off).
-A woman’s group (mostly guardians of orphans) wrote and presented me with a letter expressing their gratitude and excitement of my being here. I am excited to work with them because I think they are very willing to work.
-I was hugged and danced with by two women at a clinic when I told them I was living here. I usually get the “you’ve got to be kidding me, why would you do that? But welcome!!” look in response to my line: “I’ll be living here for 2 years.”
-I was able to order a bed, chairs and table, and a couch for my new house and I am very excited to be able to decorate it…I decided that I will become domestic and sew some curtains and cushions for the chairs (stop laughing, I’m serious and they will be great!).
-There is a lot of work to do here. Hopefully I will spend the first 3 months working small projects and learning about the community. I would like to work in one of the local schools to start a club of some sort while also doing a lot of work with Serve the Orphans Foundation—which is my primary job. They have 2 Nursery schools outside of town and a clinic, as well as some small community based organizations that I hope to work with.

I can’t believe that I will be here for 2 years. I go through a very drastic emotional roller coater everyday—extreme highs (where I can’t wait to be here, work, integrate and make friends) to lows (where I think about how easy it would be to pack up and come home). After being here for a few days, I know that my work will be plenty and appreciated. I am exciting about working here and hope that I am able to accomplish some of the goals I’ve set for myself and help the organization and the community. I wish I could actually describe the conditions, landscape , etc. I’ll have to work on my descriptions (unfortunately my English is lacking in part due to trying to understand/speak 4 different languages…now I can’t even write in English well!).
Tomorrow I am off to Kumbo to visit with another volunteer and then back to Bandjoun for 3 weeks! It’s gone fast but we have many projects to complete and work to do before December 14th when we swear in. We will hopefully have Thanksgiving off so we can throw together some mixture of Cameronian food in an attempt to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner…I’ve already offered my rooster as the main meal, but I don’t think my family would be very happy!! J Thanks for you emails and letters, hope to talk to you all soon.