We all slept in for the first time today. I got up at ten and went to the chicken and beer place to purchase some bottled water so that I could brush my teeth. It was really nice walking around for a little bit by myself. I got a lot fewer stares. There was a truck unloading cases of coca cola (served in glass bottles here which are returned and refilled) and the men who were unloading the truck said hello and asked how I was. They probably said some other things too, but I didn’t understand. I walked to the back where the shop is and picked up a case of water. Before I could pay for it, the guy in the shop (who, by the way, was wearing an orange tshirt (like the telephone company) pointed at my leg and said something in French. I responded with confusion before looking at my leg and realizing there was a dark black shoe print on my calf. Clearly I didn’t shower before leaving the house. I told him “Je sais pas,” paid, and left with the water.
Later, I took an amazing shower. The shower in my bathroom is broken, or something else is wrong with it, but only a trickle of water will come out ever. I went to Liz and Zeus’ bathroom to shower and there was water pressure! I felt so clean afterwards it was amazing. We all lounged around the house until about five o’clock when the host families showed up. We then went to sit outside with them. My host mother and I had some confusion trying to figure out who the other was, but once we did, all was well. My host father showed up ten or 15 minutes later, and he was quite a site! He was wearing a slightly oversized suit with a sort of silvery-pewter sheen, a lilac shirt, a royal blue tie, and gold-framed glasses. As soon as he sat down at the table and introduced himself to me, he whipped out his iPhone. I thought he was great. Both him and my host mother are from the foot of Mount Cameroon and when I asked if we could climb it, they said yes! So, that will definitely happen. I have three host brothers, and three host sisters. I have no idea how old they are, but I do know that at least two of them are under ten. We spent some time discussing family size after this when I remarked that this was a lot bigger than my family at home where I have only one brother and one sister. They told me that in Africa, there are farms and you must have many children to work on the farm. (He then told me he was kidding about this, but I’m not so sure.) His neighbors are also hosts to Dickinson students. His neighbor said that he had known one man with twelve wives who’d had 48 children. This was a lot. I said yes that I agreed. I countered that with my great grandfather had thirteen kids with the same wife. They were impressed. When we started talking about religion, I learned that they are Jehovah’s Witness. That should be interesting. I walked them to their car later to say goodbye. They drive a white SUV.
The rest of the night has consisted of reading and talking about our host families. Cameroon is awesome!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Introductions to the City
Cameroon so far is great! I feel like I’ve been here much longer than the three days that have actually passed. Talk about culture shock, but so far it’s not the kind of shock that makes me want to go home. The first day we took a bus tour of the city and stopped at a religious site on a hill near the most expensive hotel in Yaounde. I think the hotel is called Mont Febre. The religious site was a large spherical boulder with a statue of the virgin Mary in a cut-out in the center. This is a very important alter, and it is the only one in Cameroon. Next to the alter was a covered shelter where four or five women were laying with suitcases. I at first assumed that it was a bus stop, or that these women were waiting for a worship service later in the day. I decided to ask our bus driver, Julien, just to make sure. It turned out that these women were fasting and praying to be forgiven for sins which they had committed and that they had most likely traveled from far away to this important site.
Our bus has a lot of character. It is a larger Jumpy (I’m not sure it’s the same manufacturer, but if you know what Jumpy is, then you get the idea.) It often struggles on hills, but so far has pulled through for us. We are quite a spectacle in Yaounde. The most often heard comment when we drive by is “les blanches!” yes, white people are that uncommon. Small children especially get very excited when they see us. Everyone stares. When I have my sunglasses on, it looks like my skin is rather purple, and I certainly feel like it with all of these strange looks. It’s something that will take some getting used to. We had orientation at night, which consisted of the giving out of syllabi, and a talk from one of the professors. I believe it was professor Ngwa, but I am getting everyones names mixed up, or just forgetting them, so honestly I have no idea.
Yesterday we took several walks, complete with lots of people staring at us and lots of men telling us we were pretty and asking if we were married. One grabbed my arm and said something to me in French. After escaping, Liz told me that he had said I had a nice ass. No marriage proposals yet. We also found the chicken and beer place, which we later brought everyone back to. After much bumbling around and confusion, we figured out how to order. We bought five or six plates of chicken. This turned out to be extremely excessive, but it was incredibly delicious. The fried plantains (this seems to be Cameroon’s version of French fries) were even better. I could live on those for several days. After the meal, when we had two plates of leftover chicken, Andrea and I went up to ask if the chicken lady had any bags to take home the leftovers. We were expecting either a no, or complete incomprehension, but she had bags! We took home one bag of plantains, and two bags of chicken to enjoy later.
At three, several university students came to the apartment and took us to the university campus. Most people went in groups of three or four, but Andrea and I were the only two in our group with our host, Erite (pronounced eh-ree-tay I think) She was soo nice, and we knew her a bit already because she often has been at the apartment and cooked for us a few times (she is an amazing cook). She took us around the campus, which is quite huge, and showed us all the different departments. She actually graduated from the university last year and is taking a gap year working for the Dickinson Program this year. She plans on returning to study for her master’s degree next year. She told us that there are about 32,000 students at the university in total. The campus is very different from those in the US. The usual class size is 1000 or more students, and the lecture halls all have microphones for the professors. Most of the hallways are outside and there are a lot of papers flying around. The end of term marks are posted in a large case so that no one can take the papers. There are a lot of small businesses in little tin huts on campus. There are photo copying businesses and businesses which sell food. Those seemed to be the main two, although there were also a lot of places to get your picture taken. There are residences both in and around the campus for students and their families. Erite took us to meet some of her professors, who were all very open and welcoming. It was also great that there were only us two white people with her. We drew significantly less attention than we did in our groups of four or five which we usually walk around in. When we were finished seeing the campus, we sat down for a bit to rest. It was very hot out, and the campus is large, so it took us over an hour to walk all around it. Something else worth mentioning is the dress code at the university. It is very formal, everyone looks nice. Some were wearing very beautiful traditional clothes, and others business style western clothes. If a student does not look nice enough, the professor can and will ask them to go home and they will not be welcome back in class for up to a week.
Erite then took us to see her sister’s residence in the Bonas quartier. In this neighborhood she said that students make up about 99 percent of the population. The rooms are all quite small with room for a bed, a table, and a small stove, but little else. They also each have a small toilet/shower. Erite’s sister, Constance, gave us some delicious food: peppered rice and fried fish. She gave us a huge serving, which Andrea and I shared and somehow managed to finish. We also downed an entire bottle of grapefruit top (soda) which was the coldest, most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted, and I don't usually like soda. I didn’t bring my camera, but I sort of wished I had.
When we returned to the apartment, I was so tired that I slept for two hours and someone had to come wake me up for the orientation, which I also struggled to stay awake for. I went back to sleep after that for two hours.
The most remarkable experience from yesterday was the night. Two of the university students we had met: Kisutu (we called him Kay, which he seemed to like) and Ettiene, took us out to a club. We squeezed seven people in one taxi and eight in the other (this is quite common here) and somehow survived the driver's questionable interpretation of traffic rules. There was much confusion when we finally arrived. For some reason we could not go in yet, so we wondered down the street to a small bar and had some delicious Smirnoff ices and castle beers. Maybe I will learn how to like beer while I’m here. We also learned a new toast (friends, love, sex, and everyone who’s not here). Who knows. Viva l’afrique. Yeah, that may be a combination of French and Spanish.
When we did get into the club, we were offered a complimentary drink. The choices were juice or wine. Most of us chose wine, which came in a liter cardboard box (like juice does in Europe) and tasted terrible. I had about four sips before I gave up on it. Then we danced the night away (and also got really, really sweaty). I was sufficiently creeped on by four or five different guys. One of them even asked me to come to a party with him later, which I politely declined. We stayed until about 1.30am, at which point all of us were exhausted, except Kay and Ettiene. Apparently a normal night for them lasts until 5 am. Champions. We took a taxi home and said goodnight to them. When we were attempting to brush our teeth, we discovered that we were out of water (we are only allowed to use the bottled kind, even for brushing our teeth), so we boiled some. It’s yellow color somewhat deterred us, so we went with mouthwash and then passed out. Cameroon is awesome.
Our bus has a lot of character. It is a larger Jumpy (I’m not sure it’s the same manufacturer, but if you know what Jumpy is, then you get the idea.) It often struggles on hills, but so far has pulled through for us. We are quite a spectacle in Yaounde. The most often heard comment when we drive by is “les blanches!” yes, white people are that uncommon. Small children especially get very excited when they see us. Everyone stares. When I have my sunglasses on, it looks like my skin is rather purple, and I certainly feel like it with all of these strange looks. It’s something that will take some getting used to. We had orientation at night, which consisted of the giving out of syllabi, and a talk from one of the professors. I believe it was professor Ngwa, but I am getting everyones names mixed up, or just forgetting them, so honestly I have no idea.
Yesterday we took several walks, complete with lots of people staring at us and lots of men telling us we were pretty and asking if we were married. One grabbed my arm and said something to me in French. After escaping, Liz told me that he had said I had a nice ass. No marriage proposals yet. We also found the chicken and beer place, which we later brought everyone back to. After much bumbling around and confusion, we figured out how to order. We bought five or six plates of chicken. This turned out to be extremely excessive, but it was incredibly delicious. The fried plantains (this seems to be Cameroon’s version of French fries) were even better. I could live on those for several days. After the meal, when we had two plates of leftover chicken, Andrea and I went up to ask if the chicken lady had any bags to take home the leftovers. We were expecting either a no, or complete incomprehension, but she had bags! We took home one bag of plantains, and two bags of chicken to enjoy later.
At three, several university students came to the apartment and took us to the university campus. Most people went in groups of three or four, but Andrea and I were the only two in our group with our host, Erite (pronounced eh-ree-tay I think) She was soo nice, and we knew her a bit already because she often has been at the apartment and cooked for us a few times (she is an amazing cook). She took us around the campus, which is quite huge, and showed us all the different departments. She actually graduated from the university last year and is taking a gap year working for the Dickinson Program this year. She plans on returning to study for her master’s degree next year. She told us that there are about 32,000 students at the university in total. The campus is very different from those in the US. The usual class size is 1000 or more students, and the lecture halls all have microphones for the professors. Most of the hallways are outside and there are a lot of papers flying around. The end of term marks are posted in a large case so that no one can take the papers. There are a lot of small businesses in little tin huts on campus. There are photo copying businesses and businesses which sell food. Those seemed to be the main two, although there were also a lot of places to get your picture taken. There are residences both in and around the campus for students and their families. Erite took us to meet some of her professors, who were all very open and welcoming. It was also great that there were only us two white people with her. We drew significantly less attention than we did in our groups of four or five which we usually walk around in. When we were finished seeing the campus, we sat down for a bit to rest. It was very hot out, and the campus is large, so it took us over an hour to walk all around it. Something else worth mentioning is the dress code at the university. It is very formal, everyone looks nice. Some were wearing very beautiful traditional clothes, and others business style western clothes. If a student does not look nice enough, the professor can and will ask them to go home and they will not be welcome back in class for up to a week.
Erite then took us to see her sister’s residence in the Bonas quartier. In this neighborhood she said that students make up about 99 percent of the population. The rooms are all quite small with room for a bed, a table, and a small stove, but little else. They also each have a small toilet/shower. Erite’s sister, Constance, gave us some delicious food: peppered rice and fried fish. She gave us a huge serving, which Andrea and I shared and somehow managed to finish. We also downed an entire bottle of grapefruit top (soda) which was the coldest, most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted, and I don't usually like soda. I didn’t bring my camera, but I sort of wished I had.
When we returned to the apartment, I was so tired that I slept for two hours and someone had to come wake me up for the orientation, which I also struggled to stay awake for. I went back to sleep after that for two hours.
The most remarkable experience from yesterday was the night. Two of the university students we had met: Kisutu (we called him Kay, which he seemed to like) and Ettiene, took us out to a club. We squeezed seven people in one taxi and eight in the other (this is quite common here) and somehow survived the driver's questionable interpretation of traffic rules. There was much confusion when we finally arrived. For some reason we could not go in yet, so we wondered down the street to a small bar and had some delicious Smirnoff ices and castle beers. Maybe I will learn how to like beer while I’m here. We also learned a new toast (friends, love, sex, and everyone who’s not here). Who knows. Viva l’afrique. Yeah, that may be a combination of French and Spanish.
When we did get into the club, we were offered a complimentary drink. The choices were juice or wine. Most of us chose wine, which came in a liter cardboard box (like juice does in Europe) and tasted terrible. I had about four sips before I gave up on it. Then we danced the night away (and also got really, really sweaty). I was sufficiently creeped on by four or five different guys. One of them even asked me to come to a party with him later, which I politely declined. We stayed until about 1.30am, at which point all of us were exhausted, except Kay and Ettiene. Apparently a normal night for them lasts until 5 am. Champions. We took a taxi home and said goodnight to them. When we were attempting to brush our teeth, we discovered that we were out of water (we are only allowed to use the bottled kind, even for brushing our teeth), so we boiled some. It’s yellow color somewhat deterred us, so we went with mouthwash and then passed out. Cameroon is awesome.
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