Gaelle, the iPod, new observations and cake!

Thursday morning, I was walking up the street to grab a taxi and ran into two school girls. I happened to be wearing my bucket hat and sunglasses, and one of them had a bucket hat and sunglasses on too. The girls smiled and greeted me, and I told the girl with the hat on that I liked her hat. She just grinned and said she liked my hat back. When we parted, she said, “I love you.” Kinda weird, but hey, whatever!

When I reached the orphanage, I was greeted with open arms by Champion and Gaelle. Gaelle is Maria’s niece, and Maria is the orphanage administrative assistant. Maria will bring Gaelle some days to the orphanage so that she can play with Champion since they are close in age. Gaelle is 2 and just as cute as can be with her little turned up nose and round face (see her pic below). I had no choice but to pick up both kids, one in each arm, and carry them up the steps into the sitting area.

I introduced my iPod to the orphanage kids on Thursday, and those interested in it were actually very patient waiting to get an ear piece. The kids love to listen to it, which I don’t mind sharing it with them since they don’t have a radio at the orphanage and the TV no sound. I was going through my ipod’s menu yesterday when I noticed it had a video on it, which was odd because I don’t watch videos on my ipod and hadn’t downloaded any. I opened it up to see a 6 second close up of Janvier’s face-lol. He had no clue he was caught on video, and I doubt the kid who made the video knew what they were doing either!

I came to the realization this weekend that with Africa being a large coffee bean grower that I haven’t seen coffee sold or served anywhere here. You know how the U.S. has a Star Bucks on every corner or some kind of coffee shop, but you don’t see that here. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I just thought that it was interesting that I haven’t seen coffee anywhere. It is actually kind of refreshing not to see restaurant or coffee chains here like McDonald’s, Star Bucks, KFC, etc., because these chains are in Europe and kind of take away part of the ambiance of the European experience (or at least I think so).

Eggs are sold everywhere here and are not refrigerated. Stores/stands will usually have cartons with about 24 eggs stacked on top of one another right next to the checkout counter. Akobe and I stopped the other night to buy some eggs, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the difference would be between refrigerated and non-refrigerated eggs. My guess is that refrigerated eggs probably last longer.

Akobe bought a cake mix this week for me. She said she never knew a white person who didn’t like to eat cake. Come to think of it, I don’t know any white people who don’t like cake either-lol. It will be interesting to see what it tastes like, and I’ll be curious to see if there will be frosting on it. What’s a cake without yummy frosting, right?

I’ve had a few people ask me about donating items, and I have found that shipping here is quite expensive. Please stay tuned soon for a blog explaining about material/monetary donations…

Photos of the my neighborhood, the orphanage and the kids now on Snapfish

For those of you following my blog who are not on Facebook and aren't able to see my photos, please feel free to view my photos on snapfish. No need to register yourself. Enter my email address, scwade1@yahoo.com, and then enter the password africa. Here is the website: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/welcome

I now have 5 albums; The Orphanage, The Orphanage Kids, My Neighborhood, Douala and Ethiopia. Enjoy!

Le Blanche, the new ride and Boo Boo's great adventure

On the way home in the taxi, we passed a huge confrontation in the parking lot of popular gas chain. All these men were gathered in a big circle surrounding the men who were arguing. The driver stopped soon after we passed the gas station to drop off a passenger. As the driver slowed down, we passed two men on the right side working under a car hood of which one of the two men saw me. As I sat there waiting, I heard a man yelling, “La blanche, la blanche, la blanche” (the white) over and over again to get my attention. I mean really! After hearing enough, I stuck my head out of the car and yelled back to him, “Le noir, le noir, le noir” (the black). He started cracking up at my response, as well as everybody in the taxi. As the driver pulled away, I stuck my arm out the window and waved goodbye without looking back at the guy. I told Deanne, Akobe and Jeromie my story later and they were all in stitches.

In the past 2 weeks, Jeromie has been looking at buying a used car. I had asked him if he had a death wish or just wanted to play Russian roulette, but instead with a car, with all the crazy drivers on the road. (You couldn’t pay me enough to drive on the roads because the drivers are so ridiculously out of control here.) When Jeromie got home last night, he told me that he bought a car and asked if I wanted to go see it. He bought a red RAV4 and was very proud of it. It looked to be rather well taken care of versus some of the other cars I’ve seen with “for sale” signs on them. Jeromie said, “Now we can all go on a beach trip!” I was thinking, “Oh goody, just what my white ass needs is to be hot and sunburned here! I’ll talk safari trip later this weekend with him…”

Earlier in the day, Boo Boo had worked really hard to walk from the end of the bench around the coffee table (pushed up against the bench) to the other side of the bench. Last night, I was watching Boo Boo walk around the living room table while the others ate dinner. I had just finished my water bottle and given it to Boo Boo (he loves to hold and play with water bottles). He lost his grip on the bottle, which slid to the other side of the coffee table out of his reach. Boo Boo proceeded to walk up and down the coffee table trying his darndest to reach the bottle without having to make the effort to walk to the other side of the table. At one time, he was staring at the bottle and started making sucking noises as if he was going to try to suck it over to his side of the table. After a bit, he finally decided to make the effort to go to the side of the coffee table and was so tired he decided to suck his thumb a bit to rest briefly. After his rest, he then finally rounded the corner to reach the other side. He finally was able to grab the bottle and as soon as he touched it, it rolled to the other side of the table-lol. The little guy had worked so hard to get to the other side only to lose the bottle again, so I handed it right back to him because I couldn’t stand that he had lost his reward so quickly after working so long and hard to obtain it! We all had a good laugh at Boo Boo and his efforts in about a 20 minute time span.

The "freakshow" and orphanage photos

When I arrived at the taxi stop Wednesday morning, I had someone come up beside me and start (or attempt) to talk to me in English while walking with me. He introduced himself as George, and all I really understood from him was that he was sick and was interested in America. He started to follow me to the orphanage, so I stopped prior to making a right turn toward it. George asked for my number, and I told him I didn’t have a telephone. He then asked me for my address, and I told him that I didn’t know it and was only aware of my taxi stop. George asked what I was doing this weekend, and I told him that I was going to the beach with my host family. George was very persistent at wanting to see me this coming weekend, and then hands over his telephone number and e-mail address for me. All the time he was talking to me, I was thinking, “Yeah, you’re sick alright, freakshow.” George finally left after my “promising” to e-mail him, and I stood where we had talked for a bit just to make sure that the “freakshow” didn’t follow me or do anything stupid.

Wednesday afternoon, when I pulled my camera out of my backpack, you would’ve thought I was giving away free candy as quickly as the children swarmed around me. They immediately began to pose for me, so they weren’t shy at all. I made sure to get an individual shot of each child so as not to be unfair or show favoritism.

On the way home from the orphanage, I ended up having to take a second taxi. He started small talk, which I’m used to by now, and then asked me for my phone number. Go figure.

Boo Boo, football and unexpected surprises...

Since I arrived, Jeromie has nicknamed David "Boo Boo." David seems to like his new nickname, and we all use it now. The kid cracks me up in his walker because the stupid "stoppers" (as I call them) always get caught when going to the floor onto the carpets. When he gets stuck, rather than crying and getting frustrated like most babies, Boo Boo sits and sucks his thumb. It happens often, so I guess he knows eventually someone will come to his rescue.

Boo Boo always fights going to bed every night. Sometimes when I hold him, I'll rock him to sleep. BUT, just when his eyes start rolling back and getting heavy, he'll quickly sit up as if to say, "What'd I miss? What'd I miss?" That will happen about 5 or 6 times before he finally falls asleep while sucking his thumb.

Boo Boo can pull himself up and sit up, but his "attempting" to crawl could use some work. He'll be on his stomach and lift all his limbs in the air, as if he is about to fly or swim in the air-lol. In the past week, he's finally figured out the crawling bit and that he's gotta work at it to actually get anywhere or to reach that toy he wants so badly that is out of his grasp.

While working at the orphanage yesterday, I was working on the computer when something caught the corner of my eye. I looked up and a big rat had entered the living room and went behind the bookshelves. Ugh! I asked Solange about it, and she said that there were "beaucoup" rats, which means that there are a lot. I hadn't encountered any in the 2 weeks I had been there prior, so I was not at all happy to see that the children are living in a rat infested house. I'm thinking I may see if I can find some rat poison here and donate it for them to use. There's no sense in the kids being exposed to filthy rats

I played football (soccer) with the kids yesterday also. It was so much fun, and I had a good time making the kids laugh by acting goofy. Mostly all the kids played barefooted and one or two played with flipflops on. Unfortunately, there is not much room to play in the yard, but we made the most of it. At one time, Melanie was goalie and I was chuckling to myself watching her dancing and making faces while everyone was preoccupied with trying to get the soccer ball.

On the way home from the orphanage in a taxi, it stopped and picked up a lady with a baby and 2 little girls. The girls were probably about 3 and 4 years old. When the girls saw me sitting in the front seat, they waved immediately and greeted me. While riding along, the 3 year old had her chin propped on my seat staring at me. After riding a few minutes, all of a sudden I felt this little index finger poking the side of my neck. It was as if she was checking to see if I was real or not-lol. It was too funny.

Saturday Night, Jan. 22

Akobe, David (the baby) and I left the house and headed over to Deanne's salon to meet her. She was still working and the wedding started at 5 pm. We didn't leave the salon until 6:30, so much to my disappointment, I did not get to see a traditional African wedding.

I knew the bride because I had met her just a few days before the wedding at Deanne's salon. She greeted us on the pathway to the house we were going to, and she was dressed in a shorts jumpsuit. When we arrived to the wedding reception, I was fairly surprised at the mix of informal/formal wear. The older women were all wearing their traditional cabas (dresses) with headwraps while the younger people were all dressed casually (tank tops, t-shirts, jeans, etc.). We entered a house where the sitting area had a buffet set up (of course we missed all the food) and music was playing. This small room also served as the dance floor, which was only about 5' x 5', so needless to say it was just a little cramped. We were all offered a beer and needed a bottle opener for them (no twist caps here). A guy used a soda bottle with the plastic cap on it to open the bottles, and when it didn't work, he just used his teeth. Yikes!

After we were served a beer, I was immediately invited to the dance floor where only women were dancing. I guess people wanted to see the white gal's moves-lol. I got up and started dancing, and the women on the floor started clapping and yelling as I danced. The music was jammin', and we all had a good time dancing. It was hot as hell though in that tiny room!

I decided to take a short break from dancing and went outside. I thought I had seen a calico kitten earlier, and I saw a little boy petting it. The poor thing was skin and bones, and it was probably only about 5 weeks old. Of course, you know what a sucker I am for cats, I picked it up to pet it and love on it. Somehow I was able to hear it purring in my ear over the music. Even if it was hungry, I think it would've chosen to be loved over eating. Unfortunately, something startled it, so I put it down soon after.

I stepped up to the porch to rejoin my friends when I encountered a young baby boy. He was walking, so he was probably about a year old. As soon as he saw me, he started to cry uncontrollably. The closer I got to him, the louder he cried. I'm assuming that I'm the first white person he's ever seen and that I scared the bejeebus out of him-lol. I had to walk around him to get up to the porch, so I walked up the porch steps as far away as I could get from him. In the meantime, another little girl had walked up the porch steps to console him and was hugging him around his neck. It was soon after my scaring the poor child and David falling asleep in my lap that we decided to leave the reception.

We grabbed a taxi and headed up to Roundpoint, a roundabout section of the city. There was a diner-type restaurant there called Glacier where we decided to grab a bite to eat. It was nice and cool inside. It was rather dark though, but had a bluish glow inside. We ordered and then Akobe paid; apparently, one must pay prior to dining due to previous customers walking out. We all had a hamburger to eat, and I must say that the burger was much better than Europe's burgers. It actually tasted like it was real meat-lol. It had onion, ketchup and mayo on it. Afterward, I had a small cup of chocolate ice cream. Much to my surprise, the ice cream really didn't taste all that sweet. (The ice cream I had a Deanne's home was so much better, especially since it had the small bits of shaved chocolate in it. I'm going to have to track that ice cream down now that I think about it...)

After eating, we all decided to head back home since it was about 10. It was past the baby's bedtime, plus we were all tired and hot. Deanne works on Sundays too and had to be up early.

More random observations...

If you're a man and have to pee, just go on the side of the road. No need to worry about being arrested for public urination. I've seen 3 men urinating with no attempt to hide in order not to be seen. Yuck!

If you have a nice home or own a nice apartment building, it is fenced and has a security guard at all times.

All TV commercials have white actors. It's hard to understand this since the majority of Cameroonians are black.

The SyFi (Science Fiction) channel is here.

I rarely watch TV here, but I have seen the following American TV programs/movies on TV here when passing by the TV: X-Men, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Curious George, Yo Gabba Gabba and the A-Team.

I saw an advertisement for the Super Bowl on TV the other night when watching a football (soccer) match. I'm curious to see if the same commercials are shown here during the SB. My guess is probably not...

If you drive a motorbike and get pulled over, you just pay off the cop for your not having a driver's license. (It's no wonder people can't drive here if they've never earned/received their licenses!)

Why there aren't more pictures...

I haven't taken many pics here because I've learned that you need to know someone personally before taking a picture or ask a stranger if it's ok to take their pic. I am going stir crazy from not photographing everyday, but I'm weary that I draw so much attention with my being white and am afraid I may be robbed of my new camera since white people are assumed to be rich. My being white and having my camera on me just screams "TOURIST!!"

Photos

For those of you following my blog who are not on Facebook and aren't able to see my photos, please feel free to view my photos on snapfish. No need to register yourself. Enter my email address, scwade1@yahoo.com, and then enter the password africa. Here is the website: http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/welcome

Click on the Ethiopia album and the Douala, Cameroon album.

I apologize for not uploading these sooner, but I have run into difficulties nearly daily trying to upload on snapfish. I finally had some luck today uploading!

Requested Items Needed at the Orphanage

Many of you have asked how you can help and if you can send any items to help the children/orphanage. I greatly appreciate your offer to send items and know that the orphanage would appreciate it too! To learn more about the orphanage, check out the website here (text is in English): http://www.syfoev.com/

As a reminder, there are 16 children at the orphanage whose ages range from 1 1/2 - 18; there are 6 girls and 10 boys. The 1 1/2 year old, Champion, is a boy. The oldest is Grace.

Most important items needed:

- Monetary donations (pays rent, school fees, other bills, etc.)
- Nonperishable food items
- clothes (any sizes)
- shoes (mostly sandals since it's a tropical climate)
- school supplies: pencils, notebooks, backpacks (nongender specific if possible)
- books (most children are learning or know English)
- screen material (to cover the screens with holes in them)
- games (anything really)
- soap
- toilet paper
- toothbrushes/toothpaste
- towels
- tissues

Other suggested items:

- Basically anything fun for the kids!
- crayons
- coloring pencils
- markers
- pens
- balls: soccer, basketball, any kind of ball
- air pump for the balls
- bubbles
- coloring books
- dry erase boards
- stickers
- silly bands
- jump rope
- ceiling fans
- lightweight sleeping bags
- computer/laptop (no keyboard or mouse needed)

I have found that UPS is here in Cameroon, but I will find out of other means to ship here. The address of the orphanage is:

Madame Yaga Solange
Fondatrice de L'Orphelinat Fondation Fraternite
BP 6424 Douala-Cameroun

Please let me know if you have any questions, and if I don't know the answers, I'll be sure to ask!

Thanks everyone!

January 22

Money here is called CFAs. The largest note is the 10,000 note = $20.50; 5000 = $10.25; 2000 = $4.10; 1000 = $2.05; and 500 = $1. The coins here are 25, 50, 100 and 500. There are 2 different designs of the 100 coin; both of which are accepted anywhere. You would think that the government would retire the oldest coin, but I guess it doesn't matter here.

Taxis here are incredibly cheap and anywhere a person goes, they only pay 200 CFAs. Vanessa warned me to watch out for taxi drivers who charge more because of our being white. I was a victim of that yesterday and corrected my taxi driver real quick when he asked for 300 CFAs more. I told him that I was aware that all taxi fares are 200 CFAs for everyone. Most taxi drivers also have tissues on their dashboard. The other day I got into a taxi with the brand "Sandra" tissues (Sandra is my mother's name). Later that same day, I shared a taxi with an older lady who had aqua, hot pink and brown hair-what a combo!

On Tuesday, the first taxi I got into on the way to the orphanage had a guy wearing leather pants in it. It's too hot to be wearing leather pants in a tropical climate! But to each his own! I also had a taxi driver ask to be my friend and then ask to be my boyfriend. I told him, "Friend only or nothing at all." He became awfully quiet after my comment-lol. The next day I had a taxi driver ask me to breakfast. I was already running late after trying to find a taxi heading to the orphanage, which I had already told him I was running late before he asked. Geez!

Yesterday, my taxi driver spoke English well and we were able to converse fine. His name was Charles (my Dad's name), and I told him that it was my middle name. He was surprised to hear that Charles is my middle name. Anyway, I told him where to look for me (taxi stops) and approximate times since he asked to be my friend also.

I met another Charles yesterday who works at a motorbike stop. He approached me and started talking to me right away, then introduced himself. (Just so you know, I am quite cautious with meeting new people and don't trust anyone here.) He helped me get a cab so I didn't have to walk the extra few blocks outta the way to where the taxis park.

At the orphanage yesterday, I introduced 12 year old Larissa to my iPod. I started out with Michael Jackson and then let her shuffle through my songs. She liked that I had Lady Gaga on it, and I later heard her singing to Michael Crawford's "O Holy Night." Grace (18 years old) also listened to my iPod also, but it died shortly after she started listening to it. I hated that I didn't have the charger with me to charge it back up for them.

Larissa and Grace had exams earlier this week, which is why they happened to be at the orphanage during the morning and early afternoon. Champion, the youngest orphan at 1 1/2, is always at the orphanage since he's not old enough to be in a preschool. The kids usually do not get home until about 2 or later, and when they reached the orphanage yesterday, most of the younger kids and I all drew pictures and colored. The kids did their best with what little crayons and markers that they have, as most were broken or the markers were dried up. The first kid to draw me a picture was Junior. What were the odds that he would draw a cat? FYI-the kids have no idea I have cats. :)

Yesterday, Akobe invited me attend a traditional wedding today at 2. When I got up this morning, I asked her what time we were leaving. She said the wedding time had been changed to 5, which is typical in African culture. Wouldn't be nice to change the time of your wedding just to have more time to prepare if you're behind? lol

Everywhere I go, I am stared at by many. I feel as if I'm the late person for an important banquet and have to make my way to the front table everywhere I go because of the stares. Most people refer to me as "Madam," which actually would mean that I am married. I was told that people say this because they either aren't sure if I am married and/or because they just don't want to say "Mademoiselle." Some looks I receive are of curiousity or delight, while others are looks of hate or jealousy. School children are especially the most curious and usually speak first if they see me or may wave.

Other Interesting Observations

- For being the 2nd largest city in Cameroon, I have yet to see a fire truck or fire station.

- Dried fish is oftentimes displayed at the market for eating; it looks and smells disgusting.

- It is papaya season here, but there are plenty of other fruits available to eat here such as plaintains, pineapple and oranges.

- We eat fresh bread every night for dinner.

- We do not use napkins when we eat (drives me crazy). After you eat, you then wipe your hands on hand towels on a towel rack. I usually just head straight to the bathroom to wash my hands, especially if I had fish to eat-lol.

Random observations and experiences

- Women do not shave here.

- It seems that nearly every cab I get into, the door is nearly ready to fall off or the door handle.

- Motorbike drivers NEVER look back at traffic before driving onto the road.

- There are several gas station attendants at every gas station.

- I can't help but wonder if the taxi drivers have carpel tunnel syndrome from honking so much...

- Women drivers suck here.

- All kids wear a particular colored shirt/smock for whatever school they attend.

- Traditional African clothing is wore by the older folks and never the young people.

- It seems like there are what I call "dollar store carts" every 5 feet. Makes you wonder how the vendors make a living with so much competition.

- Only the elite own washers and dryers here. There are many businesses that do laundry by hand, and I've seen men outside covered in suds scrubbing clothes in front of them. I came home to newly washed and pressed clothes yesterday, so after seeing how hard people work to clean clothes, I am truly appreciative.

- I rode in the front of a taxi yesterday where 3 adults and 3 kids were in the backseat. If I'm in the front seat, no one dares to sit beside of me because of my being white.

- I saw an ice cream cart yesterday and wondered how in the world ice cream stays cold in a wooden box. Unfortunately, I was in a taxi so I wasn't able to see inside of it.

- Yesterday's taxi driver asked to be my friend and then asked to be my Cameroonian boyfriend. I said, "No, friend only or nothing at all." He became awfully quiet after I said that-lol.

- You can get pedicures and manicures here; but honestly, with the way some of the places look on the outside, you wouldn't dare go inside for fear of your toes or fingers falling off later...

- Making kissing noises at me is soooo not going to make me turn my head.

- You know you're in Africa when occasionally ants crawl on the computer keyboard.

- You know you're in Africa when you reach in a store's fridge to grab a beer and there are live bugs in the bottom of the fridge because it's barely cold.

- Roadside vendors often take used plastic bottles and refill them with tap water/other drink, and then sell them. (I only buy drinks from the gas station where they all have seals on them.)

- There is a lottery here and there are little, round (hot pink) booths all over where you can purchase tickets.

Monday's day cont'd...

The kids trickled into the orphanage a few at a time and immediately interrupted my French lesson to say hi. They were very quiet as I finished up the last of my French lesson and went outside to eat. After eating, all the little ones gathered together to sing various songs together. It wasn't too long until they had an audience outside the orphanage walls. After they finished singing, I observed them take turns in a pretend dance competetition where a small piece of carpet served as the stage. It was fun to watch the kids carry on and "get down" with absolutely zero music. The bystanders (kids not in the competition) stood behind the wall, clapping and cheering the dancers on and then were asked to vote by raising their hand for the best dancer. Let me tell you though, little Melanie (5 years) loves to get down and dance like there's no tomorrow-lol. She is adorable when she gets caught up dancing. I hope that one day I can catch the kids on my camera and video them.

Everyday, I usually have to take 2 taxis to the orphanage and 2 back to the apartment. Sometimes it's only one because the taxi driver wants to chat with me. There is an option of riding on the back of a motorbike, but I won't dare get on one of those here-period. The drivers don't wear or have helmets for passengers, they're quite careless from what I have oberved-they never look when pulling onto a road, and I've been told that they have been known to take people to a desolate area and rob them. No thanks, I'll pass on being robbed. I think that people are crazy riding the motorbikes with one or even 2 kids on them; I'm talking toddlers too.

 

In the taxi I took back to the apartment Monday, we were stopped by a cop. Apparently, the driver was driving too fast and the cop asked him to slow down. Of course the cop didn't have a radar or anything; he just happened to be standing at the bottom of the hill and waved the driver down. After we parted from the cop, the driver said he wasn't ticketed because of me being in the car. Go figure.

 

Later on Monday night, Akobe and I went to where Deanne lived. Her living quarters are just above a downstairs bar. She lives in a tiny, one room apartment with a bathroom to the side. She is very proud of where she lives, and I was sure to be complimentary of her living quarters: Her bed was in the middle of the room, up against the wall. She and Enzo share it, of course. She had a little mini fridge to the right of her bed, and on the connecting wall there was what looked like a dresser, but without a mirror. On it was a small gas range with 2 burners. No overhead fan-nothing. Deanne struck a match to light the gas, and all I could do was pray that the place didn't blow up in flames. Trust me, with the sloppy wiring I've seen here, you just never know with gas...

 

Deanne had the windows open and a fan running, and we could hear the live music coming from downstairs. It made me think of how it must feel to live in an apartment on Bourbon St. I helped her cut up onions and tomatoes, and she asked me to cook the potato fries. She made rice and a really delicious mushroom topping to go over the rice, and also fried 2 fish. She asked me what I drink other than water, so she had her brother Brian run downstairs to buy some Sprite. After dinner, she served orange slices and then chocolate and vanilla ice cream for dessert, and then she pulled out her photo album and shared her family photos with me. We went through the entire album; she has 4 sisters and 4 brothers. Needless to say, I had no choice but to eat a huge meal so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. I thought I was going to have to be carried out of her apartment and back to my place...

 

What a day...

Man, where do I even start? Today was my first day at the orphanage, and it was a great day. It started out with my sitting with Solange, the orphanage mum, and asking her how I can help at the orphanage. The first item mentioned was the need for me to finish a proposal that Vanessa had started, but not quite finished prior to her leaving Saturday. No prob.

The most important thing Solange asked me for was my help in tracking down the architect who had promised a floor plan last summer for the new orphanage. The architect had visited the orphanage from a local NGO and had offered to design the new orphanage. The architect returned to the states, but has failed to follow through on a design and has not responded to e-mails from Solange. It was then that I find out that the supposed "architect" was a college student-ack!

The orphanage has managed to acquire land for the new orphanage (donation), but they can't do anything without a floor plan. Until I can get a floor plan, I cannot get bids. I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't even bother trying to contact the student since they are inexperienced and still in school. My bet is that I won't be able to locate her anyway with the strange e-mail address I was given for her. If any one of you happens to know of a friend or family member who is an architect who would be willing to donate time to this project, please have them e-mail me at superswade@gmail.com. The orphanage does not have the money to pay an architect here to do a plan, so I hope that one of my friends or family members will be able to help. I have the building dimentions and specifics that Solange wants for the new building to get a move on this project.

The orphanage is currently renting the building/property that they are on, and unlike the U.S., the landlord does not fix the problems on their own rental property. I mean, seriously, why should a tenant have to pay to fix or upgrade property that isn't even theirs!? Solange wants to halve the outdoor shed, currently used for cooking, and turn one side into eating quarters and the other side a study area for the kids. I recommended that she not do a single thing, unless absolutely necessary, to save money and time. I'd rather her energy be focused on the new orphanage rather than upgrading what isn't hers, especially with the current living conditions as bad as they are:

- There are 16 kids, 6 girls and 10 boys, to one bathroom that is about 3' x 5'.

- There is no shower or bathtub, and the water fixture is constantly leaking to where a huge barrel has been placed under it to catch the water.

- The water from the barrel is what the kids use to wash/rinse themselves daily; remember, no shower or tub.

- The water is a brownish/yellowish color; and yes, this is the same tap water that the kids drink.

- The kids get sick often and have stomach issues because of the unsafe drinking water.

- The toilet has no seat and has a hole in it the size of a tennis ball. The water level is purposely kept low in it, so as water does not leak out of it.

- There are 10 beds for 16 kids. 3 little girls sleep width-wise in one bed. What happens when they grow?

- The air from the floor fans does not circulate to the top bunks, so if it's too hot, then the kids will sleep on the bare floor instead.

- The mattresses here are not like American mattresses. They are made of cheap foam and are so old that they are all flat, crumbling and are disgustingly dirty.

- When the TV is on, it constantly flips the screen, so the kids can't watch anything at all.

- The front windows need new screening, so as to keep the mosquitoes and bugs out.

- The computer is old as dirt and needs to be upgraded badly.

- The oldest child, Grace, will graduate high school this year and has no options to apply her art talent to a graphic design degree because it cannot be afforded. There are no trade schools or community colleges here, and private schools and public universities are very expensive.

- And most importantly, there is no guarantee from day to day that the children will have food to eat.

It is most unfortunate that the businesses here will not donate items or money because basically it is not in their best interest or of any benefit to them. It is not in my nature not to try and get donations, so I will be working on donation letters and hope to set up some meetings with the company "big whigs" here from American companies to see if I can get donations. I am also going to try and see if I can get the orphanage on a donation program from a supermarket for expired items (that are still good, of course).

The children do not have or hardly have any toys, games, puzzles or books to occupy their free time. As you all know, these items can be cheaply purchased at Goodwill stores, yard sales, dollar stores, etc. I think it would be awesome to get several churches and maybe their youth groups involved with collecting items for the orphanage. I will be soon asking for monetary donations from friends and family members, along with a request for items that are needed at the orphanage.

Feeling Like a Kid Today cont'd

Enzo came up to the apartment with me to hang out for a while. He's quite fascinated with all my toys (camera, cell phone, ipod) and loves my cell phone the most. He has learned how to record his voice on it, play the game Brickbreakers, and take pictures with it. The little rascal took one of my cough drops (Hall's Citrus-the best!), thinking it was candy, and is now faking coughing in order to get another cough drop-lol. Enzo left for a bit, but it wasn't long until he was right back at the door. He nearly drove me insane playing with my cell and ipod; back and forth, back and forth.

Tomorrow is my first full day at the orphanage, and I am looking forward to it. It's going to be quiet there in the morning and early afternoon because the kids don't get out of school until 2. During that quiet time, I am going to be working on fundraising and creating a plan to better organize the kids. After what I observed the other day, the kids have no structure. I was told that their grades are not good either, which is not surprising since they have no parents, no structure, etc.

On another note, in my previous post I had noted that Jeromie said that "I never eat." When it is hot out, even in NC, I don't have much of an appetite. If I do, it's usually for water and cold foods (fruit, yogurt, etc.). The family is in disbelief over how much fruit I eat. I told them that I am quite happy with it and that there's no need to fuss over me. The other morning they offered me tea, coffee and something else to drink, but I told them I don't drink any of those items and preferred to drink water if anything. I was offered hot porridge-whatever that is, but I politely declined. I've never liked oatmeal, so I figured it was probably similar. The eating hours are rather odd here too, and I often find that we finish eating around 9:30 or 10-sometimes later!

Ok, so I am off to take a nice cold shower. Cold showers are actually welcomed by me as hot as it is here and since I'm without air conditioning. Bonuit!

Feeling like a kid today...

Today, Jeromie and I took a walk through the neighborhood. After looking at Coke sign, I commented that I disliked Coke and wished that I could find Pepsi here. It was then that Jeromie made it a mission to track down Pepsi since I "don't like to eat." He grabbed a taxi and off we went to search for Pepsi. We stopped at 3 places and the last place was the Supermarket. I didn't want to leave because it was so nice and cool inside. Unfortunately, our mission came to an end since the supermarket didn't have what we were looking for, so I settled for Sprite and Orange Juice.

After the mission ended, we stopped at the salon on the way back to the apartment. I gave Enzo some stickers, which he absolutely loved. He was giggling, he was so excited to have the stickers  He placed one on each pant leg, 2 on his shirt, and one on each shoe. Then he placed 2 on each of my shoulders, one on my leg and one on each of my sandals. Enzo was blowing bubbles and was having problems blowing them, so I showed him that he needed to blow softer and not as if the North wind was blowing the bubble stick-lol. When we took a break from blowing bubbles, he wanted to put together a puzzle. It was an Alvin and the Chipmunks 50 piece puzzle. (Bet you can't guess who mostly put it together-hmmm...)

Enzo's mother's salon became really busy, so she asked if I would help her (she's looking for an apprentice now). In exchange, she said she would make me dinner tomorrow night. I didn't mind, so I dried several heads while she was braiding heads. It was hot as HELL in the salon, even with a fan blowing. It was so hot that I had sweat dripping in my eyes and down my nose. When I walked outside, I realized that the end of my ponytail was dripping wet from the sweat on my back. Yuck!

After sweating several gallons, I had worked up an appettite and decided to head back to the apartment. Enzo decided he wanted to walk with me, so he grabbed my hand and off we went. It was then that I had this urge to skip-what came over me, I have no idea. I asked Enzo if he could skip and he said yes, so off we went skipping about 50 yards to the apartment building.

Other observations

Today, I've been hangin' out here at the apartment. Most people do not work on Friday; instead they work on Sundays. I was talking to Jeromie this morning at breakfast and learned that he also teaches sociology/psychology part-time at the college. He said that he would take me to the college one day so that I could observe him teach class.

I tell ya, the peer pressure is on here when it comes to eating time. I eat breakfast, and then 2-3 hours later, it's time for lunch. I hate eating in that little of a time period. Akobe served homemade spaghetti for lunch today, which the sauce consisted of beef, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. It was pretty good, but I couldn't enjoy it much due to the stink of fish coming from the kitchen or the fact that was hot when it's hot outside. I'm assuming we're eating fresh fish tonight...

So I forgot to mention yesterday a few other random things that I've observed around here. For the most part, most people display their items for sale outside of their space/store or on a rolling cart. You can find anything from car parts to toilets, mattresses (not covered at all-yikes!) to coffins, etc., displayed everywhere. Also, I've seen where I guess a stand was a butcher stand because meat was hanging in the open air-yes, rather gross and unsanitary. I was standing outside of Enzo's salon yesterday, and a hen with her chicks randomly walked by. Later, another hen walked by. No idea where they came from or who they belonged to...

Because I'm one of maybe 5 white people here in Doula (ha!), I'm constantly whistled/shouted at by passers' by to get my attention just so that they can speak to me and me respond back. Yesterday, I heard a "God Bless America" from a guy in the downstairs store.

Deanna, who owns Enzo's salon, has invited me over to her house Monday night and asked me to cook for her. I was thinking, "Shouldn't you be cooking for me?" I don't think I'll do very well because I don't have my recipes with me nor does Africa have the same ingredients that we have in the U.S. Not sure what I'm going to make, but I may see if I can find a grocery store and see what exactly Africa does stock. It may be a rather interesting meal...

I have been told that the country is rather beautiful when you leave Doula. I hope they are right, and I look forward to seeing it when I escape for a weekend or two or three... The people here are very nice and hospitable, but I have to admit that the envoronmentalist in me is screaming at what I have seen environmentally here so far: trash everywhere, air pollution from vehicles/mopeds is quite obvious unlike at home (maybe a mix of  unclean gas/no emissions standards on vehicles, etc.), all water sources are polluted, etc. I recycle EVERYTHING at home, and do you know how much it kills me that I have to drink water out of plastic bottles because the tap water is not safe to drink? I do understand that the people here do not know any better, and I have to accept this fact.

A man I met last night asked me what I thought of Douala, and I told him that I like it here, but wish it was cleaner. I asked him what it is exactly that the government does for Cameroon. Know what he said? "That's a really good question. I don't know what it does." Cameroon has a democratic government, but it is one of the most corrupt governments in Africa. It doesn't care about the people, and it's quite obvious with the poor living conditions, ruined environment, unemployed/poor citizens, etc. I then asked the man what the point of the government was if it didn't do anything? I told him that the people should rise up and fight/overthrow the government; afterall, there are more citizens than there are government officials! I know I make it sound as if it wouldn't be a big deal to overthrow the government, but it just burns me up that a government is useless to its own citizens!

I do have many ideas in regard to sustainable development here, so maybe one day I might be able to somehow help start the cleaning up of Cameroon and improving living conditions here...

Market and the police...

I went to the market today with Vanessa-an absolute nightmare. We were constantly followed by vendors and asked to come into their areas. You have to bargain with the locals, as they price everything ridiculously high. I figured out that as soon as I said my final price and the vendor said no, then I would hand the item back to the vendor and walk off.  That’s when I got the “Ok. Ok. For you Mademoiselle.” I think I’m a good bargainer. J

After the market, I went to Enzo’s salon to say hi to Deanna and her brother, Brian. Enzo was not out of school yet, but I figured I would wait until he got there for a bit. Deanna and I were able to converse some in both English and French, so there’s been some progress in my French communications. Anyway, while there at the salon, a police woman approached me and proceeded to tell me that I was not “authorized” to take pictures. I just played dumb and told her that I was American in French. My friends in the salon and Georgette spoke to the police woman; although I have no idea what they said, the police lady didn’t give me any further problems thankfully. For those of you who know me well, I wanted to ask her, "Seriously?! Do you not have anything else better to do? Give me a break!" After she left, I told my friends that the police was stupid and useless there-they agreed. 

When I got back to the apartment tonight, Georgette turned the TV on (I swear the woman has to have it on 24-7-ridic!) and Scrubs happened to be on. Following it, Dawson's Creek came on. I'm telling you, they have nothing good to watch African here. All I've seen are a bunch of people sitting around chatting on TV-no shows or movies. It is all due to government control I have been told.

Ok, I am off to have some wine with house company. Bonsoi! 

Learning the roads and everything else...

Today I’ve come to the realization that there is no break from sweating here except at night. When you get up in the morning, you sweat. You sweat all day and all evening until it gets cool out. Even when I shower in the evening, I sweat when I get out of the shower. It kinda defeats the purpose to shower to only sweat immediately afterward, huh? I will definitely appreciate air conditioning more when I return to the states! At night, Georgette and I have a fan blowing on us. It gets a little cool in the middle of the night, but a sheet usually takes care of the chill.

Let me warn y’all, I will not be wearing make-up or bothering with my hair while here-lol. I tried my hair straightener this morning and had no luck straightening my frizzy hair from this gawd awful humidity! Guess it doesn’t matter anyway, since it is so hot here, I wear my hair back all the time anyway.

In a taxi today, traffic was slowed due to an argument in the middle of the road! No idea what it was about, but I was amused at the nonchalance of the two men. If you own a taxi, you will most likely honk at someone every other minute-no joke. Mopeds are everywhere, there are no stoplights or signs, no lines on the roads, no one wears seatbelts, etc. The roads are a mess. I'm constantly holding my breath wondering if the taxi I am in is gonna hit the next person who cuts us off or if we'll be hit by the person my taxi driver just cut off. Also, most taxis are small 4 door toyotas, and if there’s only 2 riders and the driver, then there’s always room for 3 more! Ack! So let’s just say that carpooling can get to be a little too crowded…

Today I went to the orphanage with Vanessa to meet the children. I received hugs from nearly every child at the orphanage, including one child whose mother works there. The kids’ ages range from 2 ½ - 17. I figured with my being the new face among the crowd that I would take small gifts to wow the kids. Let’s just say that colorful pencils, stickers and silly bands were the hit of the day… J

Since Vanessa’s last day is Saturday, the orphanage made her an honorary meal tonight. They served fresh fish, African greens, chicken, salad, and fresh bread with Fanta Orange soda. Vanessa told me that tonight’s meal was a treat for the kids because they rarely get a good meal. Their meal usually consists of rice with some sort of dressing on it and water. I don’t think I saw a single plate that was not emptied at the orphanage tonight.  

It looks as though I will be continuing the fundraising for the orphanage when Vanessa leaves, as well as mentoring /organizing the kids. They apparently have no structure and their grades are not good, so I’m going to see what I can do to somehow get them on the right track. Wish me luck…

 All the orphanage volunteers and Akobe met at Bob’s bar tonight for farewell beers with Sam. Bob is a very cool dude who loves America, although he’s never visited. He said he had many Cameroonian friends in the U.S. and that he wishes to visit one day. I hope he does make it there one day because Bob seems to be a very passionate person. Bob was wearing a NY Yankees hat, although it was all red with the NY stitched in white. I was told that he absolutely adores Obama and that he has a collection of Obama stuff at his home-lol.

Adjusting to the new place....

1/12/11

This morning, I woke up to a rooster crowing and a dog barking/whining. The poor dog sounded as if it needed to be put out of its misery. I don’t know how it could continue to bark and whine as long as it did without being exhausted. Thank goodness I was able to fall back asleep eventually.

I got up about 9:30 and ate 2 oranges for breakfast. Georgette had the TV on and a commercial for Desperate Housewives came on. It was interesting seeing the characters speaking in French to one another. I later heard the Scooby Doo theme song and saw that the movie was on; watching Scooby Doo in French was quite entertaining.

I was looking at the baby’s walker and toys and noticed their simplicity. His walker has no sounds, lights or whatnot and is half the size of an American walker. The design of it makes no sense whatsoever. There are 3 wheels in the front and one wheel in the back middle. There are two rubber legs in the back that really prevent him from moving around more so-very odd. His toys are nothing but various baby toys with rattles in them. He has no toys that are colorful, interactive, light up, musical, etc. I think the funniest thing is that his baby mobile hangs from the mosquito net over his bed.

Akobe and I took a walk last night to familiarize me with the area. On the way up the street, Akobe was on the phone arranging for my French lessons while I was walking outside of her on the street. It seemed as if people were aiming to hit me, and I was kinda puzzled as to why I was a target. I then looked down and happened to notice that there is a speed bump with a gap to the side of it. People were only going around the flat gap part, so as to avoid the bump altogether. We visited her friend, Deanna, at her salon where I also met her son and husband. Her son, Enzo, was adorable and I guessed him to be about 6 (he was 6; I’m getting good at guessing ages now that I tutor). He was quite shy at first with me, but he warmed up pretty quickly. His mother encouraged me to speak English to him since he was learning it in school. He brought out his “Just Do It” backpack and showed me his English book. I flipped through the pages and nearly fell over when I saw that the letter “g” was used in the book for pronouncing the word “gun!” Ack! Really?!

After we left the salon, we walked to the store below Akobe’s apartment complex. There was a group of men who were gathered outside watching football (for those of you who may not know, soccer is referred to as football here) on a small TV outside on the patio. Akobe and I sat down and watched some of the game and talked a bit, while I had my first African beer called “33” Export. It was pretty good, but not cold enough.  When we returned to the apartment Jeromie and Georgette were watching the movie Moonstruck on TV. After seeing what is on in the mornings that Georgette watches, I can see why there is so much American TV/movies on here.

Off to Douala-finally!

While in the lobby waiting for the airport shuttle, a man asked me about my NC State t-shirt that I had been wearing the day before. He was of Cameroon descent originally and now lived in Raleigh. (Can you say, “Small world?!”) He works at the RBC bank there; however, his wife and son live in Charlotte. He’s commuting back and forth on the weekends to be with his family. His wife told me that they haven’t put their house on the market since it’s not a good housing market, otherwise they’d move elsewhere or to Raleigh.

The group of us from the hotel leaving for Cameroon pretty much stuck together at the airport. One woman in our group was attending Howard University in DC and was going home to visit her family. She was talking to a man outside our group who seemed to be flirting with her and exchanged numbers. I wasn’t paying any attention and didn’t care to meet him-I just wanted to get to Douala.

We were served lunch not long after taking off; however, there’s no need to mention it. Blah! On the plane, I realized I was the only white female on the plane. There’s nothing like being stared at from your seat in the front row when you’re walking all the way to the back of the plane to the bathroom-lol. When I returned to my seat, I was getting settled in for a nap when the flight attendant came up to me and said, “A gentleman wants to buy you perfume.” I looked at her and said, “What gentleman? Tell whoever he is that I say thank you, but no thank you, as I am allergic to perfume.” The flight attendant laughed and then the guy who was talking to my friend prior to us taking off came up and introduced himself. I then was able to tell him thanks, but no thanks…

When we got off the plane, the heat and humidity hit right away and my sweatshirt came off. The airport was open air, so the walkways were all concrete with openings for air flow (no windows) in the concrete walls.  In the passport/visa check in line, I felt like I was in Target at home; 2 lines for the 100 people waiting. After finally checking in with the not-so-friendly lady, I head off in the hopes that my baggage has arrived from NC. As soon as I stepped in the baggage area, which was so tiny and crowded, I immediately saw my bag on the belt. What a relief!

I head outside in the hopes of finding Akobe, pronounced A-ko-bay, my hostess and contact from The Humanity Exchange. As soon as I walk outside, before I know what’s happening, some dude just grabs my luggage and proceeds to walk fast down the sidewalk. In the meantime, on my other side, I have a lady flinging a hotel card in my face asking if I need a hotel. Once I realize what’s going on, I grab my luggage handle and yell, “Non!” and stop in my tracks. Thankfully, that’s when Akobe approached me and the guy with her grabbed my bag. Whew! Whisked away by the right people! BUT, as soon as we reach the car, I’m approached and asked for money by a man. Once again, I am assumed to be rich…

At Akobe’s house, I was shown around the apartment and met her 8 month old baby, David, and sister-in-law, Georgette. David is absolutely adorable! I could just eat him up with those chubby cheeks and when he sucks his thumb. The bathroom is very small and there is no shower stall. The toilet is broken, so we have to dump water down the toilet to flush. The kitchen is tiny. There is a small fridge, much smaller than a regular fridge and not much bigger than a mini fridge. The stove is about ¾ the size of a normal stove. I can imagine it would get quite hot in that tiny kitchen when cooking. Akobe insisted that I eat and rest after she showed me the apartment.

Georgette served me fried fish and pineapple, and afterward, I took a cold shower (no hot water) and took a nap. Georgette and I are sharing a room together, which I don’t mind, I’m just grateful we have a fan in the room! Much to my surprise, my bed sheets are red and white checked-how appropriate! (In case you’re wondering, Akobe did not know that these are my school colors.)

My nap was later interrupted by a volunteer, Vanessa, from the orphanage where I will be interning. Vanessa was very friendly and went to undergrad at Maryland. She will be attending grad school soon at George Mason, concentrating on peace and development conflict and resolution. She leaves for the states Saturday, so I’ll be sad that I won’t get to know her better or hang out with her more.

Akobe woke me up when she got home after 8, and we sat and talked a long while. She told me about her 2 daughters, who are 9 and 19; both are attending school somewhere in the Ivory Coast. She is a Christian woman and proceeded to tell me that after having 2 daughters, she wanted a boy. Her sonogram revealed that she was having another girl, and she said that she prayed hard and asked the Lord to bless her with a baby boy. She said her husband missed the birth of their son, so she called him and told him that they had had a boy. He thought that she was joking-lol. I told her that the power of prayer is an awesome thing and proceeded to tell her about my friend, Brandon, and his recovery from a brain injury.  Brandon is now in rehabilitation and doing extremely well in his progress since his accident on Dec. 9. I also shared with Akobe why I am here and what changes I made in my life this past fall after my best friend, Tommy, died. I told her that I hoped that my experience here will help with my healing and grieving, and that I want to make new, good memories while in Africa. Tommy would have loved the fact that I am here and most likely would’ve wished he could come with me.

Akobe told me about how they do not pay taxes, and we discussed how there are so many people out in the world who do not appreciate what they have in their lives. I definitely agree with her that people (especially Americans) have no idea what opportunities they have been blessed with, as well as how lucky we are to have education provided to us. Those who are poor and have children, often cannot afford to send their children to school here in Africa. 

Jeromie, Akobe’s husband, invited us to dinner when we were talking. We had fresh bread, something like a stew beef soup served cold, and a tomato, corn, and chick pea salad with vinaigrette on it. It was a delicious meal. While we were eating, we watched an obvious American show on SWAT teams, spoken in French. Basically the men on the show were showing how badly the weapons can damage a by showing the damage done to dummies they used-crazy! It was actually rather interesting, and I felt as if I were watching Spike TV-lol.

Traveling Days, Jan. 9-10

Warning: My blog may be too detailed as I tend to observe and take in everything I see, experience, etc. I apologize if my blog is too detailed, but I guess you could say it’s my personal online journal. I don’t want to leave anything out!

Traveling Day, Jan. 9-Jan. 10

After staying up all night, I left the house at 4:30 am for the airport with my good friend, Cheryl.  I arrived in DC to catch my connecting flight to Ethiopia. For those of you who know me and my travels, you know it never fails that something always goes wrong or happens nearly every time I travel. This time was a 2 hour delay by Ethiopian Airlines. Due to the delay, I missed my connecting flight to Douala. I can’t complain too much though because the airline gave all of those who missed a connecting flight a $150 voucher and paid for an overnight hotel stay, 3 meals and transportation to/from the airport. It was actually nice to have one unplanned day in a country you didn’t expect to see any of at all.

The flight over was 12 hours, which I managed to sleep mostly through. The airline provided passengers with the usual pillows and blankets, but also provided a toothbrush with toothpaste pack, eye cover and the ugliest gold socks you’ve ever seen. Why socks? No idea. It was either hot as hell or cold as ice on the plane-no in between. Thank goodness I bought a warm blanket for the plane just in case! On the flight, I was reminded of how much I do not miss airline food when traveling abroad, particularly on Ethiopian airlines (EA). EA has topped my list of worst airline food ever.

 Prior to landing I was quite ready to get off, especially after listening to a baby scream for the last 30 minutes and the gawd awful elevator music that was playing overhead. I was nearly ready to jump through the window after the man in front of me stood up to go to the restroom prior to our landing. Cameroon is called the “Armpit of Africa” due to its location; however, this dude gave a whole new meaning to the “Armpit of Africa” after a 12 hour flight-ugh! I would have to sincerely argue that the “armpit” exists everywhere and not just Cameroon after getting a whiff of him and later passengers…Peeyew!!

The time difference in Ethiopia vs. home is +8 hours, so when we landed in Addis Ababa at 10 am, it was 2 am at home. I had to go through a very lax security, which I nearly walked around looking for the hotel waiting area. Airport security is not even close to American airport security, which is why I nearly walked right around it. I would’ve been tackled by this time if I would’ve been in an American airport-lol.

The weather was perfect, in the 70s, when we got outside to the airport shuttle. On the way to the hotel, I am immediately exposed to the first signs of the poor in Ethiopia, as well as the poor roads, run down stores and businesses, and poor landscape in general. There are no traffic lights or lines on the roads, so people just wing it and somehow manage to avoid accidents.  Raleigh traffic suddenly wasn’t looking so bad after the ride to the hotel…

At the Riviera Hotel, I met some new friends from the states. We all shared 2 taxis and went downtown to cash our vouchers at the EA offices. On the way downtown, I saw many, many slums. It is quite sad that people live in such squander, and the stench in the slums is horrible due to no sanitation. At the EA offices, many solicitors hung outside the building in the hopes of selling us a map, pirated DVDs or whatnot. As white Americans or really white in general, we attract the poor who assume we are all rich.

After we left the EA office, a few of us decided to go to the local museum. The museum was quite small, and you could tell the people were proud of it. The building was beautiful, and I estimated it to be about 25 years old by the damages inside (cracks, peeling walls, etc.). The building was only 10 years old! I came to the realization as to how simple the African architecture is and that the building materials here are not even close to the quality of American buildings (depending on the builders that is!). Riding in the taxi over to the museum, I particularly noted the log scaffolds used for building. There were many, many abandoned buildings that we passed surrounded by log scaffolding. One can’t help but wonder why they were never completed. While riding in the taxi, we were told not to take pictures of the president’s home or any government buildings. If caught taking pics of them, your film or disks will be confiscated.

Fried fish, various salads, meat dishes, fresh bread, etc., was served buffet-style at the hotel for dinner. All of us were so exhausted from traveling that most of us were ready to crash about 7:30. Somehow I managed to stay up until 10:15, so as not to screw up my sleeping schedule too badly. I had to be up at 6 am to get ready, eat breakfast and then be picked up for the airport by 7.

Visa

The visa has arrived. I repeat, the visa has arrived. :)

Will the Cameroon visa arrive in time?

In order to do an internship with The Humanity Exchange in Cameroon, I had to apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy of Cameroon. When applying, one has to have an official invitation letter from the organization you're volunteering from. I didn't get my invitation letter until the first week of Dec., so as soon as I received it, I sent off my application with the letter and other 100 items required to go with it (2 applications, 2 separate money orders for visa and application fee, passport, travel itineraries, etc.).  I had not yet received the visa or my passport(!) as of last week and have been calling the Embassy nearly daily trying to get a person on the phone. Either no one answered or I received the v-mail box stating that the box is full.

I finally got ahold of someone yesterday and was told that he had not yet seen my application-yikes! I left the guy my name and explained that I was supposed to leave for Cameroon this Sunday, but that I had not yet heard anything. He told me to call back today (really dude?). I just got off the phone with him, and he said it was in Fedex's hands and scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I'm thinking that my finally being able to talk to a real person two days in a row now at the Embassy that this was all truly meant to be. Thank you, God!

I am literally shaking with excitement and have still like what seems 100 errands to run. Let's hope FedEx comes through for me tomorrow!