Me Against the Grasshoppers

Not to worry, no news is good news here in Cameroon. I have almost six months here and I hate to say it but it doesn’t feel like it. The days have blurred together and it feels like less. It has been the longest time since I have seen my family and good friends. It often feels like the rest of the world is frozen in time and waiting for me while I am figuring things out here. I have officially decided to go steady with Meiganga. I have pledged my commitment, gone to first base and tried to meet all the parents. It is a pretty good fit and I see a bright future full of kids, birthdays and twilight strolls home.
The real love affair is with my garden. Now I might be the last to figure it out, but gardening is quite the exhilarating act. Each morning I jump out of bed to see what new development has taken place during the dog-howling night. It kicked my ass to get started, but since the moment I saw the first green head pop up, I have had my nose in my gardening book and have declared war against grasshoppers. All of my friends and neighbors are so supportive. My “future sister-in-law” even brought some sproutings of a spinach-like vegetable from her garden, to share with me. Everyone has some tip and wants to show me their own. As a community largely based in agriculture, with almost every family maintaining a garden on their own, it has helped me to fit in here. I can’t wait until things are ready and I can show all the new products I brought over from the States.
Mango season has begun and my eyes are glued to the sky. Way before they are ready to eat, they are plucked from above. It is the post-school activity to pillage the trees. The tactic: throw rocks or punch the branches with a long stick. Either way, my computer students can’t wait to get out of class and chase them down. It is raining mangos. I have a tree right outside of my garden, but none seem to be ready yet. I am hoping to leverage free reign on the fruit with neighborhood kids to get them to do the grunt work.
The international day of women just passed. There are several national holidays per year celebrating youth, teachers or women. I would large the largest component of them is matching pagne and marching. I was warned several weeks ahead of time that the pagne is a necessary purchase. So I jumped on the bandwagon and crafted a stylish frock. The fabric has pictures of women doing different tasks, with words honoring their presence in Cameroonian society. The day of the holiday I took a motto to my friend’s house. Although it was somewhat early morning, to my horror not a single female was sporting the blue, pink or green fabric. My first thought was oh man they played a prank on the new white chick. Fortunately, heading to the main stadium in the center of town I found myself in a sea of matching ensembles. Different women’s groups marched past the town’s officials, really just showing off how creative Cameroonian women get. There were some dogs sporting the pagne and several groups of cross-dressing men which even coming from San Francisco was quite delightful. Then the real party began in bar row. These women know how to celebrate! I joined some friends for a drink around noon and the place was busting with dancing, drinking, singing, eating, breast-feeding and general noise. The women who usually rest at home had their day in the sun and it was great to observe. I had to cut out early however, feeling like quite the lame duck. Surrounded by the energy of the women, I felt like the little sister sipping her glass of milk.
Work can feel like an uphill battle. Just figuring out where to work, what do with them and communicating it all can leave a girl exhausted. I started training on how to evaluate and plan for development projects with several community groups I became connected with. It is something that volunteers usually just do, but I wanted to teach it to a few members, who would then complete the exercises with their groups. Without the help of my counterpart explaining everything over again after I said it, it wouldn’t have gone over so well. But I think everyone grasped the importance of it. Now I have started meetings where they teach the material. It is quite interesting to see the translation. I have continued work at the hospital, pre-natal consults and organizing the pharmacy. I have been teaching a computer class at the women’s center. I tried to pair it with a life skills/future-planning class, but discussion based/critical analysis with the girls didn’t go over well. I have to change things up somehow. No idea. But they seem to really enjoy the computers. I am sure much like English, teaching something that I grew up doing can be extremely difficult. How to use the mouse and open and close windows is a whole new ballgame. Especially being quite the computer illiterate person I am. Exploring some options working with a radio station and there will be new volunteer here in August for small enterprise development, so hopefully we can collaborate.
Walking over to use the internet today I was again used a tool of fear. It is a common practice here, next to the smiling faces and children running to greet me, people will sometimes bring their small toddlers over to me, causing an incredible sensation of fear. They start to cry and squire to get out of it. It is odd to be so feared, even with the friendliest smile.
I have probably mentioned the love of female hair styling here before, but it can often completely change the identity of someone. On a monthly, sometimes weekly basis, women will change their weave or wig. Long hair becomes short, purple becomes blond. This renders them completely unrecognizable and I often take second looks just to spot a good friend. I don’t know how they do it, or where they get them from, but you never know what version of your friend will show up at your door.

Guess that’s all I can come up with for now. The dust is begining to settle, welcoming the rains, which I can't wait for. I will have a new roomate soon. A new kitty will join me after our in-service training in Maroua. Ideas for names? I waiting to see what I can channel upon our meeting. I will post some photos soon. I miss everyone so much and look forward to everyone’s news, even the smallest bits.