Hello! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving here was pretty amazing. We had a half day of trainingand then all of us spent the rest of the day making food for ourThanksgiving dinner. I made pies (imagine that) with 3 other girls.We made 2 pumpkin pies (with some sort of squash) and 1 apple pie (with the ONLY 5 apples in the entire city). All with no sharpknives; no pie tins, and no oven. I was impressed with our work andthey were extremely delicious! There was a TON of food...a group killed 10 chickens and we had everything from guacamole to bananacream pudding...it was wonderful. Our band had our first"performance" and that was amazing, I wore a black prom dress looking thing from the 80's that a fellow trainee’s Cameroonian mother gave her and played the tambourines like you’ve never heard them before. It was a great Thanksgiving and it will be a little sad not to be able to have the whole group together to have a repeat of it for Christmas.
Training is almost over...this is my LAST week. I can’t even fathom leaving everyone that I just met 10 weeks ago and I'm startingto get a bit nervous. Add to the fact that I don’t really think my house is finished being built in Ebolowa. I don’t have a key and I don’t know my landlord’s phone number...ha-ha...I’ll let you know. This weekend was the best weekend I’ve had in country so far.
All the agro trainees went with our program director to Riba, an agro forestry center in the Northwest Province. The drive there was another one of those intense travel experiences, and most everyone got very, very car sick, my favorite story (if that’s the rightway to describe someone being ill) was my friend sitting next to me who in the middle of a town we were driving through yells STOP in French; bolts out, vomits in front of a bunch of school children on the side of the road, jumps back in the van and off we go. There was a repeat of this same incident on the way back to Bangangte as well with the same girl. Roads and driving in this country I tell you! One of the PC vehicles also got hit by another car, but a PC Land Rover vs a small red Toyota. The Toyota got totaled and one of our trainers paid them 3000 CFA (about 6 bucks) and apparently that made everything OK and we were off again (everyone was fine; except clearly the Toyota). I took a few great pictures of some of the roads we traveled...I miss blacktop sometimes.
Riba was so far my favorite place in Cameroon. To get there you go through part of the Cameroonian grasslands, through a very mountainous region and much more dry areas than anywhere we have been so far.There were waterfalls everywhere...and it was much cooler and less humid...just all around perfect. We spent one full day at the agro forestry center hiking around and looking at all their different plots; nurseries; etc. We ended our day playing volleyball. You know you're in Africa when your volleyball net posts are made the minute before you use them by cutting down a Eucalyptus tree, chopping it in half and sticking it into the ground ;^). We stayed in a hotel for the 2 nights we spent in the Northwest and.......MY FIRST HOTSHOWER IN CAMEROON!!!! I almost passed out from happiness, I kid you not! We got to eat chicken both nights and FRENCH FRIES and ate tons of watermelon (which is very, very prevalent in the NW) and I just had an overall amazing time with everyone. A few interesting events: a few trainees had chicken eyeball and brain eating contests (I left the room for a bit here, ha-ha) and on the trip back I got to ride in the car with our program director (who is the cutest old man) and he taught us Cameroonian dances by the side of the road (in front of many many onlookers). I asked about cemeteries in Cameroon and he took us to a cemetery in Bamenda (on the trip back) and it was really, really neat (but I always think cemeteries are interesting), they build big tile boxes and have extravagant plantings, etc on them; lastly we got to go to a restaurant and eat salad. Food is always a highlight. The waitress attempted to rip us off by putting all the wrong prices on our bill. I argued with her for several minutes, told her all the right prices and she just kept laughing at me as I continued to tell her that I know we are white people but I can read and add all the same. She thought I was pretty funny and told me when we were leaving that we must not be tourists. I was proud of myself.
Alright, that’s all for now, this week is going to be very, very busy and I probably won’t be able to write for 2 weeks until after I am settled in my new house (hopefully). WISH ME LUCK!!!!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!
My first real holiday in Cameroon...its very strange because it doesn’t feel like time passes with no seasonal change to demarcate it...no changing leaves, no cold temperatures (which I know thrills a lot of you...but I miss it!), no snow (I'm really going to miss snow). I'm thinking of all of you tomorrow for sure and all the wonderful Thanksgivings I've had in the past (last year I think of a lot...all of you family members and all you Wausau kids in Maggie’s van). Ah...have fun and eat some pie for me!
Everything here has been going a little slow lately. We’ve had a lot of sessions that have seemed a little redundant and since it’s getting so close to the end of training a lot of our patience is waning and it’s becoming a bit obvious. Most trainees have reached their language level so the majority of us don’t have language class any more and there is a lot of sitting around being bored and unproductive. In addition there has been 2 early terminations (2 heath trainees decided to go home), one girl got malaria (she’s much better now), and a few thefts and problems with people and their home stay families. Moral has taken a few blows and I think its a good thing we get to move on from training soon. For all of you who were interested, my hairy tongue that I ate was in fact pig skin. Yuck. I did my research and was a bit dismayed by the outcome...don’t eat pig skin! If that’s the one thing you learn from reading this blog I will be satisfied! :^)
My band has been practicing regularly and a few interesting incidents have occurred in the process: my sister brought us out a plate of fruit one day and slid on the muddy slope up to the stairs we were sitting on and fell HARD on her side. It shook me up a bit...made me realize that a close call here (she could have hit her head on the cement steps) is a much closer call than in the states. They probably wouldn’t do much at the hospital...which is kinda far away anyways; especially since there aren’t cars that come very close to the house...just a little scary. I made my brother go get some ice (I’m not sure from where since that was the first ice I’ve seen here) and I gave her an Advil and held her hand. That was about all there was to do and she was fine in the end. It was kinda funny because my family knows I have a PC medical kit and think it contains a magical cure for everything, the second she fell; literally, my mother asks me what medicine I have for it.
Second band practice of the week (we are in hardcore practice mode for our Thanksgiving CONCERT...yes, and I am singing!!!! this is a big deal). We were sitting on my back porch and all the sudden everyone starts running around crazily yelling things that we don’t understand and out of no where we are attacked by a HUGE swarm of very angry bees (in part from the neighbor kid who dressed up like a ninja and was chasing them around with a towel). All 7 of us practicing as well as about 12 people watching ran into the house, slammed the door and killed bees for several minutes. I didn’t get stung but the main singer got stung 6 times on the head and another guy right by his eye. I told the story to my mother, who hadn’t been there, that night and my family kept acting it out and I would play my role by running and yelling around the dining room, which they thought was clearly very hilarious. It was definitely one of the times when I’ve felt like I could finally talk to and participate in the family discussion (even if it was just by being the ridiculous white girl running from bees). I also had another moment one night where skin color got brought up. Here EVERYONE calls you la blanche; la blanche (which means white; white) constantly. My mother asked how I felt about it and I told her it didn’t bother me when strangers did it, but if people knew my name they should use it. She was SOOOO incredibly in accord with this she had a heated debate with the neighbor boy-(the aforementioned ninja) who always called me the American or the white and now he always calls me Miss Kate and hugs me and is buying me bonbons tonight..hahaha one point for the white girl.
Training, aside from sitting around, has had a few good moments, like when we learned Cameroonian dances, and yes; I got named best authentic African dancer (like any of you doubted this anyway) right?! We also have learned how to kill chickens and did so last week for our weekly trainee dinner and will this week as a turkey substitute. I got a little bit bothered by the feet just laying there with no body attached. I don’t know if I will every be able to actually do that by myself. We also went on a field trip to Baham, a nearby village, and did a really neat hike up into an area with huge boulders and caves. It was GORGEOUS, and I took a lot of pictures (when you’ll get to see these remains to be revealed). We were suppose to go to a chefferie (a local chief’s compound) and his museum, but he didn’t show...slightly disappointing but also kinda expected.
I got packages today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Mom and Dad and CC and Heather for the amazing letters and packages, you are wonderful. I haven’t felt the anticipation of those packages since I was about 6 years old on Christmas Eve.
Thinking of you all tomorrow, love from here as usual.
Everything here has been going a little slow lately. We’ve had a lot of sessions that have seemed a little redundant and since it’s getting so close to the end of training a lot of our patience is waning and it’s becoming a bit obvious. Most trainees have reached their language level so the majority of us don’t have language class any more and there is a lot of sitting around being bored and unproductive. In addition there has been 2 early terminations (2 heath trainees decided to go home), one girl got malaria (she’s much better now), and a few thefts and problems with people and their home stay families. Moral has taken a few blows and I think its a good thing we get to move on from training soon. For all of you who were interested, my hairy tongue that I ate was in fact pig skin. Yuck. I did my research and was a bit dismayed by the outcome...don’t eat pig skin! If that’s the one thing you learn from reading this blog I will be satisfied! :^)
My band has been practicing regularly and a few interesting incidents have occurred in the process: my sister brought us out a plate of fruit one day and slid on the muddy slope up to the stairs we were sitting on and fell HARD on her side. It shook me up a bit...made me realize that a close call here (she could have hit her head on the cement steps) is a much closer call than in the states. They probably wouldn’t do much at the hospital...which is kinda far away anyways; especially since there aren’t cars that come very close to the house...just a little scary. I made my brother go get some ice (I’m not sure from where since that was the first ice I’ve seen here) and I gave her an Advil and held her hand. That was about all there was to do and she was fine in the end. It was kinda funny because my family knows I have a PC medical kit and think it contains a magical cure for everything, the second she fell; literally, my mother asks me what medicine I have for it.
Second band practice of the week (we are in hardcore practice mode for our Thanksgiving CONCERT...yes, and I am singing!!!! this is a big deal). We were sitting on my back porch and all the sudden everyone starts running around crazily yelling things that we don’t understand and out of no where we are attacked by a HUGE swarm of very angry bees (in part from the neighbor kid who dressed up like a ninja and was chasing them around with a towel). All 7 of us practicing as well as about 12 people watching ran into the house, slammed the door and killed bees for several minutes. I didn’t get stung but the main singer got stung 6 times on the head and another guy right by his eye. I told the story to my mother, who hadn’t been there, that night and my family kept acting it out and I would play my role by running and yelling around the dining room, which they thought was clearly very hilarious. It was definitely one of the times when I’ve felt like I could finally talk to and participate in the family discussion (even if it was just by being the ridiculous white girl running from bees). I also had another moment one night where skin color got brought up. Here EVERYONE calls you la blanche; la blanche (which means white; white) constantly. My mother asked how I felt about it and I told her it didn’t bother me when strangers did it, but if people knew my name they should use it. She was SOOOO incredibly in accord with this she had a heated debate with the neighbor boy-(the aforementioned ninja) who always called me the American or the white and now he always calls me Miss Kate and hugs me and is buying me bonbons tonight..hahaha one point for the white girl.
Training, aside from sitting around, has had a few good moments, like when we learned Cameroonian dances, and yes; I got named best authentic African dancer (like any of you doubted this anyway) right?! We also have learned how to kill chickens and did so last week for our weekly trainee dinner and will this week as a turkey substitute. I got a little bit bothered by the feet just laying there with no body attached. I don’t know if I will every be able to actually do that by myself. We also went on a field trip to Baham, a nearby village, and did a really neat hike up into an area with huge boulders and caves. It was GORGEOUS, and I took a lot of pictures (when you’ll get to see these remains to be revealed). We were suppose to go to a chefferie (a local chief’s compound) and his museum, but he didn’t show...slightly disappointing but also kinda expected.
I got packages today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Mom and Dad and CC and Heather for the amazing letters and packages, you are wonderful. I haven’t felt the anticipation of those packages since I was about 6 years old on Christmas Eve.
Thinking of you all tomorrow, love from here as usual.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Teasing the MEAN monkey!
Hello all!
I am currently writing this on a friend's computer, and I am extremely excited about the English keyboard and my ability to take my time typing and making sure I get to say all that I want to say! Where to start…SOOOO much happened in the past week, it feels like an eternity has gone by since I last posted here! I started out the week leaving Bangante on Sunday with my counterpart and a group of other volunteers who were all headed to either the South or the East provinces (not many of us in actuality). I take a pretty crowded van down to Yaounde and then a REALLY NICE bus (actually seats and only one person per seat) to Ebolowa…and the roads are paved…and super nice, so that's excellent! From Ebolowa to my house (and the beginning of my village) it's only a ten minute motto ride…and it's beautiful! To get to my house you head out between two steep hills on either side of the road covered in trees…it's definitely jungle. My house is one in a group of three apartments right at a fork in the road, I don't really have many neighbors, but I am right next to my landlord’s house (he pretty much built these apartments in his yard…thus I'm sad because I don't have a yard of my own, but I'm going to do some bribing via fresh produce and get him to let me make a garden in his yard). My landlord is a retired military official, AND I am directly…and I mean, directly, across the street from a Gendarmerie (a police station), thus don't be too concerned about my safety! And if that's not enough for you…I have a pretty fierce monkey in a cage in my front yard as well…which my counterpart enjoys taunting, this is interesting.
I spent my week driving around on the back of my counterpart's motto being introduced to absolutely anyone and everyone in the village, to sum it up I met: police, the mayor/school principle, hospital staff, nursery (plant nursery that is) employees, many Ministry of Agriculture employees, village farmers, a woman who makes chocolate (who I want to work with…for obvious reasons), gendarmes, my supervisor Hans (who is a the Ministry of Agriculture delegate for rural and community development, which sounds pretty important), among other random people. I also went to see a water project that had been completed in a neighboring village and got to hike out to a GORGEOUS area in the middle of the rainforest with waterfalls, and oh my god I wanted to swim so badly I nearly subjected myself to whatever parasites I would supposedly get just to do so. I also attended a meeting with an organization from Yaounde, ANAFOR, which is an Agro Forestry NGO and I had dinner with a lot of different people: my supervisor, some neighbors of the volunteer I was staying with, some French missionaries, a women’s HIV/AIDS group, etc… My counterpart (Oscar Obam) has told people I am his child "Kate Obam"...so just call me that from this point on
For the first 4 nights at my site I stayed with the current health volunteer in Ebolowa, Lindsey. We got along excellently and she was SOOO knowledgeable about pretty much everything in town. She was finishing her service the week I was there, so I helped her pack up her house and she moved out on Thursday. We took all her stuff to our Post mate’s house (the education volunteer who also lives in Ebolowa) Rachel, and stayed there for another night. On Friday a health volunteer in my training group, Kim (who lives about 45 minutes from me to the north) came down and met up with us. Rachel, Lindsey, Kim and I all got in a car to head out en Brousse (into the bush) to go to meet up with a health volunteer and 2 trainees in my training group in Mvanga (which is only about 30 some miles from the border of Gabon). This car ride was, to say the least, interesting…14 plus a baby in a car, 7 in the back seat where I got stuck…3 hours…incredibly bad dirt roads…I think I stopped feeling every part of my body. Wow. I choose to forget about this experience!
Upon arrival in Mvanga we spent Saturday at a wedding. This wedding was also the traditional ceremony but very unlike the one I went to previously, a lot more dancing and I wasn't forced to sit in the 2 nd row again (however they did bring us a couch OUTSIDE so that we were more comfortable...they are very concerned about uncomfortable white people). I ended up getting sick this day, so I ended up hanging out at the volunteer's house the rest of the night and running back and forth to the pit latrine in the middle of the night...ha-ha...its actually kind of funny because the malaria medication I am on makes me slightly paranoid and I spend a lot of time thinking little noises are actually things like wild boars and getting very worked up about it(which by the way I don’t think even exist here)...and this happened to me many times in the pit latrine. This isn’t as bad as some other trainees stories of anti-malaria paranoia however...there are some good ones!
I also had a lot of bad luck...my permanent retainer broke off of one side of my teeth stabbed me in the tongue for a week until I ripped it out (I am very strong) and then I chipped my molar while eating some delicious caramel peanuts (don’t worry mom or dentist-to-be Brad because it was just a little bit and it just felt weird for a while and I’m getting it checked out); and THEN my camera broke...it just beeped and froze and the screen turned white...and I think I fixed it temporarily...but well see...that was the most depressing thing for me :^( our trip back from Mvanga began at 2 am (the only time a vehicle leaves from this town) and we packed over 26 people into a van and did not arrive back in Ebolowa until 9 am...this is also a period of time I would like to never repeat. I have one word for the entire weekend OWWW! Upon return to Ebolowa I made it up to Yaounde by 4 pm but was SO incredibly dead I decided to stay there in the CASE, which is like a peace corps hostel...and REALLY nice, but clearly the electricity was out when we arrived...so no hot shower yet...but really clean sheets and we ate pizza and ice cream and Twix bars, definitely an even trade.
I brought back gifts for my family...a wooden carving for my mother ( a little statue of a woman) and she has carried it around with her for the past 3 days talking about how beautiful it is constantly and kissing me EVERY time I come home...apparently it was a good gift idea!? Ha-ha... I also received "beeps" (which is when someone calls your cell phone and hangs up really fast so it just rings once) from my mother or one of my sisters every day that I was away! Lastly; my mother is making grandiose plans of visiting me in Ebolowa because she is very concerned with my ability to cook for myself...she plans to come for 2 days "do nothing but cook" and then leave...ha-ha we'll see about that.
And last, but obviously not least, I have eaten so much meat a lot of you in the states won’t even believe me! Beef and chicken and then last night my mother tried to slip in some "pork" which tasted like a hairy tongue and I don’t think it was actual pork at all...that was the first time I couldn’t finish something...it’s like fear factor every day :^)
Alright...once again MISS YOU ALL
I am currently writing this on a friend's computer, and I am extremely excited about the English keyboard and my ability to take my time typing and making sure I get to say all that I want to say! Where to start…SOOOO much happened in the past week, it feels like an eternity has gone by since I last posted here! I started out the week leaving Bangante on Sunday with my counterpart and a group of other volunteers who were all headed to either the South or the East provinces (not many of us in actuality). I take a pretty crowded van down to Yaounde and then a REALLY NICE bus (actually seats and only one person per seat) to Ebolowa…and the roads are paved…and super nice, so that's excellent! From Ebolowa to my house (and the beginning of my village) it's only a ten minute motto ride…and it's beautiful! To get to my house you head out between two steep hills on either side of the road covered in trees…it's definitely jungle. My house is one in a group of three apartments right at a fork in the road, I don't really have many neighbors, but I am right next to my landlord’s house (he pretty much built these apartments in his yard…thus I'm sad because I don't have a yard of my own, but I'm going to do some bribing via fresh produce and get him to let me make a garden in his yard). My landlord is a retired military official, AND I am directly…and I mean, directly, across the street from a Gendarmerie (a police station), thus don't be too concerned about my safety! And if that's not enough for you…I have a pretty fierce monkey in a cage in my front yard as well…which my counterpart enjoys taunting, this is interesting.
I spent my week driving around on the back of my counterpart's motto being introduced to absolutely anyone and everyone in the village, to sum it up I met: police, the mayor/school principle, hospital staff, nursery (plant nursery that is) employees, many Ministry of Agriculture employees, village farmers, a woman who makes chocolate (who I want to work with…for obvious reasons), gendarmes, my supervisor Hans (who is a the Ministry of Agriculture delegate for rural and community development, which sounds pretty important), among other random people. I also went to see a water project that had been completed in a neighboring village and got to hike out to a GORGEOUS area in the middle of the rainforest with waterfalls, and oh my god I wanted to swim so badly I nearly subjected myself to whatever parasites I would supposedly get just to do so. I also attended a meeting with an organization from Yaounde, ANAFOR, which is an Agro Forestry NGO and I had dinner with a lot of different people: my supervisor, some neighbors of the volunteer I was staying with, some French missionaries, a women’s HIV/AIDS group, etc… My counterpart (Oscar Obam) has told people I am his child "Kate Obam"...so just call me that from this point on
For the first 4 nights at my site I stayed with the current health volunteer in Ebolowa, Lindsey. We got along excellently and she was SOOO knowledgeable about pretty much everything in town. She was finishing her service the week I was there, so I helped her pack up her house and she moved out on Thursday. We took all her stuff to our Post mate’s house (the education volunteer who also lives in Ebolowa) Rachel, and stayed there for another night. On Friday a health volunteer in my training group, Kim (who lives about 45 minutes from me to the north) came down and met up with us. Rachel, Lindsey, Kim and I all got in a car to head out en Brousse (into the bush) to go to meet up with a health volunteer and 2 trainees in my training group in Mvanga (which is only about 30 some miles from the border of Gabon). This car ride was, to say the least, interesting…14 plus a baby in a car, 7 in the back seat where I got stuck…3 hours…incredibly bad dirt roads…I think I stopped feeling every part of my body. Wow. I choose to forget about this experience!
Upon arrival in Mvanga we spent Saturday at a wedding. This wedding was also the traditional ceremony but very unlike the one I went to previously, a lot more dancing and I wasn't forced to sit in the 2 nd row again (however they did bring us a couch OUTSIDE so that we were more comfortable...they are very concerned about uncomfortable white people). I ended up getting sick this day, so I ended up hanging out at the volunteer's house the rest of the night and running back and forth to the pit latrine in the middle of the night...ha-ha...its actually kind of funny because the malaria medication I am on makes me slightly paranoid and I spend a lot of time thinking little noises are actually things like wild boars and getting very worked up about it(which by the way I don’t think even exist here)...and this happened to me many times in the pit latrine. This isn’t as bad as some other trainees stories of anti-malaria paranoia however...there are some good ones!
I also had a lot of bad luck...my permanent retainer broke off of one side of my teeth stabbed me in the tongue for a week until I ripped it out (I am very strong) and then I chipped my molar while eating some delicious caramel peanuts (don’t worry mom or dentist-to-be Brad because it was just a little bit and it just felt weird for a while and I’m getting it checked out); and THEN my camera broke...it just beeped and froze and the screen turned white...and I think I fixed it temporarily...but well see...that was the most depressing thing for me :^( our trip back from Mvanga began at 2 am (the only time a vehicle leaves from this town) and we packed over 26 people into a van and did not arrive back in Ebolowa until 9 am...this is also a period of time I would like to never repeat. I have one word for the entire weekend OWWW! Upon return to Ebolowa I made it up to Yaounde by 4 pm but was SO incredibly dead I decided to stay there in the CASE, which is like a peace corps hostel...and REALLY nice, but clearly the electricity was out when we arrived...so no hot shower yet...but really clean sheets and we ate pizza and ice cream and Twix bars, definitely an even trade.
I brought back gifts for my family...a wooden carving for my mother ( a little statue of a woman) and she has carried it around with her for the past 3 days talking about how beautiful it is constantly and kissing me EVERY time I come home...apparently it was a good gift idea!? Ha-ha... I also received "beeps" (which is when someone calls your cell phone and hangs up really fast so it just rings once) from my mother or one of my sisters every day that I was away! Lastly; my mother is making grandiose plans of visiting me in Ebolowa because she is very concerned with my ability to cook for myself...she plans to come for 2 days "do nothing but cook" and then leave...ha-ha we'll see about that.
And last, but obviously not least, I have eaten so much meat a lot of you in the states won’t even believe me! Beef and chicken and then last night my mother tried to slip in some "pork" which tasted like a hairy tongue and I don’t think it was actual pork at all...that was the first time I couldn’t finish something...it’s like fear factor every day :^)
Alright...once again MISS YOU ALL
Monday, November 5, 2007
Kates' PC Posting
Alright, just to quickly let everyone know so you can do my research for me on my new home for the next two years. I'm in Ebolowa in the South Province. I am EXTREMELY excited about this job. I’m working with a GIC (a small organization) and it sounds like I’ll be focusing on stopping the spread of slash and burn agriculture and medicinal plants. The South Province is one of the most "undeveloped" areas in the country...as a volunteer described to me. My house (which is BRAND new apparently) is at the end of the road where the village ends and the jungle begins. So I'm pretty much placed exactly where I envisioned and doing something that I am very, very interested in. A lot of other posts are very focused on agriculture; and I’m excited because mine seems a lot more natural resource conservation oriented IE: right up my alley. I met my counterpart yesterday and yesterday and today we are having a workshop with all the Ag volunteers and counterparts. He’s very nice so far...kind of quiet and when I try to make jokes they seem to get lost in translation a lot (as usual) but we’ve been working well together thus far. I was lucky because there is a health volunteer currently in my town and she happened to be in Bangangte at our training for the past week so she gave me lots of details and I will get to stay with her while on site visit, which makes it a bit easier for me. However, I am opening my post...meaning I am the first Ag volunteer there...this should be a bit challenging; and since the south a about 50 years (or so they say) behind in "development" introducing some of these new techniques may be a tad difficult. I am also located about 2 hours (only during the dry season however, when the road is open) from Kribi which I a touristy beach town...I’m going to go for Christmas ;^) and 2 hours from Yaoundé (where the PC headquarters is and the airport) very convenient. Plus I’m at the edge of the provincial capital of the south...so the best of all worlds in my eyes! Alright, tis all for now! Wish me luck!
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Kate's Posting
Note from Dad:
Sue and I talked to Kate on Saturday, 11-3-2007. She left for her posting the next day and maybe unavailable for the week that follows as she visits there, so I am posting for her. Kate is excited about her posting; she will be living in a small village called Ngalane. This village is right outside the South Provincial Capital of Ebolowa. Ebolowa is a town of about 50,000 (Kate is skeptical about their population estimates) people made up of the Bulu people. It is located in a lush green valley on an artificial lake. Kate’s posting consists of working with the local people on slash & burn sites and none timber forest products. This is a new posting as the Peace Corp is expanding into southern Cameroon and has not had an individual posted there before, so it will be challenging. Her house is brand new and is at the end of the road and the start of the deep dark jungle.
This area is the ancestral home of the “pygmys’ who still have forest encampments in the area. Ebolowa is about a two hour drive south of the Capital Yaounde and a few hours drive from the Atlantic Coastal town of Kribi and is accessible to visit. Kribi evidently is a beautiful town with white sandy beaches & palm trees. Between Ebolowa and Kribi is a the National Park Camp Ma ‘an. This is a wild park with gorilla, forest elephants, lions, leopards and all the other fun African Wildlife. East of this town at some distance is a World Heritage Site call Die Reserve (believe it is a forest reserve). I believe Kate’s nearest PCVolunteer will be posted about 30 miles away. She is friendly with this girl and shares a passion for needle crafts. This is about as much as I know about her posting. We look forward to hearing from Kate about it after her week stay there.
Sue and I talked to Kate on Saturday, 11-3-2007. She left for her posting the next day and maybe unavailable for the week that follows as she visits there, so I am posting for her. Kate is excited about her posting; she will be living in a small village called Ngalane. This village is right outside the South Provincial Capital of Ebolowa. Ebolowa is a town of about 50,000 (Kate is skeptical about their population estimates) people made up of the Bulu people. It is located in a lush green valley on an artificial lake. Kate’s posting consists of working with the local people on slash & burn sites and none timber forest products. This is a new posting as the Peace Corp is expanding into southern Cameroon and has not had an individual posted there before, so it will be challenging. Her house is brand new and is at the end of the road and the start of the deep dark jungle.
This area is the ancestral home of the “pygmys’ who still have forest encampments in the area. Ebolowa is about a two hour drive south of the Capital Yaounde and a few hours drive from the Atlantic Coastal town of Kribi and is accessible to visit. Kribi evidently is a beautiful town with white sandy beaches & palm trees. Between Ebolowa and Kribi is a the National Park Camp Ma ‘an. This is a wild park with gorilla, forest elephants, lions, leopards and all the other fun African Wildlife. East of this town at some distance is a World Heritage Site call Die Reserve (believe it is a forest reserve). I believe Kate’s nearest PCVolunteer will be posted about 30 miles away. She is friendly with this girl and shares a passion for needle crafts. This is about as much as I know about her posting. We look forward to hearing from Kate about it after her week stay there.
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