"Bonne Année!!!"

Happy New Year!!!!
Or as they say here "Bonne Année!!!"

Can’t believe it's already 2008, hey, I return in 2009...time is flying no?
This past week has been relatively low key (aka: no work!) but it's expected here around the holidays, no one does much of anything! I spent New Years with fellow volunteers and had a wonderful time. We hung out with a volunteer's counterpart who is 25 and absolutely hilarious, and we had some of the most in depth conversations I've had in French thus far (read: politics, history, perceptions of other cultures...). We ended up attending a wedding, where we were for the New Year's countdown. This was my favorite wedding I have been to thus far, since we only did the reception part of it, we just ate and danced. Playing token white people at anything official in Cameroon we were the most popular people there: having a camera to take pictures, being the most awkward dancers. After New Year's Day I left Ebolowa to come to Cameroon to have a dentist appointment. Everything went fine and the dentist spoke English, which was kind of a relief to me. I don't know too many words to say "Hi, I chipped my tooth, I think I have a cavity, my gums hurt...etc...". Ah French vocabulary...everything turned out well, she sanded my tooth and then had me come to her office so we could "chat"...and imagine what was comes flying down the wall, under the desk and at my feet...a cockroach!!! Seriously, these guys love me, everywhere I go.

Other things: I was told that I smile too much at all the wrong times...and I thought people here were just rude a lot...apparently I'm just too nice! I had to describe how Americans are taught to smile and brush things off so as to not get upset and display anger to people we don't know very well. This wasn't understood and I was told that for people to take me seriously I need to stop being so smiley...I don't want to! :>) Ha-ha

The volunteers who come to shop in Ebolowa, and I have become friends with a lot of the random people in the market...it's kinda nice...2 of the girls got gifts, and one guy got me a gas bottle for my stove for about 10 bucks less than the going rate...good connections! It's crazy how even in a larger city like Ebolowa so many people know our names already...and aside from the "la blanche, le white, and ntangyan" (all terms for white person) that I get called several times a day, Kate is now being added in, which is nice.

I started going for walks around my post mate’s place right before it gets dark (the only relatively cool time of the day) and had a pretty wonderful time when I got accompanied by 2 of the neighborhood kids. I'm not sure who started it, but we spent 45 minutes showing each other all the tricks one can do with their body: cross your eyes, wiggle your ears, spread your fingers apart keeping the outside two together...etc... You would be AMAZED at the number of thing Cameroonians do not know how to do...cross their eyes?! I spent at least 2 years of my childhood doing that alone.

My counterpart is getting excited to start working, which makes me happy...since all we've done thus far even slightly related to work is go visit the Prefet and the Governor's office. When I return to Ebolowa I hope to have him help me finish moving into my house and then do nothing but productive things for...at least a day...big goal, big goals, got to reach high. He did come over one day and scold me for not telling him I was moving my stuff over the first time, he told me it bothered him very much....whoops. He then invited me and 2 other volunteers out for drinks and that was the longest I've ever talked to him for. He's such a cute old guy, and he made me start thinking. He said if I got a dog, he would take care of it for me when I left. I WANT a dog...a constant friend and something living to sleep next to my bed that I trust to help me avoid malaria medicine paranoia...tempting, tempting...I'm going to have to evaluate how Obam cares for animals (all I know so far is he taunts the monkey in the cage outside my house...not a good start Obam...)

Alright, HOPE HOPE HOPE I move in tomorrow...PLEEEEAAASE!!!!

Hope everyone had a great new year! Kate