We had to leave Ngaoundéré at 5:30 AM in order to arrive early enough to see animals. It felt just like a ski trip, and it was really cool to walk through the city to our meeting place while the call to prayer was going and people were making their way to the mosques.
Once we got to the park, we saw our first animals surprisingly quickly: giraffes! Later we saw antelopes, monkeys, some really pretty birds, and lots of hippos.
We also got to take turns riding on the roof of our van, with 5 to 6 people at a time enjoying the breeze, scanning for animals, and dodging tree branches. It was a lot of fun, especially because the road was bumpy. It could be very painful at times, though!
Everyone I've takled to about Northern Cameroon have stressed that it's really hot, and they were right. We were boiling in the van towards midday, and we probably could have made tea with our water. Luckily, an inpromptu water fight with my three youngest sisters later that day cooled me down.
Saturday was amazing as well. A Nigerian dignitary was visiting the lamidot (local chief), and there was a big celebration to welcome him. There was a lot of really great music with drums, balafons, long trumpets, and mandolin-like instruments. It was all very North African-sounding, and I couldn't help but be reminded of some Balkan Beat Box songs. There were also a lot of horses present, with beautiful decorations and riders is traditional costumes.
I've been trying to get pictures of my new hair, but it's been difficult. Here's a view from the back as well as all the hair that was cut off:
Also, my youngest host sister is officially the cutest girl ever. Here she made a traditional baby sling for her teddy bear and pretending that my water is another baby. To bad I can't figure out how to rotate it on this website:
And here's a picture of some friends making knives:
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