I've just returned from Kribi, where I spent the last three days (Tuesday-Thursday). Kribi is located ont the beach, so this was the closest thing to a spring break that us SITers are going to have.
The hotel that we stayed at was located literally on the beach, so the first thing that everyone did after the 4 hour drive from Yaounde was to jump in the ocean. The water was REALLY warm; it was definitely hard to believe that it's the same Atlantic that's so cold in New England. There were also some pretty big waves, and it was a lot of fun to swim and to play frisbee in the water.
Typical of any beachside town, the food consisted largely of fish. I wouldn't say that I like fish, but the fish I ate in Kribi was AMAZING. I even liked the plantains-dinner in Kribi the first night was the only time that I have enjoyed eating plantains.
During our second day in Kribi we visited two pygmy camps. These weren't really camps in any traditional sense of the word. The first was a cluster of maybe 2 or 3 houses right alongside a road, while the second was one house set back from some Bantu (non-pygmy) houses. In each area we got to ask questions with the help of an interpretor. It was definitely an interesting experience, although these pygmies were quite modernized (comparatively) and hadn't lived in the forests for at least a decade. One group was Christian, and except for a few of the women they were normal-sized.
I spent the rest of the trip on the beach, either swimming, playing frisbee, or just hanging out. We headed back to Yaounde on Thursday, and I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Pope, who was in town for a few days. I was in Kribi for the majority of his stay, but he drove past my house (which is on a fairly large road near where he was staying) a few hours after I got back. I have to say, the popemobile was a lot larger than I expected it to be!
On Sunday I'll be embarking on a 12-hour train ride to Ngaoundere, where I'll be staying for 2 weeks before starting my Independent Study Project. Ngaoundere has a lot of Muslims and a very different culture than Yaounde or Dschang, so it should be an interesting experience. I'll try to keep you all posted once I find an internet cafe there.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Pictures!
I was finally able to post pictures to facebook. You can see them here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012779&id=1239090093&l=fe020c8819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012783&id=1239090093&l=e4ddc61c28
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012779&id=1239090093&l=fe020c8819
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012783&id=1239090093&l=e4ddc61c28
Friday, March 13, 2009
In Which I Explore the City
I've done a lot of exploring around Yaoundé recently, as the title of this blog suggests. Let me tell you a bit about it!
On Tuesday I went to a really nice park with a few friends. Le Bois de Sainte Anastasie, as it's called, is a great secluded, woody area in the midst of busy Yaoundé. It's also located across the street from a supermarket and boulangerie, so we decided to have a picnic of wine and cheese while we relaxed, listened to music, and play cards. It was a great stress-free activity after a day of class.
Yesterday I hiked up a local mountain (Mt Febe). I don't mean hiking in the traditional sense of the word: a paved road winds its way up the mountain and past a nice hotel located about mid-way up, so we followed this road the whole time. The views were great, and even a sudden burst of mysterious rain (it apparently didn't reach the rest of the city) couldn't ruin the fun. We took advantage of my friend's portable speakers to listen to music while we walked; by chance our group was made up entirely of Jews, so we felt it highly appropriate to listen to my Yiddish hip-hop CD. It was pretty surreal, rocking out to Jew music as we passed Africans along the road.
After our hike we got dinner at a local pizza place. It's geared towards ex-pats so it's a bit expensive, but it was great to have pizza after going so long without it.
On Tuesday I went to a really nice park with a few friends. Le Bois de Sainte Anastasie, as it's called, is a great secluded, woody area in the midst of busy Yaoundé. It's also located across the street from a supermarket and boulangerie, so we decided to have a picnic of wine and cheese while we relaxed, listened to music, and play cards. It was a great stress-free activity after a day of class.
Yesterday I hiked up a local mountain (Mt Febe). I don't mean hiking in the traditional sense of the word: a paved road winds its way up the mountain and past a nice hotel located about mid-way up, so we followed this road the whole time. The views were great, and even a sudden burst of mysterious rain (it apparently didn't reach the rest of the city) couldn't ruin the fun. We took advantage of my friend's portable speakers to listen to music while we walked; by chance our group was made up entirely of Jews, so we felt it highly appropriate to listen to my Yiddish hip-hop CD. It was pretty surreal, rocking out to Jew music as we passed Africans along the road.
After our hike we got dinner at a local pizza place. It's geared towards ex-pats so it's a bit expensive, but it was great to have pizza after going so long without it.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Look, Americans!
Yesterday the SIT-ers went to visit the American Embassy in Yaounde. It was a really strange (yet really nice) experience. Driving up to the embassy, it was amazing how American the building looked in comparison to the rest of the neighborhood. Top it off with the outrageous amounts of security we went through, and it felt just like we were back in the states.
We met the ambassador, who's from Boston, as well as a few other staff members. It was great talking with other Americans who were actually familiar with places that I know. For example, did you know that Salem Hospital (where I was born) donates some of Cameroon's only dialysis machines?
On the way out after our meeting, I stopped for a bathroom break with some other girls. We were absoilutely AMAZED to find soap and toilet paper, and could barely contain our excitement when we realized that the toilets were automatic.
We met the ambassador, who's from Boston, as well as a few other staff members. It was great talking with other Americans who were actually familiar with places that I know. For example, did you know that Salem Hospital (where I was born) donates some of Cameroon's only dialysis machines?
On the way out after our meeting, I stopped for a bathroom break with some other girls. We were absoilutely AMAZED to find soap and toilet paper, and could barely contain our excitement when we realized that the toilets were automatic.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
On the Road Again
These past few days have been really busy, so here's what I've been up to:
Thursday:
The SITers travelled to Batoufam (around 2 hours from Dschang)to meet the chef superieure, an important chief in the area. He showed us around his palace, which was decoratd with a lot of really cool traditional artwork, and told us about his duties as a chief. He also gave us a great lunch which included goat, wine, and champagne mixed with coffee syrup (a great combination).
Friday:
I packed up my things and headed to Bamenda for the weekend. This city is in an anglophone province, so everyone spoke English. However, the accents are very strong and a lot of Pidgin is spoken, so a lot of the time it was easier to understand French than English. Later in the day we met with members of the SCNC, an organzation that wants independence for anglophone Cameroon. The government doesn't like the SCNC (the people we talked to had been arrested a few days before) so the meeting was very last-minute so as to not tip off the wrong people.
Saturday:
Free day! I went shopping for crafts and generally wandering around the city with a few friends. We ate at the Obama restaurant for lunch-slow service, but the name made up for it-and watched pirated Disney movies that some other people had bought in the evening.
Sunday:
We met with John Fru Ndi, the leader of the main oppostion party in Cameroon. After answering our questions he took us to meet a local fon (a chief) at a celebration that his supporters were holding for him. It was cool to meet the chief and to see traditional dancers there, but I definitely got the sense that Fru Ndi really wanted the American students to enhnce his rep.
Monday:
8 hour drive back to Yaoundé-I had forgotten how hot it is here!
A guide to the pictures:
1. The Waterfall at Mamy Wata, near Dschang
2. Neighbors/cousins of my family in Yaoundé
3. My Yaoundé sister Flore and me
4. A view of Yaoundé from the SIT office
5. My room in Yaoundé
Monday, February 23, 2009
Twins, Basil!
Please disregard the Austin Powers reference in this post's title that probably only Beth will appreciate. It's fitting, though, bcause I've decided to study twins for my final research project! The Bamilike, an ethnic group located around Dschang, have a lot of respect for twins and have special ceremonies/titles/etc, so in April I'll be looking into the details and the cause of this cultural significance. It feels nice to finally have a topic for my research; that's one less thing to worry about, at least for the time being.
Now for an update on my weekend:
Saturday was really busy. In the morning all the SIT kids visited a waterfall and some caves. The waterfall was really cool. We hiked through a sacred forest to get to it, and it was really big despite the fact that it's the dry season here. Next we hiked to two caves, a "male" cave and a "female cave." The male cave was more impressive: it as deep with a large, low overhanging ceiling.
After the hikes we all went to our respctive homes to get ready for a night at a club and hotel. We had to get to the hotel by 6:30, and we almost didn't make it because my friends and I ran into a bunch of random people on the way who wanted to talk to us. There was an older guy at a local bar who insisted we hang out for a bit; two students who wanted us to help them practice for the TOEFL; a bar full of friendly older men who wanted to talk to us; and an old woman in the market who kept hoping that God blessed us. Finally we made it to the hotel, where the 17 of us shared 3 rooms (mine had 7 people and only 1 bed!)
We had a great dinner, then headed to a nearby club. Ity was a lot nicer than I was expecting, but we were the youngest people there! The power would occassionally go off, and when it didn't com back on after another outage we figured that it was time to leave.
The ext day we hung around the hotel a bit before heading back to our host families. We found some American TV (The Daily Show!) and it was great to watch something familiar for a change.
I'll be leaving Dschang on Friday, then spending 4 days in Bamenda before returning to Yaounde. We're staying in hotels in Bamenda so it should be a great chance to hang out with the rest of the kids on the program.
Now for an update on my weekend:
Saturday was really busy. In the morning all the SIT kids visited a waterfall and some caves. The waterfall was really cool. We hiked through a sacred forest to get to it, and it was really big despite the fact that it's the dry season here. Next we hiked to two caves, a "male" cave and a "female cave." The male cave was more impressive: it as deep with a large, low overhanging ceiling.
After the hikes we all went to our respctive homes to get ready for a night at a club and hotel. We had to get to the hotel by 6:30, and we almost didn't make it because my friends and I ran into a bunch of random people on the way who wanted to talk to us. There was an older guy at a local bar who insisted we hang out for a bit; two students who wanted us to help them practice for the TOEFL; a bar full of friendly older men who wanted to talk to us; and an old woman in the market who kept hoping that God blessed us. Finally we made it to the hotel, where the 17 of us shared 3 rooms (mine had 7 people and only 1 bed!)
We had a great dinner, then headed to a nearby club. Ity was a lot nicer than I was expecting, but we were the youngest people there! The power would occassionally go off, and when it didn't com back on after another outage we figured that it was time to leave.
The ext day we hung around the hotel a bit before heading back to our host families. We found some American TV (The Daily Show!) and it was great to watch something familiar for a change.
I'll be leaving Dschang on Friday, then spending 4 days in Bamenda before returning to Yaounde. We're staying in hotels in Bamenda so it should be a great chance to hang out with the rest of the kids on the program.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Greetings from Dschang!
This is my third full day in Dschang, a university town in western Cameroon. So far really like it here: it's a lot smaller and more peaceful than Yaounde, plus it's nice to be back on a campus (classes are held at the University of Dschang).
The trip here was fun but long. It was a 6 hour bus ride, with a few stops at some markets along the way. It almost felt like a scene from some movie, driving through the Cameroon countryside with African pop music blaring from the bus's speakers. When the bus stopped for gas, we were surrounded by vendors who sold us fruit through the windows.
My host family here is nice, but a lot different than in Yaounde. I'm living with an empty-nester couple, and two of their grownup granddaughters are visiting. At first I thought the granddaughters were being really rude, since they would only speak in pidgin English around me (it's MUCH different than regular English). Then I realized that the girls were Anglophone, and that Pidgin was the only language that they shared with their grandfather. They're actually really nice: the older girl has been living in MN for around 4 years and is fluent in English. I feel like I'm cheating on the program when I talk to her, though, because I'm not using French!
The trip here was fun but long. It was a 6 hour bus ride, with a few stops at some markets along the way. It almost felt like a scene from some movie, driving through the Cameroon countryside with African pop music blaring from the bus's speakers. When the bus stopped for gas, we were surrounded by vendors who sold us fruit through the windows.
My host family here is nice, but a lot different than in Yaounde. I'm living with an empty-nester couple, and two of their grownup granddaughters are visiting. At first I thought the granddaughters were being really rude, since they would only speak in pidgin English around me (it's MUCH different than regular English). Then I realized that the girls were Anglophone, and that Pidgin was the only language that they shared with their grandfather. They're actually really nice: the older girl has been living in MN for around 4 years and is fluent in English. I feel like I'm cheating on the program when I talk to her, though, because I'm not using French!
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