This song called "I'm coming home" plays on TRACE (the music video channel) all the time. It has this depressing tone, and it sort of makes me think of this week, because this week, though a good one, was also a long process of mentally and literally saying goodbye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWYOXKx3OGU
Thursday May 5th
More ISP presentations today! I was worried these two days would be a drag, but they’ve been quite interesting. Today we had…
1.Allison: Internship with this really cool sounding NGO in Kribi that dabbles in a bit of everything (helping people with HIV/AIDS, giving microcredit loans, looking to start an orphanage…)
2. Laurel: the dual function of CIGs (groups of farmers)—economic and social
3.Rachel: elementary math education in Cameroon (guess what the average class size is. SIXTY.)
4.Rebecca: Spent the month learning woodcarving. I’m not even kidding. She made 2 stools, and they’re incredible!
5. Janelle: changing trends in age gaps in marriages in Ngaoundere
Friday May 6th
Daytime activities included: printing/binding French version of ISP, delivering ISP to Heifer, and preparing for the end-of-the-semester par-tay.
Also, I ran into a couple of 15 year-old Americans. WHAT are you doing here?? I wondered. Turns out their parents work for UNICEF ; they live here and have for a couple years. I tried to tell them how lucky they are…I hope they get it.
We had a ‘the end!’ party with our families tonight, and everyone had a really good time. Granted, getting there was a bit of a hassle thanks to “Cameroonian time”--the party began at 18h. When I told my mom I was going to get ready at 17h20, she said ‘why?’. Magnus didn’t get home till after 18h, and then he had to change the lock on the door before we could go (granted, this is sort of my fault: yesterday I broke the key. IN the lock. Uh-oh.)
Anyhoo, the evening began with speeches (read: Maria weeping), and then moved on to food and entertainment. We performed the dance we had learned awhile back for our families, had a fashion show of all of our sweet Cameroonian clothing, played some games, and watched a slideshow of pictures. Naturally the evening ended with some time on the dance floor. Also with all the students gossiping about how their parents were making them smuggle the extra wine home.
Today was definitely a “I’m not ready to go!!” day.
Saturday May 7
Upon completion of my exit French exam, my semester is officially over! Guess that means I’m a senior?
Tonight we students [plus some Cameroonians] went and hung out at Laurel’s, which is conveniently immediately behind my apartment. We chatted, ate Pringles (!!), wrote ‘warm fuzzies’ to each other, and got our groove on. Good times!
Sunday May 8
Last mass in Cameroon!
When we got home we realized we were locked out of the apartment. Not because we didn’t have the key, but because the deadbolt that slides into the floor had somehow fallen while we were gone…Magnus found a kid to scale up the balcony. Typical.
The housecleaner/cook brought over a ‘village girl’ she knows, as instructed by my host parents. They’re seeking out a live-in nanny. They were a little disappointed that she’s already 20, but she starts tomorrow nonetheless. The amount of personal help that middle class families here can afford is so wild to me, but it makes sense, because labor is dirt cheap. She’s going to make $40 a month, and her sister is going to come to pick up $30 each month to send back to the nanny’s child in the village. Wait, why can’t she send it? “Because if she leaves the house she will get pregnant again.” –Magnus.
I hung out with Rodrigue all afternoon. First we had to go visit his sister, because she wanted to “garde” me something (give me a gift). This is an example of how crazy-nice people are here. I met this woman once and she Insisted not only on giving me this giant bottle of “arachides” (peanuts), but on feeding me too.
Then we decided to go visit Minnie, another Heifer employee. It was fun to meet her 4 and 6-year old boys, because she talks about them a lot; they have a really loving little family. She, too, insisted that we eat. (Whew!) It was really good meat…I found out afterwards that it was LIVER. Ah!
Broke curfew again…good thing we’re going home soon, because this is quickly becoming a habit…oops.
We spontaneously had a Copp Family conference call via skype (Maria in Yaoundé, Johnny at Yale, the rest of the gang in T-Town). It was a little silly I suppose, since I’ll be seeing them so shortly, but it was a good reminder that part of me does want to go home. Tomorrow’s my last FULL day in Cameroon (for now!).
Monday May 9
Spent the day at school watching one last ISP presentation [Ashley: distribution of antiviral drugs (for AIDS) in Cameroon], writing evaluations of the program, and having re-entry prep [more on this to come on a later date]. Not everyone’s leaving on my flight out tomorrow, so I had to say goodbyes to nearly half of my friends. Unreal.
Back at home, Rodrigue came to give me my voice recorder back and say goodbye. Then my friend Helene from Dschang (who braided my hair) came to visit, because she’s in Yaoundé for a few days. Look, I have friends!
*Leaving Tuesday, but there are more important blog posts to come! Don’t quit now!
