Yaounde

BONJOUR!! Ca Va! (hello. how are you?)

So day one as a trainee is over. First off; excuse the strange typing... this is a strange keybord. Second; yes people really do carry things around on their heads in West Africa. I saw a boy today carrying a single shoe on his head. *

The PC office is really nice. Thus far everyone - staff and trainees seem really awesome. I have had some good food in Cameroon and some very excellent peanuts! The beer here is decent too - although I am still bummed that I am missing Oktoberfest.

Vaccine count - typhoid and yellow fever (I had already had hepatitus A). Yellow fever wasn't so bad but yellow fever hurts fairly badly a few hours later!

I have officially begun my French learning. Thus far I have mastered the phrase "what is that" in French and not much else. Although with my Rosetta Stone vocab I can name all the clothes a person is wearing. This skill is found quite entertaining by others.

Yaounde has a good temperature - it is cool during the evening and warm during the day. I accually need a light sweater at night. I have been told to enjoy this because it is not the case in the North where I am headed. By Thursday I will be in the North and Thursday night I will be sleeping in the house with my host family. *

I should have a phone soon! Once I do I will post the number - complete with how to dial it.

I am taking Larium as my anti-malarial - this is the PC norm. So far no crazy dreams or anything. I shall keep ya'll posted on how they progress though. I have been assured that this drug is in NO way similiar to Chloriquine which some of you might remember made me insane. As my grandpa would have said "we shall see".

Saddest news though... I think my most favorite bracelett - the one mom and Court got me in Spain - is gone. I was wearing it all day and to dinner and I was playing with the clasp and it must have fallen off someplace. Of course this is the only piece of jewerly I brought that I remotely care about. I knew better than to bring it. But still I am sad. I might find it or get it returned - but I am not counting on it. I am very sad about it.

But my French is growing slowly but surely. I am really anxious for language training to start and really get to improve with classes and living with a Cameroonian host family. Wish me luck with that since we all know that foreign language and spelling are two of my biggest weaknesses.

In Yaounde we qre staying at a hotel that can see the soccer (football here) stadium from the window. We are not really allowed out in Yaounde right now but I took pictures out of the window. I am getting excited for the train ride up to Garoua (pronounced ga roo a) which might be a 16 hour trip but should be really beautiful. I promise pictures as soon as I find a connection that can upload them!

Au Revoir!!!!

Arrived in Cameroon

Alright I am officially in Africa! After being back in the US of A for about 60 hours, getting a yellow fever shot and taking a malaria pill (Larium), I flew back across the ocean to Belgium. From there, we got on a plane to Douala Cameroon - the biggest city and the largest port in West Africa! So far, it is great. The country director (CD) James Han met us at the airport along with a number of other Peace Corps (PC) staff. They took care of everything for us. My luggage arrived and in fact out of all 30 of us, most of whom had two bags, only one bag didn't make it. The hotel staff is amazing. We are staying at the Jet Hotel which is about 10 minutes from the airport. Had a fabulous dinner of fish and plantains... drank some pretty great pineapple juice... and tried my first Cameroonian beer which was brewed locally here in Douala. It was called Isenbeck. I was impressed with it to be honest. It is hot here. It is currently 10pm and from the rooftop bar I can attest to the fact that it is about 85 and super humid. Tomorrow we get on a 4 hour bus ride up to the capital city of Yaounde. We will be there about 3 days and then get on a 16 hour night train to Garoua - the 3rd largest city in Cameroon which is up in the Grand North part of the country.

Alight I promise to keep you as posted as possible with the unreliable electricity - we have been here 2 hours and it has already shut off twice - and the lack of internet. I think my phone is going to work and I will try to get a new chip for it ASAP. Love and miss y'all very much! I will try to upload a few pics now!

Pictures!

Pictures from Bangkok:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreypirosko/Bangkok#

Pictures from Vietnam:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreypirosko/Vietnam#

Pictures from Cambodia:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreypirosko/Cambodia#

Pictures from Koh Chang:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreypirosko/KohChang#

Pictures from Chiang Mai:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreypirosko/ChiangMai#