PST Week 3

I am hoping to get to post this tomorrow (Saturday October 11th) but we shall see. So, this week of training was particularly difficult. None of the sessions were of real interest to me, there was a lot lot of French, and yea, it dragged. However, the weather was a bit better (most days, with the heat of today being an exception). I also got to play some soccer so hey, not all is lost right?

Another person from our group of 30 left – this time it was an agro trainee. I don’t know if I mention before that one of us had left. A male health volunteer (who are already few and far between) left, or rather was asked to leave, because he broke protocol. There are apparently 5 rules in PC that you don’t break or you leave: always wear your helmet (both moto and bike), don’t do illegal drugs, don’t get pregnant, trainees cannot become involved with trainers, and I cannot remember any others. Anyway, this particular boy rode a moto without a helmet – on the very same day that we had the transportation training about how this was against protocol. He was honest about it and told one of the staff but regardless, he had to leave. It was rather sad. This week a female agro-forestry volunteer left. She just decided that the PC wasn’t for her – and it is not for everyone. Still, hard to be down to 28 people.

However, I have decided that it is nearly impossible to be upset during an African rain storm. They are too loud and demanding. I adore them. They make me super happy. Also, I have found a beer in Africa that isn’t too bad. It is called Turborg (or something similar) and it is much better than the 33 or Castle I have been drinking. It is a bit more expensive (like 100 CFA / 35 cents) and I am very willing to spend this money for the better beer. Still haven’t experimented with African hard liquor but I promise to soon enough and report back. PC has a one beer policy for us while we are in training so that has kept me rather subdued. Also, to be honest, it is too damn hot to drink much. You are dehydrated as is – no need to add beer to the mix.

Three weeks and very much counting until we find out our posts! We find out on a Thursday the 30th of October and then we have a workshop with our new counterparts on Friday and Saturday and then Sunday morning we leave to go to site visit. There is a PC Halloween party that Saturday the 1st in Garoua and the group of us still aren’t sure whether we are going, whether that is too complicated, etc. Regardless we shall be doing something I am sure so that is exciting – getting to plan something that isn’t training related. Anyway, the following week we get to spend the whole time at our new sites, checking things out and learning the ropes from any volunteers around. It will certainly be an interesting week of staging!

Next week I have volunteered to help led some of the training sessions. Thought that might make them go by faster. I will be helping with malaria next week and with M&E the following week (wouldn’t professor Keating be proud of those choices!). A number of us all decided to start helping with the sessions to try to make training a bit more involved and entertaining.

I still have the pagne (think brightly colored African style printed material) that I bought the first weekend at the market in Pitoa. I have a fellow trainee whose host family are all tailors (or many of them are) and so perhaps by the end of next week I shall have a pagne made into something wearable. Get excited for pictures as soon as that occurs.

Oh man, my Ipod shuffle feature just put on “I hate everyone” – Emily that totally brings me back to the road trip to Atlanta where this song became like our mantra. Love it. Miss it. Etc. Just had to share.

Speaking of which, people who are reading this – email me, comment on the blog, respond to me in some way. Hell, text me! I enjoy communication and I believe I remember from training that communication is a TWO WAY street sooooo feel free to do your part – clearly I am doing mine. Haha. No but seriously, call, write, email, hell send an owl to me Harry Potter style… something…. Also all of us here in Cameroon feel disconnected from the whole American political world so please send funny quotes, tid bits of information about debates/polls, etc. We really enjoy them.

So my eyes starting get sick here so I had to switch to the glasses. I am hoping that is because the contacts were old (like more than a month) and I think they might be but with all the airplanes I was on I kind of lost track. So, mom, prescription sunglasses might top the Christmas list. We shall see. Other than that, I am pretty healthy. Not sure how to be honest… I am eating a lot of dirt, some rocks, some unfiltered water, and many unknown dishes. They clean many of their dishes by scrubbing them on the dirt or with stones and well, sometimes those make it into the dishes. I have picked more rocks from my mouth and chewed more sand than I knew what to do with. But, hey all part of the experience. Tried some more interesting food – including maranga leaves, fullery, and some other green things. I am getting much more experimental with the food. I also tried some liver. Not that good to be honest. The most popular restaurant in Garoua ran out of food while we were there and we ended with liver, some seriously unknown meat, noodles, an odd chef Boyardee type sauce, and smoothies. The smoothies were extremely tasty mostly because they were so unusual compared to my current diet. Every day for lunch I eat the same thing. Don’t ask me to name it all – because about 1/3 of it is still a mystery to me. It is rather tasty though, at least for now while it is only week 3 of the food. Talk to me week 10 and see if I still find it tasty.

I have braved the bush taxi now once and I plan to brave the moto taxi tomorrow (with my cool space suit looking helmet). So far nothing too bad. Didn’t get stopped by the gendarmes for a prolonged time or anything yet. Haven’t been asked to bribe anyone. We shall see. It was only the first time, fate might have been being nice to me.

We went to a hospital in the town we are staging (Pitoa) today. That was an interesting experience. The staff was all very nice and the whole experience occurred in French with our trainer translating for us. Some interesting facts: abortions are illegal in Cameroon, it cost the same amount to birth a live baby as a stillborn, it is also the same price for a birth and for a miscarriage (I think), family planning is done only to women – not men, it cost 100 CFA for post pregnancy hospital stays regardless of whether you stay 3 days or 10, the family planning is shown to women who bring there kids in for vaccines and not when they come for prenatal care, there are 8 vaccines kids in Cameroon all receive – yellow fever, TB (which doesn’t prevent TB but just makes it harder to get), measles, hepatitis B, Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussus, Vitamin A supplement, the oral polio vaccine… and that is all I can remember for now. Also, at the hospital, for a few things I got the feeling they are giving us the party line. Telling us things like some medications were free or very inexpensive, that TB patients stayed in the hospital for free, etc. Not sure if that is actually occurring or not, but it would be great if it was. The hospital was basically outdoor, in the same manner that a strip mall is – each individual building is indoor but to walk between them you must go outside. There was no morgue in the hospital – I found that interesting. Also, most children who come to the hospital come due to malaria – but none of the windows had screens and there were no mosquito nets – go figure!

Apparently there is no French translation for either country music or oldies. You have to say music from the 70s, etc – and my French teacher calls country “traditional American music” which I don’t know about, but it works for now. Also, the French have no verb “will” – they only have “must” – I find that interesting as well.

Alright, well Cameroon is hot, interesting, and unlike anything I can explain. The candy isn’t good – so if you are visiting bring some. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say it isn’t good, it is just really different and I don’t like it nearly as much as German/American candy. Apparently the cool weather is on its way, but it doesn’t stay long and then the unbearable hot comes. Think 140. Apparently though, you don’t sweat – it’s too hot that it evaporates immediately - you only know you are sweating because your skin is covered in salt. Yes, this is me being excited for that. OMG now the shuffle is playing Journey’s “Don’t stop believing” – Emily it must be missing you tonight! I can still see Laura doing the dance at Pat O’s on Mardi Gras. Ah, good times.

Well I shall sign off for now and not go into too many more details about my life here. I wake up at like 5:45am and go to bed by 11pm at the latest. No, I don’t get up that early because I am a freak, I get up that early because it starts to get warm then, the sun comes up, the roosters start making noise, and everyone else is awake at that time. I am mastering the art of using a very small amount of water during my bucket shower because apparently water will soon be very hard to come by so I might as well get use to it now. It isn’t so bad. It is rather refreshing in this heat. My hair feel different here though. Not sure what that is about. Perhaps it is just getting use to Africa as well. Still have yet to receive a package or letter from anyone but I promise to let everyone know when I receive one! Love and miss everyone! Please update me on life there! Also – Nicky, Melissa, and Emily – I have texted all of you but haven’t gotten any response – let me know if you are receiving them! Nicky I got the email just now so I know you are getting them! Signing off!