"If you want the best rice - go to the refugee camp"

Yes, that is a quote that Phil and I have both been told now. Apparently, the refugee camp has bags of rice that the UN has provided for them and it is "American" rice (at least in the minds of Cameroonians here). This rice is suppose to be a much better quality than the rice available at the market here and in the boutiques soooo.... everyone says that if you want really good rice you should head to the refugee camp and buy theirs from them. I found that statement a bit disturbing. I know the refugees try to sell everything - I've been offered many UNHCR fleece blankets at the market and almost bought it once or twice - but still - thoughts??? Oh, speaking of the refugee camp - on the way home from Garoua last time, Mike and I were in our bush taxi from Pitoa to Bibemi. Now, the bush taxi had made us wait about 2 hours in Pitoa before we left and so we were leaving so that we would get back to Bibemi about 30 minutes before sunset. Well, this bush taxi sucked worst than most do and it broke down twice in the first 15 minutes and then finally broke down for good it turns out directly in front of the refugee camp. We had blown two tires. Mike and I saw that this was going to be awhile and he went and bought beingets from a refugee women who was selling them and we ate beingets while talking to some of the refugee men. One of them had been studying English at a language center in Ndjamena (Chad's capital) when they were evacuated. We learned that 4,000 of them had initially settled the camp and about 2000 of the original group were still there and more had come from other places and he thought about 3000 lived there. They didn't know when they'd be going home but he didn't seem optimistic that it would be anytime soon. About this time, the driver(s?) of our bush taxi who had been working on the problem for about 30 minutes they just gave up. Okay, well we don't live at the refugee camp so Mike and I began to formulate a back up plan. We had to turn down two open bed trucks because they were full and PC doesn't let us ride in them. We contemplated calling Phil and making him send a motto from Adoumri or calling someone in Garoua to send a motto from there but just about this time I saw a random guy driving towards Bibemi on his motto alone. We flagged him down and he agreed to take us home for 3000 CFA total (about 6 bucks) and we were thrilled and would have paid just about anything as we watched the sun set quickly behind us. I was glad Mike and I were together cause I would have been much more unhappy doing that whole thing alone! But, we did get home safe and sound!

Anyways, moving along to exciting news - Alyssa, my wonderful and amazing friend who COSed (close of service - because her two years were up) brought a CD of photos back to the states for me and uploaded a bunch of pics on my blog and onto my picasa site! So, enjoy those and thank Alyssa! Second, I have my ticket home! I will land in Germany at 8am on December 19th and get to see my family! Courtney - arrange your ticket so we land together! Joey, you too if possible! Also, 49 days from now I head to East Africa to see Nicky and then Emily! Wooohooo!!!

Okay, time for an update on life here in West/Central Africa. First, let me say something about the "nassara rumor mill" that Cameroonians have perfected. On May 20th (Cameroon's version of July 4th)I had my friend Sarah who lives in the south in Bibemi with Mike and I for a visit. After the official ceremony was over we took Sarah to try her first calabash of bil bil. Then, the three of us took a motto back to my house to start lunch. This was around noon and since we were only going to my house the 3 of us (plus a driver) all shared a motto. I was wearing a skirt that required me to sit side-saddle on the motto and I was right behind the driver, followed by Sarah, followed by Mike. By 2:30pm Phil, who lives in Adoumri which is about 30 minutes away from Bibemi, had heard that Mike and Sarah and I all rode the same motto and knew that I sat side-saddle and which order we had sat in. WOW. I was impressed by the speed of that rumor - and on a fete day to. People in village keep track of everything we do, wear, eat, buy, etc. It is rather strange but if our friends come to visit they came simply ask someone on the street where the white girl/boy is and chances are that person can point them in the right direction. It takes some getting use to, the whole living in an environment like that, but all I can tell you is, you do get use to it.

A while back my mom sent me a cookie sheet because I have an oven and like to make cookies. However, my oven is really small and this American sized cookie sheet was just too big. So, becoming more and more "bien integreite" I simply took that cookie sheet up to the main road and handed it to one of the men working on the mottos and using saws and welding things and asked them to take the two sides off of my cookie sheet. Within 2 minutes I had a new cookie sheet that fit in my oven and they did it for me free of charge - you have to admit - there are times you must love this country!

For those of you who don't already know, recently the European Championship League soccer finals occured. It was between Manchester United (who wins the Championship League often) and FC Barcelona (where Cameroonians Samuel Eto plays). Well, Mike, Phil, and I all got to watch the game at the inspectors house in Bibemi where I swear Sonel got the power back on just for the damn game because it had been out for 2 days and came back within 90 minutes of kickoff. But, they set up a small tv and the whole town it seems like crowded around this television and watched Barcelona WIN! (Oh, I am sorry, excuse me, watched Eto win - there was little talk about Barcelona doing anything). Yes, Eto did score the first goal and the excitment that ensued was on par with the excitment that you feel at fan fest during the world cup. I seriously hope Cameroon qualifies for the world cup because I cannot imagine the insanity that will come with that.

So the roads become shittier during rainy season, that is a fact I know. However, I'm not sure I fully realized how bad they could be until I went en brousse with the health center last Wednesday. So, there are 3 "roads" to Baxa. One, is totally impassible during the rainy season so that one was out of the question. The second is the main road but it takes the longest so people don't want to use it. The third is a shortcut off the main road where you literally go left at the cows down a foot path for about 30 minutes. We got to the short cut and the chef of the health center asked whether the road was passible and the young man with his cows says yes so we took it. HE LIED. But, by the time we realized just how bad it was, we were committed to it and had to keep going. I may have aquired schisto a few times while traversing some river beds that had water in them and we both had to put our feet down multiple times to keep the motto from toppling over into the mud. The chef was pissed! He kept yelling about how "he says the road was open, he didn't know what he was talking about, etc". But, I was very glad we kept going because that day we had more women bring their babies to get vaccinated than we knew what to do with. 42 of them came from this small village. It was great. The health center hadn't gotten to come in May to Baxa so I think there was some spillover but it was great to see the turn out. We were there almost 4 hours! But, we did make a pack to take the main road for the return trip that afternoon - people in town couldn't believe the nassara had come on that short cut this morning. It was pretty funny. While we were waiting for the women to show up - all things in Cameroon involve LOTS of waiting - I talked to the chef about the structure of the health district a bit because I had some things I wanted clarified. Our district has about 30,000 people I think, there is one hospital and 14 satillete health centers - each of which go en brousse to a specific set of villages. Our health center goes to 3 but one of the health centers apparently goes to 8 places. It is crazy but somehow they do make the system, despite its limited resources, work.

So, Mike's old counterpart who moved up to Maroua to work with the NGO who the volunteer Mike replaced works with came back for a visit recently. Mike and I went over to talk with him and say hello and see how things in Maroua were going. When we arrived, Kasmir (the old counterpart) gave me a giant bear hug. It was strange, I had never had a Cameroonian hug me before. But, Kasmir is a funny guy and so I hugged him right back. First Cameroonian bear hug, check!

Last Sunday I had a crazy, bien integre day! I was suppose to go to my mom in villages house at 10 to start helping her make this complicated sauce for a party she was throwing. We had been working on this sauce all week, washing the leaves 3 times and then draining them and putting them in a fridge for 3 days and all that stuff and I was anxious to taste the fruits of my labor so to speak. So, I arrive at 10am, get mocked (lovingly) for being on time (which is a super American move and I know it but I cannot help it, I don't like being late). Of course she wasn't ready to start so first I got to peal the skin off of peanuts that had been soaking overnight in water for about an hour. Then, we took these peanuts across the way to have them ground in a grinder. Then, we brought back the peanut paste and while her daughter strained the leaves I sold beingets and maggi cubes to the little kids who came to buy them. Yes, I started selling the beingets. I was sitting there watching her and her daughter work and people kept coming to buy them and they were busy so I offered to, she asked if I knew the prices, I said yes, and she said go ahead! So, after selling beingets and maggi for about 20 minutes we started making the sauce. That was the easy part. Then, she made couscous while I ground up salt and ginger and piment to put into the sauce. Then, we got to eat and yes, it was delicious. It is called ndoulay or something like that. After this, I hopped on a motto and went to Adoumri to go to a tantine with Phil. Now a tantine is like a village group who collectively save money and then each member gets this money once a year. It was the president of the groups turn this week. So, he had bought bil bil for the group and we all sat around drinking and talking and hanging out. At one point, one of the nurses in Adoumri showed up and as he slowed his motto down to a stop he and the motto very gracefully fell over. After the tantine, we went to an afterparty at the presidents house and they drank more bil bil and I got into a discussion in German with the nurse who had fallen off the motto (he was fine by the way). It was great and I was one of two women at the afterparty so I was glad that I was there to provide moral support to her! Anyway, last Sunday I felt very African. It was nice.

Tomorrow is Caroline's going away party. This involves killing off all her pets and eatting them. The list of things we will bring to get killed today so we can eat tomorrow include one goat and 3 chickens. I promise pictures if possible. For now, I must go eat some lunch and run some errands. I finally get to pick up my bank ATM card here! Wish me luck with the goat roasting tomorrow! Happy Flag Day weekend and enjoy the 7 postings of pictures!