wow february!

So, this month has been pretty busy and very productive. To begin, my majorette squad performed their dance to "thriller" on Youth Day and won first prize in their division and first prize over-all. They were super excited and I think they've formed a rivalry with the technical school dance squad. It felt really good watching them perform... and even better seeing how proud they were of their prize. It made me feel like my many hours practicing with them was beyond worth it. I filmed their dance and put it up on youtube (not the best quality). But here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEQnHG8aGeU. I've also got some videos of my cat if you ever get bored enough to watch those.

So, Youth Day went really well and was a lot of fun. The schools and the community take it really seriously and it's good to see the kids having a good time. The little pre-schoolers are the cutest though. They dance and sing and look super precious. There's also a talent show where I got to see some of my students perform their acting/singing/dancing/rapping skills. It was neat.

Also, I wrote a letter requesting a donation of some computers in my school. I was hoping for a few at least but we ended up getting six! And a laser printer! It actually doubled the computers in the lab and now we can better serve our 1,500 students. It's a small step but a step forward, nonetheless.

I've started meeting with the art club and I have some students who have been giving classes on drawing. They're pretty interesting and I like to sit with the students and draw with them. It's refreshing being the student for a change.

It's starting to feel like my efforts here are amounting to something (even if only in a small way). I'm also in good health and have my discipline problems at school under control. It just took some getting used to. At least I'll know what to do next year.

Keep in touch.

A few holiday photos...

So this is Christmas, and what have you done?

Bonne Annee! It’s 2009! Wow, just a year ago I was fresh out of college with a peace corps invitation to Cameroon. I remember spending last new year’s eve at a table eating some of Mitch’s great gumbo and answering everyone’s questions about my future in the peace corps… when in reality, I had no idea what I’d really signed myself up for. Hah. Well, it’s been a crazy year but there was never a dull moment. They say life as a volunteer can be a roller coaster ride and they’re absolutely right. Well, my experience has been anyway. The holidays started out great with a trip to the beach for In-Service training. All the volunteers from my training group gathered with a co-worker from their villages to collaborate on techniques to be more efficient at work. We had a bonfire on the beach and a band that played xmas songs. One volunteer arranged a secret santa and it was honestly a great idea. It was fun and heart-warming. We swam and ate plenty of great food. I had really yummy crocodile; I can even say it might be the best meat I’ve had here. Even better than porcupine.

I came back home and spent Christmas day with my post-mates and the family they share a compound with. There was some good wine (thanks Ehab) and a Christmas tree! We ate plenty and afterwards, I came home to spend the rest of my day with Zulu. I sang Elvis xmas songs to him and realized that I was spending the first Christmas ever without my family or friends. All of a sudden, I felt alone. I just wanted my peeps, some eggnog, and my Beach Boys Christmas CD. I used to complain a lot about working retail for Christmas and having to deal with crazy holiday traffic. I take it back.

I’m not teaching right now since school is out for the holiday break (it’s 2 weeks here). And almost half the population is Christian so lots of people spend Christmas the same way I was used to in the states. Well, minus all the craziness involved in gift giving. Actually, with the warm, tropical weather it’s difficult to get in the spirit of the holidays. People have been playing plenty of loud music and playing on the street with their new toys. Also, someone set up a photo studio and it’s kind of popular to get really dressed up and take a photo in front of a super cheesy backdrop. I haven’t built up the courage to have my photo taken yet.

Tomorrow I’m spending New Year’s day with my host family. I’m curious as to how they celebrate the new year. We don’t have black eyes and cabbage here, so what am I supposed to eat for health and prosperity? Maybe avocados and coco yams? We’ll most likely dance and drink some boxed wine. 2009. Heh, time is so funny here. I can never decide if it’s dragging by or flying by. I wish all of you a great new year. I can finally say ‘see you NEXT year!’

Oh and mom, I got a memo that your package has arrived! Woot!

Is it really December?

I apologize if I’ve become lax about my blog. It’s just days have become pretty mediocre and life ‘au village’ seems like business as usual. It’s strange because I was lying in bed the other night and I couldn’t sleep because of the chanting and drums going on behind my house. I can’t be sure of the reason: most likely a death but anyway, I was lying there staring at my mosquito net thinking, “This again?” And I had to wonder when did I start to become accustomed to nights under the net listening to drums and chanting… but not only that; when did it start to bother me rather than fascinate me? I think tomorrow’s trip to the beach will be good for me. I haven’t left the village since I moved here and I think a vacation will do me some good. I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends from training; I can’t wait to hear about their lives at post. Instead of bringing my vice-principal, I’m bringing the head of the English department instead. I’m happy about this because he’s become my friend and my “go to” person at the school. It’s easy to talk to him and he’s always happy to help me.

I’m done with classes until after Christmas and honestly, I need the break. I love my kids but sixty+ of them at one time can be overwhelming. I need a little time to organize my teaching plans for the second term. This time, I’ll be ready. Students are starting to see I mean business and they’re less likely to give me trouble now… however, they love making fun of me. There are a few phrases I use a lot and I often catch students saying them in an effort to mock Miss Brandi. It’s so funny to hear them with their Cameroonian accents try to mock my accent. “I say to close your mouth,” one will yell at another student, causing laughter amongst the class.

My majorettes impress me more and more every day. They’re super motivated and have learned the complete dance to “Thriller.” I keep reminding them, “remember, you are monsters so you have to keep your movements stiff and your expressions serious.” You should see them. They’re so cute because they take it so seriously. They find sticks off of trees to use as batons and hold additional practices without me just to make sure everyone’s on par. I’ve taught them to practice with “eight counts” so they don’t need the music. I’m so proud of them and can’t wait to see their performance for youth day in February.

So, when I’m not teaching, lesson planning, grading, or practicing with my majorettes, what do I do? Well, if I’m not cooking or washing clothes, I’m usually reading or writing. Elliott’s sent me some TV series and as a result, I’ve become addicted to LOST and am anxious to get the 2nd season. How did I net get into this when I was in the states?

Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving with two of my colleagues (one of which is the Peace Corps IT trainer) before sunrise. We’re hoping to make it to the beach by the afternoon, but Cameroonian public travel is about as predictable as Louisiana weather. (And yes, I’m deeply upset that I missed the snow. I hope you all have pictures to share.) So, I’ll have lots more to say after my trip to the beach. Hopefully, I’ll have some great photos too.

Chiggers and other interesting creatures

One thing I'm always amazed at is the various insects and animals I see in my backyard. Now that it's dry season, the long scary brown lizards have come out in astounding numbers. Yesterday one came in my house and Zulu (yes, Lulu is now Zulu due to a gender mishap) had a ball with it! He tore off its tail and chased it. We've got iridescent flies and brilliantly colored butterflies… and chiggers. What I mistook for a possible ingrown toenail was in fact, a chigger egg sack growing in my toe. I hope you're not eating soon. If you are, skip to the next paragraph. When the "ingrown toenail" became a large inflamed area with a puss pocket and a black speck in the middle, I knew I was dealing with something else. So, I took a look at the handy dandy Peace Corps medical manual and the findings were obvious: it was indeed chiggers and the only way to get rid of them is to dig them out of your foot with a sterile needle. I devoted my Friday morning to plucking out the eggs and I was left with a hole in my toe. Ugh! But, it's been healing… slowly. Nothing heals quickly here. Nothing.

At school, we've been preparing for the end of the second sequence and I've been surprised at how quickly time is passing. In less than one month, the volunteers will be meeting at the beach for In-Service Training. We have to bring our counterparts and I believe we'll be there for four days. But they tell me the beach is very pretty and you can find some really yummy seafood. I hope that means shrimp because I've almost forgotten what a shrimp tastes like. Since the vice principal is my counterpart, he'll be enduring the public travel with me. At least I won't be alone. I'm not a fan of public travel here. But who is?

The majorettes are learning to twirl batons—and quite successfully I might add! We've designed their costumes and I have a boy on the squad now! I've definitely gotten some raised eyebrows and weird looks but I'm sure once they see him perform, they may actually think a co-ed squad is ideal. I've also been trying to organize an Art Club. I've got plenty of members but no supplies so right now we're in the process of searching for ways to acquire them.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I have no plans yet. It's possible I'll meet up with some folks to celebrate but if not, Zulu and I will splurge and buy some street meat. Ha ha. Also, Twilight the movie is coming out this Friday and it's killing me that I won't be able to see it. I've read that the producers are definitely making movies of the next two books. How does one become as lucky as Stephenie Meyer? Bah! And all this over a love triangle between a teenage girl, a vampire and a werewolf. Who knew?

Oh, if you're sending Christmas packages, I could certainly use Easy Mac and M&Ms. Mom sent me some but they didn't last long. I devoured them in the blink of an eye. Other than that, I always appreciate music, movies, photos, crystal light packets, and anything edible. I miss you guys!

Hey! My camera isn't broken after all!

Green Mamba?

(this blog was written October 17th)

Last week while I was washing some clothes, on one of the trees in my back yard, I saw a strange green vine. I say strange because it was brighter than any vine I’d ever seen. You know where this is going, right? It wasn’t a vine at all. It was a snake. I suspect it was a green mamba because apparently if you see a green snake around here, you should kill it immediately because it’s dangerous. I just watched it; I was transfixed and I didn’t want to call anyone to kill it. Everyone has asked me why I didn’t get anyone to come and kill it, but honestly, I didn’t want to put anyone in danger; it was high up in the tree. And I didn’t want to stop looking at it. It reminded me of that trip I took to the Audubon Zoo a few weeks before I left the states. I remember going into the reptile room and reading all of the information on the snakes, wondering which ones lived in West Africa and which ones were poisonous. I’d remembered this bright green one. Not far from the tree, there’s another tree which bares papaya. Lately, every time a papaya is close to ripe, someone comes and snatches it before I can. A few days ago I had a dream: I noticed a large papaya ready to come down. I was so excited that I’d get to have the papaya to myself and as I reached up to grab it, the green snake was wrapped around it. Once again, I just stood staring at it and ended up once again, with no papaya. I’m no interpreter of dreams but there are some obvious symbols here, no?
My students are so strange. One day they make fun of me and the next, they proclaim their love for me. I was teaching body parts to my younger kids and I had them draw aliens with different numbers of eyes, arms, legs, etc. and afterwards, they’d introduce their alien and tell me how many body parts it had. One boy drew his alien with a green flowered skirt, the same skirt I was wearing that day. Another didn’t forget to include sexual organs on his alien. When I asked him about it, he told me he was sorry and that his pencil had simply slipped when he was drawing legs. Later in the week, the same class had brought in a tree and put it by my desk and decorated it with flowers and confetti. They also drew nice pictures of me and made signs that said, “I love you” and “I speak English” and hung them around the room.
My terminale class, the older ones, saw an ugly side of me the other day. I still don’t know all of their names and their numbers had changed on the roster so I thought I’d give them their new numbers (which is pretty important here since a lot of students are simply referred to by their number instead of name) and take the opportunity to try and put the names to their faces. A couple of my kids said aloud, “You’re wasting time.” I raised my voice and said, “That’s rude. I certainly don’t tell you that you’re wasting my time so I don’t appreciate it when you tell me that. I’m under no obligation to come here and teach you. If you want to see me waste time, I could show you wasting time.” And I just stood there and stared at them. They started protesting, “No Madam, don’t do this. We’re sorry. Please continue.” It had caught me off guard. Especially since I think my terminale class has already made tremendous progress. They’d seemed completely lost on my first day in class. Apparently, I haven’t been strict enough. I didn’t think I’d have to be since most of them are my age. I’d never disciplined anyone in that class and felt like if I treated them as adults, they’d show me respect. But I see now maybe they’re just big kids.
Teacher’s day went really well. We marched around the village, singing some song about teacher’s day. I didn’t know it so I couldn’t sing it. Afterwards, we met at the mayor’s office for a party and I couldn’t help but snicker when I noticed the place was decorated with Christmas decorations, including Santa Claus, hanging from the ceiling. I met the new superfét, which is similar to the mayor, and several other big figures in the village. The high school staff left early and had a separate party at the hotel. My principal insisted I sit at the table with the administration. He said, “We have few women teachers and the ones we have, we want to treat them right.” Sure enough, I was the only woman at the party. Though, I would have been happier just sitting with the other teachers. I felt strange talking with the administration. But the porcupine was actually tasty this time. Maybe a lack of meat in your diet will do that to you? I don’t know.
The principal’s asked me and another teacher to organize a majorette squad. If Lauren reads this, I know she’d laugh right now. What a coincidence, right? For those of you who don’t know, I was a majorette in high school, so I know how to twirl. I agreed but now, after I’ve been approached by a storm of girls who’ve heard about it, I’m beginning to remember the drama that comes with having a squad of young girls. We’re holding try-outs this week. I even remember some of our routines from high school, so maybe in the future, the squad will be twirling to “Try Again” by Aaliyah or even “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, complete with the head twitch and everything. Hah.
Until next time…