Don't you have anything to say? sheesh

I'm a bit ashamed that I've let my blog become a ghost blog these last few months. The end of the school year brought on lots of monotonous work and frankly, the interesting things I used to be so anxious to write about seem to be life as usual now.

First of all, I'd like to take a bit of time to thank my friends, Ms Anne and Ms Linda and her girls at Kate Middleton. They've sent my students prizes and supplies and even some yummies for myself. In my village, my postmates are holding a 2 week summer camp starting June 15th. Since I have plenty of stuff, I plan on using much of the supplies for the camp. And you have no idea how thrilled kids are about simple things like ink pens and stickers. I'd started putting sparkly stickers on the good grades and students were so proud of them. I couldn't believe that something like a sticker could be a motivation tool. So thanks again and hopefully I can get some pictures of the camp up in a few weeks.

A couple of months ago, I attended a cultural festival in a neighboring village. That's the picture you see above. (thanks to Peter) One of the volunteers was named a "prince" by his village chief. And there was a mass wedding of 27 couples! Apparently my village will be having a cultural festival next month. Of course, you can never be sure... but I hope it works out.

After school ended, I headed to the capital, Yaounde to help organize the new volunteer training. Another group of education and business volunteers have arrived and they begin their training this week. I can't believe a whole year ago, I was in their shoes. I can't believe how crazy time can feel here. In Yaounde, I got to see some of the other volunteers from my training group and we had a great time. We made some interesting food and even had our very own prom. By prom I mean we got dressed up in crazy outfits, chose a theme, decorated, and danced. The theme was Post Apocalyptic Winter Wasteland. I posted one of Thryn's post-apocolypt'ed photos above. It was a good time.

At our provincial meeting, the volunteers of the West decided to climb Mount Batchengou and we lucked out because we had perfect weather and an awesome climb. I'm hoping Gabe sends me some photos of that so I can share.

After summer camp, I head to Yaounde for my mid-service medical exam... so they can tell me what kind of scary things are nesting inside me. Wouldn't it be nice if after a year in Cameroon, I find out there's not a thing wrong with me? Keep your fingers crossed.

And right after mid-service, Elliott will be here! We've planned a nice vacation. I'll take plenty of pictures and maybe I can talk him into posting a visitor story on my blog.

Thanks for the pressure to update this blog. It's good to know people still want to read this thing.

more photos

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!