Friday, September 19

My Friday:

1) This morning kicked off with our first French exam. I think is went pretty well. After we were done, we also had individual reflection meetings with our French teachers.

2) In the second half of the morning, we closed up our first module with a thematic discussion. Several of the lecturers came to join us. We discussed the topics we'd covered and any questions pertaining to them as well as the over arching question, "What is development?"

3) Our discussion went so long that we only had a very brief lunch break during which I went up the street and bought roasted peanuts and an ear of roasted corn from a lady on the street.

4) After lunch we had another dance class! It was just as much fun as last time and even more of a workout. We added on to the bottle dance that we learned last time and also learned about dances from the coastal regions.

5) At the end of the day, we discussed our 8am departure tomorrow morning for the beach town of Kribi (google it). We'll be in Kribi for 2 weeks. While we're there we will also be staying with families and holding out usual classes. We're going to Kribi so that we can visit specific organization but also so that we can visit and work with the Bagyeli people, a minority group that we will be studying. I won't have regular internet access during our stay there but I will probably post a few times during the next two weeks. I'm so excited to be on the beach, even if it's even hotter and more humid than it is in Yaounde.

Shit SIT Cameroon People Say*

During lectures and discussions I frequently jot down quotes in the margins of my notes. This is my collection of quotes from the first 3-ish weeks of classes. We wrapped up our first module today so I figured it fitting to post them. They were taken from guest lecturers, other students, and SIT staff

members during classes. (Disclaimer I don't necessarily agree with these quotes)

• “I see you smiling, I want to hear your smile”

• “You are privileged to watch this movie”

• “They took away the ability to feed themselves and to make money but also their culture, traditions, and language and that’s just as painful.”

After class work time. In the far right corner is Elise. Elias, Danny and
Khalilah are sitting together discussing their group project.

• “'Culture does not make people, people make culture'”

• “Tradition is a practice, culture is practiced.”

• “This is social sciences, there are no right or wrong answers in social sciences.”

• “In Africa, people are racing to please the West, and thus are not themselves.”

• “Globalization is a dream it’s not a reality”

• “The Western individualist says I am because I am where as the African says, I am because we are”

• “Time is a cultural phenomenon”

• “If we want development from the West, we should use the parameters of the West.”

• “The essence is to share, to see things the other way... so you don’t have the same view you came with...”

• “Any experience you are going o experience here are the same someone is going to find if they are going to go to the US...The same bag and purse snatchers are everywhere.”

• “Boko Haram is not Cameroonian”

• “Paul Biya is one of the most intelligent presidents in the world”

• “Football is the top most religion in Cameroon... when we are winning we believe in Cameroon”

• “He’s not a devil, he’s just a president”

• “No two countries practice the same democracy”

• “I will use ‘Western democracy’ and ‘African democracy’ and these mean different things"

• “There is still what we call mental slavery where people from Europe, America, still think they are superior and Africans are inferior”

• “One black in the White House, the rest in prison”

• “We have some of the best laws in the world but the application of those laws is very preferential”

• “In Africa we don’t talk about feminism, that is a Western concept... we just know that we are all humans”

• “Every country that has succeeded depended on their roots... they looked at their local realities”

• “How can Cameroon go back to its roots? The first thing is mental decolonization”

• “The western region is the one place in the country where good globalization exists... globalization is choosing the right things to copy.”

• “African leaders are corrupt because of the corruption of the outside world”

• “We should put aside Western democracy and re-coin our own democracy taking into consideration our own realities”

• “Each time you copy, you photocopy, it’s not authentic”

• “Globalization is a channelized dictatorship”

• "If Cameroon were practicing free and fair elections, the democracy would be a lot better than in the US"

• "There are no set rule of democracy"

• "In Cameroon we say that even dogs don't practice same sex relationships- a male dog cannot meet another male dog without fighting and these are considered animals less intelligent than humans. So if you participate in a same sex relationship you are less than those dogs"

• "I define poverty as lacking something you value"

• "I don't believe in globalization... there has been cooperation among nations since the beginning of time"

• "There will never be a global village"

Rainy Season Out the Back Door of the Office.

• "It depends on how you define globalization"

• "Your education system is done intentionally... You don't learn anything about other countries... You only learn about the power of America."

• "Same sex marriage is not human rights, that's a cultural concept"

• "If I want to go to the US with my two wives, the US government will tell me 'no, you can't enter because you have two wives.' But then they are violating my culture, my rights, and the rights of my two wives who agreed to marry me."

• "The body that is supposed to me the most equal in the world has inequalities, the UN is unequal."

• "Globalization is an idea constructed by a culture trying to impose itself"

• "Human rights cannot be defined as universal"

• "So you are saying the old white guys are sitting in an office somewhere deciding what to impose on other countries through globalization?" "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

• "It's saying no, the world should not be in one man's command"

• "Governments are controlled by multinationals, at least in the US you know that"

• "Money isn't always the solution"

• "It's not development in terms of politics or economics but its a developed love for themselves and one another that's not developed in the United States, or at least not in my community."

*The title is based off of a series of YouTube videos called "Shit ....Say" making fun of whatever population the video is titled after. I am not making fun of anyone here, I just thought the title worked. 

The Cast of Characters; The Main Players in My Cameroonian Life So Far

FAMILY:

• Gael- My 17 years old host sister who is in her second to last year of secondary school with whom I share both a bed and a room. Gael was adopted by my host mom from their former maid. This makes for an interesting dynamic in the family. As the only girl, and as the daughter of the former maid, she is expected to do more around the house than anyone else. “Adoption” is relatively common in Cameroonian society although it may not take an official form, many families and mothers who have the means take in children in need of a home. 

  

  A relatively low quality selfie of Glendon, Gael and I.

• Glendon- My 9 year old host brother. Glendon hates homework and loves watching TV, especially American and Japanese cartoons dubbed in French. Glendon is very clearly the baby of the family. Anytime he’s hungry other people get him something to eat, it is a struggle everyday to get him to take a shower, and if he whines enough, he can get a bowl of chocolate cereal with extra sugar added made for him anytime of day.

• Sony- My 19 year old host brother. Sony is the family’s go to for any technological questions or issues. He’s currently a university student and doesn’t live at home when school is in session. Sony is the only one in the family I’ve seen with a laptop, which he often has on his lap while watching TV in the living room. 

• Blakely- My 23 year old host brother who is also currently a university student. Along with Sony, he spends a lot of time playing soccer with friends when living at home. He also does not live at home when school it in session.

• Maman- My host mother works for the government in the Ministry of Sports. She spends extensive hours during the week working and always comes home in her heels and business formal wear extremely exhausted. On the weekend she loves working out at a local park/sports facility. There are also several pictures of her with the president and first lady hanging in our living room. 

* There is also a 21 year old sister who is currently in London getting her Masters in economics. She left Cameroon this past August to move to London. She attended unergrad in Paris.

SIT STAFF:

Nathalie at the Cameroon-Ivory Coast soccer match.
(Im my post about the match, I also posted a picture of Serge)

• Christiane- The Academic Director of SIT Cameroon and a previous employee of the Peace Corp, she also teaches our Research Methods and Development class. Christiane is the go-to for absolutely everything. She lives next to the SIT office with her American husband and their two adorable little boys.

• Nathalie- The SIT Homestay Coordinator, Nathalie knows everything and anything about our host families. She works very hard to make sure each student fits with their family and helps solve any issues.

• Serge- The Program Coordinator, organizes our extracurricular events and greeted us at the airport when we arrived. Serge also is the keeper of the keys to the SIT library- there is a collection of novels, academic books, and all previous ISPs (Independent Study Projects). 

• Kiki- Also an SIT employee, he works at the office opening the gate whenever someone arrives and rings the bell, runs errands, takes out the trash, cleans, and also helps out at Christiane’s house next door. I’m not sure how old Kiki is but I think he’s around our age. He’s been working for SIT since 2010. When Kiki isn’t working he spends a lot of time reading the office’s books, sitting in on our lectures, and joining in on group discussions. Kiki also hangs out with us when we have free time and sometimes joins the groups when we go on outings (like the soccer game or this past weekend).

• Thomas- My French teacher, he has been working with SIT since 1990! Thomas is an older man who all wears well coordinated suits that are just a little bit too big for him. He’s a great teacher and very patient. 

OTHER STUDENTS:

• Ariane- One of the Cameroonian students in the program. She’s small and energetic and always very carefully dressed. 

Arsen using one of the office computers.

• Arsen- Another one of the Cameroonian students in the program, he is very “cool.”  I put cool in quotations because he wears sunglasses indoors, wears a lot of baseball caps, pops his collar, and wears slightly saggy pants. Arsen gets very into class discussions and always has intelligent questions to ask. He is also always open to questions about Cameroonian culture and loves to give advice.

• Christelle- I’m doing the students in alphabetic order but Christelle just happens to be the third Cameroonian student in the program. Christelle is studying journalism and lives by herself in an apartment near the University of Youande. Christelle is probably the Cameroonian student with which I am closest.  

     Cora (and her cracker) on the front balcony of the SIT office

• Cora- From Bates College, she is majoring in Anthropology and French. Cora is originally from Massachusetts but now lives in New Hampshire (and loves Vermont). She runs insane amounts every single day to stay in shape for her lacrosse team at school. Cora is the only other student in my French class which makes for a very personal and fun class! We are also working on our first big project together, a research project in which we plan to focus on something pertaining to education. 

• Danny- From Brooklyn, he’s a student at Brown University. Danny loves music and dancing, he plans to research the rap culture in Cameroon. This past weekend, he also participated in a fairly free form rap show.

• Elias- Also from Massachusetts, he attends Yale University where he is studying Political Science. Elias took as gap year between high school and college during which we studied abroad in Senegal thus his conversational French is very good. 

Elias, Ariane, and Christelle talk while watching the
afternoon rain storm roll in.

• Elise- One of three student from Pomona, she is the only student in the program from the west coast. Elise hails from Oregon and is one of the most practical people I’ve ever met. Elise, absolutely loves to dance, as we found out during last Friday’s dance class. She also meditates every day. 

• Khalilah- A Weslyan student, she too loves to dance and is even in a West African dance group at school. Khalilah is researching Cameroon’s rap culture with Danny. Directly after the program she is flying to South Africa to visit her cousin. Khalilah’s father is Congolese (her parents met in the Peace Corps) and she has family all around the world.

• Marianna- The second Pomona student, Marianna is also probably closer to her host family than anyone else. Marianna is an avid ultimate frisbee player and her goal is to bring ultimate to Cameroon in some way. She is also from Massachusetts and spent the past summer working at a summer camp in Keene, New Hampshire.

• Monica- The other GW student in the program, Monica is also studying International Affairs. We have a lot of friends in common and I’m excited to have someone who shared my study abroad experience around to talk to when we get back. Monica started school in France, where her family was living at the time, putting her a step ahead as well. She’s lived several other places during her life both internationally and within the US but currently is living in Baltimore. She has also spent a good bit of time in India which is great to have someone who can relate to my experience there as well.

• Morgan- The third and final Pomona student, Morgan lives in Boston. This is her second time visiting Cameroon and third time in Africa. Morgan is very into African politics has taken a lot of classes on the topic previously. She is very into the classes we’re taking here.

BROCCOLI, BROCCOLI, BROCCOLI! (Thursday, September 18)

5 Things I Did Today:

1. Before school I stopped by the supermarket and bought mango juice, applesauce, and frozen broccoli (which I was VERY excited to eat).
2. In French class we recapped the section of the novel that we had read and prepared for our French exam tomorrow.
3. Our second class was a recap of Cameroonian economic history done by one of the professors that spoke last week. This time his slide were in French and he spoke primarily in English but also recapped everything he said in French.
4. In the afternoon we had a lecture on contemporary Cameroon (history and culture) conducted by the professor that lectured yesterday. He was very passionate and very energetic. Before his lecture I got a chance to talk to him individually about his work and research in Cameroonian education.
5. We had another student’s evening meaning that the office was open until 8. Cora and I studied for the French exam tomorrow and then we all hung out. I got to cook my broccoli, and we also made a GIANT plate of pasta and sauce. It was the first time I’ve gotten to cook since I’ve been here!

Sitting down to eat our giant plate of pasta altogether! (From left to right: Elias, Monica, DAnny, Khalilah, Marianna, Me)

Monica make fried plantains and an omelet in the office kitchen.

Marianna eats pasta.

Wednesday, September 17

1. In French class we recapped our visit to the University yesterday and then discussed culture and development.
2. We had out first lecture on the history of Cameroon spanning from the post-colonial era through the first president’s reign. President Ahdijo remained in power from 1960 to 1982. Today’s current president, Paul Biya, has been in power since 1982. 
3. I bought lunch from the mama up the street. Today I had rice, beans, and fish. It was way too much food for me to eat on my own and was spicy but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
4. During our free time this afternoon I started thinking about the classes that I have to take next semester and in the rest of my time at George Washington, not something that I necessarily want to have to think about while I’m here.
5. I had non-powdered milk for the first time since I’ve been here today!

1. Our morning lecture on the history of Cameroon from pre-colonialism through the reign of Cameroon’s first president was postponed a second time because the lecturer called with car problems so we had from 8am-10am free. Luckily the internet began working again giving everyone the chance to catch up on communication and research.
2. French class today was all together. As a whole group we went over vocabulary pertaining to university life. 
3. Following the grammar/vocabulary lesson we all caught taxis and headed of the the University of Yaounde 1 where we met with students. The students that we spent the afternoon with all belonged to the same student society, one that Serge was the president of when he was a student at the university. Their current president explained what their society was (basically an academic focused organization for students studying anthropology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology) and how it functioned. After that, we walked to the other side of campus for lunch. Two American students were assigned to a Cameroonian student for the time that we were there. Rodrigue, Cora, and I spent most of the afternoon talking about university life but also many other small things in our lives. Rogrigue is 20, in his second year and studying philosophy. He has 7 siblings, 4 sisters and 3 brothers. He also does karate competitively but originally got involved because he like the philosophy of the practice.
4. When we got back to the office we had another free hour to hangout, use the internet, and check out any of the previous student’s research projects from the SIT library. 
5. In the evening, once again, I returned home and dove into homework. Like every night, we watched the Spanish soap opera at 9pm on the dot. Later in the night I also helped Gael with her English homework. She started school yesterday and already has copious amounts of homework. She was up later than 1am last night and then got up again at 4am to finish her work before school! 

Lunch at the University of Yaounde 1. Everyone pictured is a member of the SIT program. From left to right: Khalilah (Weslyan University), Arsen (Cameroonian student in the SIT program), Elias (Yale University), Christelle (Cameroonian student in the SIT program)

Cora and I with Rodrigue. 

Monday Sep, 15

Today was a relaxed yet work-filled day. The internet at the office wasn’t working at all today, nor was it when we stopped by the office this weekend so I was unable to post my weekend post until today either. 

1. We only had one class today, a Research Methods class during which we discussed our weekend homework assignments. 
2. After class I went directly to finish my weekend homework assignments which are due at midnight tonight. Our assignment was to practice our interviewing skills by interview a member of our host family about their ethnicity and their experiences in relation to their own ethnicity. I had originally intended to interview my host mom but ended up talking with Gael instead. We also had to practice observation and participant observation in our living room for 2 hours during the evening. The majority of my observation consisted of documenting Gael and my host mom trying to get Glendon to do his homework.
3. For lunch today I went to the Mama up the street who had a choice of spaghetti with fish, beans, rice, and potat (my best guess at spelling it, it’s a root vegetable much like a potato but sweeter). I had some beans, potat, and a little bit of fish. 
4. After lunch I returned to transcribing my interview with Gael which was very difficult to do in French. It would have been easier for me to listen to the French and to translate it into English than it was for me to type in French.
5. This evening was nothing special, I simply returned home, took a 15 minute nap along with Gael who had her first day of school today, and fell right into homework. 

Below are some of the Photo Booth pictures that have ended up on my computer since I taught Glendon to use the Photo Booth application. There are many, many, many more where there came from...

Me and Glendon

Me and Glendon

Gael and Glendon

Weekend Post

I can’t believe I’ve only been here for two weeks! I’m at the weird in between where it feels like I’ve been here for much longer than that but it also feels like I just got here. 

Friday morning we started off with French class in which we discussed the book we’re reading, “Une Vie de Boy” by F. Oyamo. During the second half of the morning we had our first weekly review. We talked about classes, host families, cultural uncertainties and everything and anything that came up in relation to those. At 1:30 we had our first dance class. Throughout the semester we will have traditional dance classes culminating in a performance at the end of semester party with our host families. Our dance classes are broken down into 4 regional styles based on certain characteristics that traditional dances in each region have in common. The dance class was probably the highlight of most of our weeks. It was an incredible work out and as well as a ton of fun! We did a lot of following the dance teacher as he taught us the moves through repetition. After the warm-up games that simultaneously taught us some of the basic moves, we learned the beginning of the dance that we’re performing at the end of the semester. The bottle dance is based off of a mix of traditional moves and colonial-based ballroom dancing. The dance teacher described the history of the dance as the Cameroonian people having watched their “colonial masters” dance in the evenings and attempting to dance like them. During the bottle dance there is a caller like in line dancing and a basic set of steps that everyone knows. It is a partner dance but does not hold the rigidity that many ballroom dances do. The dance class left us sweaty and content. We hung out at the office playing cards and dancing some more until we cooled off enough to head home. Friday evening as usual, I hung out with my host family watching TV. I also taught my younger host brother, Glendon, to us the photo booth application on my computer to take silly photos. We spent a long time doing that together and got Gael to join in as well. 

Saturday we got up earlier than usual and Glendon, Gael, and I headed to the SIT office where we met other SIT students and their families for an optional day trip to a gorilla sanctuary and the Centre d'Art Appliqué, and art school in Mbalmayo. Mbalmayo is about an hour away from Yaounde by bus. Along the way, we stopped at a supermarket to get food for lunch. We also had an unplanned stop at a police barricade where an officer demanded to know who we were and what we were doing. Upon learning that we were American and Cameroonian only he demanded a specific bribe fee of the group. Serge, the coordinator who was with off scoffed and handed him a note from the chief of the Yaounde police with whom the SIT program has an understanding. He left after that however, had he asked to see out notarized passport copies and one of us had forgotten to bring it, that person could have been arrested. 

After a 45 minute or so bus ride we had it to the gorilla sanctuary only to find that some of the primates has escaped so, for safety’s sake, the park was closed. My host brother was bummed that we didn’t get to see the animals, as were we all. We continued on the art school where we got to the traditional pottery work that the students did and they walked us through their creative processes. We also had the opportunity to purchase some of the finished products is we wished. 

On the return bus ride home, Serge proposed that we go to the Yaounde zoo in lieu of the gorilla sanctuary. I wasn’t particularly excited to go to the zoo and wouldn’t have minded getting dropped off with the other students who opted not to go but my host siblings were into the idea. I guess one could say that it was interesting to see a Cameroonian zoo but it was also sad. Even zoos in the US make me sad sometimes and the animals there have even more space and cleaner conditions. We got to see crocodiles, lions, many kinds of monkeys, snakes, and birds all of which are native to Cameroon. Glendon was super stoked to get to see the lions. My favorite were the monkeys, especially the baby ones. There was also one monkey that has escaped but apparently he wasn’t a bother so the zoo keepers let him have free range of the facility. 

In the afternoon we returned home just before the rain came. I needed to do laundry so I had to ask Gael to teach me. I think that she, and those where were watching thought I must be helpless because I had no idea what to do and there were several times that I was apparently doing things wrong. To do laundry, you take a large basin, toss your clothes in, fill it with water and sprinkle in some detergent. After letting it sit for a minute or two you add more water and then take each piece of clothing and lather is up with a block of soap before scrubbing it. Once it’s been scrubbed, you wring the article out and put it in another bucket filled with water. After all the clothing has been transferred to the second bucket, you empty the first one. Once again you scrub out each article of clothing and put it in a third bucket of water before wringing it out and hanging up on the clothes lines. It all sounds very simple but Gael kept having to tell me, “No, in Cameroon, this is how we scrub it.” or “In Cameroon, this is how we wring it out.” “In Cameroon this is how we hang up out clothes.” I finished feeling sufficiently inferior but with clean clothes nonetheless. Just as I finished, it started to pour rendering all my wringing out pointless but I just figured my clothes were getting an extra rinse. 

All in all my Saturday was long, exhausting, and satisfying. Come Sunday though, I found myself facing a lot of homework assignments and other smaller tasks that I had been putting off throughout the week. I also got to sleep in for the first time since I’ve been here, staying in bed all the way until 8:30am! My 19 year-old host brother, Sony, beat me however and didn’t get up until after 9:15 when the rest of the family was on their way to mass. I wasn’t invited to go to mass with the family, not that I minded, but it made me wonder if they were trying to respect the fact that I’m not Catholic or if they thought that I wouldn’t want to go to mass with them. Maybe next time, I’ll ask to go with them. Actually, Glendon did ask me to go with them but that was only because he wanted me to take him to the store after to buy another popsicle like I did on Saturday. After I told him that I wasn’t going to buy him a popsicle today, he lost interest in my going with them. The majority of my Sunday was spent doing homework an activity made difficult by the fact that the power was out from before I woke up until 11:30. Gael and I also cleaned our room. In the evening my host mom took me to the fruit market where she introduced me to her pineapple seller. We also went to the bakery to buy bread. Instead of going in, she just rolled down the car window and selected one of the men selling wares on the side of the road to go buy her bread. She gave him money and instructions. While we were waiting other men tried to sell us items. One man was selling pirated copies of movies and TV shows. He didn’t have the TV show that she wanted but they exchanged numbers in case he got a hold of “Pavitra Rishta.” Basically, Sunday was a productive day.

Cora (Bates College)  and Christelle (University of Yaounde) at the Art School.

Kiln full of finished pieces.

Some glazed pieces ready to be fired.

This post will be shorter than my others have been. It will also be my last post before the weekend although I will try to jot down 5 things I do on the weekend days and post them Monday when we go back to school. 

Today I...

1. attended class as normal. My French class discussed religion and colonization and read a letter from the minister of the Belgian Congo to missionaries entering the colony. 
2. had a Research Methods and Ethics class discussing the importance of observation, methods, and the extent to which it can be used in different studies. 
3. went to the “Mama” who sells food on the corner up the road from the SIT office for lunch. My friend Marianna and I split a helping of potatoes and beef for only 500 CFA francs (about $1) and it was one of the best meals that I’ve had here so far! The Mama makes her food at home and then brings it to the corner each day between 1:15pm and 1:30 and I plan to visit her more frequently in the future. You can either bring your own plate or container to take the food with you or you can use her plates and silverware and eat on the benches next to her stand. In Cameroon eating on the go is not really done.
4. stayed at the SIT office until 8pm for the weekly “Student’s Night.” Each Thursday the office stays open until 8pm and we can come and go as we please. This give us the opportunity to do things in the neighborhood that might not be close to our homes, use the internet, do homework together, and cook our own food. This evening we did homework mostly but took several breaks throughout the evening to paint nails, do yoga, and look through the library of previous student’s research projects.
5. got home and ate dinner since I hadn’t yet. Dinner tonight was spaghetti, with a cabbage, carrot, tomatoes, and beef stew topping. As I’m writing this I’m also sitting in my room with Gael, my host sister watching “Victoria” a Spanish soap opera dubbed in French that both Gael and my host mom watch every evening.

This Saturday, there’s an optional visit to another town to see a gorilla sanctuary and an art school. I plan on going and bringing Gael and my younger host brother, Glendon.

Just as a side note, I usually write these posts at night when I'm back at my house and then post them in the morning when I get to the SIT office. This morning my computer was having a hard time with the internet so I didn't get a chance to post until 1pm. So, when I say "today" on my posts I'm really referring to the day before.

We got to see some new sides of Cameroon and Yaounde today. Here’s my list of 5 things I did today:

1. This morning the second half of our French classes was spent at a local market. We had a few assignments to complete while there including purchasing something for 200 CFA Francs that had been haggled for. We went to a relatively small market near the SIT office. It was probably about two blocks long and vendors lined the street on both sides selling all manner of vegetables, fruit, fresh meat, fish, flour, other food products, clothes, shoes, jewelry, school supplies and much more. My French group each bought a pair of earrings. 
2. Our non-French class today went over the general basics and guidelines for interviewing during research projects. We were also asked to create pairs and come up with a topic for our first research project which we will do together in steps over the next 9 weeks. 
3. For lunch today I just went to the super market with some other students and got some food to take back to the office to eat. It had rained a little before we left but on the way back it started raining harder. Luckily my friend Cora and I made it back to the office before the rain really picked up. The others, who were behind us, just waited for the heavy rain to pass before leaving Dovv, the supermarket. It has been raining a lot the past few days, really hitting home that it is indeed the rainy season. It usually mists or sprinkles for much of the day and then pours for a few minutes at a time. If you ask anyone when the rainy season begins and ends they’ll say that they can tell you its usual duration but that global climate change has really skewed the seasons recently.
4. Because we didn’t have classes scheduled for this afternoon we were going to take a bus tour of the city. However, today was a BIG soccer match between Cameroon and the Ivory Coast so the group decided to attend that instead. We purchased the expensive tickets (an equivalent of $10) just a few hours before the game began. To say that it was a good game would be an understatement. Cameroon won 4-1 which was unexpected. The Ivory Coast had more shots on goal and for the most part seemed to have more control of the game. Cameroon’s goalie, who apparently is not their first string goalie did very well. It was a little intimidating getting into the game having to push through crowds, as is the case with any big sporting event, but once we were in there was much more space and plenty of room to celebrate when Cameroon scored! I wish I knew more about the team and players, but all the same, it was an amazing experience! My host family was very jealous when I got home. 
5. I returned home after the game and went straight to homework. The power went off just as my computer died around 6:00pm so I was forced to take a break from my reading. After the power came back on, my break continued for a little bit when my host mom turned on an Indian soap opera dubbed in French. Talk about a meshing of my two study abroad experiences!

On the way to the soccer game as we approached the stadium.

On the way to the game!

The field

Allez Cameroun. Serge, the program coordinator, ready for the game!

As we were walking back home after the game the team's bus passed with a police escort. It was followed by many fans on motorcycles!

Just another normal day

After our fifth day of classes I have feel like I have started to settle down into somewhat of a regular routine. At least for now, most of my week days are pretty regular. There’s something very grounding about establishing somewhat of a routine in a new place. I wake up between 6:30 and 7 each morning and quickly get dressed. I already feel like I’m re-wearing most of my clothing too frequently because I brought so little (only a medium sized backpack and a small carry-on sized suitcase both of which had much more stuff than clothing in them). I can’t wait until I get new clothing, especially to have local-style clothing tailored. Once I’m dressed and ready to go I eat a quick breakfast laid out by the maid or, occasionally another family members who’s eaten before me. Each morning the breakfast table has bread (small baguette type loaves), butter, a local version of Nutella, and cans of instant coffee, powdered milk, and chocolate powder. The past three days the maid has also made crepes for me and my host brother who just started school this Monday. If my host sister is eating breakfast around the same time as me she will make an omelette for the both of us. My host younger host brother (Glendon) and I are the only ones who are currently attending school. My other three host siblings start school within month. 

As soon as I’m done with breakfast, I head off to school. The walk takes me between 15 and 20 minutes on the way to school and less than that on the way home (it’s up hill on the way to school). The past few days have been fun because all of the little kids started school on Monday so in the morning the streets are filled with kids on their way to school. We have to arrive at the SIT office between 7:30 and 8 when classes start. Every other morning we have French classes from 8:00-10:00. The other mornings we have either a Research Methods and Ethics class or one of our Thematic Seminars with a guest lecturer. After a short break at from 10 to 10:30 we continue with classes until noon. Somedays we have no afternoon classes and can stay at the office doing work, hanging out, or leave if we want. If we do have afternoon classes, they started again at 1:30 after a lunch break. In the afternoons, the office closes or classes end at 4:30 which is when I usually head home. 

Upon returning home, I say hello to my host family, change, and then start in on my homework. I usually sit in the living room which has the most space to work but can also be distracting because it doubles as the entry way so people are constantly passing through. The living room is also where the apartment’s best TV is so there is usually something on. We were warned ahead of time that we should not spend too much time secluded from out host families, even if working so sitting in the living room is my solution to that. Most Cameroonian families don’t eat all together but rather eat when they are hungry. At some point during the evening I serve myself some of the meal that the maid had prepared before leaving in the evening. If I finish with my homework on time, I sit with my family watching TV or chatting until I get too tired. I’ve found myself getting tired around 9pm most nights and going to bed between 10pm and 11pm. The constant French is very tiring and the later it gets the harder it is for me to follow conversations, TV shows, and even direct questions. Because so much TV is watched in my house I have gotten to know many more American TV shows, especially cartoons. I find the American and Japanese cartoon and children’s shows the easiest to follow but frequently, I can also follow the French reality show, soap operas, and game shows that are on. I’m definitely watching more TV than I have in my life here. 

I’m going to do my best to post everyday from now on even if it’s a few sentences here and there. This summer a friend of mine gave me the idea of sending a list of 5 things you did each day to the people you care about. It lasted all of two days for me this summer but I think I’m going to give it a try again. This whole blog post was basically a list of the things I do regularly so I plan to start the daily list tomorrow. 

On my way home from school. I take a right at the bottom of the hill by the turquoise building. The large rectangular building cross the valley, at the top of the hill is the President's house.

The front porch of the SIT office. Khalilah (Weslyan University) is sitting on the couch doing work.

Inside the SIT office. This is the main room that can be a hangout space, workspace, classroom, or whatever else you want. Marianna (Pomona College) is on the right side of the picture

Inside the SIT office.

The "Student's Room" inside the SIT office. There are two beds, mattresses, a computer, and a closet of supplies that previous students have left behind. Cora (Bates College) is sitting at the desk and Marianna is on the far bed.

My first picture of Cameroon

This is the view from the SIT office's front balcony where I am currently. Up the hill, sort of just behind the big leafy tree on the right side of the picture is the monastery that we spent the first three nights at.

And so it begins...

Okay here it goes, my first real blog post in Cameroon. There is internet at the SIT program office in Yaounde where I will have classes most days so I think that, for the most part, I should be able to keep up a blog.
I left Logan airport just after midnight on Sunday after considerable confusion in the international terminal. Apparently there were not enough gates for each of the flights that night so they kept switching the gates. The different airline employees were getting snarky with each other in the terminal. It was kind of entertaining until I began to worry about my flight getting too delayed. However, we left only half an hour late. On my flight from Boston to Istanbul there were many open rows so I switched seats to one of the middle rows that had four seats. I sat on one end and there was someone else on the other end but with two seats between us there was plenty of space. On my next flight from Istanbul to Yaounde, Cameroon I also had an empty seat next to me.
There was one other American SIT student on my flight to Yaounde. We arrived just before midnight on Monday. So, somehow I spent almost exactly a full 24 hour day traveling in an 18 hour period of time- super confusing. Upon arrival at the Yaounde airport, we were greeted by Serge, one the of the program's coordinators. There were also four other SIT students who had recently arrived at the airport. From there, we drove up and out of the city to a monastery overlooking Yaounde on Mont Febe. After a lot of travel, a quick meal, and a shower I finally got to lie down to sleep.
The next morning we began our orientation. There's a total of 9 American students in the program and 3 Cameroonian students. During orientation we talked about everything from academics to Cameroonian social customs, differences in American and Cameroonian customs, and SIT rules and safety.
The second afternoon of orientation, Wednesday afternoon, we were put into pairs (and a group of 3) and driven to different locations in the city. The drivers dropped us off somewhere in the city, we weren't allowed to ask them where we were. Each group had a list of things to do and places to go, and a little bit of money. We just had to be back at the monastery by 6:30pm, which gave us 3-ish hours. The point was for us to use our French, get to know how to use the taxis, and to get to know the city a little bit. It also gave each of us a chance to get over and concerns of fears we might have had about getting around the city. I think it was a great way to force each of us out into the city early on just to show everyone that it was really not the scary. We were also told to ask people on the street for directions so that we got comfortable with doing that. The whole afternoon was overwhelming, incredibly educational, and a little bit scary but most of all, it was fun!
Thursday we moved down into the city. We spent the day in the SIT office getting to know the space and going over more rules and safety. In the evening our host families came to the office. When they arrived they knew who their students were but they weren't allowed to tell us until about an hour into the event.
Thursday night was my first night in my host family. I have a 17 year old host sister, an 8 year old brother, and 2 older college aged brothers who are leaving the house soon for university. My host sister, Gael, and I share a room and bed. It's weird to share a bed not because we're sharing but because I have to sleep in a mosquito net tent which sits on top of the bed while Gael sleeps under the covers on the other side of the large bed. We live about a 15-20 minute walk from the SIT office. In order to get from my home to the office I have to go up and down several hills. I also pass by several embassies including South Africa, Senegal, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, and several others.
Yesterday we had our last orientation type day. In the morning we did a first night home stay debriefing and then, after lunch, a doctor came to go over potential medical concerns while in Cameroon. Today is our first day off although we each had to come into the office during the day for a language proficiency interview. The interview will help place us in the appropriate level French class. My French is better than I thought it was but it's also not even close to where I wish it was. There are other students in the program who speak French more fluently than me but there are also others who are around my level.
Because of a scheduling issue, we have classes tomorrow but usually we will have the whole weekend off. Overall it's been an amazing and tiring and wonderful week! I will post again in the next few days with even more but I feel like this is plenty for now!