First Week of Training
Oh, just sitting in my hotel room watching CNN. Yes, they have Anglophone CNN here in Cameroon. And no, there is no internet in my room. It is Sunday night, and due to the difficulties associated with the french-style keyboard (it just ain’t right) I am forced to type on my own computer and transfer. So, if you become a frequent reader, you may want to be aware of this to mitigate confusion.
WOW! I am in Africa. And so far I have found that there is a lot of normalcy here, but mostly its really pretty different. For example, they have no shower curtains (I should be thankful for a handheld showerer(er), cause I will likely be without organized shower shortly). Another example, you cannot leave your hotel in Yaounde at night. Different. Another example, bananas grow in your backyard.
Wow. I’m really not sure where to begin (but I can assure you this is only the beginning). The Delta leg of the plane ride was miserable – the Air France part was awesome. Which one just filed for bankruptcy? Ooooo… we have a winner (loser)! Actually, it was probably due to the African flyover that included Tunisia, the border of Libya and Algeria then the border of Nigeria and Chad and down into Cameroon. We entered the Sahara desert and I was blown away. Then I took an hour nap, and saw the Sahara again, and was again blown away. Then I took a two hour nap, woke up, and saw that the Sahara was still outside… and really I was just kind of tired of seeing nothing but sand and finding that I was blind from all the reflection. You would die if you went to the desert. There is nothing there. Really. I flew over it for like… 4 hours.
Then we flew around a couple of the hugest thunderstorms I have ever seen. I was glad that we flew around them, but then we flew into Cameroon (aka one huge thunderstorm). The best part is that we had to land twice in Cameroon. The Country Director, Robert Strauss, met us at the airport and my passport, inoculation card and baggage tags were all taken from me. Of course, I was so tired I would have given up just about anything for a PB&J and a clean mattress (only one of these needs was met in the end). A bunch of people lost their bags, but not me! No, I got them both. Everyone that overpacked got their bags. That’ll teach you rule-abiders a lesson. We sat at the airport for at least two hours, and when we left (to drive for an hour in a van into the city of Yaounde… in the wind and rain and dark) it was.. .really late? Yes. Really late. There were people just about everywhere. Lots of grills set up cooking.. meats. Meats that were not so appealing when you slept 3 hours and haven’t eaten anything since your pear flan and chicken in white sauce on the plane. There were also people walking on the road. In the rain. In the dark. And these people are not easy to see. I thought we might kill someone.
Got to the hotel and sat down for dinner. My first meal in Cameroon was interesting. I think they are really into starch here. We began with a delightful cold chicken salad and onion thing…. Then our entrée arrived.. a heaping plate consisting of fried fish in a white sauce, spaghetti, and rice. Yes, spaghetti and rice. Breakfast.. bread. Lunch.. rice, friend plantains and stew. Being fat is really awesome here.
On Sunday evening, we headed to the Country Directors home in Yaounde. He lives in a large home with 12 foot walls with glass shards and barbed wire on top. He has a guard. And a gardener. And a cook. And really awesome art. I met his daughter’s rabbits and had one beer (which I promptly thought to be a bad idea… higher alcohol content = red face faster = no more beer). We played hearts for a couple of hours outside this evening.,. until the hotel turned the lights off on us. We had nicknames. They called me “Ms. Information”… because I provide many of the interesting statistics and facts about snakes, spiders and bicycle safety.
Tomorrow (probably today, Monday)... training really begins and we get more shots. More info to come… and perhaps some photos… :)
-----
This was a post written two days ago. Since then, I have received two more shots (Typhoid and Hep A) and my arm has only just recovered. I did get into the "Novice Mid" language group... aka, I have a long way to go. We were issued our water filters and a lot of French books today. Rained this morning.... went to the corner store and bought a snickers bar (but did some situps).
LOVING IT! CALL ME IN THE EVENING! (237) 535-9889!!!!
Love, Kels
WOW! I am in Africa. And so far I have found that there is a lot of normalcy here, but mostly its really pretty different. For example, they have no shower curtains (I should be thankful for a handheld showerer(er), cause I will likely be without organized shower shortly). Another example, you cannot leave your hotel in Yaounde at night. Different. Another example, bananas grow in your backyard.
Wow. I’m really not sure where to begin (but I can assure you this is only the beginning). The Delta leg of the plane ride was miserable – the Air France part was awesome. Which one just filed for bankruptcy? Ooooo… we have a winner (loser)! Actually, it was probably due to the African flyover that included Tunisia, the border of Libya and Algeria then the border of Nigeria and Chad and down into Cameroon. We entered the Sahara desert and I was blown away. Then I took an hour nap, and saw the Sahara again, and was again blown away. Then I took a two hour nap, woke up, and saw that the Sahara was still outside… and really I was just kind of tired of seeing nothing but sand and finding that I was blind from all the reflection. You would die if you went to the desert. There is nothing there. Really. I flew over it for like… 4 hours.
Then we flew around a couple of the hugest thunderstorms I have ever seen. I was glad that we flew around them, but then we flew into Cameroon (aka one huge thunderstorm). The best part is that we had to land twice in Cameroon. The Country Director, Robert Strauss, met us at the airport and my passport, inoculation card and baggage tags were all taken from me. Of course, I was so tired I would have given up just about anything for a PB&J and a clean mattress (only one of these needs was met in the end). A bunch of people lost their bags, but not me! No, I got them both. Everyone that overpacked got their bags. That’ll teach you rule-abiders a lesson. We sat at the airport for at least two hours, and when we left (to drive for an hour in a van into the city of Yaounde… in the wind and rain and dark) it was.. .really late? Yes. Really late. There were people just about everywhere. Lots of grills set up cooking.. meats. Meats that were not so appealing when you slept 3 hours and haven’t eaten anything since your pear flan and chicken in white sauce on the plane. There were also people walking on the road. In the rain. In the dark. And these people are not easy to see. I thought we might kill someone.
Got to the hotel and sat down for dinner. My first meal in Cameroon was interesting. I think they are really into starch here. We began with a delightful cold chicken salad and onion thing…. Then our entrée arrived.. a heaping plate consisting of fried fish in a white sauce, spaghetti, and rice. Yes, spaghetti and rice. Breakfast.. bread. Lunch.. rice, friend plantains and stew. Being fat is really awesome here.
On Sunday evening, we headed to the Country Directors home in Yaounde. He lives in a large home with 12 foot walls with glass shards and barbed wire on top. He has a guard. And a gardener. And a cook. And really awesome art. I met his daughter’s rabbits and had one beer (which I promptly thought to be a bad idea… higher alcohol content = red face faster = no more beer). We played hearts for a couple of hours outside this evening.,. until the hotel turned the lights off on us. We had nicknames. They called me “Ms. Information”… because I provide many of the interesting statistics and facts about snakes, spiders and bicycle safety.
Tomorrow (probably today, Monday)... training really begins and we get more shots. More info to come… and perhaps some photos… :)
-----
This was a post written two days ago. Since then, I have received two more shots (Typhoid and Hep A) and my arm has only just recovered. I did get into the "Novice Mid" language group... aka, I have a long way to go. We were issued our water filters and a lot of French books today. Rained this morning.... went to the corner store and bought a snickers bar (but did some situps).
LOVING IT! CALL ME IN THE EVENING! (237) 535-9889!!!!
Love, Kels
posted by K at 4:49 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home