Happy End-of-Ramadan, Everyone!

That actually occurred on November 3^{rd, for those of you not well immersed in Islamic culture. My location in Cameroon is actually not primarily Muslim, though there is a high population of Muslims in the North regions.}

Not much has happened since my last posting. We celebrated Halloween by carving a pineapple (and later eating the blackened interior), making guacamole and tortilla chips and playing cards. It was a fun time for all.

Next week, the location of our posts will be revealed. We agros know that the majority will be in the Northwest and West provinces, and a few will head to the Littoral region. I have asked for electricity, though that will not be the determining factor in my placement. I am hoping I will be able to open a post because my experience in Young Life mirrors the beginning stages of a Peace Corps post. Contact work, hanging out with Cameroonians, and club are all pretty much Peace Corps tactics, too.

We visited two more volunteer posts since my last posting. We headed to Natalie's post near Dschang last week and Rich's post in Bangang this week. Both were really enriching experiences and helped us all to get a better idea of the volunteer's role. At Natalie's, we walked into the hills (beautiful vistas) and saw some really intense farming sites (steep, exposed slopes). We ate with the village members (who had written songs about agroforestry), met the chief (chef) and drank a few glasses of palm wine before heading home. At Rich's, we actually participated in cutting down young trees that had been planted in a field as an alley-cropping demonstration. We cut with our machetes, and then watched the local farmers cut another line with their machetes far more efficiently than we had. They said our machetes weren't sharp enough. We also saw a medicinal garden at Rich's, and ate (of course!) some local food with LOTS of piedmont (habanero hot stuff). Once again, half of my face became numb.

In both of these trips, the actual driving there was an enormous adventure. We took Peace Corps vehicles both times, and drove up some roads that were really, really… bad. Steep, with huge holes and lots of mud. Coming back from Rich's post, we had a bit of rain… and a bit of slope. The combination was… well… scary. Megan at one point yelled "HIGH SIDE!"- If that helps to paint a picture. I pressed my whole body against the window in semi-hysteric state. We slid down a couple of hills sideways and ended up pushing the red van for awhile (I watched.. hehe).

Last week we were also given the honor of visiting a Chefferie in Bamenjoun. This was really pretty cool (hopefully I can get some photos up from the event). This particular Chef has a pretty big kingdom and we were allowed to enter his palace. When we arrived, we were greeted by three groups of dancers, each performing a different dance. One was a huge circle of women singing and dancing. Another was a circle of men dressed in white robes with red hats (the "purification" dance). My favorite was a war dance that was made up of men dressed in fur robes with hollow nuts on their legs. They danced to a strong, fast drumbeat. We sat in a smallish room and were able to ask the chef questions.

His entrance was an interesting one, none of us really knowing what to expect. He came in with a guard who would periodically "Yelp!" and wore what looked like an upside-down colander on his head. He had two ministers with him dressed in traditional clothing. He sat in a large chair of a dark wood, completely carved with African symbols and scenes. We had to bring gifts, and I believe we ended up pitching in together for 20 liters of oil and a huge thing of rice. We gave him a box of condoms, too. I didn't really get that. The guy has 14 wives. He gave us a tour of some of his palace, and we saw his "museum" that was mostly full of pictures of the chef at various stages of his life. He did have some interesting statues, pelts and carvings. After the tour, we were brought to the main court of the palace where another dance was taking place. This one was done by the medicine man. I called it the "scary dance", because it was… it was scary. Scary masks, scary statue of witch. Scary. Also intended to "purify" us.

Other than these activities, training has continued to slowly plug along. French is still a struggle, but my host-Grandfather told me today that he thinks I am improving. He pointed at his ears, and then at me and said "Tu comprend!? Bien!!" and shook my hand vigorously. Then he said "bien" about a hundred more times, and shook my hand with each bien. Thanks, gramps!

My next posting will probably be about my post! This is big, as it will determine my surroundings for the next two years! Very excited! Can't wait to cook my own food and eat vegetables not deep-fried or surrounded by carbohydrates!

Oh, yea.. and I hurt my foot. Sprained a tendon. Apparently, not worthy of a trip to S. Africa (not even worthy of a Cameroonian hospital visit). I have been told to "take it easy". Haaaa. Suuure. Oh, and I puked last week. First time. It was the boiled bananas and meat in peanut sauce. But, I made it a month!

Affectionately African,

Kelsey