In Bafoussam at PC office. Still without my computer.  (Ouch)  House is now painted and looking good. Went to a Funeral (des obseques) with my new friend the lady bar owner in Batie. It was so much fun.  Arrived around 10am and ate and drank beer, then church service, then danced (traditional) and sang and ate gross amounts and laughed and talked and drank more beer and it was a huge party.  These events are very popular in Batie. Looking forward to attending a lot more.  It is very costly for the family of the deceased as they provide all the good stuff.  Many, many, many people attend.  Next time I will take photos if I can.  Am meeting many people. Beginning to hook up with womens groups who are very interested in what I might teach them....hmmmmmmmmm.

Friends (classmates) coming to visit this weekend. Yay.  Should be some good laughs.  Been missing the wonderful American humor.

Have to run.  Much to do.  Am feeling very lost and out of touch without my computer.  I'll keep hoping for the best. I'll be in touch with a better blog soon.  P

Okay, I'm having a bad week.  I'm writing this at the PC office in Bafoussam because I spilled a drink on my computer about 3 nights ago.  It's dead.  I've located a business here who repairs computers, so I decided to bring it in....I'm desperate.  So they said they would open it and dry it out and see what happens then.  So I left it there (yipes....they didn't inspire confidence) and they said they would call me on Saturday.  Uh-huh.  Cameroonians don't exactly follow up when they say they will (but I do!!!! so I'll be on em like white on rice) for intance, the painter, tho he dropped off the paint, still hasn't shown up.  I managed to wheedle his number out of some lady, but so far have not been able to contact him.  As it stands now, he is running 56 and 1/2 hours late.....Now, that's late, even for a Cameroonian.  They call it "Cameroon Time" show up whenever, because things happen, as opposed to "American Time" (on time). We were warned about it during training. (sigh) Can you tell I'm frustrated? 

There is some problem with gas (for cooking) in Cameroon....at least in the West....there doesn't seem to be any available anywhere right now.  I am out for 3 days now.  Which means no cooking....(and, worse, no coffee in the morning) .which means I've been eating tomato sandwiches and been cranky for three days now....it's either that or the rat.  But today, since I am in Bafoussam, I will seek out some chicken or a pasta omelet (they are good) before I head back to Batie.

Now, HERE'S a GOOD Thing!!!!!   I've just learned I got 4 packages today.  They are sitting right here in the office. I'm looking at them and they are calling to me. They are from Nathan, ZaZa, Jon and Durkie!  I can't wait to open them.  I'm sure there are some good eats and treats in among them.  They have been sitting at the Peace Corps office in Yaounde for quite a while.  Finally, I called the mail guy there and asked about packages I was expecting. He said, oh yeah, you have many....didn't I email you? Ahggggggg.  But now I have them in my hot little hands and will figure out some way to get them all home.  (there are also 2 letters...you know who you are...things are looking up!). Nathan, It seems like centuries ago that you said you sent a package. Oh well..... Now you all know to send to the new address I gave you, right?  I know there are other packages still coming to the old addresss (my bad) and will definitely keep an eye out! (Maryann.....still hsn't arrive....been ions....but am sure will get here)

So, my contact will be sporadic for a little while since I have to come into bafoussam to get online and retrieve emails, but this too shall pass.  Sorry about this blog.....I had to vent.  P

My back yard viewed from my back door.  To the left, that little part there is my latrine.  the rest of the building back there is for building fire for outdoor cooking and storage, it would appear.

Well, here I am stuck in the house again.  It’s raining.  I was in the village at the “Carrefour” when I got a call that the painter wanted to come and drop off the big buckets of paint for my house!  Hooooooray!   ……so I had to return and then it started to rain, so…..  The painter dropped off the paint and then left.  He will begin tomorrow at 7am he told me.

It was lunch time in the village and I was walking aound looking for something to eat and some people stopped me and said I should try what sounded like “le rah”  which I was thinking meant “the rat”. And I said “le rat? “And they said “oui, le rat”.  “Le rat?”   “Oui, le rat.”  “I never ate rat before.”  Heh, heh, well you should try it .” “But,  where did it come from?”  “The fields.”  “It’s good, you should try it.”  “But….”  “Taste it, it’s good. If you’re going to live here, you’ve got to at least try it…it’s good.”  “But….”  They lifted the cover off the pot for me to see it.  I saw a bunch of rat legs….big ones…. with the little feet attached complete with little nails…..gulp.  I had no other choice but to try it.  Holding on to the little paw, I took a very little bite. It didn’t taste too bad, but I couldn’t really get past the “rat” part, especially since it’s little nails were digging into my hand.  I took a few more little bites to satisfy them grappling with the skin which is very thick and tough,  then said I had to return home for the painter.  They said “take it home and eat it there”.  So I left on a moto for home, rat in hand.  When I got there, I threw it over the fence in the back yard and into the fields from whence it came. Yyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaggggggg.  I realize that I am not the adventurous eater I thought I was!...or maybe that I was once, but no more!

I’ve been walking into town every day to try to make contact and integrate.  Sometimes I just sit and read on a bench in front of the Mayor’s building just to be there.  That’s what I was doing today before I decided to look for lunch…..

Am really trying to make contact with some women’s groups or youth organizations if there are any.  Next week, I will start to make appearances at the schools (which just started their year) and see what comes of it.  Meanwhile, I am really feeling isolated and bored.  I’ve got to find a way to work my way into this community (other than eating rat) which I’m sure I will eventually……patience.  Maybe the painter will prove himself an interesting fellow.

The people I have met, tho friendly, never really ask me any questions about  America.  I guess it's too far out of their reality.  I'm always the one asking the questions and making conversations or offering information other than "good morning (evening), how are you". It is really hard to learn anything.  I recently purchased a map of Batie from a local cartographer.  This is very rare as there really aren't any maps of anything around anywhere in Cameroon it seems.  Anyway, the map seems to have a lot of info on it including history and caste system.  When i finally decipher it, I think I will be a lot smarter. It's a start.

There you have it.  A lovely outfit that accentuates my tall, willowy figure.  This is speech at swearing in. The Batie market (marché) is today if I have counted correctly (it happens every 8 days.....huh?).  I'm going to check it out.  I hear it is small and doesn't offer much more than you can find in the shacks in carrefour Batie (this one is at the carrefour Tshomso  up the road a piece...still Batie village) but it is a good way to make contact with other Batie residents.  Batie is so spread out due to it's agricultural nature and has 5 carrefours.  This will be only the second one I have visited so far. I shall refrain from wearing this lovely outfit this time. A la prochaine...

Hi

Have gotten my furniture recovered by a great "menuisier" (handyman, carpenter etc) from Bafoussam.  Met a wonderful woman in Bafoussam who has been helping me know who to hire and where to buy things.  She has been a friend to many past Peace Corps volunteers and so understands americans and the Peace Corps better than most.  The furniture and house cleaning has made a huge difference.  Now if I can just succeed in getting the place painted, this place will really become quite livable. The proprietaire (landlord) seems to be resistant.  Will keep pushing. Am still eating very little protein, but have been told there is a good (clean) butcher at the carrefour so will have to face up to that pretty soon. I will try to get someone local that I trust to go with me.  It's pretty basic and gross and none of the shacks that sell  foodstuffs looks clean, but I'm gonna have to toughen up here if I'm going to stay healthy and get a little variety in my diet. There are no dairy products available. So far I've been feeling great however and have had no digestive problems that are so common here....especially for Les Blanches.

I'm meeting more people and some have been very helpful with ideas of what is needed here and how I  might help. (For now I am just information gathering).Everyone is involved in agriculture (to feed their own families primarily) to one degree or the other, and the poor quality of the earth here comes up often, It's rainy season, the corn has been harvested and now everyone the women and their kids)  is planting again like crazy, beans mostly....back breaking work. Have found myself trapped in the house quite often by the rains that will be around for another month yet..  Then the dry season will come, complete with it's own problems, primarily DUST being blown around everywhere and covering everything.  It remains to be seen which season I will prefer, but the rainy is the longest, so hopefully that one. Here are the seasons:

July to September - big rainy season (cold)
October to February - dry season (dusty)
March to May/June - small rainy season.

My cooking repertoire so far leaves a lot to be desired......i.e. lots of pasta.  Am about to try to make chocolate chip cookies (from scratch....who, me?)  in a makeshift oven the PC has taught us to devise....basically, a heavy pot with sand in the bottom, covered over the fire, put cookies on cookie sheet inside once preheated.  Maybe some of you campers with a sweet tooth have tried this method.  Anyway, time for my morning pasta (not really, I will have eggs)...bye for now.  p.s.  When I post a picture, I never know where in the blog it will show up....so above is the pic of the menuisier in process of recoving my couch.