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.
Sounds like lots of progress with the house. Wonderful! Can't wait to see the results of the xtreme makeover... It is raining a bit here today, which is good, because there's a big fire up in the mountains several cities over (Azusa) - plus the wet cools it off a bit.... Good to know you are being safe about what you eat - and are feeling great! To keep that healthy streak going, I will spare you my recipes... each one called "chef's surprise".... =:-)
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ReplyDeleteMailed a box today........hope it helps with making you feel at home. Your "nest" sounds and if I see the picture is looking good....find some protein........is there chicken anywhere?? Do you want some beef jerky? Have enjoyed your outfits posted on facebook.
love ya
Mick and Chris
Yes! There is chicken but they are alive! There are some shacks that sell grilled chicken in Bafoussam and plan to seek one out for lunch next time I am there. I saw one on my way out of town the other day, but didn't have time to stop. Yes, beef jerky...
ReplyDeleteHola! This morning I sent you an email to lazlowe address and assume you are reading your blog and checking emails. Sure hope by the time you read this the computer is fixed, the house painted and you have gas. Talk about MAJOR FRUSTRATION!!!!! Hopefully beer helps. Funny story I thought would give you a laugh: As in French, there are masculine and feminine endings to nouns en español. I didn't know until a few weeks ago, when my Spanish teacher told me the difference in the words: Amiga = friend vs.Novia = girlfriend. If an Argentine woman has female social friends, they are amigas, not novias. Because I talked about "girlfriends" all the time, I recently found out some of my Argentine women friends initially thought I was gay because I talked so much about my girlfriends in the States. They figured out I wasn't when they heard my stories of Ken and some of the dates I've had since being divorced. No, I have not come out in Buenos Aires and have made many amigas. Learning a second language always come with humor and humility!! Sending you lots of love and a big hug, Argentina Ann
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