Well, I have found a computer to use
while I am waiting for my Mac to be repaired(?). It’s
clunky and slow, but I’m thrilled to have it. It’s so great to be reconnected again right
here in my very own village and to be
able to access info when I need it.
Phew! What a relief!
I am still trying to integrate into the
culture and have met many interesting and friendly people. The culture is very
rich. I have not started actual work
yet. That will happen after IST….In Service Training…that will take place in early december. We (the new
volunteers) will go to Kribi for about a week to learn the various tools and organizations that
are available to help us, among many other things. Kribi is on the ocean, so that should be fun
and a nice change. My young friends are
very excited and one of them told me how she had brought 7 different bikinis
for just this occasion. Hmmmmmm. My
speedo will have to do, and a biiiiiiiiiig towel. I don’t want to scare anyone
too badly!
I have requested a site-mate, but
that won’t happen for at least a year if at all. It can get pretty lonely in this little
village with nothing to do. I get home
before dark and go to bed early. Unless
there’s a wedding….an all night party…. there is absolutely nothing to do at
night. But, I am told that during the
dry season, which will start in a month or so, there are many weddings as there
is not much work to do at that time (no planting or harvesting) so people get
married instead. There is nothing about “love” that is involved in these weddings. It is about culture. A woman reaches a certain age and must marry
and start popping out kids. Quite often
her father picks someone who quite often already has several wives and many
children. You rarely meet a woman who is over the age of 20 and not married
with children, unless she is a widow with children .Average family size is
around 9. Not that anyone can actually afford 7 or so children. It is simply
what is expected, but it causes a great deal of hardship. The women pretty much
accept this without question. All I can
do is speak of a different way. They
listen with interest and complain a lot but are not willing to change
anything…..even though, to a woman, they consider men “useless”. Sigh.
I think that working with the children is a better answer, teaching the
boys respect and responsibility and the girls their own value, but you have to
catch them early. There is a wonderful non-governmental organization in
Bafoussam that works with youth and they welcome PC input. We’ll see. I have to pick and choose where I will put my
efforts, as there is so much to be done.
That is why PC asks us to lay back for the first 3 months and just
integrate and learn, so we can pick wisely.
Otherwise, we will be spread too thin and get nothing done. …. or so
they say.
The mama’s here are quite striking
in their beautiful Pagne’s and head wraps.
They are all chubby and full of life and always trying to give me food.
It is rather rude to not accept, so I try not to eat before going to visit
someone. To get to the city, I have to
take a taxi, which is usually a small
beat up Toyota that they insist on cramming 7 of us into before departing. I am almost always in the back seat crushed
among 3 hefty mama’s. We usually end up
having a good laugh over it. There are
no seat belts, but we are usually so wedged in, that should there be an
accident, we probably wouldn’t budge. So
I will leave it at that for now. More to come…
