Big new update!

14/2/07

Much to my consternation, I realized that Cameroonians celebrate Valentine’s Day. Yuck. It has been my least favorite holiday since my parents embarrassed me in middle school by sending balloons. We had a review day in English class so the kids learned how to say “I love you” and “sweetheart.” For some reason they thought this was just grand, clapping and cheering. Kids are weird sometimes.

Fête de la Jeunesse (Youth Day)

This past week the annual Youth Day celebrations were held. I’m glad the US doesn’t celebrate such a day, because it’s an excuse for teenagers to get drunk and dance in clubs until morning, plus they get almost a week off from school to “prepare” for the festivities. It’s actually a national holiday (no school on Monday, officially). The week before Youth Day (February 11) students at all the schools practice marching. They put on cultural soirées in the evening. The majorettes dance. Women sell lots of sugar cane. It’s a grand party.

From Wednesday afternoon until the next Tuesday we had no class so the students could practice. I’m sure the few students who participated could’ve practiced after school but I’m not complaining since I enjoyed the days off. Each secondary school in Bokito put on a soirée, though I only attended two. The lycée had theirs on Saturday. The student chorus performed, students lip-synched (a popular act here), acted in skits, performed traditional dances and produced a news program. I enjoyed myself, and was even forced to participate in the Yambassa (one of the tribes in this area) dance. Luckily, there’s only one picture and it’s blurry.

On Sunday, we sat in the grandstands to watch the primary and secondary schools of this area march. Each school had a sign and the students passed in neat rows, dressed in their matching uniforms, singing songs like “Today is youth day. We are students at ---------- Primary School. Welcome M. le Sous-Prefet.” I enjoyed myself. Unfortunately, someone borrowed my camera for the soirée the night before so I have no pictures of the march. Next year!

La Saison Sèche (Dry Season)

The most exciting event this past weekend (for me, at least) was the rain! It rained for the first time since mid-November! And not just a brief minutes-long shower, but a real downpour that lasted for several hours, complete with thunder, lightning and high winds. Too bad it was during the soirée! It meant we lost power and everyone got wet. The wind blew rain sideways through the open windows. I enjoyed the freshness and didn’t even mind the mud because the air had been so dry. Another negative side effect manifested itself days later, as the insects re-emerged to harass the locals.

Dry season in the Center province lasts from approximately mid-November to late March (so I’m told). The general effects of dry season are: limited water, limited food choices, high prices and empty wallets. Farmers aren’t harvesting much, food costs more because less is produced and some things are hard (or impossible) to find. Everyone is strapped for cash after Christmas so the economy slows. I’ve noticed prices on everything have gone up slightly.

Obviously I’m not affected like my students, since I get the same stipend from the Peace Corps every month. The same quantity of food costs more at the market, and okra is difficult to find (most unfortunate since I recently acquired corn flour & began frying okra, eggplants, etc).

On a side note, I just finished Jason Carter’s book Power Lines about his Peace Corps experience in South Africa from 1998-2000. Not only is he a good writer, but he frequently mentions his grandfather (the former president and my personal hero, Jimmy) and many of his experiences are similar to my own. I recommend it to anyone interested in Africa, development or the PC. The book is an easy read; I finished it in 3 days.

For anyone interested, it is the 25^th book I have read since arriving in June. That’s not including the countless Newsweek, Washington Monthly, Nation, National Geographic, New Yorker and Economist issues I’ve been sent. I’m more well-read than ever before, though I’ll admit I’m reading an issue from November 2006.

I’ve cannibalized the National Geographic for teaching materials. If you have any simple posters I can use to teach vocabulary (that’s relevant to Cameroon, obviously these kids don’t need to learn the words for space travel or strawberries) I would appreciate them. The construction paper was particularly useful when learning colors.

25/2/07

For the first time in a very, very long time I stayed out late. This morning I got home around 5am after a night of eating, drinking, and dancing. The teachers’ association held a reception for a former colleague (who is now the principal at a secondary school nearby) and his school’s teachers’ group. After a day of sporting activities, we didn’t start eating until nearly 11pm. I am very tired. People find it strange that I want to sleep, and continue to stand at my bedroom window and ask questions. I eventually told one her girl that I’d beat her if she didn’t leave me alone.

I was allowed to play soccer, mostly, I think, because people find it amusing when white people do anything (like dance, walk by, eat, speak French, etc). I and a female colleague were put in as forwards. After all, women are incapable of keeping up with men, so it’s best if they put us out of the way. Then the “coach” took us out after only 10 minutes, saying “now the real game begins.” The lycée lost 4-2, so it serves him right for being a chauvinist pig.

It rained yesterday. Now we have no power or water. WHY?!

P.S. I saw on the news that Jimmy Carter came to Cameroon!

09/3/07

Sorry, loyal readers, it’s been a very long time. The internet café in Bokito is still not “officially” open and even though I’ve spent an entire month here, I haven’t had time to track the guy down.

Not much has been happening here lately, except I’ve graded lots of papers and filled in report cards.

Journée Internationale de la Femme (International Women’s Day)

March 8 is Women’s Day. Everyone has a new dress made out of the official fabric (my kaba is in fuschia) and then parades around. And after the parade, all the ladies go to bars and get drunk and party. Sounds like a good time!

Much like Youth Day, Women’s Day involves a grand ceremony at the Place des Fetes with dignitiaries, speeches, prizes, dancing and singing. I got invited to the Sous-Prefet’s house for a reception. In the evening I went out for awhile, but bars in the center of town are full of crazy, drunk people who just like to annoy la blanche. I took the day off, I drank my beer, I celebrated womanhood.

The cats chased, killed and then devoured a huge lizard. Yum!

Please send new movies! I haven’t seen anything in a theater since June 2006! I’m waiting for a recording of the Oscars but I haven’t seen any of the nominees!