April 8, 2015: I’ve
missed so many days of updates due to time constraint and internet “if-iness”
that I want to post a bulleted timeline of key experiences. It’s remarkable how
much you can learn about a culture when you jump in with both feet. I’ve really
gained a good perspective on life in Cameroon and have fun trying to imitate
their “dialect.” It makes them laugh- I’m sure AT me but I’m cool with that;)
Today was a day off of class though Paul and I met with several of our trainers that we are proctoring to carry the program on in our absence. Most are surgical and clinical nurses from around Cameroon. They took the first course then traveled many hours back here from their homes to teach for an hour or two with Paul and I observing. We stole some time to travel to Beau about 20 minutes away. It is the gateway to Mt. Cameroon and the start/finish of the Mt. Cameroon mountain run that happens each February on the second weekend. It cost 10,000 francs to enter or about 17 bucks. The town is beautiful and the massive edifice of this impressive landmass, Mt. Cam, towers over everything. Edwin, our driver today and student of ours, says "somedays the mountain feels very close to your eyes!" There is a real university here and the President has a German built "cabin" and presidential offices for his frequent visits. He had a stadium and his own causeway built to make public addresses and accessing his property more convenient. We drove back to Mutengene with nine adults riding in the Land Cruiser. We picked up six of them at the hospital in Beau where they had a meeting.
Lunch today was called ekwong. It is a ground yam paste wrapped in a dark green leaf and cooked in a sauce until the consistency of overcooked ravioli. Served with rice of course. Paul loved it. It was unique with an iron and earthy flavor and okra-like texture. Paul and I went to the big market in Mutengene afterwards but Gladys the cook wanted to guide us so we wouldn't get "robbed on the price." I did some negotiating and ended up with a soccer jersey for the Cameroon national team, the Indominitable Lions, for $3.50. The fabrics are fun to look at. We followed that with a quick game of 3 on 3 basketball with our volleyball friends back at the compound. We then headed to Dr. Henry Ndasi's house for dinner with his family and Professor Pius Tih (pronounced Pious Tee). Quite an experience and a great honor to have a meal with these two prominent and revered Cameroonian leaders. Also I learned that they don't wear much or make leather here because they eat it. I had "beef hide" for dinner. It tastes and chews like you'd expect. Everything else was wonderful! Thanks Dr. Ndasi
Catching up with a recap
Monday, March 30th:
I departed for Cameroon with a long stop in Minneapolis. Sorry Jay, no stop at
the Senator Craig memorial bathroom stall. Endured the Mall of America.
Tuesday, March 31st:
Woke up in Paris and Texans at the airport headed for oil town of Malabo,
Cameroon. Meet Manjong Denis and driver Stephen at Douala airport. Drive to
Mutengene in rush hour.
Wednesday, April 1st:
Meet Dr. Ndasi and prepare for inaugural CBC Good Samaritan 1st
responder course. There are 16 students and a few more sit-ins including a
local journalist who learned about the project via coconut telegraph. He asked
for an interview to describe the project and course material. He recorded it on
a ten year old Sony Handicam. At lunch I was adventurously eating and had my
first encounter with “pepe” or hot pepper sauce. Seriously freaking hot. Ruined
my yam with it. Dr. Ndasi ate it for me. Ran the farm road and met “old Ma’am”
who ran with us! Paul and I went to Welty’s “house 5” to organize supplies and
assemble kits and headlamps.
Thursday, April 2nd:
They have devotions in the chapel/classroom every morning here at the complex.
It also serves as a bit of a town meeting. Paul, the Weltys and I attend and
are invited up individually to introduce ourselves and say a few words. Students
are opening up on the second day of class and are buzzing with excitement at
their new skills. They are eager to practice on us and each other throughout
the day. We had a ragtag graduation ceremony that they all walked away from
beaming. Everyone is fascinated by headlamps. They’re told to keep them in
their “pidgeon hole” or glove box as we know it. We have a big lunch that is
popular with the drivers: fufu corn, jama jama, fish head and a banana. Tom
Welty, Paul and I walk the 10 minutes to Mutengene to find a cold beverage. We
end up at the “opinion house” which looks about as reputable as a Vegas truck
stop like all of the other establishments in Mutengene. We actually found cold
drinks though and sat to enjoy. It dawned on us that we may be at a brothel.
The Welty’s have primarily worked with the HIV/Aids epidemic and
OB/Gyn/Childbirth care in their 17 years. They’ve studied HIV/Aids population
which was about 10.5% when they started and is now around 4.6%. The “free
women” percentage is 50%! HIV/Aids affects less than 1% of the population of
America. We walk home in the dark and make it alive, even running into an
acquaintance on the way.
Good Friday, April 3rd:
After an unexpected French toast and scrambled egg breakfast, I walk up the
road to house 5 to find the grounds staff climbing the mango trees and shaking
fruit loose to the ground. About 30 % of the fruit survives and they give us a
large box full. They saw that I had pick the two worst mangoes on the tree and
were politely correcting me by giving me 50 good ones. The tree is on U.S. soil
at the CDC infectious disease research facility adjacent to our complex. It has
a 12 foot security fence to keep out the Cameroonians who have a 14 foot ladder
to collect mangoes in the CDC yard. “Your tax dollars at work!” says Edie. The
CBCHS complex here was originally the estate of an eccentric French man of
wealth. He made an expansive, exotic garden for his unhappy bride and her
friends to make them feel at home. Edie strolled us through it and gave us a
quick history. The lower garden is now allotted as farmland that is used for
free by the employees of the CDC. The U.S. government has the largest stake
around their building. We meet Rose in the field who is furiously chopping
weeds around her bare feet with a serious machete. Around lunch we head to
Limbe the beach town for a little bit of shop and market exploration and
swimming at Seme beach resort. We hit Down Beach for fish dinner and a sunset
with our first look at Mt. Cameroon out of the clouds.
Saturday, April 4th:
After breakfast Paul and I are invited to “sport” at volleyball with several
employees of the complex. They are all in soccer garb and seem very serious.
They are and they are seriously good with coaching, drills and finally games
including a ref with a whistle and bad play calls! We play in the sun for three
hours. Tom, Edie and I head back to Limbe for more beach time because we
promised the kitchen boss, Gladys we’d take her. She got permission from her
husband to be gone for the day to bargain for us at market and learn to swim.
She does well at the market, not so much at the swimming but she has potential.
She asks me, “Freddie. If I go out to far can you bring me back?” She’s feeding
us so I agree to keep her alive. Tom takes us to a nice restaurant by any
standard called the Miramar. It’s an upscale (for Cameroon) hotel and resort on
the beach with beautiful views and a packed, shallow, swimming pool. I feel a
little overcooked from sun today.
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