This week is the third week of PST and I am getting more and more comfortable both with my
family and with Cameroon. This past week I feel like I have made so much progress in my host
family. I have gotten more comfortable with knowing what I can do to help and also which of my
own chores I can do for myself. This past Saturday I did my own laundry, which was a two hour
ordeal and resulted in slight “rugburns” to the part of my fingers that was used to scrub.
However, I have also been helping with the dishes more and have been praised excessively on
how fast and well I do the dishes. I’m not really sure what this is about since I seem to do
everything else wrong. I suspect it may be related to the girls not wanting to do the dishes
themselves. Either way, I enjoy feeling like there is
something I can do to actually help out.
This past week I have also had more time with my host sisters, which has been great. They are
way more relaxed with me when it is just the three of us and I have been able to get to know
them much better. It was another trainee’s birthday last Thursday so we got back to Bokito late.
When I got close to my house, my host sisters came running at me and gave me a huge hug. It
was so sweet and pretty much made my night that they were just waiting for me. The younger
one, Nanoo, is just crazy and goofy and has endless energy. She wanted to “faire le sport” this
Saturday, but myself and Marie Rose, the older girl, kept telling her that it was still too hot. Finally
around 5pm it was cool enough. Apparently to them, sports mean racing, doing cartwheels, and
playing tag (all of which I am terrible at). We all (including the neighbor) had a good laugh at my
expense though. Luckily, I was able to win back a little admiration with my drawing skills. The
girls also love listening to my iPod even though I’m pretty sure they hate all of my music. There
is just one song that they enjoy, which they have decided to play on repeat (Toutes les Nuits by
Colonel Reyel- which I picked up during study abroad). After spending more time with them, I
have also realized that I have a way easier time communicating with Marie Rose. She
understands my broken French most of the time and is very patient about explaining things to
me. I am so grateful for her!
After spending so much time with my family this weekend, I’ve noticed how much less wasteful
they are here. I understand that it is out of necessity, but it was just been really making me
question how wasteful I was in the States. Most of the fruits and veggies that I eat here are
things that grocery stores in the States get rid of. When I volunteered with Table to Table, these
were the exact types of fruits and veggies that grocery stores were donating to us because they
wouldn’t sell them. It is just small things, like bruises, wilting, or brown spots, and sometimes a
small part of the fruit that is no longer good. Since arriving here, all the fresh foods that I have
eaten have had these imperfections and I have felt fine! The difference in food safety is just very
striking.
Lastly, two awesome developments this week: I got my pagne back from the tailor and we got
descriptions of all the posts!!!!!! I don’t have a photo yet of my outfit, but it is very fancy! I think
for now I will wear the top and bottom separately until I have a more formal occasion. They are
beautiful though and fit perfectly. As an amateur seamstress, I am blown away by the tailor’s
ability to create an outfit that fits perfectly with only several measurements. The outfits are very
fitted too, with little stretch in the fabric, which makes it even more impressive. The post
descriptions that we received have a ton of information, but it is a lot to sort through! We now
have to rate our top 3 and bottom 3 choices for posts. We can take into account the region, type
of work, presence of other volunteers, and type of agency we would be working with. There are
several that have elements that really interest me, but I haven’t made any choices yet. It won’t
be until week 5 (which is not that far away!) that we find out final decisions on our placements.
I will end with a list of little things that I have realized can absolutely make my day here in
Cameroon:
-toilet that you can sit on, rather than hover above (extra plus: if it flushes)
-cold (more like cool) beverages
-Nescafe (yes, I know it isn’t very good coffee, but quite frankly I can’t really tell the difference
anymore)
-mirrors (so that’s what my hair has looked like for the past two weeks…)
Finally, my family and friends, please keep me updated on life in the States/your lives! I may
take a while to respond to your fb messages and e-mails, but I promise I am thinking about you
all!
