Peppe

Above: One of the main roads, RUDEC office, habaneros on the grinding stone, another main road, and then Karine and I at her church

Sunday morning I woke and traveled to Full Gospel Mission in Fiango ( a "suburb" of Kumba) with Mark to meet Karine for church. I was in for quite a surprise. Church in Cameroon is far from any church service I have attended in the States. It was nearly 3 hours long and was full of much singing, dancing, crowd participation, individual praying out loud (like speaking in tongues), and lots of passionate people. It was a very neat experience. The verse Mark 10:24 hit me with full meaning. People here are so comfortable and passionate about their faith. For most, it is all they have to focus on. In the states we are so stiff about our faith and distracted with many other things.

Sunday in Cameroon is a very quiet and peaceful day. We spent the day at the house working on laundry (by hand with 2 buckets. As Geoff said it very well as he was rinsing marks underwear "this is true community"). This took us about 2 hours and resulted with the laundry in the house because it started to rain! I am sure our neighbors got a good laugh at this.

Monday morning I woke for the first time all trip wishing I had a blanket as it was quite cold. It had rained hard all night and continued for most of the morning. In cameroon during the rainy season, a rainy morning is similar to a snowy morning back at Liberty-Benton: a 2 to 3 hour delay or perhaps even cancellation. We worked at the house until noon and then traveled to work. Most of the roads in Kumba are dirt and become very muddy when it rains. It becomes very unsafe.

After work we went to the market before it closed and purchased a rag to clean the floors, a broom, flip-flops for mark and I, beans, green beans and carrots. When we got home we began to cook our first meal completely on our own. We prepared a sauce with tomatoes, carrots, green beans, onions, and I prepared spices on the grinding stone which included habanero peppers, ginger root, garlic, and celery leaves. We added this to spaghetti noodles and some bread. The dish was very very good. About a 7 on the spicy scale. We were all sweating very much.

At the evening, we went to a shop in the neighborhood for snacks and on the way home, at about 9:30 PM there were 4 men in front of the compound where our house is. The men had a rope pulled across the street and were stopping every bike taxi and car that passed. We stopped and talked to them and learned that they were the neighborhood police force. Between the hours of 9pm until 4am they moved all throughout the neighborhood to monitor if there were any bandits in the area. It was very surprising to Mark and consequently to Geoff and I. Mark said he had never seen something like this in any of the neighborhoods. We got their numbers and saved them as the Alaska Street Police. They were very nice.

More interesting things to note:

Chickens run around Kumba like squirrels do in the states. The chickens run wild during the day but then come back to the coops at night for food. The roosters crow right outside our window starting at 6AM and continue throughout the whole day. It is quite amusing. Geoff has become very frustrated with them.

In the market, there are many many small shops that sell one specific theme of things. For instance, there is small district of maybe 6 shops that sell baby clothes. Then another that sells luggage and another that sells towels. There are very random locations tho, like the fresh veggies right beside the car mechanics and the bread bakery amongst the lumber yard. It is amazing. I love the market so much. It is how my ideal on how to shop. I will work at getting pictures.

Everyone we meet asks us if we go to church and invites us to their church. It is amazing how open and forward they are with their faith.

Small children look at us as if we are from Mars. Most of them have not seen white men before and are surprised by us.

Beginnings

Friday morning we went to RUDEC for our first day of work. We worked with them to figure out a plan of what we will be doing all summer. There are a couple of villages around Kumba that we are going to do hydraulic analyses and design pipelines to get them pipe-borne water. Additionally, we came up with some other topics that we can help them research such as rocket stoves, latrines, solar dryers, and biosand filters. The people at RUDEC are very friendly. Friday night Mark and I went to a place with live music and met with his friends and relaxed. We came in early before the group went to the nightclubs. Have to start things slow.

Saturday morning we were woken at 7 AM by our good friend Karine. She visited with us for a while and then went to the market to get food for our dinner. During the day we went to the RUDEC office to pick up a drawing and then relaxed at a restaurant with Mark's good friend Teke from the village where the water project was last year. We all went back home and I helped Karine cook dinner. I am learning a lot about cooking in Africa and have asked Karine to teach me as much as she can. I have loved helping her in the kitchen. The food has been amazing.

After dinner we went into town and got dessert until the sun went down. On the way there we took a very scenic walk where I took some pictures. They are posted alongside pictures of the main roads and some food.

Tomorrow I am going to church with Karine. I am very excited. I will not understand much because it will all be in pigeon but the music and the atmosphere should be very enjoyable.

More random things to note:

Today was hot. The sun was out more than usual and we felt it. All three of us during our walk at midday had sweat through our shirts and pants. At nights tho it cools down some.

Beers are all 23 ounces for $1. Once again, this is awesome.

All prices are negotiable. For everything.

There are tons of churches in Kumba and of all types. Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Gospel, Catholic, Etc. They are everywhere. People are very vocal and active with their faith.

A lot of people speak of climate change and how much it is negatively impacting farming.

Anticipation for World Cup is very high.

To Kill a Mocking Bird is a very good book.

Our Arrival

The trip to Cameroon was quite uneventful, which is always good. We found ourselves greeted in Douala, Cameroon by one of Mark’s good friends and a member of RUDEC (our host organization that we will be interning with). The trip Kumba was a three hour bus trip on a nicely paved road which passed many mountains and villages. Once in Kumba we had a nice reception with the members of the RUDEC office and then began getting settled into our home. The next day was spent at the market with Mark’s good friend. She is a wonderful cook and will be helping us with food during our stay. She took us all through the market and helped us get the food we will need. The market was an amazing experience. Think of the busiest day at your local farmers market and then multiply the size and craziness by 25. I loved it. We then came back and I helped prepare dinner. The food was awesome. We are going to RUDEC tomorrow to discuss our work plan. They say they have many projects that are ready for us to work on. I have taken a few pictures of the street we live on and our house but more are surely to come. Please comment any questions you have and I will try to answer them!

Some random things to note:

Beer is drank at most meals and during random breaks in the day. Needless to say, this is awesome. They have a Guinness export that is very tasty. During our reception which was quite formal, everyone ordered a beer for lunch. Additionally, during the day many people take breaks and stop at one of the many little shops for beer.

You have never heard a rainstorm until you have heard a Cameroon storm on a tin roof.

Our house is very nice. 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a large living room and a kitchen.

The only peppers they use to cook are habenero peppers and green peppers. I will be eating my fair share of hot food this summer!!

The language in Kumba is pigeon, however most everyone can also speak English.

We are one of 2 or 3 small groups of white people in the city of a couple thousand. The other group works for a human rights organization.

Everyone takes motorcycle taxis or regular cabs everywhere in town. A trip across town costs about 25 cents per person