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