Bogo Bound!

Although I'm sure it has made its way to some of you already, I'd like to formally announce that my permanent post in Cameroon will be the city of Bogo in the Extreme North Province. It is about 30 km northeast of the provincial capital of Maroua, and about 40km from the Chadian border (yikes). Actually it is a very pretty and peaceful town of about 50,000 people which is surprisingly large for an agricultural post. The village itself is very traditional and about 90% muslim, which is an unusually high concentration even for the Extreme North of Cameroon. For the first few months at post most of my time will be spent learning Fufulde with a local tutor and getting accustomed to the city and the outlying areas where I'll be working. Teaching english at the lycee (high school) is also on the agenda along with playing soccer at the local stade whenever possible. One interesting Bogo fact is that the nuns at the local catholic mission have Scrabble, so I'm looking forward to playing some scrabble en francais with them in the coming months. I didn't have time for anything other than meeting with local officials during my site visit to Bogo earlier in November, but I look forward to getting back after December 4 when we are sworn in as volunteers. The sous-prefet (government) and lamido (traditional) were both very welcoming and made it clear how exciting it is to have an American in the community. Regardless of a volunteer's political affiliation, Obama's victory in the recent election has made our jobs here about 100x easier, as the entire country of Cameroon was ecstatic after his victory. Doing nothing more than walking down the street draws chants and screams of "Barack Obama!!" I've already seen Cameroonians wearing tshirts displaying his face, and I'm almost certain I saw a billboard in Garoua the other day advertising a Barack Obama fan club. It is all very humorous to witness and I doubt my descriptions can do it justice. When I took a moto ride the day after the election in Maroua during site visit the moto driver, or 'clando' as they are called here, sparked up a very deep conversation on the implications of the presidential election.

Clando: You french?

Me: No

Clando: American?

Me: Yes

Clando: Barack Obama!

Me: Please watch the road, as we are about to be killed by a bush taxi (in very broken french)

And about 2 miles later after a long and thoughtful pause...

Clando: Are you from Hollywood?

Me: No...Washington, DC

Clando: Barack Obama!

And a little later on down the road...

Me: This is my stop, thanks very much. Here's 100cfa.

Clando: Barack Obama!

Back to Bogo- My accomodations in Bogo may have been the most surprising discovery of all during site visit. My soon to be home, which is a fairly massive walled compound, has electricity, running water, two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, and (drum roll please) a small refridgerator!!!! I find myself feeling guilty about my accomodations being so 'non peace corps-esque." But that lasts for about five seconds, at which point I start day dreaming about keeping things cold, real showers and toilets that flush

While I know some people want very specific info on what I'll be doing (mom), it is very difficult to say at this point. As I said before, teaching english at the local school is on the agenda. I've also met with the local minister for youth development who is very interested in starting some sports or after school programs. As for the Agroforestry side, the first three months at post, the work I do with my cameroonian counterpart (a very dynamic guy in the community) and my community assessment will decide what I end up pursuing. I have certain things I know I'd like to accomplish in the community with certain Agroforestry techniques and Small Enterprise Development but there's no telling if my own agenda would address Bogo's greatest needs. Time will tell, and I look forward to updating this blog next time as a fully sworn-in Peace Corps Volunteer. If anyone has the time it may be worth checking out the U.S. Embassy (Yaounde) website to see if there is any information about our swearing in ceremony. The U.S. ambassador to Cameroon will be coming north for the ceremony, I'm told it is being nationally televised in Cameroon (we already have our tailors making some lovely new blue boubous for the ceremony), and often times these things are posted on the embassy website.