Guest Post with Pictures

Hi all, this is Bridget, Dan's sister. Since internet connections are unreliable for Dan to upload pics, I offered to post some of his great shots of his Cameroon adventure here. For those of you on Facebook, he is able to put them all there, but not all our family and friends have access to Facebook. That's where I come in. I put captions on the certain pics that Dan asked me to make sure to post.

The swearing in ceremony - that's Dan on the right in sunglasses

Stade Nationale, Yaounde

Random Village

Mahdi and Issa

Muhammet

Nassarao Training Center, Minaret in background

Me and brothers

Granny Hamatoukour, Fete du Ramadan

Extended family on Fete du Ramadan (next several pictures)

Mahdi

Moustapha.. cameroonians like looking away from the camera for some reason

too much cous cous

Children marveling at our cameras

Storm rolling in after a soccer game

So while information about the past presidential election and upcoming inauguration only reaches me in small bits and pieces, you would think that Cameroonians themselves just elected Obama as president judging by the tremendously upbeat mood in this corner of the world. And the part I find most entertaining is the ensuing Obama naming craze. My first taste of this was seeing a “Garage de Barack Obama” in Maroua the other week, but my favorite by far is the “Coiffure (barbershop) de Barack Obama.” While winning the U.S. presidency is certainly a fantastic achievement, I don’t think the president-elect could have ever dreamt so big as to imagine his very name gracing the front of a barbershop in Northern Cameroon. I, for one, know exactly where I’ll be getting my expanding beard trimmed up the next time I’m in town. And not far down the street you’ll find a banner outside of an unrelated business that reads “Fan Club de Barack Obama.” As a peace corps volunteer I don’t believe my political neutrality would allow me to venture to such a gathering, but I’m tempted to search out the creator of said club to find out exactly what it is they do when the meetings come to order. I am intrigued. Do they have a special pledge they say before every gathering? Will goats be slaughtered in celebration on inauguration day? Are they responsible for the naming craze?

Despite my interest with the inner workings of the Fan Club de Barack Obama, the true reasoning behind my visit to Maroua this weekend is to do some research on a pest problem my counterpart is having on one of his millet fields that borders on the bush. Apparently a group of either wild pigs or cane rats (guinea pigs on steroids) enter his field every night, cut down swaths of millet stalks, eat the grain and leave nothing behind but open areas that strangely resemble crop circles. While our immediate solution to this problem is chemical pesticides, they are expensive and I feel as though I owe him a more subtle approach or at the least an alternative to gassing the local wildlife. And besides, if I could keep squirrels and rabbits out of my tomato/pepper garden in the urban jungle that is Arlington, what could possibly be so difficult about driving wild beasts back into the African bush? And if the pesticides don’t work one can always camp out at night with machetes. It may be a bit difficult to get supplies to make S’mores though.

Unfortunately my time at the cyber café is a bit short today as I've been laid up with yet another stomach bug this weekend; big shocker. And I was actually starting to put some weight back on! While writing this entry it occurred to me that sharing other cultures with Americans is one of the three goals of Peace Corps. I don’t think my ramblings about presidential fan clubs and hungry giant rats has done much to fulfill that goal today, so I’ve put a new poll/trivia question at the top right hand side of the page. So when I learn any new and interesting facts about my new home, you can too! And then at your next dinner function or happy hour you can thoroughly impress everyone with your extensive knowledge of the Sahelian region of Cameroon, and you will undoubtedly be the life of the party. So let’s start off this week with a straightforward historical question about the lovely town of Bogo. Where does the name “Bogo” actually come from? I will leave you to ponder.

Au revoir, 2008!

After leaving Bogo this morning at around 5AM on my trusty bicycle (which I fear may actually be a complete piece of junk) for a 38km ride into Maroua, I thought I'd sneak one more blog entry into the year that was 2008. The ride from Bogo this morning could best be described as delightful seeing as December and January here is considered the cold season. At about 5AM the temperature is hovering around 60 degrees. After the past few months of non stop sweating, 60 degrees is pretty damn cold and I was sporting a long sleeve shirt for the first time since leaving the States. And to make the ride a little more enjoyable I brought along my new friend, which happens to be a 3 week old puppy. I got him about a week ago, and while I didn't feel comfortable taking a two week old puppy under my wing, mostly for his sake, I then saw the emaciated mother of the 5-6 pups and figured I'd be doing everyone involved a favor. As far as naming him, I'm leaning towards 'Timshel.' Yes, bizarre I know, but its from my favorite book (East of Eden), and if I have to bottle feed this rambunctious little ball of fur for another 3-4 weeks then I'm going to name him whatever I damn well please :) While the bottle feeding for meals and waking up at 3AM to take him outside to do his business is getting a little old, overall he's been pretty entertaining.

So naturally I have to take him on any trips longer than a few hours (this one being overnight), so he got to ride along in his box strapped to the back of my bike. I'm actually quite envious considering he's got a hot water bottle and a blanket back there. Of course once he gets old enough to guard my house I doubt I'll be lugging him anywhere, so he better enjoy it while he's got it. Luckily I don't share my father's aversion to making rest stops on long voyages, so he was able to relieve himself of his breakfast right down the road from a group of elderly ladies selling beignets (small pastries). Seeing a white man going down the road on a bicycle in rural Cameroon is in itself quite a shock for most people. So I imagine I either made their day or reinforced the idea that westerners are completely insane (maybe both) when I took what looks to be more like a hamster at this point than a puppy out of the box and patiently waited as he marked his territory.

As for my business here in Maroua today aside from updating the blog and checking the ESPN website to see how terribly the Browns did this year (surprise, surprise), I also hope to meet up with my counterpqrt, a local farmer/high school teacher to discuss our plans for the next few months. Thus far he's been integral in helping me settle in and feel welcome in the greater Bogo area, except of course for the goat-heart dinner the other week. He's already implemented some very simple strategies on his farm to improve soil fertility and reduce his costs on fertilizers drastically, and his enthusiasm to diversify his income with things such as a small-scale orchard and beekeeping should keep us busy (only suggestions at this point). Often times people that don't have the financial luxury to think about long term strategies need to see something already in practice and the benefits being reaped before getting on board. So with the Peace Corps mantra of sustainable development in mind, the goal here for my first few months in Bogo is to help my counterpart set up a demo farm of sorts among his existing farming activities. In the long run one hopes that this gentleman can pass along these agricultural practices to neighbors, family, or any other interested party. He's proved to be very intelligent, level-headed and altruistic thus far and seems more than capable. Its a very small start, but if 20 people are invited to learn about what we are promoting and only one or two of them actually start to do it correctly and wholeheartedly then I'd say we've made some progress. It's only a matter of time until they too pass along the know-how.

And while in town I also need to track down my friendly shoe salesman at the Grand Marché from whom I bought a pair of soccer cleats a few weeks ago. I grabbed the wrong size and as a result I've got massive blisters on my heels and two bruised big toenails. We seemed to have a pretty good rapport despite intense price negotiations, so hopefully we can work something out. And even if not some of the guys I play with in Bogo do so barefoot, and regularly make me look silly when they have the ball. So if my friend at the market won't cut me a break I suppose its time to really find out what its like to play soccer northern Cameroonian style: Barefoot on scorching sand, gravel and jagged refuse (batteries, glass, metal, you name it). Woohoo, cant wait for the next match!

Ahhh, where to start. Well, how about the fact that I am now officially a PCV! Thats right, training has finished and last Thursday we swore in as volunteers. As much as I loved my family in Nassarao and all the training staff that whipped us into shape incredibly quickly, I will not miss the endless scheduling of activities mixed in with a complete lack of privacy at home. And don't worry, I'm not planning on becoming a hermit in my new home in Bogo. But being able to sit in a room with complete silence and no small children staring, while reading a chapter of a book nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes. And exploring Bogo on my own time with no set agenda just yet has given me a much needed repose.



I'll get back to Bogo in a moment, but right now let me give you a little taste of how life as a PCV began for me. The swearing in ceremony in Pitoa was attended by none other than the US ambassador herself, a whole motorcade of Cameroonian 'fonctionnaires,' and also members of our Cameroonian host families. While the entire ceremony was great, the part I found the most interesting was the 5 or 6 guys sitting to the side of the ceremony with drums and traditional instruments. At every applause they would enthusiastically start jamming out for about 5 or 10 seconds. But my favorite member of the group was without a doubt the 'lead singer.' At the slightest mention of any person of importance present at the ceremony this guy would, a cappella, start yelling in Fufulde about what a greay guy or gal they happened to be. My fufulde knowledge is still in its infancy, but he seemed to be damn good at building up the esteem of these movers and shakers. Best of all, I think you can rent them out for weddings and bar mitzvahs, so I may have some guests with me at the Archibald-Berney wedding in March. Entering the wedding reception to an elderly man screaming my praises in fufulde would be pretty sweet. "Hey everybody, here comes the bride's brother, he is the greatest man alive!! Sing his praises!"



But lets move on. As for the trip to Bogo, a few of us made our way from Garoua to Maroua last Friday and proceeded to take care of all the nuts and bolts of moving. Groceries, bank accounts, furniture, cooking equipment, etc. I didn't really have as much to do in that department as some of the others, so my first order of business was finding a car, bus, or something with 4 wheels to take me and all my things to Bogo that Sunday. After speaking with one of the Bogo bus drivers for a while I was instructed to return Sunday morning and all would be taken care of. 'Well that was very nice of him' I thought to myself. I left feeling very pleased that things had been arranged relatively trouble free. So Sunday rolls around and I return to the depot, and by depot I mean a large sand lot where there isn't a single motor vehicle younger than me. Upon getting off the moto and paying the driver a hear a man yell 'Bogo!!' which must be directed at me. It was a different man than the one I talked to the previous day, but he came up to me and without even asking my destination said very confidently, 'I'll be taking you to Bogo today!' His price was fair (15000cfa, 30 dollars) and I liked his attitude right off the bat. But then unfortunately I saw the car we would be taking. I think carbon dating would place this particular automobile in the 1960s, but it looked as if it had endured any number of accidents, breakdowns, war zones, etc. At one point I think it was a Mercedes, but good luck getting them to claim it. I immediately thought of those cars that the completely incompetent henchmen in the old James Bond movies used to chase 007 with. And everytime without fail one of those knuckleheads managed to careen over a hill, flipping the car over several times, and then Bond rides off unscathed, etc. I now think that these cars had been sent to Cameroun after filming under some certified pre-owned arrangement, and my chauffeur that day was lucky enough to have one of these classic beauties. I knew at that moment I should just turn and walk away, but that little voice inside my head said that this was just to damn interesting to pass up. I hopped in the car, as my trusty chauffeur popped the e-brake and began pushing. Which explains why he had it parked on a hill. He proceeded to hop into the moving car, did a whole array of pulls and pushes of levers and pedals that probably only he knows, and the ancient beast awakened and rolled out of the depot.



Luckily the road to Bogo, while unpaved, is relatively straight and flat. Although this poor vehicle made the most awful noises over the slightest pothole. From time to time smoke would rise up from where the gear shift goes into the floor. This, the driver assured me, was completely normal. About 1km outside of Bogo I began to feel immense joy, for we had reached our destination. Unfortunately, gas was no longer making it to the engine. This, the driver assured me, was completely normal. 'And don't worry', he said. 'I'm a mechanic too!' as he jumped out of the car, proceeded to disconnect the gas line and suck vigorously to remove the blockage. This, I assumed, was completely normal. Nevertheless, we made the last kilometer and I now have an interesting snippet for the blog. I'd love to continue writing about my experiences in Bogo, especially Monday's Fete de Mouton, which I spent at my Cameroonian counterparts home. Its an amazing Islamic holiday of eating, eating, eating, and eating. And the hospitality shown by traditional families is nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately my internet time is running low. Long story short, I ate goat stomach, liver, intestine and heart...so I'm really not in a place to talk about it yet anyway.

So a late Happy Turkey Day to everyone in the States! Unfortunately no turkey was available here in Cameroon, but we made do by grilling up 12 chickens at the Garoua PC office. Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fried okra, stuffing, stuffed tomatoes, deviled eggs and all sorts of other goodies were on the menu so we can't complain all that much! AND, I believe the trainees heading up to the Extreme North after training are researching the possibility of slaughtering a goat for Christmas. Yes, you heard that correctly. We shall see if that ever comes to fruition.

And thanks very much to those of you who voted on the poll this past week in which I asked for your advice on what to do upon getting to Bogo. Although judging by the results I have a sneaking suspicion that my mother voted multiple times, or is atleast guilty of coercing the voting public. While I will respect the results and call my mother as soon as I step foot on Bogo soil, I just want everyone to know that I hope that all future polls will be conducted in a free and fair manner.

And at the top of this post there is a picture of me with some of my family members here in Nassarao. Internet connection here is iffy at best, so getting even one picture up is a hassle. And yes, I am wearing my boubou. Unfortunately the little white hat that goes with it is far too small for my massive head. Additionally, this photo was taken at about 6 in the morning. One evening I had told my family that I wanted a picture with them the next morning, thinking to myself somewhere in the ballpark of 9 or 10AM, after a nice breakfast and a cold bucket bath. My two younger brothers had a different agenda, and proceeded to bang on my bedroom door at about 5:45 that morning as the sun was just starting to make an appearance. I guess the excitement was just too much to handle. Hence I look like I just crawled out of my bed. Nevertheless, I think I look quite dashing in my Cameroonian man dress.

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.

I'll begin this week by mentioning some past and upcoming milestones. For one, just a few days ago(Oct 20) marked one month in Cameroon. So far it has been pretty smooth sailing. While many problems exist here I think most people have a view of Africa that is shaped by what the evening news shows us. If you want to find the negatives here they are certainly present, but the majority of my experiences thus far are highlighted by the laid back and welcoming nature of the country. With the exception of a few cultural missteps I think I've adjusted well. An example of such a misstep would be the use of the words mosque and mosquito, words which are very similar in french as well. Note to self: When in a muslim village, accidentally saying you hate mosques requires a quick recovery.



Another important milestone is that of post announcement (Oct 30) which is when I'll find out where exactly my next two years will be spent. Waiting to hear hasd been the most difficult part of training, and I will be incredibly happy once I know what I have to look forward to. What I do know is that all 16 or 17 agro volunteers will be posted in 2 of Cameroon's 10 provinces, Nord (where we are now) or Nord-Extreme. Not sure I have a preference between the two. Most of the posts have electricity and cell phone reception. None have running water. I havent seen a legitimate flush toilet in one month and it hasnt been too much of a problem, so running water isn't exactly a concern of mine. Besides, I don't think it would be very peace corps-esque, and I might feel as though I were cheating if I had it. As surprising as this sounds a common complaint from PCVs is that they think they have it too nice here. I'm living comfortably, but that is one complaint that won't be going on my evaluation forms. One thing I did request was being posted nearby a small enterprise development (SED) volunteer, as mixing agroforestry with a microcredit program is something I hope to pursue.



Healthwise, dare I say I'm doing fine? I'd hate to jinx myself after a month of no problems. Lets just say everything is still attached and nothing has laid eggs in my stomach to my knowledge. The peace corps has given us enough info/training/shots/medicine to sustain a small rebel force. Although the info sessions can be disconcerting. To summarize, pretty much everything is a)infected with a parasite b)trying to infect me with a parasite c)poisonous d)covered in fecal matter, or e)all of the above. Common sense is usually sufficient to avoid trouble. Street food covered in flies- bad. Peelable fruit and cameroonian guinness- goooood.



As for wildlife I fear I may disappoint many who expected me to be riding zebras and elephants across the savanna by now. I have become good friends with the many insect eating frogs and lizards who often stop by my room in the evening to feast. Chameleon sightings are common although they usually waste no time in getting away from all the children trying to play with them. Livestock is most common and our friendly neighborhood rooster likes to make his presence well known at about 5AM each morning. Goats are everywhere and they eat everything. My family had 2 chickens pecking around the compound last week. I only saw one today so I believe I have the other to thank for that delicious sauce and meat over rice the other evening.



As for the agroforestry training, the staff has really started to pile on the field trips, exams and presentations. I'm starting to feel as though I'm back at college, only difference being I go to class here :) I think the following gives an idea of what I'm up to: After numerous trips "en brusse" (the bush) I've started my own tiny nursery of gum arabic trees, which can be a very lucrative asset here. By small I mean 100 individually planted polypots. Most nurseries in the area operate with tens of thousands of trees at one time. Nothing green has come out ofpolypots yet, and while I only planted 2 days ago I'm wondering whether that damn chicken has been poking around. I have no problem eating chicken again tonight so I hope for his sake that is not the case. With all the trainees it looks as though we'll have between 1000-1600 gum arabic seedlings to give to the community that has hosted us during training.



On Monday I'll be giving myfirst agricultural animation to the training staff on the topic of environmental education. Basically just a 15 minute presentation in which we assume we are speaking with a group of interestedcameroonians. We are allowed to give this one in english but I think I may give it a go in french to see how I've progressed. Unfortunately I didnt realize at the time of topic selection that it is a pretty difficult topic in a cameroonian context. There isn't much about environmental education that directly impacts people's wallets in the short term, and when most people here struggle to sustain themselves month to month anything without immediate benefit is a tough sell. However, find the right audience and explaining improved living standards and health achieved through a clean environment isnt so useless. When it comes to pollution, the average cameroonian produces about 1 percent of what the average american creates, but when every bit of that ends up in the streets, gutters and water supply it creates some pretty nasty, unhealthy areas. Nursery establishment, orchard establishment, sustainable farming systems, and basic business principles and income generation are some of the other items on the training agenda. As I said before environmental education and also ecotourism are two topics that interest me a great deal and could be put to great use in the Sahel. Unfortunately the lack of infrastructure and transportation in the north prevents ecotourism from taking off. Also, at the risk of sounding a bit political, the north of Cameroon has seen almost no development over the last 30 years due to the president being a southerner. Not my place to commentate on that, but the reality is that the major infrastructure here is either in disrepair or nonexistent. One telling example is that after every rainy season the many dirt roads linking villages to the main autoroutes are filled, flattened just repaired in general. The only strange part to this story is that it is done almost entirely by a french cotton company operating in the area that relies on the backroads to access the cotton harvests. That company rightfully has its own business concerns in mind, so anything beyond that in Northern Cameroon will remain underdevelopped for the foreseeable future without the help of NGOs and development organisations.

I'll leave it at that for this week. But first some interesting observations from the past month before parting:

- Cameroon does not have AAA, but when the PC Land Cruiser got stuck in about 3 feet of mud there were 15-20 cameroonians on hand in about 20 minutes to physically lift the massive vehicle up and out of the bog. And they accepted our invitation to lunch at the nearby village as payment.

-Refridgeration is the most amazing thing ever created. I just want you all to know that. Next time you open your fridge just stick your head in there for a second and feel that glorious burst of cool air and say "Ahh!" Do it for me.

-Hissing at people in Cameroon is a perfectly acceptable and preferred method of getting someones attention. When I come back to the US and hiss at you out of habit please dont slap me. That would be culturally insensitive of you.

-A bush taxi with approximately 13 seats can fit 20 people, a few small children, 2-3 goats and about 3 tons of maize sacks on the roof. Yet the driver is convinced he is taking part in the Indy 500.

-Cameroonians with TV watch the american show Prisonbreak religiously. I never watched it in the states so I couldnt say whether or not the episodes are current, but globalisation seems to be alive and well.

-To elaborate on that, every conversation I've had with cameroonians indicates the same thing. For anyone who believes that America has lost popularity in the world, dont tell that to anyone here. In the tiny muslim village of Nassarao kids love our music and films, adults want to talk about the election and everyone in general sees the US as a country where you can breathe the air and become rich. That last part obviously isnt true and Ive tried to convey a more realistic vision of our country. While many of these people will never have an opportunity to see the US for themselves, the idea of an american dream seems to be something that translates to many cultures. They know all the great things about our country and they know our faults just as well (French TV is widely available here). But most importantly, America is the place where you can marry Shakira (very popular here), make 1 million cfa (about 2500 dollars), and clothes wash themselves in machines.