Monday, October 10, 2011

“If you get down, Get up oh oh... / When you get down, Get up eh eh... / Tsamina mina zangalewa / This time for Africa”


Just like in the States, I’m finding I get along better with groups of men than groups of women.  As I’ve gone around and done presentations, it seems that the men are respectful and engaged.  They ask questions and seem interested in learning.  They are always wanting to know more and seem enthused by the idea that it’s entirely possible to eliminate – or at least greatly diminish the number of cases of – malaria (paludisme).  Given that Cameroon is in the midst of a free mosquito bed-net (moustiquaire) distribution campaign, I was able to joke with them that they better not use the nets for other purposes (i.e. sell them, catch fish with them, or give them to their girlfriends to turn into wedding gowns – all of which have been known to happen).  The women on the other hand tend to mock me and even went so far as to tell me they didn’t have the TIME to hear me talk one morning.  This, in a country where time is usually irrelevant and I had already courteously sat through an hour and a half of them paying dues…     

I’ve had success with females in one-on-one scenarios, though.  The chief’s palace (chefferie) intimidates me a little, so I had been a bit hesitant in my interactions there.  However, I did a soy demonstration with one of the chief’s wives, who had expressed an interest in learning.  She holds a fair amount of influence within the compound, as she is responsible for raising a number of the children and also preparing most of the meals for the people who live there as well as when they host guests.  As these things often go, we had logistical problems along the way (including me getting caught in a downpour while taking the soybeans to be ground), so the tofu didn’t turn out perfect – but the taste was still flavorful and she was excited about giving soymilk to the kids.  After we had finished, she invited me back to her residence because, as she put it, it was my turn to learn how to prepare Cameroonian food (i.e. stirring the big pot of corn mush [cous cous de maïs]).   We had a good time and I learned so much through this informal interaction.  Whether she ever prepares tofu again is uncertain, but I’m happy to have made an important connection in village.

Speaking of female camaraderie, a few of us PCVs had Girls Night in Bapa on September 11th.  It was odd reflecting on the day’s 10th anniversary significance, but wonderful to catch up with friends and encourage each other on post-Peace Corps plans.  Of course, the Indian food (gingered chick peas with yogurt on rice with a side of naan flatbread), salad, and chocolate chip cookies were nice, too.                

Although nothing quite compares to a spoonful of Jif®, I made a homemade all-natural variety by having roasted peanuts (arachides) ground.  It tastes amazing and, I might say, made for a wonderful spicy ginger peanut carrot curry on rice one night.  Of course, it’s not bad spread on store-bought chocolate cookies, either!

The nurse at my Health Center gave birth to a baby boy and, as is the custom, returned to her home within 24 hours of delivery.  In the States, new parents are so protective of their newborns with their car-seats and ten thousand safety measures but here you have no choice but to cram into a taxi and/or plop down on a moto with a new bundle of joy.  Despite my fear of children, I took gifts (a hat and socks I had found in Yaounde for the baby, warm slippers for mom, and a carrot cake for the family) and held the kid.  It still doesn’t make my biological clock tick, but I must admit he’s pretty darn cute.

The new toy I introduced to the kids in my concession this month was a Yo-Yo.  Although I don’t have the hand-eye coordination to do any tricks, I showed them Youtube videos of various stunts which left them wide-eyed.  We haven’t produced any prodigies yet, but they’re having fun seeing who can at least make it go up and down the most times before inertia kicks in.   The funniest thing though, is that the youngest one is so short that he has to stand on my step just to deploy it so that it doesn’t hit the ground before it runs out of string.

I attended a demonstration in a nearby village on how to make soap (savon).  It’s a simple enough procedure, but I’m trying to get some concrete facts and figures on how profitable it really is before I start introducing it in Bapa as an income generating activity.  









 








 
Oh, I’ve also been loaning CDs to a Cameroonian friend.  I know I have a random collection to begin with, but I find it especially amusing that so far, his two favorites are “The Best of Rent” (YOU try explaining what a musical is – and a musical about people with AIDS on top of it!) and “The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium.”  Go figure…