The 'shits' on the train... and other Far North adventures...

Let me tell you about travel in Cameroon... absolute insanity! My trip to the Far North was beautiful and interesting at best; hot, smelly, and shitty (literally) at worst. My destination was Maroua, in the extreme north of Cameroon... I’m talk’n the other end of the country, bordering Chad, Nigeria, and the Sahara Desert. So, the journey there, not so bad... bumpy, hot bus rides, with only one pee break in eight hours... to be expected... a very tiring train ride for twelve hours overnight, where it’s impossible to sleep, but at least I had my baguette and the excitement of a foreign land to keep me company. Funny... my colleagues described the train ride like a gentle rocking of a cradle, where one can easily fall asleep soundly. I didn’t see it that way, more like an erratic roller coaster ride, where I was hanging on all night, sleeplessly, so not to bang my head and fall off my bunk as the train chugged along!!

Let me tell you about the return trip first... cause well... that was the most shitty. We left Maroua at 5AM... okay, let me correct that, we left my hotel at 5AM... waited at the bus station until the bus felt like leaving at 7AM. It was a hot and rather uncomfortable bus ride seeing as I had started to feel pretty queezy after eating all that strange northern food all week. But, we arrived in Ngaoundere at 3:30PM I think. Had to wait around in heat and long line-ups to get our already reserved tickets (don’t ask me why we reserve train tickets, seeing as it appears to be more inconvenient, involving more paperwork and long line-ups, but at least you can get one of those beds to pretend to sleep on). The train was delayed (of course), so we didn’t leave Ngaoundere until about 8PM. My colleague and I were quite pleased we were finally moving, but quite dismayed that we had to share our room with two mothers and their two crying children all night... and they didn’t want the window open too much, cause air would be too cold (please keep in mind, it’s 30degrees outside)... it was just a silly thing to want to breath... oh, and the light had to remain on, as they’re afraid of the dark and would prefer to see the cockroaches crawling on them! So, anyway... this makes for an incredibly long journey... and they forgot to bring OUR dinner!!!... and on top of that, I now... literally, have the shits on the train... and have to use an awful toilet on a moving, bumpy train, every half-hour or so... bet you didn’t want to know that? So, this painful, sleepless train ride continues until 5AM, when we reach the train station Nanga Eboko... and the train stops... for a very long time. This is because, as is common (apparently) on the railroad in Cameroon... there was a derailment. So, the train could not go anywhere... and we lie in waiting, in hunger, and heat, and shits... for seven hours, when we decide... this train ain’t leav’n today, lets see if VSO can help us poor soles... please!!! So, we call VSO... and thankfully, after a little debate and a search for buses to Yaounde (that did not exist)... VSO says they will come pick us up. Whew... so we wait outside the train for another five and a half hours. At hour eleven, 4PM... the railway people actually started handing out water, bread, and sardines... and I hear comments like: “What is this, Darfur?”. Yikes! People are dehydrated, exhausted, and getting rather irritated by this point... and I really have no idea if and when that train ever moved again. Hundreds of people were just stuck there, in the middle of nowhere... and oh my, feeling pretty bad... finally out of nowhere... the VSO vehicle... barely recognizable under its coat of mud from bumper to roof... emerges to our rescue. YEAH! We then drive to Yaounde... on the muddiest, twistiest, bumpy road I’ve ever seen (or vomited on) (which also happens to be Cameroon’s N1 Major highway!!!)... for three and a half hours! And, you may think the journey is now over... after 40-some hours of travel and no sleep, we’re finally there... in the capital city of Yaounde... problem is... mix-up... the hotel is full and the second hotel is full... but finally, we find one... that even has food... so finally, I can use a real toilet, take a hot shower, and eat a decent meal... and sleep in a quiet, air-conditioned room... heavenly!!! ...until the next day, when I board the bus to Bamenda for another hot and bumpy journey of eight hours! You can’t imagine how nice it was to get home:)

Okay, so enough about the travel... actually being in the Far North (travel aside) was a very interesting and enlightening experience. From Ngaoundere to Maroua... we drove for miles upon miles, on an actual paved, flat road I might add... and all I could see were small, round homes, built of mud and straw roofs. We drove over bridges and rivers, but saw not a drop of water the entire time... there was nothing but sand. The people must walk for miles to get water from the deep wells... but what will they do if they ever dry up? It is so hot and so dry... there is very little to eat... I felt like the people were just surviving. An incredible place.

It is mostly Muslim in the Far North, creating a calm and pleasant atmosphere. People travel by bicycles, lounge under Neem trees that line the main streets to stay out of the intense heat (apparently it can get as high as 45degrees!), and they even sleep outside to be cooler at night. You can hear the call to Mosque, and see the men praying just about anywhere throughout the day. After our VSO Forum, my colleague and I decided to visit the towns of Mokolo and Rhumsiki, which is right in the Mandara Mountains, on the border with Nigeria. After the bus to Mokolo (for only an hour thank goodness), we road motorcycles all the way to Rhumsiki... up and down the winding dirt road... admiring the dry, hilly landscape, surprisingly green with large rock formations just jutting out of the mountains, and cattle herders and farmers tending their fields with the assistance of donkeys. Very interesting and peaceful on the motorbikes!

In Rhumsiki we took a tour of the valley and hiked all the way to Nigeria and back, meeting interesting villagers and children on the way, admiring the landscape, the ancient houses... even had a look at some of the local art work. We stayed at the ‘Campement de Rhumsiki’ and had our meals on the balcony overlooking the empty swimming pool and the whole valley... sunset n’ all... very nice. We tried to go to a few different restaurants, but always ended up back at the campement for spaghetti or fish because, seems no other restaurants had any actual food to cook... really... no food available! Plenty of juicy mangos though... it was prime mango season! On our motorbike ride back to Maroua... we kept being met by groups of teenage boys holding rather large sticks and covered in oil, blocking the roads. Why, you might ask? They were preparing for their initiation into ‘manhood’. They were asking for $$$ to support them in the celebrations that would take place in their honour in a few days. There was probably about fifty boys (about to become men) that stopped us on the way back... all getting ready for the Village Chief to celebrate and initiate them. {Just so it's clear, this means they were all going to be circumcised (by the Chief) during the event!} So, all in all... an interesting place, completely different lifestyle... it was hard to believe we were still in Cameroon. I’m happy to be back in the North-West though... it is now home... rainy season, cold showers, mud, and all!

National Day...

Celebrations in Bamenda... for Cameroon's National Day... just below is the main street in Bamenda... Commercial Street... just full of people... craziness. And some of the marchers... those children must practice that marching at school everyday... they were amazingly in sync!

So, as you can see, yesterday was National Day here in Cameroon. The whole country was celebrating and marching in parades! Cameroon has no single date of independence, as the territory of ‘French Cameroun' achieved independence from France on January 1, 1960 and the British Southern Cameroons changed status from a trusteeship under British rule to a federated state within Cameroon on October 1, 1961. Unifcation came later. So, the government chose May 20th as Cameroon's National Day. It commemorates the abolishment of the federal system of government and the creation of the unitary state of Cameroon in 1972.

So, I arrived a little late and missed the “good stuff” so they say, which would have been the military marching with all their gear (and guns... so really... I think I've seen enough guns in Cameroon... hehe), so instead... I think I saw the rest of the population of Bamenda marching... all the school children representing every school, and so many groups, organizations... and at the end... when it finally came... cause seriously this parade lasted for hours... hours I tell you... in the hot sun... I don’t know how they were just marching like that... swinging their arms, wearing their uniforms... wow... (I was sweating just standing there, eating ice cream)... so anyway... at the end, came the political parties which I found very interesting... all but the main opposition, protesting the march instead. The very last was the Cameroon Social Democratic Movement, the governing party... and yes, check out that stylish wear... that's the President's face on all their clothing!!! In the evening I could hear the sounds of celebrations, amongst a mix of fireworks and thunder in the sky. Another day in Cameroon....

TOP TEN Cameroonian Alarm Clocks...

... All synchronized to start ringing between 5-6AM!!!

1. Call of the Rooster
2. Revvvvvvving of motorcycle engine
3. Blasting of Celine Dion!
4. Children playing outside the window
5. Neighbour running the tap and washing clothes... sop, sop, sop!
6. Call to Mosque
7. Chopping of wood
8. Shouting on the street
9. Sweeping
10. Someone ringing your doorbell incessantly

Please note: your regular alarm clock will also suffice, but it is not nearly as interesting... wouldn’t you say? Sweet dreams.

Weekend in the village of Babungo!!

Last weekend, the recently departed Katherine L and I decided to get out of the city and visit our other VSO colleague, Shamsul, living in the village of Babungo. It was only about an hour and half from Bamenda, but we amazingly felt like we had entered another world. The drive covered much beautiful landscape, up and down the lush green hills... grasslands, with phenomenal rock formations just jutting out of the sides of the hills. It was really quite spectacular. Arriving in Babungo, in the early evening, I already noticed the calm and quiet. We were in a valley, surround by those nice green hills and beautiful gardens... with only the sound of the birds... and as the sun went down, the bats flew out overhead and the fireflies lit up the sky. Slept well that night... and had some super jogs through the village and gardens each day that weekend... breathing in the fresh, cool country air, while everyone would greet me with a friendly good-morning!

Saturday, we went to the Fon’s Anniversary Celebrations. It had been ten years since the previous Fon had died and obviously, ten years since the current Fon had reigned. So, it was quite a celebration. Although, I must say, it was a challenging day and the first time we felt somewhat uncomfortable in Cameroon. The Palace was colourfully decorated and musicians and horseback riders with colourful gowns greeted all the guests as they arrived. Many other Fons were visiting and all the villagers were decked out in their colourful traditional regalia. There was dancing, drumming, some random appearances by the jujus, and a procession led by the Fon and the men of the “Secret Society”. The main event though, was the shooting of the guns... various groups came in with their large shot guns and would shoot up into the air, on command? Hmmm... not really... felt more like at random... in honour of the Fon... I think. There were just so many... I mean hundreds of shot guns... so we kind of watched from huddled back in the corner, listening to the announcer repeat: “please shoot into the air, don’t shoot into the crowd”, and analyzing how the shooting of the shot-guns became such a tradition in Cameroon to associate with celebrating??? I’ll let you know if I ever find out. J An event to remember!

Sunday, we jumped on some motorcycles and climbed up to 2000 metres above sea level and visited the Ndawara Tea Estate... now this was quite the place! And who would have thought, I’d find a small Indian community, workers of the estate, at the top of the mountain in the middle of nowhere in Cameroon? The tea estate managers warmly greeted us, fed us some nice Indian cuisine, and gave us a tour of the estate. Sweet! Up so high, and so free on the bikes with the wind on our faces... we explored the rows upon rows of tea, covering the hills for miles and could look down over the entire valley. Green and gorgeous! We even checked out the owner’s very own palace, mosque, and farm full of cows, horses, ostriches, ducks, and even peacocks.

A taste of the village life was quite different from the bustling city of Bamenda. Some of the things that stood out for me were as I’ve mentioned, the quiet, the beauty, the gardens... but also, more of the challenges to development work. The traditional beliefs and culture of the area were also much more visible... the Fon, the councils, respect given to elders, the traditional lifestyles of some groups like the Fulfulde (primarily cattle herders). Some of the challenges... girl child education, combating HIV / AIDS in a society that promotes polygamy, access to clean drinking water, and leading healthy lifestyles. For me, spending time in the villages was a nice change, but also a challenging, yet refreshing reminder of life in Cameroon! I’ve still got much to learn.

Weekend in Limbe... on the beach!!!

So, for the long weekend, I jumped on the bus and headed to the South-West province, to the port town of Limbe. The journey, I have to say was rather long, as most travel in Cameroon is, but well worth it. We even left late, not for the normal reasons, but because there was this massive parade of people parading down the streets outside the bus station... walking to church with a giant cross! The journey: it was beautiful to see the landscape change from the green hills and deep red earth of the North-West to the rainforest and rock covered volcanic landscape of the South-West. We passed rows upon rows of banana trees, then papaya trees, then pineapples, then rows and rows and rows of palm trees... quite a sight really... all that while sitting quite squished on the sweaty and smelly bus... listening to grooving African tunes versus gospel music versus the guy behind me singing his own tune out of his head.... The bus is always full of adventures... we also listened to the bus passengers engage in some sort of intense argument I couldn’t quite understand but the words: church, God, baptism, baptism, baptism, death, crazy, and baptism were ‘religiously’ repeated throughout the argument... getting the whole bus all riled up. Then there was the “Superclean” salesman who came on for part of the ride and demonstrated his product’s quality cleaning abilities to us, three times of course... in Pidgin, English, then French... wouldn’t want to leave anyone out... there were many stops along the way, luggage piled high on the roof, and various fruits and snacks for munching. There was a spot along the way, where everything seemed to get a little quieter on that bus, even if just for a moment, as we descended quite a bit of altitude... the road was amazing... paved and even guard rails... and the view over the valley was quite spectacular, covered in lush green forest, with random metal roofs throughout the hills, reflecting the sun’s light.

Arriving in Limbe was almost like arriving on another planet! We could notice right away some of the differences between the two provinces, the cleanliness, the paved roads, sidewalks... (yes, there were actual sidewalks for people to walk on without dodging traffic!), benches along the coast to gaze out over the ocean... and best of all... the French food... I lived on baguettes, croissants, and chocolate all weekend... mmmm.... we wandered the town, visited the Wildlife Centre where many rescued chimpanzees, monkeys, and gorillas are living out their days. We admired the German colonial architecture, the oil refinery (yuck!), the Botanical gardens, visited the lava flows from the 1999 eruption of Mount Cameroon... you could see the trail of volcanic rock left behind through the mountain range, ending on the road, where a detour had to be built. It was also interesting to see the new plant life just starting to sprout again ten years later. Yup, really quite a sight... I was wandering the sandy beach, with my toes dipped in the warm waters of the Atlantic; Mount Cameroon towering behind me and out across the sea, I could see Bioko Island, basically another volcano that is part of Equatorial Guinea... amazing. In the evening, we would eat some fresh seafood, watching the fishermen pack up their gear, vacationers snap their photos on the beach, and the sun slowly set behind the clouds over the Atlantic... a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of life in Bamenda!

Juju Dancing and more...

Sunday March 29, 2009 I attended a death celebration. It's not a funeral, but a traditional death celebration. The grandparents of a friend's friend of mine, passed away five years ago. They were buried then, but celebrating now. It's a huge affair and costs a lot of money, taking some families even 10 or 15 years just to prepare for it. Each family member had to invite a community group linked to the grandparents, through work, church, or whatever... so many friends, relatives, and acquaintances of not only the grandparents but of the family and community were there... we're talking hundreds, maybe even over a thousand! Each group would present a dance, called Juju dancing. We took up a whole section of a neighbourhood and all the different groups were spread around. People were sitting and talking and eating and would go back and forth from the main area, where the dances took place, as well as visit the grave site or admire photos of the deceased. It started in the afternoon and I'm sure it lasted all night. The men and women were all dressed in their colourful, traditional regalia and each group matched each other. They would sing songs in various dialects and, at the end of the song or really... just randomly, the men would shoot hunting rifles into the air (with live ammunition!!!!). I jumped every time one went off... the children would go running, but the adults seemed to not even notice a dozen shots in the air in ten seconds! I was wondering whether the combination of rifles and drinking, dancing, and celebrating was really the safest tradition... but anyway, people were joyous and welcoming. It was a very interesting, ethnological experience. Cheers! Bang! Bang!

DUST

So, after a week of training with the other VSO volunteers on all topics relating to life in the North-West province, sampling the local delicacies, and even a little language learning in pidgin, we all headed out to our respective communities. The north-west province, where I’ll be spending most of my time, is home to the English speaking minority of the country as well as the lead opposition to the President, the Social Democratic Front. President Paul Biya of the Cameroon Social Democratic Movement has been presiding since 1982. He is up for re-election in 2011... making for interesting times in the region.


Getting settled into work and my new home... I had some shelving made for my kitchen... very nice, but huge and heavy wood... it took five people, to just lift them up the stairs into my house... but really, the most interesting part of that experience, was strapping them to the roof of a mini-taxi and holding on to them as we went up and down the bumpy roads of Bamenda... I can’t believe they made it safe and sound! Haha! Cameroon is a fascinating place and I’m feeling very welcomed!!! Although, my boss keeps saying he’s “going to be squeezing the juice out of me, like an orange, in no time”. I think that means I’ll be working very hard??






One thing you can’t help but notice in Bamenda and the North-West province is all the dust... it’s in the air and everywhere. I believe my feet are already stained a lovely shade of orange! In some parts, I’ve heard they even use snow tires to drive through it! The locals here are anxious for the arrival of the rainy season... preferring the mud over the dust! Whoa! It is beautiful here, with the lush and green rolling hills and fresh produce. The north-west is the food-basket for the country, so there is definitely plenty to eat! Just learning where to find it all does take time... as of course, there are no street signs or addresses... you just have to be told what a place is called and where it is... but don’t ask for directions... that’s just confusing... best to have someone show you the way... through the dust....