December 19, 2013 Well, I just got back from the city. I felt surprisingly excited to come “home” and missed my home here in Mayo-Darlé. I definitely don’t get bothered as much here and am not called “la blanche.” I hear “Nasara” and my name and it is like music to my ears after 3 days of la blanche, smooching noises, and hissing. I get off the bus (3rd leg of the trip) in Mayo-Darlé and am greeted by a neighbor boy who says “welcome home Maureen” and has a moto ready to take me home. I try to quietly let myself into my house and close the door behind me. While I feel so welcome and happy to be here, I need a few minutes to myself before people start coming to greet me and the kids come in and draw. I had a good 12 hours of Internet. I am sorry for anyone I didn’t get to at least say hi to, but I loved getting to talk to everyone I did. I stayed up all night to try and get everyone in, but it was impossible. Finally, around 6 am and the sunrise I lied down in the bed for an hour before the doorbell rang and it was time to head home. I don’t think I really slept since earlier that night I saw two cockroaches (one in the refrigerator) and a mouse running through the office. There are ants all over and it’s hard to tell what is living/not living in the corners of the office/apartment place we get to stay during our banking trips to the city. There is no running water, but this time there was absolutely no water at all. No water in a bucket anywhere; none to flush the toilet, none to wash faces/hands, and definitely not to bathe. It was quite the stay, and I won’t lie, it crossed my mind to pay for a hotel room for the hot shower and flushing toilet (quite the PCV huh!?). Anyways, besides that, it really was fabulous to have Wi-Fi and be connected to family, friends, and the outside world. I spent one night with Internet and the previous night with fellow PCV’s. There is a girl who lives close to the city in a darling, nice house who hosted a girl’s night. It was amazing to have a night with other Americans and speak English and commiserate. They made amazing food, eggplant parmesan for dinner and hash browns and eggs for breakfast. I got to wander around a supermarket, maybe the most westernized supermarket I’ve seen outside the capital city. It had Christmas decorations, soy sauce, wine, dark chocolate, and a real broom and dustpan (as opposed to the sticks tied together; I can’t seem to get the technique down). I bought fresh veggies like eggplant, carrots, and green peppers, and even got a couple apples. I went “shopping” in the “up-for-grabs” bin at the Peace Corps office space and found sandals and another couple shirts. Basically shopped for free, Dad and Holly would be so proud. I enjoyed multiple cold juices, yogurts, and fresh bread. It was fabulous. I definitely indulged. Now, I am back home, haven’t showered since Monday. I left for the city on Tuesday and today is Thursday. I am pretty gross. I have been wearing the same clothes for close to 36 hours. I put on a little scarf to cover the greasy hair. I have a thin layer of dirt all over my body. It is dry season here and there is endless dirt, dust, and grime. It was a tough call between wanting the windows open to lessen the dripping sweat or wanting to be able to breathe semi-clean air. I think I appreciated the open windows with my headband/scarf over my face. I just went to say “bonsoir” to all my neighbors, apparently I am kind of in trouble since I forgot/didn’t tell them all I was leaving. I actually thought I mentioned it to all of them, but apparently not. They were pretty worried about me and thought I was in my room for 2 days straight. I felt kind of bad. But it is good to know someone would notice my absence. I got to say I am not a huge fan of travelling as of now. I have heard rumors it can take 3.5 – 4.5 hours on good days in the dry season to get from Mayo-Darlé to Bafoussam (banking city). I have yet to see that. Every time has been at least 6 plus hours with some sort of issue to go along with it.