February 28, 2014 I’ve been away from village for a week now. I am thoroughly enjoying it, but surprisingly I do miss “home” back in Mayo-Darlé (MD). I have nearly two weeks of training in Bamenda, an Anglophone city not too far from my banking city. I am here with my counterpart, the guy from my community who has shown me around MD, and all my fellow volunteers who came to Cameroon at the same time. There are 53 of us volunteers who are so happy to see each other and have real beds, and Internet. Last night we danced til I couldn’t dance anymore. I was so tired today. I rolled out of my comfy bed and arrived late for training. I slept during our lunch break and arrived late after that break too, with sleep lines on my face both times. Multiple times people asked me, “are you okay”, “what’s wrong”, or simply just laughed when they saw me. Apparently I looked pretty disheveled today. I knew I felt exhausted, just didn’t realize everyone could tell. It was amusing. March 2, 2014 In another 10 days, I will have been in Cameroon for 6 months. I can’t believe it! I keep telling myself 3 months because that’s how long I’ve been at post in Mayo-Darlé, but truly 6 months! I have made it half a year here, sometimes I can’t believe it. Pretty awesome, just a year and a half left. I don’t count down the days like this often, but some days I enjoy the comfort in knowing I’m ¼ of the way done. We had the weekend off of training, except for Saturday morning, and it was much appreciated. I went shopping in Bamenda, which has a huge market. I bought some souvenirs from a tourist shop and some clothes from what we call the “frip.” The frip is rows of people selling western clothes street after street. Have you ever wondered what happened to the clothes that don’t get sold at the second hand stores in the U.S.? Well, they somehow wind up in Cameroon (and I’m guessing many other African countries) and are sold in piles on a tarp on the ground or on a table anywhere from 50¢ to $4. It is bizarre to dig through clothes that we, as Americans, discard without thought. It was interesting to see and shop like that for the first time in my life. There was a rainstorm today and we got stuck in a shop while the rain passed. It was exciting to see rain for the first time in months. My fellow Peace Corps Volunteer and I talked for a while, patiently sitting and watching people with umbrellas walking through the muddy market. She commented on how she has definitely learned how to pass time without doing anything while here. I couldn’t agree more. Whether you are alone or with Cameroonians, you can pass hours with minimal conversation. Sometimes it can get uncomfortable, but usually I enjoy the people watching, relaxation, and occasional words, usually all accompanied by food. After a day of shopping, people watching, and walking around Bamenda I got some time to speak to loved ones back home. I took a wonderful hot running water shower and got dressed up for a night on the town. I have recently run out of daily wear contacts, which I don’t wear often but use for occasions like a night out. After I put a little eyeliner and mascara on, I finished with my glasses and realized I’d never seen the point in wearing BOTH makeup and glasses at the same time. But, my friend informs me, “you can still see your eyes!” It was humorous. March 5, 2014 Tomorrow I am headed back to my toilet-less, tub-less, Wi-Fi-less house in village. It’s been two days now of lying in bed with the worst runs of my life. I’ve never been more grateful for a toilet, running water, and a real bed to whine myself to sleep in. It was a miserable couple of days. I missed days of training, but thankfully my fellow volunteers filled me in on all the topics. Now, I am just soaking up the last of Wi-Fi and loving every minute of it. I’m hoping my stomach will hold up for the rough journey home tomorrow, or I may be spending the night somewhere along the way. I loved my break from real life back in village, but I am looking forward to going “home” and getting back on my French, Fulfulde, and integration. Let’s hope my village stops calling me fat and I can gain a little self-confidence in my abilities here. It may be a little up and down, but hopefully mostly up.