Wow, I have not posted on here in a LONG time. I have lots to say about life here in Cameroon and my trip HOME to the States! Since most of you know how awesome the U.S. Of A. is I'll stick to life in Cameroon.
It was so wonderful to see my loved ones and enjoy the luxurious life of 'Merica, but it made coming home to Cameroon very difficult. It took me a couple weeks to stop whining and actually want to leave my house and participate in life here. I needed a real attitude adjustment. I'm less whiny now, and enjoying life here, for the most part. My new positive outlook can be partially attributed to Stephen Covey's "7 Habits" book. I guess my dad was right about everyone needing to read that book in their life. It's a good one, check it out! (I'm running for favorite daughter right now!)
Anyways, after some private pity parties, I put my super hero pants on and decided I can, and want, to finish my service here. Definitely still struggling to feel like I'm making any sort of impact here in Tourningal, but my counterpart and I are writing a grant to get the maternity ward opened and functioning (keep your eyes open for your chance to help out!!). So, hopefully that will make a small positive impact on life here.
It was Bilingualism Day here this past week. I got to see both the high school students and elementary kids sing and do skits in English. I taught the kids "Old McDonald" but they seemed to struggle with some of the words, so, we will see if they use it for the upcoming Youth Day. These kids are impressive. They grow up speaking Fulfulde (their local language); then, around 5-6 years old they learn to speak, read, and write Arabic. When they enter school at about age 6-7 they learn to read, write, and speak French. In high school, they learn English and study one other language (Arabic, German, Spanish). I can't imagine how awesome and difficult it is to learn so many different languages. Especially because the first language many of them learn (Arabic) to read and write is opposite of the other languages they learn (French/English). I've seen kids who write French words/phrases perfectly backwards, probably because they've been taught Arabic. It has to be confusing growing up in such a multilingual area. But I also think it is admirable and impressive and we should push kids to learn at least one other language before getting into high school.
It is dry season right now and I have to say I never knew the meaning of dry season until this year. It is DRY! Dust forever and always, with no talk of rain and rarely any clouds in the sky. It is so sunny, hot, and dusty here. I walk around with my scarf covering my head and face, which they think is pretty funny. I love nights because I'm not sweating. It is hot by 8 and, then, around 4 it starts to get shady. I felt better today when I went to visit my neighbor and she was just lying on her couch, sweating. When I walked in she said it was too hot. Suddenly I didn't feel so bad for taking a break almost every afternoon when it's too hot for me to function. And the more northern areas of Cameroon get even HOTTER! I couldn't survive. It was apparently 90 degrees today and I was wishing for ice, air conditioning, anything cool, or anything to get some air moving. I truly have a renewed appreciation of winter and Montana fresh air. Not to mention, electricity, refrigeration, and climate control.
