Today I had the day of and decided to leave the Norwegian compound and venture out all by myself. I figured the city/town is not very big and getting lost will be difficult. So of course I did not wait until the sun went down, I went at noon. Yea I know, very smart. I passed taxis and walked 30 minutes in the scorching heat. By the time I arrived at a boutique to buy some water, I was dripping wet. As I relaxed in the shade, I felt the sweat dripping down my chin. I know, gross. I also bought some credit for my phone. Phones here are pre-paid so once your minutes are up, you must buy more credit or just hope that someone calls you. Unlike in the US, you do not pay for incoming calls or texts, the sender does.

I walked around aimlessly, stopping into pharmacies to ask for Ambesol or Oragel to no avail. I guess I’ll just wait until the canker sore leaves on its own accord. Places started to look familiar as I got closer and closer to the heart of the city. I called Nafissa, one of the women from my train ride up here. She invited me to her house and off I went. I hailed a moto-taxi and said “lycee Bamyanga” and off we went. This was the 1st time I ridden a moto-taxi. I gripped to him for dear life and on arrival he said in French “next time you need to hold on to the handles on the bike, not my handles.” Lesson learned. I thought Nafissa lived in town but she did not. As I gripped for dear life, I was hoping the taxi driver was not going to try anything stupid. I’m not going to lie; I was a bit scared because he was litteraly driving through nowhere. I got to see the wonderful view of Mt. Ngaoundere. Boulders were incorporated into everyday life. Too bad I couldn’t take pictures this time, but I am sure the time will come.

I made it to Bamyanga in one piece. I sat and talked with Nafissa and her cousin who came to visit from Yaounde. I enjoyed myself and was proud of my venturing out!! Unfortunately, it started raining like crazy. It rain so much that the light when out. There was no electricity for almost an hour. I was getting worried because I did not think I would be able to get back home. Luckily for me, Mr. Hamidou drove me home in the pouring rain.

Have to get ready for my 1st class tomorrow October 14th. Wish me luck.