I have been in Ngaoundere for over a month now and I am enjoying it very much. I live close enough to school that I can walk and far enough that my students do not know where I live. I am sure that some of them know that I live close by while others believe that I live in town and commute to work every day. Even though everything is seems great, it is not. I am a fan of routine and that is not at the university. Classes are often canceled or start remarkably late and this throws me off guard. I am so used to having my schedule and sticking to it. I guess flexibility is key here. I guess, I’ll have to suck it up because 9 months is a long time to complain about things not starting on time or happening at all.

This week I worked very hard. I had classes everyday and even translated documents for the head of research and geography department. I even started Fulfide lessons with Rose’s nephew. Learning Fulfide is one of my priorities. People ask, what is the point of learning a national language when the official languages are English and French? My previous experience in an African country taught me that learning the local language closes the gap between you and the local community and that is what I seek to do here. In Cameroon, there are more than 250 languages so of course I cannot learn them all but Fulfide is the main one here in Ngaoundere so that’s a start. I have set a goal for myself to learn 10 languages in my life time. I already know 5, so I am half way there.

The weekend was filled with adventure. On Friday, I had no electricity. This is not a first but it is the first time it has happened in my apartment. There was a technical glitch and we were left in the dark. So I cooked in the dark and ate in the dark. You should try it to “see” how it feels. On Saturday, I went to Dr. Wirba’s house to visit his family. I did not go last week so I knew they were expecting me. I took a taxi to Manwi, his village. This was the first time I ventured to Manwi all by myself. I thought I knew where I was going until; I realized I had given the taxi-man the wrong directions. Luckily, I realized that the house was just a block away and I made it in one piece. They were actually surprised to see me but it was all good. I played with the kids, talked to their mom and just relaxed. I got the inside scoop on certain issues and just enjoyed their company.

The Wirba’s are actually building a new house on their compound. The new house shows a contrast between modern houses and traditional houses in Cameroon. Madame Wirba gave me a tour of the new house, which is beautiful. After the tour was done, we began to walk towards the exit when we realized that one of the rooms was closed. That was weird because all the doors were open and the keys were sticking out of each key hole when we entered. Madame Wirba’s two-year-old son had locked himself in a room. At first everyone was calm because we figured that in five minutes everything would be alright. That was not the case. Ahmid started to scream and cried after he tried endlessly to open the door. We tried to coach him on how to at least take out the key and shove it under the door and that did not work. The poor boy cried and panicked himself to sleep. He was in the room for almost two hours before we found someone to break into the room. By the time he was “rescued” he was fast asleep and seem to have forgotten everything that happened. Hopefully he learned his lesson (which I doubt). Below are a few pictures of my visit to Manwi, enjoy.

On Sunday, my day started at 5am. I made a quick call to the U.S. as it was only 11pm there. After that, it was time to work on my fitness. We rain for thirty minutes as the sun started to rise. Next week, I am going to bring my camera because it is a beautiful sight.