Soccer Saturdays

We are thankful for the community we have here in Yaoundé.  Throughout the fall, the kids have been able to enjoy playing soccer with the other kids that live around us.  It’s been nice to have parents that are willing to run the program, and lots of other kids around to play with.

One of the highlights of the season was a friendly game against a local kids team, Green City.  The game was highly anticipated by the kids, it took place at Eila’s school which has a very nice field to play on with lines, and they wore jerseys and everything.

They ended up tying Green City 1-1.

Here’s a few pictures from the game:

Are You Settling In?

This is a question that we get asked a lot, either by other missionaries that we work with or those who live nearby.   And my default response is always, “Yes, we are.  Things are good”.

In some ways it’s true.  I said to someone else recently that life here now is strangely normal.  The sights and sounds, the street vendors, the way traffic flows — it’s all starting to seem normal and expected.  The daily schedules: making breakfast, getting Eila to the bus on time, walking to work, getting dinner ready and the homework done.  It’s all normal and the same routines we had back in Michigan, just in a different setting.

But are we settling in?  I’m not sure how to answer that.  What does it mean to settle in?

Will I feel settled in when I can have a conversation in French more fluidly? Will I feel settled in when I have Cameroonian friends I can visit and who visit me?

I felt comfortable during the end of our time in France.  I wouldn’t feel aprehension having to walk into a store and ask for something in French, I knew my way around, and there was an ease to our daily life there.  But I wouldn’t say I felt “settled”, or at home.

And I’m definitely not there yet in Yaoundé.

But will I ever feel at home while I’m away from home?

We’ve adopted a family motto that states “Home is Where We Are”.  Our home is here, but our home also not.  Not yet.

Driving Timelapse

I posted a shorter version of this video to Instagram, but I think the entire thing is interesting.  This drive is between our house and my daughter’s school.  I started the video not too long after crossing the main roundabout near our house.  It’s sped up, but you can still get an idea of what this part of the city looks like.

Also interesting is that is begins to really rain about halfway through the video — and you can see folks running to get under something to stay dry.  Cameroonians really don’t like to be out in the rain (who does?).

The video seems to slow down later, but that’s just us getting into traffic.

Je suis calée

The area where we live has a number of bars in nearby and there is also a large hotel across the road that plays loud karaoke into the night.  So, even though we’re set back from the main road a bit, it can be a bit loud in the evening (the karaoke crowd likes Celine Dion).  But subconsciously, we are all becoming familiar with Cameroonian pop songs — even if we aren’t actively seeking them out.  They get pumped into our heads as we sleep, or try to sleep.

This particular song has played frequently at night and I started recognizing it often as I was at the grocery store and other contexts.  And now I can share it with you all — try listening to it as you fall asleep.

Also noteworthy is its interesting uses of cam franglais: lyrics like “Est-ce que tu know que je t’aime” is strangely appropriately Cameroonian, as well as the general mix of languages throughout the song.

(Disclaimer — I’ve attached the music video, and while it doesn’t contain anything you can’t put on youtube, it is a music video and therefore might not be appropriate for everyone).  Click “Continue reading…” (if you see it) to continue to the video.

Continue reading

Hello, Lizard

Last week, I had to investigate a network problem on the campus.  The school where the boys attend wasn’t able to connect to the rest of the campus network.  There are little boxes with networking equipment attached to various buildings and inside random offices, so my first order of business was to check that all the cables were still attached and the network equipment was operating correctly.

So I make my way over to school — it’s a short 5 minute walk.  I find the network cupboard and I open it.  The inside looks like this:

Immediately a small lizard starts running around inside scared that his hiding place has been discovered and there is a human at his obvious exit point.  Eventually, I am able to shoo it away and I can begin to continue my investigation.

Watch out for lizards, folks.

Small Money (ou La Petite Monnaie)

In Cameroon it’s best to have small money (or in French: la petite monnaie).

This means, you should have 100 CFA coins, 500 CFA coins/notes, and 1000 CFA notes available all the time for your purchases.  This is because many merchants just don’t have the change to give you.

Shannon and Eila went to the local store down the street to buy some flour and a few treats.  Two kilos of flour and a Sprite were 1200 CFA.  Eila paid with a 2000 CFA note, but shop keeper didn’t have sufficient change for her.  Well, what happens now?

This happens often.

In this case, as if often the case, the solution is to buy more or less until an appropriate amount of change is reached for the shopkeeper/cashier.  In Eila’s case, we bought a roll of toilet paper to bring our change to what the shopkeeper had available and everything was fine.  There have been other cases where if a grocery store order brings the total to 10,150 CFA — items are not purchased to make it  so change can be made.

Taxi rides to a destination that is nearby is just 100 CFA or maybe 150 CFA.  But if you don’t have exact change, you’re expected to tell the driver as you get in.  He might not take you if he doesn’t have change.

In my western mind, it always seems odd that transactions are not made to ease the exchange of change, but that’s how things are.

So, in Cameroon, it’s best to have small money.

One Month

We’ve been here in Cameroon a little over one month now.  We’ve had a buddy family help us through the ropes.  And, we’ve had lots of people around to ask questions to when we weren’t sure.  We’ve also had an official orientation to expose us to a variety of topics for living here in Cameroon.

Here are some of the things we’ve learned:

  • We’ve learned where to get most groceries: meat and cheese is best from one store, some groceries from another, others can be bought at a store close to us.  Some things we haven’t found yet.
  • We’ve learned what we can get from the stores around us within walking distance.
  • We’ve learned it is hard to get dental floss (only from the pharmacy) and maple syrup (expensive).
  • We’ve learned about greetings.
  • We’ve learned about making friends.
  • We’ve learned to cook njama jama and fou fou.
  • We’ve learned about driving differently.
  • We’ve learned about taking a taxi.
  • We’ve learned to shake hands with people, a lot.
  • We’ve learned to cross the road.
  • We’ve learned how some things react to a tropical climate, usually with mold.
  • We’ve learned to deal with blackouts.
  • We’ve learned where to go running.
  • We’ve learned what to wear where.
  • We’ve learned some nice places to eat.
  • We’ve learned to appreciate the clouds and rain.
  • We’ve learned to ask for help.

There is so much still to learn, but we are learning a little more each day.

A Nice Day

We’re still not that used to going out and about here in Yaoundé yet.  But, we have some friends here that helped us get around today before we find our own legs.  We picked up some sandwiches and had a little picnic in the park downtown.

We followed that up with some gelato at the Italian ice cream shop in town.  The kids had a hard time, as usual, deciding what to get.  There was lots of tasting involved.

Once we got back home, we played a few board games.  It was a great day.