Today was my first fully functional day in Buea. Considering yesterday I woke up at 7:30am for breakfast only to go back to sleep until 3pm. There is a continued ghost town policy that covers Mondays and Tuesdays which meant businesses for the most part were closed and streets were very quiet. Toya, Austin, Rachael, and I went with our driver to look if a few shops were open (the only way to check is to go see unless you know someone who works there) and ended up killing some time before dinner by exploring a newly constructed fútbol arena and a deserted penny carnival. After playing some carnival games we headed back to the restaurant where we waited for quite awhile until our food came because it is All made fresh: fried chicken, fried plantains, and ndole (kinda looks like spinach artichoke dip with a cup of oil and peanuts--we are going to try it again with less oil next time). Afterward we stopped by the grocery store and the bakery before heading home for the evening.
But today! There was one moment that is seared forever in my brain. I lifted up this little 3 year old boy named Courage above my head and looked up at his beaming smile. With the bright blue sky shining in the background and the sun streaming in from all sides, we twirled around in the middle of a grassy field. I hope I never forget those few seconds of my life for as long as I live.
8:30am - Wake up, eat fresh baguette bread, fresh banana and papaya, and plain yogurt. Drink water and take my malaria pills.
10:30am - Get picked up by one of our trusted drivers and begin the errand running: the police station to renew R's ID card, the school to drop off extra supplies, the paper shop to make copies of VBS material then hole punch them (thank you Mom!) and put the lessons in binders.
12:30pm - Arrive at Hotpec, the orphanage that has captured R's heart for years. As we walk in, joyful cries of "Auntie Rachael!!!" fill the center. She is hugged and kissed by kids of all ages as we make our way down to the central work area. Here there are young boys and girls cleaning, peeling, and cutting bananas to leave out to dry or to put in a stew of some sort.
3:30pm - I have played fútbol, tag, tickling, swinging, and enjoyed the delightful breeze under the shade tree. I thought it was already 5pm (the time when our driver was to pick us up) and such was not the case. I was trying to stay hydrated but the incredibly amazing phrase I love to say is "It was quite hot when I was running around playing in Africa"! Soooo cool!
"Auntie Rachael, is she a child of God?" "Yes, Auntie Maria (that is what my name has turned into) is a child of God."
"Is she a fútboller?" "No, basketball" "No doubt, no doubt!"
"Will you try to get married Auntie Marie while you are here to a man in Cameroon?" "Ahhh haha no I do not believe so" (for the record, they are pretty short on average)
"Please bring her back here every day that she is here visiting Auntie Rachael!"
"You need to take a bath Auntie Marie. Will you bathe?" "Yeah yeah yeah, I will Child!"
I can understand how R's heart has been irretrievably captured by these dear ones. The older children worked on the banana plantation all afternoon picking bananas then they returned to help take care of the younger kids. They help bathe them, feed them, and put them to bed. After that the older children are tired and they sleep. During school times, the older kids will wake up in the middle of the night, like 2 or 3 in the morning to read and study. Then everyone is up again for morning prayers at 5am and keep up with their daily chores, often times quite manual labor heavy. Yet all they wanted to do when they had a break was ask me if I would like to play with them?
And I have the nerve to say I am tired???
Whew, alright. Lesson learned Lord. Help me to love them well. They showed me more Jesus today than I will be able to show them in my whole time here. Seriously.
Oh the lessons I will learn this month.
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Day 2 - Tuesday
I probably should have brought at least one dress or skirt with me from America but since I didn't and that's what teachers are expected to wear that makes a little splurging on tailor-made fun clothes ok right? "Way" is pigeon English for basically whatever word you would like to insert. I'm going to go with aye yi yi.
This morning R and I had breakfast and then walked 15 minutes to the school where T was meeting with the three teachers and principal. R will be teaching special ed and filling in as a rotating teacher whenever needed this next school year. The principal doubles as the teacher for Class 3. I need to remember to write down their schedule to share. The meeting today they covered calendar and logistic issues for next year because for now the strike continues on school for this year. No one really knows how long it will continue but regardless of when it ends this year is already a bust for counting toward advancement.
One family lives at the school: the mom and dad help out with maintenance and cleanliness while taking care of their two children Victory and Israel. They lost their youngest son this past year and it has been hard for them. Victory loves my hair and Israel gives the sweetest hugs. This afternoon we watched a cartoon episode of Mr. Bean which was quite funny.
After leaving the school we returned home and R and I sketched out a plan for VBS for the rest of March. I cannot believe it is already March 1! And that I will be gone in 23 days! In many ways time flies here--not necessarily because we do so much (although I know that amount will increase tremendously when VBS starts) but more because everything is an event. Calling for a driver, waiting for the water truck, heating water for a bath, setting up a meeting, ending the meeting, going to pick out fabric, going to the tailor, going to see the carpenter, changing money...it feels like I lived out a whole week in one day. Even calling home (for $0.25/minute) is an event so despite the under 5 minute phone call, it felt like an hour and I probably won't call again for a week. Wild wild wild.
Our driver today was named Divine and he loves his music and his flashing lights inside the car. Blue, green, red. It was like a mini club minus the dance floor. T and R have a very good relationship with their trusted drivers for they are the lifeline of their work here. They spend loads of time with the drivers, going here and there. The drivers are always waiting for them to run errands, making jokes and getting to know them. They are pleasant friends and smiling body guards indeed...and they don't mind making a little extra money hanging out with some lovely Americans.
Hm today, what was my moment? Sharing a smile with Comfort the seamstress when she finally started relaxing. She loves T, but R and I weren't quite fashionable enough for her...finally she loved us and started making jokes.
When you say "abeg" it means "please" in pigeon English and when you say "please" it means "excuse me". And every greeting matters a great deal: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night...specific, direct, and said expecting a response in kind.
Alright I'm rambling and enjoying that bunk bed chat time with R simultaneously...and my multi tasking is always brutal so good night!
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Day 3 - Wednesday
It may be that I am writing too much but I have not taken many pictures and this is such a different world that I feel I must write down these moments so that I may remember them. Today I woke up at 9:30am after not being able to lay still very well to sleep. We met at the school to go over VBS for next week. Today we covered David and Goliath. T wants us to be able to teach the Bible story in 5 different ways: read it from the Bible, retell the story in your own words, act it out in a skit, and then the other two options were for us to make up (singing, poems, drawing, etc).
After VBS training, we went on a car ride to various stores to pick up food to be delivered to 'Ma Comfort' and Shakina. Shakina is a young girl who has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk. When we brought them the food and some cash as a gift from Shakina's school sponsor, Ma Comfort could only sing praises and ask us if we had been speaking directly to God because how else would we know they needed food so desperately? They were nearly out of everything and they had been eating the same soup on the stove since Sunday (it is Thursday), but have no way to refrigerate it. Ma Comfort and Shakina shared a one room home with a lumpy bed, a dirty floor, a few shelves for food, a stove, and enough room for a chair in front of the door that was only covered by a sheer curtain. The only window was boarded up. Ma Comfort used the 5000 francs to first pay the electricity bill for the one light in their room. She was past due for two months worth, and it cost her approx. $4 USD to pay off the debt.
Outside their door was a little cement area with another chair and then the area after that was full of ashes, rocks, and dirt where they would make fires for heating water or cooking food. This area was shared with various other families nearby. As we drove across the rocks to get back to their house we passed other small concrete homes surrounded by gray ashy dirt and rocks. Kids ran around in all variations of clothing and as our car passed they looked in the window, "White man!" they would exclaim with excitement and eager curiosity. I don't know what I was expecting, but here I am most definitely not black. My light brown skin and curly hair draw curiosity and further investigation but for the most part I am also just a very tall "white man" (the title is not gender specific, although my "jersey and trousers" have evoked questions regarding whether or not I am a boy or a girl, I am starting to very much look forward to those tailor made dresses to relieve the confusion!)
After praying for Ma Comfort and Shakina leading us in a song about joy, we headed back out on the road. Neighborhoods are known by their mile marker. T had R and I dropped off at Hotpec near Mile 14, which was the beginning of what felt like Day 3 of that day alone. After only 30 minutes I was absolutely covered in sweat, dirt, and loads of giggles and hugs. My white shirt was brown and one little girl wanted to wash my shirt for me! Oi vey. But yep, part of my heart will now be in Hotpec for the rest of my life.
Here's to sweet sleep and new adventures tomorrow!
Ps. Today I ate a hamburger...that was an adventure. After leaving Hotpec we came home, ate rice, and eventually watched Pitch Perfect. Oh the days.
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Day 4 - Thursday
"R! There's a cockroach and it just went under my bed!" I said frantically as I scrambled around on the top bunk. The night before, our friend had jumped away as T sprayed a cockroach on the wall. The Cameroonian explained his fear by saying, "The old ones can kill you!" "Oh no! Is it an old one?!?" R responded as she charged the room, flip flop in hand. "How am I supposed to know if it's an old one?!? It's a big one, that's for sure!" And such was the night's conclusion--just a casual Friday night in Cameroon.
I was sleeeeepy today! We first went to the police station to see if we could track down the right person to give us R's ID card to no avail. Finally one lady officer said to come back in an hour. We went up to meet with the teachers to go over Day 2 of VBS for next week and then came back about 2 hours later. In that time the ID person had already come and gone again! Ayyyye yi yi.
Instead of calling a driver, we walked the 25 minutes back to the house. Thankfully it was overcast and a nice cool temperature so that we didn't break a sweat until the home stretch which was a solid hill. I flew into the house and put on other clothes because I am realizing, while I will get laundry done at some point, water conservation is key around here. We have reserve water if necessary but as it is the dry season and the water truck only comes around every so often to refill our tank, running out is a real possibility that we encountered first hand on Tuesday.
Grabbing a combination of rice, beans, and carrots, fresh pineapple, tortilla chips, and sugar bread balls (yum!) I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch. By 2pm, R wanted to call home to catch her parents before the work day started in the US. If you have a Cameroon SIM card, you can put credit on your account to make your calls. For some reason the calls today ate up credit really fast. Usually there is internet but with the strike they have shut that off in our area. The government also has the ability and has already shown it will occasionally shut off phone communication entirely. If people are really involved or vocal about the strike on their phone, it will get individually shut off.
After a short nap while waiting for our driver, R and I headed out to Hotpec to play for the afternoon. R spends her time loving on the older kids and engaging them in conversation or playing card games. The smaller kids know she is always good for a hug and cuddle if they want to simply be peaceful. It is easy to fall into my role as the crazy active playing one. Yesterday I was soooo covered in dirt. Today was a little better, meaning I realized washing off every so often was a good idea since it dried so quickly anyway. We played soccer and then used the soccer ball to play basketball by hitting a cross bar in a foot long area where a bunch of gymnast rings were hanging down.
The playground area is fenced in with a wire fence on one side going long ways (about 50 feet), stone steps on the entrance end that go the width of the area (about 30 feet), and the other two sides are short stone walls (about 2 feet high) with shrubs and bushes above them. There's a merry go round that still can spin when pushed although it won't go on it's own very long "Auntie!! Push!!Auntie Push!!", a teeter totter without seats, two sets of swing sets with 4 swings each: the seats are flat wooden boards, and a bar of 8 rings similar to monkey bars. The posts with the rings across the top are in cement but the cement is coming loose from the ground so too much horsing around and it will come out. The rest of the area is about 30'x20' covered with thin light sandy dirt and large rocks or jagged pieces of concrete. There is a field in the central area of the orphanage but it is very uneven and out in the hot sun. The younger kids prefer the dirt area much more. Many of the kids run around in crocs or flip flops, but quite a few will play without shoes despite the danger of the rocks. These kids are Tough and very rarely do they ever cry even though I know it must have hurt.
After leaving Hotpec it was time to enjoy Family Night: a relaxing dinner and a movie or two. T just recently hooked up cable tv which she has never had here before and R and T are enjoying having down time with some shows to watch. The winners so far are Ellen and My Kitchen Rules, a cooking competition drama.
Tomorrow we are going to the beach. Maybe it will be clear so I can actually see this mountain we are living on up here in the jungle. There are palm trees everywhere but also some coniferous trees. There are fresh fruit stands all over and people are out selling all sorts of things in booths by the street. The roads are filled with yellow taxis and occasional construction trucks. Some of the homes are large and really nice but not very many.
Oh! Today at the orphanage I found myself using the same words as the kids, "Hey! Achiever, who is that white man?" "I do not know Auntie, probably some visitors." Usually never one to pass up an opportunity to chat with someone new, I found myself very skeptical as I waved and smiled at this older gentleman in a bright white shirt, khaki shorts and glasses. As I realized more were coming, I turned my attention back to the game at hand, not sure how I felt about having visitors. Ironic isn't it. As we played I asked if anyone had seen Auntie Rachael because facing white people on this turf was a different ball game and I wanted someone who knew how to handle the bridge between these worlds. Before I could find her, one of the gentlemen spoke up and asked me if I was from America. I told him yes and asked where he was from: Stuttgart, Germany he explained. He asked how long I had been here and other small talk before he said he would let me get back to what I was doing.
As we had chatted his other travel companions, a few men and women, had been taking pictures of the orphanage and I had felt my hackles raising. This is not a zoo, I thought to myself! Who are they and why are they coming in here like this, do they think it helps? Later R calmed me down and adjusted my thinking: maybe this was their one and only time they had ever been to an African orphanage and we knew they were friends with one of the ladies who worked there and was from Germany. Wouldn't taking pictures be the natural thing for them to do? After awhile I simmered down but in processing I realized I wasn't sure I had ever felt that vantage point of exploitation--even if I was improperly labeling the action, the feeling had been the same. I hope I remember that feeling and do my best to be sensitive to causing that feeling for others in a given situation. Finding the balance between taking some photos to remember the place and show this part of the adventure to people back home while not treating those who call that place their home as if they were on display only for our pity...that will require wisdom and grace.
Lord, thank you for each one of these children and for the men and women who work so hard to give them a place to stay and food to eat. May this time together be a sweet offering to you. Thank you for this time of Play.
Peace, love and blessings
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Day 5 - Friday
Today I finally took photos! So since a picture is a thousand words all I will say is: music, dishwashing, market, music, beach, fish, snail, octopus, horse gallop on the beach, and photo "snapping". Some very very funny moments captured! I called home because I could see Orion and the moon. All is good at home. I miss some things but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I wonder how the PAC 12 Tournament is going. It's weird to be missing all of March Madness. This time is helpful to remember not to make a good thing an ultimate thing. Lord Lord be with my coaches!
Good night :)
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Day 6 - Sunday, March 5
Church at Hotpec. When we are an hour and a half in and R leans over and whispers, "We haven't even started the sermon yet." Another hour and a half later, and quite a few moments of nodding off by yours truly, church time ended. Courage, my little man, had been coming and going trying to drive me mad with his noise making. Finally he came over and passed out on me, which then caused another interesting dilemma as our sweatiness caused discomfort. Finally I found a good spot for him where he was getting a breeze. That was the time I started nodding off because my arm was asleep anyway. I couldn't understand 85% of what was being sung or said even though it was in English. Some of it was Pigeon English which is tricky in its own way. Later the kids told Auntie Rachael, "We saw Auntie sleeping!" Oops :)
After church we went to the older girls' dorm and ate food before taking naps. I woke up to Courage, Fortune, and Victory giggling and playing in the next room. Quite adorable. Then I suited up in my play clothes and joined the fray outside. Futbol time. And swinging. Push me Auntie! Push me! Oi.
Then it was time to go back to the house. Some roasted chicken on a stick, sugar buns, yogurt, a Pepsi (I'm not sure what has gotten into me) and rice with green beans and carrots. Oh and banana bread! Spoiled like a queen here with food. I need to make sure I work it all off!
Tomorrow is a ghost town day. This week we start VBS but Wednesday is supposed to be Women's Day with a big march. There's a chance that will be a forced ghost town day too. Who knows. I don't understand but there is continued caution to only be with people you know and trust.
I try not to count time, but I feel like this trip it is impossible. Only 19 days left here. I have a feeling it's going to fly by far too quickly.
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