Saturday, September 28, 2013
Missing Home
I am really starting to miss home. It is fun here and every day is an adventure but I do miss my family and friends. If you guys are reading this please email me or post on here so that I can hear from you guys. I have a phone here now. It takes some manuvering to work but it is possible for us to talk on the phone now. I hope to hear from you soon, home is seeming very far away.
Friday, September 20, 2013
My training has moved to Bafia, about two hours North of Yaounde. It is very exciting especially since this is also where we start living with our host families! My host family is very nice, I could not have asked for a better situation. They are parents who's children have grown up and are currently away attending school. My host family is very nice and accommodating; they are patient with my broken French.
I have also started language classes. I am at a lower level than I would like to be at right now but I bet that it will help me develop a very strong base that I can build on as I continue to learn. I hear that everyone reaches the level that they expect of you... I hope this is true.
Overall everything is going well. My only major complaint right now is that my camera is not working and that is why I do not have any current pictures. I hope this problem is remedied soon and that I will be able to post many more pictures!
I have also started language classes. I am at a lower level than I would like to be at right now but I bet that it will help me develop a very strong base that I can build on as I continue to learn. I hear that everyone reaches the level that they expect of you... I hope this is true.
Overall everything is going well. My only major complaint right now is that my camera is not working and that is why I do not have any current pictures. I hope this problem is remedied soon and that I will be able to post many more pictures!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
So, I am finally here after literally 48 hours of traveling. I have been in Cameroon and Yaounde (the capitol) since 10:30pm Friday night. I was so out of it as I was traveling that I did not even realize that it was Friday the 13th. Luckily I did not seem to have any bad luck seeing as I arrived just fine!
My training group was picked up at the airport by the Cameroon Country Director. She and the staff with her were very kind and helpful. They definitely made the whole process more manageable and relaxed. We got to the hotel in a crowded bus, there are 55 trainees after all. We got our luggage to our rooms, with not too much difficulty. I am on the sixth floor and there is no elevator. We were very fortunate however to have some of the porters from the hotel help us. It was amazing seeing them lift even the heaviest bags like it was no trouble and then almost literally run up the stairs with them. I am not sure we could have done it without them, at least not in such a short amount of time!
The hotel that we are staying at is fairly nice! I have been able to take warm showers each morning since I arrived. The water does cut in and out though due to the demands on the system with all of us here. When the water does go out it goes out on the top floors first. I am not on the top most floor but I am pretty close. I just have to choose low demand times to shower, it has worked out so far!
Last night we went to an interactive African dance show. The dances were traditional Cameroonian dances and we were allowed to get up and dance with the dancers! I learned quite a bit actually, the dances are very different from the Ballet that I am used to doing. I really did like the drums though; the rhythms were so complex and very fun to dance to!
As I said at the beginning of this, I mean this blog to be mostly pictures so that you can see what I am seeing. The problem with that is that my camera died last night. I am not sure how long it will take to fix or replace. I have taken a few pictures which I hope to upload soon though. Until then I suppose I can just keep talking at you!
My training group was picked up at the airport by the Cameroon Country Director. She and the staff with her were very kind and helpful. They definitely made the whole process more manageable and relaxed. We got to the hotel in a crowded bus, there are 55 trainees after all. We got our luggage to our rooms, with not too much difficulty. I am on the sixth floor and there is no elevator. We were very fortunate however to have some of the porters from the hotel help us. It was amazing seeing them lift even the heaviest bags like it was no trouble and then almost literally run up the stairs with them. I am not sure we could have done it without them, at least not in such a short amount of time!
The hotel that we are staying at is fairly nice! I have been able to take warm showers each morning since I arrived. The water does cut in and out though due to the demands on the system with all of us here. When the water does go out it goes out on the top floors first. I am not on the top most floor but I am pretty close. I just have to choose low demand times to shower, it has worked out so far!
Last night we went to an interactive African dance show. The dances were traditional Cameroonian dances and we were allowed to get up and dance with the dancers! I learned quite a bit actually, the dances are very different from the Ballet that I am used to doing. I really did like the drums though; the rhythms were so complex and very fun to dance to!
As I said at the beginning of this, I mean this blog to be mostly pictures so that you can see what I am seeing. The problem with that is that my camera died last night. I am not sure how long it will take to fix or replace. I have taken a few pictures which I hope to upload soon though. Until then I suppose I can just keep talking at you!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Well, today is the last day before staging. Tomorrow I will be heading to Philadelphia, PA for staging. Staging is where all of the volunteers who are going to Cameroon meet up and get organized to fly out. This means that today is my penultimate day in the USA for a while, and probably one of the last days that I will hear English for a while as well.
I am mostly posting this to introduce you who are interested to one of the main ways I hope to communicate with the US while I am in Cameroon. Especially since I may not be able to contact anyone for quite a while once I leave the US for Cameroon. I will post again as soon as I am able.
I am hoping that this can be a way for me to show everyone my trip and what I am up to, mostly through pictures (I think), and a way for you to ask questions and talk to me while I am gone. I will answer questions whenever I get an internet connection that is strong enough to let me do so. I will still communicate through email, so this is meant for more general curiosity about what I am up to. So, if you decide to post a comment or question on here for me (and others) to see, then please keep it nice. Thanks!
I am mostly posting this to introduce you who are interested to one of the main ways I hope to communicate with the US while I am in Cameroon. Especially since I may not be able to contact anyone for quite a while once I leave the US for Cameroon. I will post again as soon as I am able.
I am hoping that this can be a way for me to show everyone my trip and what I am up to, mostly through pictures (I think), and a way for you to ask questions and talk to me while I am gone. I will answer questions whenever I get an internet connection that is strong enough to let me do so. I will still communicate through email, so this is meant for more general curiosity about what I am up to. So, if you decide to post a comment or question on here for me (and others) to see, then please keep it nice. Thanks!
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