Dschang!!!

We had a crazy week of work, lots of assignments but nothing like life at Middlebury. We still found time to go to la Brique, a neighborhood known for its fabrics. It was predominantly Muslim and was really different than where we had been in Yaounde so far, much calmer. On Friday we celebrated the end of a long week with a beer at a local restaurant, one of the first drinks I’ve had since coming here. On Saturday we woke up early and all met at the office to depart for our second location, a more traditional and rural town in the West of Cameron called Dschang (pronounced Chang). We spent seven hours (excluding our many breaks on the side of the road to go to the bathroom in the bush) on the bus driving through all kinds of villages in Cameroon. It’s really mountainous so some of the views were really amazing. When we finally arrived at our hotel at 5 last night, we were all exhausted but excited to explore our new home. We went on a short walk and could tell immediately how different Dschang is from Yaounde. There are almost no taxis, primarily dirt roads, much less crowded and quieter.

We had an incredible dinner at our hotel, pot roast, salads, chicken, rice, bread and vegetable sauce. Then we hung out for a couple hours before going on a group trip to the nightclub. When we first got there around 10 we were the only ones. But we had a drink then hit the dance floor and danced to all the American songs they were played. Eventually Cameroonians showed up and started dancing too. It was a really fun night, great to not worry about host families and French and work for the night.

This morning we woke up to a nice breakfast and headed straight to our new host families. It’s always stressful at first, not knowing what the situation will be, what the people will be like, etc. I arrived at my house and just my papa was there. He seems really nice, really quiet though. Eventually my maman and petite soeur came back from church. Patricia, who is 6, is absolutely crazy. She ran and hugged me as soon as she got in the door and hasn’t left my side since. She loves my white skin and soft hair and is constantly touching me and laughing. She’s made the transition really easy because her parents just laugh at her all the time. My house is way nicer than I expected, we have a real bathroom with a toilet and shower. We were told to expect outhouses and bucket showers, so I’m really lucky in that regard. I was also surprised that my family is so small because in Dschang people tend to have really large families. I think it will be really fun here though, a good amount of activity but also a lot of chill time, and I have my own room, which helps a lot. We’ll be here for about two weeks before going to Bamenda, an Anglophone region, for two days to meet with a local chief before returning home to Yaounde. 

Life is good in rural Cameroon.

On the bus

So many bananas!!!

Finally in Dschang