And We’re Back.. Dschang and Bamenda in Review

The Internet in Dschang was preventatively slow so here’s a recap of our sejour.  Dschang is a beautiful little city in the west of Cameroon and is home to the Bamileke, a controversial ethnicity that we spent a lot of time learning about. It is a hilly place, and left me quite sweaty after an uphill 40 minute walk to school every morning (see picture 1). But it is nonetheless beautiful (see picture 2). We spent twelve days living and exploring the city, as well as taking many day trips to nearby destinations. Here are the highlights:

Picture 1: A look at my hill walk to school. I lived way off in the distance.

Picture 2: Centre ville, so many motos that do not care about your safety!

Excursions

We went to a chefferie in Batoufam, about two hours away from the city. We spent the day speaking with the chief and taking a tour of his palace. It was incredible to learn about how traditional chiefdoms continue to function and adapt in an increasingly modernizing world. The chief is still an important and iconic figure in his village, but must also embrace changes in the world, for instance he now obtains his wealth from his business. He was about to celebrate the opening of his museum, and he invited us to join the ceremony. When a chief requests your presence at an event, you really can’t say no. So two days later we returned to the chefferie for a day of celebration. There were an incredible number of traditional dances (see picture 3) and people in costumes everywhere. His secret service was omnipresent but blended into the festivities (see picture 4). It was a day I will never be able to replicate and will never forget.

We also visited the Kataba monastery that produces coffee and jam with modern farming equipment, a rarity but made possible by loans from the Central Church. We went to a Sultan Palace in Foumban and learned all about the history of the Bamune people. 

Picture 3: Traditional Dancers in the Ceremony

Picture 4: Secret Service of the Chief

Everyday Life

We went to school each morning and had French class, a thematic seminar where we learned about the Bamileke traditions and challenges and also the changing role of women in Cameroon and a methodology class to prepare us for our research project at the end of the program (see picture 5). Classes are almost always interesting and we learn a ton. For instance, we had a panel discussion with two young Cameroonians to discuss the role of women and the young man told us that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, her duty in life is to please men sexually and have children and she should be completely subordinate to men. It was shocking to say the least. (He also went on to ask for our numbers and pretty much stalk us until our departure, surprising since we basically yelled at him for an hour for his comments against us.) The young girl however followed a more modern way of thinking but still said that if she found out that her husband had another family on the side, she would not divorce him. For lunch I went to the same omelet man to get an omelet sandwich for 60 cents. (Side note: Lauren and I are doing a research project on the informal sector and did an interview with him and learned that he makes 5 cents off of each sandwich that he sells and that he uses that income to pay for University. After that I tipped him every lunch.) We would go exploring in the afternoon, to centre ville or just walking around buying food off the street. Around 530 when it started to get dark we returned home to eat dinner with our families and do homework. 

Picture 5: Lecture on Bamileke Traditions

Family

This was the hardest part of Dschang for me. My host mother was obsessed with talking about money issues with me, which made the atmosphere of the house uncomfortable. She would talk to me about how she wants to visit America but she needs help from me to get there, and constantly ask me how much things I bought cost, she even borrowed some money from me without returning it, only $2 but that is a significant amount here. And my sister was terrible. I can’t put into words how hard it was to deal with her but it was a constant struggle. I am around children almost constantly in the summer and love every single minute of it, but for some reason I could not deal with her. She would lie to me, pinch me, pull at my hair, climb on me and just generally do anything she could to annoy me at all times. In Yaounde I do my homework in the living room so I can be around the family, but in Dschang it just wasn’t possible for this reason. I also had a father who seemed wonderful, but he spent the entire time in his room watching tv. However, I tried to realize while I was there that a lot of the things that were the most difficult for me were just differences in culture, for instance when my sister would talk to me with her mouth overflowing, spitting fish bones onto the floor instead of putting them on a plate, washing the dishes in very dirty water, etc. I feel proud that I experienced that and was able to accept most of it by the end. Another thing that should be mentioned is that there was no running water while I was there so the toilet was a port-a-potty and foul smelling, and I was unable to wash my hair for a grand total of 14 days. Occasionally I would dunk my hair in a bucket of water, the smell of which would make me gag. But what’s a Cameroon experience without poor hygiene?

Overall

Dschang was a mixed bag for me for sure. I loved the city and would like to spend more time there, but the family situation left a bad taste in my mouth that I don’t think I could get over. But we had a ton of fun trying out a bunch of different tailors for African clothing!! (see picture 6) I was so thrilled to get back to Yaounde. It truly felt like we were coming home.

Picture 6: New African Dress for the Chief's Ceremony

Bamenda!!

Before we came home however, we stopped for a weekend in Bamenda, an Anglophone region. It was so weird to speak English with people as everyone’s default language with people here is French. They mostly speak Pidgin English though so it was still hard to communicate. We stayed together in a guest house at a Baptist Center and we had a ton of fun together. An academic break was definitely needed. We did a lot of learning though because the Anglophone minority is marginalized in Cameroon and it was the perfect place to study the problem. We first met with a member of the secessionist party SCNC, which was a really crazy experience. They believe that Anglophone Cameroon is truly a different country and should be granted independence by the government. We then met with a government official who denied that there is an Anglophone problem (Picture 7 is outside that building.) And finally, we had dinner with the head of the opposition party here, the SDF. John Frundi has been running in every presidential election since 1992 when Cameroon became a multi-party state. He has lost due to rigged elections to Paul Biya who has been the president since 1982. It was an incredible evening. After our small break from English we returned home to Yaounde. However, on the drive I ate some coconut from a market that had been washed in dirty water and within 10 minutes had the bus pull over so I could empty my entire system from both ends in some grass by the side of the road. Luckily it was short lived but wow what an experience. 

Picture 7: Grace and I before the Government Official Meeting