Moving in

Some of you may have seen on facebook that I arrived in Yaounde a few days ago (late Thursday night to be exact.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had semi-hot running showers and wi-fi! My apologies for not posting while I was there. My laptop didn’t seem inclined to connect to that wi-fi and I did not take the time to post because we were quite busy.

When we arrived at the hotel, everything made its way up to our rooms and we had dinner, received our first dose of anti-malaria meds, had a very brief introduction and went up to bed. Friday was filled with more orientation which included getting our first aid kits, buying regulators so our electronics don’t get fried (those are about the size of a toaster and much heavier), and being given water filters (which are apparently much fancier and more compact that ones previous stages have received.) Still, it was a lot of stuff to carry to our homestays in addition to our regular luggage. I was so grateful for having packed only one bag.

Friday night we had dinner at our country director’s house. That gave us the chance to meet his wife, other PC staff and their families, local ministry officials who work with PC, and the ambassador. Unfortunately as he was making his rounds, he did not make his way over to the table where I was sitting. However I did get to stand almost right next to him in the photo, so I figure that balances out.

Saturday we had a half day more of orientation, focusing especially on language and what to expect from our homestays, which we would be moving into later on Saturday. We were told to move our bags downstairs ahead of time and we would catch up to our bags later (which as it turned out meant that our bags were split between sectors and were loaded onto the bus with us. It made for a slightly cramped ride. Agribusiness volunteers are staying with families in Ebolowa and health volunteers like me are staying in Mengong.

My home is Mengong is quite comfortable. Even more exciting is the fact that it is right next to the training center and only a 10 minute walk from the center of town. I feel as though it will be easier to manage my fatigue/episodes with living right next to the training center. I have a latrine toilet and bucket showers. The sea to summit pocket soaps I bought from www.moosejaw.com are absolutely perfect for bucket showers and minimizing how much water I use (mom please send me more of those!) It is so humid that 11 hours after I washed, my hair is still very damp and the sky was overcast basically all day. I hope once the dry season comes, that is not the case.

I’ve spent most of my time with my sister, Nelly, and she has been helping me to learn the community, how to do things, and learn Patois, the local language. People always grin when I greet them with “Bolo!” instead of “Bonjour.” When I slipped in the mud walking back from the city center, really would anybody expect anything less from me, she didn’t let go of my arm until we were safely in front of the latrine where she helped me rinse off the ridiculous amount of mud I managed to get on myself.

Another exciting thing is I got a call from mom and dad today! I think I need to buy credit though so I can send texts and make phone calls. It seems as though I will likely only have internet when I do group trainings in Ebolowa. I go to Ebolowa for the first time tomorrow and hope to post this blog entry at that time. Even if you don’t see posts from me frequently, know that I think of my friends and family often and have already shared pictures of you with Nelly.

Just in case any future PCVs come across this blog, I hope to include things I’m glad I brought/did before leaving  or particular things that might be interesting to somebody who is on their way to being a PC Trainee like me (I won’t be a volunteer until I swear in on November 19.)

1.       So glad I brought only one bag!!!! I know I’ll go home with two bags but for the moment I’m glad I have them.

2.       I was thrilled to be reimbursed at least partially by Peace Corps during staging.

3.       Super compact Cocoon travel pillow. Not just great for airports and the planes, but also great for pillows that although the do the job, couldn’t be described as luxurious.

Well that’s all for now folks! If you have particular questions be sure to let me know and I will try to answer them. For now, I sleep!