September 16, 2014
I hope you smile the next time you flush your toilet, drink
a bottle of water, or drop your clothes in the washing machine. I don’t want
this to sound preachy because in the US we so often hear how lucky we are but
it certainly is worth repeating. Water in my host village of Mengong is
obtained from the river or wells and a thing that resembles a very short, three
walled reservoir (both of which I’m sure are supplied by water from the river).
This water is used for cooking, for bathing, for washing clothes (by hand),
washing hands, doing food prep, and washing dishes.
Peace Corps provides us with water filters so volunteers are
able to use safe water. Our families do not have even this luxury. I finally
got my filter put together (I’ve been working off of bottled water up to this
point.) and went with my sister Nelly to get water for the first time. It was
about a 10 or 15 minute walk through jungle* that included a very very steep
incline to reach the reservoir (easily 45 degrees, probably more). When she saw
my reaction to the steep incline, Nelly took the mini-bucket she had given me
and brought it down along with her larger bucket. She wouldn’t let me carry the
bucket again until we were on very solid footing. We made it home successfully,
which I’m sure wouldn’t have been the case if I had carried the bucket the
whole time. So, when I make it home and use plumbing to flush a toilet or wash
dishes, I will absolutely smile.
*Yes I
did confirm that there are monkeys in aforementioned jungle. I also confirmed
that some people eat monkeys. I also confirmed that my family does not. In a
word, yay!
I had forgotten how exhausting it is to be immersed 24/7.
Good exhausting but still exhausting. As my mind races before bed, I’m
discovering that I’m thinking in French and even imagining conversations I
might have with you at home, but the conversation is in French. Today we had 5
or 6 hours of French instruction with small groups decided based on our level.
I placed as intermediate but feel like I still have so much to cover,
especially if I want a Francophone post. If you’ve never had the chance to be
immersed in a country that doesn’t speak English, I highly recommend it. After
only a few days I can feel my brain working harder than it has in a long time.
After fetching water Nelly (I’ll most often refer to her as
my sister but I actually have 16 siblings. I don’t think I’ve met them all yet.
My father has two wives, which accounts for the large number.) told me she
wanted me to come into the kitchen area to help make something,, the name of
which I’ve already forgotten. With eggs, lots of sugar, even more flour, yeast,
a little bit of salt, and a little bit of water, we basically made donuts that
were then fried to deliciousness.
Tomorrow we spend the day in Ebolowa where the agribusiness
volunteers do all of their training and live/where we have internet. We are
leaving at 7 for sessions to start at 8. When I first heard that I thought, not
too bad. I can wake up at 6. Hah! Nelly told me that tomorrow morning I will
wake up at 5 to start learning how to cook Cameroonian food. My first lesson
will be making a peanut sauce to be put over rice. I’m thinking it’s the same
thing we ate in Senegal that I wasn’t overly fond of. Do any of my CIEE friends
remember what it was called? I’ll keep you updated. Goodnight my friends and
family. I love and miss you.
*Update,
I woke up at 5 as promised and my sister had already made the peanut sauce. Oh
well.
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