Originally my house was a transit house used to host visiting professors at the university. It had three bedrooms and bathrooms off a large common room. When my predecessor arrived they converted it into his house and I inherited it from him. One of the bedrooms has a separate door to the outside and is still used as a guest room by the university, but I kept the other two rooms and the common room.
On entering my humble abode, you are in the old common room which I use as a kitchen and dining room and to entertain guests.
The volunteer who used to live here painted a large Cameroonian flag on the wall. I decided I liked it and left it up. It adds color to the place. Thought about painting a large American flag on the wall opposite the Cameroonian flag but I think I'm just too lazy.
An alcove in the back of the room has been converted into a kitchenette with a small gas stove and a fridge. There's no water in this room unfortunately, so I get water from the bathroom when I need it. Do my dishes in the bathroom as well.
The view from my front door:
It has a decent sized bedroom where I have two desks, chairs, shelves, and my mosquito net equipped bed. There is a bathroom just to the right of the window.
The view out my bedroom window (taken in the rainy season - looks a lot less lush right now since we're in the dry season):
The third room is another converted bedroom that the previous volunteer used as a salon. I want to have a sofa made so I can use the room, but since we are not receiving regular pay checks (the last Congress never passed a budget so we just get money in dribs and drabs for now) I can't really afford it at the moment. So, for now I don't really use it. I did inherit a nice coffee table with it though. The bathroom off the salon is the one I use for dishes, laundry, etc. Note the buckets just inside the door. Buckets are REALLY useful here. If Douglas Adams had written The Hitchhiker's Guide to Cameroon he'd have written that you need to have a bucket with you at all times, not a towel.
The house has electricity and running water, which both work some of the time. I just need a sofa, a few throw rugs, a decent light to read by, and maybe a fan for when it gets hot. It's probably about the same square footage as my old apartment before I came here. It's also only a two to five minute walk from any of the buildings on campus where I teach, so the commute is great. Overall it's a decent place to live.Not to shabby for life in the Peace Corps huh?
4 comments:
The place looks really nice. That's a lot of space for one person! I love the fact that you have a "salon" with a cool tree table. You really lucked out in your assignment. I had to laugh when you said it was the dry season and it therefore wasn't as lush. Before I read that, I was looking at the door/windows pictures thinking "Man! It is so lush out there!" so I can't imagine what it looks like when rain is present. You must be able to actually SEE the oxygen being produced by the plants in viscous waves. The landscape really looks beautiful. Add all those decorative lizards, and you complete the Camaroon look. You should try and bring one of those guys back with you to the states! Think Mr. Lizard could make it past customs? Hey, where's a picture of your new military haircut?
Dave
Hey Brian!
I'm so glad that you started this blog and that you've got a bunch of pictures up. It's hard to know how very ethnocentric we really are over here until we get an actual glimpse into another part of the world.
You sound like you're handling all of the challenges and stress of being in a foreign (and much poorer and less technologically advanced) country quite admirably. Me...I'd be starving for fear of what was on my plate (maybe a good way to lose a bunch of unwanted weight?) and cursing the gods for neglecting to provide daily and consistent running water and electricity. I'm really in awe of what you're doing. No doubt this whole experience will shape the rest of your life in ways you cannot even imagine yet.
Keep well!
Love,
Tova
Hey, I just found your blog. Any volunteers in the Southwest Province? Tombel, Nyassaso, Kumba area?
I was a volunteer in Tombel 96-98.
Laban
Hi Brian. The place looks great! Much like I remember. You forgot to mention the bamboo ceiling I had installed while I was living there. I hope they start paying you regularly again soon. I know what it's like to be flat broke in the middle of nowhere. How are you adjusting to the food? Do you spend much time at La Pimenterie? Thanks for keeping this blog. In a way, it's a nice little window into a past life for me.
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