Two Weeks in Yaoundé

We finally wrapped TDW (Training Design Workshop) on Wednesday. After going through training once on the other side, it was interesting to see all the work that goes into preparing for it. Volunteers and Peace Corps staff all worked very hard to get the training program ready. In July and August I will be spending about five weeks helping with training in the village of Bangante, in the West province. This should be interesting since I have not spent much time in the West and the climate, geography, and culture there are all very different from my village. It will also be interesting to meet the new volunteers. We spent most of our days in conference rooms hashing out schedules, working out problems, and preparing and practicing the training sessions we will present.

In the evenings however, we had about fifteen volunteers all staying in the Case de Passage (Transit House) - sort of like a hostel for volunteers attached to the Peace Corps office. I hadn't seen many of the people who came since our own training last year, so it was good to catch up. The best part of having so many volunteers together at once was that we were able to pool our resources and throw several huge dinner parties, all of which were a blast and a nice change from the regular Cameroonian fare we're now accustomed to eating. Here are a few highlights:

Mexican Night

Soul Food Night

Calzone Night

Birthday Night

Of course, where Peace Corps volunteers congregate in Cameroon, there will usually be beer:

Which, naturally, leads to some very silly behavior:

As much fun as all of this was, it will be good to get back to Nanga. After almost two weeks cooped up with each other in Yaoundé we're all suffering from a bit of cabin fever at this point. I should be going back today or tomorrow.