tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78862396855502233062024-02-21T19:08:08.827+01:00CameroonedThe experiences of a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, where disappointment turns to appointment.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-50535368781991171612009-07-07T21:55:00.004+01:002009-07-07T22:14:15.636+01:00Home<div align="justify">Dear Readers,</div><div align="justify"><P>Last week I finally completed my Peace Corps service after three years in Cameroon. I left the country Friday night and arrived back in the US late on Saturday night. Since then I’ve been resting up at my mother’s home, getting reacclimated and organized. </P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>As some of you have noticed, I stopped updating this blog about six months ago. The last year has been very challenging. It’s a long story, but mostly I had just reached the burnout point and didn’t feel like writing about the difficulties I was having. At some point when I’ve had some more time to rest and reflect I’ll write more about the last few months and what was going on. For now I’ll just say that I have been ready to come home for a while and I’m glad to finally be back.</div></P><P><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">In spite of “burnout” and other difficulties I had by the end, I don’t regret joining the Peace Corps or the time I spent in Cameroon for a second. It was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, but also one of the best experiences and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. </P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Although living in such a radically different culture and doing the kind of difficult (and often thankless) job that Peace Corps volunteers do is a huge challenge, I feel I gained far more than I sacrificed through the close friendships I made, by learning another language, in experiencing another culture, and in the satisfaction that in my own small way I tried to serve my country and make the world a slightly better place. I feel I accomplished what I set out to do and I take pride in my service. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>I also took some valuable lessons from Cameroon. I learned that it’s possible to live much more simply than we do and to have a good life without so many of the shiny toys and frivolous luxuries we waste so much precious time and money chasing. I also believe my time in Cameroon has made me a much stronger, wiser, and more independent person. That alone probably made it worth the trip. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></P><P>Perhaps most importantly, I gained a renewed appreciation of my own country. It somehow feels appropriate that I returned home on the 4th of July. I think you have to leave America for a country like Cameroon for a while to really appreciate the greatest strengths of our country. It’s not the money or shiny electronics or McMansions that make America a great country. It’s the tremendous amount of freedom and opportunity we enjoy. We have our problems of course and should always be trying to improve ourselves, but living in Cameroon has repeatedly impressed on me just how much opportunity we Americans have to live our lives the way we want and just how much is possible here. </P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>As for what comes next, I haven’t decided yet. In the short term, I plan to spend the rest of the summer in the US, visiting friends and family and getting used to being back in America. I’m used to daily life in Cameroon at this point, so I know it will take me some time before things here feel “normal” again.</P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>I plan to do some traveling again this fall and then come back home to spend the holidays with my friends and family for the first time in three years. After that it will be time to start working again, although I haven’t figured out yet exactly what I’ll be doing. No matter what I do in the future though, I know I’ll always benefit from what I have seen and learned over the last three years.</P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>I will try to start doing some more blog posts about Cameroon in the not too distant future so you can catch up on some of what I saw and did over there, even if it’s well after the fact. Better late then never right?</P></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><P>Thanks for reading.</P> </div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-22724482297276476652008-12-24T14:08:00.002+01:002008-12-24T14:23:43.326+01:00Happy X-Mas from Cameroon<div style="text-align: justify;">We've got lots of Christmas lights and fake plastic trees up around Buea (seriously) and everyone is wishing everyone else a "Happy X-mas." Tonight should see lots of partying around town - usually Christmas Eve is when everyone goes out drinking with their friends. Tomorrow people will be spending the holiday with their families and friends. I've had several invitations so I'll be moving between several different places over the course of the day and night. I anticipate a long, steady, gorging process.<br /><br />Hope everyone out there is enjoying the holidays! Best wishes from Cameroon.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-38770641985001175862008-12-24T13:55:00.002+01:002008-12-24T14:06:14.132+01:00Oh, Goody<div style="text-align: justify;">Just what Cameroon needs: <a href="http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/22083">rebels</a>.<br /><br />Busy today trying to wrap things up before Christmas but I'll try to post more on the tortured recent history of the Bakassi peninsula after the holiday.<br /><br />Fortunately I don't think there's any danger to me or any other Peace Corps volunteers - we're nowhere near this area. Just to be on the safe side though Peace Corps has given us orders to stay away from the beach for the next few weeks. Hopefully nothing will come of this.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-9517756513960403142008-12-02T13:57:00.006+01:002008-12-02T14:28:51.217+01:00Back to the Lecture Hall<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdwyeUlcD9bb6Cum60ozLD3MKg_RLGTIohGhpNbnUH5QVYIr-YyrqNX1pSYI9KsINRdkRdTWJIJ6CS_97-EYEA_8YEqePBpWD4xwBexftnYXrU4FAmNi1EB2DaWDv8ChDHrxOcUnte32x/s1600-h/Visicalc.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdwyeUlcD9bb6Cum60ozLD3MKg_RLGTIohGhpNbnUH5QVYIr-YyrqNX1pSYI9KsINRdkRdTWJIJ6CS_97-EYEA_8YEqePBpWD4xwBexftnYXrU4FAmNi1EB2DaWDv8ChDHrxOcUnte32x/s400/Visicalc.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275183904959324290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">VisiCalc: On the bleeding edge of technology</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After my time at the <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2008/02/cosendai-adventist-university.html">university </a>in Nanga, I thought I was probably done with the college scene here in Cameroon. Not quite. A member of my NGO's board of directors is an economics professor at the University of Buea (located here in ... Buea). A few weeks ago he invited Bill and I to give presentations on business and technology at a seminar for his students. So, last Wednesday we went before an audience of several hundred UB students (mostly economics, business, and accounting and finance majors) in a packed lecture hall.<br /><br />Fortunately, we had technology on our side. The school had loaned us a projector, so we were able to set up a laptop and use PowerPoint for our presentations. I even got to include the cool <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCalc">VisiCalc</a> screen shot above.<br /><br />There were presentations by our host on the stock market (interesting) and by another Cameroonian professor on risk management (booooring). Bill gave a talk with lots of cool illustrations and animations and some video on how credit card transactions and online retail work (credit cards and online retail are not common here in Cameroon - the economy usually works on a strictly cash basis). I followed him with presentation introducing the use of information technology in corporate accounting and reporting. I gave a bit of history, then talked about spreadsheets as an essential accounting and reporting tool. After demonstrating how a spreadsheet works using Excel, I then moved on to a discussion of different types of accounting software packages from Quicken to SAP and some of the advantages and challenges of using them. I capped off the presentation with a demonstration of QuickBooks as an example of a simple accounting program.<br /><br />The students seemed interested and we took some good questions at the end. All in all I thought it was a successful evening. It felt good to be back in the classroom.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-11071589786460149242008-11-27T10:30:00.005+01:002008-11-27T11:40:16.364+01:00The CAMTEL Customer Service Model<div style="text-align: justify;">Customer service is a bit of an oxymoron in Cameroon. For whatever reason, most Cameroonians don't get the idea of customer service. Generally service here is slow and surly.<br /><br />Recently, however, an incident involving <a href="http://www.camtel.cm/">CAMTEL</a> (the Cameroonian telephone company) brought lousy customer service to a new level. Thankfully, CAMTEL is modern enough to be able to provide DSL service in Buea and other select areas of the country. The organization where I work has a CAMTEL DSL line which we use to power our cyber cafe. It can be a bit slow at times but is generally pretty reliable. We also have a land line provided by CAMTEL. (Most Cameroonians now just have cell phones using service provided by MTN or Orange, the two big cell phone service providers. Land lines are actually rare.)<br /><br />A couple of months ago, our land line stopped working. The boss called CAMTEL to have them send a technician to see what was wrong. The technician showed up and after playing with some wiring got the land line working again. However, in the process he inadvertently screwed up and cut the DSL wire, so we lost the internet. Since the cyber cafe is the component of the NGO that keeps us in business, not having an internet connection was, shall we say, a tad inconvenient.<br /><br />After repeated calls, the boss got the technician to come back and basically told him to just undo whatever he had done. Which the technician did - shutting the phone back off but at least getting our internet working again. He then presented us with a hand written receipt for 20,000 francs CFA for the work he just did. In other words, he was billing us to fix the damage he himself had caused. Furthermore, the bill wasn't even a legitimate CAMTEL bill, it was just him freelancing trying to extort money from, allegedly because we made him come out on a Saturday. Boo hoo. To add insult to injury, our phone line still wasn't working.<br /><br />Understandably upset, our boss refused to pay the bill. The technician left but came back several times in the following weeks to demand payment. He was politely turned away each time.<br /><br />Then, about two weeks ago, our internet connection went down. Occasional service interruptions are not uncommon here, so at first we didn't think much of it. Just one of Cameroon's many little inconveniences. But as our down time stretched from minutes to hours and then into two days, we realized something was seriously wrong. After checking our network and all our wiring to verify that the problem was not on our end, we called CAMTEL for help.<br /><br />A team of CAMTEL technicians (including the one who had demanded payment for fixing his own mistake) came and started looking for the problem. After climbing the telephone pole, they discovered that the line had been disconnected.<br /><br />At that point, the technician who'd screwed up our connection the last time announced that he was the one who had disconnected the line on his own time because we didn't want to pay him. His colleagues were just as shocked as we were. This was a really really dumb move, even for Cameroon. When our boss threatened to take it to his supervisor at CAMTEL, the other technicians begged him not to, because telling his boss would get him immediately fired. Of course, when I heard this my response was, "That's the point isn't it? This bastard should be fired."<br /><br />However, my boss is a much kinder and more forgiving person than I am, so he decided to let the guy go and just drop the whole matter. He did however keep a copy of the guy's illegal handwritten bill as evidence. If the guy ever tries it again he'll immediately take it to the technician's supervisor and have him fired.<br /><br />Ah, Cameroon, where service technicians demand bribes to fix the mistakes they themselves make. What a country.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-53496013069360645222008-11-27T10:21:00.004+01:002008-11-27T10:28:39.353+01:00Scribbles From The Den<div style="text-align: justify;">Recently I came across <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.dibussi.com/">Scribbles From the Den</a>, the blog of a Cameroonian writer named Dibussi Tande. He posts both original material and also news articles and other blog posts about Cameroon and Africa. Lots of interesting stuff. He was nice enough to cross post my <a href="http://www.dibussi.com/2008/11/obamarama-or-the-2008-us-presidential-election-through-cameroonian-eyes.html">pre-election post</a> on his blog, so I thought I'd return the favor by linking to his blog. Stop on by and check it out.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-44879231032129750382008-11-08T09:06:00.003+01:002008-11-08T09:12:55.876+01:00Deep Thought<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">There's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">something</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">surreal</span> about <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">sitting</span> in a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">little</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">shack</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Africa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">eating</span> an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">omelet</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">while</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">TV</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">on the wall is</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">blaring</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">syndicated</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">reruns</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Care</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Bears</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Fortunately</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Care</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Bears</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">were</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">able</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">to</span> use <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Care</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Bear</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Stare</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">save</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Forest</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">of</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Feeling</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">from</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Professor</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Coldheart's dastardly plot</span>.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-71359075175412450662008-11-08T08:45:00.002+01:002008-11-08T09:05:13.471+01:00America Drops the O-Bomb<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHY67iO9qesMNUn1pQOXIaq9pjuQD5NaXt_tQq-ROFzFeGAzwwVYxidu_9kEaQh2MSdk1S6w8i5wM2-kMeyMMSmBxuhjRXWRqyOCg3N3PWvtKwvL1opu2GnycaAM2kqNIxu1jplvY6St7t/s1600-h/obama8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHY67iO9qesMNUn1pQOXIaq9pjuQD5NaXt_tQq-ROFzFeGAzwwVYxidu_9kEaQh2MSdk1S6w8i5wM2-kMeyMMSmBxuhjRXWRqyOCg3N3PWvtKwvL1opu2GnycaAM2kqNIxu1jplvY6St7t/s400/obama8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266193776435932754" border="0" /></a>Election day started on a comical note at the office. Two Cameroonian men came into our cyber cafe asking how they could vote for Obama over the internet. After a good laugh we gently explained to them that it doesn't exactly work that way.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Tuesday night turned out to be a big night here in Cameroon as well as America. I ended up staying up all night with some other Americans and Cameroonian friends to watch the election returns. We hung in there until the result (which came at about 5 AM here), then watched the candidates speeches and turned in for a nap around 7 AM. Rather, I would have liked to take a nap, but tons of Cameroonian friends immediately started calling and texting me with congratulations. Turns out none of them slept either. I was at Bill's house most of the night, but I heard lots of the bars around Cameroon stayed open all night and turned off the usual music videos and soccer matches in favor of CNN or the BBC.<br /><br />Friends back home have emailed me about the spontaneous celebrations they saw in the streets of their towns. I wish I'd been able to see them. No parties in the street here as far as I know, but it was definitely an event.<br /><br />Other Peace Corps volunteers have told me since Tuesday they have been approached on the street by strangers who ask if they're Americans. When they say yes, they are then congratulated and told how Obama's election is proof that America is the greatest country in the world. As I speculated in my last post - I think we just got a do-over with the rest of the world.<br /><br />On a side note, Nigerian t-shirt makers are thrilled - they are going to turn a huge business selling Obama t-shirts all over west Africa. I've already seen a few around Buea. Bill told me he saw one in rhinestones. Ugh.<br /><br />Congratulations to President-elect Obama. I just hope and pray that with all the tremendous problems we are facing he can meet the high expectations everyone has of him. America needs a great President right now and I hope he makes us all proud.<br /><br />No one knows where the future will take us, but for now, it feels like America's back. Hallelujah!<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-38212081418397157232008-11-03T12:26:00.004+01:002008-11-03T13:22:29.615+01:00OBAMARAMA, or, the 2008 US Presidential Election Through Cameroonian Eyes<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.</span> - Barack Obama</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">If you thought I was out of touch with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> politics, rest assured that’s not the case. Even if I had no internet access and no desire to follow politics, I would still be hearing about the election from all my Cameroonian friends (and some passing acquaintances and occasionally even strangers). Cameroonians have plenty of access to international news on the TV and radio. Via satellite or cable many households even have CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, not to mention the BBC, Al Jazeera, French news programs, etc.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Much to my surprise when I got here, Cameroonians love American politics. If anything, Cameroonians sometimes seem to follow American politics more closely than politics in their own country. Many also seem to follow American politics more closely than a lot of Americans I’m sad to say. I’m not sure exactly why the fascination. Maybe because the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> is still perceived as the world’s only superpower and the President as the world’s most powerful leader? Maybe because they know that when the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> acts in the world it can affect them in one way or another? Maybe because the prevalence of American popular culture around the world makes people interested in what’s going on in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Maybe because there aren’t too many surprises in their own political system, so American politics are more suspenseful?<o:p><br /></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Whatever the reason, many people here love to talk about it and ask questions when they meet Americans. I’m usually happy to do so – gives me a chance to help fulfill Peace Corps’ goal of promoting understanding of Americans abroad. It also gives me a chance to occasionally clear up misconceptions – they follow American politics but sometimes don’t always understand the mechanics (such as the difference between a primary and general election, federalism, the electoral college, etc.)</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">They also love Barack Obama. Lots of Cameroonians are borderline obsessed with him and his candidacy. The head of the NGO I work for talks about the latest election news daily – every twist and turn and jump or dip in the polls is discussed. The owner of the bar where I eat lunch stops to talk to me about Obama on a regular basis. The carpenters I paid to make some book shelves for my apartment had me hanging out in their shop for half an hour after we’d finished our business so they could talk about Obama. A random teenager I met who’s a friend of a friend invited me out for drinks just so he could ask me about the election. I see people walking around wearing Obama t-shirts and hats. (No buttons though – in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cameroon</st1:place></st1:country-region> a button with someone’s picture is a way of memorializing the dead – if you wore an Obama button people might think he had died.) </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Part of it is obviously because Obama is black. Africans often forget that not all Americans are white, so to suddenly see a black man in a position to become President astounds some of them. Even more so for the fact that his father was African. Amusingly, many Cameroonians think Obama is Cameroonian because the name “Obama” is a common family name among the Ewondo (one of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Cameroon</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s 250 different tribes.)</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">However, I think it’s also about what Obama’s candidacy tells them about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It tells them that son of an African student can rise to become leader of one of the largest and most powerful nations on earth. It reinforces the idea that somewhere in the world is a place where people can rise above the limitations imposed on them by others and make something of their lives. More than one Cameroonian has told me “This would never happen in Europe or Asia – the son of an African would never become President of France or <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>.” They see <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> as special and Obama’s candidacy only confirms that. <span style=""> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I’ve met two or three McCain fans, but that’s about it. Mostly they say they’d rather see McCain win because Obama’s too young, and in a society where age is respected that carries some weight. But in contrast to the Obama supporters they don’t seem too inspired by McCain. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">In general most Cameroonians I talk to about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> have a positive view of us. They generally see us as “the good guys” in the world and are impressed by our society’s dynamism, prosperity, and democracy. And whatever our faults and limitations in all these areas they can’t help but look at their own society and wish politics here were a bit more like politics in America. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Two weeks ago I was invited to a panel that discussed the elections at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Buea</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, and one panelist presented American elections, warts and all, as models African nations should strive to follow. So cheer up, my fellow Americans depressed by politics, it’s better than you think.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">That said, in recent years <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> has tarnished its image around the world and that is felt here as well. But here it seems like people almost feel confused by the events of the Bush years. Over the last two years I have heard lots of comments like “<st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> is such a great country, why are you doing these horrible things around the world right now?” or “How could such a great country with so many smart people pick someone like George Bush to lead them?” I usually don’t have a very satisfying answer for these questions, other than that Americans are human and just as flawed and likely to make mistakes as anyone else on the planet.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I think this sentiment among Cameroonians that <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a great nation that somehow lost its way may also help explain the appeal of Obama. Simply by the fact of who he is and how high he has risen, he is telling Cameroonians (if not the rest of the world as well) that the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> they admired is on its way back. If Obama were to lose the election tomorrow I suspect lots of people outside <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> will despair and wonder if we’ve lost our way for good. In <st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region> we often tend to forget that the rest of the world exists during our elections, but as I’ve learned here in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cameroon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, this isn’t just OUR election.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">However, if he’s elected, I believe <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> will instantly get a “do over” from much of the world. Especially here in <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place>, it will be as if the last eight years had never happened, for a little while at least. Eventually the honeymoon will end and then it’s up to us, of course. But I guess that’s supposed to be the point of democracy isn’t it?</p>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-19425588460203264522008-10-24T13:16:00.002+01:002008-11-08T09:17:47.091+01:00And We're Back...<div style="text-align: justify;">Hello out there to any readers who haven't given up on me and still check the blog in spite of my long absence. As I noted in a previous post, I went back to the US for a monthlong break and returned to Cameroon late last month. Since then I haven't really felt in the swing of things as far as blogging goes, so I've been lazy and not posted anything. So, I decided it was finally time for an update.<br /><br />Home leave was good. It was great to see friends and family again, to be back in the States, and to eat loads of unhealthy junk food. I gained a few pounds actually. I didn't have too many problms with reverse culture shock, except for bizarrely begin really uncomfortable being around white people for my first two days back. Odd... And of course I spent a lot of time telling people things that started with "In Cameroon..." over and over. All in all though, it was a badly needed change of scenery and I returned to Cameroon feeling recharged.<br /><br />I've settled back into Buea easily. I've been putting in a fair amount of time working with my host institution, a local NGO called <a href="http://linkupdevgroup.org/">LINK-UP</a>, that tries to help impoverished children and orphans in several communities in Cameroon's Southwest province. My work with LINK-UP has so far revolved around two main areas.<br /><br />The first is a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit">micro-credit</a> program they have recently started in collaboration with an outside group called <a href="http://drombaya.org/">Drombaya</a>. This is a program to provide small loans to families the organization has been helping to start or expand their own small income generating activities. Generally, these are small scale projects like making and selling or reselling food items and small artisanal work. Before going back to the US I helped them craft some of their loan policies and design the paperwork and process. The program started up in my absence and seems to be off and running fairly smoothly. For the moment I'm not doing much in this area but I'll be revisiting it to see how the pogram is working once it's been operational for a few months.<br /><br />My second project with LINK-UP is basically management consulting. The organization started small and has always been run by its founder and President. When it started he could do this out of his head and mostly by himself. However, as the organization has grown and been successful, they've passed the point where an ad hoc management style works effectively. So, I've been working with the President and the staff to develop and write down their internal rules and procedures in an effort to help them better manage their activities and make the organization more professional.<br /><br />Outside LINK-UP, I've made contact with another local Cameroonian development organization called <a href="http://www.nkonghilltop.org/">Nkong Hilltop</a>, which mostly works in he agricultural domain, running micro-credit programs and building skills among farmers. I recently did a computer security workshop with some of their staff where I provided training in how to protect their computers against viruses (a huge problem in Cameroon) and use the internet safely. In the future we are planning more computer related training sessions in order to help them start trcking some of their projects and better manage their finances using computers.<br /><br />Besides work, I've started taking a French class at the local Linguistic Center, a government sponsored language training center aimed at promoting bilingualism in Cameroon and offering French and English courses. Although my French is still pretty strong, now that I'm not using it daily any more I can feel it slipping a bit, so the five hour a week course is perfect practice to ensure I don't lose too much of it while I'm here.<br /><br />Aside from that, I've just been hanging out with friends here in Buea and sneaking off for an occasional day trip to the beach.<br /><br />So, that's what I'm up to these days.<br /><br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-85979488518204483012008-08-13T10:32:00.004+01:002008-08-13T11:25:12.586+01:00A Video Tour of Buea<p><div align="justify">I just recalled that a while ago Bill posted <a href="http://www.27months.com/?p=102">this</a> Youtube video someone made giving viewers a video tour of Buea, my new post. It's pretty good. So, to keep you entertained while I'm airborne, have a look. Enjoy!</div><div align="justify"></div><p></p><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RhuJPKnZJd8&hl=" fs="1" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-49443568126334828232008-08-13T10:27:00.003+01:002008-08-13T10:31:18.913+01:00Home Leave!<div align="justify">After two long years in Cameroon, I'm finally heading back to the good old US of A tonight for a badly needed month of home leave. I will do some posting while I'm home. See you on the other side of the Atlantic gang!</div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-66306984986847778742008-07-30T19:32:00.005+01:002008-07-30T19:43:36.817+01:00Secret Cults in Cameroonian Schools<div style="text-align: justify;">As I was saying, magic is real here. Don't mess with magic. From one of Buea's hometown newspapers, <a href="http://www.postnewsline.com/">The Post</a> (their office is not far from mine - many of their reporters post stories from the cyber cafe I use), comes this "can't make this stuff up" <a href="http://www.postnewsline.com/2008/06/overcoming-secr.html">story</a>:<br /><blockquote>Students tangle with the occult because most of them are always finding shortcuts to success.The ideals of hard work, discipline and selfless dedication to God as the path to profound success that pastors, priests and teachers profess, is often ignored by wayward students in search of material gains. Children of this calibre are easy prey for the devil.</blockquote>Awesome.</div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-84546395492745441482008-07-30T18:30:00.002+01:002008-07-30T18:35:18.943+01:00"What was left was tiny"<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Saw</span> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2319603620080423?sp=true"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">this</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">story</span></a> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">while</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ago</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">saved</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">the</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">link</span> but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">forgot</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">to</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">post</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">it</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">until</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">now</span>.<br /><br />Ah, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Africa</span>... where magic is no joke.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-40608975085750446572008-07-30T17:43:00.001+01:002008-07-30T18:27:44.574+01:00The Village of Waiting<div style="text-align: justify;">I just finished reading the Peace Corps memoir <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Village-Waiting-George-Packer/dp/0374527806/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217436629&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Village of Waiting</span></a> by journalist George Packer a few days ago. So far it's both the best book about the experience of being a Peace Corps volunteer I've read and an incredibly insightful look at West African culture. Packer is an excellent writer and the book is an engrossing read. He served in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togo">Togo</a>, but most of what he wrote about Togo could just as easily apply to Cameroon. While reading this book I constantly found myself saying "Yep... been there, done that." In the future I'll probably find myself liberally quoting from this book when I want to explain either something about Africa or about what it feels like to be a (white) Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. If anyone out there has the inclination to, I can't recommend this book highly enough.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-13644971927321734012008-07-30T17:39:00.003+01:002008-07-30T19:49:11.589+01:00First Weeks in Buea<div style="text-align: justify;">The last few weeks have been pretty busy. Here's the rundown:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Trying to get your power or water turned on in Cameroon is an ordeal that might be described as both Sysiphean and Kafkaesque at the same time. Wait around all day at the office to be told there are no meters available, or that there are meters but no technicians to come install them today, or that you are missing some document or stamp or didn't dot an i on the application form, or that you didn't pay for the technician's "transport" (i.e. the bribe necessary to get underpaid utility company emplyees to come to your house and do the job they're supposed to be doing). Fortunately it only took me a week to get the lights turned on so I could move in after that. Unfortunately, I've had worse luck with water. It's been a whole month now and I still have no running water. I've been going to the water company several times a week but there's always a different story for why there are no meters available today. Trying to get my water hooked up has turned out to be almost a full time job by itself. The supervisor for my buidling has been carrying jugs of water for me periodically. My neighbors have also helped me out and let me fill some containers. So, I'm getting enough water to wash (albeit not as often as I'd like) and flush the toilet but that's about it. Sigh...</li><li>Since I switched my focus from teaching to working in a business development role, I spent a week in training with the newest group of volunteers in the village of Bangangté getting brought up to speed on some of the technical aspects of the Peace Corps' Small Enterprise Development program. I spent some quality time with Peace Corps trainers and volunteers getting oriented and had a good time getting to know the new kids on the block. Fun week, but the trips there and back were long and tiring.</li><li>Been hanging out with <a href="http://www.27months.com/">Bill</a> and my new post-mate <a href="http://www.jessaroon.wordpress.com/">Jessamyn</a> (another volunteer in town) a bit, meeting their friends and colleagues and getting to know Buea, which so far has mostly meant getting to know where the best stores, restaurants, and bars are located.</li><li>In between all that I've started doing some work with Linkup, my host institution in Buea. They are a rapidly growing NGO in the process of reorganizing. The first phase of this involved the physical overhaul of their office and their cybercafe.(They own a cyber cafe which provides the revenue to keep the lights on and fund their charitable activities.) Bill and I helped out for several days of manual labor, painting, running power and network cables, holding stuff, cleaning and repairing PCs, and finally helping to get all the machines back online so the place could reopen. I've started working on revamping the group's internal procedures and putting in place a better system of accounting and financial management. I'm also working with them and some would-be microfinance rainmakers to start a microcredit program the NGO can use to give loans to poor members of the community in order to help them start or expand income generating activities.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">So, that's what I've been up to the last few weeks. Busy busy. Lack of water aside, all is well.</div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-40414661323383029302008-07-04T13:30:00.003+01:002008-07-04T13:37:29.457+01:00Happy Birthday America<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNIul-L-s-QizUeWe8Sh_ujmbEiSvxy8CLWKPLtGIN2Fdn5Rk8F25UQqCX4AwcyBwex_VyXyqOw9dfJR7rXq0KXoGKtJUvPciDobjUeU-tHCzeNtVbevWQwtAZMMFU976FsTw88hDprDn/s1600-h/american-flag-2a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNIul-L-s-QizUeWe8Sh_ujmbEiSvxy8CLWKPLtGIN2Fdn5Rk8F25UQqCX4AwcyBwex_VyXyqOw9dfJR7rXq0KXoGKtJUvPciDobjUeU-tHCzeNtVbevWQwtAZMMFU976FsTw88hDprDn/s400/american-flag-2a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219136621160234626" border="0" /></a><br />Hope everyone back home is having a good Independence Day. In between cheeseburgers try to remember <a href="http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm">what it's all about</a>. Have a fun and safe holiday.<br /><br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-85861912343757875212008-07-02T09:47:00.004+01:002008-07-02T10:36:12.049+01:00Moved<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, once again I've been delinquent in posting, partly because of a bad connection in Nanga, partly because I've been busy and mobile, and maybe due to a little blog fatigue. At any rate, I've finally left Nanga Eboko and moved to my new post, <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2007/04/spring-break-2007-buea.html">Buea</a>, in the Southwest Province.<br /><br />My last few weeks in Nanga were busy:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>I continued tutoring students using the <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2007/04/end-of-busy-week.html">donated computers</a> I got last year. I actually managed to get a fair amount of teaching done before leaving. Mission accomplished.<br /></li><li>I finished up all of my grading, corrections, make up exams, and other paperwork for the semester. Tedious but necessary.<br /></li><li>One of Peace Corps' technical trainers is a Cameroonian computer teacher. He's been writing a series of basic computer textbooks for use in Cameroonian high schools. Since the country is bilingual, he needed someone to provide an English translation of one of his books for use in schools in the English speaking part of the country. I'd been working on it off and on for months, but finally wrapped it up and gave it to him a few weeks ago.</li><li>I spent a lot of time with friends and saying goodbye to people. I was given a nice going away party by my colleagues at the University. Two women I know in town tried to convince me to take a porcupine with me as a gift for my father when I go back to the states. Uh, yeah. (An aside: porcupine is popular bush meat in southern Cameroon. It's actually pretty tasty - tastes kind of like pork but a bit stronger.)<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">While I was a little sad to leave my friends and students, I was also ready to leave Nanga and move on to something better. After spending a week in Yaoundé for medical examinations (they tell me I'm healthy) and a lot of paperwork, I finally moved to Buea a few days ago. I am gradually getting to know the town better and have already started to discuss my work for the next year with Roland, my new boss at the local NGO, <a href="http://linkupdevgroup.org/">Linkup</a>, where I will be working.<br /><br />I have a nice apartment already rented and am just waiting for the landlady to finish a bit of work and hook up the utilities before I move in. I'll post pictures after I've moved in. For the moment I'm staying with <a href="http://www.27months.com/">Bill</a> and living out of suitcases. Next week I will go to the village of Bangangté (where the latest group of volunteers are in training) for a week of training in Peace Corps' Small Enterprise Development program.<br /><br />So, for the moment, everything is in flux and I'm feeling a bit homeless: out of Nanga but not yet settled in Buea. But, I suppose that's normal. So far so good for year three.<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-44949102552044694842008-06-02T17:03:00.002+01:002008-06-02T17:17:10.822+01:00Thank You!<div style="text-align: justify;">Back in February I posted an entry about a <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2008/02/peace-corps-partnership-for-nanga-eboko.html">public health campaign</a> I was helping out with here in Nanga Eboko started by my friend Jerome. In the entry and in private emails I requested help from friends, family, and any interested readers in raising the money for the project.<br /><br />I'm happy to report that in the last few weeks we've successfully raised all of the money for the project. Last week on my trip to Yaoundé I picked up the check. We're now in the process of buying materials and organizing things.<br /><br />Unfortunately it took a bit longer than we'd hoped, so that may delay the start of the project until the next school year since school is almost over. Since students are the main targets of the project, it won't really work to go into the schools when they're out of session. So, that part of the project may have to wait until the next school year starts in September or October. But, since I am staying in Cameroon for a third year I will be around to follow up and see it through to the end.<br /><br />So, to all of you out there who contributed, THANK YOU! I and my friend Jerome thank all of you. We really appreciate it. I met with the principal of one of the schools involved today and he was very enthusiastic and grateful. In particular, I'd like to thank a few of my friends from college (you know who you are) who went so far as to organize a fund raising event for us. Thanks for all your hard work! For those who submitted their names I will be sure to send out thank you letters soon (a bit busy at the moment). For those who donated anonymously, this is my best shot at saying thank you.<br /><br />I will post updates regarding this project as things develop. The school component may have to wait a while, but I am going to see if we can finish our work at the hospital and the prison before I leave Nanga this month. I will keep everyone up to date.<br /><br />Thanks again!<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-48803449773638660972008-06-01T16:35:00.005+01:002008-06-02T16:56:52.958+01:00COS Conference and Year Trois<div align="justify">As a government agency, Peace Corps uses a lot of acronyms. One of which is COS: Close of Service. This is the acronym for when a volunteer is about to finish their service and all the paperwork, medical exams, etc that go with it. Once a volunteer has finshed this process, they are said to have "COS'ed" and become RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers).<br /><br />COS is preceeded about two to three months before a volunteer's scheduled departure date with a "COS conference" held at a nice hotel in Yaoundé. All volunteers from the same training group, who came in together and will leave about the same time, gather at the hotel for three days of seminars, paperwork, language tests, interviews, and other sessions in order to prepare for COS.<br /><br />COS conference is usually a pretty nostalgic event, and ours was no exception. It was good to be back together with everyone from my "stage" (training group), some of whom I don't think I'd seen since training two years ago. The formal sessions were predictably long and boring. A session on job hunting by someone from the US embassy's HR department was particularly painful. Fortunately we ended up with a fair amount of free time to hang out in the hotel bar, at the hotel pool, during meal and coffee breaks, and in each other's rooms in the evenings. After the conference a few of us took a trip to Limbé to enjoy the beach one last time before the end of our service.<br /><br />It was interesting to take stock of how we made out during our service. Some didn't make it: out of 46 of us who stepped off the plane in June, 2006, 31 remained by April, 2008. Some people had an overwhelmingly positive experience, others less so. Most were glad they had done it and knew they would miss their friends, but were also ready to go home.<br /><br />A few however, were not quite ready to go home. Peace Corps is normally a two year assignment, but in most countries they offer a limited number of third year extensions. COS conference is the time when volunteers apply for these positions. Several people from our group sought and received extensions to work on various projects. One guy is staying in his village a third year, the rest are moving to different jobs and towns in Cameroon.<br /><br />Two years in Nanga-Eboko has been a good (although often frustrating) experience, but I'm ready to blow this town. However, after a lot of thought and a lot of talking to friends and family in the months before COS conference, I decided that while I was ready to leave Nanga, I was not ready to leave Cameroon yet and applied for a third year position. The last two years flew by and I still feel I have a lot to learn and see here.<br /><br />During training last year one of Peace Corps' staffers approached me to suggest I consider extending my service for a third year in a different post. Up to that point a third year had not occurred to me, but his suggestion did get me thinking and decided that if I was having a good experience here why not stay a little longer? So, not long after I started talking to Peace Corps administration to see what kind of assignments might be possible if I were to stay.<br /><br />I did decide, however, that I would not stay in Nanga. I've learned a lot here and made some great friends, but I feel two years here has been enough. If I was going to stay I wanted a different experience. So, after a lot of discussions Peace Corps offered me a great third year assignment in a new post and new job which I decided to accept.<br /><br />For my third year I will be working as a small enterprise development volunteer in the town of Buea. I've written about <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2007/04/spring-break-2007-buea.html">Buea</a> before. It's a great place: paved roads, decent utilities, nice people, good food, English-speaking (kind of - I'll have to learn some Pidgin), and only 30 minutes from the beach at <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2007/04/spring-break-2007-limb.html">Limbe</a>. It also helps that <a href="http://www.27months.com/">Bill</a>, one of my closest friends from Peace Corps who is posted in Buea is also sticking around, so we'll both be in the same town.<br /><br />As an added bonus, internet service is good in Buea and there are lots of cyber cafes, so I may actually be able to email people and update this blog more often! I've accumulated a huge backlog of stories and pictures I've been wanting to post but haven't done so because of the difficulties of getting online regularly.<br /><br />Work wise, in my new assignment I will be working with a couple of NGOs in Buea training their staffs in computer literacy, helping with strategic planning, and helping them organize various small business development activities like community business classes and micro finance projects. In contrast to working as a teacher, where volunteers are stuck with their institutions, as a SED volunteer I will be free to pursue whatever projects in the community I want. I think this will give me a lot more flexibility and room for creativity than I have in my current position.<br /><br />With a new job, a new town, and with good friends and the beach close at hand, I think I will have a great third year and I'm excited to get started. I will be moving to Buea in June and will be in Cameroon most of the summer in order to do some retraining for the new job and get started with work. I'll be coming home for 30 days in August and September on leave, so I will see family and friends then.<br /><br />I want to thank all of you for the support and encouragement you have given me the last two years. I couldn't have done it and I couldn't stay a third year without knowing my friends and family were behind me.<br /><br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-60201366365594993782008-05-27T11:38:00.003+01:002008-05-27T11:43:40.274+01:00FYI : I Am Still Alive<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, that was a long break from posting huh? My apologies, dear readers. It's mostly been due to a lousy or often nonexistent internet connection. Not sure what the problem is. I've asked many times and been given various non-answers, most of which translate to "We don't know what the problem is." Every now and then I am able to get on long enough to check my email, maybe read some news from back home, and then the connection dies or slows down to the point where I can't load any pages, including this blog.<br /><br />Today's the first time it's been good enough for me to post an update since the last entry. I'm a bit busy today so more details will have to wait, but I'm going to Yaoundé later this week and will post more in a few days.</div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-87514112092418245512008-03-13T17:31:00.004+01:002008-03-13T17:37:36.472+01:00Thursday Lizard Blogging<div align="justify">Gotta run and catch the train back to post. Since Internet has been down in my town I don't know when I will get online again, so for the interim, here are some pictures of lizards. No special reason. It's just been too long.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGvtvn5QJE8rClKoy0KICX9N5RUPAkkmfPgChVsVyLPz8Tn5mToAuFnM1OHU4_9mj-PLi3m4BUS0GH2SarTj8M4bnX_xtoDCDBxHcTg-bkI5e6XavqmzPEvBz0wPTOXfys51MFrBWtA_u/s1600-h/IMG_3719.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177266128682127026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGvtvn5QJE8rClKoy0KICX9N5RUPAkkmfPgChVsVyLPz8Tn5mToAuFnM1OHU4_9mj-PLi3m4BUS0GH2SarTj8M4bnX_xtoDCDBxHcTg-bkI5e6XavqmzPEvBz0wPTOXfys51MFrBWtA_u/s400/IMG_3719.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82T-v038n-WvtT6kTGUewcgCLToGE6qANkjuh7GkPoMi0LiYthMlBBk7WJ9HVo4etB92rP2ArbdzwxZFOmAMm6NauHnLiJOsThJe5nl93z_OsIODQ1VuwArgzJFleppmfhDATmpZali-_/s1600-h/IMG_3708.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177265965473369762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82T-v038n-WvtT6kTGUewcgCLToGE6qANkjuh7GkPoMi0LiYthMlBBk7WJ9HVo4etB92rP2ArbdzwxZFOmAMm6NauHnLiJOsThJe5nl93z_OsIODQ1VuwArgzJFleppmfhDATmpZali-_/s400/IMG_3708.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6jZJMFLabbyB0hUhgTyhqj2fU-szQ35ViVesNEhr2v_k4NHhH2yCwueKGQfKCIcrjT9R4zOzJ4m06qxGpeaXg8wdP921aDuajHytYMHGyFaVs8xcr9eRVkBqRYMkItuGsfUt83L1FQJJ/s1600-h/Copy+of+IMG_3644.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177265527386705554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6jZJMFLabbyB0hUhgTyhqj2fU-szQ35ViVesNEhr2v_k4NHhH2yCwueKGQfKCIcrjT9R4zOzJ4m06qxGpeaXg8wdP921aDuajHytYMHGyFaVs8xcr9eRVkBqRYMkItuGsfUt83L1FQJJ/s400/Copy+of+IMG_3644.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-5472634252001813762008-03-13T13:18:00.007+01:002008-03-30T15:52:56.532+01:00Disorder in the House<p><div align="justify">Not long ago I wrote about the post-election violence in <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2008/01/kenya-cameroon-and-ilusion-of-stability.html">Kenya</a>, arguing that what the outside world often perceives as "stability" in Africa (the absence of immediate, ongoing violence basically) automatically means that the society is basically healthy and calm and people get along. Everyone was so shocked at the violence because everyone "knew" Kenya was "stable."</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>I went on to say that many of the same frustrations driving the violence in Kenya were simmering away here in Cameroon, and that at some point it wouldn't surprise me if Cameroon experienced a similar meltdown.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p>Well, as if on cue, Cameroon just had an ugly round of civil disorder some of you may have heard about. While it was not a prominent story in the US, I heard from people back home that it did make a few papers and websites. <p></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The trouble started around the 23rd or 24<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> of February. Over that weekend taxi drivers in Douala, Cameroon's largest city and economic capital, went on strike to protest gas price increases. As oil and other commodity prices rise Cameroon is getting hit with the same inflation that seems <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">to</span> be affecting the rest of the world now to varying degrees. And of course, new jobs are not appearing and salaries are stagnant, so people here are suffering.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>Aside from economic anxiety, people are becoming increasingly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">frustrated</span> with a government that does not appear to do much about any of these problems, other than steal everything that isn't nailed down. I mean, you should at least be able to get a job or some cheap gas for your bribes right?</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>This frustration has grown in recent months after President <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Biya</span> announced that Cameroon needed to amend the constitution so he could run for another term as President. Under the current rules his presidency will end in 2011. Now it appears he's going to lift the limit (which he can easily do since the national assembly more or less does his bidding) so he can stay in power til he dies. Common pattern in Africa unfortunately. I guess the 25 years he's already been President weren't enough.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>So, what started as a strike quickly merged with political frustration and turned on the regime. The strikes spread rapidly from Douala to other towns and cities and almost immediately turned violent. In <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Yaoundé</span> and Douala and other areas people were burning cars, looting, breaking windows, and torching government buildings. Most of the violence appeared to be committed by unemployed young men. The government responded with a heavy hand, flooding affected areas with police and soldiers to reimpose order. I'm told that the army adopted a shoot on sight policy for rioters: no arrest, just a bullet. An <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">unknown</span> number of people were shot in the bigger towns.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>Fortunately, it doesn't sound like the violence was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ethnically</span> motivated. Nor was it organized - just mob mentality taking over and angry people going nuts in the streets.</p><p></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>This continued for several days with the worst of the violence <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">occurring</span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Wednesday</span> the 26<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span> and Thursday the 27<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">th</span>. Things began calming down on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Friday</span>, the 29<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">th</span>. The weekend was quiet, but tense, with rumors the strikes would resume the following Monday.</p><p></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">My village remained quiet, but some volunteers had the bad luck to be in areas that saw a good deal of rioting. Volunteer Bill has written a bit about what he saw in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Buea</span> during the riots on his blog, <a href="http://www.27months.com/?p=105">here</a>, <a href="http://www.27months.com/?p=106">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.27months.com/?p=107">here</a>. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>Naturally, Peace Corps became very concerned about this and almost immediately put us on alert. As the violence escalated, we were put on what they call "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Standfast</span>", which means pack a bag and be ready to evacuate if the situation deteriorates further. Volunteers in the Northwest province (where some of the worst violence took place) and several other areas were brought to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Yaoundé</span> to stay at the Peace Corps compound as a precaution. So, with all of us a bit nervous, we waited out a long, tense weekend. My Cameroonian friends all assured me that the violence would not resume because "Cameroonians are peaceful." As they promised though, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Monday</span> came and nothing happened. </p><p></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Since then things have been pretty quiet. The soldiers have returned to their barracks and life looks pretty much like it did before the riots. Of course, the riots didn't really change anything, so who knows how "stable" this situation is.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></p><p>For the moment we appear to have dodged a bullet. Let's hope we don't have to duck again.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div></p>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-74218687856944251932008-03-12T16:35:00.008+01:002008-03-12T17:19:35.081+01:00Jungle Life<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHt_OhKBKgmjvpI04u7xeVA6rdigOyOYvx-DgEZyolUbGUB8Ey4xMINHG2aM6tfoeU44AiHmS2zp4_7FYoHxZRaj6vGuK9VpqYvrO121jtyR9Uqt_dYHGxt_91_mAz4906MEj2Dc-PtD1/s1600-h/Forest_042107_01.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176890379173269122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHt_OhKBKgmjvpI04u7xeVA6rdigOyOYvx-DgEZyolUbGUB8Ey4xMINHG2aM6tfoeU44AiHmS2zp4_7FYoHxZRaj6vGuK9VpqYvrO121jtyR9Uqt_dYHGxt_91_mAz4906MEj2Dc-PtD1/s200/Forest_042107_01.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div><div align="justify"><em>Jungle life</em><br /><em>You're far away from nothing</em><br /><em>It's all right</em><br /><em>You won't miss home</em><br /><em>Take a chance</em><br /><em>Leave everything behind you</em><br /><em>Come and join me</em><br /><em>Won't be sorry</em><br /><em>It's easy to survive</em> </div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:78%;">- Baltimora, "Tarzan Boy"</span></div><br /><div align="justify">Sorry I've been out of teach for a while dear readers, but Internet has been effectively out of commission at post for the last few weeks. Oh, and the power has been out most of the time. Usual dry season power cuts and all. Fortunately the dry season is coming to a close -we've already had a couple of rains- so in a few weeks it should get a bit more stable.<br /><br />So, for the last few weeks I've been cut off from most contact with the outside world, teaching classes at my little university in the beach, navigating by lamplight at night, drinking warm beer on weekends, and not bathing much (since water goes out when the power is out). Ah, jungle life...<br /><br />Right now I'm back in Yaoundé on business so I will try to post a few updates before I go back to post tomorrow night. As some of you may have heard, we had a bit of a crisis here in Cameroon in recent weeks, so later on I'll write about what's been going on.</div></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7886239685550223306.post-45010323655069857752008-02-08T15:43:00.001+01:002008-02-12T13:13:55.595+01:00Peace Corps Partnership for Nanga-Eboko<p></p><div align="justify">In a previous post about <a href="http://camerooned.blogspot.com/2008/01/kenya-cameroon-and-ilusion-of-stability.html">Kenya</a>, I wrote that I've seen enough here to worry about Cameroon one day experiencing the same kind of violence. As it happens, I have a good friend here named Jerome who often worries about the same thing. Jerome has started his own NGO (which he calls the Brotherhood Coast) which tries to use a variety of community and development projects to unite Cameroonians around common problems they all face.</div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Jerome is in the process of putting together a public health campaign in my village of Nanga-Eboko. Nanga is a poor village with big health problems: a high HIV infection rate; lack of access to clean water and, as a result, lots of waterborne disease; and lots of problems with malaria due to its location in mosquito central. </div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Jerome's plan is to conduct a series of events in the town's high schools, hospital, and prison that will try to teach students, patients, and prisoners how to protect themselves from these diseases. </div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">In addition, the town has a recent history of ethnic conflict. In the mid-90s there was a lot of violence against Bamileké (one of the many ethnic groups in Cameroon) who had migrated to the town from the west province. In order to try to avoid a repeat, the training Jerome will be giving will also include conflict resolution and prevention strategies in the hopes that young people will be able to avoid violence in the future.</div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">At the end of a week of these activities, a group of popular Cameroonian musicians that Jerome has worked with in the past will come to the town and hold a concert. They are the "hook" to get young people interested.</div><div align="justify"></div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify">The point of all these activities is to try to show Cameroonian youth that despite their tribal differences, they share the same problems of health and poverty, and that they have a shared culture embodied in the music they will hear at the concert.</div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">When he started planning all of this, Jerome asked if I or the Peace Corps could do anything to help. It's often hard to find people in Cameroon who are civic-minded and energetic enough to try something like this, so I felt I had to do something to help. If there was anything I could do to try to keep Cameroon OUT of the news I wanted to try to make a contribution.</div><div align="justify"></div><p></p><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Peace Corps has a program called Peace Corps Partnership, where volunteers in the field can post projects on Peace Corps' website. Interested donors can donate money to these projects online. When the funding goal for the project is reached, the money is sent to the volunteer for use on the project. For my project, I'm requesting $2,720 USD to help pay for the costs of this health and conflict resolution campaign. The money will go to pay for water filters and first aid kits in the high schools, mosquito nets for the hospital, various other supplies, and transportation. I will be working directly with Jerome on purchasing these materials, so I will be supervising the money and making sure it all goes where it needs to. </div><p></p><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">If any one reading this would like to help us out, you can find a short description of the project and make a donation <a href="https://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/donors/contribute/projdetail.cfm?projdesc=694-105&region=africa">here</a>. I hope some of you will be able to help us. Thank you!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PS: </span>We hope to pull this off in late March if possible, so if anyone plans to donate, sooner is better than later - ideally in the next two or three weeks. Merci Beaucoup!<br /></div>Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671541643504055112noreply@blogger.com1