Bonjour!
Unfortunately I’ve not been able to post since arriving to Cameroon. A lot has happened in the past 3 weeks but I’ll try to be concise.
The trip started out somewhat shaky. After orientation in Philly, we were caught in a huge storm in New York causing us to stay overnight in Brussels and fly to Douala instead of Yaoundé. After that we took a bus to Bafia, a medium sized village around which our training is taking place over the next 3 months.
My training group is fairly large (50 total), with 25 of us as Health volunteers, and 25 in the Agro forestry program. Within the Agro Forestry program, there are about 5 Business Advising volunteers apart from myself. Our group is a very interesting mix of people. As a whole it seems like a pretty intellectual and obviously liberal group that I’m sure will go on to do great things
Our arrival to Bafia was a spectacle in and of itself. As our bus pulled in, all our host families were gathered to receive us at our training center. What entails next is a key awkward moment that my family and certain friends would truly enjoy and relish in. We got off the bus and lined up on one side, while the local community members sat/stood across from us gawking in amusement. Then, a program director would read off the name of the local Cameroonian host family, and the name of the Peace Corps volunteer that would be staying with them during training. Finally, everyone from the community, volunteers, and Peace Corps staff would watch you as you met your host family for the first time. After several botched hugs, uncoordinated handshakes, and uncomfortable kisses, we took our belongings and left for our home stays.
My first day with the family was quite a culture shock as can be expected. Especially with my French being virtually nonexistent, communication was very difficult. It is also the first time I was really able to reflect upon the seriousness of my decision to move to Africa for the next 2 years.
The nucleus of the family consists of 3 male children, ages 21, 6, and 4, and one 15 year old daughter. I say nucleus because there are about 4 to 5 other extended members that stay at the home as well. The father is a retired government official and the mother is a restaurant owner/caterer. The house is small, made of concrete, and a tin roof. However, they seem well off according to Cameroonian standards.
Although I felt quite nervous and uncomfortable moving in with this random African family, they made it an easy transition for me. The first few days I barely spoke to them due to my severe language barrier. However, on about day 4, I read to them an essay I had translated into French, explaining a little bit about myself. They were surprised to learn I was ethnically Pakistani and not Latin American, and even more surprised to learn that I was Muslim. This brings me to my next interesting observation. The father is Muslim while the mother and children are Catholic. I have from time to time accompanied my father to prayer at his friend’s house, and the local Cameroonian Muslims find me to be quite a random delight.
In any case, the kids are fantastic. The youngest one is especially hilarious and lively. One thing I noticed right off the bat is how independent the children are here. The family puts out food for them to eat and helps with bathing but the kids are very low maintenance and essentially raise themselves. They also rarely cry or throw fits. The entire family works a lot... except for the father, who still does his fair share of driving everyone around and supervising. The family really does not really spend much of any time idle or loafing around. The eldest son does everything from washing the clothes and slaughtering chickens to fixing doors. He’s definitely been very helpful in helping in helping me assimilate and learn French.
There's lots more, but that's all for now
Au revoir!
