My flight left LAX at 7am on July 18 and after changing planes in Newark and Zurich, we landed in Douala at almost 7pm on July 19. Getting off the plane in Douala was almost like walking into a sauna. We (Frank & I) were met in the airport by a priest from Kumbo, Fr. Daniel, who helped us get our bags and get through customs quickly. We had dinner at a Mediteranean restuarant and spent the night next door to the cathedral. The next day Alfred (the bishop's driver) drove us up to Kumbo. I slept most of the drive. On the way, we stopped to buy some fruits and vegetables. We got to try Cameroonian plums (more like avocados than plums and eaten hot) and some roasted plantains. When we got up the Northwest, the roads got quite rough. They're mostly unpaved and get very damaged by the rain. We arrived safely in Kumbo and were welcomed as guests to the bishop's house. I was at the bishop's house until yesterday (Aug 2), when Br. Ivo came to take me to Tatum. Br. Ivo is the principal of St. Pius X Colleges in Tatum where I'll be teaching.
The Friday after we got to Kumbo, Bishop George invited us to a celebration at one of the churches in the diocese. They opened a new Eucharistic Center and blessed a new nursery school in a town called Ntumbaw (pronounced something like: ntoom-BOH). Because they had the bishop there, they also did quite a few confirmations and had 3 weddings during the Mass. It ended up lasting about 6 hours. In the last couple hours, there were a number of speeches that they decided to do inside during the Mass instead of outside after Mass because it started raining. But the rain on the roof made it difficult to hear. The offertory procession was amazing. At the end of Mass, they also brought up gifts for the bishop and I noticed at least 3 chickens and goat. On the way back to Kumbo, Bishop George called it our "baptism by fire". I've since found out that many Sunday Masses last 2 hours. We also were able to go to the graduation Mass for the nursing students at Shisong. That one was "only" 3 hours.
We did make it over to Bamenda and up to Njinikom where we met with some of the Mission Doctors. It was nice to see a familiar face there (Tim Cavanaugh). The road to Bamenda was pretty bumpy. On the way back it was even worse (and slippery!) because it had been raining most of the day. We even saw a truck that was on its side at the edge of the road and had to drive under its wheels. It's the rainy season and I think it's rained at least a little bit every day since we arrived. They say that August is usually worse than July. Oh yeah - while in Bamenda we got cellphones.
The power has a tendency to go out fairly often in this part of Cameroon, so most places have backup generators, but they take a lot of fuel so they aren't run the whole time that the power is out. The bishop's house had wireless internet, but it was pretty slow. In Tatum they don't have internet yet, so my only way to get online here is through a sim card for my laptop which can be a little iffy. Otherwise, I have to go into Kumbo and visit the internet cafe. They are working on getting internet for the school and hope to have it in the next few months.
So for now I'm still figuring things out. Tomorrow I may go back down to Kumbo to buy a few things that I need for my place. Once I'm all moved in, then I start language training in both Pidgin English and Lamnso (the local language) so I can communicate in the market better.
The Friday after we got to Kumbo, Bishop George invited us to a celebration at one of the churches in the diocese. They opened a new Eucharistic Center and blessed a new nursery school in a town called Ntumbaw (pronounced something like: ntoom-BOH). Because they had the bishop there, they also did quite a few confirmations and had 3 weddings during the Mass. It ended up lasting about 6 hours. In the last couple hours, there were a number of speeches that they decided to do inside during the Mass instead of outside after Mass because it started raining. But the rain on the roof made it difficult to hear. The offertory procession was amazing. At the end of Mass, they also brought up gifts for the bishop and I noticed at least 3 chickens and goat. On the way back to Kumbo, Bishop George called it our "baptism by fire". I've since found out that many Sunday Masses last 2 hours. We also were able to go to the graduation Mass for the nursing students at Shisong. That one was "only" 3 hours.
We did make it over to Bamenda and up to Njinikom where we met with some of the Mission Doctors. It was nice to see a familiar face there (Tim Cavanaugh). The road to Bamenda was pretty bumpy. On the way back it was even worse (and slippery!) because it had been raining most of the day. We even saw a truck that was on its side at the edge of the road and had to drive under its wheels. It's the rainy season and I think it's rained at least a little bit every day since we arrived. They say that August is usually worse than July. Oh yeah - while in Bamenda we got cellphones.
The power has a tendency to go out fairly often in this part of Cameroon, so most places have backup generators, but they take a lot of fuel so they aren't run the whole time that the power is out. The bishop's house had wireless internet, but it was pretty slow. In Tatum they don't have internet yet, so my only way to get online here is through a sim card for my laptop which can be a little iffy. Otherwise, I have to go into Kumbo and visit the internet cafe. They are working on getting internet for the school and hope to have it in the next few months.
So for now I'm still figuring things out. Tomorrow I may go back down to Kumbo to buy a few things that I need for my place. Once I'm all moved in, then I start language training in both Pidgin English and Lamnso (the local language) so I can communicate in the market better.
