Putting Out Fires

We actually got a little rain last week, which was very good because we'd been dealing with a fire in the woods behind the school since the week before. No one knows exactly how the fire started. I've heard various theories from it starting in a farm down the hill to it being started by some TTC students smoking in the woods.

It started on a Monday afternoon and we spent the rest of the day fighting it. There is no "fire department" to battle fires so everyone has to pitch in. There happened to be a prayer service in town the same day, for the first couple hours there was hardly anyone around to work on the fire. Aside from a line of water buckets, the main technique is to take a leafy branch and beat at the flames until they die down. As luck would have it, the water cut out shortly after we started fighting the fire, so we had to use the beating approach. One of the problems we had was that there was a thick layer of leaves and sawdust (from the cutting of firewood) on the ground so even when the flames were gone, it was still smoldering underneath. (I'm sure those of you who have fought forest fires back home have encountered the same thing.)

At first it was mostly students working on the fire and whenever they didn't see any flames, they thought the fire was done there. So besides helping to beat the flames, I was walking to the various "hot spots" to check on them after the students had left and calling the students back when they flared up again.

I called it quits when the sun went down, with a tiny burn on one of my fingers from trying to move a piece of wood that I didn't realize was burning underneath. The fire flared up again after that and around 8PM they rang the church bell to summon help from town. People came and they got the flames back down again. However, it flared up again during the night and continued to do so for most of the week. As I said, it wasn't completely out until we got the small shower. So that was the latest adventure.

We've also had the first CATs for this term and the PTA meeting (the school magazine was ready in time) plus last week was Bilingualism Week, where everyone is encouraged to practice speaking the OOL (other official language) from the one they usually use. The school had an interesting debate competition where the topic was whether bilingualism is actually practiced in Cameroon. It caused some heated discussion in the audience.

At the end of this week is Youth Day (Feb. 11), which is a big day in Cameroon. All the students are to do a "march pass", which I think means they march into town and pass in front of the important people in town. They're spending a few hours every day this week practicing.  In all, it's been a pretty busy month and looks to continue on the same track for the rest of the term. 

Oh, during the holidays I purchased some fabric and a few weeks ago I got a local lady to sew my two "African" outfits out of it.  I wore one of them on Sunday and received many compliments.  I'll try to send a picture of me in it next time I'm in Kumbo.

Christmas & A New Term

I had a nice change of scenery over the holidays in Njinikom with the Hakes (MDA couple). Terry and I compared notes on teaching and they took me on rounds with them a couple times. On Christmas day, we took candy to all the children (and adults) in the hospital. It was nice to see the big smiles on their faces.

We took a taxi (very crowded) between Kumbo and Bamenda both ways. On the way back was the worst.  Just imagine what it's like to sit in a small Toyota Corolla with 7 other adults, 3 children, and 2 small boxes full of baby chicks driving on dirt roads for over 2 hours.

Anyways, second term has started. It's shorter than first term, and we also have more things that interrupt the schedule. So I don't know how much we'll actually accomplish in the classes.

I was picked to help edit the school magazine. Several students typed up the articles and then I spent the past few days putting them together and formatting the finished product. The school secretary took the USB stick down to the printer in Bamenda yesterday. I think they're hoping to get the printed magazines before the end of the month. The PTA meeting is coming up soon, so they want it done before then.

We've had more and more dry days (no water in the taps). On those days, we have to get our water from the well. At least that's on the school grounds, but it does mean lugging the full containers back home. It's really an issue with the toilet, I have to keep water on hand to fill the tank in order to flush.

And that's all the news for now.

End of Term

The dry season began in Mid-November. I have now experienced a few days without any water in the pipes. I have been keeping extra water in my water filter and in bottles around the house, but the big problem is with the toilet (can't flush without water in the tank). So far it hasn't been too bad, but I'm not looking forward to later in the season when it'll probably get worse. With the current weather, St. Pius is starting to remind me of Rancho Alegro (the Boy Scout camp a little north of Santa Barbara) - including the dust, the hills, the cold mornings and hot days, and kids. But at least it's missing the flies.

The last month has been pretty busy at school. The secondary school had exams Nov. 28 to Dec. 2, then a final week of classes and closing week in which there were no regular classes, but other activities before the holidays. The TTC had a week of teaching practice at the local nursery and primary schools the same week as the exams in the secondary school. I found out that Monday morning that the TTC faculty (including me) have to go out and observe the student teachers in action. The first school I went to was just on the other side of the market in Tatum. On that Wednesday, I had to go to the Islamic school which was a little further away and then on Friday had to go to Memfu. The school I was going to that day was about an hour's walk away. Have I mentioned that this part of Cameroon is very hilly? It is. Between Tatum and Memfu are some pretty steep hills. Luckily I had help getting directions that avoided the worst of the hills, but is less direct. I was told that the direct route involves at least one very steep hill.

The closing week for the secondary school was the week of exams for the TTC. Many of the teachers were unavailable to "invigilate" (supervise) their own exams for various reasons, so I ended up invigilating many exams besides my own for the missing teachers since I was on campus. I also ended up marking the exam for the religious studies teacher who is also the school bursar (treasurer/accountant) because he was transferred to a new school as of the end of this month and didn't have time to mark the papers himself.

I've only made it down to Kumbo a few times in the past month, and half the time I wasn't able to get on the Internet for one reason or another while I was there. One of the trips down was Dec. 3 for the wedding of Vitalis - who is one of the workers at the Bishop's house. It was a beautiful wedding (my first one in Cameroon) with the bishop presiding. Frank was there also, but we didn't get a chance to talk. He was with the choir and looked like he was having a lot of fun.

The same day as the wedding, a group of teachers from another school (Br. Ivo's former post) came to visit St. Pius. I got back into Tatum in time for the evening social. I think all social events in this part of Cameroon require beer and fufu corn. The next day was the Parish Harvest Thanksgiving, which is like a parish fair. They had games (put on by the TTC students), food booths, and a raffle. The first prize in the raffle was a TV - which one of the Form 5 students won. The other top prizes included a mattress, a cooler, and a nanny goat. I actually got one of the runner-up prizes: two cubes of savon (soap).

The week before all that, I went to Memfu (the village that Br. Ivo is from which is very close to Tatum) for mass and celebration of the 25th anniversary of ordination for a priest whom I had met the day before. Right now I can't even remember his name. I had a great time there, but at the beginning of the mass one of the people organizing it made me sit at the front of the church instead of half-way back where I was sitting with the school secretary (Lidwina - who's father is from Memfu). Apparently it was because I was the only white person in the place.

I can't recall if I've mentioned by next door neighbor, Sister Louise Marie, who is the school infirmarian (school nurse). She's a former sister, but everyone calls her "Sister" even the other religious sisters and brothers. She has been a great help to me. She is Cameroonian, but spent a few years studying in Rome so has some understanding of what issues/differences a "westerner" might encounter in Cameroon. She invited me to go with her to Njinikom for the holidays. That's where her family is. It is also where Jim & Terry Hake (who are Mission Doctors) are currently. When I told them I'd be in Njinikom, they invited me to stay with them, so that's where I am right now.

Classes are scheduled to start again on Jan 3 (Tuesday) and all the boarders are supposed to be back the day before that. The current plan is for Sister and I to head back leave Njinikom on Dec. 28. That will get us back to Tatum a few days before New Year's and give us time to prepare for classes restarting.

For those wondering, I didn't do anything special for Thankgiving this year. It sort of snuck up on me, maybe next year I'll plan a small feast. For my birthday, I treated myself to some chocolate and some cheap wine (more like alcoholic grape juice). Turns out Br. Ivo is 10 years and only a few days older than me. Maybe next year we'll have a joint party.

Trip to Yaounde

A few weeks ago, I got a call at 10pm on Saturday night that we had to go to Yaounde (the capital) on Monday to do the visa paperwork - leaving at 5am. I had been preparing to give tests to my students that week, but this was priority so I changed my plans. I spent Sunday getting things packed and sorted in Tatum, then got a taxi down to Kumbo in the evening to spend the night in the Bishop's house.

The next morning we left at 5:30am (only 1/2 hour late) and arrived in Yaounde around 1pm - which is making pretty good time. There were 8 of us, plus our bags, in the car (a small SUV made to seat 5-6 comfortably). Besides me, it was Frank, Ilan (a Texan who is working with Frank), 3 sisters from Zambia (or Zimbabwe - I can't remember which at the moment), the driver (Alfred), and Fr Dan (who had picked us up from the airport. And we all had over night bags because we knew it would take at least 2 days to get everything done including the travel time.

Fr Dan was great, he was able to get the paperwork started on Monday so that he finished everything on Tuesday. We left Yaounde early Wednesday morning and had to stop in Bamenda on the way back because Bamenda is the regional government headquarters and we had to get photos and fingerprints done there for everything to be complete.

Ilan is a recent college grad who is teaching at SAC with Frank because his philosophy prof (at Univ. of Boulder) is from Kumbo and suggested the idea to him. (Miki - maybe you could look the prof up. Oh and many of the cars here, including one of the bishop's have cracked windshields like the Beast.)

As we were finally getting ready to leave Bamenda (after a lot of "hurry-up-and-wait"), we got stuck in traffic because the leader of the opposition party (who is from Bamenda) was returning home and the security force was blocking traffic. There was marching and shouting and we had to find a different route out of town because the road was blocked.

We got back to Kumbo about 7pm and had dinner with the bishop. I spent the night in the Bishop's house again and then was able to get a ride back up to Tatum with a priest on Thursday morning. It was a long, tiring week and I was glad to be back. I took a long weekend and then had to give all the tests the next week.

That's my latest adventure in Cameroon. Today (Nov 7) is a public holiday in Cameroon because it is the start of Ramadan. I managed to get down to Kumbo to do some shopping and use the internet. It's getting drier. During the day, it's warmer but in the early mornings it's colder than it was before.

International Teachers' Day

Did you know that October 5 was International Teacher's Day?  I found out when they announced the celebration they were having in Tatum.  I guess that usually it is celebrated in town, but because the national elections were on October 9, the government requested that each school have their own celebration.

At St. Pius, the festivities were mostly sports - teachers versus students at handball, volleyball, and football (soccer). The weather was perfect for it - mostly sunny with some scattered clouds and a nice breeze. No rain because we're getting to the end of the rainy season. There was enough sun that I got a little pink, but I'm back to white again.

The week before that was CATs (continual assessment testing). Only about half of my students
passed the tests I gave.  I think they're still getting used to my accent, but one of the other teachers told me that the students usually do very poorly on the first test.  Because of the results, I spent some classes reviewing everything and am doing continuous reviews each week.

I haven't been able to get online much at all in the past several weeks.  Janice visited to check up on us (the LMHers & MDers in Cameroon) and I was able to give her my last blog post a few weeks late. It was a very short visit, but it was nice to see a face from home and she brought chocolate (which is always good).

Not much else happening here. The weather is getting dryer. I've been told that in the dry season it gets very cold in the mornings, but warmer during the day.  I might even get a little tan! We'll see.

Thank you to those who have sent me mail and thank you for your continued prayers and support. Quick update on my parents: They're both back in Santa Barbara now and I have been told that my mother is back at work at the Boy Scout office.

Settling In

First a bit of news from home, for those who haven't heard. My sister Becca gave birth to my newest nephew, Owen, on August 9 in Colorado. A few days later, my parents were driving from California to visit them when they were in a car crash. They were flown to a hospital in Denver. My mother was released from the hospital after a week or two and is staying at my sister's house. My father is still in the hospital, but he getting better and is making progress every day. Thank you to James and my family for keeping me updated and thanks to everyone for their prayers.

I'm still struggling with internet access, between the cost and the reliability. Along with everyone else at St. Pius X (SPX), I'm looking forward to when they get the new internet installed here. Unfortunately, that probably won't be until October.

A few days after my last post, I was finally able to move into my place (once they had finished installing the new front door). The place is spacious for me. There are 4 rooms: a parlor/living room, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms (one is currently for storage - but will be a guest room once I get spare bed), plus a spacious bathroom and a back patio area - to be shared with my neighbors. It took about three weeks to get the new back door finished and the kitchen sink installed.

School just started last week. The first week was hectic since the teaching schedule had to be changed a few times due to "clashes" (scheduling conflicts). I still don't have all the books I need for the classes I'll be teaching, but I'm managing without for now. I'm teaching Form 2 English (approx. 9th grade), computer studies for Forms 1, 2, & 3, and Music in the Teachers Training College (TTC).

Before classes began, I spent my days reading, going for walks, and cross-stitching. I hired a "house girl" who comes in on weekdays to cook lunch and clean. She always cooks enough for a two or three meals. I asked her to cook Cameroonian foods so I can get used to them - corn fufu with jamba-jamba is pretty good. I was mostly underfoot for her, but now that I have classes I'm not at home as much. She has also helped me practice my Pidgin and Lamnso.

I have a tutor who has been teaching me both languages. So far I have the greetings down pretty well. I still need lots of practice though, which I try to do by greeting people when I am out and about. Everyone is very friendly and, since they see very few white people in Tatum, I attract attention wherever I go. On Sundays, some parts of the Mass and the songs are often in Pidgin and/or Lamnso. I am able to understand most of the Pidgin and catch a few of the Lamnso words.

There is a family with 6 kids that lives nearby and before school started the kids would stop by regularly to visit, particularly two of the younger girls. They've taught me some card games and I taught them Go Fish and showed them a couple card tricks. They've also helped me practice my Lamnso and Pidgin.