Exams and Observations

They've been keeping us busy at school this term. After Youth Day on Feb. 11, there were two weeks of teaching practice for the TTC students. Like during the first term, the teachers have to go out and observe the students. The first week was just observation but the second week we had to evaluate their performance.  I got off light the first week because I had a bit of a cold but during the second week, I had to go out to Memfu again -- this time on Monday to the Presbyterian school and Friday to the Catholic school -- and to the Islamic school again on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Monday was quite rainy in the morning, but we still managed to make it out to Memfu without any troubles. That week we also had more CATs in the secondary school, so I arranged to give all my tests on Tuesday and Thursday. For a change, this past week has been a "regular" schedule.

They want us to squeeze in another round of CATs next week and the two weeks after that we have mock exams for the TTC students. (The final exams are not given by the school but by the government, so the school gives mock exams beforehand to prepare the students.)  This week we had to turn in our mock questions for typing, but I was told that the Music exam is oral so the questions don't need to be typed.  I'm just wondering how I'm going to manage to give oral exams to 120 students, even if they are only 4 questions each.

The other computer teacher had a baby in January, so she's just started coming back part time. In the meanwhile, I've been trying to give her students a little lab time and they have another teacher coming up from Kumbo once a week to work with them, especially Form 5.  Form 5 is the final year of secondary school at the end of which they take their Ordinary ("O") Level exams. Apparently, Computers is a new subject for the O Levels (at least within the past year or two), so they're working hard with the students to prepare them for the exams.

Weather-wise: Normally, the rainy season doesn't start until the middle of March, but this year it seems to have started early. As I mentioned earlier, we got some rain at the beginning of last week.  We've had a bit more this week as well.  Everyone is wondering if it will continue or stop again for a few weeks.

We had a nice Mass on the morning of Ash Wednesday to the start of Lent so almost everyone was walking around with the ashes on their foreheads the whole day. During Lent, they are having Stations of the Cross every evening and ringing the bells for Angelus at noon. But they don't do "fish fry" Fridays.

Still no updates on when we'll be getting internet at the school, but we all continue to expect the good news anytime. 

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.