School Begins

So it's been over a month since my last update. Ah, such is life in Tatum. It's a struggle between the power going out and the network not working and the bad roads (which make it hard to travel to Kumbo). Nothing much exciting has happened during the past month, just the usual beginning of school routines but that was enough to make September fly by.

And school is definitely back in full swing. TTC & ENIET started 2 weeks ago and this past week we had the first set of exams for the secondary. I think I made the Form 2 English exam too easy. I'm teaching the same classes as last year (English in Form 2 and Computers in Forms 1, 2, & 3 and Music in the TTC) but it's still new, since the students are different. There are many new students even in Forms 2 & 3. I'm trying to learn the names of the new students, but I still don't know the names of all the old ones. Plus there are about 100 students in the TTC only about 12 of which were here last year.

There have been some administrative changes and with those changes, I've ended up helping in the school offices more than I was last year (when I was basically just tech support). The rest of this paragraph will probably be boring since you don't know the people involved. Along with the new principal (Br. Isaac), the old discipline master was made into the Dean of Studies for the TTC and the old Dean of Studies became a teacher while one of the other teachers was made discipline master. Br. Evaristus (another Marist who was teaching here) was transferred to Mbengwe (near Bamenda) and was replaced with Br. Brendan who has been assigned as assistant discipline master. Br. Isaac also re-arranged the offices so the old discipline master's office became the Deans' office (both deans) and the Deans' office became the secretary's office so the chaplain (Fr. Joe) could move into the old secretary's office. The new discipline master and his assistant got a new office made out of one of the other rooms on campus. The chaplain's office was new this year because in the past the chaplain used the parish office (and last year the school didn't even have a chaplain), which is next to the campus.

Friday was "World Teachers' Day" so the teachers got out of school early. Last year we just celebrated at school, but this year events were organized at the divisional level -- so there was a "march past" in Tatum (at the newly completed grandstand) and speeches and what not before everyone broke into smaller parties. I got a dress made with the Teachers' Day fabric. I only managed to get the fabric on Wednesday afternoon, so I was really impressed that the tailor was able to have it finished on Friday morning (for only 2500frs = $5). I think I mentioned before that it's a big thing in Cameroon to have fabrics printed for special events, both one-time events (there's one for the centenary celebrations - 100 years since the first Christian missionaries came to what is now the Kumbo Diocese) and for annual celebrations (like Teachers' Day and Women's Day).

The corn is about ready to be harvested. I've already had some roasted fresh off the stalk. And I've been eating my own cabbages and beans instead of buying from the market. James sent me some seeds (unlabeled) and I now know that some of them are radishes... and big radishes at that. Did you know that if you boil radishes they lose their heat and taste like any other tuber?

So life goes on. It's easy to lose oneself in the everyday busy-ness.

Last of the Summer Break

James had a wonderful visit but had to get back to the States to complete his psychology degree. We are definitely planning to come back here once he's finished. While he was here, we spent a lot of time in Kumbo when we weren't going all over the place with Fr. Paul. It was great watching James and Fr. Paul together -- they got along splendidly, better than brothers. Fr. Paul gave James the Lamnso name "Limnyuy" which means "God's work". I'm "Bongkisheri" which loosely translated means "Happiness is good".

Before he left, James had the metal worker at the school build a gate for my back patio, which was installed yesterday and looks like it will be very effective.  James took a lot of pictures and video of his visit and will be sharing them with everyone he can.

Back to Fr. Paul very briefly -- after spending about 3 weeks in Yaounde waiting for his visa, he finally got it and is gone to the UK until the end of September.

 The new Lay Mission-Helpers (Pete & Joy Newburn) arrived during the holidays, but I haven't had a chance to meet them. They are in Bamenda with their three kids. Pete will be teaching in the major seminary in Bambui. If they aren't able to make the trip to Tatum, I probably won't see them until October at the earliest (when I'm planning a trip to Bamenda).

The long holiday is over and it went quickly. Classes start next week. This week we've been holding entrance exams for the TTC and ENIET.  Last year the exams were run by the government and we had to wait a long time for the results before we could start. This year the government oversaw the exams, but they were held at the school and we processed the results ourselves. (It was a lot of work.) We hope to get more students this year than we had last.

The new principal started a few weeks ago -- another Br. Isaac. So now we have Br. Isaac Kwame from Ghana as the bursar and Br. Isaac Kpulika from Meluf (on the other side of Kumbo) as principal. As with most new bosses, he has his own ideas of how things should be run, so we're expecting quite a few changes this year. Br. Ivo was transferred to St. Albert's in Bafut (near Bamenda) - the same school as Br. Simon, the old bursar. With the new principal and new teachers being hired, I don't know if I'll be teaching the exact same subjects as last year and I probably won't know until the staff meeting at the beginning of the week.

Right before James left, the hard drive on my laptop decided to finally die (after threatening for a year). So James took it back with him for repairs and updates. I hope to get it back before the end of the year! In the meantime, I have to use the school computers, which are good computers, but it's not as nice as having mine in my house. The school is still without internet, but we keep hoping.

So far, I've gotten a harvest of potatoes and beans from my garden/farm. The cabbages are looking very good. The corn will probably be ready in October. I can't take any credit for the produce as Nicoline has done all the work. Knowing my own history with killing plants, I thought it best if I left it all to her. I am looking forward to the corn harvest with eager anticipation (even though it's not the sweet corn we're used to in the States -- as James discovered).

Summer Break

My holiday turned out to be busier than I expected. The exams went well and we were all finished by June 23 when I travelled to Douala with Sister to pick up James at the airport. To get to Douala from Tatum (or Kumbo) on public transport you have to change buses in Bamenda. We chose to take the night bus from Bamenda so we were able to have dinner with some sisters who have a house there. The bus left around 9:30PM and arrived Douala at about 5:30 AM. I slept most of the way. We went to the procure at the Cathedral and got a room where we could wash and rest. 

James landed in the evening, but Sister wasn't able to come to the airport with me because she had to meet one of her nieces (which was her main reason for travelling with me). I got James from the airport and back to the procure for some much needed rest on his part since he had trouble sleeping on the plane and his total travel time was about 36 hours. He also appreciated the air-conditioner in the room after the heat and humidity outside.

We stayed in Douala only one night and then went to Limbe, a beach town in the South West Region. One of the priests in Kumbo (Fr. Andrew) had connected me to a priest in Limbe (Fr. Danis) who let us stay in his parish procure which was right on the beach. Fr. Andrew also put me in touch with a friend of his (Orock) who showed us around the area. We had a great and relaxing time. It was a bit hot, but cooled down whenever it rained - which it did quite a bit. (A little ways up the coast from Limbe is one of the wettest places in Africa.) We made a day trip up to Buea and visited a beautiful shrine and grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Grace.

After Limbe, we took a big bus up to Bamenda where we spent the night at St. Albert's in Bafut with the Marist Brothers. The former bursar from St. Pius X, Br. Simon, was transferred there in January so we were able to spend some time with him.  The next day we took a small bus (think 9 passenger van with 20 people in it which was spewing fumes into the passengers' faces) to Kumbo. When we got to Kumbo, James got a "true African experience" of having to push the bus through the mud.

Fr. Paul let us stay at the Father's House in SAC.  He and James became friends also immediately, especially when they realized that they both love Guinness. We arrived in Kumbo on Saturday and the very next day after Mass Fr. Paul took us with him to the opening a salama house (for Muslim women) in a village called Wvem. The roads to Wvem are some of the worst in the area so after that James didn't think any of the roads were too bad.  It was also James' first experience of a big celebration in Cameroon so he was a little overwhelmed at first.

We spent about a week in Kumbo with some more adventures before heading to Tatum for a few quiet days. Then Fr. Paul got us back in Kumbo for the Youth Camp in Melim on July 19-23 where we gave a talk together on young saints, which was very well received. Then we went back to Tatum again where we were able to start on a few projects.

This past weekend we headed up to Misaje, which is a village further north where Fr. Edwin (the former Bishop's secretary) was recently transferred to and where Fr. Paul worked before he was sent to England for two years to learn more about youth ministry. Fr. Paul picked us up in Tatum in the afternoon, but then the fan belt broke on the truck so we didn't actually leave Tatum until after 7PM when the truck was finally fixed. We arrived in Misaje at almost midnight, but Fr. Edwin had a meal waiting for us so we had a wonderful supper. After getting about 3 hours of sleep, we were up for morning mass where James and I were asked to share a few words with the people. The Spirit moved powerfully and James spoke exactly what the people needed to hear so there was little I could contribute.

After Mass, we got to see some of the projects that Fr. Paul had worked on in his time there, including a health center, new buildings for the primary school, and a roof for the new parish church. On our way back to Kumbo, one of the hoses on the truck broke. The driver, Leonard, noticed it when James asked him to stop for some pictures. Leo and James were able to do a patch job on it that was able to get us home. 

So now we're back in Kumbo for a few more days. This morning I picked up my residency card from the Bishop's House and got some packages from the post office (Thanks, Mom!). We are planning a trip to Mbiame, Fr. Paul's home town, in the next day or two. The Diocesan Synod is starting on Aug. 6, so during that everyone will be even busier. Fr. Paul is leaving for a visit to the UK as soon as he gets his visa and James has to fly home on Aug. 16. So we're trying to squeeze in as much as possible before time runs out.

A Few Photos

Women's Day Attire:

St. Pius X School Compound:

A few students:

TTC's ENIET Graduation Day:

Exams and More Exams

As I mentioned before, I was chosen to help supervise the computer practicals for the GCE (General Certificate of Education). My name was submitted for selection when we were getting the computer lab at St. Pius registered as a testing center for the exam. I found out on about May 13 that there was a mandatory meeting in Bamenda on May 19. I traveled to Bamenda with Peter who was going to the same meeting.  We left Kumbo at about 5:45am and arrived in Bamenda shortly before 9am. Funny thing about the meeting, although no time was given on the notification but almost everyone showed up around 9am... except the people leading the meeting. They were delayed (more than once) and the meeting didn't actually start until shortly after noon. Not only did the meeting start late, but it took longer than planned as well. So we didn't end up leaving until almost 7pm. On the way back to Kumbo there were 4 of us so we were able to get a taxi fairly quickly -- though it was a very tight fit.

Because of that meeting, I had to miss the graduation and awards ceremony for the secondary school. Luckily, I was able to get to Tatum in time to see the secondary students before they left for their long holiday (summer break) starting on May 21. Oh -- May 20 is National Day in Cameroon, which is basically the equivalent of July 4 in the US. (Instead of parades, they do march-pass. Because I was travelling, I missed ceremonies.) After 24 hours in Tatum, I was back down in Kumbo for the GCE. Turns out they don't assign supervisors to work in their own schools so I had to supervise at Gov't Bilingual High School (GBHS) Kumbo. On Monday (which was a national holiday), we had to go to the school to make sure that the lab was all set for the exams which began on Tuesday. We had to test a total of 188 candidates in three days, each exam lasted 2 1/2 hours and for the first two days we had both a morning and an afternoon session and each session had 40 students separated into 2 computer labs.  We had a few problems with the electricity and general logistics, but after we got that settled things ran pretty smoothly.

After spending most of the week in Kumbo, I got back to Tatum on Friday and was able attend the graduation for the TTC & ENIET students on Saturday (May 26). Oh, the music orals for the TTC went fine. The parish priest (Fr. Evaristus) was suppose to do it with me but on the first day of the exams he had to go to the opening of a new parish (which I really wanted to go to, too) so one of the other teachers assisted me. Father was available for the second day of the oral exams. Because of the computer practicals, I also missed hearing the term paper defense for the 4 students I had supervised.

On Sunday, I went to Kikaikilaki (a small town near Kumbo) with the parish priest to celebrate with the Saamba, which is a Catholic/traditional men's group. Ivoline (who helps with the Diocesan Youth) was there and explained to me what was going on. As women, we weren't able to participate in the celebration directly, but we did dance outside of the meeting house with the other women.

This week the written part of the GCE began and also the promotional exams for Levels I and II of the TTC and ENIET. So it has been more invigilation. And it continues next week. I was not on the schedule to invigilate on Thursday and Friday, so I volunteered to help at the Catholic Education Secretariat in Kumbo for those days. I'll probably do the same a few days next week and again after exams are finished. The fathers at St. Augustine's College (SAC) have been letting me stay with them when I need to spend a few days in Kumbo. Which brings us to today.

Exams and Music

As expected, third term has been very busy. The secondary school is almost finished, already completed the promotional exams (just have to finish marking them). As for the TTC, the student teachers had two weeks of teaching practice before evaluation and then one week of final evaluation which we just finished up. I still have to give the oral exams for Music for which the questions are provided by the board so I had to write them (enough for all 115 students to get unique questions - 125 total).

The computer lab at the school has been approved for use in the GCE exams (kind of like SATs) and I've been asked to help supervise those which, I think, start at the end of this month. 

A few weeks ago, one of the teachers in the school celebrated a traditional marriage and I got to go. There was a lot of waiting around beforehand, but the actual ceremony was very brief -- the family heads make speeches, the wife pours palm wine from a calabash (gourd) for the husband to drink and he does the same for her, and then it's shared with some of the guests.

On a different note, the diocesan youth center in Kumbo is offering music classes and I had the chance to sit in on one last time I was down there. The class is for youths from the diocese, but there were also several religious sisters there. It was helpful to see how someone else goes about teaching music. The youth center has recently acquired several music instruments including a drum set, a keyboard, and some electric as well as acoustic guitars. After the theory part of the class, the students were given lessons on playing the instrument of their choice. I was only planning on stopping by briefly to watch, but I ended up spending the whole day there and had to spend the night in Kumbo and got a ride back to Tatum early the next morning with Fr. Edwin (bishop's chancellor).

The long holiday (summer vacation) will be quite a change from the hectic school year but I'm looking forward to it -- especially since James is coming to visit! 

Holy Week & Easter

It's been a busy few weeks. I was planning on having a nice quiet holiday, just staying in Tatum and marking papers.  I was in Kumbo when I sent my last post and a little while after I sent it I met up with a friend (Peter) from the Diocese Education office who also does music with the Diocese Youth. I ended up getting invited to go to the World Youth Day gathering that the diocese was holding in Shisong (a parish/suburb in Kumbo where there's a big hospital). That was on Tuesday, March 27.

So I marked papers on Wednesday and on Thursday before Palm Sunday, I went back down to Kumbo and spent the whole weekend at the World Youth Day, hanging out with the band and the sound technicians. I stayed with some priests on the campus of St. Augustine's College (SAC) so I didn't have to travel back and forth from Tatum every day.  That's where Frank teaches but we didn't get a chance to meet since he went out of town for the holiday. The weekend was a lot of fun and I got to know several of the people working on the Diocese Youth commission, including the new youth chaplain, Fr. Paul, who just returned to Cameroon from studying in the UK last August. I've been invited to help with the youth events including a week-long retreat during the long holiday (summer vacation). The mass on Palm Sunday was outside because of all the youths (I heard an estimate of about 3000).  It was a nice sunny day and I forgot my sun block so I got a little bit of a sunburn - as did Jan and Rafaela (German volunteers who were also there). I didn't get back to Tatum until late afternoon on Monday.

I spent Tuesday marking papers again and then on Wednesday went back down to Kumbo with Br. Ivo for the Chrism Mass. Now that was something to see. The cathedral was as packed as could be. The music was great. (After hearing them on Palm Sunday, the bishop had asked the youth musicians to play for the offertory.) I don't think I've mentioned this much before, but for important events the offertory is often in "kind" more than in "cash" - meaning that people give goods instead of money. Also, everyone processes during offertory, bring their gifts to the altar (instead of just sitting in their seats and putting money in a basket). So the offertory procession includes people carrying all sorts of goods - usually farm produce. It's common to see corn, carrots, sugar cane, potatoes, yams, etc and on really special occasions you see chickens, goats, and sheep. Well, for the Chrism Mass, there was all that, plus wine, hosts, bottled water, and all sorts of other things, including eleven cows (Br. Ivo's sister-in-law counted). The offertory procession alone took over an hour. After the mass, we were getting ready to head back to Tatum when the Bishop saw Br. Ivo and insisted on him going to the Bishop's House for lunch.  Since we (bro's sister-in-law, another teacher, and me) were travelling in Brother's car, we all ended up eating at the Bishop's house as well.

And then it was the Easter Triduum. The services in Tatum were very nice. During Easter Vigil, there weren't any adult catechumens but about a dozen babies were baptized. The students came back to school on Monday and classes began again on Tuesday. This term is only about a month for the secondary school (official closing date is May 21). The TTC & ENIET have an additional month, but that is mostly exams.  All the students should be gone by June 23.

Oh, and during Holy Week the raining season finally started. (Yeah for rain!)