Guider!

            Today marked the unraveling of the great mystery of where everyone will be living for two years! I am placed in Guider, North Province. I don’t know much about Guider but it is a large town near Garoua, which is the capital of the North Province. I will be working with Credit du Sahel which is a partner microfinance institution. Previous PCVs at this post also worked a lot with a women’s center on establishing Village Savings and Loan Groups. I supposedly have some pretty big shoes to fill – I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the volunteer I will be replacing.

The North is the hottest province in Cameroon – even hotter than the Extreme North. Traveling to the North takes a long time and trainees laugh and joke that you could return to the US in a shorter amount of time than it takes to get from Bafia to the Northern provinces – it’s true though. A 12 hour train ride starting in Yaoundé will only get you about half-way there; the remaining distance will be covered in a bus.

 I reached my target level in French (Intermediate High) to be posted in a Francophone region. Yes, the North is a French-speaking Muslim province. So now I no longer have to worry about the language requirements for swearing-in in August. Actually, since I met the target level in French I will start studying Fulfulde along with French for the remainder of training.

I leave on Sunday for the voyage up North and will spend a week there so my predecessor can introduce me to the organizations she works with, help me set up a bank account and show me around the area. I will stay with her in her home which will be mine in a short while. I’m told she has a fan :) Happy Fourth of July everyone!