A Week In Bafia

Bienvenue à Bafia!

I wonder what my future employer will say when they read "expert cockroach killler" on the top of my resumé. The first night I spent in my room, (under my mosquito net mind you) I woke up at 1 am to a loud "plop" next to my head. I quickly grabbed my flashlight to survey the cause of the noise only to find a huge cockroach inches from my head. Welcome to Cameroon, Krystal. Im actually just thankful that this has been my worst bug encounter so far.

My host family is great. Both of my parents are computer scientists and I have been living with 4 little boys and 2 girls. They love music and we frequently have what I would classify as as "jam sessions" either in the morning before I go to training or when I return home. I don't think it's too much to say that our house is "bumping" with three huge speakers in the living room. And for those of you wondering, yes we do have a TV.

Training is what the Peace Corps describes as an intense language, culture and technical training period. For the most part I enjoy the sessions but for some reason I have been placed in a language class way below my level. My teacher noticed this after the first day but for some reason the administration won't move me until our next Language Placement Interview. This is a source of great frustration for me right now. I always end up teaching the other 3 guys in my group. Today was a lesson about the verbs that utilize etre in the passé composé. I taught them the VANDERTRAMP trick (Merci, Dr. Fish).

I attended church with my host family on Saturday and it was very interesting. Aside from all the dancing and joy of the songs, there was this conversation "debate" about whether young adults or children can practice a true religion in the context of today's world. I didn't catch everything that was said but one man announced that it was possible but it was a question of time and maturity rather than anything else.

I have to make one reference to one of our medical sessions. Of course, our PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) wants us to be able to call her for emergencies but only if they are emergencies on the weekends and late at night. Quote on quote, "If you find that you have a worm in your stool... Do not call me. That is not an emergency. It's not a problem for you anymore, it is a problem for the worm. He has no place to live." Of course there is a voice in the crowd that announces, "Well I'm calling SOMEBODY!" We all just laugh. Laughter is a huge part of Peace Corps.