I'm happy to report that I've survived my first few days in Cameroon! So far we haven't left the hotel much, but I'm getting to know my fellow travelers "stage-mates", and it's looking like we have a pretty good crew. It's nice to be with other Americans, because the culture shock is already beginning to set in. Folks, we're not in Kansas, Minnesota, or New York anymore. To start off, it turns out that they do in fact speak French here. While I had always known that this would be the case, I was pretty fully unprepared for the speed at which the people here speak or how dumb I feel when I can't understand most of what they're saying. It does turn out that my French education wasn't completely a wash-I can usually get my main point across even if my grammar is almost always wrong. And just to be clear, all those French quizzes freshman year definitely will not go to waste.
So far we've pretty much just had basic orientation, although there's definitely been more than enough information shared to keep us all a little bit nervous. There are 10 different regions in Cameroon, and they all seem to have their own advantages and challenges. They call Cameroon "Africa in miniature", and although I've never been to any other part of Africa it does sound like an appropriate nickname. The regions include the hot and sahel north, the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest, the wild South and the jungle East. I'm not sure what my preference for region is yet, and there seem to be a lot of factors to consider. My main criteria going in was the likelihood that I would get to see an elephant, but our hosts here warned me that elephants are not very common at all, which was a pretty serious bummer.
There was good news in training, though. It turns out that my guacamole addiction is not going to be a problem here. Word on the street (or at least in this hotel) is that when they are in season you can get 7 avocados for $.20!! So maybe I'll be okay out here. And mangos are also widely available, which is pretty sweet. The other food news is not as promising though. So far I've been having pretty serious PB&J cravings, and the apples/cheddar situation is bleak. But stay tuned. We leave for our homestays on Wednesday, and I think our freedom and market access will increase dramatically. I'm pretty pumped for the homestays, which will be in Bafia, a small town about 2 hours away. We will begin our language, cross-cultural, and technical trainings once we're in Bafia, and I'm really looking forward to improving my French (and thus communication) skills. It sounds like things are going to get real in Bafia, though. The shower situation at the hotel is a little bleak (picture turning on the shower to a rush of cool air), but in Bafia it's bucket showers all the way. I'm definitely going to grow up on this trip, but I'll keep you all posted as to how it goes.
On the health front, we're all doing okay so far. They started us on an anti-malarial as soon as we got here, and we all got our medical kits today. They have all the med stuff on lockdown, so it's looking like we'll all be adequately prepared. The stories of terrifying bugs have already begun though, and it's potentially going to be more than I bargained for. It turns out that I really didn't know everything that I don't know, if that makes any sense.
Final thought: we all took spirit animal tests (or assigned them to each other). I was hoping for elephant, but so excited to be recognized as an OTTER!! Not that I was that surprised… So much otter love to all you otters out there. Arr arr arr.
That's all for now. Not too homesick yet, but it definitely feels like I'm far from home. Quote of the day: "You smell good! That's so rare!" And so it begins…
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