It's been a while...Bonne Fete!

Bonne Fete 2009!!! Happy Holidays! Happy Winter! December has flown by in a flash. I have been busy. First Sister visited. The visit went as smooth as it could have gone, she can attest to that. I thank her wholeheartedly for bringing 100 lbs. of stuff for me. Watching her lumber out of the airport with her suitcases was impressive. Although she did not eat any food in village, she brought an ample supply of Luna Bars to last her a week. The end of the visit was great. We spent a few fabulous days on the black sand beaches of Limbe.
It has been quite a harsh environment here in the Adamawa these past few weeks after sis left.
1) The Weather. When I get up and go to bed it feels like Winter, an estimated, frigid 45 degrees. (Yes, I realize this should not be intolerable having grown up in Wisconsin, but especially for most of my community who do not own jackets or fleeces, it’s harsh.) Then, from 9-16 in the afternoon, it feels like the heat of summer, sans any sort of nice cool breezes or clouds. Combine the heat with violent wind and dust storms and one can imagine how pleasant it must be to live here. In addition, I have daily allergy problems to the temperamental environment, causing my eyes and nose to constantly run. People usually think I’m deathly ill.
2) The food. The food has made the environment even more fun. Due to the holiday season, and doing vaccination campaigns in the brush (going village to village vaccinating 0-11 month year olds) my diet has been abnormal. The only dish that anyone ever serves for any sort of special occasion here is rice and greasy meat sauce. This is no exaggeration. I have been fed rice and very, very greasy meat sauce probably 30 times in the past week. I have also probably been given greasy, sugary, deep fried gateaux about the same amount. Yes, I could just say no to the food that people give me. But when the only tangible way that a 100 person village, made of mud huts, can thank you for vaccinating all of its kids, and can feel honored to have thanked you, is to give you greasy meat sauce, you just feel inclined to soak it in…and take a few bites. Needless to say, my digestive tract has been very, very harsh lately and does not like me. Thank you Tums.
3) The lack of Entertainment. (I threw this one on myself my staying in village for the crux of the holiday season)
Christmas: My entertainment for Christmas was sitting in a three hour church service that was not in French. Then I got fed 3 meals of greasy meat sauce. My colleagues at the health center have made me the unofficial social chair to help alleviate them from the dearth of entertainment. SO, they came over chez moi and we had a sober fete watching fufulde movies on my laptop, accompanied by greasy meat sauce. Correction; they had a fete, while I was throwing up in my room from grease for 2 hours.
New Years: Once again I was made social chair of the evening and my colleagues came over, expecting an all-night fiesta. Although this night I did not get violently ill, I became quite vexed as the evening progressed for; a)I had to act as the undercover alcohol distributor to my colleagues that didn’t want others to know they were drinking and b)was constantly bossed around from my male colleagues to serve them. Yes, in their culture women serve men. Chez moi +during the fete= not fun.
A 3 Day Fulbe Wedding: I would say 75% of the wedding involved sitting, much of it during the cold. I have sat with Fulbe Women countless numbers of hours this past week and have a new dogma: sometimes you just got to dodge out of certain cultural events, if not, your life in a small village would truly, only be cultural events, accompanied always by greasy meat sauce.

This is the end of my rant. However irritated I may seem to be, in reality I am very, very happy and still loving my life here in Tourningal. Most of the incidences I mentioned are quite laughable. I’m busy with work, have loving, ebullient friends and “family” here who have accepted me, get to exercise outside each day under the sun, and get at least a few “I don’t want you to leave in a year” comments a day (….hoping not sarcastic). This is encouraging. Much, much love and happiness to all during the winter months. Eat some vegetables or fruit for me. May 2009 find you in health and peace.