Sannu!!!!

The majority of the time here in Tourningal I feel more like a man than a woman; due to the cultural constraints and roles that women perform here. That is, they more often than not; do not eat with men, cover themselves in front of men or when they leave the house (that is IF they leave the house) and usually marry by age 17 and have 5 kids by age 25. Then there’s me. I run in my short shorts and tank tops. (Granted I run at 5: 30 am so as to not flaunt in front of the men). I teach English and a girl’s home-economics and health class.(quite a funny coincidence since I am probably one of the least domestic people I know). I come and I go as I please, in a liberal fashion entering concession after concession to visit my friends who do not have as much liberty as I. I eat and discuss political and religious issues with the “Grands” of the village, including the chiefs, imam etc. I am invited to eat with the “Grands” of the village while my friends and mothers of the village are the ones forced to cook for the Grands. They are not allowed to enter where we are eating; left only to hear the noises of the men and to see the remnants of their half eaten meals that they, the women, strived to make.

Then other times I feel like a camp counselor or walking human museum. That is I always feel on display. The amount of kids and questions I attract everyday could not be counted. Wherever I go or whatever I’m wearing, holding, cooking, reading etc. etc. are always the targets of questions galore. For instance, a few days ago I used a few band-aids on my feet to cover some scratchy mosquito bites. No joke, during the day at least 100+ people asked me about my condition. Whenever I prepare anything to eat, whenever anyone walks into my house they want to know exactly what I’m making and always expect to be fed. If I go to Ngaoundere for the day, people want to know why I’m going and how long going for. Perhaps I just live in a really inquisitive village. I think it’s more the culture here and the life of a small, intimate village.

Then there are the moments I feel like a NGO representative or consultant; chatting with women’s groups about their action plans, organizing community meetings to help mobilize groups for parties and information sessions, or meeting at banks and ministries in attempt to legalize groups. Some of the best, most triumphal feelings I have had fit under this category. For instance, when I see a group I have worked with has worked together to plant a few hectares of corn. When I witness the bean harvest of another group I helped actually grow. Or when I help a group that is 1.5 hours away from my village in the brush, legalize there group, make an action plan, and try to get funding to help their group next season with their corn, potatoes, cassava, or beans. These are the moments when I feel very worthwhile and pray that hopefully the work I am doing now, that is community mobilization, will somehow be sustainable in the long-run.

Besides explaining my roles in the society, on a completely different note, currently it seems like everyone is sick here in Tourningal. Not to exaggerate I would say about 50% of the population says they have some sort of malaria, the flu, cold, cough etc. A nurse I work with claims one reason for this spike in health ailments is due to the dearth of people coming to the health center during Ramadan and their bodies having to adapt to the changing eating/drinking habits. In addition to that, mosquitoes have invaded the town. Thank goodness PC provides us with mosquito nets. I cannot imagine sleeping without one. I fall asleep to the sounds of buzzing mosquitoes.

Some of my best friends in village fall under those that have been stricken by maladies. Three out of the Four women I consider to be my closest mom’s in village are bed-ridden. One has HIV. Another is in a Ngaoundere hospital, five months pregnant. The other just lost her five month old fetus.

Well, it’s late here, almost 10:00 pm and the constant drone of crickets is providing quite a nice sound tranquilizer. I should go to sleep. Much, much peace and happiness to everyone. Allah Hokku en Jam,

Ali or Amina

Girls Conference in Ngaoundere

Community Clean-up Days....

A typical site near my post

Cute Girl with stuffed animal

Rain, Ramadan, Work and Wisconsin

It has only been roughly 2 weeks since being back from my trip home. It feels like I never left. When I was home it felt like I was never here. This is probably because there are barely any similarities between the two “worlds” that I live in—my world here in Cameroun and my world in WI. When I got back there was one observation and one question that nearly everyone said; “You became whiter!” and “What did you bring me from the US?” I guess the first comment is self-explanatory but the second question really became quite disgruntling after a while. Still two weeks later people are waiting for their gifts. The people that DID receive gifts were very appreciative. For instance, the Obama shirts and bumper stickers were a hit… Could I be hired to be the Obama spokesperson in Cameroun??? Little stuffed animals, toys and photos I developed of cows and corn back home were also greatly received. In addition, I brought back Scrabble (not my fav. Game but can pass the time) and Connect 4. Connect 4 is probably the coolest thing in Tourningal since the electrical poles were put up a few months ago (we’re still waiting for the electricity).
SO….life has sloooooooooooooooowed down in village. It has been nice. With the start of Ramadan a few days ago, things are even less active in village— if that is possible. During the 30 days of Ramadan all the women get up at 3 am to cook what they would at noon. Then the family eats loads at 430, prays and goes back to sleep for a few hours. They pass nearly 13.5 hours sans eating or drinking. At 630 pm it is breaking of the fast when people make up for a day without food. It is quite nice because they eat a lot better than they normally do. Lately I have been eating loads of greasy beef. I have probably eaten more red meat these last few days than I have eaten all year. Lots of greasy potatoes and greasy donuts accompany the greasy beef. My face is not appreciating all the grease. I have fasted a few days mainly to experience what they all are going through. Normally as a person who eats, runs, and guzzles water, it has not been very easy. Surprisingly a lot of people tell me not to fast. Since I do not pray five times a day for me fasting is obviously not a religious endeavor. Oh well…it does make me appreciate the availability and abundance of food and water.
The rains are beginning to cease. With the rain halting the roads are actually passable. For a few days no cars were passing through my village because the roads were so dangerous. It’s never a good feeling to know there is no way of getting home. As evidence of the poor roads, I have scars up and down my legs from falling on motorcycles and on my bike. Because of the roads, work has been rough, never knowing if the weather will hold up to have meetings and be able to go out of the house. Some accomplishments of my village have made me very happy these last weeks. These include; after 4 months them finally whipping up the money for a bookshelf or two to start a library and the start of “community clean-up days” twice a month. My Supervisor helped motivate the community to start these days, or really 2 hours in the morning, when everyone is supposed to be working together on a specified area in village and stores all have to close. So far the turn out has been wonderful and even the griots come out with their drums to add ambiance. We hope that Tourningal will become the cleanest village in the area….but first let’s hope that people turn out for the next days in the near-future.
Well, I hope that everyone is healthy and happy. Thanks so much to everyone that welcomed me and saw me in Madison. I feel so blessed to have had such a great trip home and to be surrounded by great friends and family. Sey yeeso himbe Pat, Amina
Random comment—I received a package about a week ago that my parents sent last November. 10 months late, not too bad, eh?