The world of the white and rich!

This weekend was very exciting. As you can guess from the title I met the other side of Douala! Huge villas, big cars, restaurants charging higher prices than Europe and corn flakes worth 10 Euros.
Luckily a colleague called me Friday morning to let me know that we did not have to work due to Ramadan. Thus, I had a nice long weekend. I spent most of my time walking around the district, Bonanjo, where my office and hotel is (I still didn’t move to my apartment) and Bona Priso, which is the home of the white and the rich! Most of the people living there are families from France and very very very rich Cameroonian families. I was so happy when I discovered a supermarket which sold more than just bread and butter, however my joy was quickly killed as I went through the huge allies and saw the prices! You can actually find everything in those stores. The place reminded me a bit of Publix in Miami. But the prices, wohhoo, I could easily spend my entire salary on a one week menu. Well filled with deception and accepting the fact that I will have to do without the luxury of buying food of which I know what it is and where it’s from. But then again, I am not here to live the luxurious life of the white and rich! Apart from the supermarkets, I saw a lot of nice stores and restaurants from all over the world. But I guess unless I really want to spoil myself one day and not eat for the coming three days, I will always see those restaurants from the outside. Nevertheless, it was a nice day, getting to know the other side of Douala. At least I realized that I was not the only white woman in the city, but I do know now that I am the only white woman here who does not have a car and walks by foot!
I also visited several sport clubs in order to see what I can do during my free time. I visited to horse-back riding clubs, hoping on cheaper prices than in Europe. But guess what, that was not the case. However, this club visits were quite an adventure! First, since I did not know where they were it took me quite some time to find a taxi which would take me to Youpwe, which is the district of the club. The problem was not that it was far or that the taxi drivers didn’t know where it was, I guess it was the very wrong pronunciation of mine. Finally, I found a taxi moto (which is a motorcycle) which took me there. The ride was fun and scary. It was nice to feel the breeze on that hot day; however the speed on those non existent roads could have been less in order for me to feel safe. But I arrived safe and sound, and I was not overcharged!
The club itself was really nice, the lady (French) immediately showed interest in me and invited me to an event on Sunday. At first I didn’t really get if it was a race, a competition or something else, but I accepted the invitation. Of course I asked about the price list, but let’s not ruin my mood and move on!
Finally, I went to Club Saint Georges, which also offers horse back riding. Well due to the impressions of the first club and just by the sight of the second, I knew I wouldn’t lay foot on Saint George again. Just for fun I asked a lady about the prices and well my impressions were confirmed. Alone the membership fee not including the horseback riding was 200 000 FCFA, which accounts to more or less 270 Euros.
Well I decided to spend the money I earn otherwise!
Sunday: I followed the invitation of the first riding club and arrived there after a second adventurous moto ride around 1 pm. As I got there everyone was gathered around a buffet. My first impression: I entered the world of the white and rich! Most families there were French. There were two Cameroonian families, one from the Ivory Coast and one family half Croatian, half Indonesian. Apart from the last two everyone spoke only French. On the one hand it was good, as I have never spoken that much French in my life before, on the other hand, when I got home I really had a headache! Well as I arrived, I was told to sit and eat. The food was delicious, and since I didn’t really eat the days before, I was happy to bite into some proper chicken. I even ate all the vegetables!:) As I didn’t want to be rude I took only a small portion, which at the end I regretted. I soon was under immense shock, when I saw a bucket making a round at the table into which everyone was putting 10000 FCFA (12 Euros). I believe I only had 5000 in my purse. I ignored the bucket at first, hoping for a miracle and not to die of embarrassment! Once the bucket got to me I pretended I did not know how much to pay and I kindly asked the lady how much I should pay. Thank god, she just smiled at me and told me I was invitedJ You should have seen the smile on my face at that moment! Until the next riding event started (kids were making some jumping test) I spent most of my time talking to the Indonesian lady, who was really happy that someone spoke English. She invited me to join them for a weekend to their house in Kribi, which is the nice beach area in Cameroon. Let us hope that really works out! Then my conversation moved to a Cameroonian family. That man was some mixture of Wesley Snipes and Indiana Jones. My observation really matched his work, as I found out that he is a professional hunter! Apparently, he is very famous around here! Well, in general I had a great time. Everyone was very kind to me and were offering me that they could pick me up when I want to go riding so I don’t have to go on a moto, inviting me to their homes for dinner and several other events. The highlight though was, when the president of the club came to talk to me, mainly about what I do and all. I told everyone that I am a student, doing an internship here, etc. Nevertheless, after me being there for more or less three hours the president asks me: “So tell me dear, why don’t you bring your husband and kids next time?!” They were literally shocked as I told them that I was not married, had no kids, and was 23 years old. Sometimes I really wonder if they were listening to me or if I really look that old! But well once that was clear I think it all made sense to them why I did not have a big car and a home in Bona Priso.
As I stayed until the end of the event, the family from Ivory Coast drove me home and as I got out of the car my day among the white and rich ended. As said before it was nice, however they do live completely different lives, thus I will be happy to accept some of their invitations, but I will not center my stay here among them. I guess it is nice to live in such a bubble for some moments, however that is not what I came here for.
Now a new week at the office has started. As you can guess, due to my long update, there is not much work at the moment. I was told that next week we will all be assigned to special projects, very exciting! The best news however is…. Apparently we are moving to the apartment tomorrow. Cross your fingers that that is true!