Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Limbe
The pictures were NOT taken in black and white!!!
Let me introduce to you... Robert, me, Amber, Kasia and Richard
Monday, November 12, 2007
All you need to understand is the bucket and the tree…
This weekend in Kribi, Amber, Kasia and I found the answer to all our questions. We realized that one has to only think about the bucket and the tree, and you will never wonder or complain about the Cameroonian way of life again. Let me try to put this into words while I tell you about a little paradise called Kribi…
I was told that the first bus to Kribi leaves at 6:30 in the morning and that one has to be there around 5 in order to get a ticket as the buses are packed on Saturdays. Following the good advice, we dragged ourselves like zombies around 5 a.m. to the bus station. Well we were a little late as we figured “we are in Cameroon”, thus being 30 minutes late is as good as being on time! Well wrong thought, we could have been 1h30min late and that would have still been ok! Once seated in the bus, one second later we were in Kribi. I think that it took me less than a minute to fall asleep due to my lack of sleep and the odour of my neighbour.
Once in Kribi we took a cab to the catholic missionary hostel we were meant to stay in. Of course, “comme habitude” the place was very far away from town. The taxi driver dropped us and we wondered around searching for a sister, who was no where to be found. Still half asleep and very very hungry, we might as well search for some food and then return to see if anyone was there. We were also expecting Titus and co. from Yaounde and Richard, who was discovering some villages near by. We hiked a little south asking the way to a restaurant and the beach. It was not far and soon we were seated in a hotel restaurant at 10 a.m. Time is an important issue here! Apparently it was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, thus the menu was not much of a help. We had the choice between chicken sandwich, omelette and bread. Kasia and I ordered a chicken sandwich and Amber went for the pain au chocolat with some coffee and jus. 10:45 Amber receives a plate of dry baguette, one tiny portion of jam and coffee and of course no juice. Kasia and I were sharing a big bottle of coke because that was the only drink that was cold, so we were told. I initially ordered a D’Jino, which is the equivalent to juice here, but I would consider it more like a fruit cocktail soft drink. Nevertheless, I was told Coke was my only choice. But then again, what is there better than a good cold coke in the morning on an empty stomach?
11:00 a.m. Amber had finished her meal, she did not order, we started wondering and complaining were our food was. It was then that we had an enlightenment. We are in Cameroon! Here if someone orders a chicken sandwich this it how it works: The order is written down on paper with a pencil. Then this piece of paper is taken to the kitchen were the tasks are being split. One goes into town, preferably by foot, to buy the bread (that already being an efficient thought because they could also bake it themselves and as you will hopefully soon understand that would be even more difficult), the second goes to buy some seeds to plant some tomatoes and onions, the third goes out in search of a chicken in order to… you all know what will happen to the chicken. However, the situation is a little more complicated, because this is CAMEROON, thus one has to think even a little further to understand! In order to prepare the chicken one needs certain utensils, and being in Cameroon they are all made of wood. Thus why would anyone own these utensils before an order is made? Why, if in Cameroon there is the time to just plant a tree!
We received our chicken sandwich around 12:30. It was plain, but it was good. We were happy as we finally understood there is nothing, absolutely nothing to question in Cameroon. Why would anything be at all different?
Not surprisingly the others had not shown up yet, very surprisingly though the sister was there to let us in our room. However, we stayed there 5 minutes and decided to wait for the others at the beach. Wise decision as the people from Yaounde had quite a delay, but of course why should it be any different. Richard, however, was the lucky one to experience the Cameroonian philosophy of time to the fullest extent. I just smiled when I received his message around 11 that he is waiting at a station for his bus. He was told that it could come between 9 am and 4pm. But of course, why should it be any different? One can easily spend 7 hours waiting in a bus station, if one can wait for a tree to grow. Funny, if I recall correctly, a man told Kasia and Amber that they will grow old together in Cameroon. That doesn’t seem so silly anymore!
The point is that we all arrived at some point or another, and once we were all there we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery to its fullest extent! Time just seems to run slower in Cameroon, because even the beautiful moments seem to last forever here.
For dinner we chose a local private restaurant which Kasia discovered before. We were all starving and fresh grilled shrimp was guaranteed. It was a little table placed on rocks at the beach. The man took our order of shrimp, with fried plantain and several drinks, and we were told to wait an hour. No problem as we had the beautiful sunset to look at, and we do not really seem to have any problems to entertain each other. 5 minutes later the sun had set and it was pitch dark! Well again, we are in Cameroon, so the light of the stars will just do. 2 hours later, Amber was entertaining us with various Disney songs; however our hunger was still not dimmed. Then we thought of the tree and it was clear to us once again. Why have some shrimp ready if one can first take an order and then go out with the boat and catch some fresh shrimp? However, why even have a boat ready if there…
Then once the shrimp is caught, one needs a bucket to get the shrimp from A to B, and it was then that Amber sang a song which could not explain Cameroon any better!!!
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza!
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole!
Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it!
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, with what?
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, a straw!
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, too long!
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it!
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, a knife!
But the knife is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the knife is too dull, dear Liza, too dull!
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it!
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone!
But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry!
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it!
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, water!
But where shall I get it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
But where shall I get it, dear Liza, but where?
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, the well!
In what shall I carry it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I carry it, dear Liza, in what?
In the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
In the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, the bucket!
BUT THERE’S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET, DEAR LIZA, DEAR LIZA!
THERE’S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET, DEAR LIZA, A HOLE!
Those who still do not understand must come and experience the Cameroonian way of life themselves! It is definitely worth it:)
I was told that the first bus to Kribi leaves at 6:30 in the morning and that one has to be there around 5 in order to get a ticket as the buses are packed on Saturdays. Following the good advice, we dragged ourselves like zombies around 5 a.m. to the bus station. Well we were a little late as we figured “we are in Cameroon”, thus being 30 minutes late is as good as being on time! Well wrong thought, we could have been 1h30min late and that would have still been ok! Once seated in the bus, one second later we were in Kribi. I think that it took me less than a minute to fall asleep due to my lack of sleep and the odour of my neighbour.
Once in Kribi we took a cab to the catholic missionary hostel we were meant to stay in. Of course, “comme habitude” the place was very far away from town. The taxi driver dropped us and we wondered around searching for a sister, who was no where to be found. Still half asleep and very very hungry, we might as well search for some food and then return to see if anyone was there. We were also expecting Titus and co. from Yaounde and Richard, who was discovering some villages near by. We hiked a little south asking the way to a restaurant and the beach. It was not far and soon we were seated in a hotel restaurant at 10 a.m. Time is an important issue here! Apparently it was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, thus the menu was not much of a help. We had the choice between chicken sandwich, omelette and bread. Kasia and I ordered a chicken sandwich and Amber went for the pain au chocolat with some coffee and jus. 10:45 Amber receives a plate of dry baguette, one tiny portion of jam and coffee and of course no juice. Kasia and I were sharing a big bottle of coke because that was the only drink that was cold, so we were told. I initially ordered a D’Jino, which is the equivalent to juice here, but I would consider it more like a fruit cocktail soft drink. Nevertheless, I was told Coke was my only choice. But then again, what is there better than a good cold coke in the morning on an empty stomach?
11:00 a.m. Amber had finished her meal, she did not order, we started wondering and complaining were our food was. It was then that we had an enlightenment. We are in Cameroon! Here if someone orders a chicken sandwich this it how it works: The order is written down on paper with a pencil. Then this piece of paper is taken to the kitchen were the tasks are being split. One goes into town, preferably by foot, to buy the bread (that already being an efficient thought because they could also bake it themselves and as you will hopefully soon understand that would be even more difficult), the second goes to buy some seeds to plant some tomatoes and onions, the third goes out in search of a chicken in order to… you all know what will happen to the chicken. However, the situation is a little more complicated, because this is CAMEROON, thus one has to think even a little further to understand! In order to prepare the chicken one needs certain utensils, and being in Cameroon they are all made of wood. Thus why would anyone own these utensils before an order is made? Why, if in Cameroon there is the time to just plant a tree!
We received our chicken sandwich around 12:30. It was plain, but it was good. We were happy as we finally understood there is nothing, absolutely nothing to question in Cameroon. Why would anything be at all different?
Not surprisingly the others had not shown up yet, very surprisingly though the sister was there to let us in our room. However, we stayed there 5 minutes and decided to wait for the others at the beach. Wise decision as the people from Yaounde had quite a delay, but of course why should it be any different. Richard, however, was the lucky one to experience the Cameroonian philosophy of time to the fullest extent. I just smiled when I received his message around 11 that he is waiting at a station for his bus. He was told that it could come between 9 am and 4pm. But of course, why should it be any different? One can easily spend 7 hours waiting in a bus station, if one can wait for a tree to grow. Funny, if I recall correctly, a man told Kasia and Amber that they will grow old together in Cameroon. That doesn’t seem so silly anymore!
The point is that we all arrived at some point or another, and once we were all there we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery to its fullest extent! Time just seems to run slower in Cameroon, because even the beautiful moments seem to last forever here.
For dinner we chose a local private restaurant which Kasia discovered before. We were all starving and fresh grilled shrimp was guaranteed. It was a little table placed on rocks at the beach. The man took our order of shrimp, with fried plantain and several drinks, and we were told to wait an hour. No problem as we had the beautiful sunset to look at, and we do not really seem to have any problems to entertain each other. 5 minutes later the sun had set and it was pitch dark! Well again, we are in Cameroon, so the light of the stars will just do. 2 hours later, Amber was entertaining us with various Disney songs; however our hunger was still not dimmed. Then we thought of the tree and it was clear to us once again. Why have some shrimp ready if one can first take an order and then go out with the boat and catch some fresh shrimp? However, why even have a boat ready if there…
Then once the shrimp is caught, one needs a bucket to get the shrimp from A to B, and it was then that Amber sang a song which could not explain Cameroon any better!!!
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza!
There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole!
Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it!
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, with what?
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, a straw!
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, too long!
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it!
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, a knife!
But the knife is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the knife is too dull, dear Liza, too dull!
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it!
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone!
But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza!
But the stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry!
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it!
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, water!
But where shall I get it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
But where shall I get it, dear Liza, but where?
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry, the well!
In what shall I carry it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I carry it, dear Liza, in what?
In the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry!
In the bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, the bucket!
BUT THERE’S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET, DEAR LIZA, DEAR LIZA!
THERE’S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET, DEAR LIZA, A HOLE!
Those who still do not understand must come and experience the Cameroonian way of life themselves! It is definitely worth it:)
Monday, November 5, 2007
A perfect Weekend
Past posts were delayed:)
This weekend I experienced one of those perfect moments in life! I hope I can somehow put it in words.
I left Saturday morning to Limbe, which is a small town at the Beach one to two hours away from Douala (it really depends on the traffic out of and in to Douala). There are special long distance taxis one has to take in order to get there. I was lucky to have a car which only took four passengers, thus there was no squishing during the ride. We even had ACJ However, the driver seemed to be very fond of Christian African songs, one in particular I suppose, as for the next two hours we heard “Jesus you are my friend” non-stop!!! The scenery from Douala to Limbe is beautiful. You pass one banana plantation after another, trees which seem to reach the sky, mountains filled with exotic plants and all kinds of vegetation and of course people selling the strangest things on the roads. For those who like to try all sorts of meet: Grilled rat seems to be a specialty in this areaJ
Once in Limbe and of course after being overcharged for the ride, I took the next taxi which again overcharged me to Mile 11, where our hotel/resort was. Since our main goal was to relax and just enjoy the beach, we chose a hotel directly at the beach and a bit further away from town. I was quite happy that I took that taxi, since I was about to go by foot, since no taxi wanted to charge me a reasonable price. But I would have probably gotten lost and arrived in the evening if I had walked, as the hotel was actually quite far from town. Once at Sama New Beach Hotel, I met up with the rest of the group: two girls from Canada, Amber and Kasia, one guy from Germany, Robert, and one from England, Richard. The hotel was lovely. We all shared one big room, which however had more than enough space. Then we went to our private beach. It was amazing! The sand was black and the water had a temperature of more than 20 degrees. There was also a rock lake with ice cold water for those who were afraid of the big waves in the sea. Quite ironically, most of the people here can not swim.
We spent all morning till afternoon in the water. Time just seemed to hold still that day. There was no plan, no deadline, no appointment, no stress! Fortunately, our little international group made the atmosphere even more enjoyable. Everyone contributed to a lovely weekend in some way or another.
If it would have not been for the stomach aches we were all getting due to hunger, we probably would have stayed in the beach all day. We could have stayed in the resort and eaten at their restaurant, but after one quick look at the menu we realized we could most probably only afford bread there and stay hungry. Luckily our appetite was greater and we did go to town to look for a specific place which sold fresh grilled seafood. This place was amazing. It was directly at the beach (in which you do not really want to go into the water), with beautiful scenery, and all kinds of seafood: fresh crabs, calamari, all sorts of fish, shrimps, etc. So this is how it works. Each grill is a separate entity, each set of tables and chairs belongs to someone selling drinks, thus once you enter you are surrounded by men and women trying to make you sit on their tables and eat of their grill. So first you choose your grill, make your order, then chose your table and then order drinks. I shared a mixed seafood plate with one of the girls. We had one big crab, 20 (could have been some more) shrimps, one big fish (don’t know which one), some cassava for only 5 euros!!!! Furthermore we had excellent entertainment! We met the Cameroonian Michael Jackson, a man who can make you laugh no matter how sad you are. His singing and dancing, combined with his face expressions is definitely world class comedy! Once he was gone and the sun set took place, we were accompanied by beautiful guitar music which made your mind drift away! It was then, looking at the beautiful sunset at the beach, that I realized… This is one of the most perfect moments in life (there was just someone missing…)!
As the sun had set, we left to wander around Limbe looking for something… as we were not sure what exactly we were looking for. After passing some bars and clubs which did not catch our attention, we ended up in a bakery and a small (nothing special) local bar, which was far from the crowd and noise, as we realized we preferred just to talk over a big party. After this the day ended for half of us who went to sleep, however the other half, we decided to go for a night swim in the sea! It took as some time to convince the guard to let us through. But after a lot of smiles he opened the gate. The water was still warm waves were calm but strong. There was much more seaweed than in the morning and some small “somethings” which kept on stinging us. A “something” also bit me in my behind… but it was worth it. The perfect way to end a beautiful day!
This weekend I experienced one of those perfect moments in life! I hope I can somehow put it in words.
I left Saturday morning to Limbe, which is a small town at the Beach one to two hours away from Douala (it really depends on the traffic out of and in to Douala). There are special long distance taxis one has to take in order to get there. I was lucky to have a car which only took four passengers, thus there was no squishing during the ride. We even had ACJ However, the driver seemed to be very fond of Christian African songs, one in particular I suppose, as for the next two hours we heard “Jesus you are my friend” non-stop!!! The scenery from Douala to Limbe is beautiful. You pass one banana plantation after another, trees which seem to reach the sky, mountains filled with exotic plants and all kinds of vegetation and of course people selling the strangest things on the roads. For those who like to try all sorts of meet: Grilled rat seems to be a specialty in this areaJ
Once in Limbe and of course after being overcharged for the ride, I took the next taxi which again overcharged me to Mile 11, where our hotel/resort was. Since our main goal was to relax and just enjoy the beach, we chose a hotel directly at the beach and a bit further away from town. I was quite happy that I took that taxi, since I was about to go by foot, since no taxi wanted to charge me a reasonable price. But I would have probably gotten lost and arrived in the evening if I had walked, as the hotel was actually quite far from town. Once at Sama New Beach Hotel, I met up with the rest of the group: two girls from Canada, Amber and Kasia, one guy from Germany, Robert, and one from England, Richard. The hotel was lovely. We all shared one big room, which however had more than enough space. Then we went to our private beach. It was amazing! The sand was black and the water had a temperature of more than 20 degrees. There was also a rock lake with ice cold water for those who were afraid of the big waves in the sea. Quite ironically, most of the people here can not swim.
We spent all morning till afternoon in the water. Time just seemed to hold still that day. There was no plan, no deadline, no appointment, no stress! Fortunately, our little international group made the atmosphere even more enjoyable. Everyone contributed to a lovely weekend in some way or another.
If it would have not been for the stomach aches we were all getting due to hunger, we probably would have stayed in the beach all day. We could have stayed in the resort and eaten at their restaurant, but after one quick look at the menu we realized we could most probably only afford bread there and stay hungry. Luckily our appetite was greater and we did go to town to look for a specific place which sold fresh grilled seafood. This place was amazing. It was directly at the beach (in which you do not really want to go into the water), with beautiful scenery, and all kinds of seafood: fresh crabs, calamari, all sorts of fish, shrimps, etc. So this is how it works. Each grill is a separate entity, each set of tables and chairs belongs to someone selling drinks, thus once you enter you are surrounded by men and women trying to make you sit on their tables and eat of their grill. So first you choose your grill, make your order, then chose your table and then order drinks. I shared a mixed seafood plate with one of the girls. We had one big crab, 20 (could have been some more) shrimps, one big fish (don’t know which one), some cassava for only 5 euros!!!! Furthermore we had excellent entertainment! We met the Cameroonian Michael Jackson, a man who can make you laugh no matter how sad you are. His singing and dancing, combined with his face expressions is definitely world class comedy! Once he was gone and the sun set took place, we were accompanied by beautiful guitar music which made your mind drift away! It was then, looking at the beautiful sunset at the beach, that I realized… This is one of the most perfect moments in life (there was just someone missing…)!
As the sun had set, we left to wander around Limbe looking for something… as we were not sure what exactly we were looking for. After passing some bars and clubs which did not catch our attention, we ended up in a bakery and a small (nothing special) local bar, which was far from the crowd and noise, as we realized we preferred just to talk over a big party. After this the day ended for half of us who went to sleep, however the other half, we decided to go for a night swim in the sea! It took as some time to convince the guard to let us through. But after a lot of smiles he opened the gate. The water was still warm waves were calm but strong. There was much more seaweed than in the morning and some small “somethings” which kept on stinging us. A “something” also bit me in my behind… but it was worth it. The perfect way to end a beautiful day!
No i-net in Cameroon
Haha, all of Cameroon had no internet connection for more than a week now! Look it up in the news, funny reasons!
Since I have received several complaints concerning my “one-text” writing and the wish for more paragraphs or sections, I have made some divisions.
Yaounde
As you were already able to see from the pictures below, I had a fabulous weekend in Yaounde, the capital of Cam. However this was two weeks ago. My main reason for the trip was to attend an Aiesec information meeting at the university and give a small speech concerning my relation to Aiesec and my experiences. Hehe it sure was a very very short speech, given that it had to be in French and in front of loads of “bi-lingual” students. The fact that Cameroon is a bilingual country is a big lie!:) Moreover, I spent most of my weekend with the German youth connection from Yaounde. It was a very nice mixed group, Cams and GermsJ Yaounde is very different from Douala. Its infrastructure is more developed and the city is not as hectic. It is a beautiful mix of city and countryside. The saying that in Douala the money is made and in Yaounde it is spent seems to be perfectly true!
Housewarming Party
The weekend following Yaounde, Bartosz and I organized a housewarming party for all Aiesecers and CAC colleagues. I also invited the people form Yaounde and the interns from Buea, which all stayed in our apartment. We literarily had a full houseJ Since during the week there is absolutely no time to do any shopping, as we leave to work before anything opens, have lunch break when all shops have a break as well and leave work after everyone closed their shops, we had a very very busy Saturday morning. Bartek was responsible for organizing the drinks and I took over everything concerning food à which meant my first trip to the market!!! Luckily I had friends helping me coz otherwise I would have been lost and probably much poorer! It was a huge market, only selling vegetables and fruits. Everyone approaches you and tries to sell you their fruits and you have these young boys running around with baskets who want to carry your purchases. They were actually getting mad at me since I was carrying the carton myself! Well at the end I ended up buying several kilos of tomatoes, rice, oranges, lemons, pineapples, papayas, avocados and half a tree of green bananasJ That was not my plan, however, you can only buy an entire branch! (Best part of all, in all the stress I forgot to prepare the banana for the party so I have been eating them ever since!)
Then we searched one fish-shop after the other looking for shrimps, as I wanted to make my mum’s world famous ceviche! (I actually managed, however, no clue if it tasted good, as I never got to try some!) Eventually we found this nice place which sold all sorts of fish and shell fish, mhhhmmm a dream for every seafood lover. Bad thing though: Here you get everything really really fresh, which means we spend almost 2 hours cleaning and pealing the shrimps at home! Those who helped me learned to cherish the shrimp even more!!! Once all the food was more or less done, the first rings at the door already started, thus there was not much time for relaxation. For clarification purposes: I expected 30 people, feared that more or less 50 would show up, in reality the number reached around 80 (our apartment is huge!!!) at the end! Furthermore, a party here means more eating than drinking… so hopefully you can imagine the work that took place in my kitchen and the mess in my living roomJ
All in all it was great fun, I did not eat at all, afraid that the food won’t be enough! The crowd was a good mix from people from Aiesec, CAC, our neighbors and friends we have made along the way. (However, Aiesecers did take up most of the space with their world famous Aiesec dances… the rest preferred to enjoy and just watch!) The night ended in a very nice local night club, called “Why Not”. It was nice to see that until the end the crowd stayed a nice mix and people had a lot of fun.
One addition: There was not one crumb of food left, however Bartosz and I have a nice wine collection now!
Work, home and general impressions
I have to admit that I am enjoying my time a lot now. Ever since I have my apartment, I actually feel home and much safer. The area is nice, its close to work, and I don’ t have to be afraid in the darkJ Well a certain attention should always persist! Work is becoming more demanding. However, it is difficult to get used to the working atmosphere here. By the time I finish two tasks, my colleagues are half way through their first one. It always looks as if they have sooo much to do, but that is all a façade! Well until now I can say I am an expert in filing, translating, digitalizing and interviewing future employeesJ I applied for a couple of projects coming up now in November, hopefully I will be assigned to one of my choices.
In my freetime, the little I have I am exploring Douala. However it is quite hard, since everyday I receive at least two calls from people wanting to meet up with me during lunch or after work. If I would actually meet everyone consequently, I would be booked out until New Years! It is nice though, I am not complainingJ
Since I have received several complaints concerning my “one-text” writing and the wish for more paragraphs or sections, I have made some divisions.
Yaounde
As you were already able to see from the pictures below, I had a fabulous weekend in Yaounde, the capital of Cam. However this was two weeks ago. My main reason for the trip was to attend an Aiesec information meeting at the university and give a small speech concerning my relation to Aiesec and my experiences. Hehe it sure was a very very short speech, given that it had to be in French and in front of loads of “bi-lingual” students. The fact that Cameroon is a bilingual country is a big lie!:) Moreover, I spent most of my weekend with the German youth connection from Yaounde. It was a very nice mixed group, Cams and GermsJ Yaounde is very different from Douala. Its infrastructure is more developed and the city is not as hectic. It is a beautiful mix of city and countryside. The saying that in Douala the money is made and in Yaounde it is spent seems to be perfectly true!
Housewarming Party
The weekend following Yaounde, Bartosz and I organized a housewarming party for all Aiesecers and CAC colleagues. I also invited the people form Yaounde and the interns from Buea, which all stayed in our apartment. We literarily had a full houseJ Since during the week there is absolutely no time to do any shopping, as we leave to work before anything opens, have lunch break when all shops have a break as well and leave work after everyone closed their shops, we had a very very busy Saturday morning. Bartek was responsible for organizing the drinks and I took over everything concerning food à which meant my first trip to the market!!! Luckily I had friends helping me coz otherwise I would have been lost and probably much poorer! It was a huge market, only selling vegetables and fruits. Everyone approaches you and tries to sell you their fruits and you have these young boys running around with baskets who want to carry your purchases. They were actually getting mad at me since I was carrying the carton myself! Well at the end I ended up buying several kilos of tomatoes, rice, oranges, lemons, pineapples, papayas, avocados and half a tree of green bananasJ That was not my plan, however, you can only buy an entire branch! (Best part of all, in all the stress I forgot to prepare the banana for the party so I have been eating them ever since!)
Then we searched one fish-shop after the other looking for shrimps, as I wanted to make my mum’s world famous ceviche! (I actually managed, however, no clue if it tasted good, as I never got to try some!) Eventually we found this nice place which sold all sorts of fish and shell fish, mhhhmmm a dream for every seafood lover. Bad thing though: Here you get everything really really fresh, which means we spend almost 2 hours cleaning and pealing the shrimps at home! Those who helped me learned to cherish the shrimp even more!!! Once all the food was more or less done, the first rings at the door already started, thus there was not much time for relaxation. For clarification purposes: I expected 30 people, feared that more or less 50 would show up, in reality the number reached around 80 (our apartment is huge!!!) at the end! Furthermore, a party here means more eating than drinking… so hopefully you can imagine the work that took place in my kitchen and the mess in my living roomJ
All in all it was great fun, I did not eat at all, afraid that the food won’t be enough! The crowd was a good mix from people from Aiesec, CAC, our neighbors and friends we have made along the way. (However, Aiesecers did take up most of the space with their world famous Aiesec dances… the rest preferred to enjoy and just watch!) The night ended in a very nice local night club, called “Why Not”. It was nice to see that until the end the crowd stayed a nice mix and people had a lot of fun.
One addition: There was not one crumb of food left, however Bartosz and I have a nice wine collection now!
Work, home and general impressions
I have to admit that I am enjoying my time a lot now. Ever since I have my apartment, I actually feel home and much safer. The area is nice, its close to work, and I don’ t have to be afraid in the darkJ Well a certain attention should always persist! Work is becoming more demanding. However, it is difficult to get used to the working atmosphere here. By the time I finish two tasks, my colleagues are half way through their first one. It always looks as if they have sooo much to do, but that is all a façade! Well until now I can say I am an expert in filing, translating, digitalizing and interviewing future employeesJ I applied for a couple of projects coming up now in November, hopefully I will be assigned to one of my choices.
In my freetime, the little I have I am exploring Douala. However it is quite hard, since everyday I receive at least two calls from people wanting to meet up with me during lunch or after work. If I would actually meet everyone consequently, I would be booked out until New Years! It is nice though, I am not complainingJ
Thursday, October 25, 2007
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