Work. To some it is a dangerous word. Filled with negativity and grave implications. Me? I’ve actually been looking forward to it. (Please reread the previous sentence before continuing. I had to. I wasn’t quite sure I’d written it.)

I began my traditional, brick-and-mortar type work this week at CamCCUL (To break out the acronym: Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League). The League of CamCCUL I’m working with is based in Kumba, and oversees 14 Credit Unions in the region. Their aim is to end poverty in Cameroon. Based mainly in the Anglophone provinces, CamCCUL traces its roots back to 1963, just after Cameroonian independence and reunification. Essentially, my aim is to help the organization with audits, training, and any other random wisdom I may be able to impart.

I suppose I should take a moment to thank “The One-S-T”, FirstBank in layman circles, without whom I would be, well, lost. I know that my experience there will be invaluable for my work here. Thanks to all who were immensely patient with me and took the time to share their knowledge.

With that important “shout out” out of the way, work, oddly, is why I am here. Sure the endless novelty, challenge of travel, and cross-cultural experience is a plus, but I came here to help develop communities and help people to help themselves. Thus far, I’ve met several people in the League who have the same passion I have, tenfold. They are determined to unite community resources and pull themselves out of poverty. Despite battling against incredible odds, of which I will not speak of here, it appears they are having some success. Membership in the Credit Unions has steadily increased, as have micro loans to members.

And now, a message from our sponsors…

Have you ever been thirsty? I know I have. Heck! I’m thirsty right now! And what’s better when your month is dry as a Puritanical New Years party than a drink? Good thing in Cameroon there’s a drink stop, bar in American English, every five feet. So, what’ll it be? Beer or a sweet? Two brasseries control the beer market here, so beer choice is limited. Will you choose the Cameroon brasserie, offering a fine assortment of beers that all taste about the same, with one exception, Castle Milk Stout, my personal favorite, OR will it be the Guinness brasserie? That’s right kids; the same Irish brewery you know and love is now a Cameroonian staple. Worried about price? Quantity? No worries! Beers come in .65 Liter bottles, almost 30 ounces, and cost less than a dollar. Quite the deal! Worried about becoming a soccer hooligan after drinking too much? No fear, sweets are also available. Sweets come in all flavors, so they’re guaranteed to have one you enjoy: Coca-cola (American wine), orange Fanta, Sprite, and a wide variety of fruity drinks from banana to grapefruit to grenadine. My favorite is the Cameroonian, bottled in Douala, D-Jino. A blend of several fruits and filled to the brim with sugar.

WARNING!!! Peace Corps volunteers have reported withdrawal headaches from D-Jino after returning to the states; so make sure to take a couple of crates back with you.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog…
My future work schedule is filled with board meeting and audit observations. If that sounds dry and boring, I assure you, in Cameroon nothing is. For the rest of the year, I aim to learn as much as possible about the system and the organization. I’m hopeful from time to time I may be able to offer some of them wisdom pearls. In addition, I’m working to be a part of the Peace Corps SED Steering Committee, so I can help decide the future of our program. The fun will continue. Stay tuned.

While I have your ear, er eye, I suppose I should cover a couple of the basics in my Cameroonian experience thus far. Namely, the two most influential issues are language and food.

After studying French for 9 weeks and spending many sleepless nights running over various survival sentences in my head, “So, how do I ask my host sister if she can do my laundry tomorrow?”, I was shipped off to the Anglophone province of the South-West. Here they speak English, well sort of. While it is true that most of the population knows how to speak English, amongst themselves they speak Pidgin. I was under the impression that Pidgin is simply broken English, and I’d know how to communicate in no time. I felt like this would be an experience similar to a parent attempting to relate to their “hip” children. I’d throw in a “dude” here, or a “like” there and be A-OK. Ha! Pidgin is slightly more complex than I’d at first imagined. Essentially, Pidgin is the epitome of language evolution. Any linguists out there? Pidgin, at its foundation, is a “trade language”. It was believed to have begun in the 15th century with the arrival of the Portuguese to West Africa. Over the centuries it borrowed heavily from Dutch, German, English, and French. Throw in a little local dialect and there you have it, Pidgin. While I can communicate with English, it is difficult to join in conversations with a group of Cameroonians. My friends, bless their souls, are bent on teaching me, regardless of how stubborn I may be. The extent of my Pidgin thus far is “Ashya” (I feel you, or sorry), and “I chop plenty I done flop” (I ate so much I’m now required to explode). This is a good segue (the food not me exploding) to our next section.

One of my fundamental concerns coming to Cameroon was food. As anyone who knows me can attest, I am picky and don’t eat much as it is. My favorite quote is, “I eat to live, not live to eat”. Cameroon, though, is no Ethiopia. People are often quoted as saying that no one goes hungry in Cameroon. The country is built, almost entirely, on volcanic soil, so anything will grow here well. In fact, it is difficult to walk for more than 5 minutes without running into some food vendor. So, I’ll start here with street food. While it will be (after the rainy season) hot enough to boil an egg on the street, this is not what I’m referring to. The street vendors sell Discoveries (round, dough rolls), hard-boiled eggs, meat on, and off, a stick, yogurt, grilled corn, grilled plantains and prunes, and more fruit than the Chiquita lady could fit on a hat. We have bananas, papayas, watermelon, coconut (fruit or nut?), tomatoes (nailed that one), pineapples, and now is the season for oranges so they too are plentiful. As for the table food (a termites dream), things get a tad stranger (In fact, up North termites are considered the potato chip of the region). Perhaps the food that worries me the most is the mole rat. Young kids can be seen on the roadside dangling the little guys be the tails attempting to make a sell. They average over a foot in length, and, what worries me, is the meat is in many types of food, so I may have already indulged. Other foods include (as I butcher the spellings) Ayroo (Green leaf with palm oil and other ingredients), Foo-Foo (A cassava, play dough-like concoction), Endolay (bitter leaf with ground peanuts), grilled fish (I can spell that), and Bobo (boiled cassava). Of course, in addition, there are the old standbys like rice, beans, tomato sauce, and spaghetti, but two things never change when Cameroonian cuisine is prepared: palm oil and pepe. The palm is perhaps the most important plant in Cameroon. From wine, to oil, to palm nut soup no part is gone to waste. Pepe is a hot pepper that is used to make sauces and as an ingredient in most foods. I love the stuff, but even a bottle of fine filtered water can’t get the burn out. Before you all run out and ship cases of canned foods in an attempt to give me a taste of home, I have found “ice cream”, Snickers bars, and double cheeseburgers. Even I won’t go hungry in Cameroon.

Thanks for listening/reading. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog…

Photo 1: Eaten by a lion at the Bandjoun Chefferie
Photo 2: Swearing in as a volunteer
Photo 3: With my family at the appreciation dinner

Let me know what you want to see or know about Cameroon and I'll see what I can do. Love you all!!

Photo 1: Kumba
Photo 2: My house
Photo 3: My block

Peace Corps has three goals that we as volunteers must always keep in mind: 1) Exchange American ideals with the local population, 2) Exchange local ideals with Americans, 3) Transfer needed technical skills and knowledge to the local population. While the third goal is one I will not begin until September 26th, I have been busy the past few weeks with the first two. I have had a number of enlightening conversations with a number of locals from businesspeople to students. From these conversations, I have both learned about the current situation and taught about various aspects of the United States. I've gained much needed perspective on the country and this obstacles individuals encounter. I feel that the challenges before me are great, but there are many people who are more than willing to help.

On a down note, we have lost 3 volunteers to the dreaded ET (even Reeses Pieces couldn't make them stay), Early Termination. Cameroon is a difficult place to live, and Peace Corps is not for everyone. Unfortunately, one of them was my Education postmate, Jen, so it has been especially difficult lately. Also, another volunteer is going back due to the situation in New Orleans, his hometown. We expect him to return.

Things are going well for me, though. Continuing to play soccer every Sunday, but have yet to win. First game we lost 2-0, and last game went to penalty kicks 1-1. We lost 3-2 on kicks, but I was able to put one in. We keep getting closer, so this Sunday I expect a win. Well, I'm off to the local market for some fresh vegetables and tomorrow I need to clean-up Jen's house.

Potential tragedy averted!! Cameroon 3 Ivory Coast 2. The world is a safer place. Cameroon has one more World Cup qualifying match against Egypt, a game they should win. If they do, they're in. I know my fingers are crossed.

So, after the victory I went out with a group of friends to see how the country was reacting. My God, they love their football! People running through the streets, whistling, singing, and waving flags. Simply breathtaking. I couldn't help but smile. There are no better people on this Earth who deserve such a victory and a reason to celebrate.

The next few weeks will be continued adjustment as I don't start work at CamCCUL until September 26th. In the meantime, I'm getting my house clean, purchasing furniture, and turning it into a home. I'm also keeping myself busy playing football every Sunday with the local guys. It's a great time, but the field is horrible. I see broken ankles in my future.

Kids started back to school today, and the local activity has increased significantly. I've been told that from now until January business will be booming, so I'm interested to see what that looks like. The thing that continues to bug me is the fact that there is so much money in this country, but it is highly concentrated in the hands of few. I'm hoping through the work with the credit unions we can help locals to create their own wealth.

A picture disclaimer...
I'm having a tough time not only taking pictures, but posting them, so I apologize. Taking them is a problem because of theft and the level of attention it creates. Posting them is tough because I haven't found a cafe where I can use my laptop without getting charged up the wazoo and I haven't found a cheap flash drive yet. Soon I hope these issues will be resolved. Thank you for your continued patience.