Wednesday, July 2, 2003

Tomorrow is the big day- the day we find out where we're to be posted for the next two years. They have completed their "mid-term" evaluations and have made the assignments based on language ability, cultural integration and technical proficiency (in my case, business). I was given a stellar review on all sides and am very hopeful for an exciting post. But, in the spirit of mystery, you'll have to tune in next time to find out! All of us are quite anxious to hear where we'll be and who will be near us. It'll be the people posted near us who will likely become our primary support network here, and maybe our best friends.

I had a conversation with the SED (Small Enterprise Development) Director the other day and told him that I would like to be posted where I can help develop the country's tourism infrastructure. He then asked me if I would be interested in helping to develop a new program for the Peace Corps- Eco-tourism. I said, "Absolutely!" We talked about it a bit more and it seems as though I will be able to spend quite a bit of my time here developing that Peace Corps program. I'm quite excited about it. Not only will I be doing something beneficial to the country, but I'll be able to travel to all of the potential tourist destinations to meet with community and business leaders to assess their eagerness and capabilities.

This past weekend, I went with three of my new friends- Isabelle, Kelly (homme- we also have a Kelly femme), and Cathy to Foumbot to visit a current volunteer, Vijay. We didn't make it all the way to Foumban to visit the king/Faun- maybe next time. Foumbot is a great little city with a fantastic market. Its bigger than Bandjoun, but smaller than Baffoussam. It took us about an hour to get there by private taxi. We figured we'd ride in style for once and enjoy only five people to a Corolla (including the driver). Vijay lives in a two bedroom apartment next to a gas station on the main road through town. Its not bad, although with a little interior decorating and concentrated cleaning efforts, it would be great. But, he's a bachelor in Cameroon, so who's he trying to impress, right? Anyway, Vijay took us all around town on Saturday, showing us his bank and meeting some of the local business people. We stopped in one of the town's new bars which was quite nice with TVs, leather couches and a live band! They weren't bad either. For dinner, we had the most amazing chicken I think I've ever had. Let me put it this way- we had to stop by the restaurant on the way to the bar to let them know we'd want two chickens at 7:30pm. The chickens had their last supper around 6pm. They were grilled and served with fresh cut french fries and a large Fanta. It was truly fantastic.

The next day, we met up with some other current volunteers, made pancakes and cut some fresh fruit for breakfast. We then went hiking up to a crater lake just outside of town. It was about an hour hike up from where the car we hired for the afternoon dropped us off (he ripped us off at $18 for about 3 hours and about 5 miles over bumpy unpaved roads for the five of us that went). Along the way up the mountain to the lake (it was a dormant volcano) we picked up nine little kids who were really curious about us and what we were doing. They came in quite handy when we got to a herd of cattle blocking our path. The kids took sticks and beat a path for us to walk (these cattle were longhorns and could've impaled us if we weren't careful). They had no fear- and some of them had no shoes... No matter, they climbed right along with us. When we finally made it to the top and looked down into the crater at the lake below, it was like a scene from Myst (for computer geeks) or maybe Jurassic Park. It was a completely untouched green landscape. The sides of the crater were so steep that you would have to repel down to the lake well over 1000 feet. As such, its unlikely that any human has ever been down there. Vijay said he had seen baboons around the rim, but there were none to be seen when we were there. We sat on the edge of the crater and took it in for a while. Just amazing. I'm sure the pictures won't do it justice. On the walk down, we came across a note written in the dirt with a stick by one of the kids which said, in French, "The whites have gone up to the lake". We got a kick out of that- we truly are rock stars here. When we got back down, we retired to a bar for a respite and then to Bandjoun after a much needed shower (yes, a real shower- quite a treat, and something to look forward to when I get to post).

This week has gone by quite fast with more French classes, business in Cameroon and today and tomorrow, AIDS workshops. We're supposed to be educated on AIDS prevention strategies to be advocates in our new communities. According to the statistics given today, at least 12% of the people of Cameroon have AIDS- with greater percentages in the cities- up to 17%, officially. Its truly awful. There are number of contributing factors, and in recent years, the Peace Corps and other organizations from around the world are making progress. Things are slowly changing.

Oh, one last thing... I was handed the leadership of the SED group yesterday. The program administrators picked me to be the group leader for the remainder of training. I didn't campaign for it, but its nice to be recognized.