Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Parental Visit, Part I

July 27, 2004

I'm starting to feel isolated here... I know what you're thinking- 'It took you a whole year in West Africa to feel that way?' Well, I'll explain a bit. In Edéa, not only has the internet café collapsed under its own success and is now essentially non-functioning, but the postal system has gone bankrupt (due to corruption) and I have not received mail in about two months. I actually went into the post office a couple of weeks ago and there was no power because the power company had shut it off for lack of payment. Alain, my friend who works at the post office says he hasn't been paid in three months. No wonder I'm not getting any mail! And, to top it all off, my postmate, Will, has decided to move out about two hours away into a small village that's quite difficult to get to. It'll be great for his agriculture work, but terrible when I need someone to complain to. He'll still be essentially the closest volunteer to me, which is a bit strange considering what a big city I'm in and how close I am to the two largest cities in the country. maybe its a test...

The biggest news is that my parents came to visit!!! (I know, it doesn't really flow from the whole "isolation" theme above, but current thoughts sometimes override interesting recent events.) They left on the 19th of July after being here for a bit over two weeks. They brought more suitcases than I thought were allowable, even for an international flight. Luckily for me, they were filled with good food for me, things for my school kids and gifts to give out during our tour of Cameroon. The empty suitcases also conveniently provided a good excuse for my parents (read: Mom) to buy lots of interesting artifacts as reminders of their first trip to Africa.
I'm not suggesting that it was solely a delivery, purchase and return vacation, but shopping was a prime focus of their stay. Of course, I have to admit that I played my part in the overstuffing of their bags and our car along the way. I even got a large, beautifully hand-carved drum which stands about four feet tall!

I came directly to the airport to pick them up from the training site in Mbalmayo. I was there delivering two sessions on customer service and (don't laugh Frankie) accounting. Luckily I had help with the accounting session from a former accountant. Immediately afterwards, I bolted for the bus company, and made it all the way home before dark. I picked my parents up the next afternoon in Douala.

Gabriel's driver, Kasimir, had been chosen as our official driver for my parents' visit. When we arrived at the airport, I decided that the "Welcome to Africa" statement would best be made with me interpreting in order to prevent frustration too early on. As those of you who fly into third world countries (and New York Laguardia) know, the harrassment by customs, baggage handlers and taximen can be a bit overwhelming if you don't know what to do. Even if everyone genuinely wants to help you, twenty people trying to help you all at the same time is a little scary. So, I 'got to know' one of the security guys covering the exit from baggage claim, where you're not supposed to go. He let me in, and I waited for my parents to come through passport control.

When I saw my parents come through the doors, it was like a Hallmark moment. My mom started crying she was so happy to see me, which got me going as well. I was truly happy that they were there, that they had come to see me, and that they had braved hours and hours of travel to get there. Eventually all of the baggage made it through and we went out to see Kasimir waiting for us.

We drove down to my house in Edea, after eating a delicious meal at a french restaurant with draft beers in Douala. There was a lot of sleeping that went on the next day, with my parents finally waking up somewhere around noon or one in the afternoon. When the dead were finally back with the living, we went through all the suitcases that were hauled from the US. About half of the bags were stuffed with things for me, my bank, or gifts for people we would be spending time with over the next couple of weeks. Among the goodies were lots of protein bars (Mom thought my pictures made me look too skinny and figured I needed a little supplementation, Kool-Aid, cake mixes, peanut butter and parmesean cheese! There were also a bunch of books and school supplies for my students and the kids who live where I work.

After a lazy day around the house, unpacking and repacking for the trip up north, and Chrismas in July, we were invited over to Gabriel's for dinner. His wife made a fantastic meal of mostly Cameroonian foods, which my parents ate and for the most part, appreciated. We drank some good wine and enjoyed his hospitality. The welcome dinner was a success.

The next day was Saturday, big market day or Grand Marche. Of course, I took my parents on the grand tour, meeting all of my market selling friends. My dad took lots of pictures (as he did throughout the trip), and now all my market friends are starting to ask where their copies of the photos are! (They're in the mail!!!) We saw my vegetable momma, fruit momma, egg momma, fish momma, rice and beans dude, and beef butcher buddy. Towards the end, the throngs of people got to my Mom, and we headed out without really catching up with my beignet lady. We got right on the road to Yaounde for our trip up north!