'Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs' by Chuck Klosterman

Will, my sometimes postmate, was sent 'Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs' from the US, read it, and thought I might enjoy it. I wanted a humorous book, so I went with it. The author, Chuck Klosterman, is a master of observations on pop culture. And since he's about exactly my age (we graduated from college the same year), his observations were highly amusing to me. That said, I don't think anyone born outside of the years 1970-1977 will either find it funny or even understand what he's trying to say. Whole chapters are devoted to such 'Gen X' topics as 'The Real World', 'Guns and Roses' and 'Star Wars' vs. 'Reality Bites'. Although I am exactly the target audience for this book, and I appreciated much of it (even laughed out loud a number of times), I thought it was a bit uneven. It would have been a better book if it had been tightly edited and cut shorter. I realize that there's not much market for a 150 page book, but it felt like 100 pages of filler wasn't worth much either.

In process: Faulkner's 'The Sound and the Fury'.

New starts, new motivations

After the accident, and seeing good friends have their Peace Corps experiences cut short, I returned back to Edéa with a renewed sense of purpose. I have decided that, much as in life itself, there is no need to waste even one day. As such, I have poured myself back into the bank and teaching. I have developed a series of seminars which I hope to start giving in November, have worked with several people wanting help starting their businesses, and have worked with George on even more ways to help the bank be financially sound and grow. Frankly, you never know when things might change, whether you want them to or not.

Susan texted me last week to ask if she could come by for the weekend while she was en route to Yaoundé for a meeting. "Of course", I said, "I'd love to see you!" Susan was not severely injured in the accident, and I think that everyone involved still needs a little bit of togetherness. Its tough to return back home to be alone so soon after such an incident. With that in mind, Susan arrived, and we began eating. Since we both like to cook, we ate quite well in the several days she was here, including tacos with fresh guacamole and salsa, chicken salad, and breakfast burritos (not to mention chocolate chip cookies). My mother, upon her visit here, said that in my blog I spend a lot of time talking about food. As she was leaving, she said, "Now, I understand why."

I'm back in Yaoundé again for the SED steering committee. Since we're effectively without a program director still (five months and counting), the committee has lots of work to do over the next four or five days. When I arrived, I found many friends here for lots of different reasons, and even though I ended up sleeping on the couch for lack of beds, I felt good. Earlier in the evening a group of us headed over to the weekly US Embassy social gathering to have a steak sandwich, fries, cold beer and a movie. The movie turned out to be 'Spiderman 2', which was awesome! Loved it!

Naked Cats - more books

'Cat's Eye' - Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood, the author of 'A Handmaid's Tale', threw me for a loop. I looked at the cover, a rather sureal monk hovering over a bridge holding a large blue sphere. I had a recommendation from a friend (actually its her copy), and I wanted to read something a little on the fantastic side. Well, I can tell you that 'Cat's Eye' the book was interesting and even good, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It was a memoir of an artist (one of the paintings described within is on the cover) looking back on her life, and therefore her influences. Its certainly a story about women, probably written for women, but I liked in nonetheless. If you're a woman, it'll probably hit home, hittin? all the themes?of friendship, alienation, puberty, relationships gone wrong, and all the rest. What I liked is that she wasn't bitter about anything, it was just her life, and without it she wouldn't be who she is in the end.

'Naked Prey' - John Sandford

A summer beach book in the best way, 'Naked Prey' lives up to its billing. Its fast, interesting, scary, and really hard to put down -to the point at which I slept little during the two nights it took me to finish the book. John Sandford has written a whole series of 'Prey' books, and this is the first I've had a chance to read. I'll tell you that the next time I'm in Wal-Mart looking for a bestseller to read on the plane or at the swimming pool, I'll pick up another. It reads like a movie in your mind, and there's not much chance that you'll guess the twists and turns in this murder mystery until it happens.

Updates and Elections

Friday, October 8, 2004

Quick update on the situation of those involved in the accident... Ryan has made a miraculous recovery, and he stopped by my house for a minute on his way back to his post. It was really wonderful to see him up and well again. Everyone else has, in fact, been released from the hospital except for Kristina. Kristina is continuing to improve little by little and can apparently ask questions (non-verbally) and understand responses when she is "awake". Everyone is very encouraged. Thank you to all who have written and/or kept her in your thoughts and prayers.

As I've returned to Edéa and tried to continue somewhat normally, interesting things continue to happen...

Alain, my friend from the post office, who wants to go to the US, came by my house for a while the other day. He was very excited since he had just received his Cameroonian passport good for five years. This is the first step in his plan to leave here. He wants my help since he's convinced that I can get him a visa to come to the US (I can't). He's spent a lot of money on his passport (about twice his monthly salary= about $110) and I do want to help him, so we're going to the US Embassy together in a couple of weeks to find out how this might be possible. I think he's much better off going to Canada, but he doesn't know anyone there. What he really wants to do is live with me...

This is also election time in Cameroon. In the run-up to the elections, things have been very quiet in Edéa. There are 16 candidates running for president (to my surprise, there were nine candidates listed on my absentee ballot for the US). Supposedly only about four of these are "national" candidates, in this country the size of California. I won't get into any political statements here (considering my readership, that could send me home), but suffice it to say that the reigning president, who has been in place for the last 21 years, is running against a fractured field. There appears to be at least one candidate for every major religion and every major tribal group? The results w?ll be known a week after the elections, which have been called for Monday.

As in most countries, election day here is a national holiday. Not only do people not work, they're not allowed to go anywhere either. To counter election fraud, they shut down the roads so that people can't be shuttled from one city to the next to vote multiple times.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

The election was yesterday, and at least in Edea, things were calm. I had talked to enough people to find out that apathy was widespread as the results, it was generally felt, were predetermined. In fact, according to a BBC broadcast last night, there were fewer than 4 million votes cast in a country of about 17 million. Again, its important to state that I'm not giving any opinions, just the facts as I know them.

Will and I spent a quiet weekend at my house, and cooked a mini-Thanksgiving dinner with roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and chocolate pudding (thanks Mom!) for dessert. Sadly, there was no big screen TV with american football.

Oh yeah, some good books I read before the accident...

If you’re looking for some off-the-wall stories, ‘Villa Incognito’ by Tom Robbins should fit the bill. Its an odd mix of fantasy, fable and commentary on the modern world. It’s a quick read and will put a smile on your face. Entertaining, but not filling.

Somewhat lengthy and certainly more detailed is Yann Martel’s, ‘Life of Pi’. I had heard a number of positive reviews of this award-winning book, so I went in with high expectations. What I came out with was the movie ‘Cast Away’ on a rowboat. Some unusual circumstances, a story of survival and exhaustive detail on how, what and when food and water entered and left the boy named Pi. A bit much for me, frankly. Not to say there aren’t interesting, reflective passages, but the book oversells itself by, at one point early in the book, saying, “I have a story for you that will make you believe in God”. For me, it was more a story of one boy’s determination to live. Overall, read it if you’re looking for a story of survival or are searching for a reason not to cross the ocean by boat – otherwise its over-hyped.

Thanks to my parents who left behind ‘The Rule of Four’ by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, I was able to read what I’m hearing was one of the most popular books of the summer. Apparently written before, but much in the same vain as ‘The DaVinci Code’, ‘The Rule of Four’ tracks four modern-day Indiana Jones-types who are trying to graduate from Princeton, but seem to find time to decipher one of the more obscure and heavily encoded books in the world. Like the ‘Code’, this was a fast, enjoyable and even somewhat invigorating book. The character development was taken seriously, and the relationships between them were almost real. This was particularly true for the protagonist and his girlfriend, which I was able to relate to a bit too well. In the end, its not a new classic of literature, but a must for lovers of adventure and discovery.

I’ve been hearing about and thinking about reading and almost, but not quite, buying ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson for a long time now. It finally showed up in the case in Yaoundé and I brought it home. It was worth the wait, since it was really funny, insightful and one of the better books I’ve read in a long time. I literally laughed out loud during some sections and was able to completely relate to Bill and his trials and tribulations. Its less a book about hiking and camping than it is about the search for beauty and appreciation in a world that goes too fast. As my grandmother used to say, “Along the way, take time to smell the flowers” - and read this book.

Keep the prayers coming...they're working...

Whatever you're saying, whoever you're praying to, keep in up! In an effort not to agitate the "highest levels of Peace Corps Washington", who have also become dedicated readers of this blog, I won't go into the details. I have been hearing from Kristina's parents and they are saying that she is not only hearing and understanding what is being said, but that she is actually able to respond through non-verbal communication. It seems every day that she improves a little bit. She's not entirely out of the woods yet, but keep up the positive vibes and I'm sure she'll get there.

Almost all the other volunteers who were sent down have been discharged from the hospital. Its likely that only two of them will be returning to Cameroon to complete their service, but its expected that all will make full recoveries. Mending broken bones takes time...

Of the volunteers who stayed in Cameroon, almost all have returned to post. One had complications and infections and had to be sent to the US. Its unclear whether she'll return or not. There are obviously some lingering psychological effects of an accident of this sort that will likely not ever completely go away.

I have returned to post and have attempted to resume life as normal. In fact, I have returned with a renewed vigor and determination to achieve some larger goals before my service is finished. Teaching has continued to be a joy, and last Friday I received a large box of books from the non-profit, Darien Book Aid in Darien, CT. I've already used a couple of them, and they're going to go a long way towards helping my kids learn english! Thank you!!!