Guest Entry!
on Notes from Quite Far (Cameroon), 04/Aug/2009 20:20, 34 days ago
Well, I am one of the honoured people who are allowed to make a guest entry on this blog (beat you to it Gareth! Your deadline has passed- better request an extension.)Unlike Lizzy, I have had no complaints about lists, and thus will begin my first blog with one!4 Things to do before you fly to CameroonGet hold of a map of Charles De Gaulle Airport- as the staff are unlikely to direct you willinglyUnblock your phone- new piece of learning for me, I didn’t even realised that phones were blocked- I thought that was just toilets and downpipesWeigh your bags carefully, extra weight carries a hefty charge (managed to get a pun in there too)- carrying 5 lap tops doesn’t make your bags any lighter eitherLearn to speak French- this one would have been especially useful to meWell, I have finally arrived in Yagoua and the reality of Lizzy’s blog is almost surreal.The journey here was long and arduous for an English‘townie’ and someone with a tendency towards worry!After leaving Manchester, I arrived at Paris (Charles De Gaulle) airport after just over an hour- with, quite frankly, not enough time to catch my second flight. The queues were long (several of them) and the Parisians were typically unhelpful. Fortunately, nobody else was in a rush and the flight took off half an hour late anyway.The second fight was over 6 hours, but good food and entertainment was offered and I managed to take in 3 films and eat well- so the time passed quite quickly.I arrived at Yaounde (NSI) Airport to find paparazzi lining the way (I found out later that the new Cameroon Football Coach had just arrived), but the excitement soon wore off when our lines were halted to make way for a long line of pretty girls dressed in long frocks, soldiers and men in suits.Not speaking French, I just waved various documents at people sitting in booths and was nodded past, and, when I made it out with my luggage, breathed a long sigh of relief that nobody had asked about the 5 laptops wrapped in bubble wrap and clothes.As I exited the baggage collection, there were several offers to help me with my bags (mm… my sister warned me about men like you) and I was pleased to see Lizzy standing at the end of the line waiting for me.We spend the first night in Yaounde with Tom and Julie (who are also VSO workers) and their wonderful, 2 year old daughter, Mia (who very much enjoyed the balloons and bubbles I had brought in may case and who is coming through the babbling stage with noticeable words in French, English and Dutch!). Thank you Tom and Julie for your hospitality- it was a lovely welcome.List Number 2!4 things you find in the first class coaches on Cameroonian trains:People selling things from inside the train (include potions and lotions with amazing healing qualities, and copies of the new government restructure- more about this later)People selling things from outside the train (not literally on the train, I agree, but we don’t need to be pedantic here)Cockroaches- yes, indeed- cockroaches clearly have no understanding of the notion of first class and much of the night was spent playing‘was that a cockroach I just saw’)Completely unusable toiletsNeed to get the train? No time to do your shopping?- No worries. You can buy pineapples, bananas, plantain, biscuits, healing lotions, magazines etc. etc. and, interestingly, you can buy (yes buy) a copy of the new government restructure. Imagine, a hawker in England offering you a copy of Gordon Brown’s latest list of empty suits for 50p!The train journey takes 16 hours, so these little sales interludes come as a welcome relief, especially those selling their wares from the platforms- you never seem to get bored of saying,‘How do they manage to balance all that stuff on their heads?’By the way, when I say first class please don’t bring to mind a picture of candlelit dining carriages with curtains and carpets. However, if you have ever travelled on the Virgin train from Doncaster to Cleethorpes, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what first class Cameroonian style entails.List Number 3!4 Things to note about Cameroonian buses:They go, not at any scheduled time, but when they are full (and full is a Cameroonian term meaning: if somebody doesn’t fall asleep on your shoulder or pass you a child/baby while they open a window it’s not full enough)Your name is called out when it’s time to put your baggage (goods, chattels, chickens and the like) on the top of the bus- imagine getting the 56 down Holderness Road (or similar local bus) and your name being called when it’s time to get on!People don’t seem to like having the windows open, and shout at you to close them. Personally, given the choice between making it a ‘bad hair day’ (that sort of wind tousled, through a hedge backwards look) or melting in the greenhouse heat- well I know what I preferThey stop so that more people can sell things through the windowsThe 16 hour train journey was followed by a 10 hour bus journey and a feeling that I was becoming chair shaped. However, outside it was pleasant and interesting to look at: lush, green fields and trees, small settlements of mud huts and dusty brick outhouses, stray goats, women in bright dress carrying large bowls and plates on their heads and suddenly you realise- you really are somewhere different.It was nightfall by the time we reached Yagoua, Saidou (Lizzy’s moto driver) was there to meet us and we took the short walk to Lizzy’s house. Street fires were cooking a range of foods, more people sell their wares from bowls and plates and the call of ‘La Blanche’ (heard in Yaounde) is replaced by the Fulfulde, ‘Nassara’. I would hear a great deal of this word over the coming 2 weeks.List number 44 fond memories of Yagoua:People sitting, talking loudly, laughing and arguing and watching the world go bySitting outside Hamadou’s shop listening to him talk to Lizzy in French and catching the gist of the conversationHearing the words‘Bonjour/Bonsoir Nassara’Little children running up to shake hands (mimicking what they see local adults do), giggling and saying‘Nassara, Bonjour. Ca Va?’ This event is generally closely followed by the use of bacterial hand gel- as I don’t seem to have the same level of immunity as the locals!Yagoua is bustling, but not thriving. People generally live in huts and shacks- which makes me wonder 2 main things: How do they manage to look so clean and well-presented? Where do they charge their mobile phones (everyone has a mobile phone)?Lizzy’s house is basic from a western perspective, but luxurious in the eyes of most locals- she has running water and electricity. However, it’s just a concrete box, with an old fridge with a difficult door, very little furniture, and no real décor to speak of.Washing is done in two large bowls outside (no need for a tumble drier though), all running water is cold (although sometimes that’s welcome) and she manages with a limited number of old cooking pots and crockery and I feel a growing admiration for my sister who faces each day with such a limited lifestyle with good humour.List number 5Ailments in Cameroon so far:Eye infectionTongue ulcers and mouth soresHead cold/allergyTravellers’ DiarrhoeaWell, it would seem that my body has gone into shock! Every part of me seems to be struggling to adapt and I am surrounded by various potions and lotions including Savlon, surgical spirit, bacterial handwipes, hand gel, Deet spray and tissues- what I wouldn’t do for a bottle of TCP right now.I declined an offer, from Lizzy’s friend, of fruit from the tree above his shop (eaten at night by the bats) which he claimed would make me well. This may possibly be the case, but the previous day he had told me that an animal should be killed to welcome me to Yagoua (an offer again which I declined) so I erred on the cautiousside.List number 6You know you have been in Africa a week when:You stop trying to get the grit and sand out of your shoesYou have given up trying to keep your feet cleanYou have lost about half a stone through illness (which has its plus side)You just accept that flies will land on you and give up the fightPlaces to visit/stay in the Extreme North of CameroonIn the absence of a tourist industry, here is my short guide to days out in the Extreme North of Cameroon (the literal translation is‘Far North’ but Extreme sounds so much better).Maroua- STAY- at the Faith Mission and splash out on an air-conditioned room (still basic but luxury in comparison to most places). DRINK- at the Porte Mayo where you can sit in the shade of a parasol and buy gifts from the 4 or 5 artisans there. EAT- a the Baoubab restaurant and have the buffet- an odd mix of rice, spaghetti, Cameroonian vegetables and meat, hot sauce and of course‘Maggi’ (monosodium glutamate in a cube or liquid form). SHOP- at the market on the main street, be sure to barter, A. because it’s expected and B because things are a lot cheaper if you do.Kaele- STAY- Les Palmiers Hotel; EAT- by this point eating was pretty much out of the question for me. VISIT- The crocodile lake at Boboyo. A tranquil, serene place surrounded by an expanse of green on one side and small hills on the other. And, of course, watch the crocodiles swimming across the lake (and, insanely, people washing themselves and their clothes in it!)Yagoua- STAY- at Lizzy’s house (no hotels locally!). EAT- at the Super Restaurant- I risked some rice. VISIT- The Logone (river) and hire a boatman to take you across to, believe it or not, Chad- no passport required. Remember to take food- enough to share with the boatman as this is expected.It is now late Tuesday night, 4th August. We returned from Kaele today. Tomorrow is for packing and organising, sleeping and reading, gift-giving and saying goodbye- and collecting my suit (I bought some material in Maroua and a local tailor is making me a trouser suit from it).Thursday sees the beginning of the long journey home with the early morning bus, the evening train, a further night at Tom and Julie’s and two flights spanning around 8 hours in all (plus all the various waiting at stations and airports) and, by mid-morning on Sunday, I will be home in Chorley.List number 7You know you are an English headteacher in Africa when:You see a child playing with a piece of string attached to a sardine tin and think about how that would make an excellent assemblyYou buy some beautiful African materials and think,‘These would look good for displays, or for dressing up in the EYFS.’You take out sweets and balloons for the local children but don’t give them out until you have done some counting and greetings in English and French with them (no lesson plan or objective by the way)You visit the local school and wonder how on earth your teachers would teach around 100 children per class in a concrete box and no resourcesSo, what have I learned?I have learned that there is a lot of poverty in Africa- yes, we all know that but now I feel I have learned it- first hand. In Kaele we met Charles, a moto driver and friend of Lizzy’s. He had recently come off his bike and had to stitch up his own lip as he didn’t have the money for a doctor. In Yagoua, now that the wet season has arrived, malaria is beginning to strike and there were funerals on a number of days. Lizzy’s friend and local shopkeeper has a young baby andwe bought a mosquito net for her (for about £5)- something he could not afford- despite the fact that he insisted on giving us free biscuits and cakes to welcome us to Yagoua. These are but two examples of many.I have also learned that my sister is truly a special person. She has given up a luxurious lifestyle, lives in a language that is not her own, risks her health and works in the tiring heat to try and make a difference in a place where someone has to- I know I couldn’t do it.And finally, I have learned that African flies are faster than English flies!