Sounds of the Morning
on David and Ginette Johnstone (Cameroon), 28/Mar/2010 20:20, 34 days ago
A distant rooster announces the coming of dawn. The skies are still dark and the night still quiet, but all this is about to change. Another rooster answers the call. It is time for Bamenda to wake up. As I ease my way out of consciousness, I become aware of the many sounds that usher in the new day.Slowly, almost unnoticeably, I hear the chicks being raised across the road, their happy“peep peep” a sharp contrast with the regular call of the roosters. I also hear a duck quacking, probably from the stream nearby. And oh, there are the crickets – that reminds me of home.Not too far away, a man’s voice chants early morning prayers. The voice is strong, steady and soothing. It somehow brings hope and confidence for the day ahead.An early riser passes on his motorbike. Compound doors scrape open down the road. The baby across the road cries out for his morning feed. All of this is punctuated by the roosters, still earnest in their efforts to announce the new day.A group of women pass by, chatting happily, perhaps on their way to set up stalls at the local market. Another motorbike passes. The man who raises the chickens opens his little shop.Now I hear the sounds of the horns of the taxis on the main road, searching for commuters. More motorbikes, more taxis, more traffic. Bamenda is awake.Though it is still early for me, I swing my legs over the side of the bed, slip out from under the mosquito net and step out of the bedroom to be greeted by what I can only describe as African rock blaring from one of the back door neighbours. Yes, a new day has begun.