Someone stole our running water

My homestay mom told me that a couple of bandits stole their running water a few months ago. I could not understand how that was possible until she explained that running water is controlled through a box that is on the road and someone stole the box!

Family Photos

Papa Goiffe, me, Mama Rose, Popina, and then the kids: Christian, Wilfred, and Olivia. The other picture is my homestay sister-in-law, Babette

Please note the matching pagne that Olivia and I got made together

The Sorting Hat

On the much-anticipated posting day, our director pulled out The Sorting Hat that would determine our post. We each pulled our name out of the hat one at a time and pinned it on a map of Cameroon. I got a small village in the mountains in the West province, called Bangang, which is not on any map.

About my post: Bangang is nestled in the mountains covered in rain forests and waterfalls. The dirt is deep red and gets everywhere, which is especially a problem because my house has all white tiled floors…Other than that, my house is amazing! It is owned by the South African ambassador, so it is definitely the nicest house in Bangang. I have four goats and chickens that my guardian who also lives in my compound looks after. I have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two balconies, a living room, and no kitchen. I got lucky because I have running water and electricity, which is doing pretty well for a rural post. I also have a postmate a little ways up the mountain and plenty of other volunteers within an hour of me, which will be really nice, so I am pretty excited.

Wyombai

There are over 50 different local languages in Cameroon in addition to the national languages of French and English. Sometimes there are similar words shared between different languages, but they do not always mean the same thing.

In the local language of Bafia, people say “Wyombia” to say “good morning”. However, the Bassa people living just south of Bafia say “Wyombai” to say “you are ugly”. My homestay brother-in-law, who is Bassa, said the first time he came to Bafia he was pretty insulted as everyone waved and called out “Wyombai” to him!

I find a lake in my room

I have a well right outside my house, so I thought it would be easy and efficient to get a lot of water from the well and boil it to drink. That was my first mistake – it took over 3 hours to boil the water, meanwhile my mom had to go and fetch some firewood to make an outdoor fire so we could eat dinner that night while my giant pot of water monopolized the stove. The water didn’t cool until the morning, so I filled my 2 gallon water filter that the Peace Corps gives us to the brim and left for school all day, which was mistake #2. I came home from school to find all my boiled and filtered water on my floor…apparently my water filter leaks from a small hole in the bottom! I spent a good hour soaking up the water with my towel and ringing the water out in a bucket. Luckily, the duct tape I used to repair the hole is working somewhat now.

Pineapple Town

We left the relatively temperate climate of Yaoundé to the steaming hot city of Bafia, also known as Cameroon’s pineapple town because the pineapples are extra sweet. I got placed with a great family - a retired old couple living with their daughter, daughter-in-law, and 4 grandchildren. We have electricity most of the time, but no running water. Luckily, there is a well right outside our house that I can easily fetch of pale of water for my bucket showers.