Have you ever eaten a spaghetti omelette sandwhich? If not, it is a must try. Cameroon has discovered that if you take last night's left over spaghetti, mix it with eggs, tomatoes, onions, peppers, a bit of piment (and a little bit of Maggi MSG Cube), cook it up into an omelette and fold it into some fresh baguette, you have yourself a masterpiece.
I'm not sure why I never thought of this before. I've eaten eggs with bread for years. I'd sometimes eat eggs with pasta even. But never did I think of mixing it all together. I like to imagine the first person in Cameroon who came up with this idea and what they were thinking as they bit into one of the finest sandwiches we can find in the world today. And no, that is not an overstatement.
Every time that I come to the big city of Ngaoundere to do my banking and big city shopping, I seek out the omelette man. He has an spaghetti omelette sandwich making cart that he rolls around the neigborhood - feeding hungry Cameroonians along the way. The problem is, he's kinda like the icecream truck. You never know where he is - you just have to hope that when you walk out of the Peace Corps house, looking for your morning meal, that you'll look both ways down the street and see his little cart rolling in your direction.
This trip to Ngaoundere, I had three morning meal opportunities to eat a spaghetti omelette sandwich. Every morning, I crossed my fingers as I headed out in search of the perfect breakfast. I looked both ways, I circled the neighborhood and I even considered jumping on a moto to speed up my search for the omelette man. But I was sadly defeated three times, and will return to village looking forward to my next chance at an omelette sandwich come July.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Five Mangos a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
First off, my sincere apologies for taking a four month hiatus on blog writing! These last four months have passed so quickly, I had no idea it had been so long. Summing up the last four months is going to be quite the challenge, but I'll try an give you at least an idea of what life is like at the moment.
Most importantly, it is MANGO SEASON! Nyambaka is known for its Mangos - we really are, I'm not just saying that. We have the longest mango season in the area - our trees start producing fruit earlier and end later than other tress in the region. And, our mangoes are apparently sweeter too.
I eat probably five mangoes a day right now. You get to a point where you think you can't eat any more mangoes, but then someone gives you another and you bite into it and you decide yes, in fact, you can eat another one. I think my daily record is eight, which is also ironically how many mangoes I had probably eaten in my entire life before moving to Africa.
My counterpart at the health center and I are going to start making mango jam, juice, bread, cookies and maybe try drying the fruit too. We are going to do jam demonstrations at the health center and with some women's groups in some surrounding villages in the upcoming month and I'm really excited! Now all I have to do is learn how to make mango jam and I'll be set. :)
Most importantly, it is MANGO SEASON! Nyambaka is known for its Mangos - we really are, I'm not just saying that. We have the longest mango season in the area - our trees start producing fruit earlier and end later than other tress in the region. And, our mangoes are apparently sweeter too.
I eat probably five mangoes a day right now. You get to a point where you think you can't eat any more mangoes, but then someone gives you another and you bite into it and you decide yes, in fact, you can eat another one. I think my daily record is eight, which is also ironically how many mangoes I had probably eaten in my entire life before moving to Africa.
My counterpart at the health center and I are going to start making mango jam, juice, bread, cookies and maybe try drying the fruit too. We are going to do jam demonstrations at the health center and with some women's groups in some surrounding villages in the upcoming month and I'm really excited! Now all I have to do is learn how to make mango jam and I'll be set. :)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I am a Banana
I have now been a Peace Corps Volunteer for about two months now and the time has been passing fast. I started teaching English at the beginning of January and am loving it. There are supposed to be 75 kids in my class whose language levels range as much as their ages (10-17 years). On a usual day, however, there are about 50-60 kids who show up. Only a few kids have textbooks which makes teaching even more challenging, but their enthusiasm for learning trumps the challenges.
Currently all of the teachers are untrained community members who stepped up to try and prevent the children from falling behind while hoping that the state would evenutally send teachers. This week, under the amazing leadership of a new director who was just affected to Nyambaka this year, the state has approved his proposal and has sent Nyambaka 9 new (state-paid and trained) teachers!!! It is amazing to witness such positive community development that truly came from the community itself. The new director has served as the catalyst without a doubt and is helping the school evolve in many other ways as well: electricity, a volleyball court, school clubs and of course the new teaching staff. Currently a student can't finish their high school education in Nyambaka (they must move to a larger, nearby city for the last 3 years of high school), so the director is working hard to expand the grades offered for the upcoming school year.
Along with teaching English, I'll be helping with the Health Club and working on a project with the director to start a library. Just this last week, one of the new vocabulary words my class learned was "library." Heartbreakingly, I had to not only teach the meaning of the word "library" but also the concept as the majority of my students have never seen or heard of one. It is things like this that make me truly value the education I received.
There is so much more to write, but I will leave it at this for now. My posts are going to be less frequent as I will only have internet access every 2-4 weeks, but I will continue to post when I can.
My favorite thing one of my students have said? I am a banana.
Currently all of the teachers are untrained community members who stepped up to try and prevent the children from falling behind while hoping that the state would evenutally send teachers. This week, under the amazing leadership of a new director who was just affected to Nyambaka this year, the state has approved his proposal and has sent Nyambaka 9 new (state-paid and trained) teachers!!! It is amazing to witness such positive community development that truly came from the community itself. The new director has served as the catalyst without a doubt and is helping the school evolve in many other ways as well: electricity, a volleyball court, school clubs and of course the new teaching staff. Currently a student can't finish their high school education in Nyambaka (they must move to a larger, nearby city for the last 3 years of high school), so the director is working hard to expand the grades offered for the upcoming school year.
Along with teaching English, I'll be helping with the Health Club and working on a project with the director to start a library. Just this last week, one of the new vocabulary words my class learned was "library." Heartbreakingly, I had to not only teach the meaning of the word "library" but also the concept as the majority of my students have never seen or heard of one. It is things like this that make me truly value the education I received.
There is so much more to write, but I will leave it at this for now. My posts are going to be less frequent as I will only have internet access every 2-4 weeks, but I will continue to post when I can.
My favorite thing one of my students have said? I am a banana.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Dust-induced Sneezes and Polio Vaccines
Last Sunday I moved into my new place in Nyambaka! I absolutely love it. My neighbors are incredibly generous (they keep bringing me meals and have been helping me set up my place), the community is so welcoming and exctied to have us, and my co-workers at the hospital are so kind. The weather is warm during the day and refreshingly cool at night, and I get to watch the most amazing sunset everynight over the rolling savannah lined with banana trees. As one would say in French, j'ai le chance.
I spent the last four days helping with my hospital's vaccination campaign. We went from door-to-door in both Nyambaka and all of the smaller surrounding villages vaccinating kids against Polio, providing Vitamin A supplements and passing out deworming pills. It was a great way to get to know the area and meet the communities I'll be working with for the next two years. (And I felt like I was in a scene from Mountains Beyond Mountains which was pretty awesome).
Right now they are prepping the road infront of my village to be paved which means that it is both a really exciting and dusty time! I'm really impressed by how quickly they are working even though it means that I have to sweep my house two times a day, wash my floors daily, and only get one wear out of my clothes.
That's all the updating I have time for now. Even though there is so much more to say, I think that "I absolutely love Nyambaka" sums it up as well as anything could. Hopefully by the next time I write, there will be a lovely paved road where the pills of dust currently are and I'll be a little more conversational in Fulfulde. And if not sooner, have a Merry Christmas!
I spent the last four days helping with my hospital's vaccination campaign. We went from door-to-door in both Nyambaka and all of the smaller surrounding villages vaccinating kids against Polio, providing Vitamin A supplements and passing out deworming pills. It was a great way to get to know the area and meet the communities I'll be working with for the next two years. (And I felt like I was in a scene from Mountains Beyond Mountains which was pretty awesome).
Right now they are prepping the road infront of my village to be paved which means that it is both a really exciting and dusty time! I'm really impressed by how quickly they are working even though it means that I have to sweep my house two times a day, wash my floors daily, and only get one wear out of my clothes.
That's all the updating I have time for now. Even though there is so much more to say, I think that "I absolutely love Nyambaka" sums it up as well as anything could. Hopefully by the next time I write, there will be a lovely paved road where the pills of dust currently are and I'll be a little more conversational in Fulfulde. And if not sooner, have a Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Now a PCV!
On Wednesday, December 1st, I officially swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Training is over and I have said goodbye to my lastest home of 3 months and am on my way to post. The ceremony was very nice - all of us volunteers got matching clothes made (will post pics when I get the chance!). The Peace Corps hosted a nice lunch reception to follow to give thanks to our homestay families and the community.
December 1st was also World AIDS Day so we included a tribute to those affected by HIV/AIDS in the ceremony as well. Conservative statistics show that 1 in 20 Cameroonians are infected with HIV/AIDS. Although HIV/AIDS tests, treatment and preventative methods are readily available, it is stigma and gender inequality that contribute most heavily to the epidemic.
December 1st was also World AIDS Day so we included a tribute to those affected by HIV/AIDS in the ceremony as well. Conservative statistics show that 1 in 20 Cameroonians are infected with HIV/AIDS. Although HIV/AIDS tests, treatment and preventative methods are readily available, it is stigma and gender inequality that contribute most heavily to the epidemic.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Boquito
Last Saturday, my Bafia host Mom took me on an afternoon adventure to the village she grew up in. We shared a motorcycle taxi (from this day forward referred to as a moto) to the l’agence. The l’agence or agency is a parking lot filled with motos, cars, vans & mini-buses that are going every which direction once they fill up with twice as many people as they can reasonably accommodate.
We bought our seats in a car (small sedan) that was headed in the direction of Boquito and some bread as a gift for my host Mom’s mother. There were 9 total adults and a toddler in the car. This is a pretty elementary car ride from what I’ve heard; one volunteer got up to 17 in a single trip! No worries, at those high of numbers at least a handful of people are riding in the trunk and maybe a few on the windshield. (Don’t worry Mom, as a Peace Corps Volunteer I’m forbidden to ride on windshields).
Anyways, I shared the front passenger seat with a Maman (older Cameroonian woman), the toddler, our huge sack of bread and my host Mom’s right leg. My host Mom’s left leg shared the driver’s seat with our Chauffeur and then five adults shared the back seat. Luckily our drive was only 45 minutes long.
We arrived in Boquito where it was reaffirmed to me that Cameroonians are the most generous people I have ever met. We first stopped by her Mom’s place where we were warmly greeted (well, three kids shrieked at the sight of me and almost cried when their Dad made them greet me and shake my hand...) with two huge branches of bananas and a large sack of oranges. After visiting a while, we proceeded to take a tour of the village with each quick visit adding to the “this feels like Christmas!” feeling. Along with the original 30ish pounds of fruit we acquired, we were generously gifted plantains, potatoes, macabo, casamangas, beer, lunch, and palm wine.
After sharing some palm wine and conversation with my host Mom’s family, we and all of our presents climbed on the back of a moto to the center of the village where we found another sedan to take us back to Bafia. This ride was a bit more comfortable as there were just four of us to share the back seat. And, best yet, one of the fellow passengers played some Celion Dion for us to “rock out” to. I can’t say that
I was ever the hugest Celion Dion fan back in the States, but I’ll admit that there is something comforting about hearing her music here – I guess it makes home not feel so far away.
P.S. Mom, I promise not to ride in any trunks either. :)
We bought our seats in a car (small sedan) that was headed in the direction of Boquito and some bread as a gift for my host Mom’s mother. There were 9 total adults and a toddler in the car. This is a pretty elementary car ride from what I’ve heard; one volunteer got up to 17 in a single trip! No worries, at those high of numbers at least a handful of people are riding in the trunk and maybe a few on the windshield. (Don’t worry Mom, as a Peace Corps Volunteer I’m forbidden to ride on windshields).
Anyways, I shared the front passenger seat with a Maman (older Cameroonian woman), the toddler, our huge sack of bread and my host Mom’s right leg. My host Mom’s left leg shared the driver’s seat with our Chauffeur and then five adults shared the back seat. Luckily our drive was only 45 minutes long.
We arrived in Boquito where it was reaffirmed to me that Cameroonians are the most generous people I have ever met. We first stopped by her Mom’s place where we were warmly greeted (well, three kids shrieked at the sight of me and almost cried when their Dad made them greet me and shake my hand...) with two huge branches of bananas and a large sack of oranges. After visiting a while, we proceeded to take a tour of the village with each quick visit adding to the “this feels like Christmas!” feeling. Along with the original 30ish pounds of fruit we acquired, we were generously gifted plantains, potatoes, macabo, casamangas, beer, lunch, and palm wine.
After sharing some palm wine and conversation with my host Mom’s family, we and all of our presents climbed on the back of a moto to the center of the village where we found another sedan to take us back to Bafia. This ride was a bit more comfortable as there were just four of us to share the back seat. And, best yet, one of the fellow passengers played some Celion Dion for us to “rock out” to. I can’t say that
I was ever the hugest Celion Dion fan back in the States, but I’ll admit that there is something comforting about hearing her music here – I guess it makes home not feel so far away.
P.S. Mom, I promise not to ride in any trunks either. :)
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