Happy 2012 everyone! I’ve had a great last few weeks getting to hang out with my fellow volunteers for the holidays. We had a week-long seminar mid-December which was in a town called Limbe on the west coast of Cameroon. The beaches were black and we found a restaurant with pizza, smoothies and iced coffee. Needless to say the week went great and we finished it up with 2 days of camping and bonfires and a late nite skinny dip for the ladies. I can now cross that off my list, not to mention conquering my fear of swimming at night which is maybe one of the most terrifying things ever.

After leaving Limbe a large group of us continued back to the West to Bangangte to spend Christmas in the only volunteers’ house with a chimney. I sewed little stockings for each of the 8 volunteers in the west and hung them on the mantle. We had a tree and lights and some jingle bell decorations thanks to my parents awesome xmas package! All in all it was a really good time and we had a feliz navided theme christmas eve dinner with salsa, guac, homemade chips and tortillas, tofu fajitas and taco meat. Natalie and I also fresh squeezed our own margaritas. As much as I love having christmas with my family, the few times now that I’ve been out of the country for christmas, each time has been extremely untraditional and extremely fun in its own way. I’m so thankful for my ability to conjure up holiday magic no matter where I am.

For the New Year, more volunteers met up in the capital Yaounde to celebrate. For the past few days we’ve been eating pizza, visiting super markets, enjoying ice cream, and going to fairs, reminding ourselves that we’re in Cameroon from time to time.

New Years was fun last night. Natalie and I were in markets around town all day looking for something to wear. We had no luck all day and even gave in to going to marche Mokolo where the stands are 2 feet apart and you’re guaranteed to get grabbed more than 100 times. I’ve never held on to my purse so tight or been proposed to so many times, but it is definitely a must see in Yaounde and Natalie hadn’t been yet. We had no luck and on the taxi home we got let out early after passing what seemed to be the shoe market with blankets and blankets of high heels lining the street. We both found shoes we loved and bargained down to reasonable prices so we had no outfits but really pretty shoes. We met up with everyone at the casino in the hilton hotel and then made our way to Bostos, the swanky part of town where you’re guaranteed to rub shoulders with elites and other “whites”. We got hookah and fancy cocktails, and around midnight we went across the street to the fancy black & white bar for the countdown. It was extremely anticlimactic, but we all stood up and cheered anyway. I headed home shortly after while everyone else went out dancing, which is very un-like me, but I had my new high heels to thank. I toasted myself a mozz, basil tomato sandwich and settled down with some johnny walker on ice and skyped with some of my favorite ladies in the world and got to wish them an early happy new year.

My new years resolution this year is to write something every day. It can be a word, poem, caption or story. Doesn’t matter. But I get so overwhelmed by how much there is to write about here. I hope this helps. Also, as my readers, feel free to yell at me and keep me accountable. Writing in my journal counts, too, so I’m allowed a blog hiatus evey now and then but I really hope I keep this resolution up this year.

What are your resolutions?? Happy New Years friends & family!