the nature of the beast the whereabouts of a peace corps volunteer in the west region of Cameroon.
sleeping with the enemy
I spent 20 minutes that night stomping on giant ants. Hundreds of them crawling under my door, attracted to the light from the dark night outside. My cat is only good for moths and skeeter eaters is what we call them in texas so it was my job to do some pest control. I followed […]
rabbit food
9/8/11 My diet here, post moving to bandenkop, has turned very similar to how it was at home—lots of vegetables balanced out with baked goods and chocolate candies. Because of the cold and constant raining, soup has been my big experiment these first weeks. I’ve made a creamy potato veggie soup, and after having it […]
moon pies in africa
9/2/11 I’ve been in Bandenkop for 2 weeks now and still have yet to move into my house. My landlord, Sam, keeps telling me that the key is with his aunt (who lives in Doala) and that she’s coming. She was supposed to come last week. Then last weekend. Then this week. I went to […]
little rivers
8/26/11 i took my first hot bucket bath hours ago and my hair is still not dry. It rains here everyday. Sometimes the misty kind of rain that just lingers making the air seem wet and never making a sound. Other times it starts slow with little drops i can hear tapping on the tin […]
it’s official
Yesterday was the swearing in ceremony for the trainees. We took the same oath that the president takes to start service, and I became a volunteer in a matter of seconds after weeks of wishing i could just be a volunteer already. I loved Bafia, and my host family with Mama Lydie and Papa Piment, […]
for my mama
barrett, an english teacher volunteer, sat in on my class to learn how to teach computers since he will be teaching a class at his post. He took these pictures and I’m extremely grateful. This is my Premiere class during their practical hour. The power cut out so i showed them the insides of a […]
for katie
i totally know what business to start when I get back. I eat it wayy more that I should. I will write you another aerogramm with the business plan and we will also serve coffee because that was always part of the plan. Here I am enjoying my favorite meal here with some kiddos on […]
child-bearing hips
I can’t believe it’s already august. Right now I’m waiting for 11:30 to roll around to teach my last practical class (the students have an hour of IT every day for theory and 1 day practical using the computer lab). I’m hoping that the other half of the class will get to create email accounts […]
trouble makers
7/24/11 Nate is another IT teacher. He teaches anglophone Form 3 which is the 8th graders, basically. Nobody did their homework so he made them write a paper explaining why homework is good. Here’s one I liked: 21-07-2011 Dear Sir, I have not don’t my home work becouse I was seck and I was eble […]
drawing ninjas
7/23/11 The end of my first two weeks teaching came much easier than the start. I’m still teaching the same Première IT class and Sixième English class, but by now I have much more control over my classroom dynamics. With my only teaching experience being senior citizens, discipline problems were never something I was dealing […]
stolen shoes
7/13/11 This morning when I was packing for school and the first day of clubs I discovered that my cleats had been stolen out of my room. It affected me in the strangest way, because I love my family and have only been locking my door when I wasn’t at the house, but I remembered […]
madam keemberlee
7/12/11 Teaching is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My first day of class was a disaster, but it probably could have gone worse. I’m not sure what I was expecting. but it was something along the lines of all the students being just like me, excited to learn about the possibilities that computers can […]