With my first blog-post as a 21-year-old, I thought I would not only describe the fantastic birthday that marked this milestone age, but also an account of the weekend trip to Bamenda, in the Northwest region of Cameroon. So here goes. After pedicures with Morgan and spending the night at the apartment on Wednesday night (which included one last visit to the chicken-and-beer bar we frequent before entering legal drinking age), we left bright and early on Thursday morning to beat the rush before the Pope headed off in the Popemobile to the stadium for mass (no, Grammy, we weren’t able to see him, but the city was BUZZING because of his visit). With Morgan as a bus buddy, I settled in for the 7-hour trip to Bamenda, reading, singing, hearing multiple early happy birthday wishes from Harry, and watching as the landscape changed from forests to grasslands (kinda like in the Lion King, although that movie does Africa no justice. But it’s a cartoon, so what do you expect?). With roadside stops for bathroom and food breaks, we experienced the transition between Francophone and Anglophone Cameroon, as the language gradually transitioned to a form of English called Pidgin. It is mindboggling – many of the words are English with random words from native tongues thrown in. It sounds pretty old-school: thank you plenty rather than thank you very much. Good thing I don’t have to learn this language!
We descended into Bamenda in the early afternoon after passing through a rainstorm, and I was instantly pleased by the cooler temperature. I can’t remember the last time I just stood somewhere without sweating, let alone felt the absolute need to wear jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. It was glorious. After settling in at the Presbyterian Church Center in rooms that reminded us of summer camp and figuring out with my sassy roommate Soo how to keep our bathroom door closed with a chair, the soccer team wandered into town, in search of beverages and beignets (called puff puffs there). We were not met by cries of la blanche considering it was English-speaking territory, but even the cries of white man! were few and far between – refreshing to say the least. We chose a small bar where a fly promptly flew down the neck of my drink and drowned itself – our bus driver Julio later told me this is good luck, which I’ll take! After a simple and yet delicious dinner at the church center, Julio took us out on a night driving tour of Bamenda, which from up above on the cliffs is gorgeous at night. Then out for drinks to a place called Dreamland, where Katelynn squished a rat’s tail as it ran over her foot and we would eventually eat two other meals. The night ended with some roommate chatting in the dark with the ever-fabulous Soo!
My birthday started with a cold shower. Now, this may not seem like anything crazy since I take a cold shower most every day of my life here in Cameroon, but when it is cold in your room and cold in the bathroom and cold outside and cold water comes out of the showerhead, a cold shower is not really that pleasant. I got through that, dressed in the beautiful new kaba Mama Solange had finished just for my birthday, and was soon greeted with birthday exclamations and hugs from my wonderful teammates. A superb breakfast of omelettes, papaya and bread with jam greeted us in the dining hall, as did more birthday wishes from Mr. Teku and Professors Fanso and Mutia. Our day continued with a super-exciting visit to the Regional Agriculture Center or something to that effect. Sense the sarcasm? This is where they work to find more effective ways of growing crops and raising animals, as well as better ways of preserving milk and cheese and such, which they then share with farmers. It would have been fine except it was super long, and forced me to not be able to talk for long to my wonderful parents who called to wish me a good birthday (thanks Mom and Dad – you’re the best!). Enough about that. As we drove up into the mountains, I received a beautiful birthday text message from the incredible Barb Capozzi (thanks, amazing lady!) and shot off one of my own to Papa Fernand, who happens to share my day of birth and was hitting the milestone of 53. The scenery was absolutely magnificent – wait until you see pictures – and I could not have asked for a more beautiful location to spend this day. We arrived in the rural village of Sabga and met an American missionary from Iowa who has been living there with his family since the early 90s, and after taking the customary jumping picture, we met the lamido, or chief, of the village, who was on his way to the mosque for Friday prayer, but spared some time for a group picture. We soon boarded the bus and were lucky enough to pass through the landscape we had driven by on our way up to return to Bamenda. After a late lunch, I opted for a nap at the church center while others went to the market – I needed to rest up for the night ahead!
At the end of my nap, I was bombarded with beautiful birthday gifts from my friends, complements of the market! Soo, my lovely roommate, gave me two beaded bracelets, followed by three more and fabric in my favorite colors from Alie, and two bottles of D’jino and a much-needed Twix bar from Emileigh. We all got dressed to go out (Abby, I wore the purple dress!), and I was led up to the picnic table where a beautifully-decorated but disgusting-tasting cake was waiting for me! After blowing out a match, bravely held by Big Ben, in lieu of candles, I cut the cake and Em, the next birthday girl, pulled out the knife (either a tradition here or from one of my friends, I forget). We ate cake as the sun set, and as I was wiping the frosting off Terence’s pocket knife, I sliced my finger. Not terrible, but enough for me to need to return to my room to wash it off and put a Band-Aid on it. I was terribly confused as to why all the girls were following me back to watch me wash my cut, but they all lingered in my doorframe observing. I soon found out it was not to watch this process but to see how long it would take me to find the balloons they had put all over my bed (discovered when I turned to get Neosporin out of my purse)! So that explained the popping sound I had heard earlier when they were blowing them up secretly!
After the birthday cake, we settled down for an hour of incredibly interesting talk with a woman in a polygamous marriage. Her situation is unique – she is married to the Fon of Chomba and is one of 7 wives. A Fon is a traditional ruler, like a king, and thus we addressed his wife as Her Majesty. She grew up in a polygamous home but was not forced into this marriage – she chose it, despite her father’s disapproval. An incredibly educated woman, she has no children of her own and seems to share a fairly equal relationship with her husband. Interestingly enough, she does not condone polygamous marriage really outside of the royal palace – it is practical for the Fon because the wives not only provide many descendants but also maintain the household and entertain and cook for frequent guests. She was most likely the most interesting and frankly honest person I’ve met in Cameroon, and I greatly value the time she spent with us. She left after extending an invitation to visit the Fon the following morning.
But before we could meet the Fon, there was some 21st birthday celebrating to do! We returned to Dreamland for dinner and drinks, where Katelynn and I both drank out of glasses that said Special all over them (yeah K²!). Just so you all know, my first drink as a 21-year-old, bought by Gina, was a large Gin Tonic, which is not exactly the same as a gin and tonic in the States. It did the trick though. After dropping Mr. Teku, the professors and Morgan (the sickling – I swear Mrs. Siegrist, I’m trying really hard to keep her well but I can’t control what she eats!) back at the church center, Julio took us out to a bar, where Harry gave the famous “halfway toast” to the birthday girl – halfway to 42 and incidentally halfway through our time in Cameroon! Next came the nightclub, and after meeting an older man who claimed to also be a Fon and asked me to return to his palace as his next queen (all this while spitting on me while talking, just what I want from my king!), we descended into the club, which was way calmer and less crowded (and in my opinion more fun!) than others we’ve been to. We danced up a storm (yes, me!) and some guy Alie made dance with me asked me to go with him to South Africa. The DJ announced my birthday and played a bunch of American music. We left around 2am and after clearing all the red balloons off my bed, I immediately fell sound asleep.
Saturday dawned too early, of course, and after a quick breakfast we stopped at the handicraft market for an overwhelming hour of trying to choose from all the masks and carvings and such what we wanted to buy. With our purchases in striped plastic bags, we headed to the Fon of Chomba’s palace! And it was a palace by Cameroonian standards, a mix of new and old, with a tomb building for all the previous Fons of Chomba, many shrines, places for the secret societies to meet and living quarters for the 7 wives and 20 children. The Fon was incredibly welcoming and open with us. Fun fact: The first-born son doesn’t necessarily become the next Fon – the current Fon chooses between all his sons, as to who is most up to the job. This helps explain the polygamy thing! More wives, more sons, more choices. During our Q&A session, the Queen served us Betty Crocker cake and fishy nems (like eggrolls). We left completely enlightened and with a better understanding of traditional leadership here.
Then it was back to Bamenda and Dreamland restaurant for a long-awaited for buffet lunch followed by Bamenda market time! Soo, Em and I haggled for good fabric prices, getting vendors down to 2500 francs (5 USD) for 6 yards. We also perused the shoe aisles, Soo and I getting sandals for the same price as the fabric, though I did have to punch holes in the straps so I could wear them! After purchasing some new sunglasses (the fake Guccis broke), we hit up another handicraft warehouse which sells artisans’ work. I’m not going to lie, I went a little crazy in there and bought many, many things – but hey, it was the day after my birthday and I’m in Africa! Eventually, we rounded up the team and headed home with our bags and then went scrounging for dinner. Bamenda’s great but lacks a plethora of restaurants, and there was no way we were returning to Dreamland. We ended up at Dynamic Spot Restaurant, with freshly cooked plantains, eru, fufu, rice and chicken, which were followed by little cakes (way better than my birthday cake haha!)! The ladies who owned the joint were so thrilled to have 11 customers that night and just kept thanking us profusely and telling us to tell all our friends to come to the Dynamic Spot! Stuffed with good food, we slowly made our way back up the hill to the church center in the dark and crashed early, preparing ourselves for the bumpy ride back the next morning.
Sunday was a bus day to the extreme. We made many roadside stops to buy produce, which is way cheaper in Bamenda area (ex: entire plastic grocery bag of fresh green beans for 1 USD), and felt every single speed bump. The highlight for me was our stop at a bakery in Bafussam (spelling negotiable) where we found MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM!!! In case you were unaware, this is my favorite and though it wasn’t my mom’s mint chocolate chip ice cream cake, it was a good end to the birthday weekend! We arrived back in the heat and French chatter of Yaoundé late afternoon and I returned home to a cold shower that felt good, my gecko friends in the bathroom, and the goal to make the most of the second half of my time in Cameroon!
We descended into Bamenda in the early afternoon after passing through a rainstorm, and I was instantly pleased by the cooler temperature. I can’t remember the last time I just stood somewhere without sweating, let alone felt the absolute need to wear jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. It was glorious. After settling in at the Presbyterian Church Center in rooms that reminded us of summer camp and figuring out with my sassy roommate Soo how to keep our bathroom door closed with a chair, the soccer team wandered into town, in search of beverages and beignets (called puff puffs there). We were not met by cries of la blanche considering it was English-speaking territory, but even the cries of white man! were few and far between – refreshing to say the least. We chose a small bar where a fly promptly flew down the neck of my drink and drowned itself – our bus driver Julio later told me this is good luck, which I’ll take! After a simple and yet delicious dinner at the church center, Julio took us out on a night driving tour of Bamenda, which from up above on the cliffs is gorgeous at night. Then out for drinks to a place called Dreamland, where Katelynn squished a rat’s tail as it ran over her foot and we would eventually eat two other meals. The night ended with some roommate chatting in the dark with the ever-fabulous Soo!
My birthday started with a cold shower. Now, this may not seem like anything crazy since I take a cold shower most every day of my life here in Cameroon, but when it is cold in your room and cold in the bathroom and cold outside and cold water comes out of the showerhead, a cold shower is not really that pleasant. I got through that, dressed in the beautiful new kaba Mama Solange had finished just for my birthday, and was soon greeted with birthday exclamations and hugs from my wonderful teammates. A superb breakfast of omelettes, papaya and bread with jam greeted us in the dining hall, as did more birthday wishes from Mr. Teku and Professors Fanso and Mutia. Our day continued with a super-exciting visit to the Regional Agriculture Center or something to that effect. Sense the sarcasm? This is where they work to find more effective ways of growing crops and raising animals, as well as better ways of preserving milk and cheese and such, which they then share with farmers. It would have been fine except it was super long, and forced me to not be able to talk for long to my wonderful parents who called to wish me a good birthday (thanks Mom and Dad – you’re the best!). Enough about that. As we drove up into the mountains, I received a beautiful birthday text message from the incredible Barb Capozzi (thanks, amazing lady!) and shot off one of my own to Papa Fernand, who happens to share my day of birth and was hitting the milestone of 53. The scenery was absolutely magnificent – wait until you see pictures – and I could not have asked for a more beautiful location to spend this day. We arrived in the rural village of Sabga and met an American missionary from Iowa who has been living there with his family since the early 90s, and after taking the customary jumping picture, we met the lamido, or chief, of the village, who was on his way to the mosque for Friday prayer, but spared some time for a group picture. We soon boarded the bus and were lucky enough to pass through the landscape we had driven by on our way up to return to Bamenda. After a late lunch, I opted for a nap at the church center while others went to the market – I needed to rest up for the night ahead!
At the end of my nap, I was bombarded with beautiful birthday gifts from my friends, complements of the market! Soo, my lovely roommate, gave me two beaded bracelets, followed by three more and fabric in my favorite colors from Alie, and two bottles of D’jino and a much-needed Twix bar from Emileigh. We all got dressed to go out (Abby, I wore the purple dress!), and I was led up to the picnic table where a beautifully-decorated but disgusting-tasting cake was waiting for me! After blowing out a match, bravely held by Big Ben, in lieu of candles, I cut the cake and Em, the next birthday girl, pulled out the knife (either a tradition here or from one of my friends, I forget). We ate cake as the sun set, and as I was wiping the frosting off Terence’s pocket knife, I sliced my finger. Not terrible, but enough for me to need to return to my room to wash it off and put a Band-Aid on it. I was terribly confused as to why all the girls were following me back to watch me wash my cut, but they all lingered in my doorframe observing. I soon found out it was not to watch this process but to see how long it would take me to find the balloons they had put all over my bed (discovered when I turned to get Neosporin out of my purse)! So that explained the popping sound I had heard earlier when they were blowing them up secretly!
After the birthday cake, we settled down for an hour of incredibly interesting talk with a woman in a polygamous marriage. Her situation is unique – she is married to the Fon of Chomba and is one of 7 wives. A Fon is a traditional ruler, like a king, and thus we addressed his wife as Her Majesty. She grew up in a polygamous home but was not forced into this marriage – she chose it, despite her father’s disapproval. An incredibly educated woman, she has no children of her own and seems to share a fairly equal relationship with her husband. Interestingly enough, she does not condone polygamous marriage really outside of the royal palace – it is practical for the Fon because the wives not only provide many descendants but also maintain the household and entertain and cook for frequent guests. She was most likely the most interesting and frankly honest person I’ve met in Cameroon, and I greatly value the time she spent with us. She left after extending an invitation to visit the Fon the following morning.
But before we could meet the Fon, there was some 21st birthday celebrating to do! We returned to Dreamland for dinner and drinks, where Katelynn and I both drank out of glasses that said Special all over them (yeah K²!). Just so you all know, my first drink as a 21-year-old, bought by Gina, was a large Gin Tonic, which is not exactly the same as a gin and tonic in the States. It did the trick though. After dropping Mr. Teku, the professors and Morgan (the sickling – I swear Mrs. Siegrist, I’m trying really hard to keep her well but I can’t control what she eats!) back at the church center, Julio took us out to a bar, where Harry gave the famous “halfway toast” to the birthday girl – halfway to 42 and incidentally halfway through our time in Cameroon! Next came the nightclub, and after meeting an older man who claimed to also be a Fon and asked me to return to his palace as his next queen (all this while spitting on me while talking, just what I want from my king!), we descended into the club, which was way calmer and less crowded (and in my opinion more fun!) than others we’ve been to. We danced up a storm (yes, me!) and some guy Alie made dance with me asked me to go with him to South Africa. The DJ announced my birthday and played a bunch of American music. We left around 2am and after clearing all the red balloons off my bed, I immediately fell sound asleep.
Saturday dawned too early, of course, and after a quick breakfast we stopped at the handicraft market for an overwhelming hour of trying to choose from all the masks and carvings and such what we wanted to buy. With our purchases in striped plastic bags, we headed to the Fon of Chomba’s palace! And it was a palace by Cameroonian standards, a mix of new and old, with a tomb building for all the previous Fons of Chomba, many shrines, places for the secret societies to meet and living quarters for the 7 wives and 20 children. The Fon was incredibly welcoming and open with us. Fun fact: The first-born son doesn’t necessarily become the next Fon – the current Fon chooses between all his sons, as to who is most up to the job. This helps explain the polygamy thing! More wives, more sons, more choices. During our Q&A session, the Queen served us Betty Crocker cake and fishy nems (like eggrolls). We left completely enlightened and with a better understanding of traditional leadership here.
Then it was back to Bamenda and Dreamland restaurant for a long-awaited for buffet lunch followed by Bamenda market time! Soo, Em and I haggled for good fabric prices, getting vendors down to 2500 francs (5 USD) for 6 yards. We also perused the shoe aisles, Soo and I getting sandals for the same price as the fabric, though I did have to punch holes in the straps so I could wear them! After purchasing some new sunglasses (the fake Guccis broke), we hit up another handicraft warehouse which sells artisans’ work. I’m not going to lie, I went a little crazy in there and bought many, many things – but hey, it was the day after my birthday and I’m in Africa! Eventually, we rounded up the team and headed home with our bags and then went scrounging for dinner. Bamenda’s great but lacks a plethora of restaurants, and there was no way we were returning to Dreamland. We ended up at Dynamic Spot Restaurant, with freshly cooked plantains, eru, fufu, rice and chicken, which were followed by little cakes (way better than my birthday cake haha!)! The ladies who owned the joint were so thrilled to have 11 customers that night and just kept thanking us profusely and telling us to tell all our friends to come to the Dynamic Spot! Stuffed with good food, we slowly made our way back up the hill to the church center in the dark and crashed early, preparing ourselves for the bumpy ride back the next morning.
Sunday was a bus day to the extreme. We made many roadside stops to buy produce, which is way cheaper in Bamenda area (ex: entire plastic grocery bag of fresh green beans for 1 USD), and felt every single speed bump. The highlight for me was our stop at a bakery in Bafussam (spelling negotiable) where we found MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM!!! In case you were unaware, this is my favorite and though it wasn’t my mom’s mint chocolate chip ice cream cake, it was a good end to the birthday weekend! We arrived back in the heat and French chatter of Yaoundé late afternoon and I returned home to a cold shower that felt good, my gecko friends in the bathroom, and the goal to make the most of the second half of my time in Cameroon!
