It's a small world after all and Cameroonian Cinderella

Sorry to bombard y’all with posts to read, but seeing as classes and papers and the like are finished, I’ve been able to spend my days experiencing the small wonders of daily life in Cameroon for the last time before I head back stateside, and they make for excellent blog entries! The count is now four days until home, and my goal for the week is to enjoy every last precious moment here. The achievement of this goal began Sunday surrounded by the other students, Mr. Teku and Professors Fanso and Mutia at Fanso’s house for a jama jama and fufu-corn eating contest. You couldn’t ask for better company or food and it was a relaxing way to wind down the final week (Big Ben won the contest with four FULL plates of the stuff – impressive to say the least!).

Another goal for this week: wear something Cameroonian each day. So Monday, I rocked the new halter dress Maman Solange had just finished for the presentation in Contemporary Cameroon of our final projects – Harry, Morgan and I spent many hours walking our neighborhood of Biyem-Assi to create a comprehensive map (that never existed before) for posterity. And let me just say, it looks amazing! I also picked up my new navy blue custom-made suit at the tailors; it can probably use a few tweaks here and there but I bought the fabric and had it made for around sixty bucks! Probably the most exciting part of Monday occurred right after I returned to my house to find Jason clasping both of Maman Solange’s phones waiting for Papa Fernand to call with the results of the big concours. To get into high school here, all students have to take entrance exams and it’s a HUGE deal. Well, Jason got top scores and will be going to the BEST HIGH SCHOOL in Yaoundé next year! He was so excited when he got the call he hung up before Papa was finished congratulating him and we grabbed each other and started jumping up and down and screaming then running in the streets doing the same while Bambi grabbed any passing child to tell the news to, whether he knew them or not! And when Papa Fernand got home, I’d never seen him prouder, and Maman Solange used all her phone credit calling people to tell them the news!

After the exciting night, Tuesday brought my environmental studies exam followed by a surprise birthday party Katelynn planned for our Cameroonian friend Etienne. It was a huge surprise and he was speechless for several minutes – complete with cake, popcorn (that Alie wouldn’t stop eating!), cookie cake and beignets, it was a perfect way to show Etienne our appreciation for being such a great friend to us! Soon after, Gina, Morgan, Ben and I hit up the artisan market for one last hurrah to finish off our gift lists. This time I was smarter and had remembered the numbers on the stalls of the guys who had offered me good prices the last time. After a lot of successful and jovial bargaining, I was happily surprised to find a young vendor I remembered from my first trip to the artisan market back in January with French class (remember when I had French class? Haha). That was when the artisans still had stalls in Centre Ville, before they were torn down by the government. Whenever I had driven by that spot since, I had always wondered about this kid, probably my age, and whether or not he had found a new spot to sell his masks. Even though we’re in the same city, what were the odds of me seeing him again – small world! After we hugged it out and I bought a passeport mask from him (he was the first to tell me their significance – little clay masks painted different colors depending on the region visited, the original passports of Cameroon), we exchanged emails and I headed off to eat more jama jama (a green leafy warm concoction – hard to explain, pictures to come!) with my creative writing class, having turned my final paper in already (WARNING: I am going to post that paper, which is 11 pages, as my final blog post – read at your own pace!). Again, good food and company – it doesn’t get much better! Once I got home, the fam and I took a special trip to Casino, the Western grocery store, in town to get cake and quiches to celebrate Jason’s success. Then my host mom bought shoes from a guy who walked up the car window and told her they were like the once Michelle Obama wears. I LOVE CAMEROON.

Today was a last visit to Marché Mokolo for me, with Harry and Morgan as my shopping buddies. The quest was shoes and there is no better place in Yaoundé for such a search. More specifically, we all wanted Converse All-Stars, and the best thing is that once you descend into the market and establish with one vendor what you want, the others start looking for that thing all over the place and bring it to you, slipping the shoes on your feet until they find the right fit – Cameroonian Cinderella! Harry started the festivities with a red pair for 5000 francs, so about 10 bucks. Next, I found light yellow ones for 4500, much to Harry’s anger and my sheer delight. But I shared this anger when Morgan got black ones for 4000 francs. I’m going to miss bargaining for everything! After some more shoe searching that led to lots of email address exchanges and discussions about marriage and Obama and the night’s final between Barcelona and Manchester (remind me never to wear an Eto’o jersey to Mokolo on the day of a huge match!), we caught taxis back the apartment (I’m also going to miss public transportation when it doesn’t exist where I live anymore!).

I came home to eat hamburgers and flan that Maman Solange bought as another treat, and passed on hanging out with all the other students tonight to watch the game, instead opting to hang out with the family and go say my goodbyes to my host aunt and favorite cousin, Raissa. But don’t worry – I caught the match, and there is nothing like watching a soccer game where one of the players in Cameroonian (aka Eto’o) with Cameroonians! The city streets are vacant because everyone is inside watching the game, and when a goal is scored or the ref makes a bad call, everyone erupts. It’s phenomenal and all part of the Cameroonian spirit I’ve grown to know and love. I’ll miss it, but not the dozens of guys who have approached me all day claiming I am the most beautiful girl they’ve ever seen and could they please have my number. But I prefer to dwell on the positives!

So now, I’m off for a good night’s sleep, and several more days of savoring this spectacular place. Oh, and my suitcases are packed and UNDERWEIGHT, which is a huge feat if you could see all I’ve bought! Hope all is well in your corners of the world!

Love from the land of soccer and Eto’o fils,
Kait