Months Past

I apologize in advance for the potentially sporadic nature of this entry as there is a lot to say. Of course a part of the reason why it has been so long since I have written is due to the lack of internet access in Dir (not completely saying that I mind though = ) but more importantly is because in the 2 months past there has been a lot to process and I've been wondering where and how to start an entry encompassing them.

So let me start off with saying, that all my fears in moving to post where (as many of you had told me prior) nothing to worry about. I was concerned about safety, and how I was going to do without electricity in the evenings, I was worried about how to move all my things into my house, or how I was going to figure out the little routines that make up our lives. But one of the beauties about living in a village is that you don't need to worry, things get taken care of by working with the people around you, and moving into Dir was a more seamless and welcoming processes than I could have imagined.

My house wasn't quite ready when I first got there so I spent the first couple of nights living with my community host, Norbert and his family. My first night in Dir was such a testimony of how training had prepared me to move to a village on my own. I showered outside in a bucket, slept in a room without a door or curtain, and woke up in the middle of the night to mice underneath my bed. And those three things (shocking to say) were no big deal, whereas if that would have been my first night in Cameroon I would have been RUNNING to the country director and asking for the first ticket home.

As for the little things I was worried about: I feel incredibly secure in Dir, and know that if there was ever an issue of my safety the officials would help me take care of it in a heartbeat. As for no electricity, there is something incredibly romantic about not having lights in your house at night (and even though I'm not sharing that romance with anyone and instead have the sleep schedule of an old lady) im enjoying peaceful evenings and early mornings. As far as little routines go, I'm starting to figure it out and I think the best example I can give as to how life goes in village is the process in which I go fetch water.

About every two weeks or so I go to one of the local pumps with empty bidongs and fill them up to store in my house. Although African women can EASILY carry a 25 L bidong on their head, I'm not quite at their level yet (although I am practicing, and one of my village friends' Olivia, constantly has me carrying buckets of water, wood for cooking, you-name-it on my head....at first I thought it was CRAZY to carry things on your head, but after a couple of months, now I'm wondering why we don't carry anything on our heads in the States! Not only do these people have absolutely stunning posture, but it truly does help balance the weight of the object you are carrying! Side note: you should see how funny people's reactions are to the concept that in America no one carries things on their head) So in order to fill up my bidongs I have to take a walk into town and ask around for who has a wheelbarrow that I can borrow. I then take it to the pump and wait around with the kids and women until its my turn to pump. Let me tell you, pumping water is an absolutely KILLER workout and fortunately the little kids usually take pity on me halfway through my bidongs and help me out. Further more, after I load the bidongs onto the wheelbarrow and just as I am starting to think to myself, "Amanda how the hell are you going to push this baby home?" little boys will appear out of nowhere to help me push it back home together.

That is something that I am really loving about village life, that people come together to help each other, often without realizing that they are doing it. There is an Cameroonian expression that goes, "Nous sommes ensemble" essentially translated to: "We're in this together" and its an expression that I coming to love, and hoping to define my two years of service with.

Essentially, the expression also encompasses the Peace Corps approach to development. For the first three months at post, our jobs as Peace Corps Volunteers are to integrate and observe. The Peace Corps believes that before you can really start any projects or start serving the community, you need to get to know the community, and in doing so, you will get to know what their needs are. I really appreciate this approach to development, as I think understanding and knowing a community is key to starting a chain of events that could potentially lead to sustainable change.

The tasks of observation and integration take a different role every single day. In order to give myself some structure I have been going to help at the hospital about 2-3 days a week. There is a lot of good work that is being done at the hospital, and more than anything the nurses and doctor work with the resources that they have. There's been some days at the hospital that have absolutely shocked me with the injustice of malnourished kids who look like their 6 months old, even though their almost reaching their 2nd birthday. Every Thursday, at prenatal consultations, I never fail to be shocked by how many women come to the hospital, how YOUNG most of them are, and how many children these tired women have.

But I have also been trying to get myself out into the community and understand what living life here is really all about. Some days that means I go and work the fields (which woooh let me tell you is ANOTHER killer workout, and also incredibly humbling as trees that take me close to 50 blows to knock down takes the grandma's maximum of 5!) other days that means I sit underneath a tree and learn how to braid my little neighbor's hair (she's the only one who will allow me to experiment on her!) and yet other days I spend the days at the stream washing my clothes. At first it was difficult for people to understand why I wasn't working at the hospital every single day, but slowly I was able to explain a couple of things. First off) I believe that partaking in the activities that make up daily life will help me to better understand and ultimately serve the community. Secondly) Another goal of the Peace Corps experience is for the volunteer to learn the life and culture of another country. Slowly and surely, I think people in Dir are starting to get a better feel as to what I am doing here and as their understanding that, I'm starting to feel like more a part of the community instead of the latest exhibition at the zoo (I don't think I have ever been gawked at, prodded, or examined more in my life than I was within my first few weeks at post. But understandly so, I'm sure that if I went to a school where everyone had orange hair and someone showed up with NEON green hair I would also be wondering "What are you DOING here???")

One of my favorite activities in trying to integrate into Dir has been going to the local high school's (lycee)dance practices for Youth Day (Feb. 11th). I went to introduce myself to the lycee because I hope to work with the schools in Dir to teach some health lessons and befriend the lycee students as they are making a lot of decisions that will affect the rest of their lives (particularly in a country where AIDS is rampant). When one of the teachers mentioned a dance team, I practically jumped out of my seat to ask if I could watch the practices. So for the past month, I have been going maybe once or twice a week to watch the high school students prepare for the Youth Day Celebrations. (Youth Day is definitely a bigger deal in Dir than Christmas was, as celebrations--in a combination of sporting events, dances, sketches, and parades--started on Wednesday and continued through Saturday!) In the midst of one of the practices I jumped in to join and thus last Friday, I performed a traditional Baya dance with some of the lycee girls in front of the whole village, including the traditional chief, which of course people were cracking up at!

There are some days that I struggle with what I am actually doing here. No matter what, I feel as if I am recieving so much more out of this experience than I could possibly give. I question what I can actually DO for these people, how I can create a project that will actually help and last within the community. But, then there are moments like dancing in front of the community and I am reassured that if all else fails during my time here at least I am providing Dir with a new source of entertainment = )