Joyeux Noel

Happy Holidays all! I hope your Christmases were merry and as white as applicable; I'll go ahead and say mine was very merry, but more earth-toned and sandy. After hanging my fake snowflakes on the windows with an ironic smile and endlessly explaining that they weren't stars, doilies or hair ties, I commenced my holiday activities Christmas Eve by having a quasi-American-style Christmas meal with my postmate, comprised of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and subpar American boxed cake. It was actually pretty delicious, and I ate enough to effectively put me out of commission for the rest of the night, though many of my neighbors sent pots of popcorn, sweet beignets and random meat (pictured above), which is the traditional party food. I accepted it with a tense smile and achingly false sense of gratitude, then proceeded to feed everything to my cat.

Christmas day, I left early to play Santa and give out all the American presents I brought back, like nice bar soap, watches, eyeglasses, etc. They were all terribly practical, but went over very well. The concept of the Christmas gift is pretty nonexistent here, but the concept of the 'back from a long voyage' present is quite real, so my gifts weren't surprises, but attributed to my trip to America, not Christmas. I was sent some gifts and candy for kids, so my favorite part of the holiday was finding a way to distribute everything without being ground into a fine paste by a children-stampede. I didn't always succeed, and the day I tried to walk around the Muslim neighborhood handing out smarties was the day I realized just how uncomfortable and distressingly intimate a mosh pit is. Bad decision Lamb Feast.

I found that my neighbors celebrate Christmas much like they do the other Christian/Muslim/national holidays, with lots of food, new clothes for the whole family and big parties. Since Bibemi is predominantly Christian, and the Muslim Lamb Feast also happened this week, this is probably the biggest holiday I've seen, and the one guaranteed to last the longest (generally until February-no joke). We're in the middle of the harvest here, so everyone is busy in the fields, but also collecting lots of money, so spirits are high. It makes work a little hard, as the temptation to make merry all day is omnipresent, but we're slated to start fixing water pumps the 5th, so I have tons of logistical nonsense to take care of. I suppose my next blog will update everyone on how that went, so until next time, keep your friends close and your enemies incarcerated, SLAV

Boyma Jahangal Mango (after the big trip)

Hey everyone, as promised, I’m actually using the page I set up to update you about my life to update you about my life! No one is as surprised as me.
Well, after a month of shameless gluttony, high heels and cross cultural sharing (aka “this is how we take a shot in Cameroon,”) I arrived successfully in Yaoundé, our capitol. Thanks are in order again for everyone who fed me, housed me, entertained me, or tolerated me falling asleep at like 4pm for the night on Thanksgiving. Jet lag plus turkey plus multiple microbrews equals what you saw there. In all seriousness, I appreciate the hospitality, so much so that I am tempted to play the “I live in rural poverty in Africa” card long after I’m back and working for Exxon/Mobil.
I had a bag left off my plane from Brussels, meaning I hung out in Yaoundé for a week to claim it, since they’re not exactly going to deliver it to my current address (‘the house to the left of the garbage pile with the kids trying to break in the window to get the American candy, Bibemi, Cameroon’). I was bored out of my mind down there, but took the opportunity to complete most of my obligatory mid-service medical exams…which I passed with flying colors you’ll all be happy to know. It’s actually something of an aberration to have completely clear blood and stool samples, so of course I attempted to pat myself on the back, realized I’m not nearly as flexible as I used to be, tried to disprove this by doing a spontaneous backbend, and ended up more in pain than if I had actually had one of the diseases I was cleared for. You win some; you lose some.
Once I actually got to my village (after a 20 hour train ride and combine 10 hour bush car rides, ish), it was like I was Robin Williams circa Hook, returning to the lost boys in Neverland after 20 years and them freaking out and dancing around about my return. Ok, it wasn’t really so much like that, but I’m having trouble thinking of a good homecoming pop culture analogy today, and Hook’s always a safe bet. Basically, everyone was really happy and dare I say relieved, as it’s hard for them to understand why, after being pampered and reintroduced to modern conveniences, I would CHOOSE to come back and wash my clothes in the river…Ok, pay children to wash my clothes in the river. Handing out pictures I developed was a huge deal; I plan to take way more this year now that I see the furor they cause.
It will be hard to get much work done before the new year; like the States, Christmastime is pretty much an all-bets-off few weeks. I’ll be sure to write again in January detailing how we celebrate Baby J’s birthday east of the Atlantic; I hope frankincense and myrrh are involved.
I’ve once again restructured my method for picture sharing. Pictures of other volunteers or anyone that’s on facebook will be posted there in the Tag Photos folder. Everything else (as in the interesting pictures) is to be found in my Google albums. I’ve attached a link. Almost my entire first year should be there (it’s pitifully few; I think I took more in two weeks in Australia). If there are problems getting to the page, let me know so I can inform you personally that there’s really nothing I can do about it. I’m trying to maintain a certain level of quick-response customer service here.
I wish everyone the happiest of holidays; I look forward to next year when we can go wassailing together, but until then, merry Christmas and watch the expiration dates on your eggnog, SLAV