I'm sure you're familiar with the phrase "street justice;" I'm also sure you're familiar with hyperbole and alliteration and how wonderful they are. I don't technically live in the jungle, but Dimako is surrounded by it/ Call it literary license.
Friday I thoroughly regretted not having a camera on me. As I'm sure you're well aware based on this blog and my France one, I am not a photographer. After one of my favorite French classes ever, I even had the perfect excuse: If you experience life through a lense, you are not truly experiencing life, but observing it.
Anyway, one Friday I had just finished proctoring my first two-hour exam and was waiting on the bell to head over for my second one. I was planning on using the time to grade my exams, but the students were cleaning the teachers' lounge as a punishment*, so I was forced to wait outside and be sociable.
After some time spacing out in a fever-induced haze, I noticed the hubbub across the street at the gendarmerie (police station). There were a couple of people outside holding chickens and the cops were talking to them.
Apparently two former students of the Lycee Technique had been caught stealing chickens.
The cops marched the thieves across the street with the chicken corpses tied around their necks. They were paraded through the school, so the students could jeer at them and hopefully learn not to steal.
All the teachers just nodded and said, "La honte, c'est utile." (Shame! It's useful.)
I have definitely found that to be true in my attempts at classroom management. When I catch my students cheating, I march them to the front of the classroom (in front of 60 or so of their classmates) and point and call them cheaters. I tell the whole class the consequence for their actions - a 0 for the sequence and an hour with their nose on the wall. It seems very effective thus far; none of the same students cheated this sequence that cheated during the last one.
Side note: I've been rereading and rewatching the Harry Potter books/movies. In the first movie, when the troll gets let into the castle, all the students are panicking and screaming and Dumbledore yells, "SILENCE!!!" All the students calm down and be quiet immediately. I would love it, if that happened in my classes. Instead, I am forced to teach my idiomatic phrases with the conditional.
Example: If the students take crazy pills, they will be crazy. If the students hadn't taken crazy pills, they wouldn't have told their teacher, "I love you."
It made it even better that the students in question were 20 15-year-old girls.
*Students here have to do manual labor as punishment - using machetes to cut the grass, working in the school garden, cleaning the offices and classrooms, etc.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Infections I've had in Africa
mystery cheesy-looking arm thing: 1
yeast infections: 6 (Thank you, doxycycline!)
staph infections: 2
e.coli: 1
malaria: 1
ringworm: 4
mystery shits: too many to count
yeast infections: 6 (Thank you, doxycycline!)
staph infections: 2
e.coli: 1
malaria: 1
ringworm: 4
mystery shits: too many to count
I just want to let it be known that I am a very healthy
person:
I eat my veggies.
I exercise.
I sleep 8 hours every night.
I get enough sunlight.
I drink so much water it’s ridiculous.
I get enough protein.
I exercise.
I sleep 8 hours every night.
I get enough sunlight.
I drink so much water it’s ridiculous.
I get enough protein.
I even take a multivitamin!
And still – I’m sick all
the time here. In the past month, I have been almost constantly sick. I had
malaria and then I was super anemic, because of either the palu or the
antibiotics (could do the research, but don’t care enough to find out). As soon
as I was getting done with anemia (a week of beans, beans, all the time
followed by at least 5 days of beef for lunch), I get e.coli. E. coli was
unpleasant, but not the worst, but it made me dehydrated and grumpy and the
antibiotics were hell in a handbasket. I had a weird taste in my mouth all the
time and felt like puking or passing out fairly regularly.
The day that I finished the antibiotics, I noticed a few bug
bites on my arm looked weird. PCMO later told me it was staph. It was really
gross-looking (picture shiny pus-filled bread mold on your arm). It hurt all
the time. It even hurt, when the breeze from the fan touched it. That too went
away after a week of antimicrobial soap, boiled, bleached and filtered water;
and scrubbing with a truly evil (and properly sterilized) kitchen sponge.
I was feeling a little down in the mouth this past week,
because my house situation has not improved and I think that walking around in
a semi-perpetual funk caused me to literally walk under a black cloud and get
soaking wet and get a cold.
Today I went to school and thought about staying to grade my
exams there, but I decided that swatting at mosquitoes sounded too exhausting,
so I came home and hid under my mosquito net. And here I stay, pajamas and
blanket on with a low-grade fever and used tissues all around me.
And I know that this too shall pass…
But geez Louise! I am sick of being sick all the time!
Dr. Mendhi told my concerned parents (this is when I had
malaria) that when I come back, I will never be sick again, because my immune
system will be just that good. I think right now it’s in bootcamp and it sucks.
It’s sore all the time. It doesn’t want to do it anymore. There is no light at
the end of the tunnel.
Have you ever been in an exercise class and the instructor
starts counting down “5…4…3…2.. just 10 more!” I hate that! Tell me when
we are actually almost done! Don’t start counting down, until we really only
have 5 to go!
I don’t know if in this metaphor, Cameroon is that evil
perky instructor/liar or what. What I keep on hoping is that I am just getting
all my sick for these two years done in the first 6 months, so that I can just
settle in and relax and enjoy my good health for the last 21 months.
Immune system, I appreciate your fine work – keep it up, you
can do it, only 21 more months to go.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Peace Corps Fundraising
Just a brief note to let yall know of an opportunity to help out Peace Corps Cameroon volunteer projects -
We recently put together a calendar of photos taken by volunteers throughout the country and the Friends of Cameroon (an RPCV organization) are in charge of distributing the funds.
We recently put together a calendar of photos taken by volunteers throughout the country and the Friends of Cameroon (an RPCV organization) are in charge of distributing the funds.
Here's just a sample of what you could see in your fancy new calendar! Buy one for every room in your house, so that you can always be surrounded by such beauty!
After all, it's for a good cause...
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Going out in Cameroon
As every good American knows, Halloween is party season. Among ex-pats, it seems to be even more the case. In response to this ancestral mandate, the volunteers in the East invited PC Cameroon to Bertoua to Bertoween.
The party flyer promised clubbing, going to a caberet, swimming in a real pool, and of course, a costume party.
Everyone was to stay in the case (the house where East volunteers stay to do banking). My postmate and I arrived on Wednesday to secure our beds. There are 3 double beds and 2 bunkbeds and 25 people RSVPed. It was going to be a shitshow, so I planned to move to my friend Greg's house with my brand spanking new mattress.
Thursday night - Ladies' Night at Grand Palace
Grand Palace is definitely the nicest club I've ever been to ever. It has air conditioning. And it works! The dance floor had some light-up sections and a fog machine. They had a projector, where they played music videos. There were several VIP sections with really comfortable couches and bottle service with complimentary Cokes, ice and peanuts. (I feel like such a club noob going on and on about peanuts, but my club experience has been limited to Neon Liger in Gainesville - less than 1000 sq. ft. of people gyrating and dripping sweat - and the Copacabana in Metz, which was the same thing, but in a basement with latin music instead of dub step)
I walked in wearing my most daring club dress - blue spandex that hit about mid-thigh. I felt like a wildwoman, until I saw what everyone else was wearing. All the other ladies wore stillettos and dresses that cups the curves of their derrieres and ended right there. I am still bamboozled by the fact that they never flashed anyone. How do they do it?!
The best part of the evening - Every ladies' night there's a beauty contest. Two volunteers were judges and one of the COSing volunteers was a constestant. She got 3rd place. The winner for the night and for the month was definitely the tallest woman I have ever seen in my life; I didn't quite come up to her shoulder and I'm not actually short (5'5"/5'6").
Friday Night - the Caberet at Oxygen
Oxygen has some outdoor seating that's great for people and moto watching and the drinks are about average priced. To go inside is to step into a different world, a world of ceiling fans, overpriced drinks and gogo dancers.
The inside is dim and the bathroom is sketchy. To quote a good friend of mine, "I saw a vagina!" This was the response to the question of whether or not there's a ladies' room.
You order your drinks from an angry-faced server, sit on your couches and either watch the dancers or stare off into space talking to no one. The dancers are actually really really good. The East is known for its awesome crazy dancing, so that actually does provide a good amount of entertainment. The "staring off into space talking to no one" is actually the go-to move for most people here, when they go out. The music is generally so loud that to attempt to talk is to actually shout into your neighbor's ear. The sound level of a bar is never a strong deterrent for a loquacious American; this next morning everyone just complains about the noise level in a raspy voice. It seems like when people go out in groups here, no one talks to anyone at all, even if the music isn't that loud; I noticed it for the first time at my Teachers' Day party and the second time, when I was waiting for my car to Dimako with the cats (once everyone realized I was not going to give them the cats).
Are you familiar with the term "ice-ing"? You hide a Smirnoff Ice and the unfortunate who finds it has to kneel down and chug the "Ice." People can get pretty creative with their hiding spots, though a favorite is in the moto helmet, so when you're ready to leave you find it. I've heard of propping it on someone's pillow like a hotel chocolate...and the list goes on.
It's definitely in practice here among volunteers. A recent rule change stipulates that you are no longer allowed to just send one via a server to your victim. It had not yet come into effect, when we moved outside, so Danny had no choice, but to chug. A few minutes later, confusion and mayhem ensued, when a second Ice was delivered to Danny. A very drunk stranger had caught on to the game and wanted to see Danny do it again. I think that's Goal 2 - promoting better understanding of American culture?
Saturday Night - Bertoween
One of my absolute favorite things about Cameroon is pagne. You can get clothing made custom order fairly quickly and cheaply. I spent a lot of time waffling about what I wanted to be for Halloween and as a consequence had no time to have anything made. I even bought some red fabric thinking that I would want to make a cape and be Little Red Riding Hood. Luckily for me and my waffling, a COSing volunteer was putting a ton of clothes in the "Up For Grabs" (free things that you don't want anymore - clothes, bags, shoes, teaching materials, etc). She and I are the same size exactly and she put in a yellow bazin party dress. It fit like a dream and as every Millenial knows, if you have brown hair and a yellow dress, you are Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
We had jungle juice (mystery alcohol in watermelon/orange/pineapple/lime/jello juice...at least no one had to worry about scurvy), sachets (the devil's own alcohol) and a few cassiers of beer. We played beer pong and flip cup, ring of fire and contact. There was dancing; there was some kind of cricket or baseball or kickball thing going on (still confused). We even had a Canadian.
It was a lot of fun and some of the costumes were really good. One girl dressed up as another volunteer and wore a skin-colored shirt covered in tattoos, scruff and hipster glasses. Another person cut his hair to have a mullet and believe it or not, he can actually pull it off. (This may be "Peace Corps goggles" talking...)
Bertoween Weekend in Review
It was wonderful to see two of my fellow stagiaires who are posted in the Adamawa and it was a lot of fun to show them around Bertoua and go through the market.
It should say a lot that I had a good time all weekend despite having e.coli the whole time.
The party flyer promised clubbing, going to a caberet, swimming in a real pool, and of course, a costume party.
Everyone was to stay in the case (the house where East volunteers stay to do banking). My postmate and I arrived on Wednesday to secure our beds. There are 3 double beds and 2 bunkbeds and 25 people RSVPed. It was going to be a shitshow, so I planned to move to my friend Greg's house with my brand spanking new mattress.
Thursday night - Ladies' Night at Grand Palace
Grand Palace is definitely the nicest club I've ever been to ever. It has air conditioning. And it works! The dance floor had some light-up sections and a fog machine. They had a projector, where they played music videos. There were several VIP sections with really comfortable couches and bottle service with complimentary Cokes, ice and peanuts. (I feel like such a club noob going on and on about peanuts, but my club experience has been limited to Neon Liger in Gainesville - less than 1000 sq. ft. of people gyrating and dripping sweat - and the Copacabana in Metz, which was the same thing, but in a basement with latin music instead of dub step)
I walked in wearing my most daring club dress - blue spandex that hit about mid-thigh. I felt like a wildwoman, until I saw what everyone else was wearing. All the other ladies wore stillettos and dresses that cups the curves of their derrieres and ended right there. I am still bamboozled by the fact that they never flashed anyone. How do they do it?!
The best part of the evening - Every ladies' night there's a beauty contest. Two volunteers were judges and one of the COSing volunteers was a constestant. She got 3rd place. The winner for the night and for the month was definitely the tallest woman I have ever seen in my life; I didn't quite come up to her shoulder and I'm not actually short (5'5"/5'6").
Friday Night - the Caberet at Oxygen
Oxygen has some outdoor seating that's great for people and moto watching and the drinks are about average priced. To go inside is to step into a different world, a world of ceiling fans, overpriced drinks and gogo dancers.
The inside is dim and the bathroom is sketchy. To quote a good friend of mine, "I saw a vagina!" This was the response to the question of whether or not there's a ladies' room.
You order your drinks from an angry-faced server, sit on your couches and either watch the dancers or stare off into space talking to no one. The dancers are actually really really good. The East is known for its awesome crazy dancing, so that actually does provide a good amount of entertainment. The "staring off into space talking to no one" is actually the go-to move for most people here, when they go out. The music is generally so loud that to attempt to talk is to actually shout into your neighbor's ear. The sound level of a bar is never a strong deterrent for a loquacious American; this next morning everyone just complains about the noise level in a raspy voice. It seems like when people go out in groups here, no one talks to anyone at all, even if the music isn't that loud; I noticed it for the first time at my Teachers' Day party and the second time, when I was waiting for my car to Dimako with the cats (once everyone realized I was not going to give them the cats).
Are you familiar with the term "ice-ing"? You hide a Smirnoff Ice and the unfortunate who finds it has to kneel down and chug the "Ice." People can get pretty creative with their hiding spots, though a favorite is in the moto helmet, so when you're ready to leave you find it. I've heard of propping it on someone's pillow like a hotel chocolate...and the list goes on.
It's definitely in practice here among volunteers. A recent rule change stipulates that you are no longer allowed to just send one via a server to your victim. It had not yet come into effect, when we moved outside, so Danny had no choice, but to chug. A few minutes later, confusion and mayhem ensued, when a second Ice was delivered to Danny. A very drunk stranger had caught on to the game and wanted to see Danny do it again. I think that's Goal 2 - promoting better understanding of American culture?
Saturday Night - Bertoween
One of my absolute favorite things about Cameroon is pagne. You can get clothing made custom order fairly quickly and cheaply. I spent a lot of time waffling about what I wanted to be for Halloween and as a consequence had no time to have anything made. I even bought some red fabric thinking that I would want to make a cape and be Little Red Riding Hood. Luckily for me and my waffling, a COSing volunteer was putting a ton of clothes in the "Up For Grabs" (free things that you don't want anymore - clothes, bags, shoes, teaching materials, etc). She and I are the same size exactly and she put in a yellow bazin party dress. It fit like a dream and as every Millenial knows, if you have brown hair and a yellow dress, you are Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
We had jungle juice (mystery alcohol in watermelon/orange/pineapple/lime/jello juice...at least no one had to worry about scurvy), sachets (the devil's own alcohol) and a few cassiers of beer. We played beer pong and flip cup, ring of fire and contact. There was dancing; there was some kind of cricket or baseball or kickball thing going on (still confused). We even had a Canadian.
It was a lot of fun and some of the costumes were really good. One girl dressed up as another volunteer and wore a skin-colored shirt covered in tattoos, scruff and hipster glasses. Another person cut his hair to have a mullet and believe it or not, he can actually pull it off. (This may be "Peace Corps goggles" talking...)
Bertoween Weekend in Review
It was wonderful to see two of my fellow stagiaires who are posted in the Adamawa and it was a lot of fun to show them around Bertoua and go through the market.
It should say a lot that I had a good time all weekend despite having e.coli the whole time.
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