Season’s greetings to one and all. To anyone I have forgotten or should have greeted personally, please forgive. I feel I have not been able to keep up with everything at this end of year and my writing has been sporadic. When I see that I wrote my last blog almost three months ago, I amazed at where the time could have gone!
It’s true that classes resumed at the beginning of November which means the routine becomes a little tighter. The same problems of ill-equipped classrooms balanced by students who, on the whole, are really committed. In one classroom, there were no electric power points (and no fans!) which meant the students couldn’t benefit from the PowerPoint preparation / presentation. As we say here, we just have to do the best we can with what we’ve got.
Then, in November-December, there was the university soccer competition and walking events. It’s a little cooler at this time of year, hence the timing. However, this year it just hasn’t cooled down like last year – yet, not using the fans or the air conditioner is great. There’s been heaps of dust and without Haman’s help at home, I just wouldn’t be able to cope.
I was invited to a meal with friends at a hotel before Christmas and it was very nice and in good company. After New Year, I plan to get away for a few days. A change of scenery will be ever so good.
I feel my blogging has not been very successful and to all those faithful readers, please accept my apologies. It has just not been possible to focus on a particular aspect of life here. Hence, I am drawing my blog to a close. I am renewing my contract and work and life will continue apace. I will keep in touch via email and look forward to reading you there. My sincere thanks for your support in reading my thoughts over the past two years.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
September and the end of the year draws nigh!
September heralds the end of the year. I started writing this on 18th September and it already 1st. October! The summer months passed quickly and we are now heading for the best time of the year – a slightly cooler dry climate as the sun slumbers into its southerly phase. Notwithstanding, the humidity has been high and with little rain now, the temperature has risen. Locally grown vegetables have been plentiful and the corn and yam particularly sustaining.
Maroua is gearing up for the presidential, pre-election visit this Tuesday. The President rarely comes to town and this is a big event. All the hotels will be full and people will come in from the outlying towns and villages. There will also be those from the two biggest cities to the south in the same region as President Biya is only coming to Maroua. Then there are the elections on 9th October so it will be a pretty hectic week. They tell us to have supplies in reserve and to avoid any congested areas.
Work has been going well and my academic responsibilities are increasing. This is good as it means acceptance and recognition of my work and efforts so far. But more about this when things get under way – at the moment, they are still at the drawing board stage. I have also been writing short articles in French on certain topics of Ayurveda and health. Suffice to say that there is little awareness of health and well-being here. People wait until they are really sick before seeing a doctor and they seem to die “suddenly”. As families are large, there seems to be always someone you know in mourning and this means the person is away from work for almost a week.
Up until last week, one of the two bridges crossing the river was in such a bad state of disrepair that they had closed it for a couple of months! Repairs were finally undertaken and now the traffic is more evenly distributed over the two bridges. I may have mentioned it in a previous posting, the bridges themselves are remarkable – they were built by the Germans prior to the First World War and still hold strong. The problem is that there is virtually no road maintenance. One of the main artery access roads has so many potholes that the motorbikes have to skirt from one side to the other to avoid them. Quite hazardous, really, but that’s the way it is. To the front of the apartment building, there is the cement distribution center as you know. Well, the trucks park on the dirt road and with the rains, their wheels have gouged enormous holes in the dirt road, so big that a regular sedan car can hardly slip through. You can be sure that Cimecam won’t be paying for road repairs.
Maroua is gearing up for the presidential, pre-election visit this Tuesday. The President rarely comes to town and this is a big event. All the hotels will be full and people will come in from the outlying towns and villages. There will also be those from the two biggest cities to the south in the same region as President Biya is only coming to Maroua. Then there are the elections on 9th October so it will be a pretty hectic week. They tell us to have supplies in reserve and to avoid any congested areas.
Work has been going well and my academic responsibilities are increasing. This is good as it means acceptance and recognition of my work and efforts so far. But more about this when things get under way – at the moment, they are still at the drawing board stage. I have also been writing short articles in French on certain topics of Ayurveda and health. Suffice to say that there is little awareness of health and well-being here. People wait until they are really sick before seeing a doctor and they seem to die “suddenly”. As families are large, there seems to be always someone you know in mourning and this means the person is away from work for almost a week.
Up until last week, one of the two bridges crossing the river was in such a bad state of disrepair that they had closed it for a couple of months! Repairs were finally undertaken and now the traffic is more evenly distributed over the two bridges. I may have mentioned it in a previous posting, the bridges themselves are remarkable – they were built by the Germans prior to the First World War and still hold strong. The problem is that there is virtually no road maintenance. One of the main artery access roads has so many potholes that the motorbikes have to skirt from one side to the other to avoid them. Quite hazardous, really, but that’s the way it is. To the front of the apartment building, there is the cement distribution center as you know. Well, the trucks park on the dirt road and with the rains, their wheels have gouged enormous holes in the dirt road, so big that a regular sedan car can hardly slip through. You can be sure that Cimecam won’t be paying for road repairs.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The rains have come, sporadically
The weather is a bit cooler now that the rains have come, sporadically. There were even a couple of days at the beginning of last week where I didn’t need the air conditioner and hardly used the fan. Amazing! I’m now back on line but with Orange, the other provider. All is going well but the speed seems to be a real problem. It looks as though I’m still at 54 Mbits/sec. when I was promised 128! Well, the technician says he’s coming to check it out. But there have been many times that the connection cuts out because with the rain storms, the electricity invariably cuts out too and all you can do is wait until everything reconnects.
A colleague, a young American Fulbright research scholar leaves today, travelling south for a couple of weeks and then off to Mali to work with an NGO there. She left me a few bits and pieces, dustpan and brush, pegs, bucket, and a few other things. All very useful including a Nobel prize winner author read. That’s what happens here. “Foreigners” come and go. On the floor of the apartment building where I live, newly arrived Chinese teachers have moved in. Unfortunately, I don’t think this coming and going makes for a very positive impression with the locals. They become resigned to it but it doesn’t fit with the culture here. To be accepted which means forming relationships, you have to show that you can fit in from the inside and this takes time.
It’s now exam time for the students before the summer break. It’s a good time because I can get some reading done before the new semester in September. I’m working in both French and English and I really like that. I’m now also writing in French which means I’m really settling into the language. Good language exposure on TV really helps as it puts the language into a broad daily context and reading contextualizes in a more specific way. So, somehow it comes together and I’m most appreciative of all that makes this possible.
A colleague, a young American Fulbright research scholar leaves today, travelling south for a couple of weeks and then off to Mali to work with an NGO there. She left me a few bits and pieces, dustpan and brush, pegs, bucket, and a few other things. All very useful including a Nobel prize winner author read. That’s what happens here. “Foreigners” come and go. On the floor of the apartment building where I live, newly arrived Chinese teachers have moved in. Unfortunately, I don’t think this coming and going makes for a very positive impression with the locals. They become resigned to it but it doesn’t fit with the culture here. To be accepted which means forming relationships, you have to show that you can fit in from the inside and this takes time.
It’s now exam time for the students before the summer break. It’s a good time because I can get some reading done before the new semester in September. I’m working in both French and English and I really like that. I’m now also writing in French which means I’m really settling into the language. Good language exposure on TV really helps as it puts the language into a broad daily context and reading contextualizes in a more specific way. So, somehow it comes together and I’m most appreciative of all that makes this possible.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The merry month of May
Oh! If it were so merry! Since returning from the land of Oz, I have been flat out preparing courses within an approximate two-week deadline. And then there was a week getting things back under way here, I mean, getting food into the house, seeing who you have to see (the presents I bought were really appreciated), getting the apartment back into running order and resolving phone and other problems. The water has been cut off three or four times a day since I returned and filling up the buckets and bowls is a military-precision operation. I just keep filling them up whenever there is a drop of the precious liquid. It was also awfully hot, 45 degrees plus, and I must say I was so thankful for the air conditioner. But it rained a couple of days ago, the temperature dropped considerably and it’s easier to get around. Now there’s humidity and that’s something else . . .
Getting back to Maroua from the airport was a considerable haul. A night in the hotel in Yaoundé (the capital) where, when I arrived at midnight, I had to beg someone in the hotel (one of the better hotels, might I say) to fetch me a bottle of drinking water! A swift realization that I was back in Cameroon. Then there was the train next day leaving 6 pm. and the bus the day after. Purchased beautiful big avocados from a station vendor through the train window and shea butter as we approached Garoua, a mid-way bus stop en route to Maroua. You’ve already read about the bus journeys but suffice to say that my feet and ankles swelled up once again in all the heat. Once back in Maroua, it took 36 hours to get them back to normal size.
Went to a friend’s the other day to meet his wife. He is Cameroonian and his wife Canadian, a truly lovely couple. This guy’s place is notably a few degrees cooler than where I live. He has lots of greenery around and the air flows freely. I’m sure it’s the trees and plants that make the difference – nature is always giving. The plants on my balcony have grown, a little more and they will start blocking the afternoon sun as it stretches to reach my living room window.
I’ve taken a month’s trial to an MTN wi-fi internet connection at home. Before I left, the wi-fi equipment was installed on the roof of the apartment building so I said to myself that the connection should be pretty good. I was assured that it was high speed, that I could even download movies at night . . . But, I have discovered that the connection is only 54 M/bits per second and some days, I can’t even access radio audio sound. Nonetheless, having the internet has freed me up a little, I can now do documentation research without being dependent on the (unreliable) connection in the office. I can send emails and when the connection is good, Skype functions well. I am now contemplating an alternative internet connection with another provider (Orange). The monthly access fee is the same but I have to purchase my own modem, etc. It is truly wonderful to be connected and Orange tells me the speed is guaranteed at 128 M/bits per second. So, I’m looking forward to seeing you – on Skype!
Getting back to Maroua from the airport was a considerable haul. A night in the hotel in Yaoundé (the capital) where, when I arrived at midnight, I had to beg someone in the hotel (one of the better hotels, might I say) to fetch me a bottle of drinking water! A swift realization that I was back in Cameroon. Then there was the train next day leaving 6 pm. and the bus the day after. Purchased beautiful big avocados from a station vendor through the train window and shea butter as we approached Garoua, a mid-way bus stop en route to Maroua. You’ve already read about the bus journeys but suffice to say that my feet and ankles swelled up once again in all the heat. Once back in Maroua, it took 36 hours to get them back to normal size.
Went to a friend’s the other day to meet his wife. He is Cameroonian and his wife Canadian, a truly lovely couple. This guy’s place is notably a few degrees cooler than where I live. He has lots of greenery around and the air flows freely. I’m sure it’s the trees and plants that make the difference – nature is always giving. The plants on my balcony have grown, a little more and they will start blocking the afternoon sun as it stretches to reach my living room window.
I’ve taken a month’s trial to an MTN wi-fi internet connection at home. Before I left, the wi-fi equipment was installed on the roof of the apartment building so I said to myself that the connection should be pretty good. I was assured that it was high speed, that I could even download movies at night . . . But, I have discovered that the connection is only 54 M/bits per second and some days, I can’t even access radio audio sound. Nonetheless, having the internet has freed me up a little, I can now do documentation research without being dependent on the (unreliable) connection in the office. I can send emails and when the connection is good, Skype functions well. I am now contemplating an alternative internet connection with another provider (Orange). The monthly access fee is the same but I have to purchase my own modem, etc. It is truly wonderful to be connected and Orange tells me the speed is guaranteed at 128 M/bits per second. So, I’m looking forward to seeing you – on Skype!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
February has come and gone
February is a short month anyway but where did it go? Probably the most eventful event was getting to and from the VSO workshop meeting in the capital Yaoundé. Now, the workshop was Monday to Friday but getting there and back was half as long again. A shaky start when I couldn’t find the taxi driver to get me to the bus terminus by 6 am and when I got there, the 6 am bus had left 20 minutes early and I was on the list for the 7 am bus. That was fine but the journey itself was so trying. The bus seats five across and not four which means 72 passengers are squashed in instead of the usual 44. The hot air was such that it made me feel quite unstable, not to mention my feet and ankles which swelled up like balloons! The roads are not well maintained and the driver swerves to avoid potholes. There are bridges built by the Germans over 70 years ago, still strong but the width for a horse and cart, rather than a dual carriageway. To boot, one of the bus tyres punctured – all passengers out to wait patiently in the shade of a tree or shrub while the driver and an assistant changed the wheel. We all arrived safely after eight hours at the train station, fortified with nibbles purchased along the way.
The train station is in Nagoundéré and from there the train travels to the capital. It’s cooler in Nagoundéré and that is refreshing. After some hiccoughs, I finally got a ticket for a bed in a sleeper. The best spot for me was an upper bunk as with the window open, all the wonderful cold night air whisked though the cabin. With clean sheets and a warm blanket, I fell in and out of slumber to the rocking of the train. There’s something nice about train travel and even an old rattler like this one has its charm. The meals in the restaurant carriage were simple but good and the staff pleasant and friendly. Nonetheless, after nearly 14 hours train travel plus the time spent in the bus and the wait in Nagoundéré, it was good to get to the hotel, be allocated a room, shower and feel back in one piece after such a long journey. The return journey was much the same, except that the bus was even more trying. After the train trip, you just want to get back home but then there’s the bus back to Maroua and it seems to take forever…..
It is nice to enjoy the pleasant hotel surrounds once in a while. My plants on the balcony are growing but it’s not a secluded balcony and it also gets all the afternoon sun. But the hotels here have gardens and the two that are not too far away provide a pleasant interlude to a day’s activities. The staff get to know you quickly – easily recognizable from the white skin (!) – and they’re always courteous and helpful. But when you listen to Africans in conversation, you know there’s some other cultural norm at play. When they become overly involved in their conversation or discussion, they tend to shout and voices come in one on top of the other. It’s ok to listen to when you’re on the outside but taking part in such an ebullient exchange is all too challenging for me. Even in my classes, I have to lead the students into discussing quietly, in a normal tone of voice.
I'm a little late in posting this blog and next week I'm off to the land of Oz for Naic's graduation. Much to do and really looking forward to catching up with one and all. So, see you then and if not, in my next blog. Look after.
The train station is in Nagoundéré and from there the train travels to the capital. It’s cooler in Nagoundéré and that is refreshing. After some hiccoughs, I finally got a ticket for a bed in a sleeper. The best spot for me was an upper bunk as with the window open, all the wonderful cold night air whisked though the cabin. With clean sheets and a warm blanket, I fell in and out of slumber to the rocking of the train. There’s something nice about train travel and even an old rattler like this one has its charm. The meals in the restaurant carriage were simple but good and the staff pleasant and friendly. Nonetheless, after nearly 14 hours train travel plus the time spent in the bus and the wait in Nagoundéré, it was good to get to the hotel, be allocated a room, shower and feel back in one piece after such a long journey. The return journey was much the same, except that the bus was even more trying. After the train trip, you just want to get back home but then there’s the bus back to Maroua and it seems to take forever…..
It is nice to enjoy the pleasant hotel surrounds once in a while. My plants on the balcony are growing but it’s not a secluded balcony and it also gets all the afternoon sun. But the hotels here have gardens and the two that are not too far away provide a pleasant interlude to a day’s activities. The staff get to know you quickly – easily recognizable from the white skin (!) – and they’re always courteous and helpful. But when you listen to Africans in conversation, you know there’s some other cultural norm at play. When they become overly involved in their conversation or discussion, they tend to shout and voices come in one on top of the other. It’s ok to listen to when you’re on the outside but taking part in such an ebullient exchange is all too challenging for me. Even in my classes, I have to lead the students into discussing quietly, in a normal tone of voice.
I'm a little late in posting this blog and next week I'm off to the land of Oz for Naic's graduation. Much to do and really looking forward to catching up with one and all. So, see you then and if not, in my next blog. Look after.
Monday, January 24, 2011
January comes around again
We are already entering the fourth week of January. It’s hard to believe. The coolish mornings and evenings have been very welcome – no air conditioner or fan required and I’m even able to drink tea without overheating! Even the swimming pool water has been a bit too cold for swimming. The reason is that although there is sunshine and heat during the day, no thermal protective covering is used at night and the water looses all its heat. Still no air-conditioning in the office and possibly next week the weather will still be reasonable. But in February the real heat resumes . . . In Nepal, they celebrate the 15th January as the coldest day of the year. And it is true. After that, you can actually feel the temperature warming incrementally. To me it feels much the same here.
Classes have almost finished and we’re now in the examination and marking phase. Now this process seems to be much the same anywhere you go but here, you are struck by the sheer numbers of students and the amount of student work to be corrected. There are so many students that they submit work in pairs or even trios thus reducing the number of papers to be corrected. There are many staff who are overloaded, somewhat like Mexico, but that’s the way it goes. What is constant in my daily living is the TV channel France 2. It keeps me in contact with the wider world. I used to watch the France 2 news on SBS TV in Aus so I know the presenters. In recent years, I even got to watch a program or two on the Internet. The quality of programming is very good and it means I don’t have to change channels too often. It’s wonderful for the French (language) of course – those on the screen actually speak to you intelligently!
I think it is the little things that make life worthwhile here - the kindness of the baker as he wraps the freshly baked baguettes in paper especially for me, the haberdashery vendor who looks forward to a chat when I go to buy one small spool of thread, the curtain maker who finally got my poufs filled with clean cotton after two months of waiting. I think I mentioned that most clothes are custom made. But have I told you about the sewing machines? Well, they are mostly the treadle-type Singer or Chinese equivalent, some with power connected but most still running with the treadle. The obvious advantage is that no electricity is required, a real plus during blackouts. You can put a treadle machine anywhere – on the street corner under a tree, in the outdoor workshop under a canvas awning, in the regular workshop to work alongside the electrified machine. And then there are the irons. There are the electric irons, of course, but many people still work with charcoal-filled irons dipping the iron surface into water to cool it down. Here such irons are not a museum item. Even one of the biggest hotels uses one. They had an electric iron but it was found to be left on overnight, so the owner had it replaced with the irreplaceable charcoal-filled one.
Classes have almost finished and we’re now in the examination and marking phase. Now this process seems to be much the same anywhere you go but here, you are struck by the sheer numbers of students and the amount of student work to be corrected. There are so many students that they submit work in pairs or even trios thus reducing the number of papers to be corrected. There are many staff who are overloaded, somewhat like Mexico, but that’s the way it goes. What is constant in my daily living is the TV channel France 2. It keeps me in contact with the wider world. I used to watch the France 2 news on SBS TV in Aus so I know the presenters. In recent years, I even got to watch a program or two on the Internet. The quality of programming is very good and it means I don’t have to change channels too often. It’s wonderful for the French (language) of course – those on the screen actually speak to you intelligently!
I think it is the little things that make life worthwhile here - the kindness of the baker as he wraps the freshly baked baguettes in paper especially for me, the haberdashery vendor who looks forward to a chat when I go to buy one small spool of thread, the curtain maker who finally got my poufs filled with clean cotton after two months of waiting. I think I mentioned that most clothes are custom made. But have I told you about the sewing machines? Well, they are mostly the treadle-type Singer or Chinese equivalent, some with power connected but most still running with the treadle. The obvious advantage is that no electricity is required, a real plus during blackouts. You can put a treadle machine anywhere – on the street corner under a tree, in the outdoor workshop under a canvas awning, in the regular workshop to work alongside the electrified machine. And then there are the irons. There are the electric irons, of course, but many people still work with charcoal-filled irons dipping the iron surface into water to cool it down. Here such irons are not a museum item. Even one of the biggest hotels uses one. They had an electric iron but it was found to be left on overnight, so the owner had it replaced with the irreplaceable charcoal-filled one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
