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!

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.

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.

Christmas in my thoughts

There is a two-week break from classes and those who can, it seems, have left town. Even my Turkish friends have left for the south and the beach, by car in their 4x4. Now that’s the way to go. There are certainly fewer 4x4s in town at the moment although the town centre is still very busy – the normal humdrum with moto-taxis whirring about everywhere. There was the first graduation ceremony for the university almost two weeks ago. My air conditioner in the office was and is still broken and before the ceremony, everyone was far too busy with whatever else. Then I fell sick, diarrhea and gastro problems and a week later, stultifying headache and then runny nose with a cold. Just run-down symptoms – really need a mental break.

Christmas is in my thoughts but not in the air. There is no outside sign of Christmas at all except at the hotels ¬- I spent a quiet hour in the garden of Porte Mayo last weekend and there, there was a tree. I still wish “bonnes fêtes” to everyone – “happy celebrations” because all can join in in sharing and in being together. New Year I’m told is party time so I’ll see what that holds. Just hoping to be with someone whose company one enjoys – friendship is a strange quality here where you are the outsider for most. There are those few here who are away from home, friends and family have any inkling of what distance and separation means. And families are big here and sufficient unto themselves from the forces without.

But let me tell you that the baker made some great croissants (French influence here means they have the know-how to do this well) and this is a nice way of sharing with those who have been particularly kind. I’m not up to cooking so Christmas eve I’ll go to Amos’ casual outdoor restaurant where the dishes have a European flavor and New Year’s eve, well that’s still a week away. For now, I’m simply looking forward to a break, letting go, swimming a bit and allowing time to roll on, slowly. I also look forward to catching up with my mail, and writing. I am thinking of you all, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2011. Take care in your travels, relish the moments of joy and peace at home. I look forward to blogging again in January . . . (time of writing – 23rd December 2010).

Cockroaches, crickets and dust

The past weeks have been highlighted by cockroaches, crickets and dust. With the end of the rainy season, the weather is again hot but now dry with a slight cooling early morning. There have been cockroaches and crickets everywhere – in the ceiling with their piercing nocturnal sound and from under the door from the corridor outside. I don’t like killing bugs but the onslaught was just too much. One night I caught six (and they’re really big!), a relatively small number if you consider how many there could be if you were living at ground level. Then the dust just seemed to settle on the outside balcony, inevitably making its way into the apartment through the window opening, cracks in the wall and under the door. So I have to clean the balcony ever so much more frequently. The mist they speak of here and that we’re beginning to see in the evenings is not a cold mist but rather one of dust. They tell me there is yet to come some cold weather, which I have yet to see and believe.

Two weeks ago, I hosted a dinner party for a select number of colleagues from the university. It was a huge amount of work for I had to start from scratch purchasing crockery and cutlery, buying in necessary foodstuffs and drinks. Nothing can be purchased in one place here so this meant going in all different directions, finding what I needed and somehow getting it back home. All small details were attended to and the table originally set for eight then seven looked quite lovely. All enjoyed themselves and were appreciative of the opportunity to get together in a relaxed setting. The one lady guest was not able to attend so I found myself entertaining six men – quite a strange feeling at first but “normal” when you realize how male dominated the workplace is here.

Classes have started and the first two weeks, there was no electricity in the rooms. One is still without and I don’t think there’s much chance of it being wired up. You see, the university rents classrooms from other institutions and there is enormous pressure on room usage. In the master’s seminar group there are 39 students, in the bachelor first year group 94 and another third year group I’ll have for the first time next week, 280 or so I’m told. The pressure of numbers is huge creating a nightmare at assessment time. The seating is basic – wooden desks and bench seats – and there is a blackboard. I have prepared all work in powerpoint to be able to interact better with the students but there sheer numbers determine how successful this will be.

Last Wednesday was the Muslim "Fête du mouton" or sheep celebration where households purchase a sheep, slaughter/sacrifice it and then prepare it for a family gathering. The sharing of this meat is an important part of the celebration and I was touched when the plumber had a small amount brought over from his home and also when a particular friend came by. It was nice to be able to return the gesture by giving some to my Turkish friends who have had me to dinner at their place several times. It is a festival all about remembering others, something like the spirit of Christmas I think.

There has been no Internet connection at the university for three weeks now and I’m totally handicapped – no email, no checking up on information. On Monday I received my snail mail as I eventually made it to the VSO office. A strange thing getting mail months after it was written, something that takes one back in time, but a feeling of connectedness all the same. Next week I’ll have to seek some other alternative if the Internet connection is still down. In this place, you’re left to your own resources to sort out whatever. You can’t rely on what someone ways and you’re left wondering where your place in all this is. At the time of writing, it is Friday 19th November and hopefully I can access the web soon to post this blog.

Traditional village and African living

I finally made it to a traditional village. In fact, the mayor of the commune invited me and had his driver show me around. It was market day and the village of Meri was alive with stallholders and those selling from their mats spread out on the ground. Plastic ware, local vegetables – tomatoes, yam, red onions, hot peppers, some spices, dried beans and food being prepared for immediate eating. There’s a white dried bean that’s ground into flour and then made into a small croquette and fried. Quite delicious. There’s also another type of fried beignet made from flour. Traditional food preparation uses a lot of oil, cotton-seed oil I believe for deep frying and palm oil (the red variety) for mixing in with and making other dishes. In fact, the amount of oil consumed and the deep frying pose health problems as they seem to feature at all meal times. But in a village like this where people eat, that is the main thing. I walked through fields of corn and millet, planted almost adjacent to where people live – the people and their crops in the same living space, so to speak. All was well ordered and clean and the community feel was palpable and alive.

I was also invited by a friend to his home for breakfast! Now, that was pretty special. To be invited “home” is a true sign of friendship and it just doesn’t happen. It took years in Mexico to be accepted within the family group; I don’t know how long it will take here. But the visit was lovely. We ate beignets made by “grand-ma”, an endearing older lady living close to the house. There was a “coolish” breeze and sitting outside under the veranda reminded me a little of Kyneton days. To get there it was a motorbike ride along badly maintained dirt roads to the foot of the mountain, past the blacksmiths’ area and the local abattoir. Possibly a four-wheel drive would make it through but a regular vehicle would definitely have to take the long way round through the town centre.

I don’t think I’ve told you about the wonderful lady who makes yoghurt and fruit “juices”, what in Mexico we called “agua”. It means liquefied fruit strained and mixed with water and sugar. The most delicious one is ginger juice – great for digestion and the intestinal flora. It also clears the throat when there is dust in the air. I buy ginger juice and yoghurt on a regular basis and now Asta is saving the very best of the yoghurt for me, thickened I believe with the curds from when the milk is boiled. Now Asta doesn’t speak French or the local lingua franca – Fulfulde. She speaks Mafa, the language of another ethnic group here. But with her few words of French and a woman’s understanding, we communicate and I make a special effort to go by her stand (an esky, table and bench on the side of the road) whenever the “special” yoghurt is ready.

October is rapidly coming to a close and one wonders where the time has flown! It is dark by 6 p.m. now and it seems so strange as the days are hot. The rains are almost finished and with them their cooling effect but they tell me there should be some coolness in November and December – we’ll see. Of course, if you live in a traditional African house and have the choice, doors and windows would face east to get the best of the breeze and no afternoon sun. Well, my apartment is at the front of the building and faces west – an architecture not really suited to the local climate conditions. But there you are. If there were awnings on the outside, it would be fine but there are not so I do my best by closing the curtains during the day.

Small blessings and infinite gratitude

The past month has gone by quietly yet productively. I’ve started preparing the courses I’m to take in the new semester starting October, and I’m pleased to be working on something palpable in terms of my experience. I’m now also attached to the Department of Bilingual Studies and the courses I’m taking are linguistics – language related. What’s so difficult is that there are no materials here, I mean, no books, and the Documentation Centre (beginnings of a library) has some references but nothing near adequate to answer all the needs of a diverse range of academic departments. So I have to rely on all that reading that is somewhere in my head while accessing memory prompts and articles on the Web. This in itself is an instructive and revealing exercise given the sheer quantity of material available.

With the university being new, there is no university life to speak of, and this hampers collegiality. For a newcomer like me, this has negative consequences for with no organized cultural activities or excursions, it is only with time that you can find a place. The courtyard space in the front of the building is where you meet whomever, greet the colleagues you know and smile at others. Bumping into someone in an ad hoc fashion is not very sure but if you don’t put too much thought into it and just let things flow (the only remedy available) sometimes miraculous things happen like seeing the person you’ve been trying to see for ages or meeting up with someone you didn’t expect to see but have been thinking of and wondering how to be in touch. It’s all very organic – there’s no option but to give over to the flow of time.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the cable supplier for my area. The quotes I had been given were far too much but this supplier said it would (only) cost me four reels of cable and two boosters – about AUD$100 worth. Satellite TV is also available but to get the good cultural, educational channels you have to pay extra and the equipment plus subscription just didn’t come within my budget. Anyway, cable it is for now and after two weeks of hiccoughs – poor, fuzzy reception – I seem to be getting a more regular reception quality. France 24 is very good – mainly news but the channel I love best is TV5, the international French channel, because it broadcasts the news from France 2 (I get to see my two favourite presenters who I have watched faithfully for years) and they also broadcast cultural programs and some good films. Unfortunately the reception quality cannot always be relied upon and I have to keep at the supplier to see if somehow it can be improved.

Yesterday was the end of Ramadan, a day of great celebration. Half of Maroua seemed to be at the main mosque, all dressed in their best attire for the occasion. Many have new clothes made and if you can afford it, hand embroidered. Now, these boubou that the men wear can be quite magnificent and when you see so many together, the impression is one of splendor heightened by the sartorial elegance of the local sultan and his advisors, the former afforded great reverence. The turban-type headdress reminds one of Lawrence of Arabia and together with horse riders and their dress (of the riders and horses), the atmosphere is one of pageantry not to be missed. Yesterday, no horses – too many people – but the splendor was there all the same. Dress here is a function of status and on such a special day of faith, all dress the best they can by way of reverence to god.

Mid-morning I went to visit my Turkish friends and neighbours on the first floor – mum, dad and two girls, a lovely family. They speak little French or English for that matter, but somehow we get by. If it is mealtime, they always have me stay and yesterday, a late breakfast was most welcome. The mum makes Turkish sweets and cakes and yesterday I was spoilt with delicious cake with cream Chantilly (brought from Turkey, unavailable in Maroua). Over the past couple of months we have been able to get to know each other a little with the help of a local young man who studies in Turkey and was back home for holidays. He was able to translate from French into Turkish and vice versa – a slow but invaluable way of getting to know you.

The water has been cut since Tuesday (today is Saturday 11th September at the time of writing) because of some breakdown in the pumping systems some two hundred kilometers away. I tested my stored water capacity and yes, it is sufficient to last three days. But the blessing is there has been a trickle from the tap and leaving the containers under the tap for a length of time, I have been able to refill them on a daily basis. Just ever so grateful for goodness knows when we’ll get good water pressure back sufficient to shower!!