the first semi-scholarly thing i read about cameroon was called "the innocent anthropologist" by nigel barley. in his book, barley talks mostly about tooth aches, vivid descriptions of a dowayo village he spent two years in, loud nigerian music, and a surprisingly pleasant protestant mission in n'gauondéré cameroon.
after about ten weeks in cameroon, i am finally in a place that barley talked about. i ask everyone in the mission if they have heard of Barley, but so far there has been no luck. N'gaoundéré does indeed have an unfortunate ammount of loud nigerian music but it is also tree lined, clean, full of bikes, and the location of at least two awesome coffee shops. Not coffee shops with nescafe on the menu, but coffee shops with delicious hot strong coffee served in a vessel that everyone would agree is a mug.
this city is unlike any city ive ever been in. There are walls everywhere seperating people on the street from the compounds that everyone lives in. My home for example is a house only in the loosest of senses and is indeed behind a series of walls. To get there, you take a right at the tiled microfinance bank (every bank and every hotel ive seen in this country is covered with big porcelin tiles...strange?) and proceed EAST towards "la mosque centrale". (By the way, everywhere a white person goes outside of Yaounde will feature several sets of eyes connected to amazed, bored, interested, or what can only be described as "doubtful" faces waiting for a new thing to gaze upon...given their relative rarity, the white will find herself the target of many many of these eyes. In Yaounde, this can happen from time to time but the passive action of staring is generally brief and often quickly followed by the active vocalization of "haha blanch" (which is likely to lead to the white feeling confused, sweaty, and/or the wearer of dirty shoes) or "hey blanch", which results in the white remembering that, yes, she is white. Yaounde, in general, makes the white feel mostly anonymous, but when he is publicly pointed out...he will likely feel a bit silly. In other cities the passive stare is long and inexplicably significant. One feels as though someone should say something...but what? If the white opens his mouth to greet the appropriate silent onlooker, the white may recall that, usually, the white fails to see all of the eyes pointed at her. BOOM. This is when the surprise "bon soir blanch" makes its appearance from some other direction. The white spins about trying to find the source of the greeting, sees many eyes, says a sort of general "bon soir" to all onlookers and moves on. Its a bit awkward when this happens...its more like red than white at this point. I should be sure to say that in time, for this white anyway, the general feel of being watched becomes natural, even if its not obviously friendly. I will discuss this issue again later, but I would like to return to the description of my house again.) You know its to the east because this city is predominately influenced by Islam. I have already found myself on several occasions talking rather loudly with a comrade about such things as allergies, books, or perhaps my fear of mice at night when we both realize that we are in the midst of hundreds of people pointed east silently praying. as the cameroonian would say: AYE! Cameroon, I should say, is a very loud place. You get so used to it so quickly that walking into a completely silent environment can happen without you even noticing it. It seems strange, but even after only ten weeks something like that can become a "thing that doesnt happen" and therefore, I think, "a thing ive stopped noticing". Nonetheless, you can only go so far into a group of hundreds of silent people all facing the same direction without taking notice. (By the way, in both instances I stopped talking, and for a second stopped walking. then, when it was obvious that it was just prayer time, I continued walking quietly until I passed)
anyway, you head east up the road.
Then, between two buildings you will see what I would have guessed was just the tiny space that exists between any set of building set close to one another. no. it is another road (utilized by motos, walkers, horses, and I would assume, any tiny cars that may exist here) leading to another neighborhood. The entire length of the road is as narrow as the beginning, with multiple narrow offshoots headed of to god (allah for the laymens) knows where. This mystery exists, again, because there are walls everywhere...but in here there are at least doors, where looking in you can behold...walled hallways.
After a time, there is a door on the left. I remember it because unlike the other doors, in fact most doors, it doesnt have a wall around it. its just a door frame with a door entering in to a yard of sorts, filled with mud bricks (perhaps they will soon be the wall). I walk through the door to another door, and walk into a beatiful but simple courtyard. My house is perfect. three fourths is totally open to the sky. There is a kitchen area with a fire pit oven, a washing/bathroom room, and two bedrooms.
I am allowed to smoke there. and so i do.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
earth hour
...is funny, because the partially public (and 49% US ownded) private company "Sonel" will probably turn our power off for some unrelated reason anyway..but when you all deliberately turn your power off in the US, please know that I will be dreaming of you happily.
I imagine that when you turn the power off in the US for earth hour, the temperature will be cool..maybe 50 or something (40? i am out of touch)...and you will of course be in the kitchen of kristen and me/paul surrounded by many candles. some sort of liquid spirit will, i would assume, be consumed to combat the cold feelings (brandy and cider is the smart choice). there will have been cooking, and the cold dishes will rest dirty but organized next to the sink. in time, someone will bring out a guitar, banjo, or ukelele. Though a minority in the crowd may find difficulty in joining the musical merriment, time and alcohol will eventually convince all to sing along.
there will of course be a satellite group in the living room. they will have brought something that uses batteries. The hard light of a laptop will fight the soft light of the candle...but only for a time
only monsters prefer such lighting.
When earth hour is over, the soft lamps will return to the on position in the kitchen. there, they will be joined by soft laptop music and, i would hope, a pie. the candles will be moved to the still dark living room along with the musicians. and the night will go on.
safe to say that i miss home. does the above sound unrealistic? why wouldn't you do that i'd like to know....(?)
but, somehow, im already at the halfway point...and all is well. I am here, far too far away from home, to study microfinance and write the biggest and maybe most important paper thus far. appropriately, that is exactly (and finally) what im doing now.
things are normal to me now. this is exactly what i eat in a given week:
-damned french bread
-rice
-fish
-bobola (delicious though plain processed plant stuff)
-lots of bananas
-lots of pineapple
-the occasional piece of chicken
-fried plantains
-lucky day = l'okok...another oily delicious plant
-peanuts
-coffee and cigarettes
my new brand of cigarettes is called "LB". they are menthol. they are delicious and they cost a bit over a dollar a pack.
I imagine that when you turn the power off in the US for earth hour, the temperature will be cool..maybe 50 or something (40? i am out of touch)...and you will of course be in the kitchen of kristen and me/paul surrounded by many candles. some sort of liquid spirit will, i would assume, be consumed to combat the cold feelings (brandy and cider is the smart choice). there will have been cooking, and the cold dishes will rest dirty but organized next to the sink. in time, someone will bring out a guitar, banjo, or ukelele. Though a minority in the crowd may find difficulty in joining the musical merriment, time and alcohol will eventually convince all to sing along.
there will of course be a satellite group in the living room. they will have brought something that uses batteries. The hard light of a laptop will fight the soft light of the candle...but only for a time
only monsters prefer such lighting.
When earth hour is over, the soft lamps will return to the on position in the kitchen. there, they will be joined by soft laptop music and, i would hope, a pie. the candles will be moved to the still dark living room along with the musicians. and the night will go on.
safe to say that i miss home. does the above sound unrealistic? why wouldn't you do that i'd like to know....(?)
but, somehow, im already at the halfway point...and all is well. I am here, far too far away from home, to study microfinance and write the biggest and maybe most important paper thus far. appropriately, that is exactly (and finally) what im doing now.
things are normal to me now. this is exactly what i eat in a given week:
-damned french bread
-rice
-fish
-bobola (delicious though plain processed plant stuff)
-lots of bananas
-lots of pineapple
-the occasional piece of chicken
-fried plantains
-lucky day = l'okok...another oily delicious plant
-peanuts
-coffee and cigarettes
my new brand of cigarettes is called "LB". they are menthol. they are delicious and they cost a bit over a dollar a pack.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
"pushed out of the puff puff market"...
...these are the words used by the US embassy press attache to describe the current "cold war" between china and the US in central/west africa to my class yesterday.
as i have said before, along every major road (and most small roads) one finds clandestine and informal vendors selling everything from pay-as-you-go phone credit to shoes to the emerging market of puff-puffs (or beignets for the laymans). stable jobs are very hard to come by in Cameroon, so while selling puff-puffs (generally about 15 cents a piece) is not enough to live by, it is at least something. the only thing.
the rumor goes that chinese expats are starting to take the "jobs" of these delicious sweet bread vendors by offering their own puff puff carts, powered by their own puff puff vendors. Cameroonians are being pushed out of the puff puff market!
PUFF PUFF
now, according to our gentlemanly press attache (he is just enough southern to be charming but not so much to be scary, witty enough to be smart but old timey enough to be relatable), there is a reason for this unseemly breach of bread workers decorum. as we all have heard, africa is not a very rich place. thusly, it is often the target of western development projects . the famous ones here are the chad-cameroon oil pipeline and international loans and their partnering IMF restructuring plans. in general, to receive money or building projects, some sort of promise must be made by the cameroonian government. maybe they have to be more transparent, maybe they have to make a plan to empower some group, or maybe they have to privatize something. in general, these changes are called structural readjustment plans. some say they are ineffective and neocolonial while others say they are the only ways that things like environmental protection and human rights can be protected. no matter your take on the issue (i think it is at best a potentially well intentioned effort to meddle) thats how the US rolls...anyway, the point is that aid never comes from europe and the us without strings attached.
china, on the other hand, does not require anything for their loans. in fact, they have a history of giving loans and grants to corrupt african politicians in order to get access to africa's rich resources.
"they work with corrupt leaders in order to help their own economy"...
our press attache said this with a straight face. they are, according to the embassy, only concerned about their own financial benefit...so they don't make the cameroonian government (currently something like the 175th poorest nation) do anything (or in his words, "the right thing") in order to receive....a LOAN.
the attache goes on to say that with their building plans, the chinese will ship in laborers to do the work for the building projects rather than use local laborers. then, when the building is done the chinese laborers stay in cameroon.
and steal jobs.
and sell puff puffs...
this is how we are to understand the alleged cold war between the US and China, and to be honest, with his buttery smooth presentation, it actually made sense at the time.
as i have said before, along every major road (and most small roads) one finds clandestine and informal vendors selling everything from pay-as-you-go phone credit to shoes to the emerging market of puff-puffs (or beignets for the laymans). stable jobs are very hard to come by in Cameroon, so while selling puff-puffs (generally about 15 cents a piece) is not enough to live by, it is at least something. the only thing.
the rumor goes that chinese expats are starting to take the "jobs" of these delicious sweet bread vendors by offering their own puff puff carts, powered by their own puff puff vendors. Cameroonians are being pushed out of the puff puff market!
PUFF PUFF
now, according to our gentlemanly press attache (he is just enough southern to be charming but not so much to be scary, witty enough to be smart but old timey enough to be relatable), there is a reason for this unseemly breach of bread workers decorum. as we all have heard, africa is not a very rich place. thusly, it is often the target of western development projects . the famous ones here are the chad-cameroon oil pipeline and international loans and their partnering IMF restructuring plans. in general, to receive money or building projects, some sort of promise must be made by the cameroonian government. maybe they have to be more transparent, maybe they have to make a plan to empower some group, or maybe they have to privatize something. in general, these changes are called structural readjustment plans. some say they are ineffective and neocolonial while others say they are the only ways that things like environmental protection and human rights can be protected. no matter your take on the issue (i think it is at best a potentially well intentioned effort to meddle) thats how the US rolls...anyway, the point is that aid never comes from europe and the us without strings attached.
china, on the other hand, does not require anything for their loans. in fact, they have a history of giving loans and grants to corrupt african politicians in order to get access to africa's rich resources.
"they work with corrupt leaders in order to help their own economy"...
our press attache said this with a straight face. they are, according to the embassy, only concerned about their own financial benefit...so they don't make the cameroonian government (currently something like the 175th poorest nation) do anything (or in his words, "the right thing") in order to receive....a LOAN.
the attache goes on to say that with their building plans, the chinese will ship in laborers to do the work for the building projects rather than use local laborers. then, when the building is done the chinese laborers stay in cameroon.
and steal jobs.
and sell puff puffs...
this is how we are to understand the alleged cold war between the US and China, and to be honest, with his buttery smooth presentation, it actually made sense at the time.
Monday, March 1, 2010
ah ha ha ha ha ha ha
I am back in Yaounde typing on an anglophone keyboard and am immeasurably happy about it.
however, before getting back to yaounde i was able to visit the city of Bamenda: the largest city in the northwest region and the center of political opposition. things in bamenda are recognizably cameroonian...but there are little differences that tug at the brain more and more the longer one stays. for example, there are just as many bread vendors in bamenda...but the bread is shaped like a square in the british and american fashion rather than the round french style loaf. also, the clothing reflects a slight american influence with more blue jeans and t-shirts; less slacks and button-ups. also, most people speak english which is an alltogether different language than the french.
in bamenda, we met with the leader of SOME PARTY. the PARTY CERTAINLY HAS A NAME and was started by A PERSON. his/her party platform IS generally SAID TO BE KNOWN FOR calls for free and fair elections, an expansion of the public sector and increased autonomy for each region. I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY HE IS controversial (because the current cameroonian government has a rather complicated relationship with political rights) as well as out of touch with the needs of cameroonians rather enormous youth population(he is calling for term limits when he has held the same post for about twenty years).
ack. gotta go. my french is now good enough to debate in politics. BOOYA.
however, before getting back to yaounde i was able to visit the city of Bamenda: the largest city in the northwest region and the center of political opposition. things in bamenda are recognizably cameroonian...but there are little differences that tug at the brain more and more the longer one stays. for example, there are just as many bread vendors in bamenda...but the bread is shaped like a square in the british and american fashion rather than the round french style loaf. also, the clothing reflects a slight american influence with more blue jeans and t-shirts; less slacks and button-ups. also, most people speak english which is an alltogether different language than the french.
in bamenda, we met with the leader of SOME PARTY. the PARTY CERTAINLY HAS A NAME and was started by A PERSON. his/her party platform IS generally SAID TO BE KNOWN FOR calls for free and fair elections, an expansion of the public sector and increased autonomy for each region. I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY HE IS controversial (because the current cameroonian government has a rather complicated relationship with political rights) as well as out of touch with the needs of cameroonians rather enormous youth population(he is calling for term limits when he has held the same post for about twenty years).
ack. gotta go. my french is now good enough to debate in politics. BOOYA.
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