FIRST there are kids outside
the internet cafe singing Rude Boy by Rhianna. Except I doubt they
speak English so they dont really know the words and are most just making the sounds. hahahaaaaaaaaaaa i love it!!
I decided to add mom and dad to this email so they can see whats going on and so I dont have to repeat myself; sorry if parts of it are confusing!!
The food is good; pretty oily, but weve found some good places to eat and I cook for myself a lot. The big thing here is grilled fish. There are literally women on every corner grilling fish over coals; you pick
out the piece you want, she brushes it with some oil and serves it with pimont (spicy pepper condiment) and baton du manioc if you want.The baton is really crazy, its manioc rolled inside a banana leaf and
steamed. I equate it to eating bread or rice with your dinner because it doesnt really taste like anything but its good to dip in the pimont or to eat if you need to cool your mouth down from the spice! There is a market near my house and you can buy fresh produce, we go there everyday to get veges for the day. For instance, this morning I bought tomatoes, an avocado, and some mandarins before I bought a breakfast sandwiche. Which was delicious, even more so after I added sliced tomato and avocado. The big thing here is also bean sandwiches - straight up red beans cooked with spices and oil and slathered on the inside of baguette bread. I dont eat it every day, but this morning I went for a long run so I was faaaaaaaaaaaamished!!
Its so cool here in Ebolowa, I know it will be different when we leave for the other training center in Bafia; that is in the Savannah, whereas now we are in the jungle. This morning I had a running buddy, he actually ran the whole run with me. We ran up to the top of this mountain where there are really nice views of the city and also some of the surrounding mountains. Ive been running up it the past week - since I discovered how the route to the top. Except Ive been running without glasses and contacts so i cant see too well; but I carry my glasses with me but I think Im getting used to it.
Its pretty interesting because there arent many Amercians in Cameroon, so people are really excited to find out that we arent European. Apparently, the French are pretty rude to the Cameroonians, and they dont like each other too much. The beaches probably have a different dynamic, because that is where the majority of tourists visit here, but there is also a huge game reserve in the North where you can go on Safaris and see the Big Five African animals. Im not sure exactly what those animals are... my guess is Lions, giraffes, um.... hippos perhaps... ?
Keep writing me emails! Im sorry I can only get here once a week - things are so busy around here! We are leaving Ebolowa for Yaounde on friday and then heading to Bafia on next Monday - week from now. Things are happening differently for us than for other trainees because the program I am in is a pilot language program soooo we spent the past four weeks only learning language and then next Friday, the rest of our cohort is arriving from the US and then we will all go together to the training center in Bafia to begin ACTUAL pre-service training. Sometimes it feels a little overwhelming because its not even REALLY begun for us! So a week from tomorrow, i will meet my homestay family and all the trainees will start our technical
training.
OH and we think the goats were killed or sold. There was a soul one hanging around our house the past week, but I think he got bit by a dog because hes really been limping around and no one has seen him the
past few days. Sad.
speak English so they dont really know the words and are most just making the sounds. hahahaaaaaaaaaaa i love it!!
I decided to add mom and dad to this email so they can see whats going on and so I dont have to repeat myself; sorry if parts of it are confusing!!
The food is good; pretty oily, but weve found some good places to eat and I cook for myself a lot. The big thing here is grilled fish. There are literally women on every corner grilling fish over coals; you pick
out the piece you want, she brushes it with some oil and serves it with pimont (spicy pepper condiment) and baton du manioc if you want.The baton is really crazy, its manioc rolled inside a banana leaf and
steamed. I equate it to eating bread or rice with your dinner because it doesnt really taste like anything but its good to dip in the pimont or to eat if you need to cool your mouth down from the spice! There is a market near my house and you can buy fresh produce, we go there everyday to get veges for the day. For instance, this morning I bought tomatoes, an avocado, and some mandarins before I bought a breakfast sandwiche. Which was delicious, even more so after I added sliced tomato and avocado. The big thing here is also bean sandwiches - straight up red beans cooked with spices and oil and slathered on the inside of baguette bread. I dont eat it every day, but this morning I went for a long run so I was faaaaaaaaaaaamished!!
Its so cool here in Ebolowa, I know it will be different when we leave for the other training center in Bafia; that is in the Savannah, whereas now we are in the jungle. This morning I had a running buddy, he actually ran the whole run with me. We ran up to the top of this mountain where there are really nice views of the city and also some of the surrounding mountains. Ive been running up it the past week - since I discovered how the route to the top. Except Ive been running without glasses and contacts so i cant see too well; but I carry my glasses with me but I think Im getting used to it.
Its pretty interesting because there arent many Amercians in Cameroon, so people are really excited to find out that we arent European. Apparently, the French are pretty rude to the Cameroonians, and they dont like each other too much. The beaches probably have a different dynamic, because that is where the majority of tourists visit here, but there is also a huge game reserve in the North where you can go on Safaris and see the Big Five African animals. Im not sure exactly what those animals are... my guess is Lions, giraffes, um.... hippos perhaps... ?
Keep writing me emails! Im sorry I can only get here once a week - things are so busy around here! We are leaving Ebolowa for Yaounde on friday and then heading to Bafia on next Monday - week from now. Things are happening differently for us than for other trainees because the program I am in is a pilot language program soooo we spent the past four weeks only learning language and then next Friday, the rest of our cohort is arriving from the US and then we will all go together to the training center in Bafia to begin ACTUAL pre-service training. Sometimes it feels a little overwhelming because its not even REALLY begun for us! So a week from tomorrow, i will meet my homestay family and all the trainees will start our technical
training.
OH and we think the goats were killed or sold. There was a soul one hanging around our house the past week, but I think he got bit by a dog because hes really been limping around and no one has seen him the
past few days. Sad.
