The Bunkhouse

(Left) The building on the far left is the guest house we stayed in. It had 5 bedrooms, with most of them having bathrooms. There was a front porch, living room, dining room, and "kitchen". There was electricity and running water, no fridge or other luxuries. Our Thansgiving meal was two choices of beef, rice, plantains, fried potatoes, and fruit.
(Right) Those are the cattle and horses that roam about. You can also see the mosque and house from a distance.

Le Chateau

(Left)This is where we were SUPPOSED to stay. To our chagrin a Swiss Ambassador showed up and we got booted to the bunk house. We didn't even get to see the inside of the owner's house!!! Again, so unlike anything you "think" Africa would have.
(Right) Most of the 2,500 people who live on the estate are Muslim so they had their very own Mosque. We got to hear the call to prayer thoughout the day on the loud speaker. Did I mention the first one is around 5:00 am??????

The Owner's Place

Once we entered the gate, there were tea plants for as far as we could see. It was so beautiful, not how people ususally imagine Africa to look. It is the dry season now, so it was a bit hazy and the pictures don't do it justice. All of the bushes are different types of tea and they are in perfect rows along the contour of the hillside. Some were ate such a great angle I couldn't believe they could pick it.

Back to the Trip

These are the staries down to the first waterfall we went to. Several hours later we arrived to the turn off for the estate. The sign says 9KM, what it doesn't say is how bumpy, rough, pot-holey, and steep the road is. A few times the bus bottomed out and we all moaned in fear. We finally got to the top and entered the 1,800 hectre farm.

Banana Trees

I am sure you have all been wondering about how Chiquita bananas are grown. been up late at night pondering huh? Well, I am going to put your mind at ease about this conundrum. In the picture on your left you can see, to the right of the forefront leaf, the bananas. They grow from the top of the tree, down. They curve upwards and at the bottom of the branch is this huge, maroon, pod-like bloom. I couldn't figure how to rotate the center picture, but you can see the bananas hanging down. The whole branch gets cut off. The bananas here are so much sweeter and are more yellow in color on the inside. They also ripen naturally and get ripe too quickly. Unfortunately, our maid is NOT good at sweet things so I only make banana bread once in a while. You see motorcycles, taxis, and trucks full to the brim transporting them around town. You can get 4-5 bananas for 100 cfa, about 20cents.

Before/After

Ok, so I have to back up. We started out early Thursday morning, after Meredith finally got it together(just kidding Mer). In the van was our driver, Fabien, Marianne, Peter and I, Sandrine, Meredith, and Nanci. Claudette had her driver take Fred and Jennifer in her Land Rover. Less than half of the six hour ride we stopped to have a potty break. This is a typical road side "rest area", I believe it is actually a town. We had to pay 100cfa for toilet paper and to use the "bathroom". It was a mosaic tile toilet made out of cement, no seat, which is typical here. It was just like the time I went with Heather to Tiajuana! This part of our group at the waterfall-- from the left: Claudette, Fred, Peter and I, Sandrine, and Nanci.

Thanksgiving Trip

Hi all! We made it back from the Northwest unscathed. There are so many pictures and stories to tell you may be tired of reading about it before I am done. These pictures are of us at a waterfall that we stopped at on our way up to Bamenda. It is called Chute de la Metche. I am not going to be able to do this in order, which you know kills me, so I guess I just have to go with the flow- our theme for the weekend.

Leader of the Pack

This was the lead dancer. His costume was a different color. He had a mask on the top of his head, of a giant face. When he looked down, it was as though the mask was looking at you. At one point he jumped on Llafor's lap and made the crowd laugh. He also went in front of all the dignitaries and danced especially for them as the others stayed in the background.

Best in Show

This group was the best of the day. They all had burlap material covering their faces, with elaborate headresses. The things on their ankles were a type of dried out seed. They made a loud sound as they stamped their feet- like dried beans in a tin pie plate. It was very good because they were all synchronised and you couldn't see their faces. The combination of their movements and the sound was fantastic.

Various Villagers

These are just other sets of dancers. They have a mixture of traditional and western dress on.
The other set of men are blowing whistles to determine the pace of the music.

Ladies of the Village

This group of ladies all have on identical, hand-stitched outfits. Beautiful, no? Yes, that is a feather duster, not hand-made.

More Festival Shots

This was part of the fashion show. (Left photo) The men sitting to the right were ministers of the government. At one point the head guy came over to ask me if I ws having a good time. Our Cameroonian friends told us that it was an honor for that to happen.

Oopps, the photo on the left is kind of dark. From the left: the two guys kneeling down are guards at ASOY, they have rudty old machettes. The man in the suit is Nelson-he works in the Canteen. Next is Alfred, a custodian. The man without a shirt is Alfred's Uncle- he is some sort of policeman high up, he is also some sort of chief. The things here are carrying are calabashes filled with palm wine. To the right of me is Stephen, the preschool aide.
The photo on the right is of men using wooden whistles to pay tribute to a higher, but you can't see him in the picture. Yes, those are leaves sticking out of his hat.

Our Place

Fred's Place

Left Photo (from the left): Claudette, Marianne, Nanci, Carolle. Fred is slicing up the lemons for the drinks. Right Photo (from the left): Jennifer, Katie, Francois.

First Happy Hour

We had our first party this weekend. Each floor of the apartment building had different things. Fred had Gin and Tonics, Marianne had wine, Meredith had beer/soda/H2O, and we had the food. Fred and Meredith made signs so people knew they had to keep going up, up, up. Almost the entire staff came and it was a great time. Yes, that's a lot of beer! Look at how small our fridges are. Fred got all of us flower arrangements to help decorate.

Dancing Fools

We went out with Meredith and Jennifer Saturday night, after the lantern party. We went to the "Safari Club". Yes it’s as bad as it sounds. Actually it’s the closest thing to America you can get here, in a weird way. For example, they have pool tables. But, here in Yaounde, you get a pool guy hovering over you and giving you tips the whole time, in French of course. It was too techno this time for me. However, I was glad Heather introduced me to the Gypsie Kings because they kept playing them and I could get down with all the Italians who loved it too.

Little Light 'o Mine

First, the story of Saint Martin was read to us in German, English, French, and Italian. Then we all lit our lanterns and paraded down the street. There was singing, but it was in German so I was not sure what was sung. It was so neat to see all these different kids running around, playing with balloons, and getting along.

Saturday Night Lights

On Saturday, November 11 (Uncle Mike’s Birthday) we went to my student, Windie’s house. Her mom is German and her Dad is Cameroonian. It was such a nice time. Dr. Hoffs works for the cocoa plantations and had invited her coworkers as well as a bunch of families from school.

Inside Shots

When we arrived we found one of the custodians, Alfred, already there. He works at the school and also framed the paintings in our house for us. The other shot is of Meredith and I sweating it out in the pavillion.

Traditional Foods

There was also a presentation of traditional foods. The one on the left is a root- like a potato. The one on the right is a fruit, very bitter to the taste. All the head ladies of the village used to mike to explain the foods, then paraded them over to us. No, I did not try anything- see all the plates discreetly covered with napkins? NO time left today, more to come....

Fashion Show

In amongst the crowd there are some people dressed in traditional styles for their area of the country. There were many speeches and salutations-- people here are very effusive. Then fashion show began--about 1 1/2 hours after it was supposed to.

Wicuda Celebration

On Sunday we went to a local celebration with several of the support staff members. So much to write, I'll give it my best shot. We sat up in the front as honored guests as over 3,000 people crammed in all around us. These shots are of a "court jester" who helped with crowd control.

On top of Ol' Smokey...

This is Meredith and I up at the top of Mount Febe. It is usually a lot clearer and you can see the whole city.