Patio View

This is the view from our patio. Straight across from us is just a farmed area. The people have corn and banana trees. They do it all by hand with a short handled hoe. They burn the left over weeds and dead plants from the previous crop, then use the hoe to make mounds in rows. The soil has to be in mounds or it will get washed away with the heavy rains. Also, most of the land is on hills. This section has a pretty steep incline.
To the left are some houses, to the right is a Rotary Club. Off in the distance, that tall building in the horizon with a squarish roof that stick out is the Presidential Palace, where Mr. Biya lives, when he is actually in the country.

Prom 2007

Last night Peter and I went to help chaperon the prom at the US Embassy. The theme for the night was "casino royale". The students and teachers did a great job decorating the embassy hall in red, black, and gold, with lost of gaming paraphernalia on the tables and about the room. We didn't bring the camera as we weren't sure how security was going to be. The big differences between a prom here and one in the states is that there are no limos (but kid's parents all have high-profile SUVs and drivers so it's OK), and the boys don't wear tuxedos (every event here is formal so all males here have at least one suit anyways). It was fun to see all the kids dressed up and having a good time.
The photos are are in our new place. I got my dress made here and I picked out the material based on the necklace my mom sent me for my birthday this year(which I am wearing). Pete's suit we got through the seamstress, she went to the market place for us to get the correct price. Fancy aren't we?

Lullaby

The song was "Lullaby", by Sean Mullins. I got the CD, courtesy of Heather--it is a KBCO, Studio C recording. It was the perfect mix because Pete was able to play his guitar and I could be included, without having to actually sing. Of course Sandrine wowed the crowd as she sang the chorus. Kristie did a great job acting it out. It was nerve-wracking, but worth it in the end. I think it was important for the kids to see we were brave enough to go up there too.
In all, there were about 20 acts. The finale was great, with 4 high school boys doing a great drum act. It was a wonderful night

Schmitts NO Pygmies

Pete and I did a song along with our friends Kristie and Bill Swaney, and Sandrine. Pete and Bill jammed for a bit as "bums". Then the three of us girls entered as though we were hanging out in front of a bar, waiting for Kristie's "man" to show. I told the story of it to the beat of the music and the Sandrine sang parts(she is phenomenal!!!!). It was more like a skit.

Surprise Performance

During the show there was a mystery act with no names on the program. It turned out to be our director and assistant director--Nanci and Valerie. They had these huge get-ups and performed to "Hit the Road Jack". It was hilarious and the audience loved the suspense of trying to guess who it was. Underneath the T-shirts they had sticks to make the mouths move to the music. Excellent!

M C Harry

On Thursday we had a 'Thursday Night Live" show at school. Mr. Harry DeRoo was the host. He did a good job getting the crowd going. I think they were all excited to see him all dressed up, even a tie!

Office/Music Room

This one of the three bedrooms. Pete's drums and keyboard are in there. He got one made here, called a djembe, and the other we got up in Bamenda.

Dining Area

Pete is Skyping in our dining area. It is to the left of our door and a part of the living room.

Angle Shots

Same thing, just different angles. You can see our view on the patio. We are behind a Rotary Club and then it is some one's area to plant. There is corn and some banana trees.

Yes, that is a TV. We got it because a teacher left early to have her baby in the States. The apartment owner provides the Internet and free cable TV. It is mostly French stations, but we can now watch CNN and E!Entertainment. YES!

Apartment Take II

We are now in the new place, as you know, and this is from the front door. To the left is the dining room room table and to the right are the kitchen and bedrooms. Pete is practicing the song we are going to do at the "Thursday Night Live" variety show at school this week.

King of the World

Pete's backside is covered in charcoal. He gave Eli a piggy-back ride up the mountain and in the process had to skirt across some burnt out trees, going up-hill, with a kindergartner on his back.

Butterflies

This little guy tried to hitch-hike back down the mountain on Pete's shirt. The outside of the butterfly was the same color as Pete's shirt. It was pretty neat since the area we were in was all burnt up--slash and burn farming. We actually stopped at a level area that was burnt up so the locals could plant corn and sweet yams to eat. I had observed that it must be a hard life to hike up a mountain to go get your food everyday. Think of that the next time you complain that the fridge seems too far to get a cold glass of water.

Tree Top

This was our version of the peak. We stopped here because we had a great view. We also stopped because the guide kept saying, "another 5 minutes" and eventually said it would be another 45 minutes to the true top. I am posing with Kristie and Bill's son, Graham, on a burnt out tree stop. So picturesque huh?

Palm Stop

We stopped to catch our breath and to admire the view. It was really clear because it is the rainy season. You can see how high we are up.

To the top

Along the path, we saw peppers growing naturally, in the wild. Pete ate a few and burned his mouth up! We also got to see numerous types of butterflies. Unfortunately, we could also hear a chainsaw cutting down trees almost the whole time. You can Yaounde beyond Harry, Meredith, and Marianne.

Day Off

We got the day off of school due to the Kenya airways plane crash. Today was declared a National Day of Mourning. Luckily, no parents from our school were on the plane, but it crashed about an hour or so away in a swampy/rain forest area, with no survivors.

We decided to go hiking with our friends the Swaneys and some other Embassy families came along. We took a round about way through the city and ended up in an area none of us even knew was there. We hiked up one of the seven mountains here. At one point we had to stop and give the "chief" of the area a bottle of whiskey. None of us got to see the transaction, as Bill went down and took care of it.
It was long and hot, but all the little kids were troopers and we had a nice time! That's Kristie Swaney in the pink hat.

New Digs

Pete and I moved to a new apartment, along with the others in our building, about a week ago. It is more thrilling than this photo, but I was trying to see if this Internet connection is better than the one at school. And, yes, indeed it is. I don't have to go to all the effort of compressing and shrinking. So, anyways, I can update more frequently now. This shot is off of our living room. It is a traditional basket, filled with instruments, that I got in Bamenda at Thanksgiving. The wood carving we got in Kribi and it is the shape of Cameroon.