More Party Shots

I got some photos from Katie's camera. She must have a better model because her photos were not blurry. Andrea and Katie left the boarding house hot to trot. As I mentioned there are a lot of formalities here when celebrating and one of them is bringing bottles of red wine to each table. Jennifer and I checked out the vintage and gave it our approval.

Hot to Trot

The camera was acting funny partly because of the lighting and partly because we all kept moving. Pete and I are in Meredith's apartment, with the orange curtains, before we left for the night. I am with Katie in another shot. Lastly, Katie with Jennifer.

The Night Goes On and On and On

This is a shot of the extra police they hired. Can you see their machine guns? It's not a very good shot as I had to take it on the sly. Meredith, Me and Kristie. That's the veranda behind us where the priest said mass.
Pete, Me, Tom, Jennifer, Meredith
The Mass was very long as the choir sang a song every five minutes, it seemed. It was very interesting hearing songs from church, sung in French, with an African flair. They tried their best to say things in English from time to time. After the service was over we all were asked to get a welcome drink by the MC. We made our way to the tables and eventually got up to the buffet. It was much more elaborate and formal than our wedding. We sat with good peeps and had fun listening to the orchestra. Some people left because it was taking too long for the music to start. They missed the real fun because it was a blas to dance with the choir to Cameroonian music and then move on to American music. I love dancing here because anything goes and you can dance with other people, by yourself, or a group and it doesn't mean anything. Pete and I tore it up!

The Party

From the left: Me, Helen, Jennifer, Meredith, Nanci. You can see the chairs and dinner tables all set up. The Mass was on their back steps leading up to a veranda, the meal all around the pool, and the dancing was in the bookaroo behind us.

Tom and Peter

Lydia and Meredith

We all arrived at the Akounou home right on time. Unfortunately, that means you get to stand around for at least an house before anything starts. Oh well, it was good for people watching as we got to see the choir warm up. Yes, they had a choir for the mass, an orchestra for the dinner, and a DJ for dancing afterwards. It was the event of the year!

New Outfit

I got a new outfit for an anniversary party we attended. It was the 10th anniversary for Mercedes (Kindergarten teacher) and Serge. They "kindly requested" the guests to wear white. I got a dress and Pete got a new linen shirt. Catherine, the seamstress, was very busy as about half the staff got a new outfit made. I went with Ann to get the material down in the Mokolo market. I like the dress, it is just a bit too big, but that's easily fixed. I am in front of a giraffe batik we got in Kenya. The last one I am on the staircase in our apartment building.

Young Dancers

While visiting the orphanage the kids showed us some ballet moves. I know the pictures are blurry, but I think they are kind of neat.

Green Eyes of Africa

My class, along with the fourth graders, went to a second orphanage to make comparisons. This location has 9 children and they really focus on quality over quantity. Their motto is "Every child deserves a childhood". It is run by a young

guy, Ryan, and it is a completely different way to handle the need for childcare for orphans here. Our classes painted noodles and brought beads and we all made necklaces. Then we ate a snack, got a tour, and the kids taught our classes some dance moves. We are still going to be helping the original orphanage in an organized way.

Displays

You can find pretty much anything here. If it is not found in a "store" it could be found by way of the examples I have here. Last week my friend Ann and I went to MOKOLO, a huge market of stalls all set up in little rabbit warren paths and alleys. It can be quite confusing, but we had a nice Cameroonian girl, Alphine, with us to guide the way. We bought material for a 10 year anniversary party we are invited to. The couple requested everyone wear white so we bought material and Catherine is going to whip up outfits for us by the 12th of January. Out in the street I got a pair of shoes for 2,000 cfa (about $5), Ann had no luck as the ones she picked out they wanted 25,000 cfa for (over $50). We laughed heartily and moved on. Luckily Alphine was with us because I had no idea where our car and driver (Emmanuel) were.

Street Shots

This is how most of the city looks. Where we live it is more residential. Items are for sale everywhere. People park anywhere they can fit their car.

Mahima Intersection

These are shots that Fred took. They are from the park across from Mahima. It is one of the few truly pretty places here in the city. Unfortunately, they have fenced it all in. Luckily is a wrought iron fence so you can still see it. On the weekends there are many wedding parties getting their pictures there and it is just beautiful seeing everyone wearing the same material (men and women) but in different styles. The round white and green buildings a newly opened restaurant, we haven;t been yet. I would say this is the busiest intersection in the city. There is a traffic light, but it doesn't do much good, so there are usually one or two traffic cops there too. They are dresses in lovely blue uniforms with white boots and gloves and most importantly, a whistle. I can't imagine standing in the heat all day. This is also where the most beggars are. They all have some physical deformity and put there heads right into the car as they call Pete "Patron" and me "Madam" or "Mama". It is heartbreaking and repulsive all wrapped in one big guilt trip.

Grocery Shopping

Here, you can find many things our on the streets. It may be under an umbrella, at a stand, or be carried on some one's head. However, when it is time to shop for food items that are not fresh (translation: everything that gets shipped here from France or the Middle East) there are limited choices. Pavilion Verte (green garden) is the local grocer a 10 minute walk from where we live. it can be pricey and the tiems are limited, but is is the only shop that stays open past 1 on Sundays and the closest. Score has many European items, but it is very expensive. I only go there when I really need sour cream (1,800 cfa= over $3 US for the small size). There are a few others on the other side of town, but I have never ventured that far as saving a few cfa is not worth the gas. Lastly, there is Mahima. It is India based and run by a large and extensive Indian family. In the parking lot there are attendants to tell you where to park and watch your car. There are also many children and handicapped people begging for money. In the parking lot you can also get gifts wrapped, buy shoes, sunglasses, or peanuts. The peanuts are sold in used liquor bottles and go for about 1,000 cfa (a little over $2 as the value of the US dollar continues to go farther and farther down), which the women sit and fill all day by shelling them by hand. Customers only go in the first floor, but signs indicate that there are tailors, barbers, and cobblers up above. I have never gotten anything wrapped as I would have no idea how much it should cost. We have bought the peanuts though, tasty.

Back to Yaounde

There is a limited selection of beer here. Castel, Guiness, Mutzig, Beaufort, and 33 are it. Whenever a traveler is 33 kilometers from a city there is a sign either welcoming you or saying good bye. The buses are always overfilled with people inside and cargo above. This one had chickens in the basket and 10 mattresses on it.

Serena

The hotel we stayed in was the best one we have stayed in so far in Kribi. It still had the ever present mold smell, but we are living on the equator so I have some to terms with it. The bathroom was the size of a closet and since there was no shower curtain we had to make sure we didn't soak the toilet paper each time we got cleaned up. We had several spider/ant encounters. To date the biggest spider we saw was in this room on our fist night. I am not kidding you

when I say its body was the size of an avocado nut and its legs were like pencils. Absolutely imaginable. (yes Stephanie, it was even bigger than the two you saw, MUCH bigger) Now with that thought on your brain here is some of the fauna we have here. It is very easy to get used to having drinks brought to you right down on the beach. It some ways we have become really spoiled. It helps to make up for the bugs a little.

Crevettes and Fish

The next day we made the trek to the rocks where the little shack was, above the ocean, to have lunch. Our co-worker from school, John, and his son, Leangh Hi, went along with us. We had to give an advance the day before so Thomas could get his fisherman connection to get us shrimp and fish. We said the same thing over and over again and yet there seemed to be some confusion even when we got there the next day. They had to run over to the nearby hotel to get us cold drinks and then they came back with the wrong things because what we wanted was "finished". In the end we got huge shrimp, (complete with eyes, claws, and antennae) a whole fish, fried plantains, and french fries. Of course when it was time to pay the bill it was mass confusion and in the end we paid way too much. Oh well, it made their day. In the shots: the menu we had to order from the day before, John and Pete post meal, and the tow guys who were running it that day. As you can see we were on the rocks, right above the ocean. Delicious food and atmosphere top-notch.

Beach Shots

The boat is called a pirogue and is carved out of a single tree trunk. We did not ride in one this time around, although not for lack of trying by the locals boasting of rides down a river to see the pygmies. We explained through faltering French and hand gestures that we had already had the pleasure last year. That was experience enough for us. The men go out alone in these boats to catch fish with nets. They usually go out in early morning. We did not get up early enough to see them this time around.

On the Road Again...

These are shots of the typical things you see when traveling outside the capital city of Yaounde. The stand on the side of the road were empty because it was New Year's Day and most people took it off to recuperate from the night before. Normally they would have had plantains, bananas, cassava root, tomatoes, watermelon, various citrus fruits, and meat brochettes for sale. Huge houses are often built and then left to mold when the money runs out. If you can see the holes in the walls--that is where they insert the flimsy wooden scaffolding to stand on to build the upper parts. Lastly, this is the rear view of a logging truck. Sometime the trees that they carry are so big, they can only carry 3 trees on them. These are 18-wheeler flat-beds to give you an idea of the size of the trees

Fresh Water Stream

We walked down the beach, about a mile or so, and came to this fresh water stream that fed right into the ocean. There were traps for shrimp and in the past we saw men fishing in there. When we went walking a young guy named Thomas convinced us to eat at his little shack the next day. We were also approached yet again to see the pygmies in a pirogue, to buy masks, paintings, and jewelry.