Some like it HOT!!

While we were in Yaounde, most comments about the weather went something like this: "its so nice out, I could live with this for 2 years" or "wow, I really thought it would be hotter". We've been up North for almost a week now, our attitudes have shifted considerably. Its hot here. At noon on our first day, it was 101, and the sweat on our clothes (we were drenched) was proof enough that our Buffalo born bodies were no match for the African sun. The first few nights were close to unbearable. Then, on the third night when we thought we couldn't take anymore, it rained. I nearly cried. In fact, inside I did a little. With the saturday night rain came a good sleep and a beautiful sunday. A perfect day for the weekly market, minus some mud.

Our town, Pitoa, is about 10 miles outside the provincial capital of the Garoua, but it might as well be 100. It has between 1000 and 5000 people, its hard to tell. We live with a family near the market area. We have 2 moms, Claire and Marte, an uncle, and 8 kids living in the house. There are 2 or 3 other children who are living in Garoua and going to school. The youngest is 5 and the rest are between 11 and 18. Of course, being 11 here means that you do almost all of the cooking and cleaning and are good at physics. Everyone is very welcoming and have really helped Brian and I adjust to the new environment. They have a great sense of humor and are always up for goofing around. The people of Pitoa are also really great. We have about a 15 minute walk to school (pretty much from one side of town to the other), and along the way we are greeted with lots of waving and 'bonjour!' or 'nassara' (the word for foreigner). They say this in the nicest of ways, kind of like you would say 'hi neighbor'.

Today is the last day of Ramadan and we only had a half day of training so that we can enjoy the fete. Our family is Catholic but everybody celebrates today. All the little boys are dressed in long tunics with lillte caps on. We're going out to meet our Nassara friends for a drink at the local bar to celebrate. I think in the long run, the lack of phone service, street lights, ceiling fans, refridgeration, and the internet can be made up for by the bar with cold beer. (But only one large or two small, according to PC policy, of course.)