Getting Settled

Well, we did it. We survived more than one week (10 days) at post. Its been a long 2 weeks since I last posted. I'll try to sum it up here. We arranged to have to bus pick us up at the Peace Corps house and take us to the station. I mentioned that i was going to write a blog about travel, so i wont get into too much detail now. We waited from 6am to 10am for the bus to leave and then were in the car until after 6pm. We arrived in Tibati after the sun set, so getting all of our stuff (14 items in all) off the top of the bus was a challenge.


HOME
We showed up at our house late at night, tired, hungry, and dirty, but could not have felt better about finally being there. We actually have a place that is home. Not just a rented room somewhere. We spent the first few days cleaning everything in the house. Since we replaced another volunteer, we had the basics like a bed, some chairs, a 'couch', and kitchen things. We washed everything-floors, shelves, drapes, blankets, dishes, the bathroom.....everything. That took all of 3 days, partly because we dont have the technique down yet, and partly because we are dependent on a boy, Mandela, to bring us water. He came the first 2 days and brought us some, and then he didnt show up for a few days. Without water, you cant really wash anything, or even flush the toilet. But I am not complaining, he is a sweet boy and works hard for his $8 a month. There is a well where he gets most of our water-for bathing and washing things- and a pump where he gets our drinking water. If we are out of all water, it takes him a good 2 hours to fill our buckets and such. Like most young people here, Mandela is a good worker. Also- I've called him Nelson on more than one occasion and not even noticed.

We have another boy, Hiver ('winter' in French), who does odd jobs for us on the weekends. We're brainstorming things for him to do, like wash the verandas (yes, we have 2), cut the shrubs, get our bananans out of the tree. He is also a good worker, and very helpful with things like how to ready bananans for eating.

There are kids around our house all day. They just come up and sit on our porch or walk around outside. Sometimes they ask if there is work they can do, and we give them 50cfa to sweep or get a little extra water or something.

The first order of business for Brian was to get platforms put on the small room next to the kitchen, aka the Bat Cave. Our first night, we were getting in bed and there was the first bat. If anyone has seen Brian around bats, you can picture the scene. I was in bed already so i just hid under the covers while he 'took care' of it. So needless to say, first thing the next morning, he went to town to get a carpenter to put up platforms. Not a bat since.

The electricity has been out about half of the evenings that we've been home. It goes out at 6pm and comes back around 11pm. We're getting quite good at doing eveything by candle light, even shower (bucket bath).


TIBATI
We went into town pretty much every day to buy things and figure out where things are. Having our own kitchen and preparing our own food has been wonderful, although its as if we've forgotten what we can cook. On top of that, we couldnt find the food section of the market, so mostly we've eaten beans, rice, eggs, and pasta. Sounds the same as Pitoa, but without the oil and salt that was sure to cause a heart attack soon. Market Day is Friday, and while its not as big or diverse as Pitoa, you can find pretty much everything there. Except food. Aparantly there is another section of the market where the food is, not in view of the main area. We had no idea, so we bought more eggs and onions for more omlets.

One of the main intersections in Tibati on Christmas Day. It looks overcast, but I assure you, my memory of it was bright and sunny with a nice breeze off the lake.








WORK
I went in to work one day, but since it is the end of the year, they were doing all of their yearly reports and having meetings with all the doctors from the region. I pretty much just sat there and watched. Also, it being the holiday season and showing up at post the week before christmas, it is difficult to start a routine. So one day of work was all i was able to manage. January is when things will really get started.


CHRISTMAS
Our closest volunteer, Allison, made the 7 hour journey to Tibati on Christmas eve. We had a little tree hanging on the wall, and ate crapes for breakfast. Our neighbor invited us over for lunch on christmas day and we ate lots of cameroonian food: Fish, chicken, manioc, bread, fulary juice, couscous, and other unidentifiable things. Most of it was pretty good, i still am not down with the fish, even though Tibati is the fish capital of the North.

Our 'tree'.
















PETS
We inherited two dogs and a cat from the previous volunteer. She spoiled them rotten, but they are very sweet, if not that well behaved. One of the dogs was always kept outside, but the other, Zuma, used to be inside whenever he wanted. We decided we didnt want either of them inside. Too much hair and dirt. It wasnt too hard to break him of his habits since there had been no one at the house for a week, so he had been outside that whole time. So now they both sleep outside on the porch and only once in a while does Zuma burst through the door.

The cat, Mambo, is both completely wild and completely domestic. She loves to sit on laps and have her head scratched. She also loves to hunt mice and eat them whole. Sometimes she brings the mice in the house and cries until we come see what she brought us. This another habit we are trying to break. I'm all for her eating mice, but I'd prefer she do it ouside.

Mambo has had 7 litters in the past two years, so we're expecting lots of cute little kittens. I have no idea how to tell if a cat is pregnant, let alone what to do if it is, but she seems to always be hungry and eats anything we give her. I'm expecting babies in January or February.


DRY SEASON
It is currently the dry season here, meaning it will not rain, not even once, until April or May. Perhaps in an attempt to control wild brush fires, people have controlled fires to burn the dry earth. If you look back at our other pictures from Tibati (sometime in November), you can see that we are surrounded by brush. While we were on a moto going home one day, we smelled smoke and could see it off in the distance. As we neared home, we realized that it was quite close to our house. Then, we pulled up to our house to find the fire actually in our front yard:

From the porch, the fire was no more than 30 feet away. It continued to burn all day and through the night. Luckily this 'controlled' fire didnt consumer our house, but it did provide great views that night.

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Now we're in Ngaoundere to buy things for the house: sheets, towels, electric water heater, a new toilet seat, mustard, ketchup, you know, necessities....