January 11th, 2015 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | No Comments »
“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” – Oprah Winfrey
Today marks exactly four months since I stepped on Cameroon for the very first time. It’s really hard to write my feelings down because I cannot believe that I’ve been away from the United States for four months already. It doesn’t seem so long ago when the plane took off from New York City. However, I do truly feel that I have been in Cameroon for a long time because so much have happened in the past four months.
In the short span of time, I have learned that while Cameroon can truly be a very rough place to live because the culture and environment are so different from my own homeland, I am truly a confident person who can navigate and live independently anywhere in the world. In spite of setbacks and challenges that I already faced in such a short time, I have become so much more comfortable in this country. I feel so comfortable that I can now call Cameroon my home for two years. I now know very well how to shop for food and all the necessities, including negotiating, find all the places where I need to go without getting lost, catch a public transportation and travel confidently alone in the country and also ride motorcycles without fear. Most importantly, I now consider many of the Cameroonians some of my greatest friends. They have been the most integral people during my service because they have been helping me in accomplishing every step in integrating into the culture and community and guarding my well-being. These people include my host family in Mengong, my counterpart, Ruth, my work supervisor, Samuel, his wife, Nicoline, and Hilda, all the people who welcomed me to the country with open arms and showed me the wonderful hospitality that the Cameroonians can offer. They have not only assisted me in navigating the country, introduced me to wonderful people in the communities and helped me in getting my work started, they have also kept an eye on my health by calling me and making sure that I’m eating good and safe food. Ruth has even come by my apartment a couple times during when I was sick with fever and sore throat a month ago. When Hilda asked me a week ago, “What accomplishments would you like to see at the end of your service?” I immediately realized fully how lucky I am to have such a wonderful group of people in Cameroon who truly want to help me succeed.
Me at a cultural festival
