November 25th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | 1 Comment »
And when you’re alone there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants
There are some, down the road between hither and youn,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.Dr. Seuss, from the book, Oh, the Great Places You’ll Go!
One of the two vans headed for Northwest is being packed up.
After nine weeks of having our hands being held by wonderful Peace Corps staff members, host families and trainees, we, all newly sworn in volunteers, were suddenly released into another new world of unknowns that would be full of scary new challenges. On a very early morning, the day after swearing in, we packed the vans with our suitcases and trunks by placing them on top of the van. Coach buses are almost non-existent, meaning that there is almost no such a thing as putting suitcases in the bottom compartment. In Cameroon, we put suitcases on top of the vans, and we put a rope around it to keep them from falling off.
Sixteen new volunteers including myself and three Peace Corps staff members who were from Bamenda were the first group to take off. We all said farewells to other newly sworn in volunteers and trainers. Then, two vans headed for a very long journey to Northwest.
The drive from Ebolowa to Bamenda, the capital of Northwest, took nearly 12 hours. Most of the road was very newly and well paved thanks to Chinese and Brazilians who did the work so that they can obtain natural resources in Cameroon (This is a very good and fair trade according to some Cameroonians who have discussed this situation with me). However, the road from Baufoussam, the capital of West, to Bamenda was severely destructed. The road was paved, but there were so many potholes and cracks. It looked like as if the road had not been repaved in decades. Therefore the drive between Baufoussam and Bamenda took three hours even though it should take only one hour if the road had been paved well. I’ve been told by many people that they expect that road to be repaved in the next two years. On the upside, the drive was scenic as there were many mountains along the way.
Once I arrived in Bamenda, I went straight to a restaurant in a hotel for dinner with a postmate, a new health volunteer who also happens to be placed in Bamenda too, and her counterpart. We then headed to our apartments. My apartment was completely empty. No bed. No stove. No refrigerator. But there was running water, flushable toilet and electricity. It’s important to note that hot water doesn’t exist and will only exist if I choose to buy a heater. I slept on the hard floor in a sleeping bag that I was so grateful to have brought with me from the US and a pillow that my mom sent me in a care package. I could have slept in a hotel for a night with other new volunteers who were going to be continuing to travel to their posts within the next day or two, but I wanted to get started on settling in the new place.
While I feel so fortunate to live in an apartment that includes running water and electricity, I found that I wasn’t satisfied with the location due to security reasons and being far from my workplace. I also found the apartment to be too small. It’s so small that I feel like I’m living in New York City. I spoke with Peace Corps, and they were so understanding that they are already moving forward in finding a new bigger apartment for me in a better location. This means that I’m holding off in purchasing furniture for the living room until I move again in hopefully a couple months.
The following two days, I spent most of my time doing errands which included banking, buying a mattress, pillows, blanket, and kitchen supplies including a stove. The Peace Corps nurse who works only with trainees and came with us to Bamenda as she’s from there, loaned me a beautiful bed to use for two years.
I also finally met my counterpart, Ruth, in person for the first time. I will tell more about Ruth in another blog post, but it is important to mention that she has been a wonderful help in showing me and the new health volunteer postmate around in Bamenda and finding all the items I needed for the apartment.
Opening up a bank account was a frustrating experience as it took four days and several trips back to the bank. It reminded me that patience is a very important trait to have during my Peace Corps service.
As I learned to navigate in Bamenda, I finally realized that street names are nonexistent in Cameroon except for some major roads in the cities. If I got lost, I couldn’t just go to someone and say, “How can I find this address?” I couldn’t use a GPS. Walking around in the city with an iPhone was highly unadvisable as it would make me more prone to security threats. Maps didn’t exist. I had to force myself to work harder in capturing the visual images of my surrounding to remember well my way around. I had to look for points of interests to remember where I should pass by to know that I was heading in the right direction. A couple days ago, when I was walking back to my apartment on my own for the first time from the market, I got lost. I knew I was going in the right direction, but I was just not finding where my apartment was exactly located. I called my health postmate who lives in the same apartment complex as me but her phone was off. So, I called my counterpart, Ruth, and she immediately said, “I’m coming over!” Within two minutes, she was there and helped me learn my mistake and how I got lost. I had to go back out an hour later on my own to try to get a new SIM card for internet, and I found my way around on my own and successfully got back to my apartment on my own. In spite of having experienced a misstep, I have also accomplished in learning how to navigate the city on my own within a short period of time. In the past couple days, I’ve been able to get to and from my workplace on my own and also to other places such as the main city market and Peace Corps office.
I’m not going to deny that the past few days have been very challenging. I felt like as if I had just travelled from another country across an ocean and gotten off the plane in a very strange land. I felt like I was experiencing jet lag all over again and cultural shocks for the first time in Cameroon. I felt overwhelmed and exhausted. I was so overwhelmed that I cried for a minute in front of Ruth. I told her, “I’ll be OK. I know things are going to get better. I just need to get pass the next few weeks, especially the first week.” Alex called me last night shortly after I ate several Trader Joe’s chocolate chip cookies sent by my mother and talking to him greatly helped me figure out how to push through the barriers and realize that I wasn’t the only one facing challenges. I also talked to another new volunteer who is from the agribusiness sector who also happened to be posted in Bamenda too a couple nights ago at a restaurant and talking to her made realize that I wasn’t alone as she was facing very similar difficulties too. I also heard that other new volunteers were facing similar situations too.
I was fully realizing for the first time how lucky I was to be surrounded by so many people who held my hands in Mengong and Ebololwa. I didn’t have to worry about finding my around in the village because I was always accompanied by my host family and plus, there were only two major roads. I still didn’t have to worry about finding my way around in Ebolowa, which was a city, because I was accompanied by the Peace Corps staff members and trainees. I came home to delicious cooked meals every night and always had delicious breakfast ready to be eaten when I woke up in the mornings.
There is so much more that I’d love to share about Bamenda but I will leave this post as it is for now, as I wanted this post to focus on adjusting to the new life and challenges of getting to know a new place. In the following days, I will share the charms that I have found in Bamenda and more about what I will exactly be doing at work.
Sunrise from the window of my apartment.
1 Comment
Kay Kershman
November 25, 2014 at 1:51 pm
what a challenge. Moving is never easy but in a new land with no one helping you furnish an apt., etc. is very very difficult. I hope you get a new apt. quickly in a better area. You make your grandmother nervous when I read that you are in an area of some crime. Carry a whistle with you that you can use if you need it . I did that in Baltimore when I had to go out at night in an uncomfortable area. Anyway, I enjoy your blogs. Stay safe.
Hugs,
Grandma