ck and reflect on the past few weeks, I realize I have not really done zmuch of anything. But...not to worry, I do have some recent photos of the few things I have done, and of the people I have, met, and who I will be working with, for the next two years.This first picture is of the main classroom we use for our tech sessions. I was told it was a pastors house, but he died before they could finish it and now, it is just the empty shell of what would have been a fairly large house.
There is a second floor to this house, but the stairs are blocked off by a fake wall, not shown in this photo.
The next photo is of Rhumsiki, this is the town that is right next to my post. I will be living on the Cameroonian/Nigerian border in a small traditional village called Gouria. The village is comprised of 1500 community members, all of whom work the fields, agriculture, right now, is their source of income.
Rhumsiki is a large tourist hub, I feel lucky to be so close to such a beautiful area, both for the view and the weather. I will be in the extreme north of Cameroon, which, before
arriving to post, all who were placed here were a bit "upset" and more than upset, just not really aware of what we were getting ourselves into. When I say upset, I feel like that is an over estimate of peoples actually reaction, maybe scared shitless of the unknown would be more appropriate.With a region called, The Extreme-North, one assumes that... well... the area is probably pretty extreme. Also, all the current volunteers we had met, before actually visiting our posts, were either so covered in dirt and dust they appeared to be permanently grey, or they, for some reason, could only remember that the area is known to get up to 140*F, which, seems, well, frankly just to hot to even survive, let alone visit, let alone live for two years. So, as one can imagine, when I did get to my post and saw THIS, see the above photo which I took as I was moto-ing through the mountains with my counter-part, I was "extremely" happy and am really looking forward to getting to work in one of the most beautiful areas in Cameroon. Did I mention the extreme north was also described as "the gates of hell", this may help you understand why we were a bit reluctant about this area.
This next photo was taken from my "bathroom". I will not be having this view anymore however. After I finished my site visit, a new bigger, nicer house was found for me and I now have an indoor bathroom! SWEET. At the first house, I was waving to the locals as I bathed outside...one way to integrate, I suppose.
Well, I think that about wraps it up for me this time. I am hoping to post more on my blog in the future, but we will see. Enjoy the states for and I hope to hear from you all soon.
Martin
