photos for you

enjoy!

my last day at the field (i gave my cleats to the young construction worker who helped with the mini sports complex - he and he brother played with me on this day)

the Banya village coordinator with his Maumelle jersey on

leading a thematic discussion in Besongabang

male footballers at the cooperative farm in Egbekaw

one of my first days at the field playing with the youth





donating cleats to village coordinators

photo with the referees with Lakewood jerseys on

donating jerseys to the villages nearby Buea

donating jerseys, cleats, socks, and machetes in Mbijong

children playing soccer in Banya

the blocks we moved at the mini sports complex





with the Bachuo Ntai female football team (and other random villagers and George Ashu)

the kick-off of the jamboree with the Divisional Officer and Lord Mayor





me with the Bachuo Ntai village at the clean-up (with some previous supplies donated to the village)

me and the Bachuo Akagbe female football team (with NLRHS jerseys)

tak (and a party or two in copenhagen)

i get back on the 21st at 1 p.m. and present at 3 p.m., save me some lunch

i am in copenhagen right now, just the other day bought 40 beers for sofie's party, this is mos def the cheapest place in scandanavia, it was 5 dollars for one beer at the supermarket in oslo, about 2.50 for one at the store in stockholm, but only 20 dollars for 30 (only 1 dollar and 50 cents) here. i also bought some malbec wine, about 10 dollars per bottle.

i am here for 1 more hour and then london for one night and then nyc for 3 nights and then back home.

this is another scattered blog, but i wanted to just write, and quickly because that is all of the time i have.

i would love to describe the past few days to all of you, sofie's party and up until 5 a.m. and yesterday at the park with berit and partying with new friends until 4:30 a.m., and then seeing the vincent van gogoghs at the festival today, and having a great time but squeezing a lot into a few days, but detail might come later. one detail though first, i met a girl who has been to branson twice because her aunt lives there. i hope she visits me when she comes next time.

here are thoughts i have written down while here.

it's always the simple things (that matter), and here they are

i saw a rhodesian ridgeback at the train station in gothenberg and it made me happy and thinking about it later made me homesick while sitting there waiting for the train with an aching right foot and no money to spend

i saw another dude's hair who looked like todd's, when it is long, the first guy i saw in stockholm had the exact same

i love sending camden a postcard from every city, and have, unless circumstances have really really been bad, i have almost missed busses to send him a memory and some words from my travels

i love knowing people, and feel comfortable very quickly with most



well, i guess more to come, if i find time in london, if i'm not out with my friend danny

and if not there, then maybe a final blog in nyc, and i guess i will keep this active but only for travels

peace, and soon

beautiful places and welcoming spaces

and expensive beer

in oslo, norway it costs $5 for a beer and $30 for a 6 pack, and that is at grocery store

i don't know how todd and zach made it when they were in sweden, where the beer is also so expensive (and low in alcohol), you can only get high alcohol content from the government store

but the sun is up from 5 until 10:30 (and that is short compared to June) but during the winter it is so dark and people have "sun" rooms to get the light they need

but wait, they found the black market, and as i mentioned in the last blog the women are so beautifuly, so i know how they survived

but everything else has been welcoming and beautiful - stockholm was amazing and oslo is too

and i am couch surfing, which for those of you who don't know, it is an online society of travelers who offer up their couches or floors or beds to fellow travelers and then take advantage of that hospitality when they are traveling

i just joined, even though todd told me about it 3 years ago, because a guy Oliver told me about it in Stockholm and told me of Jachym, from Czech Republic, who is a student in Oslo and so i joined and requested a spot and he mailed back and now i am here

it is awesome, he met me at the train station, showed me where to get a 24 hour pass, told me places to go, showed me the grocery store, and shared a beer with me

and he said the weather was always beautiful when travelers come because they need to see the city at is best, so i brought the weather

well, there is probably more to say, but i need to rest before my train in the morning

to scandanavia and beyond

well, i left london after using the internet at an amazingly fast speed and able to talk to home for some time, and while passing through the west end and picadilly circus and seeing people drink on the streets and sitting by eros drinking tennessee whisky, while i was with my huge back pack, and then caught the N9 bus at 1:30 a.m. to get to the airport right before 3 a.m. where i cleaned up in the diaper changing room and slept and woke up from a dead sleep (like the sleep that i had in Green Park in london on my way to cameroon) and thought i might have been late for my flight but i made it and had a bagel

and arrived in sweden to ABBA and beautiful skies and in line to change my money, and asking how to get to town, a man said he would bring me and i road with him, Klaus, and his son, Axel, the 30-45 minutes in to Stockholm and his son had been at a language/soccer week in london and got to meet the chelsea team and claus had been to eureka springs before and was another free soul, he was into tai chi and kadeo and lived in colorado and traveled and had been to arkansas and eureka springs was my fourth guess as to where he had been and he said he loved it and smaller towns like that, but we talked, scattered because he was like me, and he tried to tell me about the city and then Axel and i spoke in slow english, and it was awesome meeting a great family and good guy and he dropped me at the train station

here i waited and bought all of my tickets, and with the exchange rate it was a lot, scandanavia is expensive i am realizing

but then to old town and looking for a hostel and my shoulder is hurting, my bad one, and to two hostels until finding the last one and getting a bed that the reserver didn't show up, and showering

boy was it scalding, but it really wasn't, i just hadn't had a warm shower in, it seems like years, months, and then walking around looking for a grocery store and buying cheese and milk and beer and to 711 (which is everywhere here, i think a taiwanese company from what i remember when i saw it everywhere in asia) to buy oreos and ritz and then eating that for dinner and going out with oliver (from germany), monica (from nc), and danny (from melbourne) to a biker bar (it seemed like) and getting a 9 dollar beer and walking back

and sleeping until 11:30, oh good sleep, and waking up, moving rooms, going with danny to the royal palace for the changing of the guards and then to the Vasa museum and more oreos and milk and olympics and drinking beer

in the morning i will go to city hall for a tour and then off to oslo

sorry for the detail, but it has been a good time, the people have been great, though i know they are said to be cold, i think this is mainly in the winter, so the summer time has melted them and Klaus made my welcome here great, the expense of things has made me pinch my pockets and only eat from grocery stores, and the three travelers i have befriended have made me want to continue my adventure (i even joined couch surfing.com from Oliver's suggestion, todd told me to join a few years ago but i haven't been to europe since then - which is where i think it is most worth it to couchsurf)

i can finally say goodbye to the bugs, hello to the chilly weather, and the beautiful beautiful women, i can't walk a block without shaking my head, zachary and todd the bodd spent a semester here - it must have been amazing...

so from here to there, i will enjoy, and be home soon

bye de bye bye

i'm out

of africa, of energy, of almost everything

i truly am out of energy, out of energy to scratch another bug bite or rash, out of energy to finish my paper, out of energy to sleep (though i really need to, but my flight to Stockholm leaves at 7:40 a.m. so i am going back to the airport soon), and out of energy to write

so i will keep this short...as short as possible

chance, james and i had an eventful day going to Douala on thursday (i think it was thursday, though i asked James that day 4 times what day it was, and now i forget) going to get some fabric which we couldn't find and then some gifts and then following me to get postcards and then Vietnamese food, which was fitting because Loan was not with us but her culture was represented and then to the airport and those two checking in and then having a beer with Takor and saying goodbye to him and them leaving me in the air conditioning to wait to check in for 5 hours (not until 3:30 a.m.) while i nodded in and out of consciousness (as i did that entire morning after i checked in for my flight - at one point i was woken up to get on the plane and my left leg and arm were asleep so i could barely walk)

and now i'm in london after two airplane food meals and an amazing meal at Wagamama and watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Trafalgar Square and then to the internet and it is so fast that i haven't known what to do with myself

i have spent 2 hours now and really only done a few things, but here are two photos (including the one at top), and i promise more to come, one of chance on the first day i brought out a ball and the other one of some cool glasses on some cool people,


and i can now say, in the language of you people, bye de bye bye

to the bugs, to the bruises, to the starches, and almost to the dirtiness (i need to take a shower first)

peace

goodbye hell of the roads

what a ride and what roads!

this was my 4th time taking this trip (to mamfe or back) and as James exclaimed, probably my last because not until the roads get paved will I go back (well, if I am in Cameroon before this happens, I will, but timing right I will only be back when the road to Mamfe is paved)

before my time is up there are other general observations that are always on my mind or in front of me

the days go by really fast, so I feel sometimes I miss out on telling you events, about people, about details.

I am dirty.

there are bugs, lizards, flat spiders, tarantulas and big white-chested scavenger crows, OH MY!, everywhere

Takor told me that they call albinos (which there are seemingly a lot here) germans in mamfe (which i am guessing because of the historical german presence there) and the myth is that they never die

i killed the chicken, sliced its neck, for dinner one day – this is for Sam and Afton, I love the way they live in Mamfe, buying the food they need that day and buying it straight from the Earth, I eat everything and even seeing how and where it is prepared is not the best for my stomach, it is still fine though, actually nothing really upsets my stomach, except historically travel and smells, so seeing something doesn’t

my soccer abilities are okay, but I need to work on my skills, it is harder playing on dirt and high grass, I am spoiled by “turf” and Bermuda blades in Arkansas

and an update on the language and foods here

Language
“Chil” – really saying child but it comes out with the “d” off (sounding more like Chia, as in the tea), and they use it as often as they say “Jesus Christ” (also with a very different pronunciation and emphasis) to express surprise or wonder

“Command” – ask, give directions for (e.g. Takor, when ordering koki, states, “I will give a command for the best koki”)

“What of?” – what’s going on with…? (e.g. what’s going on with Chance? meaning what’s up with Chance?

“Not so?” – am I right or am I right? (e.g. Chance says, “the stars are beautiful tonight, not so?”) but also meaning “is that right?” (e.g. “you are Hunter, not so?”)

“Heh” or “Heh?” – say this with a neck/head twist (like that of our dog Clay) and when it is with a question mark it means more of surprise (e.g. “We people like fufu and eru” to which many people will say, “Heh?”) but it also means “Uh-huh” as in understanding (i.e. when always talking to Dr. Peters he does this when I am telling a story to the point where I repeat myself and he tells me, “I’m getting you,” but the “Heh” before that was supposed to be my indication of that)

“Junior” and “Senior”- younger and older, instead of saying older brother and younger brother, locals say my junior brother or my senior brother

“own” – not just used for “my own” but “your own” in place of “yours” and “our own” in place of “ours” and so on taking the place of any possessive necessary


Things eaten/drank
Castel – Come and see teachers enjoy life (Elvis, Takor’s brother told me this is what it means)
Mutzig – dancing (this is again what Elvis said)
Amstel – love me if I am single (what Elvis said this means in French)
Pelforth – Elvis just laughed at this (as did the people in the bar when I ordered it) because it is the “worst” beer in Cameroon (and it actually was, but not entirely terrible but a dark beer and kind of like a smoke stout)
Guinness Smooth – just a lighter version of Guinness
Isenbeck – James had this in Yaoundé
Satzenbrou – another beer from James that I sipped
Soya – basically beef jerkey that you eat with powder pepe but sometimes the meat is to chewy but the taste is so good so I chew it and spit it out
Kola seed – so so bitter (closest to a bitter beer face I have ever come, had to drink it with palm wine to swallow it down)
Sugar cane – just bite a piece off and chew all of the liquid out and spit it out, taste like sugar or sugar water



as i sat in the back seat sleeping i couldn't help but think that with every bump I was closer to fish pies, then with every fish pie I am closer to Europe, and with every European postcard I am closer to home, but not yet

Goodbye to mamfe, not yet goodbye to the bugs

this is dedicated to

the language, food, and people of southwest province cameroon

Language
“Asha” – “Sorry” or “I’m sorry”, but not meaning to apologize but instead being sorry for someone (e.g. I step into the mud, all my fault, and Sharlotte says, “asha,” because she is feeling empathetic), but then someone has said it means “well done” (e.g. George Bell entering the kitchen during our party for the community and saying to us while looking at the food being prepared, “asha”)

“We are together” – I took this has three meanings, one being that “We agree,” another being “We understand each other,”and the final being “We are one” as in “Everything is okay” with the final meaning being the one most accurate because it is more an expression of “Don’t worry, we are together” as in the only thing that matters is that we are in each other’s company, safe and healthy (e.g. Takor couldn’t not reach the motorbike up the hill with Chance on the back and they both fell getting small injuries, Takor’s statement was “We are together” similar to what someone would say to you in a wreck in the U.S. stating that “As long as we are all okay, than everything is fine)

“Fakatos” – old and crappy (e.g. George’s car is called “Fakatos” car)

“Spintoros” – active and energetic (e.g. Hunter is a “Spintoros” man)

“Chop” – used as either a noun for a meal or food, but also as a verb to eat something

“I de chop” – the present tense of eating (i.e. I am eating)
“I done gone chop” – the past tense of eating (i.e. I have eaten)
“I de go chop” – the future tense of eating (i.e. I’m going to eat)

These previous three tenses are all part of Pidgin and can be used to describe many actions (e.g. one if have heard many times is “I de go field” meaning “I’m going to the field”)

“How?” or “How now?” – “How are you?” to which the normal response is “I de fine” or “fine”

“Small small” – very little (e.g. “My appetite is small small” meaning that “I’m not hungry”)

“Plenty plenty” – a lot (e.g. Obie Joe stated about the Mamfe Central debt problem, “We owe plenty plenty”) or just many or much (e.g. when someone has many children Mr. B.B. stated, “when you born plenty”)

These previous two phrases are part of Pidgin and illustrate the use of repetition with one word to emphasis a condition. This method is used with many adjectives. These words can also just be used once to mean a similar condition.

“You people” – y’all

“Pressurize” – to pressure someone

“Sensitized” – to know about something, be used to it (e.g. when I asked if the children understand community development or participate in the UAC activities, like the clean-up campaigns, often, the Besongabang community leader stated something along the lines of, “They are becoming more sensitized to UAC and these activities and the more sensitized they become the more they will participate”)

“Trek” – to walk

“White man with a long nose” – what I have heard some of the children singing when we drive by, George told me that this is a common song that they sing and he was shocked that I started singing along

“Clothes vs. empty skin” – Shirts vs. skins

“Picking” – your own children (e.g. Mr. Agbor B.B. was stating when discussing Child Abuse in Egbekaw, “As you treat your own picking, treat all children”)

“My own” – instead of just saying mine, people say this (e.g. when finding a phone on the table that looks like someone else’s one would ask, “Is this my own?”)

“Ease” – to pee (e.g. Doctor Peters replied to me when I asked for the toilet while at the bar, “Do you need to ease yourself or poo poo?”)

“Hawking” – selling (e.g. the children around town who hawk groundnuts, which are peanuts)

“Peace Corps” – this is not widely used but I have heard it sometimes to describe us, even though we are not with Peace Corps, but just as general development workers or general “white man” from out of this country (many times people refer to us as just being from Europe, as encompassing all “white man”), and since their experience with these development workers is most with those volunteers with Peace Corps this is how they simply refer to us when explaining to others who do not know us

“Current” – to be up to date on current events or knowledge of a subject (e.g. at the Egbekaw thematic discussion George stated that these would help others “become current to what is being discussed,” or something like that) but I have also seen it used to describe “your current” meaning a current photo of you

“Craze” – crazy (e.g. when referring to a man who she doesn’t like Delphine said, “He de craze”)

“Dash” – to give (e.g. when I gave a bottle to a boy at the field, he had seen me give one to another kid and asked before, but when I gave it to him he questioned with eyebrows up, “you dash me?” or just now Esther, the new wash lady, saw my soccer ball and knowing I just gave Aloys a pair of shorts said, “Hunter, You dash me this now”), kind of as in a gift


Things eaten/drank
Palm
Palm wine
Red wine and Coca-cola
Red wine and Guinness
Guinness – a different taste and everyone has their own thought about its effects such as the man last night, and many other men, who say it helps the machine (the payness, penis)
33 Export – Aloys says this means Friendship
Castel –
Mutzig –
Castle Milk Stout – George says this makes you infertile, decreases the sperm count
Unknown bark – that Dr. Peters gave me that is supposed to give strength and make you anxious as well as an herbal mixture with the same bark and whiskey and many other herbs from Dr. Peters that is to help with everything (like many of his remedies)
Nigerian whiskey (Heatman)
Indian whiskey and scotch (8 PM)
Bitter (Bitta) Kola – helps with constipation and acts like Viagra (according to many people here)
Kola Monkey – a cool looking fruit that villagers harvest in the bush
Boiled (gran) groundnuts – peanuts
Pepe – really good spice paste they use here
Coconut right off the tree that I harvested
Spaghetti Omelet
Egusi green vegetable (really good)
Egusi pudding
Koki – a really good spicy bread-like meal that is made from koki beans
Casava
Fufu (tasteless dough) and eru (a leaf vegetable)
Gari (yellow tasteless dough) – people compare these two (Fufu and Gari) to mashed potatoes but they aren’t really
Yam
Plantain (in almost every form)
Slowboys – Escargo, Snail
Cow or pig liver (I don’t know which one) and intestine
Cow skin


Observations – people have no hesitancy in keeping their finger in their nose (opposite of the social construct we abide by with that being appalling); teeth here are beautiful; all children have short hair (as is mandated by the schools) so I have a hard time telling some of the younger ones apart by gender; I have taught Elvis and other volunteers how to toss the Frisbee and Elvis learned the fastest and then taught a friend; there is a game called Draft I have seen people playing which uses a checkers board and checkers but they play it so fast that I do not understand the strategy or rules, I would like to learn;

and the almost arrests in Yaounde

well, here are the photos i promised, and hopefully as many as i can post, i am spending this next 45 minutes doing so,



but before that, a quick review of the trip to Yaounde - first a crazy bus ride there to make it at 12:45, a crazy cab to the hotel, a bargaining show down at the hotel, showers and then to the party 2 hours late, arriving to paradise in Cameroon (a swimming pool, hamburgers, brownies, beer, music and other Americans, one of whom worked at Camp War Eagle in the Ozarks - but no photos because it was not allowed)...then getting pizza near the hotel and later in the morning finding the best bakery which we frequented over the next day for eclairs, icecream, hamburgers and hot dogs, walking around town trying to find postage and postcards but postcard were $1 to $2 a piece and i ended up only buying some basil to throw on some of the bland meals but after a morning and afternoon doing that on the 4th we went to find the Vietnamese restaurant but ended up taking two cabs and consulting with many people to only find a Chinese restaurant (which didn't look so good, but my meal was good) and then going back to the hotel and resting until one of the coolest nights i have had so far began at a Jazz Club named L'awale where the Embassy guy who runs Cultural programs told us to go and so we went and it was amazing, starting off with just jazz and some singing by the crazy entertainer who was also playing at the independence day celebration and then some beautiful voices from both men and women and Lanissa - a young woman who works at the embassy - and we sat there and enjoyed for hours and then to bed to wake up to more of the bakery, changing money at the Hilton in a nook illegally and then almost getting arrested for taking a picture but working our way out of it with Courtney's French skills and telling them that we needed to call the embassy and see if sending us to a military office and buying them a whiskey each was really how things worked and then more unsuccessful shopping and then to the bus station while almost being arrested - probably not so much us as the cab driver - because the driver saw the cops and knew that we had illegally fit 6 into his cab and so he drove through the middle of traffic to allude them and after clipping another car's side mirror and almost hitting a bike the cops stopped us and we jumped out, grabbed the bags, tossed the money and got to the bus company and finally, an hour late, hopped on the bus and made it to Buea after passing a bad wreck on the bridge over the bay from Douala where one person must have fallen from the bridge because of all of the people peering over and into the water but we mos def saw an old man with a bloody broken leg and motorcycle on the ground and a younger man with a bloody arm and body after having apparently smashed into the windshield of the car stopped near by, but home and drinking with Jason, the Scottish volunteer whose last day is tomorrow, and trying to leave in the morning but Tako couldn't find a bus but Loan left instead and fit on to one of the 3 spaces left and so we are here where i am now about to post photos, i actually earlier bought some Heinz ketchup and then having the dinner celebration for Jason's last night at the Orock's and tomorrow to Mamfe and continued life on the project and in the Heritage Inn with the others and our game of settlers



photos, now, (and for more, see Berit's photos on facebook),



well, it doesn't seem to be working, so maybe haynes will have time to download some i will try to send him over e-mail and then post them for y'all

until next time, and as always, whenever that may be, enjoy your summer while i enjoy Cameroon

c'est L'Afrique (this is africa)

football

and farms

and not to disappoint carly, this post was supposed to be longer and include pictures, to please all of you people (Cameroonians say "we people" and "you people" in place of "us" and "y'all"), especially haynes

the pictures will have to wait though because i forgot my harddrive

we people took a trip down to Buea today and just got here an hour or two ago, we will be here for the night and then head to Yaounde tomorrow to make it to the embassy for the 4th of July party (on the 3rd of July) with a swimming pool and all (i hope fireworks and hot dogs too)

well, the initial subject of this post was football and farms because i have been around to all but one of the community farms in the past 2 weeks and seen the crops and talked with the boys who help run them as a part of the program i am working with

i also have seen more football, finally a women's team was out to practice when we visited one of the villages and yesterday was the kick-off, the inaugural ceremony for the "UAC Special Summer Jamboree" - it was supposed to start at 1 and i was there to get things started, but only me, George, and the man doing the lines on the field were there (and a few of the local kids who followed me there)

not until 3:30 p.m. did things get started but the villages showed up one at a time stuffing 25 or 30 into a 12 passenger van (our UAC van, actually) and then the Lord Mayor came and then the District Officer and before that the radio personalities - Lucas, Obie Joe, and Adams (all of whom Chance works with at the Voice of Manyu - Voice of the Voiceless - 91.6FM) - and they commentated introducing the Coordinator and Coach from each village and then announced for the donations that took place - we gave each village coordinator a set of jerseys for the female team

and then the kickoff with the DO, Lord Mayor, head referee delegate and myself and the DO back heeling it to the Bachou Akagbe team and the games begin

Bachou Akagbe beat Egbekaw 1 to 0 and then Banya and Bachou N'tai tied 0-0, each game lasting 50 minutes

while at the game another white man showed up, from the Netherlands and with a friend, his neighbor from back home, who is from Mamfe originally and they came over last night to the hotel to hang out for a bit

things have been good, hot, rainy, and getting busier, especially with this 5/6 day trip we are taking to Yaounde and then Douala for a day


other sites and events that i have yet to mention: people use the streams and rivers as car washes (this was especially common right north of Buea on the way to Mamfe); our cook, Stella, is both hilariously dramatic and lazy in the kitchen so our food is lackluster; it rains everyday and my roof leaks but hopefully it is fixed now so i won't have to sleep in a puddle at my feet; people are crazy about pointing the finger with blame, especially the people we work with but we have cleared some issues up and agreed to communicate

well, i am tired and having a block on what else to tell you

but i will post photos soon, some of people, some of interesting things, some of the 4th of July party, some of football and some of farms

mamfe and the internet - not a good couple

all,

gas prices in Mamfe are 500 CFA Francs per liter on the black market and 600 CFA Francs at the station. this is based on a 420 CFAF per $1. we are close to Nigeria so the petrol comes up on river boats and is traded underneath the steel bridge and then brought to town and is sold on the road. I would send photos but our only internet access point is not only slow but only works when the electricity is on (which is becoming more consistent as our time continues). I would also do the math, but that would take up even more time - so that is the quiz question for the day - how much does a gallon of gas cost in the English speaking provences of Cameroon?

Chance, James, Loan and I are good - we are fed three times a day, we shower at least every other day, we are moving on our projects (through the ambiguity, organization and time issues), and we are provided bottled water (which I flavor with my koolaid).

i am sure more updates will come (maybe once a week, or every other week) to you. Cameroon tied Tanzania in soccer on Saturday and lost to Chad. We have been watching (or at least I have been making us watch) a lot of football here - the EuroCup. It is my one joy, besides running in the morning, reading in after breakfast, listening to one (at least) album a day, playing soccer in the afternoon and then playing cards and watching the EuroCup. when it ends at the end of June, I will be stuck in the rainiest month in these parts and read, read read read read. actually, i have now been heading into the villages to meet the "presidents of the streetfootball network" and talk about the soccer jamboree we will host in july. i am also hoping to learn more about the Community Sports for Development Program to be able to complete a description of the program, a manual, and to get more training support sent this way.

other themes that i wrote about and can now not paste into here, so this will be quick, are: i am dirty, i play soccer almost every day and i have been running and since the environment is so humid (like home) and hot, nothing drys, but i am finding ways to dry my sweaty clothes like my fan (which is now broken) and James showed me to set things on the roof in the sun, et cetera; i am loved - people here just love you and call out "white man" at every turn and call you over and want to be your friend - though some of this is them looking for opportunities, a majority of it is the genuine care of these people.

again thanks for those who donated to Kicks for Kids in Cameroon - the funds totaled at over $4000, 23 sets of uniforms and many many many more other soccer equipment and gear. i will be posting a final count of all of this for you all to see once I arrive to a town where the internet is faster. we have already put some of the money towards developing the new mini sports complex in Mamfe (which all of the volunteers helped me out with one day, carrying bricks - picture to come soon, if possible). we have bought new balls to train with and will buy more to bring to the villages to pass out when we pass out the jersey sets. we are also buying farming equipment for the villages to help with the cooperative farming aspect of the program - these will be coming with Mr. Orock in his next trip up here on Sunday. and we will buy cleats (or boots) to pass out to those of the youth who do not have any, i just hope we can give cleats to all of them.

all in all, things are good, my two danish friends - Berit and Sofie - have left Mamfe for good but I had an awesome week with them and will get to spend several days in Copenhagen with them during my time in Europe. check my Facebook profiles for photo updates that they will be sure to tag soon.

cameroon is beautiful, and the Settlers of Cameroon game we are building will show you all some memories that we have made here.

goodbye

Buea in the shadow of Mount Cameroon

What a long, almost 4 days. Almost a lifetime.

Since I last sat down to write, I witnessed Chance's epic battle with American Airlines for his luggage, Jason (the senior volunteer from Scotland) drink Aloe Vera to cure his malaria and yeast infection, Hendrika (one of the newer volunteers from the Netherlands) laugh at everything, a long, very long graduation and more.

Chance finally got his luggage when on Tuesday morning he got a call from Brussels Air saying they would send it on their next flight down. He and I drove, passed rubber plantations and banana groves, with Mr. Orock and Antwan into Douala and picked up the bags. This trip showed me the genious of Mr. Orock (who we discussed should have a book written about him titled just OROCK) - his unmalicious anger at the luggage pest which was conjured because of their annoyance and because it is the only way to get them to flee, his smooth French talking to get through customs, and his Bond-like sterness and mind when telling Antwan to "go with speed" when leaving the airport. Then soon after this at the black market, trading in the donation money and personal funds for CFA, Mr. Orock dealt like a dealer. All of this was shown in but 30 minutes but I could tell that Mr. Orock was a true street-wise, patriarch of southern Cameroon.

On the drive home, in between my inquistiveness and Antwan's savvy manuervering around trucks, motorcycles and pedestrians, a car u-turned in front of us causing Mr. Orock to say, "stop here" and Antwan backed up so Orock could demandingly say out of the window to that driver, "What kind of driving is that?"

Chance and I didn't say anything immediately but later that night we laughed about the comment in relation to all the driving here.

On Monday, Chance battled with American Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and the Douala airport to find his luggage. He was told it was in Brussels and after $20 of international calls and more on Skype, he had no luck until the morning with that special call.

Monday night, after spicy peanut beef and rice, a man named Shuh came. He is friends with Jason and came and immediately fell in love with Kait. He sang her a song, asked her about life, et cetera. He is still coming around. In general nights consist of hanging out on the porch of the rooms of Kait, Jason and Hendrika. There Jason and James play guitar.

The other volunteers here are Jason (five months), Hendrika (one week), Weitzel (spelled wrong but said sort of like Riesha, one month, from the Netherlands), Valerie (3 months, from Canada), Biret (2 months, from Denmark) and Sophie (2 months, from Denmark).

Breakfast is at 7:30 every morning where we enjoy meals with Mr. and Madame Orock (the book OROCK should actually be written about her) and their five children, their nieces and nephews, their neighbors and local orphans. Everyone is in and out of this house and we as volunteers eat in the front room while they all sit, stand, play music, watch television and live their lives. The two children who I have gotten to know are the youngest - Evelyne and Clara. They are sweet and have taken to braiding my hair (at least Evelyne has).

Other meals have been crepes, salad, eggs, always bread, good banana/plantain/ spaghetti omelets, and friend beniget like things.

On Tuesday, the volunteers who had been recieved within the last week were given a tour of the facilities. At the new school we arrived while they were taking graduation photos. We talked with the office manager, Henry Sako. We also saw the new facilities and got to see Tako's electricity class. The students at the new school are from the surrounding villages and walk up to 2 hours to get to school.

I finally soaked my clothes in permetherin. While hanging them to dry on "the" porch, Kait had an episode with the dog with a bloody ear. I had to physically push (with my foot) the dog out of the house and when on the porch he sprayed blood on me from shaking. So I was dirty.

That night, after the Douala trip, we had the pleasure of listening to Aaron and Jeff play. They were amazing. Aaron is blind and plays the guitar and they both sign and have wonderful voices. They are friends with Jason. After enjoying some of the music I called it a night and updated my budgets to give to Mr. Orock in the morning with the donations.

Tuesday morning was a breakfast of omeletes. We walked to school where I registered the donations from those who gave to support UAC and its programming. I also played jacks with rocks - good thing Ms. Sweat taught us back at Carver Magnet.

We were then charged with the task of decorating the Catholic hall (up the street) for graduation the next day. We were sent to load 300 chairs, which we did while sweating. We also swept and watched the children. I played some more jacks and we went home for lunch which was a wonderful beef and okra stew with rice.

After lunch, and some time on the internet, we met Valerie, Biret and Sophie and all sat down for drinks at the bar. We spent a while here but I got to know these other volunteers (who had been in Kribe, a beach town in the very south, for a several day vacation).

Before dinner we discussed with Mr. Orock our coming trip to Mamfe and food accomadations for the time there. After dinner, a glass of wine on the porch and music discussion with Chance and Biret, I called it a quick night again.

This morning we had omelette toast, I bathed from a bucket, put on my nice clothes and headed up at 9 a.m. to graduation. This was a chaotic ordeal, lasting until 2 p.m. and raining for 3 hours (cats and dogs) during. After, on the way out, Kait and I were pulled into some graduation photos for 10 minutes. We lost the others (except for Biret and Sophie) and were caught by Tako who told us our lunch would be served at the hall. On the walk back in we were caught for some more photos. People ask if they can "snap" you. After lunch and conversation with the three girls, I took a nap and finally walked up here to write this long update.

I haven't even begun to talk about the language. When we walk we (girls and boys) are called "white man." At the school they are told to be more polite, and as they call most adults, we are called "uncle" and "anty." To eat, they say "chop." In the future tense you would say, "I go chop chop," meaning, "I am going to eat." Asking how are you is "How now?" and answering fine would be "I de fine." One child wanted to race and said, "I will fast you." It is amazing to hear this mix of English, old English, French and native languages. Most everyone speaks proper English as well, though.

Well, I'm off to celebrate our last night in Buea, under the shadow of Mount Cameroon.

here

So, I made it.

I'll keep this update short and I have no photos for now because I can't upload them.

I arrived last night at 11:30 p.m. after meeting Roger, a 36-year old mathmetician, who is from Douala, while waiting to board the plane. We flew over the Atlas mountians, a cotton field of clouds, and the Sahara desert until it got dark and all I could see were fires. At the airport I was dupped by a imposter "George" - who I thought was George Ashu, the man I will work with in Mamfe - but he was actually a luggage guy who tries to get you to pay him. Mr. Orock showed up though and saved me after several minutes of my tired confusion.

In Douala we went to pick up Kait and Courtney - two Rhodes students who will be with us in Mamfe - and we rode four in the back seat the entire two hours to Buea. Upon arrival we were sat down for tea and James and Chance came to greet us - this was at 2 a.m., so very late. After tea we were shown the accomadations, where I saw Loan, and then I was brought to my apartment in between Chance and James. I spent another hour and a half organizing stuff and then slept until woken by Chance at 7:25 a.m.

Breakfast was good. Kait, Courtney and I spoke with Mr. Orock about UAC and our projects for the morning and then walked with the others the block to town. Lunch was very good and then Mr. Orock bought us drinks and we played with his children and those of the neighborhood.

It is warm and humid here but the wind blows and Mount Cameroon, covered in clouds, is in the near distance.

We leave for Mamfe on Thursday, unless Chance's bags do not arrive.

Flat (Arkansas and Cameroon) Stanley get a tour from Paddington

So, it hasn't been all that bad - actually, very world-travelesque-exciting. From NYC to Montreal to London to Casablanca. The best thing yet has been this sign in London.

After I last wrote y'all, I updated my ticket (having to pay a $80 "no-show" fee and an $80 change fee) and left today for Casablanca at 6 p.m. That is where I am now - I fly to Douala at 6 p.m. tomorrow - and since I have about a 19 hour layover here, Royal Air Maroc set me up in a place in downtown (which happens to have internet access and American movies).

Yesterday morning, unknowingly calling before 6 a.m., I contacted an old friend - Markus Wirtz who was an exchange student at NLRHS for a semester. He is from Germany and I actually ran into him last in Buenos Aires almost two years ago. Ironically, both of these meetings occurred because of the technology of Facebook - he messaged me after seeing I was in BsAs and I just looked up my friends in London, he was one, and I called him. Congratulations to him as well for his upcoming marriage to his Mexican sweatheart (who he met in BsAs) and for their move to Madrid in September when he starts the 2nd year of his master's business program.

After talking to Markus, I checked my baggage in for the day, rode into town on the Tube and took a nap in Green Park for three hours (anyone could have taken my backpack and computer bag because I was knocked out from having tried to sleep in the Montreal and London airports the two previous nights). After the nap I met Markus at his work and got a coffee. He let me borrow his keys and his flat for the afternoon to shower and then I took Flat Arkansas and Flat Cameroon on a tour of London until I met up with Markus again for dinner. Both Flats tried to head to Hogwarts but I told them they could go in August when we return to Platform 9 and 3/4. You can see the photos of all the places we visited. After dinner, Markus and I headed back to his flat and hit the sack.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning to walk with Markus (he was flying to Munich to visit his brother) and he sent me to Hempstead where I walked around. I then caught a bus to Trafalgar Square and walked around most of central London (reading, shopping at Lush, and eating lunch at a terrible and expensive restaurant) until leaving for Heathrow at 2:30 p.m. On the way to the airport I met another American who had been in Cameroon during the Fall - her name was Sara and she was from D.C. and went to school at Pomona.

After catching my plane, I sat next to Taiser and Morris (both Syrians who have lived in London for over 20 years). They were two wild and crazy guys - they gave me their numbers and said to call them when I got back to London. Then at Muhammad V airport in Casablanca I checked in for my next flight but since it was so far away they sent me to get a free hotel for the night. So here I am now, after a ride downtown with a group of six individuals from Guinea (who just got back from Dubai). They were nice, as were the two guys working in the accomadations office.

Other great sites of the day - sign holders (like Brett on Flight of the Conchords), the movie Shotgun Stories (all filmed in Arkansas) showing in London, a Cameroonian flag, some great graffiti (an awesome Banksy piece and the robot guy - twice), and the Nelson Mandela statue near Westminister.

Next stop - CAMEROON!

airport to airport to bed

As Erin Jones declared in her blog, with one addition, I could be an airline and airport critic.

Currently I am on the ground in London's Heathrow airport. Last night was spent in Montreal's Dorval airport and tomorrow night will probably be in Casablanca (but I think I will get a hostel because that might be a 3-nighter). I will figure it all out in 5 or so hours when I can actually talk to a Royal Air Maroc representative and present my paper ticket (I think they might be the only airline that still uses these).

Everything has been great. After a flight through Memphis, where I met a woman from Nigeria who was going home for the first time in 13 years, I spent two nights in New York - the first eating Papa John's Pizza, the next eating at Roebling Tea Room. In between I visited Haynes at Little Marc Jacobs (see the picture also including Meagan, Chelsea, Cameroon Flat and Arkansas Flat) for most of the day and did some quick shopping (backpack rain cover, books, Frisbee and handkerchiefs) with Meagan. Yesterday morning I finished a few last things, got a burger at La Esquina with Haynes, rode home and caught a cab to the airport.

I actually showed up 2 hours and 15 minutes early. My flight to Ottawa was cancelled so they booked me on one to Montreal then to London which would arrive at the same time. This was all good, especially because the guy (John, who was with his girlfriend, Lily) checking in next to me actually just got back from a year in Cameroon. And, get this, he went to Brown with our roommate for the summer - Zara.

Because of so-called thunderstorms our flight was delayed before we got on and while on the runway for an entire 4 hours. There were about 4 dozen planes waiting to take off and only the ones heading to the south and east were allowed to go. I did get to watch a movie in this time and also ended up in first class - which was really nice. Air Canada is a really great airline but the weather washed everyone's plans away.

At Montreal we arrived 10 minutes before the flight to London. This meant a night in a square sofa but not before a night out on the town with some more new made friends, Heather and Adam (they have my one Montreal photo). We got some beer and Poutin (I really don't know how to spell this but it was fries with gravy and cheese and is a specialty of Montreal). At 4:30 a.m. I checked in to the newly changed flight to Toronto, then to London, and tried to contact Royal Air Maroc but after three calls with them and one with Orbitz I had no luck.

The flights to Toronto and London were good - I watched three more movies and met two more friends - Kathy and Trina (both traveling to do research, Trina actually to Sierra Leone). Air Canada has nice planes with futuristic features - or maybe I was in the future, who knows - but they didn't help us out that much (except giving me a tour of Canada).

Well, I ended up here in Heathrow and did receive some good news - the shipping costs for all of the soccer gear was cheaper than expected and Marie Tillman called me today and left a message to meet up in New York to talk about my project (Haynes called back and told her I had already left). I am still discussing my project with the Tillman Foundation for this fall in Arizona and will hopefully have it in concrete before I head back home in August.

Until next time, in whatever airport I may be resting in.

The days are counting down.

I have been steadily packing - clothes in one corner of the room, other stuff in another corner.

My online shopping is over. I think I could stay on REI.com all day. When that all arrives I will finally pack it into my backpack.

I have also been collecting, collecting, collecting soccer supplies - one batch of three bags has already been sent to Chance in Denver to bring over with him. The next batch will be packed soon and it will be heading over with the honorable James Szenher. And one final bag with a mixture of soccer equipment and Loan's books will head over as extra baggage with me.

Last week I spent a morning in the classroom of my ninth grade English teacher, Ms. Ritchie. She allowed me to come to her classes and talk with the kids about Cameroon and my project. We asked each of her classes to write letters that day (to help me start a pen pal program and further global cooperation) and at the end collected 89 letters - hooray letters!

I am excited. It is even more exciting knowing that Loan is almost there (I dropped her off at the airport at 5:15 a.m. yesterday and am guessing she is having her 15 hour lay over in Casablanca, Morocco, right now). Even more exciting is that I am done with my vaccinations (and no longer in a daze from any of them).

But until the time comes I am trying to enjoy my final moments here at home. On Friday I will be at Field Day with Lakewood Elementary where the kids will each get a few chances to shoot on me (and hopefully "the" Bobby and Emily's Tristan) at goal.

Riverfest is also this weekend and I will be enjoying the performances of three of my friends' groups - Christopher Denny and the Old Soles (6 p.m. on Saturday), Mammoth Orange (Noon on Saturday) and Silverton (6:15 p.m. on Friday).

I leave on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. for New York where I will be for two nights visiting Haynes. And I will head out to Cameroon on Tuesday.

When I get there, if I get there, I will write you.

Kicks for Kids in Cameroon

Thanks.

For those who have already supported the children I will be working with in Cameroon.

This blog is for y'all.

And for those who will be keeping up with my travels (I might continue this on future trips).

I will be sure to update photos (as often as I can get internet access in Mamfe) and I will be sure to tell you about my trip and experiences.

For those who don't know already, I am heading to southwest Cameroon this summer to work with an organization called United Action for Children. I will be helping them expand their Community Sports for Development Program. This program uses football (soccer) to teach children/youth life skills - a sports empowerment program.

In planning for this excursion, I have been collecting donations to help purchase equipment for the teams I will be working with. So far it has been amazing the amount of support y'all have shown - thank you!

Well, look forward to future postings and more elaborate ones (as I get to know how to use the world wide web).