I have now been at post for about 2 and a half months. A lot has been going on and I have been busy teaching and meeting people in the village. I am now teaching Biology to Forms 1 and 2 and teaching Computer Studies to Forms 3 to Upper Sixth, so basically I teach every student at the high school either Biology or Computers. My Forms 1 and 2 are pretty huge, about 90 students in each class but the other classes aren’t as bad…only about 50 – 60 students. My biggest challenge so far has been disciplining such large classes. I have a few techniques: the stare down until they realize I am looking at them disturbing and finally stop, making the class sit in silence before I let them go at the end of the period, giving a speech about respect (this is the least effective), or sending them out of class or to the discipline master. I used to not want to send them out because they would miss the lesson and get behind and would have to do manual labor from the discipline master, but the more they disrupt the class, the less sympathy I have for them. I am getting better at controlling the class and now that they know I will send them out if I have to, they are behaving better (sort of…).
The other problem has been the lack of computers. We received 5 new computers a few weeks ago BUT we don’t have a power source big enough for all 5 to work at the same time. So, I still haven’t been able to have practicals. Even if all 5 computers did work, with such large classes, practicals are still going to be difficult. My plan right now is to divide them into small groups and take turns using the computer they are assigned to within these groups…I really have no idea how this is going to work out but it is the best we can do with little resources and so many people. I would like to start working on a project to get more computers and Internet. There is no Internet in my village right now, so if anyone wants to get online, the nearest internet café is a 30 minute moto ride away in Menji. This is expensive for most people and so they do not go and have never used the Internet and don’t really know what it is. It is going to be a long process to make this happen – I will need to first of all find a space and a power source to store the computers and make them all run, then find the funds to buy more computers and the devices needed for Internet capability. There are ways to do this and I will look into it…I’ll keep you posted.
Other than teaching, I have been meeting a lot of people in the community and attending various events around the village. I have been to 2 funerals so far. Funerals here are a big deal and everyone in the village attends them. There is lots of food, music, and dancing…it is really more of a big party than a somber event. They always kill a pig and cook it and there is always lots of fufu (my favorite…). The pork meat is actually really delicious and I like eating it whenever I can get it. There are specific dances that people do and I’ve asked what the meaning is behind them but no one has given me a very clear answer besides “oh, this is just a dance that is done at funerals.” During these dances, there are sometimes people dressed up in costumes. One of the costumes is made from shreds of bamboo trees and when the guy is dressed up in it, he kind of looks like Chewbaca. He dances around with this big pole for about 5 minutes then goes on his way, only to reappear again every couple of dances. There are also some people that wear huge masks made from wood that dance around. The last funeral I went to, I got to sit with the chiefs and they all say I am a chief now so I guess I am rising up in society, haha.
It is kind of strange not being in America right now. First, not being in America during the election was a little heartbreaking. I wish I could have been there when everyone found out Obama was our new president. (I found out by myself late during the night through text message…not very exciting) Although, everyone here knows of him and were really happy that he won. One of the other teachers at the high school even has an Obama watch which he loves to show me. Also with the holidays coming up, it is strange to not be with family and friends. Halloween was pretty uneventful. No one here knows of it and when I described that on that day kids dress up in costumes and go around to people’s houses asking for candy, they looked at me like I was crazy. Then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are definitely going to be different. Christmas should be fun because it will be after In Service Training and I will hopefully be able to see a lot of other volunteers. I am just going to miss the pumpkin pie, Christmas lights and eggnog…
I am going to end this post with a series of awkward moments I have experienced in Cameroon:
1) Accidentally locking myself in the classroom with the students – I closed the door because the class next door was being too loud and didn’t realized that it would lock after I did that and I didn’t have a key. So, naturally a few kids maneuvered the lock with their machetes and opened it after about 5 minutes of unstoppable laughter and excitement.
2) Having freckles – One of my fellow teachers looked at my arm with a concerned expression and asked if I was having an allergic reaction to the climate here…
3) How do you feel about marrying a Cameroonian? – I get asked this question a minimum of 3 times a week.
4) My veterinarian storing the medicine for my cat in the base of a banana tree to keep it cool because I don’t have a fridge.
(P.S. My cat got into a fight and then the wounds got infected and she hung on for about a week, but then passed away…R.I.P Lola)
5) Bargaining with sweet (not) old ladies at the market who are trying to charge me 500 CFA for a pineapple when it should only be 200 because they don’t think I know how much they cost. I’m getting quite good at negotiating…
6) The old man who keeps coming to my door and asking for money to buy whiskey sachets.
7) Whenever a student asks to go ease themselves. (This is how they ask to go to the bathroom…but there isn’t a bathroom)
Love and miss all of you beaucoup!
Connie
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5 comments:
Hi Sweet Connie or should I say Chief Connie,
I loved your updated blog today! It's so wonderful to hear all of your stories. That was quite an interesting experience getting locked inside your classroom and how the students helped to get the door open with their machetes!
Your photo is beautiful. I love your hair, it is getting very long and you look good in that blue outfit. Is that a real recent picture? Did you have that outfit custom made there?
I sure hope you receive the many packages I sent in the past 2 months. Hopefully they will get to you before Christmas!
I know it must be a challenge getting the students to behave but it sounds like your getting a good handle on it and figuring out creative ways to get them to know you mean business. Wish you could have some company sponsor you and send you some of those computers that you crank or wind up yourself to power it up. That must be a bit frustrating to want to teach all of the students the computer techniques and then not be able to have all 5 computers going at once because of the power supply. Hang in there.
We all miss you soooo much Connie. E-mail more photos so we can see your world there! We think of you all of the time and people are always asking how you are doing. Sooooo proud of you! Stay safe and watch out for those old men knocking at your door, and also those young ones asking you to marry them!!! Lots of Love and Hugs to You, Sweet Thing, M O M
Hi Connie,
I don't know if you were able to read it yet but thought you might want to read President-Elect Barack Obama's speech.
Love you Connie!
M O M
Here you go:
11-4-08 Election Night
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics -- you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to -- it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House -- a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world -- our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down -- we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security -- we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright --tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America -- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing -- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
Connie, I know you're going home in June. Be prepared for mega culture shock. Plan quiet times... It took the Canadian's 2 weeks to settle in and that was with constant communication with 17 others who understood what and where we had been.
All the best to GHS. Lewoh is definitely missed.
Liz Vandenberg
Connie,
I stumbled onto your blog by chance. Actually, I was searching for info on Lewoh, and your blog came up. I am a Cameroonian-American, currently residing in Frisco, TX. Please contact me via email at editor@peoplecameroon.com. I am very interested in what you are doing, and in your experiences.
Sincerely,
S. Mesumbe
Good Job. I'm a native of lewoh and I applaud your efforts. I now live and work in North America. Will be visiting Lewoh this Dec.
take care and courage
Alandas
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