Jabbama haa Adamaoua!

“Welcome to Adamaoua”

It’s NOVEMBER people! I’m currently in week 6 of training out of 11. I’m half way there! Yesterday I received my post, which is where I will be spending the rest of my service for the next two years! Before I tell you, I want to give you a quick introduction on the regions of Cameroon to give you a better understanding of where I will be.

Cameroon is known as “Miniature Africa”. Why? Because it has 10 different regions consisting of all climate types, vegetation, animals etc. that you can find anywhere else in Africa. There is the Grand North: Adamaoua (located between the Central and North), North, Extreme North and the Grand South: Centre Region (capital: Yaounde), Littoral, East (the “jungle”), West, Northwest, Southwest (location of Mt. Cameroon and the BEACH) and the South (borders Gabon). The climate in the Grand North has 4 seasons, one long rainy season, one long dry season, one short rainy season, and one short dry season. The Grand South is more tropical, long rainy seasons and short dry seasons, humidity, sometimes “cold” during the rainy season and winter (especially in the Northwest).

I am headed to the regional capital of Adamaoua, Ngaoundere, in the Grand North. It’s a huge city, with a population of approximately 400,000 people. It is the regional hub for those traveling to the North and Extreme North. The demographics of this region vary from traditional African groups, Muslims (majority), and Christians. French is spoken as well as the local “patois” (dialect), called Fufulde.

Before finding out my post, I pictured myself living in the middle of the jungle with limited resources, a latrine (outside bathroom…no toilet), lots of rain and lots of mosquitoes. I thought I would live in a small village where I would easily make friends with my community. I even requested a small village during my interview with my program manager.

Well, I basically got the post that is the complete opposite of my Peace Corps vision. Big city, running water and electricity 24/7, internet access 24/7, restaurants, entertainment, you name it. Ngaoundere is also one of the biggest university cities in Cameroon.. You may be thinking, “Shanna, you’ve got it made”, and I agree, in some ways. I’m actually extremely intimated by the fact that I’m living in a city. More people, more obstacles. Youth make up 56% of the entire population in Cameroon (they consider youth to be age 15-35), so you can imagine there’s a lot of work to be done in a big city. Just a reminder, I’m the first YD volunteer in this city…ever. No pressure or anything…As for the mosquitoes...not a huge problem, but Adamaoua is known for being the home of the most deadliest snakes in the world...oh joy!

My work will primarily be focused on out-of-school girls. There is a large Muslim population in the Grand North, and one of the major problems facing young girls are high drop-out rates in school due to marriage at a young age (14 years old), early pregnancy, or their families do not permit them to go to school because of religious/traditional values. So, I’ll be assisting organizations to empower young girls through technical training and education that will cover life skill topics like HIV/AID prevention, family planning, sex ed., nutrition, business etc. That is just the beginning. There are so many different projects I can get my hands on with the number of organizations that are available. I think my biggest obstacle with my work will be the conservative traditions in the culture…and all I can say is…I’m so excited!!!

Since I am working in a capitol, there are beaucoup organizations that focus on youth that I can work with, such as: UNICEF, World Food Program, PLAN Cameroon, Cameroon National Youth Council, Ministry of Youth, different associations, technical schools, an orphanage, and a new youth center. So many choices! I don’t think I’ll have a problem staying busy J

Today I met my community host partner and for the next two days we are going over some PC business and Saturday morning I’m off to my post for a week visit! During the week I will be with a PCV who is posted there (I have two post mates), and she will help me get to know the city, meet lots of important people, open up my bank account, check out my house…basically get a feel of what I’m getting myself into. The best part about my site visit: I’m celebrating my b-day there…during Ramadan! Should be fun :)

Here are two things I want to highlight from the last two weeks:

-Last week I woke up in the middle of the night one night to find a cockroach in my bed…next to my face. If there’s one thing I haven’t gotten used to yet since arriving here are definitely the cockroaches. They are EVERYWHERE…and they are HUGE…like American cockroaches on steroids, and even that description doesn’t do it justice.

-I went to a Cameroonian night club for the first time on Saturday. It was at Hotel New Palace, a five minute walk from my house. There are two things I took away from that experience: the first was the infamous “mirror dancing”. Apparently all night clubs here have lots of mirrors in them, and Cameroonian love to use them when dancing. They look at themselves while dancing, have dance contests with themselves in the mirror (at least that’s what it looks like), and practice their moves. It’s quite amusing to watch. The second was when some guy at the bar tried to convince me to be his girlfriend (in English surprisingly), and when I refused him he accused me of being racist. He kept saying “You don’t like me because I’m black and your white, that’s is discrimination”! I was prepared for this type of “harassment” during training, but I wasn’t expecting to hear it from a drunk guy at a club. No silly man, it’s not because you’re black, it’s because you can’t handle an American woman…that’s what I wanted to say at least (which is true!)

I’m beyond excited to see my post. Since I’ll have internet access you’ll be hearing from me soon!! On a bad note…I got a sinus infection today! Went to the hospital for the first time to get some antibiotics…and now I’m feeling so much better! Until next time friends :)