First Post in Croon continued ;)

20 Mars 2011

Random stories that have happened thus far here:

-so the first Sunday I was here, I was washing my clothes in my house and I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and two men who I had never seen before were standing outside. I greeted them in Fulfulde and then they said something that I didn't understand and one of the men motioned for me to take the thing in his hands: a live chicken. I said whatt in french and they motioned again for me to take it. The man was holding the live rooster by the tied-together feet. I tried to ask them in french where they live so I could come by later to get the chicken with a friend who knows what the heck to do with a live foul, but francais was a no go. They motioned once more and I hesitantly reached out and grabbed the chicken by the feet. Mi soko, soko, I thanked them and they left. As soon as they were out of my concession, the rooster turned its head and pecked me on the hand. I screamed a let it go. It flew about two feet in a big mess of feathers and cock-a-doodle-doing before landing in my concession. It couldn't leave because its feet were tied together, so I ran next door and grabbed Aissatou. "M'aide! Help me!" I yelled and she followed me back to the house. I asked her what to do with it, and she just picked the poultry up (like a pro obviously) and said they would make supper tonight. I stopped by twenty minutes later and they had already killed and de-feathered mr. rooster. 

-so I have this thing about cockroaches. I bought this bug spray called Rambo (that will most likely give me cancer as well as kill the roaches) and sprayed my latrine from top to bottom. That killed most of them. And I am very careful to keep my door and windows closed after dusk so they can't find their way in. But every now and then one appears at night out of nowhere. When the Aissatous walk me home at night, we have a routine where they survey the floor of my home with their flashlight for spidies and roaches and when spotted, they shoo them outside with the broom. However, on the one night when the flashlight survey wasn't thorough enough, I closed and locked the door after the gals left, and turned around the find a big ol' roachie in my flashlight. Instant panic. Instant adrenaline. The thing is though that I really don't like killing them. Life must stink for a roachie, literally and figuratively and I feel kindof bad for them even though they're so ugly. However, on this particular night, I was in no mood to re-open the door and shoo him out. So I set down the flashlight to give a good view of the critter, lifted the broom, and aimed for him. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, my force was stronger than I thought, and a huge BOOM sound echoed through my house. The broom had broken a piece off and it had flown across the room. My aim had been dead-on though. Roachies 0, Alison 1. I duct-taped the broom handle (that had cracked as well) the next morn. I think that's called karma.

Things that Cameroonians are better at than me:

-Speaking Hausa, Fulfulde, Dee, Boom, Cameroon French-Washing children in basins-Dealing with live chickens-Turning couscous-Finding firewood-Carrying things on their heads-Dancing-Singing-Eating couscous-crochetting-pulling water

Things that I'm better at than Cameroonians:

-Analytical reasoning-Making clotheslines in homes-Cooking spaghetti-Using office supplies-Locating Cameroon on a world map-building "Etages" or mini-buildings out of scrabble tiles

I've noticed that Murphy's Law doesn't apply here. I noticed this is Niger as well but it is more apparent here. Five people riding on a two-person motorcycle- and not getting into an accident. Walking around barefoot out in the bush- and not getting a cut. Drinking well water that is the color of chocolate- and not getting sick. My favorite example of this happened during the community assessment when I was walking around and interviewing all the women in the village. I saw a little girl in a home pick up a sharp cooking knife (that had been lying on the ground of course, best place to store things you use to cook food) and lick the dirt off of it on both sides- and she didn't cut her tongue. 

21 Mars 2011. I have been in village for one month and have not gotten sick. Knock on wood. This is a miracle. AT LEAST once a day, I will be invited to eat something or try something at someone's house after I've watched how they prepare it, and I say to myself "Alright Alison, if you get sick, then atleast you know why". But it hasn't happened yet. I don't feel grrrrreat, but I think with time and normal exercise I will. I have run a few times and had a grand bike ride one morning, but I hope to make a morn bike ride part of my everyday routine.

Just some stats

Minimum temperature recorded here thus far: 73.3

Maximum temperature recorded here thus far: 118

Roach count 4

Little Spidey Count 13

Big Spidey Count 3

Times my hair has been braided thus far 3

Record number of meals eaten in one day so far 6

Current weight 63 kilos= about 138 pounds right?

Average number of times I am asked for something per day 3

Age of the youngest girl who came into the health center for her prenatal consultation 15

Average percentage of conversations that I understand 30%

Costs in Village (1 USD = app. 550 FCFA)

1 Egg 100 FCFA

1 Bennet (just like dunkin' donut munchkins, but with more oil) 25 FCFA

Hand-made clay pot for cooking 400 FCFA

Flipflops 400 FCFA

Stylish plastic flats 1500 FCFA

Charge cellphone at generator 100 FCFA

1 "baguette" 100 FCFA

Bag of salt or sugar 100 FCFA

Container of clean water from the pumpo 25 FCFA