Lizard Cowpies

In the US, if I was eating breakfast and lizard shit fell from the sky and landed next to my plate, I'd be a little upset.  In Cameroon, while eating breakfast at my favorite Garoua omelette shack, lizard shit fell from the sky, landed next to my plate, and I just thought, "Hey, that's some lizard shit. Glad it didn't land on my plate. I'm still hungry."  I've been here for nearly five months now, two at post, and I find this whole lizard dropping thing one sign of how I have changed.

 

Don't worry, I'm won't do a big whole thing about how I love Africa and Africa loves me and I'm finding myself here. I'll save that for later, and it'll be incredibly sappy and lame.  But I will say that in my short time living and "working" here, I've gotten used to and accepted so many things as normal that would have been crazy to me a year ago.  For instance, thinking that a pit latrine is the ultimate waste removal system compared to a flush toilet is something I wouldn't have believed back in the States.  Being relieved to be on paved roads, going to restaurants where half the menu isn't available, bargaining with vendors, realizing how a strong middle class might be the only way to develop/make things more like Europe or America and that it's in the government's best interest to stop that from happening.  That last one was a little intense, n'est pas?

 

I'm seeing possible projects in my village.  One major one might be to start a PVVS group in Lagdo (PVVS is a French abbreviation. I don't want to get too excited or have too high expectations, so you can look up the abbreviation for now and I'll explain as time goes on what it entails.  This could be a major opportunity for me, and I don't want to jinx it by talking about it too much right now.  This isn't on par with Wade Boggs eating fried chicken before every game, but it's my superstition and I'll be annoyingly vague if I want to.)...