50 Cent (cent), Justin (tin), Timbaland (land), France

In between listening to "Ayo Technology" over and over again and going to interminable meetings the last few weeks, I've been counting down the days until my first vacation since I got here September 30, 2006. (Well, one could say that PC is 27 months of vacation, but I won't for now.) I leave Lagdo in 18 days, December 12th.

 

First I'm going to climb Mount Cameroon in Southern Cameroon, which is near the town of Buea, with some PCVs from my stage.  Mount Cameroon is Cameroon's highest mountain and in the South-West province, which is anglophone.  The mountain, Lonely Planet says, is a relatively easy climb up and down of a few days (you can do it in one if you want), but the toughest part is the fast change of altitude.  There's also an annual footrace up and down, but that's in February I believe.  This will be the first time I've done an overnight hike, so I'm looking forward to it and hoping I won't be like Bill Bryson's friend in A Walk in the Woods. (Click on the link to learn more about the mountain.)

 

A few days after the ol' mountain and some down time in Yaounde, I'm going to go to Paris, Texas. Just kidding.  La France. I'm going to spend ten days in la ville des lumieres, where I'll meet up with les parents and one Monsieur Ian Patrick McCarron for a week and a half of eating and wireless Internet.  I remember the last time I was in France (well, the only other time), all there was to eat in my eyes was ham sandwiches.  That won't be happening this time.  It's going to be nice to be out of the Cameroon fishbowl, even if it's for a relatively short time, and be able to get a break and enjoy our very nice Western lifestyle before heading back to Lagdo and the "real world" for Year 2.

 

 

Ambassador Livingstone, I Presume?

The US ambassador came to Lagdo Tuesday (the 13th).  She's a she, and she's new, coming to Cameroon a couple months ago, replacing a very popular American ambassador (he's a he), who I saw once at a nice beach-front hotel in Kribi back in April. (Note: the US ambassador is considered the next powerful person in Cameroon next to the president, Paul Biya.  Paul Biya will not be winning that $5 million prize for African leadership.) 

 

Embassy people aren't new to Lagdo.  It was a US money that funded the CARE project that improved the irrigation canals to the rice fields on the other side of the dam, so US officials come and see what our taxes are paying for, in addition to overhead costs at the CARE office.  (The malaria project I worked with was funded by Sanofi-Aventis, the French pharmaceutical.)  Back when CARe was here, they usually swooped the embassy people up and showed them sights, but because CARE is gone now, as the only Americans present here, myself and other PCVs became in charge of her visit. 

 

In tandem with PC admin in Yaounde, we picked a few of our projects in the community for her to see and to go to lunch at Lagon Bleu.  After much fretting during all the events, we only ended up 30 minutes late, not too bad since we, the PCVs, had no idea how to handle this kind of even ourselves in a completely culturally appropriate manner on short notice.  Like a lot of things here, you just wing and they all work out.  Just like Americans to base success on punctuality.

 

Overall, the ambassador + entourage + Land Cruisers = a good visit.  The ambassador got fed a lot and received a bunch of gifts, and she doled out a few herself, much to our (PCV) chagrin.  (The whole point of PC is to not give handouts, but the State Dept. has different goals, of course.  Oil and counterbalancing China's growing influence, among others.)  It's such a whirlwind when being with the ambassador.  You go from random white guy in rural Africa to being in the middle of a swarm of activity and speaking English with Americans not in the PC.  It's funny hearing an embassy official asking where a toilet is - not a latrine - while the ambassador is trying on an outfit a women's group made especially for her.  There is a disconnect between the lifestyle of a PCV and an embassy worker, both can't imagine how the other lives.  When the ambassador left, I didn't know what to do with myself because the non-stop fuss was over and I was back in Cameroon.

 

Future blog entries: 2007 X-mas plans, "Fall" work recap, Year 2 plans

 

 

Meeting Etiquette

First, I've moved my photos to Shutterfly because Yahoo Photos shut down a couple months ago, and I've yet to organize them on the new site. I'll hopefully get that done during Christmas vacation where I'll have a good Internet connection, then they'll be back up. (Man, just mentioning now the picture situation two months after the change and then not fixing it for atleast another month: Je suis en Afrique.)  Second, if you haven't read it, here's Phil's blog of his life as an Education volunteer in Kazakhstan, where it's already snowed.  It's around 90 degrees right now and it's almost "winter" in Cameroon. Anyway,

 

So, if you're leading a meeting with two other people, and one of your colleagues is speaking, what do the other two people do?  Sit attentively or prepare for their own part of the presentation.  Well, I was at a meeting yesterday led by three people, and while one person was speaking to the group, the second had her head down on the desk and the third was talking on his cell phone.  Talking on his cell phone.  Talking on his cell phone.  This kind of etiquette is ridiculous to someone from America - I mean, he was talking on his cell phone and he's the boss - that I can't really believe it's happening, even after being here for so long.

 

Common meeting behaviors: Putting your head down on the table, answering your cell phone and not leaving the room, listening to your headphones, not showing up for the meeting, coming an hour late for the meeting and shrugging it off ("C'est l'Afrique.") when confronted, showing up late for the meeting while the day before - speaking as a Cameroonian - upbraiding Cameroonians for always being late and shrugging it off ("C'est l'Afrique. Les gens sont pauvres.").  Then in private meetings, having people just walking in and out of the office, just start talking to a person in the room like no one else is there, etc. And always answering your cell phone and not getting up to go outside.