1/3/11 10:44 Am
Breakfast this morning was pepper soup, yam, and meat. I ate goat meat and they gave me pork. It wasn't just pork...it was a pig leg, skin and everything. That was hard to do. I also had a fruit called pawpaw. Emelia decided not to wake me up this morning for the prayer meeting. I was glad because I was sound asleep at 5:30.
Erica washed the car and we talked about the differences in education in our countries. Derek had breakfast with us and asked all about my time here. He is studying in Amsterdam so he has a different perspective. He wants to skype when I get back home.Emelia went to a funeral and Erica and I stayed at the house and have been watching American music videos. She has so many of them on a DVD. She is obsessed with American music. I plan to send her some stuff once I get back to the states. Soon we will walk up to the church to meet the rest of the group. I think she's planning to show me around on our way there. People are fascinated by the color of my skin, when we go places people point and say things like "white" or "white man". It's so interesting.
When we meet at the manse we will go to Fru Ndi's house for lunch. Fru Ndi is Cindy's next house. That shall be interesting: spending three days living with the leader of the oppositional party. I enjoy when they start talking politics and theology. We shall see what today's conversation will entail.
I'm sort of nervous about going to the next house. I'm just now getting use to this house. It's hard to get used to so many changes all at once. Shelby was near tears last night and I was yesterday afternoon. A change in time, place, people, culture, language, food, climate, experiences, even our bodies are changing. It's all at the same time and its scary, confusing and a whole slew of other sentiments.
Showing posts with label chairman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chairman. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
Many Firsts
1/3/11 12:01 AM
This trip is a series of many firsts. My first trip to Africa, my first time leaving north America, my first transcontinental flight, first time eating many different foods (like kola nut, palm wine, bush meat, etc.) first time at a traditional dance and other cultural firsts. Today I had another first the was more of a career first. When we were leaving Bafut (which I will explain later) we stopped at the home of someone who was sick. It turns out that she is dying. They believe she has cancer but she has nor been taken to hospital. She is very near death. In Cameroon they view me as a pastor. They found out I plan to be a pastor and am studying religion so I am a sort of a junior pastor in ways. They've had me say grace (which I have done many times before so I am used to it), bless a home (I don't really know what to do so I prayed for the family, and now pray over a dying woman. I have never done that before and internally I was FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!! What if she dies soon after? What if this is the last prayer she hears? What if I mess it up? Can I do this? Am I qualified for this? So many questions were going through my head, but I was put on the spot and the woman, her friends and her grandson were waiting for me to pray over her so I prayed. I told Cindy about it when I got back to Bamenda and she was proud of me. I'm still not sure what to think.
This morning we attended church and it was very interesting. There was the baptism of three children, the presentation of new babies, and the blessing of marriages. These aren't done in our tradition so it was great to watch. Shelby, David and I were brought into the Sunday school class. It is huge! Hundreds of kids! They sang to us and applauded when we entered the room. Faith saw me and ran up to us. She sat on my lap/leaned against my legs while we were there. Shelby was jealous of my special friend. Once the service ended everyone wanted to have their picture taken with us. I felt like a tourist attraction. I have never had my picture taken so many times in my life.
Once we left the church, we went to the home of the family that had the baptized children. They feed us (of course) and Clara, Shelby's host, had me try something new. It was fermented casaba wrapped in banana leaves. It was an interesting gelatinous texture.
When our group left the party, smells said we would head to her village in Bafut. First we drove to the market and bought a bag of salt. The market was interesting and very busy. Crossing the street was dangerous. The people here are so intrigued by the color of my skin. A boy was starring at me and tripped. We went to the home of emelia's junior brother. There I was fed again and had palm wine. I tried a sip of it in Nkikoh. This kind is different. This was the knock you on your ass variety. When we first arrived, the women danced around me and embraced me. It was confusing but cool. While there I saw communism at it's most pure form. The bag of salt we brought was placed with palm oil. After the meal the salt was dumped into a bucket and the palm oil poured into a bowl. Then they are both evenly distributed throughout all of the family. They ring what they have and take what they need. It was awesome to watch. They presented me with a broom made of palms. Hopefully customs won't take it away.
Tonight we had dinner at grace's house. Shelby and I basically stalked Ryan, trying to take millions of pictures. Ryan's mom and dad are members of our church but Ryan is living here in Bamenda with his grandmother, Grace. Caroline and George asked us to take pictures of him because they miss him. After spending time there Emelia and I came back to her house. Erica and I talked more about the difference between Cameroon and USA. Specifically we talked about products like shampoo, nair, and razors. I took my shower and attempted to bathe the dust off and then finished off the night with conversation with Erica and watching music videos with her.
Tomorrow morning, at 5:30 AM, Emelia is taking me to a prayer service. Hopefully I will stay awake. Shelby is going to the local school where he host teaches, in a bit jealous. At 12:30 we switch to our second hosts. We are also once again the personal guests of Fru Ndi. We were trying to figure out who he would be equal to in USA and we think someone like Martin Luther king Jr or maybe Malcolm X.Tomorrow should be yet another series of adventures.
This trip is a series of many firsts. My first trip to Africa, my first time leaving north America, my first transcontinental flight, first time eating many different foods (like kola nut, palm wine, bush meat, etc.) first time at a traditional dance and other cultural firsts. Today I had another first the was more of a career first. When we were leaving Bafut (which I will explain later) we stopped at the home of someone who was sick. It turns out that she is dying. They believe she has cancer but she has nor been taken to hospital. She is very near death. In Cameroon they view me as a pastor. They found out I plan to be a pastor and am studying religion so I am a sort of a junior pastor in ways. They've had me say grace (which I have done many times before so I am used to it), bless a home (I don't really know what to do so I prayed for the family, and now pray over a dying woman. I have never done that before and internally I was FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!! What if she dies soon after? What if this is the last prayer she hears? What if I mess it up? Can I do this? Am I qualified for this? So many questions were going through my head, but I was put on the spot and the woman, her friends and her grandson were waiting for me to pray over her so I prayed. I told Cindy about it when I got back to Bamenda and she was proud of me. I'm still not sure what to think.
This morning we attended church and it was very interesting. There was the baptism of three children, the presentation of new babies, and the blessing of marriages. These aren't done in our tradition so it was great to watch. Shelby, David and I were brought into the Sunday school class. It is huge! Hundreds of kids! They sang to us and applauded when we entered the room. Faith saw me and ran up to us. She sat on my lap/leaned against my legs while we were there. Shelby was jealous of my special friend. Once the service ended everyone wanted to have their picture taken with us. I felt like a tourist attraction. I have never had my picture taken so many times in my life.
Once we left the church, we went to the home of the family that had the baptized children. They feed us (of course) and Clara, Shelby's host, had me try something new. It was fermented casaba wrapped in banana leaves. It was an interesting gelatinous texture.
When our group left the party, smells said we would head to her village in Bafut. First we drove to the market and bought a bag of salt. The market was interesting and very busy. Crossing the street was dangerous. The people here are so intrigued by the color of my skin. A boy was starring at me and tripped. We went to the home of emelia's junior brother. There I was fed again and had palm wine. I tried a sip of it in Nkikoh. This kind is different. This was the knock you on your ass variety. When we first arrived, the women danced around me and embraced me. It was confusing but cool. While there I saw communism at it's most pure form. The bag of salt we brought was placed with palm oil. After the meal the salt was dumped into a bucket and the palm oil poured into a bowl. Then they are both evenly distributed throughout all of the family. They ring what they have and take what they need. It was awesome to watch. They presented me with a broom made of palms. Hopefully customs won't take it away.
Tonight we had dinner at grace's house. Shelby and I basically stalked Ryan, trying to take millions of pictures. Ryan's mom and dad are members of our church but Ryan is living here in Bamenda with his grandmother, Grace. Caroline and George asked us to take pictures of him because they miss him. After spending time there Emelia and I came back to her house. Erica and I talked more about the difference between Cameroon and USA. Specifically we talked about products like shampoo, nair, and razors. I took my shower and attempted to bathe the dust off and then finished off the night with conversation with Erica and watching music videos with her.
Tomorrow morning, at 5:30 AM, Emelia is taking me to a prayer service. Hopefully I will stay awake. Shelby is going to the local school where he host teaches, in a bit jealous. At 12:30 we switch to our second hosts. We are also once again the personal guests of Fru Ndi. We were trying to figure out who he would be equal to in USA and we think someone like Martin Luther king Jr or maybe Malcolm X.Tomorrow should be yet another series of adventures.
New years
1/1/11 8:32 Pm
I am not sure where to start when describing today. So naturally I will start at the beginning. Showering this morning was something special. I could not for the life of me figure out how to shower properly. Ultimately I ended up sticking my head in the bucket of water and then shampooing and then sticking my head back in. When I showered tonight I figured it out and showered more easily.
This morning I was not feeling well. My stomach was nauseous and when I went to eat breakfast I couldn't eat because I thought I would get sick. I felt bad because Erica made eggs. Emelia and I went off to church. We were a few minutes late and had to wait outside until we could go in. Dave, Shelby and I were seated on the chancel and Cindy was sitting between the pastors. Everyone was very friendly. I have never had my hand shaken so many times. After church we went to the manse. We were fed lunch. I only had some rice because I still felt nauseous. Next I went back to Emelia's house. Erica wanted to make me lunch but I wasn't feeling up to eating. After a while she came out with a snack and so I had that. I feel bad saying no every time they offer it but either I feel sick or I'm full. I need to take really small portions tomorrow and see how that goes. I have had more soda to drink while in Cameroon thus far than I have in like a year.
At 12:30 we went to the chairman's house. He is Fru Ndi John. By chairman I mean the head and founder of the oppositional party that is trying to remove the president and by house I mean compound. Shelby compared sitting in his house to visiting the senator. While there, a group of Catholics from Detroit came by. We compared notes about our journeys to Bamenda. The chairman fed us and once again I only took small amounts. I sat next to one of the pastors. Cindy, the chairman, and the two pastors got into a Theological discussion which I loved. We were invited by the chairman to attend a traditional dance in a town called Santa. People were in their traditional dress and doing tribal dances. We danced for the king! It was amazing. The music, the dancing, the colors, it was all so good. It was like a native American powwow but African. After that is was back to the chairmans house for drinks and more food. The Ginger ale here is amazing and super gingery. Amazing! Pastor Julius drive Cindy and I back to the church manse. Emelia picked me up there and brought me back to her house. One of her friends wanted her to come down so we walked down. She offered me food and drink. I turned down the food but accepted a soda. After a while she insisted I eat something so I agreed. I ended up having goat stew. When we came back I stood outside with Erica talking. She couldn't believe that before coming to Cameroon I had never seen a palm tree and half only seen pineapples in the supermarket.
Faith saw me brushing my hair tonight and she was amazed. Her eyes were like saucers. After my shower I was sitting on my bed with Erica and she touched my hair. They are fascinated by it. Erica and I talked about Obama and the president of Cameroon. She told me all about how corrupt their president is. She also thought that the USA is a continent. So we did a rough geography lesson. She also told me about yaounde and how beautiful it is. Tomorrow is church and dinner with Grace. If they don't have plans for us for after church, Amelia and Erica are going to take ne to Bafunda.
I am not sure where to start when describing today. So naturally I will start at the beginning. Showering this morning was something special. I could not for the life of me figure out how to shower properly. Ultimately I ended up sticking my head in the bucket of water and then shampooing and then sticking my head back in. When I showered tonight I figured it out and showered more easily.
This morning I was not feeling well. My stomach was nauseous and when I went to eat breakfast I couldn't eat because I thought I would get sick. I felt bad because Erica made eggs. Emelia and I went off to church. We were a few minutes late and had to wait outside until we could go in. Dave, Shelby and I were seated on the chancel and Cindy was sitting between the pastors. Everyone was very friendly. I have never had my hand shaken so many times. After church we went to the manse. We were fed lunch. I only had some rice because I still felt nauseous. Next I went back to Emelia's house. Erica wanted to make me lunch but I wasn't feeling up to eating. After a while she came out with a snack and so I had that. I feel bad saying no every time they offer it but either I feel sick or I'm full. I need to take really small portions tomorrow and see how that goes. I have had more soda to drink while in Cameroon thus far than I have in like a year.
At 12:30 we went to the chairman's house. He is Fru Ndi John. By chairman I mean the head and founder of the oppositional party that is trying to remove the president and by house I mean compound. Shelby compared sitting in his house to visiting the senator. While there, a group of Catholics from Detroit came by. We compared notes about our journeys to Bamenda. The chairman fed us and once again I only took small amounts. I sat next to one of the pastors. Cindy, the chairman, and the two pastors got into a Theological discussion which I loved. We were invited by the chairman to attend a traditional dance in a town called Santa. People were in their traditional dress and doing tribal dances. We danced for the king! It was amazing. The music, the dancing, the colors, it was all so good. It was like a native American powwow but African. After that is was back to the chairmans house for drinks and more food. The Ginger ale here is amazing and super gingery. Amazing! Pastor Julius drive Cindy and I back to the church manse. Emelia picked me up there and brought me back to her house. One of her friends wanted her to come down so we walked down. She offered me food and drink. I turned down the food but accepted a soda. After a while she insisted I eat something so I agreed. I ended up having goat stew. When we came back I stood outside with Erica talking. She couldn't believe that before coming to Cameroon I had never seen a palm tree and half only seen pineapples in the supermarket.
Faith saw me brushing my hair tonight and she was amazed. Her eyes were like saucers. After my shower I was sitting on my bed with Erica and she touched my hair. They are fascinated by it. Erica and I talked about Obama and the president of Cameroon. She told me all about how corrupt their president is. She also thought that the USA is a continent. So we did a rough geography lesson. She also told me about yaounde and how beautiful it is. Tomorrow is church and dinner with Grace. If they don't have plans for us for after church, Amelia and Erica are going to take ne to Bafunda.
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