pictures

Random pictures.

Bamileke.

I've been learning trop much the past month that I feel I need to write a few things about everything. Wednesday, I visited a microfinance organization and talked about women and their role in the informal sector and how that relates to microlending. That afternoon we met with an employee of MUFFA - Mutuelle Financiere des Femmes Africaines - another microfinance that was founded by women to serve women and fund small projects. Ironically, the employee we spoke with was the only male employee, and he is the branch manager in Yaounde. Thursday (yesterday), we met with Dan of the World Bank. Dan was an SIT student himself in Botswana and later became SIT Academic Director of the Botswana and Uganda programs. I learned beaucoup la bas, mais mostly that the WB has many programs and PROBLEMS in Cameroon, and Dan was not afraid to mention that to us. Oh, did I mention he's American, one of the few americans we've spoken with in Cam. After WB was the Peace Corps where we heard from 3 agro/health volunteers who are leaving in a month after 2 years of projects in various parts of the country. Schedule for next week: Monday - Caisse Nationale de Prevoyance Sociale (CNPS)/Ministry of Environment; Tuesday - Center for Environment and Development (CED)/US Embassy; Wed - Ministry of Finance.......I am ever amazed that we have such opportunities to meet with head officials/important actors in Cameroon and I am getting sooo many different perspectives on development and social problems. In what other program would I be able to pose as many questions as I can think of and then later share a meal with the only/main opposition leader to one of the 2 presidents in Cameroon's history (more to come on John Fru Ndi).

What I really wanted to talk about was the Bamileke culture, since it has such a huge presence in this part of Cameroon, namely in the west of the country. So, it’s difficult to talk about Dschang without talking about Bamileke culture. Bamileke is an ethnicity, which actually comprises around 20% of the actual population of Cameroon and is a group that is pretty controversial. Bamilekes are viewed as a versatile group that inhabits all regions of the country but are concentrated in the West. The name Bamileke is a deformation of Mba Lekeo by a german colonist. The name Bamileke is a broad generalization of smaller cultures within the ethnicity; every group is classified by a langue locale and identifies with a specific village. For example, my famille in Dschang is Bafang, meaning they are from Bafang and speak Bafang but are still Bamileke. If that makes sense...

           There's so much that I want to say about Bamilekes. They are a culture very much still attached to their traditions. Each Bamileke that I have encountered, like my grandmother in Yaounde who has lived here for most of her life, identifies strongly with a village and has a strong sense of village pride. Social organization in villages in based on a strict hierarchy. At the top is the chief, his mother, and ministers. 

Bamilekes are somewhat negatively stereotyped, as they have a long history of economic power and political activism. In fact, a frenchman stated "Le Cameroun va a l'independence avec un caillou dans la chaussure. Le caillou c'est les Bamilekes." Other groups view Bamilekes as stingy, greedy, materialistic, and individualist. Interestingly, there is not a Bamileke in a real position of power in the political system.

So, we visited the chefferie of Batufoum, a village a few hours from Dschang. After waiting for several hours outside, we viewed the chef's house and then met him in a sacred place outside for a meal. Then, we walked through the compound with the chef. We met some of his wives and children (chefs have many wives and tens/100s of children - the chef himself is the 90th child out of maybe 200)

fml.

after 2 weeks in Dschang and 4 days in Bamenda, im back in yaounde. not quite excited about it. hopefully i'll have time to update what has happened in the past 3 weeks. today is a holiday for the teachers, and ashleys mother is being recognized/receiving a medal for her work as an honorary teacher. After the ceremony (which was at 10am), theyre having a huge party at her house. I met all the relatives from the village last night and will be partying it up with them later tonight. i have beaucoup de devoirs though. im contemplating extending my stay in cameroon for at least 2 weeks, climbing mt cameroon, visiting the beach, random travel. ill post more about that thought later.
a plus tard.

Dschang

I have been in Dschang, the capital of L'Ouest since last Friday afternoon. On saturday, we were dropped off at our host familys. I feel like I could live here forever. I share a room with my sister, Dorvale. She is 25 and attends the University of Dschang. We share a huge bed and batheroom, and she really is awesome. Shes pretty chic and likes all the same music that i do. i have yet another brother named Yanick ici. Yanick is also a student at the university.He is 22 and in the third year, studying economics and international affairs...i think?! Anyway, he loves to dance and play the tamtam = the djembe. he is part of a club dance group at the university and does traditional dances. He LOVES to laugh, oh and he does theatre. I have 2 other brothers: Yvan, 18, and Louic, 15. Crystelle also lives with us, and shes my 16 yr old cousine. Maman works all day at a money exchange similar to western union, and papa is a retired teacher of history and geography. The children prepare all of the cuisine and well pretty much everything else. Favorite hang out place= the kitchen while we're all making food or dorvales bed. we only speak in french, though they all know some english. Unlike Yaounde, i am definitely not the first student theyve had. Yesterday, my fam told me that i speak french much better than other students in the past :) since maman works and papa is off doing other things, i only see the parents at night when the three of us eat dinner in the dark in front of the television. The other kids eat in the kitchen. its in the kitchen with my siblings where i have conversations about bilingual education system - cameroon is the only african country with english and french as official languages and consequently 2 education systems. weve also talked about polygamy and the deuxieme bureau, a maitresse, and things like that. Im learning so much while doing choses like cutting vegetables or washing dishes. we only have water in the morning, as we live on the top of a hill and water is scarcer based on location.
Agriculture dominates the economy of Dschang, and as I walk to school on the red muddy streets, I can see farms of mixed crops everywhere. Women are the primary cultivators, the traditional cultivators of the land. I also pass by a lake on the way to school. Hopefully I can upload pics soon.
I attend classes in a room at the university. Im learning about traditional versus modern gender roles and perseptions and also about the Bamilekes, the ethnic group of this area. More to come later about that.
Im thinking of doing my ISP in Dschang, as i have no desire to leave.
A plus tard,
audrey (from now on, my name is o-dray/the french pronunciation)

ma vie!

a little about moi-meme:
i live in a carrefour in the city of Yaounde called Tsinga. Two fridays ago, I met my host brother, Yannick, at my school. Yannick is a 27-yr old single guy who we (mes amies et moi) have named Kayne West. Kayne works at an expensive nightclub in a hotel in the centre ville from midnight to 5 in the morning. he gets one night off a week. Yannick lives with his grand-mere and cousin Canut in a house in a compound shared with Canut's father (Yannicks uncle) and his wife and her daughters. Interestingly, though Meme (my grandmere) had 6 children, only Canut's father is Muslim. Meme told me that he lived in Nigeria for 9 yrs and converted then. Since its Ramadan right now, Canut and his family fast during the day and eat at night. i can hear the prayers from the mosque at night AND at 5 in the morning. Meme and the others are Catholic. Yannick's mother died when the pipeline along the border of Nigeria exploded some years ago. What else about the fam...Since there are more than 250 ethnicities in Cameroon, often times there are people from several ethnicities and villages living in the same household. for example, Meme is Bamileke (which i will write about later after we spend some time in the west and visit traditional chiefdoms, etc) and Canut's step mother is from Mali and is Muslim. Oh, and I am learning Bamileke too.

Ashley, another american student, lives just down the road from me in Tsinga, and her family claims to be related to Yannick though I dont think they actually are. Families are huge here!! I spend much of my time with Ashley's family, as Kanye sleeps during the day and sometimes I feel like he doesnt know what to do with a 20 yr old american girl, besides show me off to his friends. Oh yea, we only communicate in French. Canut speaks a little english and is pretty good at explaining things slowly for me in french when i dont understand. i actually spent a lot of my first days at Ashleys house. The household, right now, consists of Maman and Papa (both teachers/papa is also minister of education at the university of Yaounde, which i learned today was the first university in Cameroon until the 90's, Vanessa and Leila, their 2 daughters. Vanessa is in her late 20s and is trying to learn english. Leila is 19?! i was expecting most ppl in Cameroon to be pretty conservative, based on what information i was given pre-depart, but chez Ashley is pretty westernized and progressive. Leila has a lot of piercings and loves to go to the nightclubs. In fact, most ppl here are dressed tres chic-ly. There is also Estel, a cousin or something, and her young daughter Denise and baby, Miela. Estel is hard of hearing, and it seems like the family has her do most domestic work, such as preparing the majority of meals and washing, etc. Leonce was kind of adopted by Maman, attends university in Ngaoundere, and is over most of the time. He lives in a neighborhood called Santa Barbara, and I have yet to visit him there. I have attended mass with ashleys family deux fois and eat meals at their house, blah blah blah.

Something exciting that i have done here was attend the national football game between Cameroon and Gabon. The winner of the game (Cameroon) now will compete in the final game against Togo to see who will make it to World Cup 2010 in South Africa. My Academic Director, Christiane, advised the class that it could be dangerous, but so many of us wanted to go that the program decided to buy a bunch of tickets. Our tickets, which are mid-expensive price were 5,000 CFA which equals 10 dolla. i invited Yannick to come with me (and when u invite people anywhere here, u are expected to pay..which is fine with me!) and Ashley invited Leonce. Leonce speaks english pretty well and LOVES soccer. Anway, there was pretty heavy security at the game (fights were expected to errupt after the game between Gabonese and Cameroonaise depending on the outcome), and I'm talking guards with huge guns. My AMERICAN friend velyn, who just happens to be black, was in line behind me, as we were escorted into the stadium by a guard with our tickets, and was pushed to the side by another guard because he didnt believe that she's american and with some of the other students and their guests. we've had many interesting discussions on the topic of race; i'm treated like royalty and have many guys telling me that they love me all the time, while velyn is expected to clean her cameroonian house and is harassed by men. on the other hand, JaCi, a girl here who is of mixed race, is considered white. People love dancing here, and there were beaucoup de personnes au match qui were playing drums and dancing.

I took djembe drum lessons last Friday and also a dance class with some other students. En plus, I was at an outdoors bar on Saturday night with Yannick, Leila, her friend, my best friend here (Celine) and Ashley, and Celines sisters, and was approached by a fly looking guy who offered me 10,000 CFA for myself. Yannick was pretty much my body guard that night.

Oh, I attend school in Bastos, which is supposedly the richest part of Yaounde. It's also the neighborhood of President Biya. Its about a 20 min walk, which i trek everyday with Celine, Ashley, and JaCi, as we all live in Tsinga. Classes are from 8h to 16h, except on friday, the day is supposed to end early. my french classes are everyday, usually for 4 hours. We were separated into french groups, and I only have 3 others in my french class, which is awesome! Also, there are 4 cameroonian students who attend classes with us. i have 2 big projects due this friday.

On saturday, we depart for Dschang in the west region. I'll be there for 2 weeks, staying with a different family. Apres ca, I'll return to Yannicks house for awhile before leaving again for Ngaoundere in the north. Learning A LOT!

a tout a l'heure

2 min

of internet! ouais!!! im alive and well and feeling cameroonian! i live with a host family now. bon nuit!!

Yaounde

so, we arrived last night! Until friday, we are staying in a monastery, which is located on a hill next to President Biya's compound! Where to start...I am rooming with Celine, a student from CU Boulder. We discovered that we have the same shoes, skirts, headlamps, etc..a good match! We woke up early for le petit-dejeuner, et apres, we started orientation. there will be 4 other Cameroonian students who will attend classes and some excurions with us. Classes will consume about 25 hours of our school weeks, and I already have a paper due on Thursday. I will write more later, when i have more time, about the extent of my studies for the next few months.
It's  slightly disorienting, as everyone speaks french the majority of the time. I'm trying, though. This afternoon, I had my french placement interview with Andre, a local professor from Yaounde who teaches french, german, and some english. He tape recorded the conversation, which the language coordinator will evaluate tomorrow after the remaining students are interviewed.
It's so strange, after talking with most of the other students, that we are so connected..we have mutual friends and have been to the same places. Ellen, the Bates' rower and i decided that we would work out together sometimes..We'll see. On friday, i will meet my host family and then spend the whole weekend with them, without SIT participation. Monday, the rigorous academic schedule begins.
Write more later,
Audrey