After catching up with my fellow ex-pat friends’ blogs, I realized I have skipped over the documentation of what my days consist of, and went right to analysis of Cameroonian culture. Considering that every day I have something new happen to me, and that these new things can help me describe my day-to-day life, I will try to rectify this void.
Yesterday, Saturday, started like many others. At approximately 6:15 AM the whole house (minus me) was up and vocally active. 6:30 AM, light tapping on my door: “Sara, Sara…Do you have a big headband I can borrow?” Half an hour and four different “wake-ups” later I pulled myself out of bed and headed out into the full-blown action. A creature of habit, I immediately put water on to boil and went about my morning routine. My Maman doesn’t like to eat right away in the morning which thus meant that the rest of the kids had to wait until she was ready ~10AM. Now that I showed up and am usually famished half an hour after waking up, I am the one who prepares the milk and bread for all the kids (since it would be impolite to eat before everyone else). Breakfast has been anything from last night’s leftover dinner, to egg or avocado (my favorite!) sandwiches, to bread mixed with hot sugared milk, to “buit” (bw-ee) a thick corn-based drink with lots of sugar.
After breakfast, the household is put to work. Last nights and this mornings dishes to be washed. Laundry to be done. Floors to be scrubbed. Kitchen/bathrooms/bedrooms to be cleaned. Daily meal to be prepared…There is no break in upkeep for a house of 8 people. While Maman Solange doesn’t usually ask me to participate in any of the work, as eldest daughter of the house and major role model for the kids, I feel obliged to pitch in.
Midday approaches quickly and I have my AIESEC meetings every Saturday afternoon. Yesterday was different as I decided to skip out in lieu of the HUGE football (soccer) match, Cameroon v. Togo taking place at the Yaoundé stadium. After a raucous good time at the previous match versus Gabon, and despite the 30-minute downpour, I was pumped for this game. With the sun shining brightly (must have been around 90o), dressed in a borrowed Lions jersey, and accompanied by 3 Germans and 4 Cameroonians, I headed to the stadium. Here, when you are a fan, you are a FAN! After being a Badger and loving our pride, the Cameroonian energy put me right back to fall Saturday football games. People were outrageously dressed in red, green, and yellow, riding through the streets in packed cars whistling and waving flags. I even saw a guy gallop past on a horse decked out with a Cameroonian flag as a cape!
The game was entertaining; peppered with cheers, the Cameroonian version of the wave, and the various dance parties that broke out when groups of drummers stopped by to pump up the crowd. 2 hours later and feeling rather crispy we celebrated the 3-0 victory that will put us at the final face-off for the World Cup.
My enjoyment of the day was hampered only by a small incident while waiting for a taxi to go home. Being quite conspicuous with 4 white people in our group, we apparently were followed from the stadium by a group of street thugs. Knowing that the area was not the best neighborhood, we were conscious of our things. However, one of the “dudes” approached one of the Cameroonian guys in our group to tell him that we were going to be harassed if we didn’t buy him a drink. My friend Askand immediately diffused the situation by talking with him and giving him money. In return, the guy ended up helping us find a taxi to get out of there. This situation was just another reminder of how Yaoundé is not a very safe city. I have been lucky to have such Cameroonian friends that keep close tabs on me when we are hanging out and when I leave to go home at night.
The day ended with a few of us grabbing a drink at a bar near Askand’s house. Interesting to think of how easily my day could be transposed into a day in the US, with just a few minor details changed. Oh how the world works the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment