Looking for Moomie

Did I mention there are lap tops with fast internet connection? Anyhow, we are in Yaoundé until next Friday when we go to Kribi. I can't wait! Kribi is the coastal area and we get to go to the beach! After Kribi, we go back to Yaoundé and then up North where we stay for 2 weeks with new families.

I forgot to describe my homestay family in Dschang. So my mom was a tailor and she made me a really funny peacock fabric pants suit which I will totally be wearing in the US. My dad was an elementary school teacher. (He also used old homework as toilet paper which just never ceases to amuse me) I had 4 brothers and 2 sisters and 1 niece. 2 of my brothers were my age- Valare is 20 and Jules is 23. The other two were around 8 or 10. I had an 18 year old sister Marionette, with questionable moral fiber (dont ask) and a 20 something year old sister Clemancethat did most of the cooking and cleaning. There was also an insane 2 year old named Lindsay who enjoyed putting her food in between her toes and then eating it out... she also came into my room one morning and put my foundation all over her body. It looked so silly. It looked like she was trying to dress up as a ghost. I couldnt help but laugh. So Jules and I bonded a lot over the two weeks. I taught him English for a few hours every night. He's brilliant. He is working on becoming a doctor. I really loved my family in Dschang.

So now I am with my Yaoundé family again and I am happy because I get to meet another brother next Thursday. He plays soccor in Tailand but is coming home for his marriage in December. I think I may stay an extra week to go. I would love to see a Cameroonian wedding. Here, there are two patterns of fabrique, one for the bride and another for the groom and everyone thats going has to pick a fabrique and make a dress or suit out of it. It is actually really fun to design a dress and have it made.

So the last 3 weeks of the program are spent by doing independant research. I chose to study the role of women during the independence movement (from colonization). I met a man who has been doing research on the movement for 5 years. He has been really helpful. Hopefully, if all goes well this saturday will be spent looking for Moomie, the wife of a revolutionary leader. She just wrote a book. She went all over Europe during the independence struggle studying fighting techniques which she brought back to Cameroon and trained guerillas with. There were other women who were spies and others who seduced enemies and then killed them. There were even women soldiers fighting in the bushe.

So I have to go now, it is student night, which means we get to hang out at the office until 8 without any responsibilities. I miss everyone. Send me emails if you are bored, they make my day!

written by  peep on October 9, 2008 from Yaounde, Cameroon
from the travel blog: Cameroon
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