Ok, yes, it's been too long. Working on it!!!
Here's the “summer wrap-up”: Bafia is pretty much my least favorite city in Cameroon. Dirty water, no good street food, rude people (French speakers screaming “F*** you!”? Seriously??), nearly as hot as Mamfe...yeah, not a cool place. But, that's where Peace Corps (in their wisdom) held training for the newest group of volunteers this summer. So I got to hang out there for a month with them. Nothing too exciting to report—basically a rerun of last year's training, only that I'm on the flipside. Upgrade: allowed to drink more than one beer. Downgrade: responsibility. In any case, I hope I never have to go there again, at least so I don't get pinkeye again. Holy cow! Worst pinkeye ever—I felt like I had leprosy. Then it got better, because the eyedrops were orange, like fluorescent road worker vest orange. Cool.
Came back to Mamfe the first week of August, and was SOOO happy to be back! Highlights of August included: hanging out with a group of motorcycle taxi-boys and teaching them First Aid with Jessica (taking off a latex glove is JUST close enough to a condom demo to incite laughter). Going to a football tournament, also with Jessica, in her village. This involved cheering, being taught what “off-sides” is, and a lot of drinking. Hanging out with Stella, my friend in Okoyong in case you forgot, and just general relaxing before getting ready for school to start.
And now the school term is in full swing! My school had excellent results in the national exams, and has experienced an enrollment boost that can likely be attributed to those results. And as a result of that, I'm teaching 21 periods this year, as opposed to 16 last year. I've dropped two levels of computer (thank goodness!), but picked up Chemistry for Form 1 (about 6th grade). There are two classes of Form 1, so it's a lot! But the curriculum isn't too bad, the kids are squirrely and can't really read very well, but I'm managing. I'm also holding practicals one afternoon per week for the girls that I'm not actually teaching computer to this year (they hired a part timer, so she's teaching them wednesday and saturday mornings, but she wants the exam classes to have extra time to review practicals). And, if the power company will ever cooperate, I'm planning to do one afternoon a week of teacher computer literacy. So I'll be busy this year, but I'm excited about it!
Things I'm looking forward to over the next 8 months (yes, that's all that's left!): Teacher's day and the School feast are both up this week (check back a year ago if you forgot about those!). The fabric for this year is an absolutely hideous lime green, but I'm gonna mix it in with some satin and try for something crazy....Oh yeah, and my birthday is this month! I've made my postmates promise not to do anything involving naked men jumping out of a cake. But with these kids....I don't know what will happen. And then in December my Dad and Amanda are coming to visit!!!! On the agenda is climbing Mt. Cameroon, Christmas in Mamfe, and possibly trekking through the rainforest looking for elephants (TBD). I am SUPER excited to see them and show them what I've been up to for the last year and a half!
In other (sadder) news, my little dog Moki has gone to a better place....town, that is. After coming back from my month and a half away, it became clear to me that Moki and I will both be happier if she stayed with the family that had been taking care of her while I was gone. There are more people around for her to play with and take care of her, and they're not terrified of her the way most of my neighbors and friends were. I have a lot going on this year, and won't be as available to handle all the responsibility of having a dog. So, it's sad, but I'm pretty sure it's for the best, especially as I wasn't ever planning on taking her back to the states with me.
Packages: Lindsay gets a gold star for the funniest package yet, including fuse beads, friendship bracelets, and lanyard making materials. Dad has kept me well-shod the whole time I've been here, and just as my running (not that I run) shoes were starting to die, new ones get here. Amanda Matthews gets bonus points for dealing with “girl shopping” for tank tops to replace the ones that Cameroon has eaten. Greg has tormented me by only sending half of the second season of West Wing. Gigi, as always, has satisfied my “gourmet” tastebuds with more delectable deliciousness than I can describe. Gram keeps me reading and thinking, and Mom (until the thievery of small children) kept my water tasting tastier than it thought it could be. THANK YOU ALL!!!!! Current requests: Steady stream of underwear and wide-strap ribbed tank tops, as Cameroon's appetite for casual clothing is insatiable. Clif bars get me through the 12 hour car rides (btw, never traveling in the rainy season again). Crystal light or similar. Books/movies. Etc. Surprise me!
On the horizon: The southwest and northwest regions are putting together a massive library project! KK, who is awesome, is leading the way, so be on the lookout for a link to donate soon! Also, you can go to www.booksforafrica.org for more info, maybe you can even send some books! The issue of literacy here is SO serious—something like a third of kids come into secondary school not being functionally literate, and, in my opinion, I think a lot of the issue is having NO access to printed materials, at any age! Zero reading culture, it's sad, but I think this project might help it along. I'll keep you all posted.
That's it for now! Sending all kinds of love and hugs across the ocean, I'm missing everyone, and starting to dream about everything I'll do and everyone I'll see and everything I'll EAT when I get back! Love you all, keep in touch!!
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Dude, tell me about this lack of a culture of reading. It's one of the most frustrating parts of being a teacher here, no matter what subject you teach. Even though the problem is more pronounced at bilingual schools where you have Francophones studying in the Anglophone section, it's a huge problem everywhere.
ReplyDeletePart of the reason is that there is indeed a dearth of reading material. But in cities, like Dschang, there are booksellers everywhere (maybe because it's a university town), and if you pay at least 500 CFA you can get a used book (probably one donated from the West a while back). People like to cite poverty as an excuse, but it's solely that: an excuse. This is especially true when you factor in the amount of beer these students' parents are drinking each day.
In the schools which are fortunate enough to have libraries, you still see kids not borrowing and reading books, as they equate reading with academics. Case in point: the side use of the word "reading" among Anglophones to signify revising or reviewing one's notes. This is incredibly unfortunate as many Cameroonians have a decent amount of free time every day.
Yeah, getting Cameroonians interested in reading for reading's sake, and not just for school, is a huge challenge. It's a problem that encompasses both lack of resources but also, as you rightly said, lack of a tangible reading culture. I've started a weekly 20-min English reading time in all my classes. The results haven't been too good, as kids just end up bringing picture-loaded magazines and shared newspapers, and don't really end up reading that much...