I've been posted!!!!

I’ve been posted! On Tuesday morning, our trainers, Fran and Ted finally informed us of our posts (our hometown and work for the next two years). The decision was based on our performance in training, language and technical ability, and our own input. Let me say this: My post represents the exact opposite of what I envisioned my Peace Corps service to be, but that is fine, I’m actually very excited about it. I imagined a small village; I’m in a large city of 500,000 (the third largest in Cameroon). I imagined a simple little house with a pit latrine; I have a large (very large) apartment with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, hot water, lots of furniture, a refrigerator, a four-burner stove, and two fireplaces (really useful for the equatorial climate here). I imagined solitude (being the only American for miles); I got a roommate (who happens to be a good friend from training). I imagined grassroots level, low impact work; I got something a little more high profile than that…

The story behind the story: Fran and Ted (wife and husband) are current Small Enterprise volunteers in Cameroon, and they have been in charge of our training. They are a year into their service and after training they were supposed to go back to their post for the remainder of their service. Before announcing our posts to us yesterday, they informed us that they would be leaving Cameroon at the end of training to be with their family, thus ending their service early. It was very sad news for all of us; they have been great resources and great trainers. They were sort of parental figures to most of us young trainees, helping us and advising us through any difficulties. They chose Pat and I to replace them at their post; which is an honor for me, personally.

Why it’s a big deal: The post we have been given is considered to be the highest profile post in the country. The other Small Enterprise volunteers are assigned to work in small micro finance institutions (like credit unions designed for the poor, rural populations) in medium to small sized cities. Pat and I will be working for the NGO (called ADAF-Appropriate Development for Africa Foundation) that is in charge of overseeing 28 of these institutions, basically a headquarters office (albeit, a small HQ office). We will assist people that are high up in the chain of command, some of them holding PhDs. We will travel around our Province auditing many of the institutions. We will basically assist in overseeing all these little banks. We will be moving to Bafoussam in August to take over Fran and Ted’s apartment and their work at the NGO.

Why me? Good question. Fran and Ted have about 80 years of business experience between the two of them, me: about 0.5 years. Pat holds an MBA and about 10 years experience working in banking in the States. They chose us based on our performance at training, and just their personal judgment on our ability to perform at this post. This assignment will be a huge challenge, a great learning experience, and it will certainly open many doors for me in the future. The combination of my language ability, and Pat’s experience should make for one great volunteer!

We will have a guest bedroom, visitors are welcome!

I can’t express how much of a relief it is to be posted. It has been on everyone’s mind for sometime now. The fact that I have such a great post makes it even better! They also placed most of my best friends from training in my area. Pat is my roommate, the other Allen is about 90 minutes away, Stephanie is about 30 minutes away, Tiffany is about 2 hours away, April is about 3 hours away, and last but not least: the volcano and the beach are just 4 hours away (down a nice, paved road-a luxury in this country).

The West is the BEST! My province is known to be the most beautiful, with rolling hills, many chefferies (chief’s palaces), cool weather (60’s at night), and access to many tourist sites. Also, my town is a commercial hub, and the market is supposed to be great with many excellent fruits and vegetables. I think Pat and I are hiring a cook (yeah, this is Peace Corps) to prepare all this great food.

Back to the now. We have about three weeks left of training, of which one week (next week) will be spent traveling around visiting current Small Enterprise Volunteers. I leave on Tuesday and return next Sunday. This will be my first experience traveling extensively in Cameroon; I hear it’s always an adventure. Long distance travel is done in what they call “bush taxis” which are basically big 15 passenger vans that are stuffed with about 30 people, goats, chickens, and anything else that needs to go anywhere. I’ve heard many stories about these bush taxis, I’m sure I will have some of my own to share soon enough. This will be one of the few times I will say, “it sucks to be tall!”

We had a great 4th of July party last Sunday (I hope you enjoyed yours!) We ate hamburgers (sort of…the meat tasted funny, and the buns were strange), watermelon, beer, and some other stuff. We also danced. Good times were had by all who attended. The Cameroonians really enjoyed the hamburgers; it was the first time eating them for some. The leftover meat was donated to the underfed dog that guards the training house, his name is Shasky, he is very dumb, but very friendly. He really enjoyed those burgers.

Let me talk about some things I’ve noticed:

There is no such thing as vehicular safety. I see Toyota Corollas packed with 3 people in the front, six in the back seat, and 4 sitting in the trunk. I see motorcycles with one man driving, followed by a young child in the middle, and finally a woman riding on the back with an infant strapped to her back. Helmets are non-existent, in fact people laugh at us when we put them on (PC policy requires us to wear one). As crazy as the driving is here, I have yet to see an accident, knock on wood.

People watch the same crap on television here as they do in the states. They don’t watch nearly as much television, but when they do, it’s horrible. Most of the sitcoms are from the states, and it’s sad to see that their impression of the U.S. comes from these stupid television shows. One of the shows (a big hit) is called “Top Models.” It airs nightly around 7pm. Before I actually watched it, I thought it was one of those beauty pageant shows. Boy, was I wrong. “Top Models” is “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Go figure. They translate an English title into another English title and it’s supposed to make more sense. They also watch Dynasty, V.I.P., and some fighter pilot show called Pensacola. The only thing I will watch with them is soccer. My family here thinks I’m strange for refusing to watch television; how could an American not want to watch American shows? I would explain, but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

There are so many intelligent people in this country with nowhere to use their brains. Unemployment is astronomical, and it’s very difficult to gain admission to university. Books are too expensive for most. I want to get some books for my host brother, Antoine, who is so bright, and curious about everything.

The kids here are incredibly cute. They are all so friendly, and they make me smile no matter what kind of mood I’m in. I would love to bring a few back to the states with me. They always smile, and laugh, and wave. Some yell “bonjour”, some yell “hello!” Some even yell “ciao” or “bonjourno,” thinking I’m Italian for some reason. I play along and yell “bonjourno!” right back at them.

I’ve been jogging every other day with my ENTIRE host family. I’m talkin’ papa, mama, four brothers, little sister, everyone comes along at 6:30am to run around the soccer field at the high school. It’s great fun. Hopefully this physical training will pay off in the next soccer match tomorrow (Business vs. Education). Last time we played, I practically passed out from exhaustion and heat stroke (after 2 minutes of playing, and after I scored one goal!). I think my problem last time was playing on an empty stomach (the only thing in it was Malaria medication). I will be sure to eat this time!

Wish me luck!

See you next week.