Difficult times away from the Steaming Pile of...

Hello hello. Good evening ladies. And gents.

First off. I have posted some new photos. Unfortunately some of my more recent photos are still in my camera which is Bafoussam which is stupid because it should be here with me for me to upload the photos. I hope these will satisfy you for the time being until I get more. There are pics of my friends in Bafoussam, my trip to Limbe (the beach), my host fam, and some random stuff. The link to the pics is at the end of the entry, you have to READ before you look at them!


I am in the capital city, Yaounde. The internet is free. Other than that, I miss BEAUTIFUL ugly smelly dirty Bafoussam.

Let me reminisce (I had to check the spelling for 'reminisce', it is indeed spelled R E M I N I S C E, don't believe me? click here).

I am in Yaounde at the Peace Corps Headquarters. My 'official' reason for being here is "SED Steering Committee" which is the committee that designs, plans, and organizes the SED program. It's been interesting, but I don't really enjoy "committees" because I work better alone. And because I don't like to sit around and pay attention for extended periods of time. Despite this, I enjoyed these meetings. I've really enjoyed this FREE internet. I've been "chatting" with Blake (in london) on a daily basis. Fun, very fun. Blake has some EXCELLENT NEWS that you will soon hear about.

When I can't chat with Blake, I think of all my friends in Bafoussam, that I miss so dearly. I've never really written about them, so I will do that now.

Here are some of my friends from Bafoussam, click on their names to see a photo:

Name: Johnny
Tribe: Bamilike
Languages: French, native language, and funny english
Profession: Guitar player by night, street walkin beer drinker by day
Hobbies: See profession

Johnny plays the Guitar
Monday thru Wednesday he plays at the "New Sheraton bar." There is nothing "new" about this bar, and it looks nothing like "the sheraton." Thursday thru Sunday nights Johnny plays in the "Akwa" district of bafoussam. This is where it all happens. The nightlife of bafoussam revolves around Akwa. I usually see Johnny in Akwa on thursdays and/or fridays.

I like Johnny because:
He plays guitar. He plays the blues like a champion. He speaks the language of music fluently, but his english is lacking. Here are the lyrics from Johnny's version of "Hey Joe" by Jimmy Hendrix.

Hey Joe
where you goin with that gun in your hand
I said I'm goin danna shoome o kama
Shimmy sham damn
O kamma jitty
I mean ah, Hey Joe!
Where you goin with the gun in your hand
I said a pooly can fimmy slap
Curmmy manananananananna...
etc...(he doesnt say "etc...")

Or "I wanna love you" by Bob Marley

I wanna love you
And treat you down
I wanna love you
Every day and kamarey houn
We'll be together
With the room shum itty balo
etc...

Johnny sure can play that there gUItar though, I'm tellin you. When he sees me or pat, he interrupts his own song and says, "hello, my american friends." Sometimes we are his only crowd. Johnny. One man, one guitar, one microphone, and a broken amp. There is a picture of him in my latest photo collection which I will post today or tomorrow.

----------------------

Name: Killian
Tribe: I forget
Languages: French, English (Pidgin)
Profession: Bartender
Hobbies: Killian has no time for hobbies because he spends 14 hours a day, seven days a week working in a bar, making hardly a dime.

Killian chose his own name. His village name is "Yong" which he doesn't like because he claims it sounds too chinese. I like his village name and I use it, which embarasses Yong. Killian is a bartender at the place across the street from my house. I know some of you family members are thinking "Al must spend a lot of time at that bar if his friend is the bartender." yes, yes I do. I dont drink there all the time, I just like to hang out with Killian and Palmer. There is also a pinball machine which I play frequently and I am starting to master (Dad: We will play, and I will defeat you, especially after you have one of those "special" Guinness beers. Killian speaks english well, he was born and raised in Bamenda in the Anglophone region of the country. Killian's favorite lines are:
"No Allen, there is no problem" He says this frequently because I ask him if he is ok. He often looks sad and tired. I would be too if I worked as much as he did for practically nothing. The owners of the bar dont even pay him sometimes. Employers have the upper hand in Cameroon, jobs are so scarce that they dont even have to pay employees when they are supposed to. When he does get paid, Killian makes 40000 Francs CFA. That is about 80 dollars. For one month. For 98 hours per week. This salary is small even by Cameroonian standards. I feel for the guy.
Another Killian line:
"We are together" This is a very common line for all Cameroonians. The French speakers say "Nous sommes ensembles" This is purely in a brotherly, friendly sort of way. It is a testimony to the amount of brotherhood that exists here. People really support their friends and family and would do anything for them.

---------------------------------------

Name: Michael
Tribe: Bamilike
Profession: Tire shop owner, bar owner, and he occasionally helps his mother grill vegetables.
Hobbies: Chasin the ladies. Posing for pictures. Taking care of business.
Physical Age: 5
Mental Age: 35

Michael is the youngest success story in Cameroon. This little guy works his little tail off. He runs around, tells people what to do, and he still has time to smile for the two white guys at his bar. What a man/kid.

Ok, I don't know if Michael actually owns these businesses. But you better believe he works. He works like many young Cameroonians that we see in bafoussam. Many kids here dont go to school. Instead, they work, and they work hard. They grow up very quickly. At 5 years old, Michael has many adult like manurisms and one heck of an adult like work ethic. Its very cute, and sad. The kid is cute as can be. I just feel bad he has to be forced into adulthood at such a young age. He doesnt seem to mind though. He never wines. In fact, none of the kids wine here. They never cry. They never fuss. (Grandpa, you would like these kids).

Pat and I have found a match for Michael. Her name is Denise. (We actually picked names for these kids, we dont know their real ones. Michael looks like a michael, and Denise, well, you get it). Denise works just as hard as michael. She helps her mom run a grilled fish stand. She puts the piment on the plate, delivers the plate, smiles, washes the plate, and sometimes she even cleans the fish. She is a little older than Michael, about 7, but Michael likes older women. She has her act together. The two of them would make a power couple, more powerful than Bill and Hillary, Brad and Jennifer. A lot cuter too. We are arranging a date for them. Its difficult to work around their busy schedules, but we will make it happen.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

That is all for now. I have more friends, but talking about them makes me sad because I am in yaounde now and they are all in Bafoussam. Stay tuned for descriptions of: Alain the Tennis Champ, Palmer the business owner who likes my music, Bissi Mag the musician who released a CD and who wants me to be a special guest on his next Album (A 3WB/Bissi Mag collaboration).

I played pool last night at this place in the heart of Yaounde. I am really starting to appreciate this city. It is huge. There is great food. There are many things to do and see. Its strange because my first impressions of this place back in june as I cruised through the city in a Peace Corps van after stepping of the plane and setting foot onto this strange land for the first time were:
"Holy Shizzy! This place is dirty, scary, intimidating, and chaotic. There is no way in hizzle I will ever like THIS place." Its funny, after spending significant time in Bafoussam, and the villages around it, Yaounde seems like a modern Western metropolis. It is a relief to be here, sometimes.
Anyway. Back to the pool story. I played pool last night at this place in the heart of Yaounde. I went with some American friends. Pool tables are RARE in Cameroon. I played horribly but I still went undefeated (5 victories, 0 losses). I would have lost had I played against the Cameroonian pool sharks sitting amongst the observers. I can say this: I have never had so many people watch me play pool and laugh at me. I can also say: I don't care about being laughed at anymore (cause I used to).

To all my 3WB people, and to ALL the 3WB fans in the world. You will be proud to know that I participated in a freestyle RAP session with this Cameroonian dude and Peter (a volunteer) at the pool hall. I did well, especially when I busted out the FRANGLAIS rap. Thats right I freestyled in a combination of languages and it made no sense but it RHYMED and that is what counts. Peter played "beat box" and he is good.
**To all my family and friends who dont have a clue what I am talking about**:
- 3WB is a Hip Hop Group formed by me (Abay), Blake (Blano), and Sean (Shoco). The group was formed in February of 2004.
-"Hip Hop" is a form of music some of you know as "rap" although there are differences that I will not get into now.
- The first 3WB album was a huge underground success in Boulder.
- The album's hit song Bring the Funk topped local charts for many weeks. Here is a sample of the wizadry that went into the lyrics of Bring the Funk:

Yo! I'll bring the Funk
Anytime I want
The Funk is funky
The funk is UP

This is a clean sample. Some of the other lyrics may be offensive to some poeple. Listener discretion is advised. Not suitable for small children. There are some good love ballads on the album also.

What else?
Well, let me see. Stan is here. Stan turns 80 in February and he is an incredible man (don't tell him that, he doesn't take well to flattery). I think I mentioned Stan in a previous entry. He fought in WWII and now he is a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon. He is HILARIOUS. He may look 80 but he acts 24. He teaches creative writing at a University here, and he loves it. Go Stan.

I ate an all you can eat chinese buffet on sunday (grandpa). It was pretty classy, this chinese restaruant. The food was actually excellent. There was a swimming pool in the middle of the dining room. There were also quite a few FOREIGNERS eating there which made me feel uncomfortable. I can only handle so many at a time.

click here to see the new photos.

Ok, I miss you all.

LATERS