The post you've all been waiting for...

I have finally given in to my parents and Anne Feldman, who are most likely the only people who will read this blog. But really, as someone who has never had enough willpower to actually keep a consistent journal, I think as this might be one of the biggest challenges I will face here in Cameroon. The most immediate of which is the incredible struggle I am having with the keyboard I am attempting to type on at the moment. It is a French keyboard, which means that none of the keys are in any logical order, at least for me. But enough complaining! That is not why I came to Cameroon. If anyone reading this has been reading my friend and blog mentor Anne's blog, they will be pretty much up to speed on what I have been up to thus far. A short review for any newcomers: arrived on January 24, and spent the next week getting oriented with the town, the apartment, the language, and the temperature. Three weeks later and I am adjusting well, much more quickly than I ever could have imagined. Even as I type this the keyboard is starting to make more sense. Just kidding, that might be a constant struggle.

A week after I arrived in Cameroon, I quickly switched gears and moved in with a host family, instead of living in the Dickinson apartment. This has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. My family is amazing, they are warm, welcoming, inclusive, and best of all, patient. They've adapted to speaking slower around me and are really great about helping me with my grammer. I have five siblings at home along with my host mom and dad. My host mom has been teaching me how to cook, and as it turns out, Cameroonian cooking often requires alot more muscle power. Stirring the cous cous was a serious workout! My host brothers love to play the games I brought with me (Uno and Twister were totally successful, thanks for the awesome idea mom) and the whole family loves to make fun of me for how little I eat; something I quickly learned is that Cameroonians eat four very large meals a day. I am a constant disappointment to them thus far in that respect, but I like to think it gives me something to improve upon as the semester continues.

Other than family life and enjoying the company of the amazing nine other students on the program, I've been exploring Cameroon, visiting different neighborhoods, buying fabric and having it turned into clothing, eating more spicy food than I ever though I would in my life, and learning how to do laundry by hand. Something, it turns out, I am pretty terrible at. But there is so much more to learn and experience that I try not to stress about my inabilities (thus far) to eat food and wash clothing like a Cameroonian. That, and avoid sunburn. So I will put on an extra layer of sunscreen and report back shortly. Thanks for reading!