Our first holiday season here in Cameroon has been quite nice. We had a traditional American Thanksgiving with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and many other favorite dishes – even pumpkin pie! – in a mixed group of volunteers and Cameroonians. It was everything Thanksgiving should be – full of happiness, laughter and gratitude for the time together, the events that brought us each to that table, and, of course, the delicious food!
Later that weekend a friend brought us to her village. Now that we’ve been at post for three months, we’re finally allowed to explore more around our region. We spent the day visiting her old school, and wandering around the botanic gardens. Living in Cameroon for six months now, we have a new found appreciation for the Biblical command to look after the strangers in your land – widows and orphans, sure, the poor, definitely, but “aliens” is never far behind in that list. It’s not easy being a foreigner, to look differently, speak differently, and not always understand the traditions or expectations of those around you, and it’s a huge comfort to have a cultural insider come alongside you – so consider befriending members of the international community there at home. It’s a huge help just to have someone around who’s willing to answer questions about how to do things or where to find things in their country and culture.
In other news, the rooster has not crowed since the beginning of dry season – we’re going on a month now. He isn’t dead, we’ve seen him around the compound. Our speculation that perhaps roosters don’t crow during dry season – maybe their throats are too dry – was met with great mirth on the part of the Cameroonians we asked. Maybe he’s decided that claiming territory immediately outside of our bedroom window is just not worth then being chased by sleep-deprived, chicken-eating Americans…? We’ll see what happens when the rain returns – we’re not entirely sure that the dust hasn’t just given him a sore throat…
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