MLK, Jr. Day in Cameroon
Today is the U.S. federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Too bad its not observed around the world (but why would it be?). Akilah’s not feeling well today, and as it turns out, she ends up staying in the bed for a while. I on the other hand have a burst of energy and decide to go looking for a notebook. Yep you heard it right, I’m willing going out venturing on my own.
I take a walk down the street, opposite the direction I would normally go. There’s now a Western Union here in Foumban, and I watch as a worker fixes the signage in the front of the building. I wonder if they exchange traveler’s cheques? I’ll have to come back when Akilah’s awake. I walk past a few stores and notice the catholic mission school Akilah mentioned. I figure this must be it from the building lay-out and the singing children I hear. Seems as if they may be in some type of assembly.
Not wanting to go too far or look like I don’t know where I’m going, I pick a store and head to it. Once inside, I just peruse the shelves to spot any notebooks. There are a few, but not the one I’m looking for. Oh well, let’s head back up the street to check one of the libraries we went to last week.
This is the first day I’ve felt comfortable about walking around the town and not knowing the language or anything. Maybe I’m finally getting used to Cameroon? I pass the downtown gare and walk over to the library. Thinking I see a book I want to purchase, I motion to the clerk for the price. “Deux mille cinq cente.” Kind of expensive, I think, but I want it. However, when I open the door, I realize it’s actually a day planner. Rats!
Then I see a smaller version of what I want at the bottom of the case. I pull one out and motion to the clerk that I’m looking for a larger one; he doesn’t have any. Oh well, off to the other library.
I pass by all the little shops selling pagne and radio products, even a few coiffure shops, and get very few stares this time. When I get to the other library, I immediately realize they don’t have what I want, but I kind of “window shop” the newspapers. Not that I can read any of them, but just to see if there’s anything that strikes me. There’s not.
Boy, here I am ready to do something, and I can’t find anything to do. Oh, I’ll walk across the street to see if Sylvester is in at the Mobilis shop; he’s actually not there, but I speak briefly with the one person there who does speak english. I told him I’d go get a drink and come back in twenty minutes.
The restaurant Akilah and I have gone to most (here in Foumban) is right upstairs, so I decide to go there. I’m now surprising myself that I’m going around as confidently as I am, by myself. I walk into the restaurant and as the woman comes out, I stumble over a few words then end up saying “d’Jino?” She knods and goes to the refrigerator and brings me what has probably been the coldest drink since I’ve been in this country.
Now I’m feeling good. I’ve only spoken about five or six words since I’ve walked out of the house (not including the english conversation), and here I am in a restaurant drinking a soda. I’ll get some french in yet. I pay and walk down to the store again. Sylvester has not arrived as of yet and the gentleman offers to have someone go get him. Feeling that’s too much trouble to go through, I inform him I’ll stop back past after I walk Akilah to her adult english class later that evening.
Still feeling kind of adventurous, but the time I make it to the house, I decide, let me try this bakery over here. There’s a bakery a few doors down from her apartment. However, we don’t usually go there because they don’t make their items fresh. They’re delivered daily from Bafoussam. Bummer.
You know that’s kind of like Dunkin’ Donuts in the states. Remember the time when they all made their donuts fresh, on the spot? Imagine my horror when one day I went into one, and asked for the fresh donuts, the one’s on the shelves were few and crusted looking. I couldn’t believe my ears when the guy told me they hadn’t received their afternoon shipment. I was like “you don’t make them?” That was probably the last time I purchased from that franchise. I’m now a Krispy Kremes man!
As usual the bakery doesn’t have much, but I do find two items I think Akilah would enjoy. The woman greets me, and I smile and greet her back. She then says something to me, but I think by the time I motion to what I want, she realizes I don’t speak french. “Cinq cent.” I pay and head upstairs to the apartment. Not a bad day thus far, I need to just go out and do things more often; it felt kind of good.
By the time I get back in Akilah’s up working on lesson plans for her adult class. We decide to make eggless pancakes, from one of the recipes, for breakfast. They actually came out very nice. Breakfast was pancakes and eggs, and then a quick nap.
After walking Akilah to her class, I head back to the Mobilis shop where I end up spending the next hour and a half copying down the standards of a logo Sylvester wanted me to recreate. Actually, I had recreated it based upon site, but being the type of designer I am, I wanted the exact specifications so it could be correct. When I showed them the version I’d done, they were astonished. It did look pretty good.
You know once upon a time I would’ve never begun work for someone without agreeing on a payment of some sort. But here I’m bored, so I don’t mind, however, I will see if they’ll give me the pagne Akilah is interested in; or at least a real discount on it.
It’s getting late so I head back towards the school to get Akilah, and after about twenty minutes of waiting they all come out. Two of the women in her class begin asking me about my stay thus far in Cameroon. They’re quick to tell me that if I want to get an idea of all of Africa, then I have to make it to the Northern province where it is totally different than any other part of Cameroon. (If you didn’t know, Cameroon is known as Africa in miniature.)
Instead of heading to our normal restaurant, Akilah decides we should probably have some street food. In this case its translated to mean “beans and beignets.” There’s a woman now set up right between the bar, Prison’s Mess, and the school building. We pick up to plates of beans and beignets for 150 CFAs; there is no place on earth where you can have a meal for two for twenty-one cents!
After dinner we just head home and eat the last of the banana bread while watching one of our movies. Tonite’s feature was Kirokou and the Sorceress. It’s an animated film based on an African myth; very much worth watching. The copy I have is in french, but we originally saw it in NYc’s Greenwich Village area in english. Check it out.
The water’s not on yet, so I’m going to bed.