Safe arrival in Yaounde' Cameroon

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We made it safely to Yaounde' Cameroon after almost 3 full days of travel. We had two overnight flights and had some restless (seated) sleep on the planes. Exhausted to the point of brain damage.

Tantoh, the man organizing the work we are conducting and community leader from the village we will visit, is an amazing personality. He is very animated, lively, and is excited that we are here. He has mentioned that the TBI program he participated is finally creating impact by all of us arriving. Bryon VL would be so proud and excited to hear him talk about the impact the program has had (even if it is 1.5 years later that the major impact is felt!).

All of our luggage made it safely except for Cathy's personal bag. I feel terrible for her but have loaned her a change of clothes and toiletries. Luckily, I had a few items to spare.

I was so exhausted yesterday after 3 full days of travel that I was falling asleep after dinner. We had our own rooms (the nicest I have seen in Africa) at a Christian retreat/church/hotel. The party in the city outside the window was going on through midnight (New Year's) and there was some singing, a few fireworks, music and partying. Roosters were crowing beginning around 4 a.m. and the sun finally came up around 8 a.m. Today we will go into town to exchange money and try to buy Cathy some new clothing.

The African soil is red, the skies are hazy, the people have beautiful smiles and our group is getting along well even if we are all exhausted.

Tomorrow, we will begin our road trip North from Yaounde' out of the Congo Basin over the mountain range and onto the Niger Basin side of the range. An estimated 12 hours of driving. The adventure begins.

Cheers and Happy New Year to all (it is already 2009 here!). Much love,
Heather

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