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Published: January 7th 2006
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Cousins?
These are two of the kids who live in the compound. They should be the children of one of Joe's cousins. I think. The little girl was very afraid of us, particularly me, at first but by the end of our two days wouldn't let go of my hand and kept climbing on my lap. We stocked up on food buying a big bag of rice, several stalks of plantains, oil, and more and then headed to the village. Once again, the roads were a challenge and it was dark by the time we headed out. This time, the road was very narrowing, only allowing one car in most portions.
I was struck once again by Cameroonian expression of time and distance. When we ask, "How far?" or "How long?", we tend to give relatively precise answers. Like, "A couple of miles" or "Between an hour and two hours." Cameroonians might instead say "Not far" or "Soon" and that can mean almost anything! I even asked Joe who has lived in the US for 25 years, and he said, "Within walking distance." I asked him whether it was one day's walking distance or a week's and he laughed. So I was not surprised when our 30-40 minute drive to the village took two and a half hours.
To be honest, however, it may have taken half an hour the last time Joe's brother had visited the village. Roads are subject to the ravages of the rainy season. Then, the govt is supposed to send
Compound
While two of the houses in the compound have been rebuilt, two are still in their original mud brick state. Cooking is done on rocks and preparation is often done outside in the sun. out a truck to level the road. That doesn't always happen in a timely fashion. The village of Awing to which we were heading is trying to raise the money to purchase a bull dozer so that they can level the roads themselves.
The village of Awing is fairly spread out as most homes are compounds with several homes (one for the husband and one for each of his wives) and have banana, tea, coffee, yam, and other plants surrounding the home. We were warmly greeted when we arrived and soon other relatives began arriving. The baby I had held in 1982 was now a beautiful young woman!
Dan and Paul took quite a teasing about their long hair, that they looked like girls. They took it quite good naturedly and refused to cut their hair. Some of the relatives didn't speak English and required translation. One of Joe's sisters shook her head over our inability to communicate directly ("Why would her brother have married someone who couldn't speak their language?") and asked if she could bring me something to eat. She then went to her house, an old structure made of crumbling mud bricks, and emerged with
Juju
This is the dance lead juju at the death celebration. a bag of fried groundnuts. Very good.
We had a number of experiences while in Awing.
1. Meals were being served constantly to all the compound's visitors. As the visitors of honor, we were always set at a table, while others ate wherever they could find a place to set. We realized this was a custom and a sign of respect but we so wanted to get to know people better that this became frustrating.
2. Grandpa had his first motorcycle ride. He'd been wanting one since seeing all the motorcycles that serve as taxis there. He arranged a ride to the end of the block and back. We were all surprised when the driver kept going, having decided to take grandpa on a tour of the town.
3. Paul's Uncle Joseph (Joseph being a well used name in this family) taught Paul how to drive a motorcycle. I was surprised to hear Paul explored the village on his own. And didn't get lost.
4. Paul was gifted another chicken. Since Paul's middle name is Attengong, the same as his greatgrandfather, he is called grandpa and often honored.
5. Ruth became very ill. Uncle
Gun Shots
Joseph, Phillip, and Grandpa took part in the gun shooting festivities. Each time a gun was shot, Grandma and I jumped which made all the women around us laugh! Phillip thought it was food poisoning. I stayed with Ruth while the rest of the family went to visit the Fon of the village. (Eventually, when back in Bamenda, Ruth visited another doctor and was diagnosed with giardia. Once on proper medicine, she recovered rapidly but went through about three days of feeling rotten.)
6. We held a family meeting that was very interesting. And something seldom done. Dad (grandpa) and Mom addressed the entire family. We gave them all a chance to ask questions. We talked about responsibility and accountability. One thing that we all found frustrating was the constant barrage of people asking for money, especially within the family. While we desire to help them (and acknowledge that they do need help), it is hard to meet everyone's need for schooling or funds to set up a business. I had more respect for Phillip and Patricia who are the two incountry siblings who have responsible jobs... They are constantly relied on for support.
7. We attended a death celebration. Many people were there, perhaps several hundred. We saw traditional juju dances (not real jujus but young people in costume who perform for money) and enjoyed the
Grandpa's Motorcycle Ride
Little did Grandpa know that his five minute motorcycle ride would become a 45 minute tour of the village! music -- drums and xylophones.
By the time we left, we were ready for a shower in Bamenda and a bit of a rest. More to come later.
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letissia
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beautiful
Cameroon is a beaautiful country i love it so much..nice photos..