Over the Hills and Far Away

Today was a national holiday in Cameroon. I guess Good Friday is nationally observed here. I thought Easter was in April usually, but I heard about this day off on Wednesday and immediately started making plans so that I'd have a good reason to not be around and get snookered into working. I ended up going to the house of my American missionary friends to help them out with some moving/organizing at their school, as well as doing 2 loads of laundry in their washer and dryer. This was HUGE for me! The clothes I sent through are so clean I hardly recognized them afterwards. Not to mention it only took an hour to dry each load instead of all day! I also took a hot shower at their house this week which another story for another time but it was the first one I've had in 6 months!

This Sunday I'll be saying goodbye to David, my closest friend here. He's headed back to Germany since his program at the uni is finished. It's tough to see him go, but it also makes me realize that I'll be headed home myself in about 7 weeks! It's gone by fast in hindsight, but man the workdays sure do drag by slow. I made a point to hang out with David extra this last week or two. Last weekend we went to visit a farm out in the tullies. This was a pretty fun trip. We got 4 guys on one motorcycle (me, David, another friend, plus the driver). We rode that way over fairly rough dirt roads for half an hour in each direction so that was an...     experience.

Once we made it to the hinterlands, I was able to try the fruit of a cacao seed pod. The seeds themselves are used to make chocolate, but they're surrounded by a white slimy pulp that tastes super nice, and get this: nothing at all like chocolate. It's almost got a citrus flavor to it. At any rate, that was quite a nice treat. I trekked through the jungle with shorts on and got 30-40 mosquito bites on my ankles which was not such a nice treat. I also climbed a mango tree to harvest some mangoes, which was a new experience for me as well. Somewhere on the way to this village, I was upset to find that my pocket knife either fell or was picked out of my pocket. Served me well for almost 10 years! Got my money's worth out of it a few times over and now whoever finds it will probably get more of my money's worth out of it. Fortunately David offered to sell me his knife since he is headed home and can get a new one easily. Anyway, I'm not without a knife, which is a big plus when it comes to eating mangoes and doing other knife-y stuff (like opening care packages!)

I had good news on the visa front this week finally. I didn't have to go back to Yaounde personally, and my visa was mailed through a bus service to be taken care of by the Union office. I'm stuck in Buea until they've finished and returned my new visa, so hopefully they're quick about it. I'm not expecting it back any sooner than 2 weeks though. And if it goes off without a hitch it will be nothing short of a miracle. I'm sure there's some malfunction that's coming my way, but there's no sense in worrying about it because nothing I can do will make the process any quicker. I also have a roommate again. The new Cameroonian doctor who will be subbing for Dr. Bellosillo when he goes on leave next month.  According to the hospital administration, he's going to be staying "only a couple days" while he finds his own apartment (it's already been 3 nights and it doesn't look like he's moving out anytime soon). It's difficult to fit two people in such a small room, especially since we have different schedules, lifestyles, preferences, first languages, etc. Plus I've been in the room for a while so my stuff fills up most of the place and he's living out of a suitcase, so it's probably tough on him too! Guess it's cheaper than a hotel, but I'm hoping the discomfort is incentive for him to find a place quick!

There's a good reason that you don't see any advertisements for "Cameroon Airlines". After logging  12 hours on a bus with no better way to entertain myself, I came up with what one might expect on a flight on the prestigious Nglonkafac Air or whatever eventual name an airline like this might receive:

For convenience, you'll board our planes directly on the runway (Show up on time, but understand that flights are subject to up to 2 hours of delay due to motorcycles blocking the runway.) Nglonkafac Airl believes in economy, so there are 4 people to every 3 seats. Additionally, we dabble in freight services so your luggage will be conveniently strapped to the roof of the plane. Any luggage which has made it through the flight can be collected in a big pile on the tarmac at your destination. The plane will be stopping at every airport between the flight's origin and destination to see if anyone wants to squeeze in. Here at Nglonkafac Air, we believe in preserving the planet, so we use recycled tires from taxis on our landing gear! Don't worry about the nuisance of preparing for take-off and landing! Bacteria-abundant tray tables have been removed entirely, and we welded the seats in the upright position around the 4th time the cushions were reupholstered. Additionally, our reading lights are strategically positioned to shine directly in the eyes of those wishing to sleep, and to not work for those wishing to read. Our pilots are highly qualified with plenty of practical experience: Each has logged at least 100 hours in the cockpit, and has been in an average of 3.8 wrecks, so rest assured that they're well prepared to land the plane in the event of an emergency!
If you're really feeling royal, consider Nglonkafac Air's VIP section. Don't be deterred by the fact that the fare will cost 3 times the regular ticket, because your VIP experience includes the following  amenities: A seat to yourself. Air-conditioned cabin. 1 croissant. 1/3 L bottle of Coke. You'll never have to worry about purchasing overpriced headphones! The in-flight entertainment (actually just pirated music videos consisting of a tasteful blend of obscure 90's artists, Nigerian pop music, and karaoke tracks of the Carpenters) is played at an ear shattering volume for EVERYONE to enjoy! Once this DVD is finished, you'll be privileged with French news radio at an equally alarming volume. Nglonkafac Air caters to the Cameroonian aversion to tranquility. You're also allowed, even encouraged to use your cell phone! Don't feel bad about shouting over the noise of our in-flight entertainment system. We hope you enjoy your flight on Nglongkafac Air, treated to our Cameroonian hospitality!

TL;DR Lots is going on this week. We got Friday off so I was able to help out reorganizing a school run by American missionaries in exchange for the use of their washer and dryer. My clothes are SO CLEAN! My best buddy is leaving on Sunday for Germany, which is bittersweet. The visa thing isn't taken care of yet, but it's in the process and there's nothing I can do to speed it up. I have a "temporary" roommate, and it's a bit cramped in the man (now men) cave for the moment. Cameroon's buses made me realize that there's a good reason they don't have an airline service. I did a little piece exploring the likely conditions of flying a Cameroonian airline above which was pretty fun to write.

Found this Toyota in Ikata and stopped to take pictures

The owner came out and asked what we were doing. I told him we were trying to steal it and then started laughing. He stopped asking questions after that.

Inside of a cocoa seed pod. That white pulp is the part you can suck off the seeds.

Making palm oil the old fashioned way

Managed to winnow it down to 3 passengers on the way back to Buea