TGIBF

Well I had a highlight reel week this week! Complete with pictures. On Sunday I made it to Limbe again (This time during the day) and was able to hang out at one of the beaches for a couple of hours. It started pouring as soon as I got there, which had me lamenting my bad luck, but eventually the rain let up a little bit and I swam in the ocean for a while. The water was so warm, and the black sand beach was gradually sloped so you could go out a ways into the water and only be up to your waist. There was also a chilly fresh water river for swimming. I didn't spend long in there because, well, first of all it was cold, and I also was a little worried about the schistosomites or whatever else might be in the water. I had packed a lunch consisting of a giant peanut butter and honey sandwich and a package of corn nuts, so I ate that there in one of the pavilions along the beach. It was a really nice beach and didn't cost too much to get in (~$4). The ticket included a free soda so it wasn't bad at all. The beach area is actually a hotel/resort too so there's a volleyball court there, a couple of basketball courts, and a guy offering horseback rides on the beach (of course, that costs extra). You can visit their spa too and get a massage if you're really feeling spendy. May sign up for one of those next time, we'll see.

After the beach I visited the Limbe Wildlife Centre. It is a zoo that specializes in the care of primates (in fact, besides a crocodile and a python, all they had was monkeys). That cost me about 6 bucks to get into, and it was pretty fun to relax and watch the activities of chimps, gorillas, mandrills, etc. The zoo mostly rescues animals or receives them by donation. At the zoo there is a restaurant where I ordered a chocolate shake and a veggie burger. When they brought the food out I felt like I had won a Survivor reward challenge or something. First of all the burger was huge, and it also had a generous side of fries. For what I paid, I was happy. There is a botanical garden across the street from the zoo, so I think next time I go I will visit that instead just to see what it's like. The restaurant at the zoo is probably going to get a visit from me nearly every time I go to Limbe though.

On my return trip I rode in a bus (more like a 15 passenger van with 25 passengers) which was a real experience. Ten minutes into the trip, a guy launched into a frenzied homily. I was riding shotgun so I couldn't really crane my neck around enough to see him. I thought the driver or his roadie (the guy who collects the money) might throw him out or something,  but nope! After his excited impromptu gospel message, a group chorus started singing songs (they weren't good singers by any standard, and the songs were embarrassingly repetitive and uninspiring), which they continued for the duration of the trip or about 30 minutes. The last ten minutes they were even clapping, a grand finale I guess. After we got out I noticed that the entire back row had been filled with them, and they were all wearing DayGlow yellow vests designating their group. Although I was sitting in the front and the road noise drowned them out some, I can't think of any other way to describe it than a nuisance. Not sure if this bus evangelism is common or I just got "lucky" but my consternation was twofold. First off, Cameroon is a very religious country, and I'd say there's a one in a billion chance that none of the other passengers had heard the gospel before. So they're more of a pointless disturbance than anything. Secondly, their fish in a barrel method is creative but seems obnoxious to me. I mean, everybody had no choice but to sit there and endure their carrying on. Just not my style I guess. Next time I probably won't take the bus. Or if I see DayGlow vests getting on I'll wait for the next bus.

I had a scare with my computer crashing on Tuesday. Disassembled it and reconnected all the wires, and it still wouldn't start! I had given up hope, but then saw something on the web about taking out one of the RAM cards. It was a bit of a Hail Mary pass, but it seemed to work, and my computer has run fine since. That said, treating people is a heck of a lot easier than treating computers. At least people will tell you where it hurts. Computers, it's anyone's guess.

Thanksgiving dinner was the other highlight of the week. I had planned to just cook some FriChik and instant potatoes with gravy, but at the last minute I got invited to the house of some Americans whose son was admitted to the hospital about a month ago. There were two families there and we had a fantastic meal. It was 100x better than what I had planned alone, and I'm glad I went! They had turkey, stuffing, giant rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, salad... There was even pumpkin and apple pie afterwards! And chocolate chip cookies too! Afterwards we played Wii and talked for a few hours. It was cool to have some fellow expats invite me over, and I felt like I bonded to all of them really quickly. Most of the dishes they prepared for the first time ever from scratch! The internet was a big resource from what I heard, but everything was delicious! The turkeys (they cooked 2) weighed about 4 pounds each and they had to go to Douala (1-2 hours by car) to buy them. The guy who carved it was getting a little bit of good natured heat for totally butchering the thing, and he defended his job by finally confessing that he had to use a bread knife! It was pretty funny.

The holidays have been a little tough being away from home, but Skype is a wonderful thing and has helped a lot. I'm actually not as homesick as I expected I would be. I'm more foodsick: Missing tastes of American food back home. I fear I may gain a lot of weight when I get home, and I'll probably want to stop every time I see a Chipotle.

TL;DR Went to the beach. Went to the zoo. Ate a giant veggie burger. Took apart my computer and got it to work again. Hung out with probably the only other Americans in Buea for Thanksgiving. Ate a bunch of food, enjoyed being able to clearly understand every word they said, and was thoroughly impressed with their ingenuity and determination to celebrate Thanksgiving in a country where Butterball isn't a household name.

Semme Beach

Happy to have reached the shores of the Atlantic

Cross River Gorillas

Chimpanzee enclosure. I was within poop throwing range.

Crikey, check out that bloke

Best looking meal I had eaten here up until this point

The two dads setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner

My glorious plate. That roll was the size of a grapefruit. 5 days after my veggie burger, this meal became the best one I'd eaten here (record still stands, and probably will for a very long time)

My half eaten slice of our rectangular pumpkin pie