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

Foreskins, Fried Foods, and Fungus

Well my apartment is clean and Sabbath is here! Whew. This week my apartment cleaning included scraping what remained of a gecko carcass off the wall under my table. The ants definitely found it before me.  There wasn't much left, but what did remain took a layer of paint off with it! Sorry I don't have any pictures this week. Camera battery should be here any day now, and I've got a trip to the beach planned on the next Sunday that has good weather!

A lot of my recent blogging, as you may have noticed, hasn't been about my actual job at the Health Center. I'll make an honest confession here: That's because a lot of the time, the work isn't all that exciting. I mean, yes I'm learning volumes about medicine and how a hospital works, but to use a French term, it's blasé. I do pretty much the same thing every day.  However, this week, I was able to watch a circumcision for the first time. It was a lot different than I expected. I thought it would be a quick snip-bandage-mazel tov  type of operation, but it took upwards of 20 minutes. Not a major operation but the lack of anesthesia made the "ambiance" (i.e. wailing baby) feel more tense than it probably was. As a result I was sweating profusely the whole time, I think probably sympathizing with the little guy. Also there were a lot more instruments involved than I expected! I'd explain but it'd be easier to draw. And drawing penises became a lot less of a novelty after my sophomore year of highschool. So I'll just omit all of that. It's funny to me that the world's most common male operation is something that I knew nearly nothing about up to this point. I also spent one afternoon on a slow day following a nurse around. Got to remove several IV catheters, mix and administer some medication, and was almost snookered into trying to pick a vein on an 80+ year old woman (with Parkinson's). Fortunately I know enough about starting IV's (and Parkinson's) that I balked and said "maybe the next one". That's like trying to do your first landing on an aircraft carrier in a hurricane. It even took the nurse a couple of tries to get a vein! I'm confident if I keep hanging around the same nurse, my golden opportunity will come though.

There is some building across the street from the clinic that either is a nightclub or sells speakers (Actually if it was both, that wouldn't surprise me either). Basically what this means is that day in, day out, they blare Nigerian pop music (pretty much the same 5 songs on repeat. After two months I know nearly all the words). Just when I thought I couldn't handle these same 5 songs anymore, they started mixing in some Christmas music. Many might find this to be a great respite from the standard autotune and twerking truck, but for me it was more of an "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" situation. See, I'm not really a big fan of Christmas music. Of course there are exceptions, I'm not a complete Scrooge (although I did use the phrase "mazel tov" earlier in this update...). I'm usually the guy who counts down the days til Christmas, not because I can't wait for Santa to come, but because if I hear Walking In A Winter Wonderland one more time, I'll start telling all the kids that there's reindeer meat in their Happy Meals. See, certain songs I dislike more than others. Walking in a Winter Wonderland just happens to be the It's a Small World of Christmas music.

Aside from not losing my mind over Christmas music, I think that the roadside stands here are one of the biggest tests of my self control.Any time I exit the compound I'm apt to see stuff I'm just dying to eat (Fried donuts, plantain chips, formerly discussed chin-chin, these peanut-like things that are breaded and fried), or, even more irresistible, tasty looking foods that I've never tried before! I mean it's torture to be just walking down any old street and seeing great food everywhere, all the time. Every trip regardless of the original intent seems to turn into a grocery shopping trip. And every actual grocery shopping trip I go on, I seem to return with more than I had intended to. The grocery stores in the U.S. may be good at subliminal influencing, but the Cameroonian street vendors are the true professionals in this department (it's past the point of subliminal, almost feels like hypnosis). I hope this isn't too insensitive, but I honestly wonder if that's part of why Cameroon is so poor! I mean, if there were street vendors in the U.S. I'd probably be broke all the time too! Just imagine someone setting up a freakin nacho stand in the lobby of the boy's dorm. They'd make a killing!

I checked out the gym that I mentioned in last week's update. It is pretty small, but they're not suffering from lack of attendance! There were probably 30-40 dudes in there, and the coaches had everybody rotating between 2 exercises that they changed every 10 minutes so that the equipment could be used most efficiently. I jumped in for a little while but badly pulled a muscle so I left. After getting home and showering, I noticed that my hands were extremely red - more red than I'd expect for just lifting weights. After applying some antifungal cream that my mom and dad decided to send in my suitcase (good thinking guys!), I'm in the market for a pair of gloves before returning.

After almost 2 months here, I'm learning that this experience is definitely much different than I'd expected. Sometimes I complain, but I'm really blessed. I may be bored sometimes, but at least I'm not stressed. I may be sick of washing dishes, but I'm becoming a darn good cook. The way I see it, that ability will either help me score a wife or make the bachelor life excellent. Win-win! Sometimes I may feel like I'm unnecessary or not being used to my full potential, but I'm learning to relax more and enjoy simplicity in my life. I may never be a critical component of the hospital's function, but I'm not here to change their procedure, I'm here to be a volunteer - doing my best to accomplish the tasks given to me. And I can boldly say that I've held myself to that standard. Finally, I may feel like I'm not making much of a difference here, but it's clear to me that I'm quickly becoming different here, and maybe that's okay. Who knows? It could be priming me now for future work abroad once I have more valuable skills than I have now. I'm still convinced that my being here isn't an accident. There were a lot of unlikelihoods that had to become concrete realities for me to come here. A lot of prayer was involved, and I believe it worked and still is. Many of you are continuing to pray for me back home, and I encourage you to continue doing so! It isn't always easy here, it isn't always rewarding here, and it isn't always exciting here, but I'm convinced that it is always a chance to grow into a better person (and resourceful cook to boot).

TL;DR (Sorry this entry is kind of long!) I have a pet gecko! He's not really active, and very low maintenance. The hospital is boring sometimes, but this week I observed a circumcision, and boy was it eye opening! I'm told that when mine was done it left me in such bad shape that I couldn't walk for a year and a half. Cameroonian pop culture revolves around Nigerian pop culture strangely enough, and I'm definitely being immersed in their musical tastes (willing or not). They've also started playing a little Christmas music. I'm curious to see what Christmas will be like here since it occurs during the dry season. Definitely won't have a Christmas tree, the nearest one is probably thousands of miles away.  Maybe I'll go to the beach for Christmas. I spend all my money on biscuits (cookies), donuts, and plantain chips at the street vendor's stands. The gymnasium here has fungus, I'm buying gloves before I return. So far, being here isn't the easiest thing I've done, but I don't think it's necessarily the hardest either. I'm trying to take one day at a time and make the most of my time here! Keep praying!

Not My Cup of Tea

Last Sunday I had quite an escapade. One of our patients had given me his phone number and offered to take me to Limbe. "Call after 9 am on Sunday". I thought Perfect, he'll show up around 10, it'll take an hour to get there, and I can spend some time at the beach. Wrong! I called at 9:30, he said he'd arrive at 2 or 3 pm. At 2 pm, a downpour started, and I was irritated to move my laundry inside to waft mildew smell through apartment. I figured he wouldn't show, so I hunkered down with a book and some Hot Cheetos. The rain let up at 4. I started making spaghetti sauce around 5, and of course he showed up right after it reached a simmer. I told him that I had dinner on, but he convinced me to abandon dinner and come. I offered him my last 2000 francs for gas. I should have gone to the bank the Friday before, but the CFA was on a weakening trend, and I figured I'd give it the weekend to see if it would devalue more. It paid off, but the weekend was a financial squeeze. I had to borrow taxi money (about 80c) to get to the bank on Monday! Before we left, we had to visit most of the gas stations in Buea to find the right petrol. The sun was setting as we drove through the tea farms, and we stopped for a while for him to relieve himself and to work on the horn. Driving in Cameroon without a working horn is like driving in the U.S. without a windshield. Upon opening the hood I noted that his engine was held together by a lick and a prayer. His business is selling car parts, though, so I hoped he had enough knowledge/spare parts to get us back. While we were stopped I picked a few bunches of tea leaves. We got to Limbe and it was already dark so I didn't see much. We went to one of the beaches where there were food vendors and he ordered fish. I began to realize this wasn't going to be a quick jaunt. I'd hoped to be back by 8 or 9 pm! He ate his fish unhurriedly, and convinced me to try some (not bad). I was trying to be polite because he'd graciously offered to bring me but I wished he'd hurry up! The horn had disconnected itself again, so after working on it for another 30 minutes in the dark, we started our journey back at around 8:45 pm. I was optimistic that we could be back by 10. On the contrary! We had to stop every time he ran out of cigarettes. He would buy them two at a time, smoke them back to back, and then we'd have to stop again. Just buy a whole pack, good grief! On our way up a hill, the engine died. We opened the hood again, and he took off the intake, disconnected the gas line, and started sucking gas out and spitting it into the carb. After about 10 minutes, the car was back to running like a dream (nightmares are still dreams, right?). ETA would still be 10. Except that his house was on the way to the health center and he wanted to stop and show me around. He got sidetracked doing something with the water in his bathroom, and opened the hood on his car again to fiddle with it. I told him I really needed to get back because I had work the next day, but he was in no hurry! I would have hailed a cab, but no cash! At any rate, I finally got home exhausted. The guy had a heavy accent too, and I struggled to understand him during the drive home. I rely a lot on lip reading, and in the dark it's tough. Lesson learned: Next time I will just pony up for a cab to take me there so I can go and come back whenever I very well please.
The good that came out of it was getting to brew tea from leaves I picked. I'm normally not a big tea drinker, and to be honest it's too hot here for tea anyway, but it was quite the novelty to be involved in every part of the process of making it: Harvesting the leaves, drying, boiling, etc. I drank the tea along with some donut holes (the dense donuts like you'd get covered in cinnamon at the fair). To my amateur palate, it tasted exactly like any other black tea I've ever had. But I did more than taste this tea - I experienced it. That was almost worth the ordeal I had to go through to get the leaves in the first place.
I'm eating a lot better now and my weight's climbing. I've discovered a few street vendors that can leave out the meat without compromising the integrity of the food. I've started jogging some, and met some Americans that have a gym that's close by (their 5 year old was admitted with amoebiasis). I went by on a jog one day and they were closed, but from outside the building looks pretty small. Not sure what kind of equipment they have but I'm praying for a flat bench! The dues are under $5/month, though, so I'll probably join and go once or twice a week.
The other noteworthy occurrence of the week happened on Tuesday. A big assembly was held at our hospital regarding the government initiative to hand out mosquito nets. The governor was even here! They were handing out free t-shirts, which I capitalized on. Afterwards, a meal was provided for the delegates (I snuck in after they'd left and swiped a couple of leftover Sprites and some grub). They had 2 cultural drumming bands here. It definitely was out of the ordinary for a Tuesday! The Ministry of Health workers have been here handing out the mosquito nets to the for the rest of this week.
TL;DR I went to Limbe, but didn't get there til after dark. It took a lot longer than expected, but I got to pick tea leaves and brew them which was pretty cool. I'm starting to eat better now that I know where to get food, and I'm trying to exercise now that I have calories to spare. The government held a huge bash for just handing out mosquito nets. They even fed the delegates (and me, inadvertently). It was a cool event with some cultural and civic immersion that was undoubtedly a good experience for me!

Beautiful sunset over the tea fields. The peak in the distance is called "Little Mt. Cameroon" (Officially named Etinde)

Drying the tea leaves in the sun

Enjoying the fruits of my labor

A school group showed up for the assembly. This was taken before the governor's entourage arrived.

Worker handing out T-shirts to an eager crowd

Stoked on my free T-Shirt

"Empty" Cameroonian chawarma (empty is the way to order no meat here). Not bad at all! Chased it down with an equally delicious passion-fruit pineapple smoothie.

Bloggin Toboggan

Tonight as I'm writing this, it's a little on the cool side (And by that I mean 23, maybe). I'm sitting here wearing sweat pants (no shirt, too hot for that), with a steaming mug of apple cider by my laptop. I'm determined to feel like it's fall weather no matter how hard I have to try! Once all of you poor fools are in winter's icy full-nelson, though, I'm going to be soaking up the sun and posting plenty of pictures to make you jealous (But rest assured that I'm going to be jealous of your skiing selfies).
After a lot of asking around I finally purchased a guitar this week! Actually I've purchased one guitar and gotten two guitars. The first one I got was blue and I found that one of the inner struts was broken, so  I exchanged it for a red one the next day. I was worried that they might not let me exchange it, but happily they obliged. Happily for me. They didn't seem happy, but they did it without complaining. At any rate, I'm so excited to finally have back my preferred medium of personal expression (once I replace two of the strings that I broke jamming a little too hard. They came with the guitar, so they lived up to the typical expectations).
Two weeks ago I got measured for some shirts at a tailor recommended by a coworker. I got them today, and was really pleased with how they turned out! The three shirts I received are a good range from a solid, subtly textured pattern to one that's rather on the more cultural side (read: flashy) which is what I was hoping for. They are well designed, and the material feels like it should last a long time.
I finally am able to make palatable tomato sauce! In the past I've had trouble getting rid of the acidity in the tomato paste, but I nailed it this last time. Added fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil...    It was delightful. In other food-related news, I have found out that with good technique and the right amount of pressure, a completely pulverized, unrecognizably crumb-ified Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie (Still in its individual wrapper), can be reconstituted into some semblance of its original form! This is wonderful information people! I don't know if Little Debbie's R&D department realized this, but if so they are true masterminds. There are two analogies that come to mind for this particular trick (which I've named the Adventist Pastry Recrompression Maneuver). The first is that it struck me as not unlike the technique of making a flat snowball (Not to be confused with the "potentially decapitating ice Frisbee" - completely different technique). The other analogy that came to mind and helped me perform this wonderful exercise was envisioning that I got a stocking full of coal and was trying to turn it into a diamond with just my bare hands. Considering that I just wrote nearly a whole paragraph on it, this discovery probably ranks as one of the highlights of my week.
In the past few weeks I've given two more injections, bringing me up to a grand total of three since getting here. I hope at this rate I will be able to say I've given more injections than I've received by the end of my stay. Not sure what the count is for receiving, but I've got a ways to go! I've also received one injection since arriving, so I may have to work hard to keep ahead.
As I was writing my journal entry for the evening last night, my computer seized up and instantly went into hibernate mode. The screen was showing some disarrayed flashing bars. I was worried that I must not have connected the video cable tightly enough after disassembling it to clean the fan a couple weeks ago. After a quick but enthusiastic prayer and disconnecting the battery, I fired it back up again and fortunately it came to life. It wasn't a spring to life like a brand new sportscar either, it was more of a slothful sputtering to life like an old Pontiac. Cleaning the fan sped it up a lot, and this may have been a recovery startup that needed a little extra time. I don't really know. Either way, I'm hoping and praying that at a minimum it lasts me until I get back to the States, after which I don't care if the rack and pinion fall out on the road (or whatever the computer equivalent to that is).
Thanks for reading! Your collective outpouring of love and support (as well as shipments of absolutely marvelous American junk food - you know who you are!) has not gone unnoticed, and I feel almost undeserving of all your care and concern! But please, do continue! It really helps me get through the rough days, knowing that I have a giant support base at home rooting for my personal growth, and safe return to the best side of the pond.
TL;DR Okay, this entry is really not that long, but condensation is important (learned that studying the rain cycle in 2nd grade) so here goes: The leaves don't change here, but any time it rains or gets cold I put on sweats and pretend it's autumn and drink hot beverages in my room by myself. I think that makes me a "hypstercrite". I have a guitar now! I also got 3 tailored shirts and they're super dope (There are upshots to cheap labor). My past failures at making spaghetti sauce finally culminated in success, and I found that you can squash the dry crumbs of an oatmeal creme pie back into a patty shape. Since being here I've given injections, gotten injections, watched injections, and expressed interjections. Hoping to give a lot more shots in the future, because let's be candid: It's better to give than to receive. Please pray that my computer doesn't blow a spark plug through the hood until I'm back home where I can go to Best Buy and get a new one! Computer that is, not a new spark plug.

One of my new shirts! This one's probably  my favorite of the 3

Quickly tried one on as soon as I got them to make sure they fit alright!

My successful spaghetti attempt.

The new axe!

Skippy may want to hire some better trademark attorneys...    Note that the price label conveniently conceals the phrase "super crunchy". The storeowner told me it was smooth. I'm a little miffed.

High speed chase in a "souped-up" Starlet

Quick note: I changed a setting on the blog for those who have had trouble commenting. It should work now. Comment away! I love hearing your feedback. Of course, kindly do leave your name so I know who you are!

It's funny, after over a month I still forget I'm here sometimes. I'll wake up to some noise in the middle of the night and be disoriented and trying to remember what strange bed I'm in. A lot of people come and go during the night, and my wall facing the hospital area is actually mostly window. I hear everything, so I gain semi-consciousness around once per night. And I usually know when a baby was born during the night. Honestly it doesn't bother me so much! The birds in the morning are the real nuisance. They start warming up their voices at around 4 am, and go until...    well pretty much sunset. On the weekdays it's fine. On the weekends when I want to sleep in, I usually end up going outside every 10 minutes to throw rocks at the sparrow that sits in the tree right by my window without fail. Not very restful! Eventually one of us is going to learn his lesson though.

A few more things I've noticed about living here in Cameroon: For one thing, everybody here greets people more habitually than in the states. People are always saying "Good morning" "Good Afternoon" and "Good Evening". Francophones have a hard time with the concept of morning and afternoon since for them Bon jour is a blanket statement for all day. So they usually say good morning any time before 5 pm. Even when people enter a taxi it is customary to greet everyone with a "Good morning/afternoon". That's one thing that struck me a little differently, and it's also something I'd like to make a habit of and bring back home with me.

Seeing other non-African people makes me feel like there's an automatic connection betwixt us. There was a Chinese guy who I doubt spoke a lick of English, but I saw him walking on the street and just felt like I was seeing an old friend or something.

I was worried about the whole "Only American, only student missionary" thing, but the solitude has been a much needed respite from the distraction of the world. I've learned so much about myself in the short time I've spent here so far. I feel far more connected to my subconscious, as well as to my spiritual life than probably ever. It's really shocking to me (almost frightening) how much my artistic side is attempting to break out of its shell here. Lots of time spent alone and sometimes bored has had my right brain trying to snap its chain. And the quotient of my artistic curiosity is a bigger dog than I realized (Like a Rottweiler on a poodle's chain). It's not that I don't get out, I'm just not finding myself challenged by my immediate environment so much anymore. Buea's a pretty big town, but there are few stimulating activities here that I've found besides grocery shopping. I'm trying to manufacture logical challenges for myself (sudoku, A&P a la Khan Academy, etc.). Anyway, I'm finding an increased interest in language, writing, and poetry, as well as finding an almost spiritual appreciation for that which I find beautiful. I saw a jar of JIF at the market and was nearly in tears (okay maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. It was Skippy.)  I attribute this partly to my lack of a guitar - my right brain is trying to find ways to compensate for not having the creative outlet I've always relied on. Trying to learn French, while a genuine motivation, is probably to blame for my increased interest in language and travel. Journaling daily has likely heightened my appreciation for writing. Also, copious amounts of dancing like nobody's watching may have something to do with my feelings of "liberation". Art to me has always been represented by a murky pond of uncertainty. There are no right or wrong answers, and it's so subjective that I get woozy just thinking about it. But I'm letting it happen. That's maybe the most frightening part of all. Sudoku and Anatomy aren't enough. There are no more theorems, postulates, or formulas to suppress my right brain. I'm plunging in, willingly or not. I don't necessarily want it to stop, but I'm afraid that my logical sense will atrophy and all of the math/science courses in my major will somehow be comparable to, well, arts and humanities classes before I came. In short, I hope that instead of exchanging my enjoyment of sciences for symbolism, my appreciation of tactic for talent, I am becoming more well-rounded as a whole.

And finally, storytime:

Cabs are interesting here. 95% of them are Toyotas (the highest clock I've seen so far was pushing 600,000km), some have train horns, and most have this very discotheque-inspired neon interior lighting that the drivers turn on after dark. A lot of the drivers like to put these big, plush rugs over the upholstery. I'm still not sure if this is designed to conceal the condition of the original upholstery or to engulf anything that falls out of patron's pockets. Probably both. Anyway, after exiting cabs I'm usually pretty good at checking my pockets, but this one time I neglected to until after he began to pull away. Noticed my phone was missing so I began to run after trying to flag him down again. No luck. He stopped for an offer about 100 meters up the hill, but didn't pick the person up. The distance began to increase and I had just given up when a taxi (might have actually been a Toyota Starlet, plenty of the taxis here are) without any passengers pulled by and stopped 20 yards ahead of me. The odds of an empty taxi are slim to none, so seeing this as my golden opportunity, I ran up, jumped in, and shouted "Follow that car!" (If you've never done this before, do it once in your life! Talk about feeling like a BA, I mean this was the real deal). Unfortunately, the first taxi was lost in a mass of other taxis (like picking an individual out of a herd of zebras), but I remembered that the only other passenger when I exited had asked for Bakweri town. It wasn't far, took perhaps 3 minutes to get there. Taxi drivers here already drive like, well, taxi drivers, but I was still surfing the action-movie-like adrenaline rush of it all, so it felt like we were driving 100 miles an hour weaving in and out of cars. By the time we ended up there, I wasn't sure I could recognize the taxi OR the driver (I mostly saw the back of his head. And I think all Cameroonian barbers are trained at the same school, because the men's hairstyles are all remarkably similar). My current cabby offered to call my phone, and the first driver actually picked up! Great! He talked to the driver on my cell until his credits ran out (all of about 30 seconds). Not so great! I was afraid that maybe my first driver hadn't gotten the message, but we finally did catch up to the first cab a little below where I had initially been dropped off. To the best of my understanding the first cab driver wanted 1000 XFA as a finder's fee. I only had a 10,000 XFA note (largest denomination here, worth about 20 bucks) and some change, and so my second cab driver had to make change. I paid back the 1000, then offered my current cab driver 1000 for the fare, plus to reload credits on his phone, which left a pretty good sized tip. I was out of breath, and the bread in my backpack got squashed a little, but at least it was an exciting story. Thankful that I got my phone back, I guess I'm chalking it up to being a "God thing". I could have bought another one I guess, but it would have been a pain in the butt and wouldn't have involved jumping in a taxi and shouting "Follow that car!"

TL;DR Commenting enabled for all. I still wake up disoriented sometimes. Cameroonians feel obligated to greet each other. Not necessarily friendly but habitual. I suffer from MARIMBAS (Medically Ambiguous Ridiculously Immediate Minority Based Attachment Syndrome - invented that phrase myself). Solitude, my greatest trepidation about being here, has actually helped me learn a lot about myself, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly! There's more artist than I ever thought I had in me. I almost lost my $20 plastic cell phone forever, but got it back a James-Bond-like chase scene loosely involving taxis, zebras, and barbers. Worth reading the full version just above.

Salmonella and Soup #5

Author's note: My camera battery burned out, so I won't probably be posting pictures for a while.

On Friday I was unusually irritable, which was unfortunate. After attending vespers (albeit not wholeheartedly excited about it) my mood was quite a bit better. Sabbath was also a mediocre day, and I started developing a headache in the afternoon. Figured it was probably just dehydration or malnutrition, so I took two aspirin, drank a little water, and forgot about it. Sunday I woke up and had the runs, mild nausea, and the headache had returned by that afternoon. I began to suspect something was wrong by the early evening, and sure enough, around 1900 I spiked a fever. I figured I must have malaria, so I told the doctor I'd like to be tested the next morning. 2 aspirin. Bed. The next morning I had the blood test done (The lab tech drew my blood while he was talking on the phone! Like 2nd nature to him, where if I had done it to somebody it would have taken every ounce of my focus). The tests were run, and I tested negative for malaria. Great! I also tested positive for typhoid fever. Not great! I was a little disappointed that the vaccine I had right before coming didn't do me any good. Well, I was prescribed an IV injection of ceftriaxone, and 10 days of cefixime tabs. By this time I had developed a lower backache that persisted through Wednesday (almost felt like kidney pain vs. a muscle ache). The most frustrating part is not knowing where or when I picked the bug up. It could have been number of things: From shaking someone's hand and not washing mine before lunch, to the water filter needing to be replaced. It's hard to know what I need to do differently to NOT catch this bug again! Other than that frustration I actually didn't feel that terrible throughout the whole bout. I was uncomfortable, but I've definitely been sicker. The 6 finals weeks and countless midterms I've been through have caused me more distress. And on the bright side the prompt treatment and diagnosis is one blessing about working in a hospital. Vital medical attention is literally next door to my apartment. Anyway, that's what's gone on through the beginning of the week. I made it back to work by Wednesday, so only missed 2 days. I did miss out on Sunday's market, so it's been beans and rice quite a bit. During my downtime I completely disassembled my laptop and cleaned the fan, and it's running a lot better now!
Got at least one vote for Dr. Bellosillo's bull testicle joke (you've always been a winner, Dad), so here goes: A Filipino guy went to Spain and watched a bullfight while he was there. He saw that the bull's testicles were very big, and once the bull was killed he went to the hotel where they took it to prepare the meat. He went to the restaurant and asked for "soup number 5" which features the cooked bull's testicles. They told him that this particular pair were spoken for and he'd have to put his name on a waiting list. He was told to return in a few days. Well a couple of days went by and he was called in and served his soup number 5, but the dish wasn't nearly as lavish as he had remembered. He called the waiter over to the table and said "Hey, what's the deal here? The testicles I saw on the bull the other day were much bigger than this." To which the waiter replied "Well sir, sometimes the bull wins." We had a pretty good laugh over that one at Sabbath lunch.
Another difference I've noticed after spending quite some time out and about is that the last time I saw someone taller than me was when I said goodbye to Dylan Browning (fellow Walla Walla SM to Uganda) at the airport in Addis. The Cameroonians are all shorter than me as far as I can tell! There have been some that are only a couple centimeters away (the closest one I've seen is one of the female nurses here at the hospital. She's quite tall), but none are my height. For a while I thought Prosper (the accountant) or Joseph (the head nurse) were as tall as me, but I think their positions of importance gave them the illusion of being bigger than they were because they're both probably a good 5-7 cm shorter than me.
The last thing is not so much something I've noticed as it is something I've been meaning to  mention but have forgotten to this point. The plant life here is vibrant, as one would expect for a tropical region. The hospital compound has quite the assortment of trees and shrubs, but my personal favorite right now is this one particular guava tree behind the hospital. There are at least 4 guava trees on the property, but this one's distinction is that its fruit isn't awful. And right now the guavas are ripening and they taste so good! Of course, all the staff know this, so if the junior doctor disappears for a few minutes, you can often find him filling his pockets at the guava tree with the long, 3 pronged stick that naturally grew into the perfect tool to pluck the highest, juiciest guavas. The birds are also aware, so if you let a guava get too ripe they will start eating it right off the tree. The locals here eat the whole thing, skin and all. I prefer just the fruit. Before coming here, I don't think I had ever tasted a fresh guava (only had it in the Kern's nectar or POG). They're seedy, but you get used to it. I planted one in an old cut up water bottle filled with dirt on my 3rd or 4th day here. It started to sprout about a week ago! Once those go out of season, I think the bananas on the property will be starting to ripen, so there's more fresh fruit to look forward to!

TL;DR I got typhoid. They were human testicles. Dylan Browning is the last person I saw taller than me. The guavas here are awesome.

Chicken Whisperer

Well it's now starting the 4th week that I've been here, and so far I've learned quite a few things, some of which I'm going to try and list below. From learning medical techniques to exploring the town, I've been subjected to at least a few moments already that have gotten me out of my element a little. Here's a quick look at the week's lessons and discoveries:
Being a white guy in a very racially homogenous region, I've found a few things out: My pasty white skin makes me above average at flagging down taxis in the dark. That being said, however, if Boko Haram were to come in the night I'm likely the first one they'll see ("Hey guys, welcome to Buea, I'll be your tour guide..."). I might be liable to forget my whiteness, were it not for all the stares and people calling out "white man" at me as I walk by. Also, I think I'm probably the only vegetarian in Cameroon. People literally feel bad for me when they find out I'm vegetarian (As the saying goes: "'Vegetarian' is an old African tribal word for 'bad hunter'"). The chickens have also realized that I'm vegetarian (and a bad cook most of the time) because they've started showing up at my door around mealtime to pick off scraps of vegetables and/or food that I deemed uneatable and toss out the front door. A chicken was actually poking its head in my open door and looked like it was weighing coming in or not.
Chores here are a little harder. Last laundry day I scalded my hand in boiling water, and it took my bath towel 2 days to dry out. I had to keep moving it in and out of the sun/rain. Dish washing is pretty much never finished, and only God knows whether or not my dishes are actually getting clean.
I'm slowly learning a little bit of pidgin, but I've determined that nobody here knows the difference between "the door is closed/locked" and "the door is open/unlocked" For example:
"Make sure and lock the door to the bathroom"
"I did lock the door, I don't want anybody walking in on me!"
"No, see? The door isn't locked"
"Ohhhh you mean closed. Ok I'll close the door when I'm done in the bathroom"
Also:
"You left your door open when you went out"
"Oh shoot seriously?! Were there any chickens inside?"
"No, but we were going to let the plumber in but didn't want to without your permission"
"Ohhhh you mean the door was unlocked. Yeah, that's kinda different than opened..."
The lightning storms here are spectacular, like watching a movie. At night I feel like I'm in a discotech. The clouds will come and go at a moment's notice, as well as rain showers, so it pays to be prepared.
I spend quite a bit of time alone, and I've found that my thoughts have become louder and more creative. It's kind of a cool effect actually to be more in touch with what I'm thinking due to living simply and having less distractions. Not that I'm not busy, just less preoccupied. My overall stress level is the lowest it's been since I can remember, which I've found also helps get the creative juices flowing.
In my explorations I've found a tennis court with some pretty good tennis players, a sprawling view of the ocean (when it's not cloudy), an ice cream shop (went and tried some after having a rough Monday. It wasn't Haagen Dazs, but it'll get me by! Plus, including the taxi ride I spent probably $1.50 in total on that outing. I'll definitely be going back), and a store that carries Snickers bars. If carrying Snickers bars isn't a sign of being civilized, I don't know what is (maybe indoor plumbing is a good indicator too, kind of a tossup if you ask me)
Nobody here seems to know what dental floss is. Also, spaghetti sauce is an elusive commodity.
I spent  3 hours trying to coax my very sick computer into downloading and updating Windows 10, hoping it would fix a bunch of the bugs. It didn't. Long story short, Windows 10 is the antichrist I'm pretty sure.
I got to give an injection this week! That was a pretty awesome experience. I also got snookered into helping clean and dress a wound. It was the biggest, nastiest, infected-est sore that I have ever seen bar none. This guy will be lucky to keep his leg, no joke. A wound like that and a small, stuffy exam room are not a good combo. I was fortunate that the thing didn't smell bad or I probably would have passed out. Afterwards the nurses were razzing me about it quite a bit and we all had a good laugh.
Morning rounds with the Doctor are a highlight of the day. He's got some good conventional wisdom on practicing medicine. Some of my favorites from this past week are the "lipstick sign" (when a female patient starts putting on makeup, she'll be going home soon), "not using lab tests to form a diagnosis, but to confirm it", and his joke about bull testicles over Sabbath lunch (may or may not relate that one in a later post depending on popular demand). He's also really interested in politics and history. I think if he hadn't become a doctor he might have enjoyed being a history or political science teacher. He's always bringing up wars in relationship to the Philippines. The junior doctor is a little bit more of a tough nut, and I can't quite figure him out. Maybe he just doesn't get enough sleep, but he swings back and forth between joking with me, and getting on my case for not filling out the record book correctly (even if it's something I didn't know before it's a "big deal")
Finally, the highlight of my week was receiving my first care package from home! It came about a week and a half faster than expected, so that was a big surprise! My family loves me so much that they pretty much packed all of Costco in a box and sent it across the pond. My stoke factor for this package was extremely high, and words can't do justice to how great it is to have support back home like I do. Calls, Skype, and now this - I am definitely feeling loved!
I love hearing from everyone, continue keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

TL;DR Assorted highlights (and lowlights) of the week, along with some things I've noticed about Africa: White men can be seen coming from a mile away in the dark, and 3 miles away during the day. There are pros and cons to this. I've bought the allegiance of every chicken in the neighborhood, pretty sure they'd defend me to the death. Hot laundry water will burn you, aspirin will make it better. Disgruntled to find that "Door open" and "door unlocked" are used interchangeably here, which is extra confusing. Lightning storms here: 10/10. Stargazing: 0/10. Being alone and not stressed has been a catalyst for creativity and imagination. There's one place with ice cream here (now I'm really living), but floss is about as common as unicorns here. Windows 10 can kiss my "solid state processor". Gave an injection, saw a horrifyingly infected sore that will quite possibly result in an amputation, and have had some interesting conversations with the doctor. Got a package from home containing enough Cheez-Its to build a 1:1 to scale model of Mt. Cameroon.

Exploration photo. Ocean visible in the distance, most of Buea below me

Federer vs. Djokovic

See the rainbow?

One of the nicer houses I've seen with the mountain in the backdrop. I've noticed there's a little something odd about all the houses here, even the nice ones. I attribute this to no building codes!

Toyota Hilux I found wandering around town. Retro paint job + big knobby tires + headache rack = Walker Texas Ranger's truck?

Outside Lina's. I truly did enjoy my stay

With the first care package!