FAQs Answered

Hello again!

To everyone that has emailed me, bless you. Thank you. Bonus points to Shila, as I believe our email thread may be longer, more detailed, and in the long run, more effective for keeping track on how I’m doing than my journal.

There have been some common questions though, so here is an FAQ Answers blog post for you all.

Q: How are you REALLY doing, Maura?

A: Well world, I am doing pretty well. Still rockin’ and rollin in the honeymoon phase. I thought my iPad died a couple nights ago and there was about 5 minutes of my life that were rapidly spiraling out of control, but luckily it was just having a temper tantrum and is working again. I thought I downloaded skype on my computer before I left, but I didn’t and now skype is having major issues downloading, and I don’t think it will ever work. So, that is pretty frustrating. But, other than that, all is well. I am sweaty all the time, but I am get a fair bit of sleep and I am pretty good at taking my multi-vitamins in the evening and my malaria pill in the morning, so I am even vaguely healthy.

Q: What’s the weather like? How sunburned are you?

A: Broad statement: Cameroon is hot. BUT, where I am living in the mountains, it is SIGNIFICANTLY cooler here than it is in most places in Cameroon which is something I am grateful for. Our place is like a 10min cab ride out of the downtown area, which is good because even from our house to downtown there is a major temperature difference most days (we live on a very large hill). We are still in the rainy season, apparently it is hotter in the dry season, so I am hoping that I am less sweaty at the end of the rainy season so I can adjust to the dry season with a less sweaty transition. I don’t know what it averages temperature wise, but I just checked and it is ~10:30am and 26C if that is a point of reference for you. In regards to sunburns, the battle of Irish skin vs Cameroonian sun is ever raging. I wear a lot of sunscreen. To date, I have not gotten burned. There were a few days where I was quite pink (and had a really cute sunglasses outline on my face) but a little aftersun cleared it right up.

Q: Why aren’t there any photos on your blog?

A: Because it would take my entire workday to upload them. The internet here is not as fast as it is at home. For all the X Alumni, you know when you would be on webfx and the connection would be crap and you would become frustrated that your library procrastination is delayed by having to wait almost an entire minute for you faebook page to upload? I crave the day that my internet was that fast. There was like 30min last Friday that the internet at work was unreal, like home fast, but I was doing real things like attaching documents to emails and such. I’ll get some photos ready on my computer incase that speed happens again.

Q: What do you miss the most?

A: I recognize the correct answer to this question is “you!”. To be honest, I don’t really know, there isn’t one thing that I miss the most. I miss my friends, obviously, but I know I will see you all again soon. In terms of material things, I am pretty particular about my bed pillows. Anyone that has ever seen a room that I lived in knows there is a mass amount of pillows of various sizes and densities. I don’t like the one that is on my bed, but I brought my thermarest pillow, so I have just been using that, so that is good. I miss youtube too I think, just the availability to find new music, and watch funny videos. That one of the woman dancing to single ladies with a gorilla mask on and then she crack her face off the TV makes me laugh every time; infact, I am laughing right now just thinking about it. I don’t even really miss having internet at home at all, I check my emails at work, save them to my computer, respond at home, send them the next day. I do wish that I had sync’d my music from my mac to my iPad or computer before I left because I downloaded a bunch of good music that I don’t have with me. (it won’t sync now off icloud re: the answer to the above question) Teary times. I think in the fall I am going to miss the 2 TV shows I watch. If anyone tells me what happens in the fall of TV I will be so so sad. In terms of things I miss, there are a lot of food items that I can incorporate into this category.

Speaking of food…

Q: What is the food like?

A: Well, the girls and I have our own place, so we have been doing our own cooking which is nice. We have been eating lots of rice, beans, lentils, veggies, and such. We went out for Cameroonian food with a coworker which was cool. My main dish jama jama (which is also known as ‘fried vegetables’), which was described as huckleberry with some tomatoes and onions, but it isn’t huckleberry like we have at home, it was like a limp shredded kale and parsley in palm oil. I think I liked the meal more than the meal liked me, but it is all part of the experience. The same meal we also had fried plantains, which make my life and I have been craving them everyday since. There is a lot of meat and fish in everything, and since I jumped on the vegetarian train (other than a bite of beef I had from peer pressure, my last serving of meat was at the Bicycle Thief in Halifax) which makes for a bit of a challenge. One of our coworkers is coming over on Thursday to show us how to make a dish, which I don’t know what it is, but Leah ensured that the crayfish was removed from the ingredients list. I also had something called a spaghetti omlette. Which is literally an omlette, with pasta, tomatoes and onions in it. Sounds strange, but it was oddly satisfying.  There is going to be an entire post about food, I am going to try to wait a month or so to do it, but it will be a post on what I have eaten what I can make (which is hopefully something) and food that I miss (which right now roast chicken dinner is topping my list, movie popcorn with white cheddar seasoning a close second and stockwoods baked goods (cakes, cupcakes, and shortbread) coming in the bronze position)

Q: What is your living situation like? Do you have internet at home?

A: Living situation is great, we live in a nice part of town which is like a 10min cab ride to work. (though we normally walk for 20 min to get halfway and then get a cab). We each have our own bedroom, a cute little living room and a bathroom.  There is a 5 burner gas stove (no oven), and a fridge in the kitchen, a couple of chairs and a loveseat in the living room, and a little table for three. In the washroom there is a toilet, and sink in one room, and a tub/shower and sink in the other. There is no warm water, but I am getting pretty good at showering in the cold water. No, there is no internet at home, but as previously mentioned, I don’t really miss it that much.

Q: What is the city you are living in like? Do people speak English? What are the amenities like?

A: Bamenda, where I am living, is the capital of the North West province. The North West and South West provinces are English provinces, the other eight provinces in Cameroon are French. So officially everyone speaks English, though there is a bit of French that does creep into day to day life. Most of the locals speak pidgin; sadly my pidgin isn’t improving as much as I would like, but it will get there, it hasn’t even been a full three weeks yet! The city itself is a fair size, I don’t know the exact population but I would guess it is around 400,000-500,000. In terms of amenities, you can get everything you need here from produce to electronics to everything in between. There are no malls, only stores or street vendors, there are no brand names I recognize (other than laughing cow cheese) no Walmart or McDonalds or anything like that. But, I can still get everything I need as long as I am willing to haggle for it, and still get ripped off. (The other day I paid 200 CFA [~40 cents CDN] for a bag of hot peppers that I really only should have paid 50-75 CFA for [~10-15 cents CDN] it’s ok, I clearly didn’t break the bank, but if you look at the numbers I paid 300% more than the value, which is a lot no matter the numbers involved)

Q: Exercise, is it a thing for you there?

A: Bless you for being optimistic. On Sunday I walked (from a restaurant to a bakery) if that is an answer to your question. But let’s talk about that bakery for a second. There is a grocery store in it, with real wine, like real French bottles of wine (which are vastly overpriced), and cereal and lots of other fun things. Then there is the bakery with little donut things and various pastries. And guess what is above the bakery and supermarket? A bar. With a balcony. One day soon I want to go and sit at the bar and double fist beer and cake and then I feel like everything will be right in the world. But to answer your question, exercise, ha.

That is most of them for now, keep those emails pumpin’ kids.

Sending you all of my love,
Maura