Life Thus Far...

Welcome friends, and cyber stalkers. I know you’re creeping me and not saying anything; but it’s ok, you can just buy me a drink the next time we run into each other. Besides, I'd love to catch up with you anyway.

Moving forward, no one knows what’s actually going on with me. So, here is a brief and fragmented summary of my life (my bad)….

So, I work at YOP (Youth Outreach Programme) at Mile One in Bamenda, Cameroon. I have a pretty sweet life here, get in between 8:30 and 9am most days, and leave late afternoon (time dependent on the amount of work). We work across from a junction (like a crossroads/culdasac with businesses in it. I feel like it is the Cameroonian version of a mini Churchill Square.) We spend some time there hanging out with friends, boosting our lives, and running basic errands. Our basic work week runs with us in the office eating omelets. I am currently undecided if I am never going to want to see another egg in my life, or if I am going to be craving them when I get home.

Weekends consist of Commercial Avenue for lunch and/or shopping, the food market for groceries, and hanging out with friends. I also insist on doing nothing on Sundays other than household chores and watching a movie. Sundays are a day of rest for a reason, people.

Garbage chickens still frighten me, as do newly discovered garbage dogs, and of course, rabid goats.

Handheld laundry is not an issue, I don’t mind it; though I am not entirely sure how clean my clothes are getting. I have worn though a shirt and a pair of socks already (whoops) so that leads me to believe that I am washing too aggressively, yet there always seems to be more dirt. (Dear Santa, for Christmas I would really love a new JCrew white vneck just like the one I have here that is now dead….)

People, it is not hot here, I live in the mountains. With the heat waves at home everyone is like “ohh 40*C, that must be nothing for you”. This week, the basic weather seems to be (thunderstorms, everyday) that the lowest low is 16, and the highest high is 27. But because it is raining there is no sun (usually) so it isn’t that warm! I am wearing a sweater right now and am quite chilly infact. Or maybe I am just used to it and will freeze to death when I get back to Canada in the winter.

No, I am not yet tanned; I don’t think I ever will be. But, I am also not yet sunburned, thanks to the rain.

I was able to download skype on my computer, which is such a miracle. After 2 months of trying, I am so so so thrilled about it. I am also starting to sync some of my music which is nice. I downloaded my entire Taylor Swift repertoire, which is certainly a major win in our sing-along life. It is slow and steady and sometimes I get none, but some days I am able to sync 3 or 4 songs, which is awesome.

I thought going into this, I thought that week’s 5-9 were going to be the hardest for me. That has since passed and I survived unscathed, which is sweet.  Hopefully I can keep riding this chill wave, since it is the end of week 10. 1/3^rd of the way through this journey, who woulda thunk it.

In other news, I finally got my guitar! It is a handmade guitar. Its name is Thunder, that’s because “Thunder” is engraved on it. Sweet eh? I think before I leave I am going to get my friends here to paint their names or pictures or whatever on it. What an awesome keepsake. How I am going to get it back to Canada is currently undetermined. There is a place that makes coffins next to my tailor’s house, so worst case sinerio I am sure they could build me a box of sorts….

This is Thunder.

Ah, speaking of my tailor, I had a sweet pair of pants made, or as they would say here ‘trousers’. Pants means underwear, so it makes for an awkward moment when you say to your friend “hey, I loved your little brother’s pants today!” even though all you wanted to do was to compliment the red skinny jeans he was wearing. They are based off my India pants, with a very bold pattern to say the least. I am a really big fan and am going to get more trousers like this made.

Mama booked her flights, which is so awesome. She is coming Oct. 5^th- 19^th, so that is something really cool to look forward too. I can’t wait to see her, and I know she is excited for an excuse to do some exploring (and of course see her darling daughter). She is going to bring me a box of Kraft Dinner, I am just going to publicly admit it right now.

My food cravings are out of control. It is to the point where I am just craving anything and everything (hence the Kraft Dinner). I am never hungry, there is plenty of food around, but I have a new found appreciation for the ‘Survivor Auctions’ where people pay like $200 for 5 chicken wings. (I spent the entire walk home yesterday thinking about my mom’s lemon squares. I was wondering how many I could eat over the duration of a game of Catan, without vomiting.) We made a schedule for the GAFC 2013 (Great Antigonish Food Crawl 2013) which is basically a 2 week challenge to see how much food we can physically eat in such a short period of time. The things I would do for a single slice of Kenny’s combo pizza right now and a glass of chocolate milk are absolutely unspeakable.

Blundstones are pretty much fireproof, but their soles are not. Just in case anyone was wondering.

I have upped my stalking game on that couple on youtube/tumblr. Things are getting out of control, but the first step is recognition. I also have a newfound appreciation for buzzfeed.

That is pretty much the main points in my life, as always feel free to fire of comments, concerns, or queries.

All my love,

Maura

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