Final Buzzer

I love Oprah, I’ll say it loud and proud. She is delightful, and remarkably entertaining. I am reading ‘Onward’ by Howard Schultz and there is a section in his book called ‘Things I know for sure’. In every O magazine Oprah writes a ‘What I know for sure’ article. I mean, it is hard to know anything for sure, certainty doesn’t really exist. How do you even know that you exist? Right?!

My thoughtful and intelligent roommate (#burlapsack2013, #mustachioandunclesam) also asked me what I had learned about myself, and I didn’t really have an answer. So I did some reflecting and came up with this list. So, as much as anyone can know anything for sure….

Things I know for sure after living in Cameroon for 6 months

1)      My thoughts can keep me entertained during long or unknown duration waits, but too much time alone with my thoughts can be disastrous.

2)      Regularly scheduled things that I can expect and rely on are essential when I don’t really have a schedule.

3)      There is a direct correlation with how much I like someone and how many exclamation points they use on facebook. “MAKING DINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!” Seriously, people?

4)      Also, facebook is great for the first 30 minutes when you are responding to messages and creeping your besties, but after that it is just a mass of food photos, instagram’d babies and/or puppies, and ‘give me attention’ status’.

5)      Even if I have nothing absolutely pressing to do, I still find myself making schedules on graph paper, tearing off the paper and keeping it in my pocket.

6)      I am the most satisfied, happy, and confident when I feel productive. Which is probably why I was the most addicted to extra-curricular activities.

7)      When someone nags or tries to micromanage me, all that happens is I never want to do anything for them ever again. 

8)      I fully appreciate how it is to have people around me that ‘get it’. An X alum talking about the mess that is Piper’s, camp friends to talk about staying above the sheets, or another Coady intern to talk about this whole experience with.

9)      Everyone deserves respect, but professional respect is earned. Just because you think you know something doesn't mean you are correct when you are telling me the sky is red.

10)   Critichie bites are disgusting and sore. But, there is almost nothing that a bit of hydrocortisone cream and/or some polysporin can’t fix. Though they may scar. FML.

11)   My opinion on development is still mixed, to say the least.

12)   It doesn’t feel like it is almost Christmas when it is 30 degrees and there are no apple cinnamon candles.

13)   Just to clarify, I think a lot of people had this vision of me living in a world vision commercial. I don’t live in a world vision commercial, I live in a city. I take taxis, go to night clubs, and eat at restaurants. I am yet to see a child with flies around their face in dirty clothes.

14)   I don’t want you to tell me what you think I want to hear, I want you to tell me the truth.

15)   I am very happy to pay more, and get a higher quality product or service.  Happiness doesn’t have a price, but if buying an overpriced bottle of tabasco sauce makes you happy every time you use it, it is worth it.

And one more for good measure:

16)   Putting on trousers is really difficult when you have a hip injury.

There is a lot that I won’t get into detail on as I had a lot of personal growth here, which is cool.

So, how do I feel about going home? Mixed feelings I suppose.  I am thrilled to get back to the things that I once took for granted; like washing machines, hot showers, being in the same country as my loved ones. Don’t even get me started on luxuries like internet, my cellphone, being able to watch youtube videos and listen to new music, and, brace yourself, to have an oven in the house again. I am not discussing my food cravings I will finally be able to subside, but let’s just say that I spent an embarrassing about of time loading the Istanbul airport map to see if, and where, the Starbucks is (next to gate 219 past passport control in the international departures terminal, if you are wondering.). Nothing in the world would make me happier than to open a nice bottle of wine by the fire at Hogan’s Pond, poking at said fire as often as I want, wrapping myself in my snake camp quilt, and half listening to something I call doc-talk.

But.

Never again in my life will I have a time that is so laid back. My biggest challenge every day is showering in the glacier. I’ll miss the friends I have made, my non-schedule, the ease of life here, the same 20 songs that are played on repeat, boosters, the cost of living, and the food. I know when I get home I’ll crave beans and puff puffs, kanjo’s omelets, and the white bean place. You’ll probably find me wandering into Kenny’s (and after slaughtering an entire pizza), begging for some fried irish in broken pidgin.

As of late I have gotten very nostalgic. I recently had the option to head home earlier; and like a survivor challenge the offer to go home got better and better the longer I held out, but I didn’t want to leave. Though all good things must come to an end; so I’ll try not to be sad that it’s over, just happy that it happened. In the meantime, I’ll try to figure out how overweight my bag is, and I haven’t even been to the markets in Douala yet.

So, as this is my last day in Bamenda, it will also be my last post in Cameroon.

Thanks to everyone who followed along on my journey, and extra props to people who emailed or sent me facebook messages to check in. I’ll be back home the night of Saturday, Dec. 14^th, meanwhile I will be at debrief in Antigonish. Just in time for X-Ring. Coincidence? I think not.

Cameroon 2013, I can’t believe I survived.

All my love,
Maura

Stuck in an airport

Ever see someone ‘famous’ in an airport? Now when I say famous, I don’t mean you hanging out around the first class lounge at LAX. I just mean local musician, popular athlete, etc.; just someone you recognize but don’t know personally (or though facebook creeping mutual friends).

Anyone who has done a fair bit of flying I am sure has come across someone at an airport, wither it is Simple Plan in the O’Hare food court, or Jon Montgomary (Gold Metal Olympian) ahead of you in the Pearson security screening, these ‘famous’ people are always around. Always just famous enough for you to notice them, but obviously not famous enough to have security with them. Sometimes people ask for photos or autographs, but most people just stare and pretend they aren’t staring because they are too cool to act anything but totally normal.

For a significant amount of time now, I have felt like Kathy Griffith in an airport. Kathy Griffith is a comedian, who is famous in the way of ‘you’d know her to see her’. She had a show a little while ago called ‘My life on the D list’, mocking her non-celebrity, celebrity.  Kathy is famous to have almost everyone in the airport recognize her, some photos, some autographs, more than local celebrities, but significantly less than Macklemore in the economy class check in line.

You may be thinking to yourself ‘Someone get Maura home, she isn’t making sense anymore. She only wishes she was Kathy Griffith so she could fulfill her lifelong dream of being a natural ginger.’ Well, probably. But stay with me here, people.

Bamenda is a city, but the longer I am here, the longer I feel like I am in a small town. People always recognizing you from being around, familiar taxi drivers, running into friends around the city, you get the idea. Kind of like getting up to stretch your legs and seeing the same passengers work their way around their respective terminal as well. Once you’re in an airport, you can’t leave. Well, you can but you have to go out and then go back through security and it is a huge hassle. From Bamenda to the two major cities (Douala or Yaoundé) by bus is about 9 hours, even if you want a quick trip it is 7 hours to Limbe. A hassle to say the least, especially once you consider how bad the roads are for 2 hours until you get into the next region.  Therefore, I am trapped in the airport that is Bamenda. (Ironically, there is no airport in Bamenda because it was closed due to Bamenda’s isolation in relation to the rest of the country and therefore lack of use.)

I am going to say something shocking… I am white. I know I just took you by surprise, but that is something I have been hiding for a long time. I am a white girl of European decent. Considering the vast majority of the national population in Bamenda is not white, I tend to stand out like chalk on a fresh blackboard. Everyone notices me, some people ask for photos, more ask for my contact, some just want to touch my hair.  There aren’t a lot of expats in Bamenda, some Peace Corps volunteers once a month to get their paycheck, but in terms of expats who are living in the city of Bamenda full time I would say there are about 100. Of those 100, I would say 50 are here with the Baptist Mission, so they spend most of their time on their compounds. Seeing a rouge white girl roaming around trying to get her paws on either a booster or some fabric is a strange and unique site. Therefore, making me somewhat ‘famous’ because everyone sees me, most recognize me from a previous spotting, most too cool to do anything but there are a lot of double takes when I come around a corner. Therefore, I am a D-list celebrity.

Maura in Bamenda = Kathy Griffith in an airport

So I feel like I am trapped in an airport, and in three weeks from today I am travelling to Douala. It seems like I just got here and I have been here forever, all at the same time. Only 1.5 more two week cycles. I am not feeling nostalgic yet, but I think I will soon. I suppose I will get another booster and some fried irish while I still can.

All my love,
Maura