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
Maura
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