Life As I Know It

The butcher at the meat stand cutting up some cow penis for us to enjoy

Hey blog friends!

Here’s what’s going on in my life right now:

1.     Last week we ate cow genitals

-       We went to the same barbeque place we were at in my last post, but this time, Collins, the driver told us we should try something else. So I asked him what it was and he said he wouldn’t tell me until we tried it…being one to try almost anything (what’s the worst that can happen? I have traveler’s insurance and ciproflaxcin handy for any potential stomach problems), I put a piece of unidentifiable meat in my mouth. I was staring him down as I chewed and finally, after I swallowed the piece (it was delicious!) he told me I had just eaten cow penis. Yeah, cow penis wrapped in intestines too. So, naturally we sat down at the restaurant and bought a bunch of it:

Cow penis with some condiments and chai on the side. Pretty tasty!!
 

Of course we made penis jokes throughout the entire meal...we couldn't help it lol. Things like, "Hmmm, I don't think my boyfriend would be too happy to find out what I just tasted..."

2.     People like to budge a lot (or cut in front of you in line, which ever you prefer)

- I’ve noticed this a lot here and it’s time for me to comment on it. There’s a lot of things I take advantage of in the States: fast Internet, drinking tap water, driving through traffic, etc. but something I didn’t know I take advantage of until recently is that people always wait their turn in line in public. Not the case in Cameroon, at least not in Yaounde. Plenty of times I have been VISIBLY in line for something and someone comes from behind and walks right in front of me as if they didn’t see me standing there when they walked up. It’s kind of a shocking phenomenon to watch. The first time it happened, I was sure it was just a mistake but it’s happened multiple times: at the bakery, in front of a kiosk, at the hospital… Who knew a simple concept that Americans are taught in elementary school, even preschool, could have such importance in my life when it’s lacking in a different society.  

3.     Customer service does not exist (as far as I’m concerned) in Cameroon

- This is very much related to #2… Another American concept that is extremely important in everyday work life, but clearly not here. I expect a smile and friendly service when I go to a restaurant or ask for directions at an establishment, but many times the smallest amount of customer service is non-existent. Again, I didn’t know how important it was to me, but apparently it is. I was at a restaurant the other day and I felt like I was bothering the waitress who was waiting on me. That seems kind of backwards right? The waitress didn’t want to wait on me. At least that’s what her face was saying. I never knew how uncomfortable I could feel going up to someone behind a desk that says “renseignements” (information desk) who has a stank look on their face the entire time. It’s pretty discouraging. Nevertheless, I’ve learned to ignore people’s negative-looking facial expressions and proceed with my question/comment.

4.     The presidential election results came out almost 2 weeks after the election…with a result that everyone already knew

- One of the Supreme Court justices of Cameroon spent 9 FULL HOURS on TV (no breaks) announcing the election results in each department of each town in Cameroon…and with 23 candidates to list off (including their percentages in each department) that can take a loooooong time. I started watching it at 11 am last Friday expecting to get results within an hour or less, but after an hour and a half, I gave up. 9 hours later, Paul Biya was still the president (as he has been for about 3 decades).  There has been talk of a “revolution” but I don’t think Cameroonians want that for their country. That said, if anything happens, I will be on the first flight back across the Atlantic! :) 

The front page of the newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, the morning of the election results

My random comment of the day: 

The last time I saw a donkey was in the island of Lamu off the coast of Kenya...who knew the next time I would see one would be in the bustling city of Yaounde just frolicking through traffic, without a care in the world. Donkeys are living the life.

Oh, hey Mr. Donkey.

 

Venturing Through Different 'Hoods

Yaounde and all of its neighborhoods.
Can you find Essos? That's where I live :)

The advantage of having a flexible work schedule is that there's time to be a tourist. This past week there wasn't that much work in the lab because the medical students are at the end of their research projects and getting ready to defend their theses. This meant that on Thursday and Friday we had time to travel around the city. We went to Briqueterie (the Muslim neighborhood) for some soya (grilled meat) and dackere (yogurt from Northern Cameroon). Walking and driving through Briqueterie reminded me of what Northern Cameroon is like (we visited Garoua and Maroua, two cities in the north when I was here last Christmas): lots of mosques, Muslims and beautiful fabric. The only difference was that the yogurt did not have the rich quality in Yaounde as it did in Garoua.

Here's a Google image of the Briqueterie neighborhood...Too bad you can't see the pretty mosque I saw (but didn't have a good angle for a picture).

Akaila and me at 50/50 about to enjoy some grilled beef kebabs (soya). There was also liver, but that wasn't as good.

Google image of the Bastos neighborhood. Stuntin at its finest.

After Briqueterie, we went to Bastos for some chicken and fried plantains and then ice cream for dessert (tasted more like gelato/sorbet). Bastos is one of the neighborhoods that is known for the embassies and the expats who call it home. You can tell when you're in Bastos by the change in houses, people and restaurants. For example, driving through the neighborhood we saw a bright green Bentley. Stuntin'. Last week, we went to Pizza Roma, which is like an American-style restaurant with (really good) cheese burgers, pizza, salads, chicken nuggets, HEINZ KETCHUP (this was a big deal lol)...you know, typical fast food. The burger and fries were delicious, depsite the 5500 FCFA price (about $10...kind of steep for a burger, fries and a drink but it's a once in a while type of luxury) and it was nice to have to have some American comfort food. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the food here, but it's nice to mix it up from time to time.

 

Yummy, greasy deliciousness!!

More on Elections and the Irrationality of Fear

Elections happened this past Sunday in Cameroon. It was interesting to be able to go to the polls with my aunt and witness how the process runs here. That morning we were going to go to church, but because of the rules on Election Day (no assembling in big groups from 8am until 6pm when the polls close) there was no way any of us were going to church at 6am that morning. Also, all the businesses were prohibited from opening during voting hours, even though some were secretly open and only let people in when the police weren't patrolling the area....Instead of going to church, we went on a run around a soccer field near the house. On our way back home we stopped at the polling place in the neighborhood, which happened to be my cousins’ old elementary school. There were lists in front of each classroom that were partly divided up alphabetically and partly randomly. Voters have to have their ID and voter card. I asked my aunt what the significance of a voter card is if everyone is required to vote with his or her national ID card also. She said that voter cards used to be relevant but now it’s just another formality. The problem is that many citizens’ voter cards have typos. For example, the voter’s first name is spelled wrong, their mother’s maiden name is wrong, or even their birthday is wrong. Not only does this produce false information, but in an effort to correct these mistakes, some people have multiple voter cards and the inaccurate ones are still distributed. So, yes, people vote multiple times since they actually may have different voter cards under their name. We asked one of the election officials from ELECAM (Elections Cameroon, the organization in charge of conducting elections) how they control people from voting more than once and he said that since they take everyone’s fingerprint after having voted, the ink left on their thumb is proof that they have voted. However, my cousin and me discovered that the ink is very easy to remove…so the system isn’t exactly foolproof. Nevertheless, we came back later that day and my aunt and her mother-in-law voted. In each room, the voter was given 23 sheets of paper, one for each candidate in varying colors, and an envelope. Then the voter goes behind a curtain and places their favorite sheet in the envelope and then put the sealed envelope in a clear box. Akaila and Dominique (my cousin) were allowed to take pictures of them putting their ballots in the clear box (given to ELECAM from the EU to reduce corruption during voting). Although it should only take 24 hours or less to count all the ballots, ELECAM announced that results would be announced 15 days from the election. One of the technicians in the lab said facetiously that the 15-day period gives them enough time to produce a desirable outcome (aka Paul Biya remains president). So at this point everyone knows what the result is going to be, it’s just a matter of officially announcing it.

Paul Biya, the incumbent presidential candidate. Every main road has about 4 billboards like this...that's a lot of the same thing, especially downtown.

On a completely different note…

For those of you who have seen me around bugs, you know that I DO NOT cope well in their presence. So far, Akaila and I have already have our fair share of roach and spider attacks (ok, maybe attack isn’t the right word but if you saw the sizes of these insects, you’d understand). Apparently roaches fly…and come in mutant-like sizes. Who knew. They also are not really bothered by intense roach/mosquito/ant/etc. spray unless you spray them for at least a full minute. No matter how much time I spend here, I don’t think I will EVER get used to seeing roaches, especially mouse-size roaches (I’m not joking). On the spider front, we saw a spider (while we were visiting my grandma in Edea) as big as my palm (again, not joking) and usually I can bring myself to kill a spider with my shoe, but this one looked like it could eat me. Akaila was having a panic attack at this point as well. So I called my cousin to come kill it for us; she laughed at us and killed it like it was nothing. Slightly embarrassing, but that’s why fear is irrational, right? In our apartment we have a pretty nice agreement: I (muster up the strength to) kill the spiders and Akaila tackles the roaches. So far it has been working pretty well but I’ll keep you posted on any abnormal insect encounters…