Geography

Knowing nothing about the country before receiving my invitation, other than its location on the African continent, I am busy researching it and reading as much as possible before my departure on September 19th.

Geographically, Cameroon is very diverse, and is called "Africa in miniature" or "Little Africa" for this reason. It contains every climate and ecological niche of the continent in one country: tropical coast, mountains, rainforest, savannah and desert. How exciting. For this reason, some people say if you are only going to visit one country in Africa, you should visit Cameroon. I would agree. And especially in the next 27 months. If you're even thinking about a trip to Africa......anything I can do to encourage you to come visit! :) I know it would be much appreciated! While my dream and desire would be to be near the coast, where fresh vegetables, fruit, and fish are readily available, and remaining vegetarian would be a practical option, it is about 99% sure that I will be assigned to a northern region where most of our group is assigned. This area is more savannah/desert like, much drier and cooler, and honestly could probably use a lot more agroforestry work, as food security is more of an issue. Cameroon also contains the tallest peak (Mount Cameroon) in sub-Saharan West Africa. Definitely have to make it there at some point.

Cameroon is a bilingual state, having been colonized partially by the British (in the west) and French (in the north and east). I will be in a French speaking region. It is made up of 10 provinces and I will likely be assigned to a village in the north or extreme north, which is a Sahelian climate. The country is made up of 230-280 ethnic and liguistic groups. I look forward to learning a new, local language during training and during my service, beyond French! If only I could use Arabic as well...

If it starts with a C....

So, 12 days ago, I finally received my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps as an agroforestry volunteer, and my country assignment: Cameroon. It seems that places beginning with C is a trend and it shall be added to Charlottesville, Carlisle, Corolla. I will be heading up to staging September 17th, and then flying out September 19th.

I am so excited about this opportunity, and feeling as though "I just wish I could have a little bit more time to prepare and spend with my family and friends!" But I think it's something you never can quite prepare enough for and so I'm ready to jump right in.

We will fly into the capital, Yaounde, and spend a little bit of time there before departing to our training sites. We will be at our training sites for three months, roughy, and training will encompas language, culture and technical training, all of which I am looking forward to immensely. During the first three months, my address will be:
Elizabeth Moore
Peace Corps Trainee
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 215
Yaounde, Cameroon

Following those months of training, we will be sent to our assignment villages for the next two years. I will let you know what address I will be at then.
I don't know what kind of internet access I will have during the training or the placement, but I am hoping to be able to keep this relatively up to date, to keep you all informed, and to educate you on Cameroon! How blessed I am to get to introduce you to a new place and new people through my experiences! I know that I will cherish letters and packages like pure gold, and as things take about 6 weeks to arrive, if you're planning on sending a little note, don't hesitate! :)