The past few days have been difficult, difficult emotionally, missing friends and family, difficult work-wise wondering if all our efforts mean anything, wondering about fitting into a community and not feeling appreciated and so on. Its been a hard week. I have been listening over and over to a beautiful song my friend Adam Johnston wrote, which is on his cd Songs for Advent, that his wife Tiara sent me. And it has been sustaining me some, which is wonderful, and for which I am very thankful.
Sing on earth in anticipation of the life to come.
Sing as wayfarers on a journey, yet still looking home.
Sing while facing your enemy, sing while losing a friend
Sing while living in anxiety, for these days soon shall end.
Sing as those who are destined to die, sing in hope that you'll live.
Sing to lighten the labors of life, sing with nothing to give.
Alleluia
Friday, May 29, 2009
Names
So my good friend Emily Gercke asked me in her last letter, what do people call you? Do they pronounce Elizabeth? Great question, and actually I was gonna post on that at some point, because I have many nicknames here, like most Peace Corps volunteers. These are the names I have been called so far:
-Elizabet (the th is not pronounced here) (Ayleezabet)
-Eliza (Ayleeza)
-Eliz
-Eli
-Liza
-Elizabelle (a personal favorite as in this case it is not amourous Cameroonians trying to flatter me, but often Fulfulde speakers combining Elizabeth and Isabelle, thinking its the same french name)
-Elijabet (often Fulfulde speakers who don't do the Z very much)
-Hadja (a woman who has been to Mecca, so used either as a term of respect or complement of someones status or wealth, but I think for me to show they notice I am dressed Nordiste, integree, etc)
-and of course Nassara (white person/foreigner in fulfulde)
There are many variations to this last one though, especially in the market or on the road or in Garoua where I hear people shouting out all of the following:
-Nassara Mafa Kilda
-Nassara Sanguere
-Nassara Tongo (confusing me with former volunteer Sarah)
-Nassara Bame (confusing me with former volunteer Michelle or current volunteer Emily)
-Nassara Fulfulde
-Nassara Baleejo (white person black person)
-Nassara Loonde (white person canerie, the giant pottery jars we put water in, from the day I carried one from the bottom of the market in Ngong up to the road on my head)
Living in a predominantly Christian village, I don't get offered a Muslim name often, however sometimes in other villages go by my name from Arabic classes at college, Fahada, so some call me that, although it's not a common Cameroonian name. And of course if I'm wearing pagne and getting in a taxi car for the first time with a driver who doesn't know me yet (they are getting fewer and fewer!) I will inevitably get the question "Aminatou na, malla Aissatou?" Aminatou is it, or Aissatou? Two common women's names
I actually have a common name, for Christians here at least, and one easy enough for people to pronounce. There are many other volunteers who have names a little more difficult to prounounce. In some cases they acquire village Foulbe nicknames Aissatou or Salamatou or one that sounds similar to their name. In other cases villagers try the name and end up with a variation. Apparently Jessie is impossible for people to pronounce, so in her village, my friend Jessie is called Joshie, Jesh, Jos, Jas, etc. But our favorite is Aubrey in Bibemi, whos neighborhood children run around calling out "Bonzur Abou, Bonzur Abou." (make sure you roll the "r" on that Bonzur)
common foulbe names
Women
Aissatou (given to first born girls)
Aminatou
Salamatou
Fadimatou
Kadidjatou
Mairamou
Hadja (woman who has been to Mecca)
Men
Aboul Rahman
Hammadou/Amadou (first born male)
(I think about 70% of the men are named those three names here, which is great if you are bad at remembering names)
Daouda
Bouba
Moussa
Yacouba
Alhadji/Aladdi (Man who has been to Mecca)
the "tou" and the "dou" are affectionate diminiutives
For non-Foulbe or Christians and other tribes, most people have a village name and then a "Christian" or French name. The village name comes first, and they may go by either according to who is talking to them. When I first arrived I was under the impression that the village name was a family name, like a last name. But it is not, and each person is named their village name at birth by their father, and then perhaps chooses or gets the other as they are a little older.
Examples of people in my village, friends:
Roukoma Paul
Djakaya Jeremie
Waibai Rebecca
Guizaye Rebecca
Hakda Jean
Wardi Albert
Mblama Moise
Dumagai Rachel
-Elizabet (the th is not pronounced here) (Ayleezabet)
-Eliza (Ayleeza)
-Eliz
-Eli
-Liza
-Elizabelle (a personal favorite as in this case it is not amourous Cameroonians trying to flatter me, but often Fulfulde speakers combining Elizabeth and Isabelle, thinking its the same french name)
-Elijabet (often Fulfulde speakers who don't do the Z very much)
-Hadja (a woman who has been to Mecca, so used either as a term of respect or complement of someones status or wealth, but I think for me to show they notice I am dressed Nordiste, integree, etc)
-and of course Nassara (white person/foreigner in fulfulde)
There are many variations to this last one though, especially in the market or on the road or in Garoua where I hear people shouting out all of the following:
-Nassara Mafa Kilda
-Nassara Sanguere
-Nassara Tongo (confusing me with former volunteer Sarah)
-Nassara Bame (confusing me with former volunteer Michelle or current volunteer Emily)
-Nassara Fulfulde
-Nassara Baleejo (white person black person)
-Nassara Loonde (white person canerie, the giant pottery jars we put water in, from the day I carried one from the bottom of the market in Ngong up to the road on my head)
Living in a predominantly Christian village, I don't get offered a Muslim name often, however sometimes in other villages go by my name from Arabic classes at college, Fahada, so some call me that, although it's not a common Cameroonian name. And of course if I'm wearing pagne and getting in a taxi car for the first time with a driver who doesn't know me yet (they are getting fewer and fewer!) I will inevitably get the question "Aminatou na, malla Aissatou?" Aminatou is it, or Aissatou? Two common women's names
I actually have a common name, for Christians here at least, and one easy enough for people to pronounce. There are many other volunteers who have names a little more difficult to prounounce. In some cases they acquire village Foulbe nicknames Aissatou or Salamatou or one that sounds similar to their name. In other cases villagers try the name and end up with a variation. Apparently Jessie is impossible for people to pronounce, so in her village, my friend Jessie is called Joshie, Jesh, Jos, Jas, etc. But our favorite is Aubrey in Bibemi, whos neighborhood children run around calling out "Bonzur Abou, Bonzur Abou." (make sure you roll the "r" on that Bonzur)
common foulbe names
Women
Aissatou (given to first born girls)
Aminatou
Salamatou
Fadimatou
Kadidjatou
Mairamou
Hadja (woman who has been to Mecca)
Men
Aboul Rahman
Hammadou/Amadou (first born male)
(I think about 70% of the men are named those three names here, which is great if you are bad at remembering names)
Daouda
Bouba
Moussa
Yacouba
Alhadji/Aladdi (Man who has been to Mecca)
the "tou" and the "dou" are affectionate diminiutives
For non-Foulbe or Christians and other tribes, most people have a village name and then a "Christian" or French name. The village name comes first, and they may go by either according to who is talking to them. When I first arrived I was under the impression that the village name was a family name, like a last name. But it is not, and each person is named their village name at birth by their father, and then perhaps chooses or gets the other as they are a little older.
Examples of people in my village, friends:
Roukoma Paul
Djakaya Jeremie
Waibai Rebecca
Guizaye Rebecca
Hakda Jean
Wardi Albert
Mblama Moise
Dumagai Rachel
photos of my new house
After much, much much nagging on the part of not only my mother, but many others too, I am attempting to upload some photos of my new house. I waited for a while because it was "under construction" and changing, but now I think it looks pretty much like what it will look like for a while, until the gardens grow in!!! Such a joy, I almost feel like crying about it when I think about being able to live there. It is a palace and I am so happy with it, so blessed.
to the left of the kitchen, storage shed and old kitchen-soon-to-be chicken house (the tree has since been broken by a storm, so no more Neem tree :( )
this is one of my favorite photos: the front porch with Leila and Kosam
The view of the house from the road
Left side, bedroom, right side living room
The kitchen and entrance behind the wall...
to the left of the kitchen, storage shed and old kitchen-soon-to-be chicken house (the tree has since been broken by a storm, so no more Neem tree :( )
Bathroom, now much more lovely with flowers and plants
Planting trees at the Ecole Biblique
On May 22, we planted trees at the Ecole Biblique. To start with, they planted 15 ungrafted mangos, three citrus trees and 3 anacardium trees. While the rains stopped for about 15 days and it is again very dry, because their trees are planted near their houses and they are faithful workers, I have no doubt their watering and care for the trees will be sufficient until the rains start up again. As such, I am starting with the planting of trees that are near houses and inside concessions, where people will water them, ending all the tree planting with those that are a little farther "en brousse" in fields where they cannot be watered. This way, but the time we get to those farther off, hopefully the rains will be more constant. For forestry trees, if they are planted at the beginning of the rainy season, by the time they make it to the dry season, they should have grown enough and be hardy enough to make it without watering. Fruit trees are different however, especially citrus and mangos, and need watering for their first few years. Thus unless their is a well in an orchard, or field, it is better to plant near houses, and if people are aware of the care that will have to go towards feeding and protecting them.
It was a beautiful time of planting, and we finished the planting and watering with a lovely prayer, given by Matthieu, thanking God for the gift of the trees and praying that God would help them as the students endeavor to take care of them for the remaining two years they are there, and that they would bless the future students who will come to study there. I am truly inspired by the Ecole Biblique families who are motivated, the hardest working people in the village, and desiring to plant trees whose fruit they will not even harvest. They are such a joy to work with. Afterwards of course, the photo session was quite a hit! Following are photos of the children, men and women of the pastor school families around one of the mangos they planted.
It was a beautiful time of planting, and we finished the planting and watering with a lovely prayer, given by Matthieu, thanking God for the gift of the trees and praying that God would help them as the students endeavor to take care of them for the remaining two years they are there, and that they would bless the future students who will come to study there. I am truly inspired by the Ecole Biblique families who are motivated, the hardest working people in the village, and desiring to plant trees whose fruit they will not even harvest. They are such a joy to work with. Afterwards of course, the photo session was quite a hit! Following are photos of the children, men and women of the pastor school families around one of the mangos they planted.
some correspondence with one of Greer Elementary's ESL classes
I have some questions for you from two students. Leyla wants to know what
kind of animals do you see? Is it hot? Do they have winter? What kind of
food do the people eat? Do you have any pets in Africa? What language do
they speak?
Khadzhi would like to know: Do you see lions? What kinds of houses do they
have? Are the animals close to you? What are you doing there?
Hello Class!
Thank you so much for your wonderful questions! I'm going to take a few minutes to answer them while I'm in the city before I head back to my village this afternoon.
Right now the weather is very hot and very humid! Some days during the hot season it is 110 degrees in the shade. We had 5 months without any rain at all, which is called the Dry Season, but this month the rains started again and will continue raining from time to time until October again. Next month, with more rain we will enter the Rainy Season. The weather and seasons here are based more on Rain and Drought rather than hot and cold, like for us. The coldest it gets here is about the same as springtime for us in Virginia, or maybe the months of June and September. The coldest months here are also December, January, and February, but no snow!!! I guess you could say there is no real winter, like we have in Virginia.
Because I live in a village, there are a lot of animals around, just like on a farm; most every house has goats, chickens and maybe some sheep and cows. However, often the animals live in the family area too instead of in barns! The houses here are not like houses in Charlottesville. They are made of mud bricks that dry in the sun, and many of them have thatched grass roofs. There are also more modern houses made of cement with tin roofs. However instead of one big house like we have in America, their houses are little rooms all separate, surrounded by a wall. This means you walk in a walled in area and there is a little hut that is the kitchen, a little hut that is the bedroom for the mother, a little hut that is the bedroom for the father. In the hot season, it is so hot everyone sleeps outside on mats because it's too hot inside. The animals all stay inside this wall too, with the family and then during the day they are shooed outside to find their own food!
There are also wild animals that I see around, but not as many as the farm animals. There are many beautiful bright colored birds. A lot of them have very long tails that trail after them when they are flying. Also some birds that remind me of home, such as herons and white egrets. There are mountains behind my house, and one time, when I was climbing them, I saw about 30 monkeys or baboons running on the other side of the mountains! One was a mother baboon with a baby hanging onto her back, which is also how mothers and big sisters here carry their babies, safe and secure. There is a river a few miles from my village, and a family of about 15 hippos lives there. The only way you can see them is in the dry season when the water level drops. They like to stay cool in the water so all you can see is dark brown lumps in the river, which is the backs of the hippos. One of them is trained and a Cameroonian man gets it to come out of the river so people can see it, and he feeds it by hand! This is something amazing because hippos are very dangerous animals and very very big! There are also a few elephants that roam and migrate through the area, although I have never seen them. Elephants migrate just like other animals such as whales and birds. This means they live in one place for part of the year and then travel to another, returning after some time. A village just south of my village is on the elephant path, which means the same time every year the elephants pass through the village. One time one took off the thatched roof of a house in the middle of the night without the sleeping man even waking up! I think they travel through there during June, so I might try to go see them! Kadhzi, there are no lions here anymore, although in history there used to be. The landscape here is exactly what you would expect if you were looking for lions---savannah grass plains with some trees and shrubs. However there are many people who have settled here to farm and the lions have been scared off, moving to less populated areas.
I do have pets! In February I got a little puppy and named her Leila, which means "night" in Arabic. Some people speak Arabic here, but most people speak French or Fulfulde. My village also speaks another language called Mafa. I speak mostly French and some Fulfulde with the people who don't know French. I am also learning a bit of Mafa. Learning a new language is hard work, isn't it?! My puppy is very sweet and has a lot of energy. You can see some photos of her on my blog: elizabethincameroon.blogspot.com. She is growing quickly! A week ago I also got a kitten. I haven't named him yet, and he is all white. The kitten and puppy like to play together and they are both good company for me. Soon, I am hoping to get some chickens for eggs! In my next letter I will try to answer Layla's other question about the food, and also Khadzhi's other question about what I'm doing here! Thank you for your questions class! I will try to keep putting photos on my blog too, that your teacher Ms. Madigan can show you.
Elizabeth
We have a few more questions for you. Here are Khadzhi’s: Do they have pet stores? Do they have money? Do you have friends? What kinds of pets do they have? Do they have cars? Can you show more pictures of animals and other interesting things? (We will check the blog!) Do they have cameras? Do you have a car? Do they have a shopping or food store? Do they have schools and jobs? Leyla wants to know: Why do they wear hats or coverings on their heads? Aren’t they scared when they sleep outside?
Hello everyone! I will try to answer your questions quickly because i don't want to miss the end of the school year! I know its around the corner.
There are no pet stores here. People would probably think that was a very funny idea! If you want a puppy or a kitten, you just ask around the village and someone might know of someone who has a dog or cat who had babies. There are often babies around because people do not spay or neuter their animals like we often do in the States. People don't treat their pets the same as we do here. If people have pets, it is just dogs and cats, although they do have their livestock as well: the goats, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
People do have cars here, but only people who are very rich. Noone in my village owns a car, and nor do I! I get places I need to go by hitching rides in other cars that drive along the road near my village. If I want to go into town I sit on the side of the road and wait for a car to come by. Sometimes one comes in a few minutes. Sometimes I've sat on the side of the road for an hour and a half before one comes by with one space in it. In vans that would carry 8 people in the States, here in Cameroon, drivers fit 16 people in them! They can become pretty cramped (you learn to not need so much personal space!) and sometimes include animals. I have gotten in cars where people have a couple of chickens on their laps, and once I got in and looked behind me and the back seat of the van was removed. In its place was a full grown cow! Traveling from one market to another. I wish I had a photo of that. I just laughed. Few people have cameras, although most peoplee have cell phones. Some people even have cell phones with cameras on them, including some people in my village. For special occassions such as marriages and ceremonies, people with cameras come and take photos of whoever wants them and then sell them afterwards.
I have not gotten any chickens yet and am told to wait a bit because currently they are dying. In addition, I want to wait until my garden is a little farther along so the chickens won't eat all my little sprouting plants! I will be traveling to my friends wedding in India in a few weeks, so maybe upon returning I will get a couple chickens. (my grandfather grew up on a farm on the Eastern Shore! How beautiful) There are no real stores in my town, but three "boutiques." A "boutique" here is is a little shack that stores some of the necessary items for people to buy in village. Some of these are: soap, toothbrushes (but no toothpaste), flour, laundry detergent, little hard candies, milk powder, sugar and salt, onions, tomato paste in cans, flip flops, notebooks, pens. My boutiques do not even carry toilet paper! You don't enter the boutiques, you just tell the person inside what you need and they give it to you. I get that when I'm in the city. The cities have bigger stores where you can buy food or other things. However most fresh food, like vegetables, is bought in the markets, which are outdoor stands of people selling food, tomatoes, onions, fruit, greens, garlic, spices, dried fish, meat. They are very colorful! I will try to take some pictures of them to put on my blog. There are certainly schools. My village has an elementary school. Most villages have elementary schools, bigger villages have middles schools and only big villages and cities have high schools. That means that if a student gets to pass their exams to go onto middle school or high school they usually have to travel to another village, either by bike, or walking, to go there. Some actually move to the other village to go to high school, living with relatives, living together with other students in rented rooms, or even chicken sheds. Most students in my village do not go on past elementary school, and some stop before finishing that because you have to pay for school and many families cannot afford it, especially with 5 or 6 children. People do have jobs as well, many different jobs in the city. In my village, everyone is a farmer. People make money by farming peanuts and corn and sorghum and selling it at the market. They also eat the the food they produce at home.
I don't think they are scared when they sleep outside because most everyone is together in groups of big families. People do not live alone, and find it surprising that I do. They always ask me "Aren't you scared to live alone?" There are also walls around most peoples houses so they sleep outside their house, but inside the wall. Some people have dogs who help guard their house.
I think they were coverings on their heads because of tradition. It is part of the culture, and all the women wear headscarves (although not to sleep!) Most Muslim women wear beautiful veils when they leave their houses. Sometimes I do as well, one green and one blue. Many of the Muslim men wear hats too, which are very intricately embroidered and very pretty.
Thank you again for your questions! Have a wonderful summer!
Elizabeth
kind of animals do you see? Is it hot? Do they have winter? What kind of
food do the people eat? Do you have any pets in Africa? What language do
they speak?
Khadzhi would like to know: Do you see lions? What kinds of houses do they
have? Are the animals close to you? What are you doing there?
Hello Class!
Thank you so much for your wonderful questions! I'm going to take a few minutes to answer them while I'm in the city before I head back to my village this afternoon.
Right now the weather is very hot and very humid! Some days during the hot season it is 110 degrees in the shade. We had 5 months without any rain at all, which is called the Dry Season, but this month the rains started again and will continue raining from time to time until October again. Next month, with more rain we will enter the Rainy Season. The weather and seasons here are based more on Rain and Drought rather than hot and cold, like for us. The coldest it gets here is about the same as springtime for us in Virginia, or maybe the months of June and September. The coldest months here are also December, January, and February, but no snow!!! I guess you could say there is no real winter, like we have in Virginia.
Because I live in a village, there are a lot of animals around, just like on a farm; most every house has goats, chickens and maybe some sheep and cows. However, often the animals live in the family area too instead of in barns! The houses here are not like houses in Charlottesville. They are made of mud bricks that dry in the sun, and many of them have thatched grass roofs. There are also more modern houses made of cement with tin roofs. However instead of one big house like we have in America, their houses are little rooms all separate, surrounded by a wall. This means you walk in a walled in area and there is a little hut that is the kitchen, a little hut that is the bedroom for the mother, a little hut that is the bedroom for the father. In the hot season, it is so hot everyone sleeps outside on mats because it's too hot inside. The animals all stay inside this wall too, with the family and then during the day they are shooed outside to find their own food!
There are also wild animals that I see around, but not as many as the farm animals. There are many beautiful bright colored birds. A lot of them have very long tails that trail after them when they are flying. Also some birds that remind me of home, such as herons and white egrets. There are mountains behind my house, and one time, when I was climbing them, I saw about 30 monkeys or baboons running on the other side of the mountains! One was a mother baboon with a baby hanging onto her back, which is also how mothers and big sisters here carry their babies, safe and secure. There is a river a few miles from my village, and a family of about 15 hippos lives there. The only way you can see them is in the dry season when the water level drops. They like to stay cool in the water so all you can see is dark brown lumps in the river, which is the backs of the hippos. One of them is trained and a Cameroonian man gets it to come out of the river so people can see it, and he feeds it by hand! This is something amazing because hippos are very dangerous animals and very very big! There are also a few elephants that roam and migrate through the area, although I have never seen them. Elephants migrate just like other animals such as whales and birds. This means they live in one place for part of the year and then travel to another, returning after some time. A village just south of my village is on the elephant path, which means the same time every year the elephants pass through the village. One time one took off the thatched roof of a house in the middle of the night without the sleeping man even waking up! I think they travel through there during June, so I might try to go see them! Kadhzi, there are no lions here anymore, although in history there used to be. The landscape here is exactly what you would expect if you were looking for lions---savannah grass plains with some trees and shrubs. However there are many people who have settled here to farm and the lions have been scared off, moving to less populated areas.
I do have pets! In February I got a little puppy and named her Leila, which means "night" in Arabic. Some people speak Arabic here, but most people speak French or Fulfulde. My village also speaks another language called Mafa. I speak mostly French and some Fulfulde with the people who don't know French. I am also learning a bit of Mafa. Learning a new language is hard work, isn't it?! My puppy is very sweet and has a lot of energy. You can see some photos of her on my blog: elizabethincameroon.blogspot.com. She is growing quickly! A week ago I also got a kitten. I haven't named him yet, and he is all white. The kitten and puppy like to play together and they are both good company for me. Soon, I am hoping to get some chickens for eggs! In my next letter I will try to answer Layla's other question about the food, and also Khadzhi's other question about what I'm doing here! Thank you for your questions class! I will try to keep putting photos on my blog too, that your teacher Ms. Madigan can show you.
Elizabeth
We have a few more questions for you. Here are Khadzhi’s: Do they have pet stores? Do they have money? Do you have friends? What kinds of pets do they have? Do they have cars? Can you show more pictures of animals and other interesting things? (We will check the blog!) Do they have cameras? Do you have a car? Do they have a shopping or food store? Do they have schools and jobs? Leyla wants to know: Why do they wear hats or coverings on their heads? Aren’t they scared when they sleep outside?
Hello everyone! I will try to answer your questions quickly because i don't want to miss the end of the school year! I know its around the corner.
There are no pet stores here. People would probably think that was a very funny idea! If you want a puppy or a kitten, you just ask around the village and someone might know of someone who has a dog or cat who had babies. There are often babies around because people do not spay or neuter their animals like we often do in the States. People don't treat their pets the same as we do here. If people have pets, it is just dogs and cats, although they do have their livestock as well: the goats, cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
People do have cars here, but only people who are very rich. Noone in my village owns a car, and nor do I! I get places I need to go by hitching rides in other cars that drive along the road near my village. If I want to go into town I sit on the side of the road and wait for a car to come by. Sometimes one comes in a few minutes. Sometimes I've sat on the side of the road for an hour and a half before one comes by with one space in it. In vans that would carry 8 people in the States, here in Cameroon, drivers fit 16 people in them! They can become pretty cramped (you learn to not need so much personal space!) and sometimes include animals. I have gotten in cars where people have a couple of chickens on their laps, and once I got in and looked behind me and the back seat of the van was removed. In its place was a full grown cow! Traveling from one market to another. I wish I had a photo of that. I just laughed. Few people have cameras, although most peoplee have cell phones. Some people even have cell phones with cameras on them, including some people in my village. For special occassions such as marriages and ceremonies, people with cameras come and take photos of whoever wants them and then sell them afterwards.
I have not gotten any chickens yet and am told to wait a bit because currently they are dying. In addition, I want to wait until my garden is a little farther along so the chickens won't eat all my little sprouting plants! I will be traveling to my friends wedding in India in a few weeks, so maybe upon returning I will get a couple chickens. (my grandfather grew up on a farm on the Eastern Shore! How beautiful) There are no real stores in my town, but three "boutiques." A "boutique" here is is a little shack that stores some of the necessary items for people to buy in village. Some of these are: soap, toothbrushes (but no toothpaste), flour, laundry detergent, little hard candies, milk powder, sugar and salt, onions, tomato paste in cans, flip flops, notebooks, pens. My boutiques do not even carry toilet paper! You don't enter the boutiques, you just tell the person inside what you need and they give it to you. I get that when I'm in the city. The cities have bigger stores where you can buy food or other things. However most fresh food, like vegetables, is bought in the markets, which are outdoor stands of people selling food, tomatoes, onions, fruit, greens, garlic, spices, dried fish, meat. They are very colorful! I will try to take some pictures of them to put on my blog. There are certainly schools. My village has an elementary school. Most villages have elementary schools, bigger villages have middles schools and only big villages and cities have high schools. That means that if a student gets to pass their exams to go onto middle school or high school they usually have to travel to another village, either by bike, or walking, to go there. Some actually move to the other village to go to high school, living with relatives, living together with other students in rented rooms, or even chicken sheds. Most students in my village do not go on past elementary school, and some stop before finishing that because you have to pay for school and many families cannot afford it, especially with 5 or 6 children. People do have jobs as well, many different jobs in the city. In my village, everyone is a farmer. People make money by farming peanuts and corn and sorghum and selling it at the market. They also eat the the food they produce at home.
I don't think they are scared when they sleep outside because most everyone is together in groups of big families. People do not live alone, and find it surprising that I do. They always ask me "Aren't you scared to live alone?" There are also walls around most peoples houses so they sleep outside their house, but inside the wall. Some people have dogs who help guard their house.
I think they were coverings on their heads because of tradition. It is part of the culture, and all the women wear headscarves (although not to sleep!) Most Muslim women wear beautiful veils when they leave their houses. Sometimes I do as well, one green and one blue. Many of the Muslim men wear hats too, which are very intricately embroidered and very pretty.
Thank you again for your questions! Have a wonderful summer!
Elizabeth
Fete Nationale de L'Unite-- May 20
Wednesday May 20 was Cameroon's national holiday, marking the day of unity of the two divisions into one nation of Cameroon. In the morning I rode into Garoua with all the student from the elementary school in my village to parade, or "defile". Usually the students celebrate and parade in Bokle, a regional center a little closer to Mafa Kilda, but this time they chose to go all the way into Garoua, and for many of them, it was the first time for them to see Garoua. As we got off the truck (where all the students rode in standing pressed together in the bed in the back) older kids grabbed onto the hands of the younger ones and all were wide eyed, and probably pretty overwhelmed and scared, never having seen so many people, so many other students, buildings, etc. While they found their place in line with hundreds of other kids from schools in Garoua and surrounding villages, I ran up ahead down the road and found a seat on the curb under a tree. The first part of the parade was all the military branches, who marched intimidatingly down the road, rows and rows of different forces in different colored berrets, including one group with black ski masks. I assume they were special undercover ops or something, and they got a lot of applause, but were a little scary for me. Following the military display were the elementary schools. After watching the rows of students walk by for an hour and a half, (and it was a very hot day and I didn't bring water...) I was ready to leave and made my way to the office to work. But following the elementary schools were the high schools and then special groups and organizations. A very very long parade. When I looked to the side at the road or across the road, it appeared as if stationary things were moving to the right as if on a conveyer belt---the result of watching marching students for so long!
The students of Mafa Kilda, marching in the parade in Garoua
Students from one of the Franco-Arab schools of Garoua
Boys of the Franco-Arab school in bubus
The Regional Lamidos and traditional leaders in their place of honor
Yavara Essaie, Fadama Elie, and Yakadam Elizabeth, my landlord and neighbor's three oldest children, at my house in the morning before leaving for Garoua. It was the first time for all three to go to Garoua. Quite an event!Thursday, May 14, 2009
Alley Cropping
Alley Cropping is a technique of planting trees in lines between alleys of crops. There are many different ways of alley cropping, depending on factors of soil nutrients, water availability, and the purpose of using trees. In the Sahel region of Cameroon, this is usually a rotational system, used in conjunction with corn or peanut cultivation. It is a rotational system because there is often not sufficiant rain to have continual cropping every year between the growing trees. It works a little like this:
Year 1: plant trees in rows of 4-8 meters; cultivate as usual between trees
Year 2: depending on height of trees and the shade the produce, as well as amount of water available to the trees and crops, you may be able to plant your crop again between the trees.
Year 3: let the trees continue growing
Year 4/5: coppice trees (cutting the tree near the ground, leaving a stump which will sprout again). Leave the leaves and small branches on the ground and take the wood for your own use. Start a 3 year cycle of letting the trees grow and coppicing. Every third year, you cut the trees and cultivate the land.
Because it is a three year cycle, it is a good system to use for three fields, cutting and cultivating in one field while letting the trees grow in the other two, rotating the cultivation each year. In addition, because this system takes a bit of time to accrue the benefits, and because the farmer will be sacrificing two periods of cultivation, it is a good system to use on fields that would remain in fallow, or those which already have very low fertility.
Benefits: Year after year, the trees shed their leaves which fall into the field adding organic matter. Building up organic matter in fields is one of the main desires in the Sahel, as fields become more and more infertile. With little coverage in the dry season, winds steal topsoil and when rain comes, it washes nutrients away. Much of the soil is very sandy and in some places seeming straight sand. In addition to increased soil fertility and thus crop harvest, the trees have the added benefit of wood, useful for firewood or construction.
While there are a few people who have done this in fields in neighboring villages, using Cassia Siamea in the culture of peanuts, I have not seen it in Mafa Kilda, and will be doing a demonstration field of this technique. I will be doing half a quart of peanuts, and half a quart of soy, using two species of trees (Cassia Siamea and Leucaena leucocephela) to see if there is a difference in results. Both trees have good biomass, producing many leaves and branches quickly. Leucaena, in addition, is leguminous, meaning its roots fix nitrogen in the soil making it more available to other plants. I asked for a field that could rest with the Peace Corps volunteer for 8 years, is close to the center of the village, but also a field that is very infertile. While I will not see the results of the work, the soil fertility taking several years to build, hopefully, the volunteers following me will continue the work and demonstration of the system, and by the fifth year, the soil fertility should have risen enough to produce visible results. I'm also hoping to plant a "haie vive" (live fence) of Acacia senegal, Acacia polyacantha, Acacia nilotica and Moringa oliefera. The acacias are spiny trees which will (hopefully) keep the goats and cows from entering the field. Moringa, a good nutritional tree, is small, however grows easily and quickly and hopefully will create a bit of a boundary in the meantime, while waiting for the acacia's to grow. I hope to attach some photos of the trees and field throughout the process.
Year 1: plant trees in rows of 4-8 meters; cultivate as usual between trees
Year 2: depending on height of trees and the shade the produce, as well as amount of water available to the trees and crops, you may be able to plant your crop again between the trees.
Year 3: let the trees continue growing
Year 4/5: coppice trees (cutting the tree near the ground, leaving a stump which will sprout again). Leave the leaves and small branches on the ground and take the wood for your own use. Start a 3 year cycle of letting the trees grow and coppicing. Every third year, you cut the trees and cultivate the land.
Because it is a three year cycle, it is a good system to use for three fields, cutting and cultivating in one field while letting the trees grow in the other two, rotating the cultivation each year. In addition, because this system takes a bit of time to accrue the benefits, and because the farmer will be sacrificing two periods of cultivation, it is a good system to use on fields that would remain in fallow, or those which already have very low fertility.
Benefits: Year after year, the trees shed their leaves which fall into the field adding organic matter. Building up organic matter in fields is one of the main desires in the Sahel, as fields become more and more infertile. With little coverage in the dry season, winds steal topsoil and when rain comes, it washes nutrients away. Much of the soil is very sandy and in some places seeming straight sand. In addition to increased soil fertility and thus crop harvest, the trees have the added benefit of wood, useful for firewood or construction.
While there are a few people who have done this in fields in neighboring villages, using Cassia Siamea in the culture of peanuts, I have not seen it in Mafa Kilda, and will be doing a demonstration field of this technique. I will be doing half a quart of peanuts, and half a quart of soy, using two species of trees (Cassia Siamea and Leucaena leucocephela) to see if there is a difference in results. Both trees have good biomass, producing many leaves and branches quickly. Leucaena, in addition, is leguminous, meaning its roots fix nitrogen in the soil making it more available to other plants. I asked for a field that could rest with the Peace Corps volunteer for 8 years, is close to the center of the village, but also a field that is very infertile. While I will not see the results of the work, the soil fertility taking several years to build, hopefully, the volunteers following me will continue the work and demonstration of the system, and by the fifth year, the soil fertility should have risen enough to produce visible results. I'm also hoping to plant a "haie vive" (live fence) of Acacia senegal, Acacia polyacantha, Acacia nilotica and Moringa oliefera. The acacias are spiny trees which will (hopefully) keep the goats and cows from entering the field. Moringa, a good nutritional tree, is small, however grows easily and quickly and hopefully will create a bit of a boundary in the meantime, while waiting for the acacia's to grow. I hope to attach some photos of the trees and field throughout the process.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
new kitty
So a few weeks ago I added a new animal to my new household. A kitten, as of yet, unnamed. I had wanted a girl kitty and had a name picked out, but when I got "her" home, lo and behold the female I was given was not a female. So I still don't know what to call him. Just Kitty. Or Patou, in fulfulde/mafa "cat". Other possible name: Kosam (sammy)=milk in fulfulde. Most of the cats in MK are white or white with black spots. He is all white with electric blue eyes. 
While I prefer female cats, he is very very affectionate, likes to cuddle and purrs a lot, and from day 1 used his litter box in the house; and I have to say when the first night he accompanied me out to the latrine and proceeded to catch and eat 3 cockroaches running around, he was fine by me. Pretty whiney though, wanting to be fed at all times--I should look up the fulfulde name for whineypants....Leila enjoys keeping him in her mouth and gnawing on his legs. 
Friday, May 1, 2009
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