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...