There aren’t too many as flickr doesn’t like to allow a whole bunch, but if Facebook ever cooperates with uploading new pictures I’ll post the link to those as well.

I officially made it home. Not wanting to leave everyone in the dark about our last few days in Limbe, here is a short recap of our adventure during the last few days in Cameroon:

We left Bamenda early Saturday morning, once again lucking out and riding with the Municipal Treasurer of a local village on his way back to the coast. The MT, Henry, was going to see his family briefly in Douala and then go to a meeting in Limbe, where he would drop us. It was a much shorter ride back to the coast than it was getting to Bamenda, as we weren’t on a bus! Once in Douala, we got to meet some of Henry’s family, including his wife and daughter. His wife ended up joining us on our way to Limbe.

Once we arrived in Limbe (after only about 7 hours of traveling), Jane and I checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Resort Hotel. Despite sounding like a very luxurious, Western hotel, this particular complex had no affiliation with the chain most of us Americans know. Still, it had air conditioning and a shower that briefly worked, so Jane and I were pretty much in heaven.

We spent the next few days relaxing in Limbe at Seme Beach and Mars Restauarant. We were both pretty exhausted and often opted for the wonderful air conditioned room rather than taking too many ventures out into the heat. We were picked up in Limbe on Tuesday morning by Anicestus, the same driver who originally picked us up from the airport. He drove us back to Douala for a not-so-brief dinner at Oasis (we hung around there for a little while to avoid getting to the airport too early), then dropped us off at Douala airport. There were far fewer harassers on the “departure” end, meaning Jane and got to go hang out in the halfway air-conditioned gate 21 boarding area.

After a very empty flight (literally less than half the plane was full), we arrived in Paris early Wednesday morning. I exchanged some traveler’s checks for Euros, bought a few souvenirs and tore into a very hearty breakfast of a chocolate croissant (I really wanted crepes, but I guess settling for croissants isn’t that bad). Jane and I spent the next several hours trying to stay busy, but mostly just falling asleep at various points around the terminal. I managed to get some great new sunglasses.

At 4:30 PM on Wednesday we finally landed back in Michigan. Jane and I had packed our traditional garments to wear for greeting our families in the airport and changed into them after making it through customs.

A great experience it was, but I am very glad to be home.

I wrote yesterday's entry, but will publish later (along with a more detailed version of today's).

Jane and I are heading to Limbe, Cameroon for a few days before we return home. We will be without Internet while we're there, so we won't be able to post entries until we return.

Please be on the look-out for updates (as well as pictures and maybe video) on 10 June or 11 June.

After work, we took our (probably) last trip to Vatican Supermarket to get bread and crackers for our final week. We proceeded to Dreamland, where we saw Steve! We eagerly joined his table (we weren’t really invited; we just kind of went and sat down…). Steve had just taught the staff at Dreamland how to make a steak sandwich (which will forever be called “Steve’s Steak Sandwich” there) so Jane and I ordered one as well. After an hour or so of waiting, we were able to try it. Job well done, Steve (and Dreamland) – it was one of our more satisfying meals here. Two other volunteers, Michael (from Uganda) and Ashley (from the US!) also joined us. The conversation was great and it was outstanding to spend one of our last nights in Bamenda with such a friendly, talkative group of individuals.

With T-minus one week until I am back in the States, I have a few things to which I’m looking forward. I feel like I can now “realistically” think about them as they are very close. I cannot wait for a real shower and sleeping in a bed without a mosquito net. We “wash up” here, but it’s never a "shower" and, although we’ll have a shower in Limbe, it won’t quite be the same until the shower is distinctly separated from the rest of the bathroom. Additionally, I am really looking forward to a balanced diet. I’m no fruits-and-veggies enthusiast, but as most fruits, vegetables, and meats here aren’t too safe to eat, we stick to mainly carbs, with some eggs or chicken occasionally (with the exception of the above-mentioned delicious steak sandwich). Lastly, I am excited to just feel comfortable and connected again. I don’t know if being somewhat closed off from the rest of the world makes me uncomfortable, but it definitely doesn’t help make me feel more at home.

I should also point out that I will miss a few things about Bamenda as well. I have really enjoyed working with COPAAP at Mezam Polyclinic. The work was interesting and I felt like I have been contributing to a worthwhile cause. Also, the people within COPAAP and Mezam are some of the most genuinely nice humans I’ve met (cliché, but true). Beyond that, I can’t imagine what stress feels like anymore and I know I will long for some lazy Cameroonian Sundays once next semester kicks in.

Power outages: 47

Around noon, a circuit breaker on our floor of the clinic caught on fire, causing the power to go out. Luckily, it happened while the staff was there or the whole building could have been burned down. We were without power for most of the afternoon.

After work, our housekeeper delivered our garments that we had sewn by a seamstress in town. I got a vest and a messenger bag; Jane got a shirt and purse. They turned out really well! Before dinner, Jane and I made a video on her camera of our flat. It will hopefully be posted somewhere shortly after our return!

Power outages: 45

After a grueling day of office work, Jane and I headed to Dreamland for our final attempt at getting hamburgers (Dreamland, and nearly every other “tourist”-y restaurant in town have hamburgers on the menu but no restaurants have ever had them available when we try to order one). Once again, our attempt was in vain. We settled for chicken (easily the safest meat to eat here).

With little else to do but read at night, Jane and I were getting rather bored during the evenings and weekends. Early on, we figured out that the pirated DVD’s sold here don’t work on the laptop, meaning we had very few sources of entertainment (we have a TV, but the one channel, CRTV, is very awful and often in French, so we can’t bear to watch it). After scouring through the laptop my dad lent me, we came across a video of a Michigan Marching Band rehearsal for our “Beach Boys” show. This 8 minute, 12 second film has been quite the life-saver. We’ve watched it on numerous occasions (shhh….don’t tell Jane, but I sometimes watch without her) including this evening.

Power outages: 44

We spent most of the day reading. I dropped ‘The Greatest Benefit to Mankind’ (not too interesting…) and am most of the way through ‘Influencer.’ I suppose I like the latter better, but I would definitely appreciate a little more organization and focus in my reading.

Power outages: 43

We also went back to Presscraft to get a few souvenir-ish gifts. We finally gave in and took a taxi home after visiting the supermarket. After relaxing for a few hours at the flat, we proceeded to Uncle Sam’s restaurant for dinner. It’s become pretty standard that I get chicken when we go out – I really should diversify my palette.

Power outages: 39

After the market, we went to the Delegation of Public Health for the Northwest Province. We intended to meet the Delegate of Public Health, but he was out of the office. The venture wasn’t a total failure, though – we found a poster of several natural medicines and plants native to the tropics that indicated their uses (i.e., to relieve AIDS suffering, to cure conjunctivitis). We copied down the ones that seemed pertinent.

Back at the clinic, we attended a presentation on grant writing, led by Steve. It was actually pretty interesting – very direct and allowed for a ton of group participation - and a nice way to end the week.

As it was our last Friday night in Bamenda, we finally made it to the International Hotel for dinner and drinks with several of the other out-of-towners in the area. We conversed in great length with Sarah and Kristyn, two German volunteers who were about our age (we’re usually 5-10 years younger than all of the other volunteers).

Despite this being the end of my third week in Bamenda, I’m still getting used to the “going out” schedule. In the US, we usually leave to go out around 10 or 11 PM, arriving home at 2 or 3 AM. Here, we go out around 5 or 6 PM and are generally done by 10 PM. I guess this makes sense, as we generally go to bed around 8 or 9 PM here, but I still find it odd when we call it a night at 10:15.

Power outages: 38

Power outage count: 34

Later in the night, Jane and I went to a “bar” across the street to watch the football game – Manchester United vs. Barcelona. The bar was pretty crowded, but we were able to see the small screen fairly well. Everyone in the bar went crazy when Samuel Eto’o of Barcelona scored the first goal (Eto’o is a Cameroon native) – one guy even opened a bottle of beer with his teeth. Jane and I had to head back to our flat at the half so we could get home before the clinic’s gates closed, but we’re assuming Barcelona won as we could hear much yelling for the next hour.

Power outages: 31

Jane and I headed back up to Akum (another full capacity taxi ride of 8 people…I think they can fit 9 though, I’m just waiting to experience it). As soon as we got there, we were led into the OR to watch the remainder of an appendectomy. For me, the surgery was a success – I got very lightheaded and had to sit down, but I remained in the OR for all of the surgery! I’m gradually conditioning myself to be comfortable with surgery and I’m determined to make it through a full surgery, standing, before applying to medical school. The surgery itself was also a success, so that’s good news.

Jane and I grabbed a few crackers to re-fuel and she headed back to the OR to watch a biopsy retrieval while I went to the Holy Family Nutrition Unit to talk to their advisors about the dietary regulations of HIV patients. Luckily, there wasn’t too great of a language barrier between their Pidgin English and my “American” English and I was able to get a decent list of foods they offer to their patients.

As Jane and I were leaving Holy Family, we stopped by a street-side fruit stand to browse their wares. We ended up buying a watermelon and were very proud of ourselves for haggling the price down from 1200 CFA to 1000 CFA (about $2 USD). Once we got in the taxi, however, we talked to a woman who told us we only should have paid 500-700 CFA. Oh well, it was our first time attempting to haggle.

We had our deliciously expensive watermelon and some Ramen for dinner.

Power outages: 26

After the tour, Jane and I got to sit in on consultation all day with Dr. Bakia. We saw tons of different cases – really unique and interesting stuff (although I don’t know how much I can disclose due to confidentiality). During the afternoon, we got to see an ultrasound. I had to duck out early as the warm ultrasound room, combined with our very meek diet was making me somewhat lightheaded (contrarily, Jane hypothesizes that the thought of babies makes me want to pass out). With fresh air, a few crackers, and some water, I was back in business soon enough. We saw a few more patients, but Dr. Bakia was so efficient that the lab was not able to keep up with his consultations and he had to stop consult for a while.

Also joining us in consultation was Charlotte, a medical student from Holland. Charlotte, and her travel companion, Yasmine, are also with ASHIA! It was awesome to meet them, especially since ASHIA is based out of Holland. Both Charlotte and Yasmine were actual medical interns at Holy Family and were doing the work as part of their curriculum for medical school.

Jane and I departed from Holy Family to get back to Bamenda, where we went grocery shopping for the essentials – peanut butter, Ramen, and toilet paper. We also called home! During errand-running we took a break to get a solid meal at Dreamland. We were very proud of ourselves for making it back to Bamenda on our own (without getting mugged) and also for running errands without VSO-volunteer supervision (again without getting mugged). We’re turning into regular Cameroonians.

Back at the flat, we enjoyed some watermelon and relished in our successful day. Tomorrow we will head back to Akum to see a biopsy retrieval and I will hopefully get to talk to their staff about nutrition for HIV patients.

Power outages: 21

We’ve been seeing all kinds of wildlife around the flat lately – a wall gecko even got in the door last night! Some of the lizards that bask in the sun are amazing – about 10 different, vibrant colors and very big fans of bobbing their heads. Pictures coming upon arrival in the US.

Power outage count: 21

With little else to report, here are some halfway point reflections (today marks the mid-point of our work in Cameroon, although we are not quite halfway done with our entire stay):

-I’ve progressed to the sleeping schedule of a retiree. Here, we go to bed around 7 or 8 PM and wake up around 5:30 or 6 AM. I actually enjoy this schedule, but I know it’s going to wreck havoc on me when I return to the U.S. (it’s as though I’m currently going to bed at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and waking shortly after midnight). Another positive note is the amount of sleep I get – around 9 hours every night. Nevertheless, I still feel tired most of the day.

-I find it odd that I wake up each day and part of my morning ritual is putting on sunscreen and bug spray.

-The weather here is outstanding and I wish we could transport it to the U.S. The days are very hot, but they would be completely bearable if we had air-conditioned buildings and transportation. The nights are perfect – not too cold, and often full of thunderstorms.

-I really wish my camera wouldn’t have run out of batteries so early! Although my charger is in the mail (though whether it gets here before I leave is yet to be determined) and we’re using Jane’s camera often, I feel cheated when I can’t take pictures of this beautiful city and its surroundings. (Note: pictures will be put up on Flickr after we return….I have yet to find a way to post pictures on mblog.)

-Jane and I are very lucky so far. We haven’t had any money or belongings stolen and have had relatively little trouble during our stay. Maybe it’s because we’ve only been here two weeks, but I am thankful for our safe journey up to this point.

Power outage count: 20

The 21st of May could be one of the most fun days I’ve spent in Bamenda thus far. Jane and I traveled with the VSO volunteers to St. Frederick’s, a secondary school in town. Here, Ryan gave a presentation on HIV to the students and then two local schools competed in their debate finals. Jane and I have never been to any type of debate before, yet we somehow became actively involved; Jane as the debate moderator and me as one of the judges. The debate topic was “Men make better leaders than women.” Both teams surprised me with their knowledge and talent, but the “positive” side won. As we were cleaning up, a student from one of the schools that was competing came up to Jane and me to ask about the University of Michigan – could there be a future wolverine coming from Cameroon?

Power outages: 16