Back from the village for a day or so

Here I am back in town for a day or so. Lucky you, another blog update, this time with more pictures :)

So after church on Sunday we came back to Elias's house to relax and prepare for our trip to Boa Bakundu. We had time to play some modified football/rugby with the kids outside in the street. Mark brought out the frisbee as well and everyone had a great time. After we were done with American football, it was time for world football, also known as soccer. The kids played on the rocky uneven street. (which also included some broken glass bottles and a car antenna to make it all the more exciting)

At best, kids played in sandals. One boy didn't have any shoes at all. The ball looked like it had seen better days as it was half deflated and rolled awkwardly over the bumps and rocks. Despite all these problems, all of the kids were excellent players for their age. Clinton plays attacker while Brandon focuses on defense. The "goals" were 2 empty wine bottles placed at each end of the "pitch." (now it becomes obvious where all the broken glass came from) A team scores when the opposing squad's bottle is knocked over by the ball. Brandon's goal celebration and dance was priceless.

When we finally returned to the house, I had the opportunity to eat real sugar straight from the sugar cane. Sugar cane has a tough bark on the outside. The first step is to peel away this cover with either your teeth or a knife (I used my teeth, like any real African would ;)). Then, you pull out the straw-like fibers with your teeth and suck on them. The sugar juice is within these fibers. After the juice has been sucked out, you spit out the straw fibers. It takes a little work, but you'll never have better sugar, I guarantee.

Monday saw us up early to meet Mr. Benjamin and head off to the village. We also picked up our supplies from Josephat's hardware store. As usual in Cameroon to this point, we were late in leaving the Amin house. I've come to accept that promptness is not held as highly in this country as in the US. Elvis was our taxi driver again. This time, we piled 7 people (including Brian, Mark, Mr. Benjamin, Carine, Julius, Elvis and I) in his car. The trunk was so full, Elvis had to tie Brian's bag in so it wouldn't fall out on the way. Then we were off on the 30-45 minute ride to Boa Bakundu.

I'm sure everyone has had a limb fall asleep on them now and again. But what I experienced on that car ride I hope never happens again. With 4 of us crammed in the back seat, my left leg quickly fell asleep despite my best efforts to keep blood flowing. Of course, we were yet again stopped by the police at the checkpoint (foot slowly dieing at this point). While Elvis talked with the policewoman behind his car, an ocada slammed into our trunk and ran into Elvis's leg. Apparently, the man had no brakes. Luckily, Elvis was fine and the policewoman yelled at the ocada and eventually let us go. With another 20 minutes of road to go, I have absolutely no feeling along my entire left leg. Its ok though. Everyone else in the backseat (except Mark) has the same problem.

Mr. Benjamin heard our cries for help and Elvis pulled over just before the road to Boa Bakundu. We all rolled (literally) out of the car to get some feeling back in our legs. (at this point, no feeling below my waist on the left side) It took a few minutes for me to pull my leg and twist my foot so I could even get out of the backseat. The ocada at the intersection had a good laugh at our expense as we shook and stomped our feet trying to get some form of feeling back in them. I was fine until the pins and needles hit me. It was excrutiating. But after about 10 minutes, I could wiggle my toes. I was just glad my leg still worked. We squished back in the car and off to the village we went.

Mondays's small crew had been waiting patiently for us to arrive in the village. After a half hour or so to settle in to our new home, we headed off to the tanks and catchment to begin work with our small group of about 10 people. It felt like we had been walking for miles, all of it uphill and over various terrain. Most of the proposed route for the line was either jungle or cocoa trees. At one point, the route crosses a stream. The only way to cross it without taking a swim is via a few carefully placed logs. It was a balancing act I'll probably have to perform many times before the project is complete.

After what seemed like hours, we reached the catchment. In the picture to the left, you can see Moses (no really, thats his real name) standing on a rock (in reality concrete) with water coming out of it. (very ironic I know) The catchment has 16 pipes coming out of it. All of them flow at least half full and a few flow completely full. It is the most amazing sight to witness in person. The catchment has been here since 2002. The village has been waiting for a long time to get access to this water. The amount of flow from this structure could handle 10 villages of Boa Bakundu's size.

We began the survey from the catchment using the outlet pipe as a base elevation of 100 m. Brian and Mark ran the level. My primary jobs were recording data for each point (backsight, foresight, length of segment, and elevations). However, I also assisted directing the men with machetes and using/adjusting the level when necessary. The whole route from catchment to tanks totaled 2182 meters. The change in elevation was about 51 meters. Over the course of the day, I managed to do the following: suck on a cocoa bean, get bit by an ant, sweat off a few pounds, and learn a little Pidgin English. We finished up around 6 in the evening which is only an hour or so from dark here. Monday will probably be the latest work day we will have. Mark says most villagers will probably work till 2 or 3 due to the extreme heat and other factors. A typical 40 hour work week probably doesn't apply here.


On our way back to the village, we were treated to a breathtaking view of Mt. Cameroon. It is the 2nd tallest mountain in Africa. I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture. When I get a clear shot, I will be sure to post it on the blog. I was worn out after such a long day. We went to the water project chairman's bar to talk with some of the village leaders and put back some beers. They argued over what quarter we should play for in soccer. It was finally agreed that the three of us would be chosen by teams at random from a hat. I realized that I am slowly picking up more and more Pidgin as I listen.

Today, we laid out the line along the points we placed yesterday. We placed stakes 40 cm apart at each point and connected them with string. It took a little while, but soon we had a great system going. Mark's crew would place all the stakes to avoid large trees, rocks, and other obstacles for digging while Brian and I commanded our own crews that would create the string lines. These lines will efficiently mark the extent of the trench when the digging begins tomorrow. Eventually, my group ran out of string and caught up to Mark.


At this point, I took a crew of about 20 men with machetes ahead to clear a path along the roadway for the pipeline. We cannot run the pipe in the roadway due to the amount of rocks we would have to dig through to reach a depth of 70 cm. Some of the men were just standing around watching the others work. So, I took matters into my own hands. I asked one man to hold my notebook while I borrowed his machete. Then, I started hacking away. All of the men were suprised that I took the machete and started cutting. I think it really showed them that we are all in this project together. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. As we progressed down the road, I took a few more stabs at clearing brush. I think I gained a lot of respect from the villagers today. (just wait till I get a shovel and pick in my hands :-P)

We reached the tanks rather quickly. Mark's group was the last to arrive at the tanks. After today, the villagers who worked with us understand how to run the string and set stakes if necessary for any phases of the project in the future. We were back in the village by 11:30 AM. Mark, Julius (pictured at left) and I even had enough time to join our neighbors across the street for some palm wine before we returned to Kumba.

Tomorrow we'll meet with Mr. Benjamin and our plumber, Simon. After discussing things with them, we'll place the pipe order and pick up any supplies we may need. Tomorrow, the villagers should begin digging the trench in earnest. Our plans are to head back to the village on Thursday morning. We'll stay through the weekend and all next week. You shouldn't be hearing from me again until next weekend. Hopefully by that time, we'll have the whole trench completed and the pipe delivered to the site. Wish us luck.

Carine (aka mami) and her boys in our common area. She will take good care of us while we are in the village.