Commence the digging

Saturday June 6, 2009
Saturday and Wednesday are the 2 market days in Boa Bakundu. Mami, Brian, and I headed off to buy some more food for the next couple of days. It’s not much of a market and Mami became angry when they tried to sell her anything at white man prices. Saturday afternoon, I was talking to one of the local ocada drivers, Caleb. I told him that I have a motorcycle back in the US and was fascinated by the riding culture here in Cameroon. He asked if I wanted to try riding his bike. (Heck yes I did!) Because he doubted this white’s ability to ride a motorcycle, he would start me off riding around the soccer field. I proved his assumption wrong on my first lap. The only major differences with Sanili 125’s and American bikes is that Sanili’s shift all down and there is a severe lack of braking power. (I later saw that the front brake cables on all these bikes are cut, I’m still not sure why) My last lap around the field I hauled Julius and continued with him on the back as I powered my way back to the house.

Saturday evening, we played soccer again. This time my team and I played much better and the match ended in a 1-1 tie. I managed to get the only yellow card of the game when I tripped up Mark on a breakaway to the net. Saturday night was spent playing cards in the house.

Sunday June 7, 2009
Sundays have been very relaxing so far in Cameroon. This Sunday, we learned how to play draft. Draft is a modified game of checkers. The two major differences in draft are that all pieces can jump backward and that you MUST jump your opponent when you have the option. It definitely adds another level of strategy to normal checkers. Mark and I split the 2 games we played against each other.

The early afternoon was spent drinking palm wine with our fellow residents of Dibamba quarter. A friend in Angola quarter invited us to his bar to watch the Cameroon/Morocco World Cup qualifying match on TV. Cameroon controlled the match but failed to score. The 0-0 tie left a sour taste in many people’s mouths. Sunday night we hit up a local bar for a drink. One drink quickly turned into three. Soon, Mark and I were on the little dance floor feeling the beats.

Monday June 8, 2009
Impressive. That’s the only way I can describe the first day of community work. We ascended the hill toward the catchment with an army. Our army was equipped with picks, shovel and digging tools of every shape and size. Each quarter was assigned a section of the line to dig. Mark started at the tanks while Brian and I would start near the catchment. We had perhaps 300 men digging with us that day. Our primary job was to make sure the men knew the depth to dig in each section of the line. But we didn’t stop there. All three of us got down in the ditch and dug alongside our friends and neighbors. Just like when I used the machete, it shows them that we aren’t here simply to supervise the work.

I’m not even sure how much dirt was removed in 5 hours that day. I know it was a lot. I was worn out and so were many of the people who dug with us. When I got back to the house, I ate the best tasting orange I will ever have in my life. It was the perfect snack at the perfect time. (more pictures of the digging to come)