Friday July 10, 2009
The rain continued to fall we woke up this morning. I was very doubtful we would make it to Kumba at all today. We spent much of the morning organizing and packing our things. The next time we return to the village we’ll hand out much of our clothes, shoes, pants, etc. We’ve already given away plenty of things to our friends and neighbors.
Somehow a taxi driver agreed to come out to the village in the rain and haul us back to town. Julius would ride on the roof due to Franklin and Catherine joining us on this journey. The car slid from one side of the road to the other as we climbed the first hill heading out of the village. The road finally became too much for the car a short time later. Julius and Franklin hopped off and out of the car to help push us back onto the road. Oddly, a person riding on the roof of the car isn’t a violation at most of the checkpoints. Some of that may have been due to the fact our driver seemed to pay a few bribes.
Julius came back into the car before the police checkpoint. This time they stopped us because they wanted to "check our bags for cocaine." We had our paper, but for some reason the taxi driver paid the officers a 2000 CFA bribe. It’s frustrating to think that even though they know we are doing great things in a nearby village, they can’t let a single car pass by without at least attempting to get a bribe. In order for Cameroon to be considered more than a developing nation I believe the culture of corruption in the government must be eliminated.
After talking with Dr. Amin today, Brian and I decided to join the immersion students and Mark on their trip to Yaoundé. We’ll come back on Wednesday and head to Limbe next weekend. We also began filling out all the necessary paperwork for the embassy application.
We were supposed to head to the vigil for Mark’s former host father at 9:00 PM. Elaine was also coming to the vigil so he stopped over at the house. He told us about a Michael Jackson tribute party that was happening one street over from the vigil. It was being hosted by the human rights organization workers. When we finally found the place, the party was just about to begin.
There were perhaps 25 or 30 people there. Organization workers come to Kumba from around the world. They had partnered with a few local radio DJs to emcee the party. An entire program awaited us. Whiskey and gin packets were the drink of choice. The night started with an excellent MJ dance routine by one of the DJs. Next, it was a capella MJ for anyone who was brave enough to try. More individuals and groups of impersonators danced to various Michael songs. Then, they opened up the floor and everyone danced their hearts out. I can’t believe how many great songs he wrote.
We really didn’t want to leave, but we pulled ourselves away around 11:30 to head to the vigil. It was by far the biggest funeral I’ve ever seen in person. Tents were setup inside and around the family’s compound. Hundreds of people were still there and would probably remain there past daybreak. The tents could easily seat more than 2000 people. There was plenty of singing, drinking, and dancing. I don’t think we made it back to the house until after 1:30.
Saturday July 11, 2009
Today was our shopping day. We went to the market to buy gifts for our families and friends. It was a lot of fun bargaining with the sellers. On the way home we got some ice cream from a cart on the street. During the afternoon, Mark went to the funeral service while Brian and I stayed behind to work on the application.
We also attended a party hosted at one of the immersion student’s house on Alaska Street. It was a pool party. I couldn’t believe that a pool like that would exist in Kumba. In the evening we went out with Elaine, Julius, and a couple other friends. For a change of pace, we hit up the Bamboo Bar for some live music. The band was amazing. The lead singer/guitarist was blind and could really tear it up on the guitar. I love going to different places each night. It keeps things interesting. We finished up the night at the Canton Bar followed by another trip to Olabi Maze.
Sunday July 12, 2009
Much of the morning was spent working on the embassy proposal. We’ve spent a good portion of our weekend preparing it. I hope that all this work results in funds for the village. The afternoon brought the annual Kumba vs. Dayton football match. It is always held in the Fiango section of Kumba. I played midfielder for the entire first half and much of the second half. Dayton ended up pulling out a 6-5 victory. Mark scored a goal and I should have had at least two by myself. The field was nice enough that I even played shoeless in the second half so that our brother Fritz could play with us.
After returning from the match, we printed out all the paperwork for the application and I wrote a ton of blog entries. We leave for Yaoundé tomorrow with the immersion students. It should be an awesome time.
The rain continued to fall we woke up this morning. I was very doubtful we would make it to Kumba at all today. We spent much of the morning organizing and packing our things. The next time we return to the village we’ll hand out much of our clothes, shoes, pants, etc. We’ve already given away plenty of things to our friends and neighbors.
Somehow a taxi driver agreed to come out to the village in the rain and haul us back to town. Julius would ride on the roof due to Franklin and Catherine joining us on this journey. The car slid from one side of the road to the other as we climbed the first hill heading out of the village. The road finally became too much for the car a short time later. Julius and Franklin hopped off and out of the car to help push us back onto the road. Oddly, a person riding on the roof of the car isn’t a violation at most of the checkpoints. Some of that may have been due to the fact our driver seemed to pay a few bribes.
Julius came back into the car before the police checkpoint. This time they stopped us because they wanted to "check our bags for cocaine." We had our paper, but for some reason the taxi driver paid the officers a 2000 CFA bribe. It’s frustrating to think that even though they know we are doing great things in a nearby village, they can’t let a single car pass by without at least attempting to get a bribe. In order for Cameroon to be considered more than a developing nation I believe the culture of corruption in the government must be eliminated.
After talking with Dr. Amin today, Brian and I decided to join the immersion students and Mark on their trip to Yaoundé. We’ll come back on Wednesday and head to Limbe next weekend. We also began filling out all the necessary paperwork for the embassy application.
We were supposed to head to the vigil for Mark’s former host father at 9:00 PM. Elaine was also coming to the vigil so he stopped over at the house. He told us about a Michael Jackson tribute party that was happening one street over from the vigil. It was being hosted by the human rights organization workers. When we finally found the place, the party was just about to begin.
There were perhaps 25 or 30 people there. Organization workers come to Kumba from around the world. They had partnered with a few local radio DJs to emcee the party. An entire program awaited us. Whiskey and gin packets were the drink of choice. The night started with an excellent MJ dance routine by one of the DJs. Next, it was a capella MJ for anyone who was brave enough to try. More individuals and groups of impersonators danced to various Michael songs. Then, they opened up the floor and everyone danced their hearts out. I can’t believe how many great songs he wrote.We really didn’t want to leave, but we pulled ourselves away around 11:30 to head to the vigil. It was by far the biggest funeral I’ve ever seen in person. Tents were setup inside and around the family’s compound. Hundreds of people were still there and would probably remain there past daybreak. The tents could easily seat more than 2000 people. There was plenty of singing, drinking, and dancing. I don’t think we made it back to the house until after 1:30.
Saturday July 11, 2009
Today was our shopping day. We went to the market to buy gifts for our families and friends. It was a lot of fun bargaining with the sellers. On the way home we got some ice cream from a cart on the street. During the afternoon, Mark went to the funeral service while Brian and I stayed behind to work on the application.
We also attended a party hosted at one of the immersion student’s house on Alaska Street. It was a pool party. I couldn’t believe that a pool like that would exist in Kumba. In the evening we went out with Elaine, Julius, and a couple other friends. For a change of pace, we hit up the Bamboo Bar for some live music. The band was amazing. The lead singer/guitarist was blind and could really tear it up on the guitar. I love going to different places each night. It keeps things interesting. We finished up the night at the Canton Bar followed by another trip to Olabi Maze.
Sunday July 12, 2009Much of the morning was spent working on the embassy proposal. We’ve spent a good portion of our weekend preparing it. I hope that all this work results in funds for the village. The afternoon brought the annual Kumba vs. Dayton football match. It is always held in the Fiango section of Kumba. I played midfielder for the entire first half and much of the second half. Dayton ended up pulling out a 6-5 victory. Mark scored a goal and I should have had at least two by myself. The field was nice enough that I even played shoeless in the second half so that our brother Fritz could play with us.
After returning from the match, we printed out all the paperwork for the application and I wrote a ton of blog entries. We leave for Yaoundé tomorrow with the immersion students. It should be an awesome time.
Left: Mami Carine and her two sisters.
Thanks dude I thoroughtly enjoy reading your posts. You truly captured the spirit of the people. Though I live in Dallas I hail from Kumba.'
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