The Great Pumpkin

Well, I've heard it over and over again that there are pumpkins here in Cameroon. My housekeeper says they grow them in their village! Today, we went on the Great Pumpkin search. We walked into the very bowels of the Mfoundi market (the biggest fruit/veggie market in the city) and found a lot of hot peppers, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, dried beans, smoked fish and live chickens...No pumpkins. After walking for about 15-20 minutes we got to this one stand where the boys had led us to (there's always boys around begging to help you and guide you and carry things for you...) and they told us (finally) that there are no pumpkins in Mfoundi right now. Thanks guys. Oh well. At least we all got some good exercise. Josh kept complaining about how everyone crowded him and it smelled bad. Well, yes, it's true. It's a really crowded market, and it certainly doesn't smell like a flower shop... But it'll make a good story to tell his kids, right?? :P

Well, we had to leave our search for pumpkins (and thread, too, as I am in the process of making Claire's birthday quilt and I have run out of thread...) to get Josh over to his first ever swim lesson. He seemed to take to this one much better! He actually got in the water, and eventually had enough confidence to go all the way under! Good boy! He appeared to have a lot of fun. Claire and Andrew start their classes ('Aqua-Tots') in two weeks. I'll bring my camera! :)

So, while Josh was swimming (and I was watching), Devin roamed the grounds with Claire and Andrew. He talked to a lot of the guards and they all told him to go to Marche Coletone for pumpkins and thread. Luckily, it's a much less crowded market, and it's close to home. So, after the swim, off we went. Devin found the thread in a matter of minutes--and it's CHEAP here! Woohoo! He got me 3 spools of 400 yards each for a little less than the equivalent of $1! I'm going to stock up! Unfortunately, we drove up and down the market, but saw no sign of pumpkins. We stopped and asked a few people, and they still had no idea what we were talking about (they all seem to think we're looking for watermelon. But, I ask you, is watermelon orange? No.) So, we came home empty handed. No pumpkins for us this year. :( How sad. Which means we won't have one next year, either. Oh well. We'll have to think of an alternative...