Time Off

Just so everyone knows...apparently, our contract with the internet ends tonight. Oh dear. So, it may be a few days--weeks--or, really, who knows, I mean this is Africa, after all!-- before I can get on again. We're supposed to be trying out a new contractor to see if their service is good. Supposedly, it is broadband! Wouldn't that be nice?? Maybe I could upload longer movies...and more often!! But, we're not sure how long it takes for set-up here. So, until next time, Love to you all! Don't forget about me...I'm still here! Here's to hoping that the separation is short! :)

Spirit Week

Josh's school had Spirit Week last week. He was so excited to dress up and started the week off with Crazy Day on Monday:


I spiked his hair up with gel, and he put his shirt on inside out and backwards.

The next day was Profession Day. He said he wanted to be a missionary and a Dad. So, he didn't really dress up for that for some reason. (Then he came home after school and told everyone he wanted to be a pirate...Whatever.)

Wednesday was Pajama Day:


Yes, he's wearing long johns as the bottoms of his pj's...he did have the original pj pants on, but had a bit of a problem with a full bowl of cereal and an elbow. Oh well.

Thursday was Opposite day. He was SO excited thinking that he would dress up as a girl...but when it came right down to it, he didn't end up doing it. Oh well. I think I would have chickened out, too.

Friday was school colors day. He wore a red shirt. He was so excited because his class showed so much 'spirit' that they got to have ice cream! He is definitely having some fun experiences at school. I haven't had any more wishes to stay home, so they must be doing something right! :)

Frozen Food

We got our frozen food shipment in this morning. Wow! I'm FULL! :) How fun to see all of this American-y stuff, and none of it is expired yet! Our freezer(s) are full to overloading--we had to borrow some room on some friends' freezers! ooops! Here are some pics with some very excited kiddies!

Our big upright freezer:



Our regular fridge/freezer:



We tried to clean them out really well last night. I now have things like sausage, feta cheese, chicken pot pies, a turkey, a ham, hot dogs, hamburger patties, strawberries, blueberries and peaches...not to mention cheese and baloney! He he he! Just another time that I'm spoiled beyond all reason. Feels good to have a lot of processed goodness back in the freezer! Ha! And so, to celebrate, we had Ball Park Hot Dogs and Ore Ida Tater Tots for dinner! Woohoo!!! Simple joys! :)

Mokolo

I went to the big market today with my housekeeper, in search of material for my formal ball gown! :) It is definitely different for me to go there now than it was 8 or 9 months ago! I feel much more comfortable. Anyway, we went to one of the 'shops' (for lack of a better word or explanation of how they sell things in the market here) and started looking at the material. I wanted a black dress. Something satin-y with a chiffon overlay. So, I found exactly what I wanted! But both the lady and my housekeeper said no! They kept trying to get me to buy the violent purple color, or an electric blue or something completely outrageous! Well, it's not outrageous to them. To them, formal is bright and colorful! To me, formal is Concert Black (I am, after all, a musician at heart, right?), and good for me, I stuck to it! I'm afraid I was a bit in the sales lady's black list (no pun intended), but then I remembered about my Halloween costume! Josh is going to be Peter Pan, Claire is going to be Tinkerbell, Andrew is going to be a Lost Boy (a lion), and Devin is going to be a generic pirate of some sort...so I decided the safest for me to try to be (in my giant belly state) is Wendy! So, I found some pretty light blue material, and the lady was much happier with me! Ha! Although, she was pretty put out that I wouldn't buy more light blue chiffon to make a pretty shawl and some baubles to sew onto it to make it pretty and fancy. I don't think Wendy was supposed to be dressed up for a ball. She was, after all, in her pj's through the whole movie! :) I think it's too bad that this particular Wendy will be hugely pregnant, and will have hooked up with some pirate. Oh well. I suppose not all stories have a happy ending. Maybe we could be "Peter Pan III: Wendy's defection"! I don't think it'll be a box office hit, somehow.

Culture Shock!

Well, we've been here now for 9 1/2 months. Today I went to a Cultural Orientation--and it was extremely interesting! So, I thought I'd share, quickly, a few things that I have learned about Cameroonian Culture (so far on my own and at the orientation):

Give money with your RIGHT hand--the Left hand is offensive!

Don't point with one finger!

Don't motion to 'come here' using one finger!

EVERYONE is their family (They call everyone aunts and uncles and cousins...regardless of whether they are actually related or not!)

They get SUPER offended if you don't say hi or acknowledge them when passing by!

They don't look you in the eye--when you look them in the eye, they think that you think they are lying to you! (I had always wondered about this, because when I would talk to my housekeeper or my nanny, they would always look down, or some other direction, and I kept thinking it was because they didn't want to talk to me! Nope. They were showing respect! Weird, eh??? My housekeeper and I had a long funny discussion about this today. But it sure cleared up a lot of things.)

Don't cross your legs in the presence of a 'superior' person (like a chief or king or sultan or something like that)--it's super rude! And if you cross your legs in the presence of someone else, they usually think you're just trying to act superior to them.

ALWAYS accept a gift!!!! Even if you really don't have a place for a goat!! :)

If the sun is up, then there is still time! Cameroonians are ALWAYS late for EVERYTHING! My housekeeper calls it 'Black Man's Time'. :) If you want to have a meeting at, say, 3pm, you'd better tell everyone to be there around 1 or maybe 2pm!! Seriously! In church here, we always have sacrament meeting last. Why, you might ask? Because by the time the first 2 hours of church have passed, pretty much everyone is there, and since the Sacrament meeting is the most important (not to mention where they count the number of people there), it is held last. Just the way it is.

Whether a function is formal or not, you dress formally.

Cameroonians are fond of holding hands. Guys hold hands with other guys; girls hold hands with other girls. This is acceptable to them. But don't you dare show any public displays of affection with your husband or wife! This is gross and rude and unacceptable!

If you invite someone out to eat with you, you HAVE to pay.

Don't smile too much when you meet new people--otherwise, they will think that you are now their best friend and they will ask you for money and things.

A Cameroonian will never initially offer to shake your hand if they think that you are their superior. It would be rude and encroaching for them to do so. If you want to shake their hand, you must offer first. UNLESS you are visiting a chief, king or sultan. Then, you wait until they offer to shake hands (they usually don't).

Cameroonians think that any time they are sick, no matter what it is, it is Malaria.

They believe that you can get Malaria from eating too many mangoes, walking in the rain, or if their neighbor doesn't like them and casts a spell on them.


This is a very interesting and diverse culture we are living in here. I love it! I think it's great! I love looking out of my bedroom window at night and seeing the big Presidential Palace on the hill and remembering that I live in Africa! I love seeing all the tropical trees and plants--in my own yard! :) I love the rains and the sun and the red dusty sky of the long dry season! I'm very grateful for this experience. :)

Chocolat

A while ago, my friend Jen from Virginia had a little contest up on her blog. It was a guess-the-date-and-weight-of-the-new-baby contest. If you guessed closest, she promised to send chocolate! Mmmmmmmm.... Well, I guess I got closest on the weight--and so she sent me a most fantastic care package! Not only did she send me the promised Dove Dark Chocolate, but she sent me TWO packages of it! AND a whole ENTIRE box of Ho-Ho's, AND a package of Oreos!!!! Well, lately, my little friend has decided to turn up the heat. I am now to that point where it feels roughly 400 degrees hotter to me than to everyone else. So I have taken up a new pastime! I keep my wonderful box of chocolate goodness downstairs in the big pantry where I keep on an air conditioner 24/7--it is by far the coldest room in the house all the time, just for the storage of the food. So, while the kids are busy playing, I go downstairs, pull out a package of Ho-Ho's or a few Dove Dark, pull up a big white food storage bucket and sit right where the cold air from the air conditioner blows and drift off to another world for a time! Oh, it is so wonderful!!!! I get cooled off and enjoy a special treat just for me! :) Tonight, though, I broke out the Oreos!! I opened up the package and inhaled that wonderful Oreo smell...then I pulled one out, bit into it, and--get this--it was CRUNCHY!!!!! See, I've bought Oreos from the commissary here, but EVERYTHING at the commissary is WAY past the expiration date. One doesn't usually notice, because, well, quite frankly, it's just nice to have American stuff once in awhile, and after not having it for such a long time, you forget what it's really supposed to taste like when it's fresh!! But, after that first bite of FRESH Oreo cookie, well, I can never go back! :) I feel even more spoiled than usual--and Jen, MERCI MILLE FOIS!!!!!!

I Voted!

Voting by absentee ballot was kind of nice! I didn't have to go stand in line at any elementary school. I could just sit on my couch in my pj's and mark my X's! :) And now, I have done my duty as an American Citizen. I wonder who will be the new big boss? I still think Christa has the right of it...Cookie Monster would be a wonderful pick.