Bonjour from Africa!
It has been a long journey and one that is coming fast to an end. I would like to say that I have learned some french but the truth is it's hard for an old brain like mine to catch on, plus when they are speaking so many languages, how can you focus on just one! So I have learned a few words from a few different languages, none of which I'm sure I'll remember once I get back home. But like I've said to everyone here, I'm trying:) It has been a real eye opening experience and as my new friend Jim tells it: "they are very much living in the old testament here". He is ABSOLUTELY right. I will be honest is saying that I have not read the bible front to back, but I do know enough to know that he is right. I wish that in America we took our religion our seriously and faithfully as they do here. I cannot imagine going to Chapel everyday before work, but at this moment in life, I believe that it would help us ALL. They are very close and would do anything for anyone in need no matter what the cost to them, and do it all so unselfishly. We as American's can really learn a lot from them in that matter!
We left N'Gaoundere on Friday evening. It was rush rush all day, trying to get to the market one last time to pick up any gifts we may see, and get to the hospital for a last round of good-byes and one final meeting which was suppose to start at 1pm and didn't actually start until 2pm. Again, living on African time! We had hoped to go get something to eat before leaving so raced to the house to get cleaned up and some money and before we knew it we had a house FULL of guests. How can you kick your friends out to go eat when they have cared so much to come and say good-bye. So I cooked all the left over macaroni noodles to eat with butter, Wesko (our German Dr in training friend) and Catherine (the German gal) cut up some fruit, and I cooked the last package of biscuits we had. Really all the rest of the food in the house! It needed to go anyways, but as Llonda said, I am totally crazy for cooking as she would have said lets go out and I'll pay! But we had a good time and it was all worth it to spend our last time left with them. We cleaned up and literally threw everything into bags and went on our way in the hospital truck with Samuel driving, Adda and Danielle, Eric, Ousman and both of us. We definitely fit in as African's riding crunched in together:) We got to the train station and said our good-byes and headed out to the train. We had a sleeper car, which was hard to get but worth it in the end. As we stood outside not wanting to get in yet, Jean Baptiste (the Chief supervisor) and Dr Danki (Chief medical Dr and surgeon) met us by the train to say good-byes. It was very special and amazingly nice that they came to see us off!
The train was an adventure in the least. It stopped many times along the way, and rocked so hard I had to laugh thinking that it was surely our weight loss plan of our belly's jiggling so much:) We left the station at promptly 6:20pm and arrived in Yaounde (the capital) at 7am. All in all it wasn't that bad, but neither of us slept much, a half hour here or 15 min there. It was hot, sticky and by morning we both smelled really bad and were in much need of sleep. We headed straight from the train station to the bus station. It was like from "Bad to Worse!". At the bus station JB (who just got married) met us there to say good-bye and Eric, Llonda and I aboarded the bus for the 4hr bus ride to Douala. The bus was hot and sticky and the air didn't work and for some reason we kept having water leak by our feet which got our bags all wet. We had hoped to go straight to Kribi, but with our luggage thought it would be best to go to Douala first then a day trip if time allowed. We go to the bus station in early afternoon around 1pm and loaded our bags and three of us in ONE car!! The pictures don't do it justice and it is too long to upload, so while I have connection I will just write. Because we hadn't planned to stay in Douala we didn't have reservations anywhere so where taken to a roach motel where Llonda, the driver and Eric went to check it out, while I stayed outside with the car and our luggage and was greeted by a man wearing a ratted old trench coat wide open and ONLY the trench coat. Welcome back to Douala! I thought to myself. Llonda and the others quickly came back and Llonda said we would head straight to the IBIS to try to get a room.
We made it to the IBIS and all was good. We got a room, checked in showered and felt slightly better only still hungry and tired. We hired a driver and went to find some food, then came back and went swimming. It was Eric's first time swimming and I enjoyed very much teaching him some basic swimming skills and he was ecstatic about it. We got back to the room, sent off a quick email and were in bed by 8pm. We awoke early the next morning to get ready for a day long trip to Limbe, a town west of here. There we went to the Atlantic Ocean where the sand in fine and BLACK. It is black due to the volcano eruptions. Mount Cameroon is still an active Volcano here, and we went up the mountain a little ways to see all it had to offer. The last time it erupted was in 1999. They are still selling rocks from when the volcano last erupted. We went to the Botanical Garden which is full of beautiful age old trees of all kinds from around the world, which one was over 900 years old. It was started in 1892 by a German man who wanted to perserve the land and the wildlife. The pictures are wonderful and I only wish I could share some. When we get home, we will post more. We headed back to Douala and found a nice american burger place to eat, which was the first real full meal I had probably eaten so far. Said good-bye to Eric who left on the bus back to Yaounde and then back to the hotel to swim a little and relax.
Heading home tomorrow, and I am very much looking forward to coming home, even though a part of me will miss this place.
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