Another waterfall! It seems that when I ask people what I should
visit in their area, they first think of waterfalls. So, today, Alain (a Cameroonian who has been
showing me some of Garoua Boulai), his brother Gida, a cousin Theodor, and a
friend Benjamin went with me to a waterfall about 10 km. from town.
As is also usual: the first part of the
road was good (in this case, paved or being paved –so level and even). Then we took a dirt road that got progressively
rougher until it became a track (used by people and an occasional
motorcycle). We, of course, went in the
truck, so it was a challenge. The dirt
part of the road was only 3 km, but it took longer than the other 7 km.
This was not a big fall, maybe more rapids. We walked around the area and then had a
picnic lunch – but not a typical US picnic, though. We (well, really, they) cooked meat in a
sauce and made manioc (cassava) over a fire.
They do it all the time at home, so why not on a picnic, too? I also learned more about cleaning manioc and
searching for gold. Here are some
pictures.
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| clothes drying in sun after wash in river |
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| locally made bridge |
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| small butterfly on a fallen leaf |
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| pool dug while looking for gold |
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| sand dug out of looking-for-gold pool- for building construction |
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| emptying pool to look for gold |
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| manioc (cassava) root being harvested |
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| cleaned manioc roots |
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| cleaning manioc roots |
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| cutting manioc to t |
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| preparing manioc to eat |
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| lighting the fire to cook lunch |
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| fire lit |
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| preparing the picnic |
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| food ready to eat! |
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| Descending to picnic rock - I wouldn't go this way! |
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| bathing and swimming after lunch |
This month all of Cameroon is celebrating Youth
Month. In particular, Monday, February
11 is Youth Day. There will be parades
of school students and others. I plan to
go to the one here in Garaou Boulai, so I can write about that another time.
Work Update
My primary work at the moment is continuing
with language studies – Sango (extending my knowledge through conversation and
reading the Bible) and Gbaya (still at a much more basic level, but I can say
some sentences and read/write more. I
have decided to go to the Gbaya church service tomorrow. While my teacher and I have been studying the
liturgy in Gbaya, I still expect to be lost for much of the time. Then, he reminded me that I will have to
introduce myself to the congregation! I
have written a few sentences (in Gbaya) that he has helped me perfect and
practice. Now, will I be able to tell
when it is time to stand up and use them???
Pastor Andrea Walker, the new ELCA West
Africa Director, and Anne Langdji, one of the Area Representatives, are coming
to Garaou Boulai Tuesday. We will have
some time to meet and they will visit the hospital and Bible School that are
here. I am looking forward to it.
I also hope to soon have meetings with the
leadership teams of the Village School Program and Christian Education. We are still working on when.
As is also usual: the first part of the
road was good (in this case, paved or being paved –so level and even). Then we took a dirt road that got progressively
rougher until it became a track (used by people and an occasional
motorcycle). We, of course, went in the
truck, so it was a challenge. The dirt
part of the road was only 3 km, but it took longer than the other 7 km. 
This was not a big fall, maybe more rapids. We walked around the area and then had a
picnic lunch – but not a typical US picnic, though. We (well, really, they) cooked meat in a
sauce and made manioc (cassava) over a fire.
They do it all the time at home, so why not on a picnic, too? I also learned more about cleaning manioc and
searching for gold. Here are some
pictures.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteYou still seem to have patience with your peripatetic mission. (peri= beside; you are surely beside the place you imagined you would be).
I'll be curious how the education part of your work develops.
Give my greetings to Pastor Walker.
Love,
janet
Yes, education is the main reason I am here. I have been able to engage in very productive planning sessions with leadership teams for both programs, but it is hard to work at a distance. Still, we do have telephones (often with bad connections and delays, but still phones!) and can work some. I am working to help them get Internet USB keys but they are currently sold out in the larger town and unavailable in Baboua. That means, too, that I have promised computer training - which can't be done at a distance. Still, we do what we can. I will keep you posted as the work goes on (and I go back to CAR).
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