Dates and Details

Orientation is over!  I am in Pittsburgh sorting, packing, making lists, organizing, planning and trying to make sure I don’t forget any detail that needs to be taken care of.  There is a for rent sign in the front yard of my house.  I have a tentative date to take the bulk of my stuff into storage and various lunch/dinner dates to visit with friends before I go.

Here is the projected timeline:

            Aug. 17 – 20 trip to Memphis to visit my brother and sister-in-law

            Aug. 22 (or so) trip to Mechanicsburg to visit my parents

            Aug. 26 (or so) continue to Philadelphia to visit my sister and family

            Aug. 30 leave Philadelphia for Younde, Cameroon (via DC and Brussels)

            Sept 1 (or so) drive from Younde to N’gaoundéré (also Cameroon)

            Sept 4 (or so) drive from Ngaoundere to Baboua, Central African Republic

            Sept 7 (or so) drive to Bohong, CAR to begin Sango (nat’l language) class

I will be traveling (from Washington, DC on) with Elisabeth Johnson who will be teaching a seminary in Meiganga, Cameroon after she takes French classes in N’Gaoundéré.  We met and got to know each other during orientation.  

Fortunately, Joe Troester, who also works for the ELCA in Baboua, will meet us in Yaounde.  While there we need to buy some things that we couldn’t bring with us.  My list includes:  printer/scanner, wireless router, cell phone, and mosquito net. 

Driving from Yaounde (in the southern part of the country) to N’Gaoundéré is about an 11 hour drive – all but 50 miles of the road is paved and they are working to pave that. 

The drive from N’Gaoundéré to Baboua is about 5 hours and includes crossing the border from Cameroon to CAR which can take up to an hour.  I think that road is now paved – something new in the last couple of months for the Central African part. 

Wow! That’s a lot of dates and details, but, of course, my life is all about details and dates at the moment.  

Oh, and today is my birthday.  I am having dinner with a friend and then going to the Shadyside Arts Festival.