Collected here are all my blog entries for the (almost) year we spent in Cameroon (July 15th 2006 - June 7th 2007).
Swindon Town got promotion! I'm very pleased that we've managed to bounce striaght back up after dropping down last year. Our relegation last year was a close thing, as was our promotion this time around, but it seems we've been playing some good football this year. Obviously I can't confirm this, having not been to any games because I'm in Africa, (and because I average one game a season anyway...) but I don't care, because we went up!
Last Saturday started rather strangely, as we were roused from bed by a loud bang which turned out to be Sylvester's car being hit by a taxi. A Taxi slammed right into his driver door as he was waiting to turn left. Fortunately he's almost completely unhurt (a few grazes and a headache), but you wouldn't believe it to look at the car.
I came home yesterday to find Marceline sitting on the veranda. She greeted me excitedly:
"Naomi's walking, Naomi's walking!"
"Excellent, let's see!" I said, (because a child's every development should obviously be available for exhibition at any given moment for the entertainment of any adult who may demand it).
This Sunday was Cameroon National Day, which was an excuse for all manner of festivities. Among the less entertaining available activities was marching. To my mind, marching ceremonies embody all the worst aspects of Cameroonian life: pomp, ceremony and waiting around for hours until the 'big man' arrives.
Time is ticking way, Helen arrives today (Hev's nurse friend who's going to continue her work), Hev's off to meet her at the airport soon, tomorrow is our farewell party (well our first farewell party... ), on Thursday Genesis leaves for the U.S. and next week we go home.
It's all happening rather fast now.
I finished my last Web Design class last week, and this week I'm teaching my Introduction to Digital Images class for the last time.
I've heard from several people that sometimes returning home after an extended period away can be more difficult than making the initial adjustment to a foreign culture. I can sort of see that, after all, adjusting to a foreign culture is one thing, but returning 'home' to find that you feel alien in familiar surrounds could be really disconcerting.
We've spent the last week saying goodbye, and we're still not done.
In a way it's quite overwhelming, saying goodbye to so many people who we may never see again. On the other hand, I'm a bit goodbye'd out and have gone slightly numb to it all.
We're leaving in two days and I just want it to be over, not because I want to leave Cameroon, I don't (well, yes I do, except I don't, er...) I just want all the leaving to be over.
Leaving is sad.
So long Buea, I'll miss you...