Leaving Tomorrow!

Bonjour!

So, tomorrow I’m scampering off to Philly where Peace Corps is corralling all of the June 2010 Cameroon Volunteers. It should be a lovely time full of vaccinations and information. Actually I am super stoked to meet everyone, and after the day and a half staging (orientation), I will finally hop on the plane to Yaounde (with a pit stop in Brussels). I will arrive in Yaounde on June 4th, and I should have internet access at some point after that, so I will be sure to make at least a quick post letting you know that I made it safely.

My volunteer class will hang out in Yaounde for a few days and get some intensive training, take some language aptitude tests, and generally get acquainted with Cameroon. Then I will move in with my host family in Bafia (about an hour and a half North of Yaounde). I have no idea who my host family is or what that experience will be like, but I do know that the Peace Corps is giving me a Trek Mountain Bike (!) so in my mind there is no way this experience won’t be exciting. I really can’t wait to meet my new family!

I will live with my host family during the first three months-ish while I am training in Bafia. Training will consist of French classes and other things like: “don’t touch these plants because they will make you itchy,” “how not to seem like a rude, weirdo freak in Cameroon,” and, most important, “how to not get malaria.” About half way through training we will be assessed again and then we are matched up with our permanent job site.  My job will be teaching English and educating my community about HIV/AIDS prevention. At this point, I have no idea where I will be stationed. It could be in the middle of the nowhere or smack dab in the middle of a city. Either way, I feel ready for what is to come.

And as a final note, I want to say thank you to everyone for reading this and supporting me in my decision. Everyone has been remarkably positive (save for Dr. Pleviak and his racist comments about witch doctors fixing cavities by shaking monkey skulls over my mouth…I hate the dentist.) I thank everyone for all the help they have given me up to this point, and I urge you all to keep in touch. I might not always have time to respond, but I want to know what is going on back home, even if it seems mundane to you. Those little tastes of home will be delicious to me after months of Cameroonian life.

Until next time,

Au revoir!