Hello!
I promise to write an actual long update about my life soon, but for right now I’ll just quickly let you know what I have been up to lately:
-I spent December thru the beginning of March doing a community assessment of Njinikom, teaching health lessons to moms at my health center during baby vaccination clinics every Wednesday, did the same lessons at outreach vaccination clinics up in the hills around Njinikom about 2 or 3 times a month, worked with a diabetes group and taught them how to make soy milk and tofu, taught a women’s group how to make soy milk at an amazing seminar for them on that and a number of other income generating activities, got to know the people in my village, got to know a number of amazing volunteers from all over the world, met with some great organizations that I hope to work with in the future, and generally just had a wonderful time exploring my new home and everything in it.
-Got robbed in a taxi. Lame.
-Learned to actually cook!
-Forgot how to speak both English and French. Talk to me on the phone for more than 5 minutes and you’ll see what I mean.
-Got a kitten, which would be exciting if it wasn’t the meanest cat in the entire world.
-I had IST (in service training) for a little over a week in mid-March in my regional capital, Bamenda. This was a training for everyone I trained with in Bafia/Bokito, so it was wonderful to reunite with all of my friends that I hadn’t seen in 3 months and hear about their experiences all around the country. I also got a bunch of great ideas for projects to do at post that I am really excited about. Plus, the hotel had HOT showers!!!!
-BEACH VACATION! I took my first vacation with a group of about 15 of my friends to Kribi beach for 4 days right after we finished with IST. We ate amazing fresh caught seafood everyday, our “hotel” was literally ON the beach for what amounts to $10 USD a night, we hiked to beautiful waterfalls that pour from a fresh water source right into the ocean (pretty awesome), had a bonfire right on the beach, and truly relaxed for the first time in 6 months. It was just what I needed before going back to Njinikom and starting up work.
I will get back to my post tomorrow and I am both enthusiastic and ready to start doing some real work, but also nervous that I won’t be able to accomplish everything that I want to in the two short years I’ll be in Njinikom. Guess I’ll find out!
Love you and miss you all! Can’t wait to see everyone in DECEMBER!
