The beginning and the end!

Good evening to all of you...well....mmmm...where do I begin...I left off by telling you all that I was planning to climb Mt. Cameroon..well, we began our journey up the mountain at about 6:30 in the evening on Friday night. It was the porter, the mountain guide, Amadou and my dear friend Elvis. So here you go....me and 3 african men....well, we started in the forest part of the mountain..it is absolutely beautiful. Then in about an hours time...we needed to use "torches" or as we call them flashlights.....it was so dark but, the african sky was incredible....climbing up was very challenging...it is beyond steep...rocky and muddy and slippery...I had on my tennis shoes....I really needed my hiking boots...but, we kept going....we stopped at HUT 1. We took a break and I flashed my light into the hut and a bat came flying at me....ahhhhhh....well, we rested for a brief time and the guide said that it was time to move on...We continued and it began to cool down. The 3 africans were all dressed and here was I ....with just 2 tshirts on....I was not that cold....it is all what you are used to....Well, by the time we reached HUT 2...which is where we were to stay for the night...it was 11:45. I was quite exhausted...you should see how we had to sleep for the night...on wooden slabs with mice and mountain rats...!!!!!! I am NOT joking....I began to put my sleeping bag out and a mouse scurried by....so, guess what...I was awake the entire night...there were rats underneath the wooden bed and I kept hitting the wood to scare off the unpleasant creatures.....I did not want them to get into my food....It was a creepy night and it was SOOOOOOOO cold.....I did not have enough clothes...I froze all night and waited for the creatures to come near me......!!!!!
By 7 am on Saturday...Amadou called to me that it was time to start up and again. Amadou and I were the only ones to continue. Elvis was ill and the porter was going to rest for the while. So here we go again...me and Amadou...up to HUT 3. The wind and the steepness were very challenging....it got colder and colder and windier and windier.....I was holding a walking stick and my hand was frozen....the wind was knocking me over and my lungs were being strained due to the altitude....Amadou kept checking in with me...we got to a certain point of the mountain and he said that at this point was where you either failed or succeeded....he called it the medical check up point...if you had any illness ...this is where you would no longer be able to continue the climb...well, you know me....I said...you could take that as a challenge or as a threat....I chose to challenge myself....we continued and my chest continued to crush inside of me...but, I was determined....Amadou told me that I was a very couragous woman...I told him that it was part of my heritage...Norwegians are tough...and extremely stubborn.....he laughed...Well, we reached HUT 3....and it was cold and blustery and miserable...we sat and ate and drank for abit...he told me that we were about 360 meters from the summit....I contemplated and told him that I was not up to the rest....the clouds were low, visibility was almost zero and the winds were brutal...I figured that there would not be much to see....I was tapped.. We turned around and trekked back to HUT 2. We got back to HUT 2 by about 12:30. Coming down is so much harder than going up....it is rocky and slippery and incredibly hard on the knees....so, we rested for about 1/2 hour and then started our descent....oh my...I struggled...I fell so many times and hurt myself....it was so hard...at one point I just got so teary eyed...I just wanted to be on the bottom of the mountain...I was frustrated and sore and tired and blisters...etc...etc....etc......We finally made it to the bottom at 6 pm.
I could barely walk.....I felt sooooo beat up....I returned home and I had several guests at the house to give me a homecoming...it was so wonderful...they went out and bought beers and toasted to me...I drank the beer and it went all to my head...I could barely walk....you should see the blisters...and the bruises.....it was an incredible experience but I would never climb it again....I have to say that Mt. Cameroon is beautiful...it has many different terrains...forest...savannnah...rocky, volcanic areas...unbelievable....It was hard but a good thing....!!!!
Today I went to class...or I should say hobbled to class....I love my kids and will miss them dearly...they all keep handing me notes and expressing their love for me....it is so touching...I am off to a "send off" party for me!!! The school is hosting a party to wish me off....I feel so sad to leave...this is home to me now...I love it here. I leave tomorrow for the long journey home....It will be exhausting....I am excited to see everyone at home but sad to leave my second home.....I hope that everyone is relaxing and ready to enjoy Thanksgiving. I will hope to see all of you when time permits....the transistion back to Wheaton will be a challenging one....I thank all of you for supporting me and following my journey here in Cameroon....It has opened my heart and my mind....I will begin a new course of my life....and I believe that Cameroon will inspire me to do more traveling and visit new cultures throughout my lifetime....it has been such a transforming experience. Thank you God for this remarkable opportunity.
I will see you all when I arrive back to Chicago...until then...my love to all and a very Happy Thanksgiving...be thankful for everything....those are my sentiments to all who live in the United States......
Love, Nancy

More on my last few days..

Good day to all or as they say here...Bon Jour....we had a terrential rain today so I spent most of the day packing up my belongings and making a pile of things that I plan to give away...I will not be carrying much back....it is refreshing....I have been giving away different items and people are so appreciative of them. A lady that works at the cleaners, (she has cleaned a lot of my clothes) told me today that she wants to give me some African-wear....that is so sweet....
I have been going around this afternoon...visiting all my friends and taking pictures of all of them....as they say here "snap" them.....they love it....actually, I should say that some of the people here like to be "snapped" but, the other night John and I took out a friend of ours for a drink and I snapped the two of them and there was a Cameroonian man behind us and he went crazy on us...thinking that we took a picture of him...he was yelling at us....but, then it all subsided...you never know here....!!!!!
I went out to dinner last night with my co-operating teacher, Victor and his wife, Obe.....they are so sweet...we went to a hotel that they like and I bought them dinner....kind of a thank you to them....they were so happy...Victor said that is was the best part of his day....and let me tell you....Africans CLEAN their plates....there is nothing left on the plate...including the chicken bones.....they eat it all......a lot of times...they do not know when their next meal will be....they were so happy with the meal. Obe is expecting her second child..(actually, her third, but their second child died at the age of one and a half...) Victor told me at dinner that he wanted to name the baby after me.....they want to use one of my names to have for the baby...along with many other names...africans have many names...I was shocked and very honored...I think that I will give them the name of Ludvigson.....but, if it is a girl ...they said it should be Nancy!! How about that....I am very touched.
I went to visit Amadou.....who will be my guide up Mt. Cameroon...Myself, an african friend and Amadou will be making the trip on Friday....and we hope to come back Saturday night...let's see how that goes...there has still been a lot of rain despite being in the dry season....now I know why they call it the rainforest....rain like you would not believe...so, I hope that God spares us the rain on Friday....
My last day of teaching is Friday and actually Victor said that he would teach and I can just relax and mentally prepare for the climb....My friend, Elvis will be coming to my classes tomorrow to videotape me.....it will be a bit nervewracking...but, I am planning a competition again for the class and preparing them for the exam next Monday.
Next Monday night, they want to have a farewell for me....a send off....that is what they call it here...it should be fun...I plan to take plenty of pictures....hope to share them with you all.....
I hope all is well back home and I will be making the long trip next week....and I mean long......!!!!!
I look forward to sharing my past few months with all of you when time permits....my love to all
Nancy~

Last few days!!!

It has been a whirlwind the past couple of days...where do I begin....my students are so sad to think of me leaving in the next week...they told me that I mean so much to them and they will cry when I leave...I am NOT looking forward to that day...it will be a very bittersweet day...
I went to the school today to do sport day with the staff and the students...we played volleyball...it was so much fun....and then I got a tour of the dormitories where the girls stay...what an eye opener....it reminded me of a concentration camp...it was so hard to see the living quarters...they seem to like it and they have such good spirits....I took pictures and they were thrilled...they were holding my hands and hugging me ....they all have so much love...it is rather amazing to see...these kids have pretty much NOTHING and they have such good hearts...it has been a very incredible experience....
I will have to write later perhaps tomorrow...I have some people waiting on me to go out...I have a lot of loose ends to tie up before leaving next week..I will get back to you tomorrow...love to all
Nancy~

The remaining days!!

Good day to all....well, what can I say....the time is nearing the end...I have very mixed feelings about that....There is always something happening here in this town...This week has been flying by....I taught on Monday, trying something new with my students..I asked them to answer an essay question....I told them to take out a piece of paper from their notebooks....well, they just looked at me with great confusion...Their notebooks are sacred to them....they have never ripped out paper before...I assured them that all would be ok.....ha.....so, I tried to get them to write to me.....in a narrative form....some caught on to that and most others created a type of outline form.....you have to understand that the only method of teaching here is lecture. The teacher lectures on the material and the students write down what the teacher says...that is all they know....they have been conditioned....well, I am trying to shake things up...it has been an interesting challenge....
I gave a quiz last week just to see how much they are learning from me....there is a boy in my one class that got a "Zero." I talked with him after class and came to discover that his glasses broke about 3 weeks ago and he has no money to fix them. He told me that he can not see the board at all......he sits near the back of the classroom....I felt horrible about it...I told him that in the next class I am going to move him up to the front by me....he was so appreciative..
I explained the situation to my co-operating teacher and he was very unaffected by the whole story. But, I am going to take the situation into my own hands and try to correct it as best as possible.
Yesterday was Presidents day...they were celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the SAME president....it is interesting to talk to the locals about their political views.....my consensus was that most Cameroonians are not happy with the government....it is a very sad situation for the people here...no jobs, corruption, no economy......it is very heart wrenching.....John and I went out to dinner and made a joke about how I was going to start an uprising....I am very disturbed about how a lot of these people live.....there is not much hope....very sad.....We ended up walking over to the internet and spoke with my dear friend that works there...John kept telling him not to get me too excited about the presidential celebration...I have some words to say about that.....!!!! We laughed about it....but, I still have my own personal views which I would be more than happy to share with you if you would like...once I return..!
After John and I left the internet....we began our journey back up the hill to the house....you have to realize how DARK it is on the road.....Well.....guess what...Nancy slips and falls once again into the trench on the side of the road.....I smashed my other knee and scraped my leg. I have another egg on my knee and a big bruise on the side of my leg.....!!! John was astounded that this could happen again to me...he was amazed once again that I did not break anything...I just want to be ok for the climb up the mountain. I have been training for the climb....running up and down the hill almost everyday....wow...it is a workout. Yesterday I took a visit to Amadou...who will be our guide up the Mountain...we talked about the preparations....very, very nice man....He said that he saw me running the other day and he told me how impressed he was with my strength...I felt good about that! I asked him about the wildlife on the mountain...he said that we may see gorillas...anteloupe...snakes....etc.....mmmmm.....that would be wonderful to see gorillas...snakes...I could do without....
I believe that we will take the trek not this weekend but next....I have a couple of other African friends that want to join....it should be an experience....
I have a few more lessons to teach to my students....I am savoring every moment....I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be here in Africa...you would not believe the life here...I do not even know if I could describe it with the justice that it deserves...it has changed me....I will never be the same after this experience....I believe that this is a door leading to many other opportunities in my future days....
Hope that the weather is not too cold...it is perfect here....hot...beautiful blue skies...I love it....
I miss you all and I will see you very shortly.
Take care and my love to all....Nancy~

More Stories to share

Good day to all...I feel like I have not kept in contact in quite awhile...It has been very busy and now I have some time to catch you up on the current happenings here. The other morning I was getting ready to go to school when I suddenly heard someone outside screaming and screaming. Kevin, the house boy, knew right away that there was a problem. Apparently the person outside was screaming "Thief, Thief!!" Kevin went running and John followed, with a toothbrush in his mouth. They both told me to lock the door and not to answer until they came back. Screaming and shouting was heard all around the compound area. Well, it comes to be that a thief went into the house right behind us and tried to steal some items...He was seen in the process, so he began to run..well, people started shouting "thief" and everyone that lives in the surrounding area started chasing him with Machettis and caught him up by the road....they began to beat him and finally the police arrived to take him away. Kevin came back home and informed me that sometimes in these situations...the civilians take the law into their own hands...after they catch the thief, they actually set them on fire!! How scarey is that....???!!!! This particular thief was beaten by the people and then taken away by the police.....It is a bit different here...I have to say.....There was a lot of excitement in the neighborhood after that event.
A couple of days after that....I was very ill. I am not sure if I ate something that did not agree with me....but it was not good....Thursday afternoon the principle from our school took John and myself out to eat...I think that I ate something that caused me problems later...it was a very long night on Thursday and then I had to get up very early to get ready to teach Friday morning. I had to combat the rainy weather early Friday morning...and on top of that, I was feeling very achy and had an extreme headache....I made it through the morning, but the rest of the day I laid low.....I was planning to go to Limbe on Saturday morning.
When I awoke on Saturday...my head was still exploding but I was determined to go to Limbe and experience the Atlantic ocean. I made the travel to the town....(which is quite an experience....buses, taxis, hot weather, lots of people, patrol men checking vehicles....!!!!!! It goes on and on....) When I finally arrived in Limbe, I went to Seme Beach hotel. I treated myself to a nice night in a room with a beach view....I ran to the ocean and played in the waves for about 2 hours....it was absolute heaven...water temperature of about 80 degrees and the best waves ever. After that, I went and enjoyed the biggest Prawns that I have ever eaten. They still had their eyes....EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!!
It was an incredible day....The next morning I woke up and went and had breakfast and a man that works at the hotel...came to my room and brought a coconut that he had just chopped down from a tree. He cracked it open with his machetti and we shared the fresh coconut....I have never had fresh coconut like that before....it was nice....
Then I found myself in the ocean again....enjoying the waves and the salt water....!!!! It was fantastic.......I was extremely tired by the time I arrived back home from Limbe....it was all worth it......
Today, I taught my students and everything went very well....We are truly enjoying each other....I will be finished teaching by a week from Friday.....I hope to make my plans to do some climbing this weekend....John and I are still trying to figure out the details....I will let you know.
I am sure that the weather in Chicago has not become a bit brisk...I DO NOT look forward to that....it is so nice here...warm and humid, but I prefer it over cold....it will be quite an adjustment coming back to the states...there is MUCH that I will miss here...and MANY people that I will hate to say goodbye to.....it has been an experience that has changed my perspective and it has changed me!
My love to all...hope all is well with everyone...talk to you all very soon....Nancy~

3 MORE WEEKS

Good morning to all. I can not believe that three weeks from today I will be back on the plane to get to the states. Time has gone by rather quickly. I still have so much to accomplish before it is time to depart. School is well.. the students were rather out of it yesterday. I started teaching about Amoebas. I know that it was a Monday morning and all but, they were really not focused. They are usually much more involved, asking questions and participating. My teacher, Victor spoke to them about not paying attention....perhaps it was the material, the way I taught it or as John added, what transpired the night before...sometimes the students have to clean the whole compound and work very hard doing manual labor....one never knows...So needless to say, I was not that satisfied with the work that I did. But, that is what happens in teaching sometimes.....
My dear little friend...Clinton.....came by to visit me yesterday....he was not in school....I told him that he needed to go to school.. he brought me some pictures that he drew for me....I love that little boy...he is so adorable....I keep thinking of a way that I can get him back to the states....So today I ran into him and he was once again not at school....he told me that his mom has no money to pay the school fees.....I think that I will take a visit to his mom today and see if I can pay his fees....he is so smart and he needs to be in school...so, I will let you know how that turns out.
My running has been going very well....it is rather challenging to run back up the hill...boy, you can really feel it in the legs.....I feel stronger in my legs and hope that it will benefit when I climb the mountain next weekend...I think that we will have porters that carry our stuff up..they supply us with all the materials...water, sleeping bags...etc. I am rather excited about it.....
But, I have to say that yesterday, John was curious about how much weight he has lost since being here....he is very skinny....we got out the scale and he weighed himself...he is down to 129 pounds.... he was about 142 when he came here in August....wow....so he told me that I needed to weigh myself...well, I am not one to get on a scale.....but, they pressured me and I gave in. I was shocked to do the conversion from kilograms to pounds. I have lost almost 13 pounds.....but, we rarely eat 3 meals a day and we walk at least 3-4 miles a day up and down a hill. I have also been runnning everyday...so I am sure that all contributes to the situation. I feel good...not sure where the lost pounds were lost from but,,,, I will not complain....
I went to the store today with Clinton and bought candy for him and candy and cookies for me.....
This weekend I plan to go to Limbe and spend an overnight there in one of the hotels that look out onto the ocean....it is so beautiful and the water is absolutely wonderful. I am hoping for nice weather....it should be a wonderful time.....
I hope that all is well back home and halloween is fun for all....eat some candy for me.....we have candy here but not like in the states......enjoy....take care and I hope to chat again soon. Have a great week....my love to all...Nancy

Where do I begin?

Good day to all. The weather here is so funny. I awoke this morning at 4:30 in order to prepare for teaching today and it was calm outside. Within one hour, the winds were gusting and it was raining. Luckily, by the time I left at 6:30 to take my regular walk to the school, the rain had stopped, but there was a bit of a chill in the air. By the time I arrived at school, I was elated to see that the principle was not there giving his Friday lecture to the students. They were heading for their classrooms. WELL....I get to my classroom and there are only the boys sitting in their seats. The girls were all sent out to clean the compound. They had been punished. (I am not quite sure what they were being punished for and I was not able to get any information from the other students. Well, we proceeded to do some of my lesson that I had gotten up so early to prepare for....! Ha...! After my first class, I moved over to my second class and the students were still missing. But, I proceeded once again to teach the few of them. When class had finished, I took out my camera to take some pictures of these wonderful students. They went CRAZY!!!!!!!!! I began to "snap" them, which is what they call it here. They loved looking at their pictures after I took them. They were so excited. After I finally was able to calm them down, one of my girls told me that Jennifer (a girl that sits in the back of the classroom) was very ill. I went over to her and I have to say that my heart stopped...I thought she was not breathing. I come to find out that they believe that she has malaria and she was in the hospital the night before but insisted on leaving and coming back to school. I am mortified that I did not see that this was happening. I told the girls to go and get the nurse. Well, the nurse was nowhere to be found. I attempted to pick up Jennifer and get her to a bed but was not successful. A teacher came to the door and I explained the situation. He said that I should just leave her there. I was torn about the whole thing, but I do not want to ruffle too many feathers (if you know what I mean). Malaria is at its peak right now. It strikes heavily when the wet season is changing to the dry season. My cooperating teacher has been down all week with Malaria. A lot of sickness here. It is very difficult here...but, the people seem to perservere.
After my class ended today I was leaving and a boy from my one classes came up to me and said, "I love you." What do you say to that....then about 4 more boys joined him and began to tell me how much they have learned from me and how much they enjoy having me as their teacher. Can I tell you....that made my year!!!! I will be so unhappy when I have to leave them....I love these kids.....they are beautiful and smart and kind hearted. I am so blessed to have had a chance to touch their lives.....I love everyone of them...!!!
Well, on another note....last night John and I went to an art exhibit at the French Alliance club...well, there were people there taking pictures of the art.....so I decided to take pictures...well, I got in trouble...they were not happy and made me delete all the photos off my camera... oh, well...no harm done....not until John and I decided to take a different route home after dark....NOT A GOOD IDEA...let me tell you....John gets a phone call and stops to talk...I am waiting for him to finish so I take out my camera and begin to take pictures of the full moon...absolutely beautiful....well, a truck comes around the bend and turns around and stops right in front of me....A massive African Man gets out and shouts at me, "What to you think you are doing? You look very suspicious. I am going to call the police." OK, anyone who knows me, knows that I do not take well to men that verbally attack me like that. I told him that I was just taking a picture of the moon...that was not good enough for him. He continued to harass me and said that I was taking pictures of the government building. It was the agricultural building...I was not even aware of that. He said that he was going to make me "blue" (using his fist to emphasize his seriousness of the situation). I gave him my opinion and told John that we needed to start walking away from the situation. It was a bit nerve wrecking....I was shaking all the way home. I have to say that this situation was the first time that I felt unsafe. It was a strange feeling. But, I dealt with it and all is good. It was an experience. I told a good african friend today about the happenings and he said that I should not walk on that particular road when it gets dark. That is good to know.
But, all I can say that this is a very good experience being here. I have learned all about adaptation and I feel that I have done a good job with that.
I hope all is well back home. I will be coming home in about 3 weeks...I can not believe how time has a way of flying by. I have very mixed feelings about leaving, but I know that Cameroon has become a special home to me...I will never lose that. I will come back!!!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. There is a lot going on this weekend so I will get back to you on Monday and let you know more about my adventures here in Cameroon. My love to all. Nancy~