Back from the village of "Lewoh"

I have arrived back to the city of Buea after visiting a beautiful village called Lewoh. Well, where do I begin????? Well, I will start at the beginning.....ha....Thursday morning I woke at 4 am to a terrential downpour and NO electricity...the canadians arrived at the house at 5...we began to pack up a truck and a van with supplies while holding our karosene lamps....we finally hit the road close to 6 am....As we traveled, we occasionally stopped at the roadside to pick up bananas, bread, potatoes and even HENS....the roads were amazingly crazy when we got closer into the town...the vegetation and the land was breathtaking.....so beautiful...and the winding roads and the huge potholes.....wow.....well, we finally made it to the house at about 1 pm....and we had to hurry and clean up so we could go to the school that the canadians have built for the town....the press came with. As we arrived at the school, Prof Tambo addressed the children and they were given several computers (used of course) then the press interviewed the Prof and Captain Smith, who is the founder of the International Childrens Awareness Organization. He and a variety of volunteers have done many projects in this town to help make it a better place. The students then made us lunch....we had to quickly eat lunch and down the huge beers that they gave us to go and attend an installation of the mayor of the town....
We attended the installation and then went back to the mayors house for a huge gathering...it was very interesting and a bit ackward...but, an experience none the less.....I at least had a couple of canadians there to talk with.....
The following day..John and I and the enterage of the press came with us as we toured different schools...we first went to a catholic elementary school.....I have to tell you....I felt like Angelina Jolie....the kids went crazy on the two of us.....It was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget.....I took pictures....I sure hope they turn out....they will never capture the feeling that was there that day....there was actually a first grade class that was sitting in their open aired room with no teacher....they had no teacher for the day...so they were just sitting in the classroom hanging out....do you believe that....??????
John and I were on such a "high" after that.....I just can not describe it....they are such beautiful children.....I wanted to take them all home with me....!!!!!! We then left and went to two high schools and talked to the principals and such...the press was videotaping our whole day....it was something....Then at about noon....the press decided that they needed a break so we went to a bar....they all got beers and sat and drank for about 2 hours....John and I ended up talking to a man from the town and he took us to a local artist and we visited him and bought some of his stuff....he was fun to talk with.....
Then....believe it or not...we went and sat with a chief in another bar and drank...actually I should say that I did not drink any alcohol but I can not say the same for John....(the non-drinker) He drank at every place that we stopped at....needless to say...he was rather intoxicated....we had a blast!!!!! The people in this village are sooooooo nice and friendly and welcoming to us....they loved us.....it was a highlight day for me.....
We came back today....the roads were a wreck due to a lot of rain the past two days...and there were some roadblocks, so we had to find back roads.....wow...what an adventure.....When I got back home today....at about 1:30...I could not wait to get into a shower....4 DAYS!!!! without showering.....Gross....GROSS...GROSS!!!!!
I decided that I needed to come to the internet and share my stories with all of you....I was escorted by two men....one man that I met at the beginning of my trip..Ebob....He is so sweet and then another man that joined us and wanted to meet for lunch this week.....hey girls....no shortage of men asking women out here......!!! But, anyway I had a wonderful trip and it was something that I shall never forget.....
I hope everyone is well at home....Suzanne, I am so glad to hear from you and even more happy to know that you are well....I am thinking of you and I miss you also...very much.....
"Honey" ...I have you in my thoughts daily and am glad to know that you can get on my blog....you are still my "honey" I also want to say Happy Birthday now...I know that I am alittle early but I want to make sure that I do not forget....have a great time...enjoy.....xoxoxoxo
Cheryl...thank you for your generous thoughts....I am not sure of the address but I will get one for you....hope you are well and I look forward to seeing you soon...and so does my hair...lol.....
Marzita.....thanks once again for your support and encouragement......I will definitely have a "Out of Africa" party and I will be able to share my experiences and my pictures with all of the dear people in my life.....take care of yourself and I will wait to hear from you again...thank you as always.
I had better move on and do some school work. This week is the week that I take over the class for the next seven weeks.....wish me luck.....miss you all....I am thinking of you, Asher...and know that time will pass and all will be good! I look forward to our day together....YOU and ME!!!! It will be fantastic for both of us....know that I love you always and I have your back buddy-boy.....!!! Hang in there.....I send my love to all......talk later in the week...enjoy....!! Nancy~

Almost 5 weeks in Buea, Cameroon!!

Good morning and bon jour...what a beautiful language French is...I would love to learn how to speak it...well, I wanted to fit in a few words on my blog today and let you know that I will be traveling to a distant village tomorrow until late Saturday. We will be leaving early tomorrow morning and will travel for about 6 hours on challenging roads...(you could never imagine in your wildest dreams the condition of some of the roads here....pretty WILD!!) We are traveling with a group of Canadians that have been working hard on helping out this village with supplies, water, etc. It will be interesting to talk with these people and find out all about their mission. I hope to make some contacts....you never know how it might help in the future.
Well five weeks here have almost come and gone...in a way, the time has flown by, but in other ways, it seems like I have been away from home for such a very long time. Someone asked me the other day what food I eat at home....I really had to think about what my breakfast, lunch, and dinners have consisted of....it is a strange feeling to be so lonely and at the same time so disconnected from all the familiarities and comforts that I have back in the states. I have learned a lot here....I have some very interesting stories...I hope to also have some incredible pictures that tell of my experiences here....People laugh at me because I have my camera with me at all times and am anxious to take a picture of the most odd things...(odd to the africans, but not to me). Not all of the people are happy about having their pictures taken....
Tonight we are having a big dinner for the canadians...then off to the village early tomorrow...
I wanted to keep in touch and will let you know how this trip turns out...I hope to write on Sunday.
Celeneeeeeeeeeee..........so good to hear from you.I have a big smile on my face right this instant. I hope that you had a wonderful, relaxing time in Florida.....a much deserved break for you....My hair is a bit crazy...not too bad....I do not need to fuss with it at all...and marriage proposals...none yet....one could possibly be brewing.....Ha Ha.......there are a lot of insects everywhere but nothing too bad as of yet. Thank you so much for writing...I hope to hear from you more often...I miss the girls and I want to say "Happy Birthday to Nancy Witt" ...you have now entered a new chapter in your life......the 50's ....you go girl...!!!!
Marzita....you make my day every time I receive a message from you.....thank you for the imagery idea....what a great idea....the challenges here are rather difficult at times...but I know that I can handle it and it will prove to be so worthwhile in the end....once I leave here, I am sure that there will be many things I miss....you never know what you really miss until you are away from it...thank you for being so diligent in responding....it means more to me than you know....
I hope all is well and everyone is having a good fall.....I will write on Sunday....take care and enjoy!! Nancy~

Progress in the classroom

Hello. I had another day of teaching yesterday and it went really well. I had to draw some diagrams on the board and after the class my cooperating teacher told me how nice my drawings were...I will not question him. The students are fairly attentive and they ask a lot of questions. In my one class, I have a group of boys that I believe will keep me on my toes....they will definitely be a challenge to me. I have decided that if any of the students misbehave, instead of having them leave the room, I will have them come up to the front of the classroom and sit on the floor to take their notes....I hope that will be an effective way to discipline. I do not like the idea of kicking them out of class...I would rather have them in there...hopefully, learning something...The students are very smart and they have picked up a lot of the material rather quickly. Victor, my cooperating teacher feels that they are getting used to me and they feel much more comfortable. I am going to try to learn names but it will be hard. Some of the students have english names but not all of them. We'll see how that goes.
My trip to the "village" may be cancelled due to some complications...but time will tell. If there is no trip, John and I have decided to go do something adventurous...it is a bit hard at this time due to the rainy season still upon us....that will start to fade pretty soon.
We have 3 new hens sitting in the back of the house waiting to be killed and cooked. Rather interesting...but, I will not partake in the consumption of the dear hens. That will be left to John!
I have been here almost 5 weeks...the time has moved quicker than I thought it would, but I still get homesick a lot. Hope all is well. I would love to hear from all of you....take care and be well. Nancy~

Friday and what an eventful one

Good morning...I have to say that this week has been quite eventful and stressful at the same time...I was suppose to teach just this last Monday. Then I found out that the professor through my program was coming into town for this past Fridays class.. I found out last Thursday that I had to plan a lesson and teach Friday morning.....YIKES>....I was a bit nervous...I ran home on Thursday and spent time planning...When Friday arrived, Prof Tambo was there to watch...he is hightly respected in the education world. I made a few mistakes in my lesson....and a student actually pointed out 1 mistake to me....I told her...thank you very much and then I corrected it. After the class, we had a meeting to discuss my progress. The prof was so kind and said very positive things....he liked the fact that I thanked the student for pointing out my mistake....I guess I did something right....actually, it went well and he had some good advice on some things....I was quite relieved when it was over.
After that, we went to watch the mayor of the town get installed into his position...what a major event that was for the town. I took some interesting pictures of the dancing and all the festivities...it was a sight.
This next week, we are planning to go and visit a "village" which will be totally different from the town I currently live in. I will have to let you know how that trip unfolds....hope all is well and everyone is doing well...miss you all and my love to each and every one of you. Nancy~

Home-sickness has arrived

Good morning to everyone. I have to say that the past 24 hours have been filled with depths of home sickness. I can not pinpoint the exact catalyst that brought me to this place. But, I have been a bit blue. I am fortunate that my three dear children have all contacted me and have given me great support and they know how important this experience is for me and my future. I realize that many doors will open for me after this transforming experience. I do miss so many things back home....I miss my beautiful city...chicago....I realize what a chicago-junkie I am and I look forward to walking those streets of that beautiful city when I arrive back home. I struggle with the cultural differences here. I know that I will survive the school that I am teaching in despite the teaching styles and obviously, the disciplinary measures that are used. These are all incredible growing experiences that many will never have in their lifetime. When I reflect on those particular dynamics, I thank God for sending me here. He has a plan and Africa, I believe, is part of it.
I thank my dear, dear friend, Trish, for your words and knowing that they come from a "seasoned" teacher, makes them even more powerful in their content. While reading your comment, I laughed but I also felt my confidence rise up! I know that I can handle situations here. I have learned about myself. I have come to know my flexiblity and realize that I have an open mind. I am quite adaptable. All these things come in handy when in Africa. Thank you Trish for being an incredible friend. I am so very lucky to have you in my life.
I hope to continue to embrace this God Given opportunity and deal with the homesickness. I thank all of you for keeping me in your thoughts. Have a wonderful day....! Nancy~

First class under my belt....!!!!

Hello everyone. Well, what can I say. I was a bundle of nerves this morning walking to class thinking of how my first teaching experience here would be. I spoke with my teacher before hand and he looked over my lesson plans. He gave me the thumbs up. I went into the first class of curious students. I began by telling them that I know how funny I speak (of course, they all laughed) and I will try to speak slowly and clearly. I encouraged them to ask questions especially if they are unable to understand me. I also explained to them, that it is difficult for me to understand them. Once we accomplished that, I proceeded with my lesson. I have to say that I was somewhat surprised at how comfortable I felt. All these african faces looking at my every move. I felt good! I made a handout for them, made 156 copies at the copier (that alone was a major feat!) and passed them out. The students did not know what to do with it. I explained to them how it can be useful. After the class, I asked them if they found it helpful to have an outline and they all nodded "yes". Victor could not believe that I paid money to have the copies made...he was rather surprised. They do not have any such thing here for the students. All they have is their notebook and the words that they write in there....that is it!!!! At the end of the lesson, I asked them to guess how many cells are in a grown human being...they had such fun guessing....100,000,000 cells for all of you that did not know that cool fact. I gave a few pieces of candy to the student that came the closest. It was a hit....!!! I did struggle with the chalk and the chalkboard. The chalk kept breaking into pieces and my chalkboard looked like a war zone...it was a bit out of hand...I ended up writing so many of the words that the students did not understand...I have to work on my chalkboard management....and also my classroom management. The kids were rather well behaved but you have to understand that they are extremely strict with these students. Victor talked to me after class about how critical it is to maintain a strict environment due to the large numbers in the classroom. They do corporal punishment here and I am struggling with that. But, overall, Victor had many positive things to say about my first class experience. His criticisms will help me. You learn by your mistakes. I feel better now that I have been in front of them. That anxiety can now leave me. I am quite exhausted today...I think that my nerves took over and I did not sleep well last night....but, next Monday I will have another chance to teach. I will be teaching about viruses...It is a rather interesting topic...I am excited about the topics that I will be teaching...it is all rather fascinating.
Thank you Jakob for your love and all your supportive words. I love you so very much and know that you believe in me just as I do in you. Hope your first day went well also. Call me anytime....I always love to hear your voice....say hi to all at Princeton....And Mica...wow, hope you had a wonderful time in Italy...I can't wait to hear all about it. Thank you for your thoughts also. It feels so good to know that people are thinking of me while I am so far away from all my familiar surroundings...Hope things go well back in Chicago. When I get back we have to catch up...I am sure we will have a lot to talk about. Last but certainly not least, David and Julie..so great to receive a post from you. I appreciate all words and you just can't imagine the BIG smile that comes across my face when I read what you have written. It totally makes my day to hear from loved ones....I get so homesick sometimes and just reading these words makes all the difference in the world. I love you all and hope all is well with ALL of you. Keep the comments coming, even just to say hi....it feels soooooooo good. Well, my time is running out here...it took me about 20 minutes just to get on this website. My love and thoughts are extended to each and everyone of you....Thank you for your continual support. Nancy~

Saturday here in Buea

Good morning to all of you. It is 11:30 here...you are all still sleeping(5:30 your time..) It is another rainy day but I have to say that sunny days have been happening more often. I sat out-side the other day for about 10 minutes...just relaxing and the next day I woke up with a red face...not too bad but enough to remind me about the sunscreen (thank you Cheryl for being so concerned about me- you are a sweetheart!)
I will teach my first lesson Monday morning. I got the class list from "Victor", my co-operating teacher...very nice man. I have 78 kids in each class....156 kids total. My goal is to get to know all their names..not sure if that will happen. There is not a lot of interaction between the students and the teachers. I hope to make that a bit different for my students. I plan to have "office" hours after certain classes...in case they have questions. It is hard to understand them, even though they speak english. I will have to remind them to speak slower so I can understand them.
Thank you Marzita, again for the insightful and beautiful words. Cheryl, the thought of the girl scout troop sending stuff here is a wonderful and generous idea. Keep me posted. If you decide to do that, I can give you an address to send it to. It takes about 6 weeks to have packages arrive here...sometimes they arrive and sometimes they don't. You have to take a chance with it. I believe that Johns school is sending stuff too!! I am sure that they would appreciate any donations.
Most of the clothes people buy here are the clothes that we in the states get rid of. I walked the other day with a group of ladies...they called me from across the street...."White Man" ..they were talking to me. I went across and walked and talked with them. They were so curious about me and where I was from. I had jeans and a t shirt on and they told me how classy I looked....Ha...Ha... I took the compliment. We walked past a market with clothes and the one lady said to me,"We get all your left overs." I said to her that I was sorry about that and she replied, "We love it." Different perspectives....TOTALLY!!
Well, hope all is well back home...sounds like fall has arrived. I hope that the Falcons are winning some games...go ASH..!! I hope to tell you more after this week of standing in front of the kids. Thanks again for all your support. Miss all. Love to all. Nancy~

My game plan!!!!!

OK everyone...I have decided to save myself intense frustration. I will try to blog to all every few days. The interent connection here is absolutely painstaking...I sit and watch the paint dry while I wait to get a connection. I will try my best but there are no guarantees.
I was very excited yesterday because it was a beautiful day out, the sun was shining, a blue sky, and a very comfortable temperature accompanied by a slight breeze...I sat outside for a few minutes and realized how powerful that sun is so close to the equator...It was 4:30 in the afternoon and the sun had great heat....it felt good though.
I go back to class tomorrow and start focusing in on what to teach the kids....it is a bit challenging due to no resources, only a chalkboard and chalk....with 70 some kids....mmmmmm.....I am trying to create some interesting lessons for them. The method of teaching at Baptist High School is mainly lecture...I want to change that up a bit. They are incredibly strict with the kids here....John watched his class yesterday and a boy got in trouble and the teacher put an eraser full of chalk dust on his head! Needless to say, he had a head of white hair....
I want to say thank you to my fellow classmates for all the support and concern for me here in Buea. I miss all of you and wish I could be at the seminars to enjoy your company once again.....We will have to all get together when done with student teaching...know that I am thinking of all of you and wish you the best!
Ty, as far as more catholic masses....I thank you for the invite....but I think I will pass....LOL.....!
Good luck Ash with football this weekend...do good....score one for me sweets.....xoxoxoxoxo
And to all my dear friends whom I have not mentioned....I miss you all....I will have an African Party when I get back so I can recreate my life here....
I hope to send another message by the end of the week...until then.....good day...Nancy~

Monday, Monday

Good day to all of you. Well, I have just entered the second week here at Baptist High School. I have come to the realization that I actually have a class size of about 72 kids in two different classrooms...This will prove to be a bit of a challenge. I hope that I am capable of educating these young minds. I will be teaching about viruses, bacterica, fungus, algae (which they pronounce al-gay). It will be interesting.
I went to a catholic mass yesterday. I did not understand much of what the priest said and it was a rather large congregation with one white woman amongst them...ME.....!!! They rely a lot on prayer and Gods guidance...
We are still having a lot of rainfall. It is incredibly foggy out today. I believe that we will go to visit the capitol of Cameroon over the weekend...Yaounde (yow- as in wow -un-day). Perhaps I can find some fun souveniers...I have had no luck yet here in Buea.
I hope all is well and the Bears are winning...enjoy the beautiful fall. I do miss the turning of the leaves and the fall fresh air...
My love to all. Nancy~

first week of school is over

hello to all..well, the first week of observations has ended...i am a bit overwelmed by the number of students in the classroom. there are 60 kids in each class...i am not sure how i will be able to teach that many....i will have to be very creative....any suggestions from my readers.....sorry my shift key does not work...i have met some nice people. i met a older woman today that studied in oklahoma...she is in charge of a prison...she was very kind and would love to sit and talk with me. i have also met a very educated man at the internet cafe that does a lot of work with the states ...his latest product development is working on bottled water for cameroon. i see a lot of the same faces when i go to the internet cafe....
next week i will be continuing observations of the freshman biology classes...and after that week, i believe that i will start taking over the classroom....i am a bit intimidated....keep your fingers crossed for me....
thank you ash-man for the wonderful post...i love you so much...infinities, infinities and beyonds.....tears rolled down my cheeks when i read your message...you are always in my thoughts and my heart.....please stay in touch.
well, lastly, i think i got my first mosquito bite....hope nothing evolves from that...malaria is very prevalent here. i would appreciate any prayers for my contiuned safety while here in cameroon.
i miss all of you and hope that things are well with everyone...i will be visiting the market tomorrow and try to find some unique african items...not sure what i will find....i will let you know what treasures lie there.....love to all...enjoy your weekend......ps asher, good luck in your football game...know that i am there in spirit....always.........nancy

First day of school

Good day and hope you are all enjoying Labor Day. I on the other hand began the morning at 4 am. I was quite anxious to start school today...yes, today was the first day of student teaching. I left the house at 6:30 and took a long walk to school. When I arrived there, all the students were lined up outside getting a lecture from the principal. 800 students lined up perfectly, not moving a finger and listening to the principal talk to them about behaving and doing the best work possible. I then proceeded to talk to my teachers and went to observe some classes. The students stood up when I came into the room and greeted me in unison. They are adorable. It shall be a very interesting experience. They do things quite different than in Chicago. There are about 60 students to a class. It is rather crowded.
Hope all is well back home. We are in the midst of the rainy season....and I mean rainy season. But, the Cameroonians promise me that by the end of September, the sun will shine all over the sky. It would be nice to see my beloved sun.....(you all know how much I love the sun!!!!)
It has taken me a long time to produce this message today...the computers are extremely slow...so I will say goodbye for now and would love and welcome any comments...it is so fun to hear from you. miss all and love to all . Nancy~

Rainy days, crazy markets, so on and so forth

Hi to all. I was not able to come to the internet cafe yesterday. I spent the morning with "Sir Kevin" (his name is Bumsa,but he likes to be called Kevin and I have decided that I like to call him Sir Kevin). Kevin is an african man that is 23 years old. He cooks, cleans, goes to the market, fixes things....and on and on and on. He is very sweet. He has a smile exactly like my nephew Lukey....it makes me smile. He took me to the market yesterday....Well, OK...you would never believe this sight. Everyone from everywhere comes here to buy EVERYTHING...I mean EVERYTHING from onions to underwear. It was quite something. They even had a cage full of LIVE hens for sale. I also saw some dead thing in a cart that had hooves still on it...(sorry if I am grossing out anyone...but, hey I am a vegetarian and I had to look at it first hand...if I have to suffer so do my readers.
Then in the afternoon I actually dozed off to sleep...very unlike me....it is not like I am not getting enough rest....Kevin awoke me from my strange and weird dreams...(which by the way I have been having PLENTY of those each and every night...very strange. My companion John claims that it is stress....John knows all (or at least he thinks he does...) Kevin had prepared a nice lunch for me which included rice, beans, and a cabbage dish which was very tasty but spicy. I will use that recipe back home..it is very good and very healthy. After that I was invited to a meeting with my host mom, Pat. I went to the meeting with her for about 5 hours...believe it or not...but, I was treated to a very interesting meal(same as above, except there was mackeral and some pale looking potatoe type dish. I will find out the name of it in case any of you are interested in making it...LOL.....
Today, once again a monsoon...it started out sunny...John and I are so happy we stumbled upon a Launderette. The lady will do our clothes. You do not understand...they all wash their clothes by hand and then it takes about a week(maybe a very slight exaggeration) to dry...I think I will have my school clothes cleaned and pay the money...it will be worth it. As we were walking to the IC (Internet Cafe), we met a young man that works at Mermoz Hotel. They have live music on the weekends. He took us there and gave us a tour.....very interesting....Look out Four Seasons, you have competition. LeBob was the 24 year olds name. He is planning to come to the U. S. beginning next year. He wants to do electrician work. He was very kind. We will be seeing more of him at the hotel after a week of being in school.
Well, I start at the baptist hs tomorrow. We need to be there by 7 am...I will need to get adjusted to the early mornings once again. No problem, I want to get this started. I will be working with Simon, Victor, Louis, and Hansel. All men....I will let you know how that continues to develop.
Hope everyone is doing well...enjoying the beautiful Fall season back home. Football, sweaters, brandy in hot chocolate for the cool nights....I actually had a dream about tons and tons of doughnuts last night.....I miss a lot of stuff from the states.....I want to say hi to all my friends and family that I so dearly think about all the time...I actually have not changed my watch to African time yet...because I always look at it and think...mmmmmm....wonder what everyone is doing now....It makes for a rather long day....when it is 6pm here and it is noon by all of you...then I fall into Chicago time...I really need to wean myself from that....I do so miss all of you and hope things are well and everyone is doing fine. I will write again as soon as I am able...electricity and speed on the internet was very good today...I can not say that about every day. love to all. Nancy~