kar0ling

To complement our special unit on Cameroon in during Dry Season FES, the whole group went on a field trip to the Bafut Palace, and the Mankon Museum about an hour's drive away. The tribal ruler in the North West Province is called the "Fon" and is revered to the point of worship. This contrasts with the chiefs in the South West Province who are elected, and, as we have seen recently in Bekondo, are treated as ordinary mortals, and subject to scandals and libel same as any other person. Bafut Palace The Bafut palace had already come alive in my mind through the hysterically funny storytelling of Gerald Durrell in The Bafut Beagles , the story of his time in Cameroon rounding up animals for the London Zoo. It's truly a delightful read; the man has a great ear for Pidgin, and a masterful way of describing his experiences in a wry, self-deprecating tone. Unfortunately -- at least to my preliminary investigations -- it's currently out of print. The guesthouse where Dur...

FES (Field Education System) started last night with a wonderful ice-breaker games kick-off. My favourite thing to do. Not exactly. For one of the games we each had a small bean bag on our head and had to move around the room, following instructions such as "walk backwards," "hop on one foot," etc., without holding the bag nor having it fall off. A few Cameroonian kids who live on the compound were watching through the windows as we did this and I couldn't help but think they must think us crazy! Here's these strange white people challenged and amused by walking with a little bean bag on their head when the Cameroonian woman carry on their heads anything from their Bibles on the way home from church to a sewing machine across town! Working with my strengths, this morning I was assigned to help in the Grade 5 Math class, and then to watch the pre-schoolers for the remainder of the morning. Can you see the sarcasm dripping from that statement? Actually, it wor...