The following question were posed by 2nd and 3rd graders at Rural Dell Elementary in Ms. Lushenko's class. They had some very interesting questions; I thought I would also share them with all of you.

What kinds of foods do you eat in Cameroon?
I eat lots of Cameroonian food. Here there are many special dishes that are unique to Cameroon. In the United States we might eat Italy food one night and Mexican food the next and maybe Japanese food the day after. In Cameroon we stick pretty closely to Cameroonian food. For breakfast most kids will eat some bread (a baguette) with something in side, like a sandwich (but for some reason they refuse to call it a sandwich). Common things to put in the bread include, spaghetti, chocolate spread, butter, beans, fish, and spaghetti omelet. Yes, I said spaghetti omelet. Almost every omelette that I've seen has had spaghetti in it. . We also eat a lot plantains, rice and corn.

This is one of my favorite places to eat. It is located across from the school and a lot of teachers eat there.

What is the climate like? How warm does it get?
This is a really hard question for me to answer. I think Im starting to get used to it. Everyone (all the Cameroonians) warned me about how cold it gets here in Bafoussam before I arrived. Of course I didnt believe them, and I laughed after I got here; however, recently I have been feeling cold. Ive started to wear my sweatshirt when I go out at night. Right now is the start of the dry season, i.e. the dusty season. I dont have a thermometer, so it's hard for me to say exactly how hot it is, but on the internet it says highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 50s.
There are basically two seasons here: the dry season and the wet season. Depending on who you ask there's also a small dry season and a small wet season. Who knows. I can tell you that during October and September it rained almost every day. I would guess that it was raining about 5 times a week; almost always during the afternoon, ie when i tried to dry my clothes. Now it's dry and dusty.

Why do people carry buckets on their heads?
What a good question. I wondered the same thing. And I can tell you that everyone can do it. I think they train as children. While staying with my host family I had never seen my host siblings carry something on their heads, until one day when we had be without water for a week or so they had to go to the well for water. Sure enough the brought it back on their heads. My theory is that it is actually a very good way of carrying something a long distance if you have nothing with which to carry it and since here in Cameroon people have to carry thing often quite long distances without the aid of a backpack (or car) they are forced to carry it on our head. We on the other hand if we had to carry some lumber a mile or so everyday would put it in the back of a pickup.

Why do some people not wear shoes?
To be honest I havent really seen this. Most Cameroonians are very proud of their shoes and keep them super clean. For example when I would reach school during the wet season my shoes would be covered in mud, but the shoes of my students would be perfectly clean. I told them I thought that they had changed shoes after they got to school. They assured me they had not, and I didnt see and extra shoes in their backpacks. I guess they are just really good at walking in the mud.
I went to visit my host family this last weekend; soon after I arrived my host sister was washing my shoes. She told me it was good to travel with dirty shoes. :S

Where do you sleep?
I sleep on a bed very much like the ones in the US, BUT the mattress is form. Real mattresses dont exist here. They are all giant sponges. Side note, it's not uncommon for two or two children to share a bed, even older kids like 17 or 18.

Why do boys and girls eat separately?
I didnt realize this was true. It wasnt true in my host family. But when I asked my students this. they said it's because the boys eat too fast and would eat all the food if they ate together.

What languages do they speak?
Cameroon is supposedly bilingual (meaning everyone should speak French and English). The truth is that most people speak French or English. But in reality they are still bilingual, because everyone also speaks a local dialect. Many kids learn this first and may not even speak French or English until they start school. I have been asked many times how I say something in MY dialect. They have a hard time understand that I dont have one. Usually they think i didnt understand what they said and they say "no no in your mother tounge" Sorry but it doesnt exist.

Do you have special type of dances?
Yes, many.
Here is a traditional Zheu dance of Bangou Village. This dance is performed once by a chief to honor his late father.

What kind of games do kids play?
They play all kinds or silly games, many of which I dont understand. But one game that I had always seen but didnt really believed existed is the rolling a wheel with a stick game. I see this almost every day. Kids really love this game.

What kind of sports do kids play?
Soccer! Basketball in the wealthier schools.

Is it hard to understand the people?
Yes I have a hard time understanding people often. Even when I speak with someone who speaks English. The English here is very different, and people have a VERY strong accent.

What kind of toys do the kids have?
Most of their toys are homemade. This is one of the more popular:

Why is the country called Cameroon?
When Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century they named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Shrimp"); the name Cameroon comes from this name.

What kind of music do they listen to?
Lots of their music comes from Nigerian, France and The United States. They love most pop artists: Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Rihanna, etc.
They love this song.

What do you plant in Cameroon?
Me? I dont plant anything, haha.
But they grow lots of corn, tomatoes, bananas, plantains, cassava, potatoes, pineapples, papayas, guavas, and much much more.
cassava:

They don't grow apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, SWEET corn, or blueberries and I miss them.

What activities/subjects do you study in school?
At my school, the students study French, English, a third language, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, physical education, history, computers and manual labor (for which they do receive a grade).

Where are you located in Cameroon?
I live at point A and I teach at point B.

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Why are you in Cameroon?
The Peace Corps has been in Cameroon since 1962. I didnt get to pick where in the world I would go when I joined the Peace Corps, but i did get to indicate a preference. In Cameroon there is a severe shortage of qualified teachers. Often they will just pay someone from the community to be a teacher when they cant find someone. Life is also difficult in the villages of Cameroon, so people who are able to often leave; unfortunately these people are often the same ones who are qualified to be teachers. The Peace Corps has been supplying volunteer to teach in Cameroon for many years most often in rural villages.

What kinds of animals live there?
There are elephants, hippos, gazelle and other "african" animals, but so far Ive seen pigs, cows, cats, dogs, lizards, frogs and birds.

How do they make their houses?
The house that I have seen have been made out of cement, cement walls and floors (possible tile for the nicer houses).

What kinds of holidays do they celelbrate?
They have many public holidays. Most Christian and Muslim holidays are official, and government workers have the day off. Our last offical holiday for example was the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha ("Festival of Sacrifice"). There are also public holiday from time to time when the Lions (the Cameroonian soccer team) win an important match.

How many people live where you are in Cameroon?
There is over an estimated 242,000 people in Bafoussam. However, Djunang, where I teach, is much smaller. It's hard to guess how many people live in the village and there is no official number. I would guess less than a thousand, maybe 500. Hard to tell.