Well summer break is almost official over. Sunday is today and Monday we start school. I should say "start" school. It will actually take about two week for us to really get going. I already know which classes I will be teach, or I should say I "know" which classes I will be teaching. It will definitely change in the weeks to come.

Last month my good friend Sarah Ing came to visit me for two week (my first visitor!!). We had a great time touring around Cameroon. I had a lot of stops planned, but we ended up cutting a lot out because of time constraints. Our first "stop" was Douala. This is where she flew into. She arrived around 10pm, I believe. Douala is the economic capital of Cameroon; it is also very hot or rainy and always muggy. Since she got in late we spend the first night in Douala.

The next morning we get up and head for Kribi (a beautiful coastal town). We head to find a car to Kribi. We get to the "bus station" (which is actually more of a street corner). When you get to a place like this typically the people loading the vehicles come over and start asking where you're going. They all try to convince you that you should go in their car (because they are getting a share of the profit). And I should point out that "convincing" in this case often involves yelling at you, pulling on you, taking your stuff to put in their car, pushing you, and general harassment that you would probably call the police in the states for, but in Cameroon it's the norm. I should have told Sarah this before we got there, but I didn't really think about warning her, since it's "normal". This time it was one to the worst in terms of the level of harassment and physical "convincing" (the only worst time was when I traveled Christmas day). It was so bad in fact that a gendarme (a police officer) came over to intervene. Half way through they started pulling Sarah in a different direction than me. Oh I should add that this is all happening in French and Sarah doesn't speak any French (besides bonjour). Next thing I know Sarah is no longer trying to fight her way over to me; she's actually walking away from the crowd. She looked like she was about to cry. I take her hand and we plunge back into the crowd. We make it to a bus, and jam ourselves in. Sarah is throughly traumatized and I apologize for not warning her. She now hates Douala.

We make it to the stunning beach town of Kribi. We head to the hotel that Sarah had found online. It's absolutely amazing: clean, hot water, AC, a restaurant with everything on the menu, ice cream, they take credit cards, expensive. This was probably a nice solace for Sarah as she was still dealing with her culture shock, on the other hand for me it was it was also culture-shocking. It was obviously targeted at Westerns and VERY wealthy Cameroonians. I told her that I didn't really want to stay there, but she wanted to and I couldn't really argue since she was treating.

The Beach

I wasn't really feeling well so I decided to spend the rest of the day in bed to make sure the next day I was in tip-top shape. I woke up feeling worst and decided the same thing, that I would rest to make sure I didnt ruin the vacation. Around noon, with a fever and a headache, I decided it was prudent to go to the hospital to get tested for malaria. The test came back positive. I was somewhat hesitant to believe them because the tend to over diagnose malaria. I bought coartem (a typical malaria medication) and waited to the next morning to see if I would feel any better. I didn't and so I started coartem in Kribi. We left that morning for Bafoussam (where I live). This is one of the only pictures a Kribi. We're checking out...
Leaving Kribi

This is a church at Kribi. Sarah took the picture as we were leaving.
A Church

Sarah took this picture of this butterfly shirt because she saw the exact same shirt while traveling in Asia with our friend Stephanie.
Butterfly Shirt
In fact here is a photo of Stephanie wearing the shirt (in Asia, not Africa).
Stephanie Butterfly

To get to Bafoussam from Kribi you have to pass through Douala. We ended up getting to Douala late, and I was feeling sick still so I asked Sarah if we could stay the night in Douala. I believe this is leaving Douala the next day.
Chaos
Chaos 2

We got to Bafoussam Thursday night (I believe). Friday we spend in Bafoussam (I believe). And Saturday we went to Bangangte, the village of my neighbors. They were having a family reunion/meeting. So we got to meet everyone there, which was really nice. I think Sarah enjoyed the tranquility of the "village" after Douala. We had a really great time; everyone was so welcoming.
Bangangte
Popina & Sarah

We got back to Bafoussam the same day. The family came back the day after. Here I am at the "boutique" (shop?), sorta like a really small version of the Yoder Store.
A la boutique

I believe on Monday we when to Foumban. Foumban has a great history of its kingdom and traditions. There is lots of art and craftsmanship there. Here we are in front a the Palace; in side is a museum.
At the Foumban Palace
This is my neighbor Hamed on the right and his cousin on the left. The were our "guides" while at Foumban, because his family is from there and he knows the area well.
Our guides

A market at Foumban. This lady is selling from left to right (I believe): peanuts, sweat potatoes, peanuts, black beans, cassava something, dried cassava, piment (a hot pepper), bananas, tomatoes.
Market Mama's at Foumban

Market at Foumban

Another picture at Foumban. This picture captures well Cameroon: the trees, the banana trees, the houses, and the satellite dishes.
Afrique

After Foumban was Bafia, where we visited my host parents. Then Douala, where Sarah flew out. We had a great two weeks and now it's time to get to work (class starts tomorrow)!