Study-Abroad #3: Week 7 Update in Cameroon- French Language Immersion

Hello, everyone! Given how much you all liked my first post about how my semester abroad in Cameroon is going, I wanted to post another update about what the past three weeks have been like. As I am sure you can imagine, these past few weeks have been even busier than before, but have also been rewarding in more ways than I could have ever imagined.

(Pictured: Naji, Meaghan, and I on International Women's Day)

Since I last updated you, I have started and almost finished an intensive 24-hour anthropology course at l’Université d’Afrique Centrale with other francophone African students, Middlebury Students, and three of my Dickinson classmates. Due to the large size of Yaoundé, we all live on the opposite side of the city of where the university is located, so this past week was a huge awakening after having had the luxury of waking up at 7 am up until then. This past Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I had to wake up at 5:45 am before everyone else was awake in my household. Twice this week, I had to take a taxi at 6:25 am, be driven by our program’s driver at 7 am, arrive early to campus, and then take a 4-hour long class from 8 am-noon with a very short 15-minute break in between. On our way back, we had to take two taxis to get to our Dickinson Center. Needless to say, it was mentally and physically exhausting.

Though it is typical for most professors to arrive late to class due to traffic jams and having a different conceptualization of time, having over three hours of class can still be brutal. No matter how interesting a course is, I find it hard to focus on the material for that amount of time. I decided to take this course, so that I could take a course in one of my many disciplines, anthropology, in a third-year undergraduate course taught in French. Despite the length of the course, I understand the material well, as I have 4 anthropology courses under my belt and am fluent in the language. That being said, we just finished the 12-hour theoretical part of the course and have this week off to work on our 4-hour-long presentations that count as the only grade for this course. My friends and I decided to focus on the impacts of colonization on Cameroonian society, primarily focusing on the educational system, language, and how women’s roles have changed since Cameroon’s colonial regimes. Unfortunately, there are only three university students in the course, so it has not been easy making local friends; however, all three of them are very kind and are easily approachable.

Aside from this course, most of our group has also taken dance lessons for over a month with two professional dance instructors in the center of town. One of them has won many international prizes as the best dancer within the francophone diaspora! I will admit that I was intimidated by him at first, but am starting to get used to his method of teaching and how he interacts with us. Though we are by no means professional dancers, I have enjoyed taking these lessons twice a week. We have been working on two separate traditional Cameroonian dances, on our flexibility, and especially on our agility. What makes African dancing so much fun and such a good work out is the fact that you have to use all parts of your body to make certain movements: everything from your head to your toes. My hands and arms are very weak, so I have been working on strengthening those areas. At the end of our semester, we will have a dance performance in which all of our host families and our program staff will come to watch us dance. Hopefully I will be more confident in the dances’ transitions and movements by the end of June!

Since we have stayed in Yaoundé for over a month, that has allowed me to spend quality time with my host mom, my two host sisters, and my host brother. Yesterday morning, I helped the la menagère (the cleaning lady) and my host sister prepare an elaborate meal for over three hours. What I have noticed is that meals take a much longer time to make here, not just because of their long preparation, but also since most families make everything by hand. For example, instead of cutting onions on a cutting board, they do so in thin air and are experts at being efficient and quick when doing meal preparations outside.

As is the case in most patriarchal societies, mainly women cook and do the household chores here. Unlike most mothers that I have met, women here are tough-skinned and have very agile and strong hands and arms, as they have use them for most tasks that they perform throughout the day. What most Americans would consider normal is considered a luxury here, so we do not wash our clothes using a washing and a drying machine at home. This task is also done by hand and is very time-consuming if you do not know how to do it well. You first have to fill up a large bucket with water, put in your laundry detergent, and then let your clothes soak for several hours, or even a day, depending on how much time you have to wash your clothes. Once they have been submerged well in water, you rinse them out, soap them all over, rinse them out again, and then place them in another bucket. The amount of times that you do these steps depends on how much soap needs to be rinsed out and how clean you want your clothes to be. Once you are done with that, you place each clothing item on a clothing rack and let your clothes dry out for about a day and voilà- elles sont prêtes!

The food here has exceeded my expectations. As a foodie, I had never tried Cameroonian food before coming here. Now that I have been here for almost two months, I can assure you that this cuisine is rich and diverse depending on the city, or region in which you are. Some typical dishes that I have tried and enjoyed so far are le Ndolé, le coq, les haricots, le poulet, les plantains frits, and pepper sauce. Most meat dishes at restaurants are served with rice and come with a green sauce a spicy hot red sauce, which is perfect to add some spice and flavor to any meal. During the duration of my stay, I hope to continue helping la menagère prepare dishes, so that I can attempt to replicate them when I come home later this summer. My favorite drinks so far have been l’Orangina, le jus de papaille and Top. I will admit that I miss eating at least one meal with meat and other ethnic cuisines. Luckily, I only have a few more months left before I can make some Colombian arepas and posta negra!

Perhaps the most challenging part of my stay here has not been any of the tasks that I have mentioned above. In fact, I am starting to get used to washing my clothes by hand and having to wake up early. My neighborhood and most of Yaoundé suffers from good water quality, which means that you have to buy and use bottled water to brush your teeth and drink. This leads to water being “cut” almost every day. We have already gone five days without water before, which makes it very difficult to take regular and long showers, as you have to be considerate about those around you who have to also shower. This led to my decision to cut my hair and to what I would call a haircut disaster.

When I went to the hair salon last Monday, all I asked for was for my longer hair and my shorter hairs in the front to be evened out. Instead, the hairdresser thought that it was a good idea to have my hair washed, dried, and then cut with what looked like a razor. My problem was not that he used a razor, but rather that he thought that he could cut off much more than I had asked for and that he cut it while it was dry. I am sure that other people who have curly hair know how uneven your hair can be cut if it is not cut when it is still soaked and looks straight. Bref, it is so hot here that I wear my hair up either way, so I hope that is grows out several inches before I leave on June 22^nd. I also think that my hair was not cut to my liking because the texture of women’s hair is very different to that of my own, so I am not sure how many blanches clients they get at that salon.

The most memorable day of my time here was on International Women’s Day, which is celebrated around the world on March 8^th. Due to having class really early then, my three friends and I were not able to participate in the big march in which thousands of men and women come together in solidarity to stand up for women’s rights and to celebrate women for what they do for their families and society. What makes this day so special here is that most people who can afford to do so go to the market, buy the annual women’s day fabric, go to a couturier, and have a dress, shirts and pants, a romper, or whatever they would like be tailored to their liking. This year’s fabrics were pink and orange.

All 10 of us got Women’s Day outfits and wore them to class. After spending some time at a restaurant for lunch, we all took pictures in our outfits. I ended the day by going to a snack (similar to a bar) with two of my host siblings. We ordered drinks and ate street meat kebabs, which were tender and juicy. Once we were done eating, we got up and started dancing to the selection of African hits that the DJ played. Most of the clients were women with their partners, or with their friends who were enjoying what could possibly be the only day of the year in which it is acceptable for them to stay up until 5 in the morning dancing and singing with their friends instead of being responsible for their households. It was a joy seeing everyone in their outfits and having a good time! I will insert a few pictures below of some of the highlights of these past three weeks.

Most of our group also attended l’Institut Français’ annual women’s battle in which some of the best young Cameroonian dancers are invited to compete against each other. It was interesting to see how international dancing is here, as most Cameroonians are well-informed about local, regional, continental, and international dances and music. Their dance combinations consisted of everything from hip hop to traditional dance moves. Our program director, Monsieur Teku, also invited us to our first soccer match, which was a fun way to bring our group together on a Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, our Dickinson group has gotten along better than any of us could have hoped for. As my friend Meaghan told us, we are no longer strangers, or simply friends. We are now a family who gets to share this once-in-a-lifetime journey by living in a country rich in history, music, food, and culture. I can see why so many people tell you that Cameroon is a mini version of Africa, as its people are warm and friendly and know how to live life to the fullest, even if they live simply and humbly. I am looking forward to the weeks to come!

(A memorable group meal: pasta with chicken and green sauce with a simple homemade sauce made with olive oil, garlic, and chopped tomatoes)

(With my host brother, Jude, celebrating Julien's 21st birthday at a woman's dance battle)

(One of the women's dance teams that participated in the women's dance battle)

(2/3 judges dancing)

(The dance battle's best woman dancer and the dancer who got 2nd place!)

 (Our group's first soccer match between Yaoundé and a team from the western region)

(Dickinson College Spring Semester 2018 students: (back): Naji, Karin, Amanda, Selena; (front): me, Janaiya, Shayna, Nathalie, Meaghan, and Julien)

(With my neighbor, Shayna, wearing our Women's Day dresses)


 (With my host siblings, Synthia and Jude, at a snack in the evening on International Women's Day)