A Busy Weekend.

It has been a very full weekend of activities.  Our new friends want to show us as much of their county as they possibly can, as we'll be leaving much too soon.
Friday I completed the first draft of the booklet on "Nutrition and HIV/AIDS". Well, it is finished enough to hand off to someone else to continue.
In the late afternoon I observed grassroots democracy.  We went to a quarter (a sub-division or suburb, I suppose), where a community development council was elected.  This type of a free, open election at a small community hall level is a new idea and the people were so excited to participate.  To get to and from this venue I had my first opportunity to get to ride a taxi: three of us jammed into the back with bags and backpacks.  Nothing unusual!

Saturday was National Youth Day.  We were invited to attend, in either formal wear or traditional wear.  One of the main events was the March Past.  All the students from all the schools of Bamenda (a city of about 300,000) marched past the grandstands, complete with a circus organ drum beat that didn't stop.  For hours and hours.  Four hours.  At least we were sitting in the shade.  After, we saw a little bit of a cultural display and then drove for an hour into the country to village of one of Dave's colleagues.  He introduced us to an uncle who was a career diplomat, now armchair philosopher.  We had a very entertaining visit.

Today we went to Widikum.  This was the village where Dave had worked last time he was here three years ago.  It was good to see where he had stayed, etc. and his cook, Stellah, made us rice and fish soup for dinner.  The road to Widikum is apparently in much better shape than last time. We didn't take out the bottom of the Ford minivan.   The Chinese are working on paving the whole thing, rebuilding some sections and thus we encountered road building at every stage.  Dave had forgotten how much hotter and humid Widikum is than Bamenda.  Thus we returned quite tired from heat and bumpy roads.