Friday, 23 March 2012
Monday, 5 March 2012
Coming Home
This past week Dave was in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. In contrast to his previous location, it was very hot. He said that he had trouble sleeping at night because it was either too hot, or if he turned on the window A/C unit, it was too noisy. Just can't win. While in the capital he was working on making contacts to continue providing support for the project, and writing his final reports.
Today he is on his way, somewhere in the air between Laos and Calgary, not arriving until tomorrow! It's crazy how we can travel around the world in a matter of hours not weeks.
Today he is on his way, somewhere in the air between Laos and Calgary, not arriving until tomorrow! It's crazy how we can travel around the world in a matter of hours not weeks.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Laos
Dave has sent a few short e-mails this week. I will highlight some of his comments.
Tues: "We are in the mountains so it cools off considerably. Tonight I have a warmer blanket so I might sleep better. ..
Wed: "I had a better night, but the rooster woke me up this morning!
I am doing a training session - with translation- which is interesting.
Fri: "Thathom is in the middle of Laos. Things here are not as undeveloped as they seem. Agriculture seems to be largely 'mechanized'.
I'm going to Vanghai today for a couple of days with the land survey team.
As far as language goes, I have people I can talk to in English, including some of the MCC national staff."
I don't expect we'll hear from Dave when he is in Vanghai. Pray that all goes well.
Tues: "We are in the mountains so it cools off considerably. Tonight I have a warmer blanket so I might sleep better. ..
Wed: "I had a better night, but the rooster woke me up this morning!
I am doing a training session - with translation- which is interesting.
Fri: "Thathom is in the middle of Laos. Things here are not as undeveloped as they seem. Agriculture seems to be largely 'mechanized'.
I'm going to Vanghai today for a couple of days with the land survey team.
As far as language goes, I have people I can talk to in English, including some of the MCC national staff."
I don't expect we'll hear from Dave when he is in Vanghai. Pray that all goes well.
Monday, 20 February 2012
Paris, Bangkok, Vientiane, Tha Thom
You may need to dig out your trusty atlas to figure out where all those places are!
Dave and I parted ways in Paris. I headed home and his adventures continued eastward. As I said earlier, I will quote some of his e-mails to keep you up to date on his travels.
Bangkok: "hot and steamy, like Douala, but doesn't smell like Douala."
Vientiane, Laos: a two-hour delay in reaching this city. Paperwork was a bit of an adventure.
Tha Thom, Laos: "Guess where all the MCC blankets go that your mother sews? To MCC of course. And I am sleeping under one of those tonight."
The last night wasn't that great because of a noisy Buddhist festival going on, and because of a hard bed and a cool night.
He's 14 hours ahead of Alberta time zone. It's going to be interesting to try to call each other.
Dave and I parted ways in Paris. I headed home and his adventures continued eastward. As I said earlier, I will quote some of his e-mails to keep you up to date on his travels.
Bangkok: "hot and steamy, like Douala, but doesn't smell like Douala."
Vientiane, Laos: a two-hour delay in reaching this city. Paperwork was a bit of an adventure.
Tha Thom, Laos: "Guess where all the MCC blankets go that your mother sews? To MCC of course. And I am sleeping under one of those tonight."
The last night wasn't that great because of a noisy Buddhist festival going on, and because of a hard bed and a cool night.
He's 14 hours ahead of Alberta time zone. It's going to be interesting to try to call each other.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Limbe and Leaving
Ever since Dave stuck his feet into the Atlantic Ocean at Limbe, he has said he wanted to take me there. That was three years ago. So, yes, we went to the beach at Limbe. It was a beautiful clean black sand beach on a very warm ocean on a very warm afternoon. What a beautiful ending to our time in Cameroon. It has been a wonderful time; a great experience of learning about another culture first hand.
I am now at home after about 48 hours of little sleep; 16 hours of which were spent in airplanes.He will be there for the next two weeks. If he is near a computer he will try to e-mail me some notes to post on this blog about his further adventures.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Last Days in Bamenda
Our time in Bamenda is rapidly coming to a close. Today Dave did a presentation about the GIS Software that GP has installed on their systems. This brings to an end his tasks here (for now). To learn more about the organization, check out their website: http://www.gpderudep.org/
As I mentioned before, Friday I finished the first draft of the Nutrition and HIV/AIDS learner's manual for IDF. To learn more about them, check out their website: http://idfbamenda.wordpress.com/about/
Yesterday Matou hired a taxi for us and we travelled through various parts of Bamenda. She showed me some of the projects her organization has been involved in over the last few years. This included widen and paving roadways in the quarters (residential suburbs), replacing narrow earthen footpaths with wider paving stone walkways, replacing rickety log bridges with concrete ones, complete with handrails. These projects improved the safety and accessibility of the neighbourhoods, which in turn improved people's attitudes about their neighbourhoods encouraging them to improve the appearance of their homes and yards and making room for small shops and roadside market vendors to pop up.
In the afternoon I went shopping. Matou sent me out with a colleague to be sure I would get a fair price. I wonder why?!
Today, while Dave was doing his final presentation, I had the opportunity to visit a secondary/high school. It was a huge school (grade 7 - 12), with over 4000 students and 200 staff. I was given a tour of the whole campus, library, computer labs, science labs and classrooms. I spoke with students and teachers and asked many questions. The class sizes are huge and resources are limited. Thus all instruction is done lecture style with students taking careful notes. Despite the infrastructure challenges, I was told that the students fare well on government exams. When I spoke with the students, I asked them what they knew about Canada. The first answer is almost all classes was "Canada is a bi-lingual country". That is important, as it brings a certain kinship between our two countries.
This evening we were taken out to an exclusive tennis club for a farewell dinner, for "the best chicken and chips in Bamenda." Their reputation remained intact, as it definitely was a very delicious meal. It is a fitting ending to our last full day in Bamenda. Tomorrow we expect to go to Limbe (the ocean beaches), Douala and by Thursday evening we will be on our way - I will be returning home, Dave on to Laos.
As I mentioned before, Friday I finished the first draft of the Nutrition and HIV/AIDS learner's manual for IDF. To learn more about them, check out their website: http://idfbamenda.wordpress.com/about/
Yesterday Matou hired a taxi for us and we travelled through various parts of Bamenda. She showed me some of the projects her organization has been involved in over the last few years. This included widen and paving roadways in the quarters (residential suburbs), replacing narrow earthen footpaths with wider paving stone walkways, replacing rickety log bridges with concrete ones, complete with handrails. These projects improved the safety and accessibility of the neighbourhoods, which in turn improved people's attitudes about their neighbourhoods encouraging them to improve the appearance of their homes and yards and making room for small shops and roadside market vendors to pop up. In the afternoon I went shopping. Matou sent me out with a colleague to be sure I would get a fair price. I wonder why?!
Today, while Dave was doing his final presentation, I had the opportunity to visit a secondary/high school. It was a huge school (grade 7 - 12), with over 4000 students and 200 staff. I was given a tour of the whole campus, library, computer labs, science labs and classrooms. I spoke with students and teachers and asked many questions. The class sizes are huge and resources are limited. Thus all instruction is done lecture style with students taking careful notes. Despite the infrastructure challenges, I was told that the students fare well on government exams. When I spoke with the students, I asked them what they knew about Canada. The first answer is almost all classes was "Canada is a bi-lingual country". That is important, as it brings a certain kinship between our two countries.
This evening we were taken out to an exclusive tennis club for a farewell dinner, for "the best chicken and chips in Bamenda." Their reputation remained intact, as it definitely was a very delicious meal. It is a fitting ending to our last full day in Bamenda. Tomorrow we expect to go to Limbe (the ocean beaches), Douala and by Thursday evening we will be on our way - I will be returning home, Dave on to Laos.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
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.
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.
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