In the beginning, there was misunderstanding.

I hope no one has been stalking this blog too closely, and if you have, I apologize for being such a delinquent correspondant! I have yet to find fast internet in Cameroon, and although the slow internet only costs about 50 cents per hour, it demands sitting in a hot, crowded room that smells like human bodies.

In fact, everything in Africa smells like (sweating) human bodies, or trash, or trash burning, or food cooking.

It is also very noisy here. A few nights ago I woke up because the neighbors were playing music really loud at 4:30 a.m. In America, I would have called the cops, but my impression is that the cops here don't give a shit.

Also, I am planning to blow up all the garbage trucks, because they drive around all day honking an incredibly obnoxious honk extremely loudly. You see, rather than collecting trash twice weekly at specified places, they drive around daily, and honk at the top of every street to inform you of their presence, so that you can run up with your bag of trash. But as far as I can tell, they're useless because the streets are full of trash.

I was surprised to discover that Cameroonians behave more stereotypically American than I do. They eat french fries with nearly every meal, and they eat many of their meals in front of the television, which is almost always on.

An anecdote: On Friday, my host mother woke me up at 6:30 to give me a huge plate of french fries for breakfast.

The other food is sketchy. I find tiny shards of bone in meat dishes.

Another anecdote: Last weekend we had an excursion to the beach. We arrived at night, and our driver told us that the lights we saw offshore were Equitorial Guinea. Imagine our disappointment when we woke up to discover that "Equitorial Guinea" was in fact an oil barge.

But, that all sounds very negative! Generally, I feel like one million dollars. (Or Central African Francs, for that matter.)

I will be here for five months, and I would like to stop feeling like an outsider, but unfortunately, I would be an outsider even if I lived here forever. It is quite a spectacle when the other white girls and I walk around. People shout "Les blanches!" and blow us kisses, and grab our hands. Unfortunately, the words sexual harassment mean nothing here.

Another anecdote: some white girls and I were walking around a park downtown, and one of the white girls was snapping pictures. Apparently that's not allowed, and a park policeman approached, carrying the biggest gun I have seen in my life--including on television-- to tell us so.

Well, my loves, the internet only costs 50 cents an hour, but it's in a hot, crowded room, so I'm done for the afternoon. Many more adventures to come!
xo,
White Girl