Fulfulde for beginners

Djabbama! gotta share with you my knowledge after some local language classes.

-djam na! (hey, what's up)
-djam (i am fine.)

-djam bandu? (how is your body)
-djam (it is fine.)

-djam sare? (how is your wife/house)
-djam (she/it is fine.)

yes – the word for wife and house is ACTUALLY the same! pretty much tells you all you'll ever need to know about a woman's place in cameroon. well, that and the fact that the word 'woman' comes from the verb meaning to follow/obey.

!!!

Such a wayward wife I'd make.

So today is Thursday, and i have only just got to meet my boss! Last week of ramadan so not much work happening at all, streets are busy with peeps stocking up for feasts on Sunday (or Monday, depending on the moon.)

Boss seems nice, though very busy and important. Am hoping she will assign me to the care of someone junior who i can shoot my inane questions at all day long. In line with the above, first question to me: 'are you married'? On hearing the negative, second question: ' do you have children'? At which point i busily started mentally calculating whether it's more offensive to have children out of wedlock or not to have children at all. Pretty sure both single me out as a social outcast anyway!

In other news, it continues to be scorchingly hot everyday and night. Though obviously that's not news what with this being the 'cool' season and all. 'ca fait frais aujourd'hui, non?' is a favourite conversation opener. Fresh? Dude, it's 36 degrees! i'll show YOU fresh! (is what i dream of saying if i thought the french would in anyway translate satisfactorily.)

a la prochaine donc!

clara

on est ensemble

Hi from maroua! Arrived here yesterday after spending first week on phase one training in yaounde (the capital.) Was pretty thrilled to get out of there; lots of wild roads, congestion and potholes (one of which a fellow volunteer tumbled down and is now most likely having to go back home to Belgium with a broken leg. Yikes.) We got to stay in the same hotel as the cameroon national football juniors though – exciting until they took to accosting us on the stairs (yes philbear, sexual harrassment is the word! Wish i knew the french for that too).

Training was intense but pretty much as expected – oh except for the somewhat alarming statistic that 12 volunteers have got married out here since 2006! (and that's not including the pregnancies. don't ask). Nooo worries ma, every intention of honouring that promise and not coming home with a cameroonian in tow! (be it a baby or a man.)

Journey up to maroua was pretty interesting. Had been told it was a 12 hour train ride followed by an 8 hour bus ride. Double that with an overnight stop in n'gaoundere more like! A 20 mph speed limit had been imposed after all the derailments/accidents last week - i was just chuffed to get here at all. 'least of all cos we had to drive impromptu off-road through a river at one point! The one time i actually neeeeeed a 4 wheel drive... i find myself in a clapped out cameroonian bus of course.

Got here fine though, if a little startled, sleep deprived and scorched by the midday sun. 36 degrees? in the SHADE?! how they have the nerve to call this the 'cool' season i don't know. truly desperado to track down that swimming pool (hopefully finding the time somewhere to enrol more girls into primary school too... whoops! eye on the prize etc etc!) news on that next time i hope. phase 2 training this week before starting work on Monday. GULP!