#50 19 May 1996 Dear Everyone: Classes are now over at the U of B, and we are now starting finals. I am now seeing variations on the theme from last semester, so I will talk mostly about some of the variations. Rumors flew thick and fast about finals being delayed because the U of B could not yet afford to buy the photocopying paper for printing the exams, but the schedule released the day after the end of classes provided the details of the previously announced exam period, as well as a schedule for printing the exams. My exam, being one of the biggest, is on Wednesday, the first day of exams, and was scheduled to be printed today, yet, when I left campus Friday afternoon, the University had still to provide the paper. Unsure whether to buy the paper out of my own pocket and thus offending the majority of the faculty, who feel such actions only encourage the administration in their providing inadequate resources, I decided it was more important that my students are guaranteed to have written copies of the exam. Today I would, in fact, not have been able to print the exam without providing my own paper. When the math department decided to enforce the rules that courses with a prerequisite course cannot be taken without passing the prerequisite, I became the main enforcer when I announced that I was withdrawing 17 students from maths 210. A group of 10 of these students appealed to the dean, pleading ignorance (which I know is untrue in one case and probably untrue in all cases), and the dean has yet to rule, putting the 17 students in limbo until at least Tuesday, the day before the exam. Tuesday will be Janice's last day at GTC (and mine as well) when grades are recorded. Now she is slowly turning her full attention to OIC. In some ways this has worked out well as she has been able to determine her own role there and, at the same time, develop the requisite network of friends at OIC. At least for the moment she is spending her time developing new items for the restaurant menu [the Pavilion], trying to find items that have an international flavor but appeal to the local palate. So far in this endeavor she has concentrated on pizza, hamburger rolls and the "Buea" burger. With persistence I am sure she will find a number of items that both improve the menu and are popular. In the remaining space I will mention local happenings and then discuss freedom of the press. Items: (1) The Governor of the province issues a decree forbidding attendance at the "launching" (release) of a book critical of secondary education in Anglophone Cameroon; the penalty is 15 days in jail. (2) A newly released record album has been banned in Cameroon for promoting prostitution. (3) The Governor was booed at a speech in honor of the newly installed manager of the (only) radio station when he (the Governor) stated that the government owned radio station should strongly favor the government. (4) With no previous mention of the topic, the national radio one day announced concessions made by the administration of the University of Yaounde in their student strike, and, on the next day, urged the students to return to class. (Rumor has it the strike continues.) My curiosity about the contents of government controlled news has now been satisfied. It consists mostly of news of the comings and goings of public officials, their meetings and pronouncements. One can only infer what has really been happening by the occasional warnings and complaints in their pronouncements. After three days of silence during the U of B strike, during which time the town's sole transportation artery was blocked with burning tires, the road to campus strewn with boulders, the campus gate blocked with the registrar's burnt car, and the students forcibly removed from the streets by a platoon of armed gendarmes in riot gear, Buea radio had a one-sentence report on the subject. "By now many of you know there is a student strike at the University of Buea." In the US people often complain about the news media only emphasizing the negative, and they demand that the media publish predominantly good news, but I have learned that good news is no news. Our thanks to letters from the Davises, the Corlisses, Talia and Gwen. Carolyn Corliss asked if we missed the American holidays. Not really, especially since Cameroonian holidays are mostly spontaneous, sometimes occurring with only a few hours notice.(This past Thursday, Ascension Day, had two days' warning.) Edwin #51 26 May 1996 Dear Everyone: I gave my only final exam Wednesday, and I am now diligently "making scripts" (grading papers), a process which will likely take about 80 hours. Then I can look forward to relaxing. I am slated to teach summer school in August but that has been suspended for reasons obscurely related to the student strike at the University of Yaounde. This past week, on Monday, we had seven students from the University of Dayton for supper. In Buea for a one month program of cultural immersion, they appeared to be drowning, so we threw them a life saver in the form of Janice's cooking. It was interesting to hear things from their perspective, especially because they were seeing some things we have not. Most notably, the Dayton women reported a great deal of sexual harassment, little of which Janice and I have encountered, for obvious reasons. We have scheduled a second meal for them this Wednesday. In the past I have vaguely alluded to some people sending us mail through the diplomatic pouch, trying to warn them not to send any more without letting other people know it was possible or how to do it. Such mail has now become a major problem. Originally, Ann Loux had been told she could use the pouch, and she, in turn, offered us use under her name. She was misinformed, and is now liable for the cost of delivering the mail to her, but most of it is for us, and the bill is now in excess of $800, a fortune to us because that is 3 months' salary. We are working on a solution involving transferring the cost of all the books that have been sent by this method to the Peace Corps who had authorized me to use the same pouch to receive 120 text books. If the Embassy ignores the chicanery involved, that should take care of most of the problem, leaving us to deal with the problem of our receipt of personal goodies. Now a grab bag of little topics: (1) We have heard the tersest of reports about strife in Central African Republic (CAR). You likely know much more about it than we, who are quite happy that our original posting to CAR was changed to Cameroon. (2) We have heard even less about undeclared hostilities 60 miles west of here at the Becassi peninsula on the Nigeria- Cameroon border. Again, you probably know much more. About 120 Nigerian POWs are rumored to be housed in a barracks which is on our running route. (3) Demonstrating how eager people here are for any kind of work and how forward they are in seeking it, a scruffy old man I never recall seeing before approached me on the road, and told me that he would like to be the one to help harvest our bananas, and they should all be picked within a few days. (4) The bananas are a problem because we will harvest about 500 of them over a three week period. (5) We have adapted well to walking at night without a flashlight, which we refuse to use despite the absence of street lights. Indeed, the only functioning street lights of which I am aware illuminate campus roads. Last week, when leaving campus one evening, I saw locusts swarming under each street light. I also saw children using their shirts and jackets to stun the locusts so that they could collect them in plastic bags. The children confirmed what I suspected, that the locusts are quite tasty when fried (probably a great source of protein, too). Gee, I forget whether they are kosher. Edwin P.S. We thank Bill, Melody Weissman, Gwen, Sam and Alison Guncler, Alan Rudnick, Margaret and the Delphs for letters, especially the Delphs for sending the Boston issue of RW. Also we thank Anita Hersch for a marvelous collection of cooking and nutrition books. ***** On the back side of the pages of the letter was the following, which is some press from my mom, and for public consumption. gek "We have been in Buea for eight months, long enough to pass through two seasons, to harvest avocados from our avocado tree, bananas from our banana trees and reap the bounty of our garden. We have seen our nasturtium seeds flower and proliferate. We attended the naming ceremony of a neighbors baby. Janice was made a godmother. We rejoiced with neighbors after a political election when democracy appeared to have triumphed. We were adopted by Fred, a local taxi driver who conveniently appears when no other taxis are in sight. We gained 'customer' status with fruit vendors who give effusive greetings, if not the best prices. Visitors stop by unexpectedly, adding pleasant moments to quiet evenings. We listened to the questions of many who dream and scheme of coming to America. Janice grew fond of a Canadian named Bill and an American named Ann, both adventurous and generous people who came to Cameroon to give their time and share their skills. We met Christian and Christian, two German students pursuing research on a cure for cancer. We provided a night's shelter for Gerard and Martine, an intrepid French couple biking the African continent. Edwin discovered pineapples. Janice discovered she was flexible and patient and that stubbornness (renamed perseverance) is o.k. Edwin is on the 'come-back trail' as a runner. Janice beat Edwin at Scrabble. We found efforts at teaching to be frustrating but agree that students are bright, diligent and receptive to learning. We find the pace of our days anything but frenetic. And this allows us to savor our surroundings and each other. We have lost track of the World at large but our faithful friends and family keep us abreast of home. We are ever thankful. 13-05-96 #52 2 June 1996 Dear Everyone: [postmarked 5 June, from Buffalo] I am writing from the Peace Corps compound in Yaounde. We came here today for our mid-service medical exam, which should take most of this coming week. So far it has been a big reunion with many of our friends from training. To add to the excitement we are meeting most of the evacuated PCVs from CAR. Last week I said we knew practically nothing about the goings on in CAR, and this week we are learning a great deal. Something like 85 PCVs from CAR are now being housed in hotels in Yaounde. I guess about half of them were at the end of their service, so they are heading home. Many of the rest will probably also return home, and the residuals will be given a new placement. For example, I met a woman named Pam today who will be teaching math in our program in North Cameroon this coming year. This past week I finished up my grading, leaving a few hours more of work when I return. The university introduced a new wrinkle int eh grading process, with very little notice, so I am unsure what work I have when I return. This semester I submit the "continuing assessment" grades to the computer systems people (recall that these grades come from tests during the semester and count 30% toward the final grade). Then I submit the final exam grades by coded number. The computer systems enter this information along with the list of student numbers and their corresponding code numbers. Then the computer is programmed to decode this information, campus the total score for each student and assign the corresponding grade. An interesting system to reduce fraud. I was chastised by the vice-dean for being a poor invigilator, because I acceded to a student's request for a second exam booklet, thus violating another faculty rule for preventing fraud, although in this case it is hard for me to imagine the fraudulent scenario. Janice is quickly becoming fully involved in her work at OIC in part because they seem to be getting numerous catering jobs. This past Wednesday there was a big hubbub in the kitchen as they prepared hors d'oeuvres for the visiting French ambassador. Janice was involved in a number of faux pas in the frantic preparation. Somehow she used salt rather than sugar in her first batch of mousse, which she then threw away. The second batch had trouble setting. Then, somehow they switched bowls and filled the cream with mayonnaise, rather than the intended custard. Tension mounted, but somehow they got every thing out the door to the facility where they were served, after appropriate repairs were made. Well, we seldom see how the food is prepared at a restaurant, and the French Ambassador did not peek int eh OIC kitchen. He was very favorably impressed a letter praising Janice and her boss, Dorothy Watami, to the skies. Mrs. Watami said that such a letter is highly unusual. This week I saw a second group of Americans in Buea, this time participating in a 6-week summer program run by Dickinson College. Led by Professors Brown and Mannesman (?), I think it is an anthropological field study. I talked with them only briefly. I think they will be staying in Limbe, but we hope to have them for dinner during their stay. I am sorry this letter is so flat. I guess I am a little distracted by the goings on here. We are staying in a large dormitory-like facility in the compound; it is busy and I am tired, so I guess I'll simply go to bed. Edwin #53 9 June 1996 Dear Everyone: We are back in Buea and relaxing after a long time in Yaounde. I am medically "cleared" and Janice has to wait for the results of a blood test to be "cleared" as well. We also got dental exams and teeth cleaning. When thinking of coming to Africa I had a great fear of needing a dentists because the dentists here are often quite unsanitary, raising the possibility of infection, AIDS, etc. I especially feared breaking a tooth or loosing a filling. In anticipation I obtained from Paulette, our dentists, a dental tool and quick-setting amalgam. About 6 weeks ago, the feared happened as half of one side of one of my molars crumbled away, followed a month later by the exposed filling. The remains seemed beyond repairs, and I awaited my scheduled visit to Yaounde and my visit to what I was told and turned out to be a modern, quite antiseptic dental facility. I had hopes of not losing the tooth. My six weeks of wondering over its fate ended with my learning that I will get my first crown; at the moment I have a temporary filling the size of a small coconut. I will have to return to Yaounde twice in the next month for the work. The PC compound is about 200 meters from Yaounde's Omnisport Stadium, so Janice and I used the facility for our daily jog. Without regard to its contrast with the surrounding poverty, Omnisport is a spectacular multi-sport facility that seats 80,000. Around the obligatory soccer field are a new all-weather track, as well as a velodrome. On one side are cantilevered grand stands for the elite and a long ramp leading to the very top of the three tiers of opposing seats with other ramps branching off each tier. We made loops on these ramps, giving us a great hill workout and great views of the city. When we returned to Buea on Thursday we found waiting an invitation to a going away party for Ann Loux given by the Dean of Arts, our friend Lydia Lume [for whom i'm buying chocolates. gek] Held at the Pavilion (OIC) on Friday, it continues a pattern we had seen at my welcoming pattern last Saturday, so that I now think I understand such events. Each has a master of ceremonies, whose role is less formal than that of our own MC. The MC here introduces a series of people to give formal speeches, the last person being the guest of honor. The speeches tend to be bombastic, have little content, and are offensive by US standards, uttering truths that we would think best left unsaid. It all begins with a toast during which everyone clinks everyone else's glass, which meant that for the party of 25 at the pavilion, there were 600 clinks before anyone could wet their whistles. While in Yaounde I talked to the American Embassy people in an attempt to resolve the problem with the overstuffed diplomatic pouch. It seems that most, if no t all the books Mimi Stanford and Don Davis sent to DC are now in Yaounde. This Wednesday, when they come to pick up a refrigerator they lent Ann Loux, I think they will bring the books and at no charge. We belatedly thank the Kritzes for a letter last week. We received no mail this week, but, ah this coming week... Edwin #54 16 June 1996 Dear Everyone: Although it is not quite vacation time for me or Janice, other PCVs are in the traveling mood, and we had a week of visitors. Tuesday evening Jim Maresca and Dave Cravor, both of our stage, appeared at our door to spend the night and to trade gossip. Also posted to the Southwest Province, they were on their way to Limbe for a little recreation and to pick up t-shirts to commemorate our stage. Eventually Janice and I will sport these t-shirts in the states. [does he sound *excited* about a t-shirt? gek] Wednesday, after crossing paths with D ave and Jim, four PCVs recently evacuated from CAR showed up at OIC to accept an invitation we extended them when we first met them in Yaounde. They have dome to climb Mt. Cameroon, even though the rainy season has begun. (Tourists usually climb Mt. Cameroon in the dry season but then despite the lack of clouds, dust blown from the Sahara by the Harmathan limits visibility, whereas during the rainy season, the visibility is unlimited between the bouts of rain.) I decided to join them, because I had yet to see the summit. This led to a series of cultural misunderstandings. By law you are supposed to register with the Tourist Bureau, which charges $14 per person per day (in our case two days) for the privilege of climbing the mountain and which provides the obligatory guide and optional porters (an additional $6 per porter per day). The guide gets paid a total of $10 for his trouble and the rest of the money disappears in the maw of the Tourist Bureau, which seems to have no other function than to collect this money. The guides prefer to lead "clando" parties up the mountain, using a clando route at the start to skirt the Gendarmes who check climbers for their official passes. Until I became well known in the Buea market, where the guides gather to drink, I, like any white, was besieged with offers of a clando trip up the mountain at a price which saved me money and rewarded the guide considerably more handsomely than the pay of the Tourist Bureau. Knowing the clando route, I offered to lead the CAR PCVs, plus a friend of one of the PCVs who was visiting him in CAR at the time of the evacuation, so that we could avoid paying any fees. So off we went around 7:30 Thursday morning. On the clando trail only a few minutes, we coincidentally encountered a guide who was going to his "farm." I guess he resented our depriving the community of guides, clando or otherwise, of money, and he gave us a hard time, soon aided by two of his friends who happened along. The first guide, impatient to get to his farm, left eh problem in the hands of the latter two, who, after physically restraining me after I tried to brush them off in a high-handed manner, negotiated an agreement to have them guide us for $24: we gave them $12 immediately and agreed to $12 when the trip was finished. We started up the mountain and our guides melted away. The trail divides roughly into thirds, demarcated by Huts 1,2, and 3. We planned to go to the summit and return to Hut 2 for the night, descending the next day, because descending is more punishing than ascending. We arrived at Hut 2 around 2, just as one of our guides overtook us with two new friends who claimed to be from the tourist bureau and who demanded the full fee. This led to a complicated and heated discussion revolving around their inability to prove they were form the Tourist Bureau and our already having paid our guide money (of which the two newcomers were initially ignorant). There we stood, above the clouds, the spectacular mountains disclosed in brilliant sunlight, and we argued. Their having literally only the t-shirts on their back and sun preparing to disappear behind the ridge, thus depriving them immediately of warmth and eventually of light for their descent, forced the issue, and they had to leave empty handed. We no longer had enough daylight to ascend further, and stayed in Hut 2 for the night and listened to light rain fall on the tin-roof. We rose at dawn and continued our ascent to the summit, arriving just as the clouds rolled in and it started to sprinkle, limiting our views to the top few thousand feet where we saw a landscape sculpted by lava flows. As we ascended, the rain became heavier, and we slowly got soaked. When we reached Hut 1 we again met our "guides" this time bearing a letter authorizing them to arrest uss for being illegally on the mountain. We trudged after them down the mountain only to led down the clando path we ended our hike in darkness. Under a security light on a secondary school campus we had another discussion, this time with a Bureau of Tourism delegate who offered us a choice of a weekend in the Gendarmerie or the prompt payment of $32 per person. We countered that we had a guide who took our money but didn't guide us. Incredibly, this led to the delegate chewing out the guide (but not letting us off the hook). What appeared to be a stalemate was broken by our (truthfully) pleading that we were poor Peace Corps Volunteers. We paid $80 total, signed an official pass, and walked away. Although Peace Corps has great respect in Cameroon, in this case it just gave the delegate an excuse to settle. Well, next week, I hope I have duller things to report. Edwin P.S. As the mail has started to flow again, we can thank Barbara Johnson, Jean Davis, Norm & Novi Melchert, Mimi Stanford, Dave Kniager, Anita Hirsch, Kim & Steve Melchert, and Judy, Linda and Maggie for their letters. We also thank the Sawyers for contributing to Mimi's RPCV group. P.P.S. The Fulbright program ended up paying for the delivery of the calculus books. I hope to be able to report the end of the saga next week, after I find them at the University. #55 23 June 1996 Dear Everyone: The academic year ended for me on Friday, when I attended the Science Faculty meeting, a meeting that lasted from 9 AM until 7:30 PM, with a 30 minutes break along the way. The duration of such a meeting if often this long, and one meeting I heard of stretched for 20 hours. During the session, we hard student petitions about various perceived academic irregularities, and each department presented the distribution of grades for each course. Because explanations are mandatory for courses with pass rates of less than 50%--an occurrence in every department--and because few courses have pas rates in excess of 75%, these reports provoke lengthy discussion: about admission standards in general and as a function of class year in this 3 1/2 year old university; about the sequencing and world of prerequisites; about the content of various courses; how well taught specific courses are, etc. Despite its marathon length, I was always attentive during the meeting, perhaps because these are issues that I have always felt were too seldom discussed and debated at Lehigh. [for the first time ever, I will not refer to myself in the 3rd person. I leave it to you to transpose and insert the correct pronouns. gek] Next week I start sending these letters to 66 Foster St [New Haven; I've been in DC], but it will be an eerie exercise. You will not receive them until you have had your month-long visit with us. I will continue to write even while you are here, for the benefit of the many people reading over your shoulder. [Talia will put the letters online. gek] This Wednesday I finally got the boxes of books that Mimi Stanford sent me, with the exception of a few books that suffered some kind of catastrophe en route. I now have about 70 calculus books that will be of tremendous help to my students. Thanks again to Mimi and friends. Last night we hosted supper for 13 of Janice's students from OIC. Although it was a little stiff and awkward at first, especially when I was left along with 13 (to me) strangers while Janice fussed int eh kitchen, things considerably loosens up when we served the food. After supper the students spontaneously started to sing and dance. Some of the music consisted of gospel songs and some consisted of tribal songs, while the dancing was all traditional. It made for a very warm evening. It took me many months to realize that Cameroonians never, I emphasize never, use profanity. I have verified this with Cameroonians; profanity is not part of their language, although I suppose they would recognize profanity when they heard it, thanks in part to Hollywood. Essayists decrying the extent of profane language in the US often argue that it cheapens the language, that infrequent use of profane language would give it occasional use that much more force. Would the same essayists argue that Cameroonians ought to swear more often to make use of some unusual weapons? On a subtly related note, sometimes at PC functions Janice and I have felt we are the victims of ageism. When with our fellow PCVs we want to interact with them as peers but age gets in the way. One hint of this problem is the other PCVs' censoring their language, which normally is quite profane. In general, we find that we have formed more peer-like relationships with the older (here I am talking about late 20s versus early 20s) and more mature PCVs,w ho probably are less self-conscious of our being of the same generation as their parents. Til next week, Edwin P.S. Thanks for letters to Gwen (including a letter of 10 May), Rona & Steve, Chava, Dave Kniager. LETTER #56 30 June 1996 Dear Everyone: On Tuesday I made an over-night trip to Yaounde for the first of my two visits to the dentist for a crown. After a long discussion with the dentist we both decided it was sensible to delay, with the hope the work can be done after I return to the U.S. This spares me the planned trip next week, during which the Organization for African unity is meeting in Yaounde and will be tying traffic up into knots that will take many hours to untie. On Friday I met the husband of a woman, Gladys Njoh, with whom I work at the Pan African Institute for Development (PAID). When talking about visiting the US, he mentioned visiting Bethlehem and staying with Karen and Curtis Keim. Karen taught some African Lit courses at Lehigh, and Janice and I attended a class of hers when she showed slides of her year stint in Cameroon. someone who knows Karen should extend greetings from Hans and Gladys Njoh. Just before I met Hans I met Saul Carliner, a newly-arrived PAID volunteer who is sponsored by the same program--American Jewish World Service--that sponsored Bill Shalinsky. Saul is staying here for two months and is presently living in our neighborhood. He keeps kosher at home, but I think he brought his _away_ stomach to Cameroon. We had most of the rest of Janice's students form OIC to dinner last night. The evening went much the same as last week, except that Janice improved her preparations by buying some African Rattles to facilitate the singing and dancing after dinner. When we first thought we might be coming to Africa, three thoughts flashed through my mind--heat, food, disease. In each case the images were unpleasant. So far I have talked bout food, which is varied and good, and about the weather, which is extraordinarily pleasant in Buea, but except by omission I have said nothing about our health. This is a big topic, which I will start today and continue for a number of letters. To begin, Janice and I have had no illnesses so far. Starting with our three day "pre-stage" in Philadelphia, we have received numerous injections and medications. I am unsure that I exhaust the list but we have been given shots for rabies, typhus, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and gamma globulin, and we take weekly prophylaxis for malaria and filaria. The most interesting disease in malaria because its incidence here per year is around 50% and because the prophylaxis we take does not kill off the malaria organism but instead keeps under control the organism that is surely present in our system. When we return to the US we take some medication that flushes our system of the organism. Of all the medication and shots I am least fond of the filaria prophylaxis, which puts me to sleep for 10-12 hours and leaves me feeling sluggish. We only received mail one day this week, but because of that delivery we can thank my parents, the Silbersteins, Gwen, the Krawiecs, Natalia, the Wrubles, and Stephanie Katz. Edwin # P.S. Seen on a sign advertising vacation school staffed by distinguished SW Province teachers: "We strife for excellence..." LETTER # 57 July 7, 1996 Dear Everyone: The uncertaintly about summer school stemmed from a student strike at the Universtiy of Yaounde, about which we only heard rumors because the government-owned electronic media suppresses information about such events. Apparently the student struck over the impostion of an additional fee for summer school when they had already paid the registration fee for the year (there is tuition charge, only a registration fee). The University of Buea, which could not afford a summer session without additional fees, cnacelled the summer session to avoid a student strike, but then the students threatened to strike if they couldn't pay additional fees and register for summer session. Then the Minister of HIgher Education ruled that all of Cameroon's six public universitities should have summer session without the payment of further fees, without making clear how the professors would be paid. The U of B reluctantly went along, adding the proviso that each course offered have at least 25 students. So, if at least 25 students sign up for my course, heigh ho heigh ho, it's off to class I go. This week my understanding of the word "roadkill" was expanded when I saw a cow that had been hit by a car being butchered and sold off on the spot. Good thing traffic on the road was light! To continue my discussion of health I am now going to talk about diarrhea, which sounds a lot nastier if called dysentry. [?!?-nk] I think that there are three kinds of causes. First, there is the change in the locally "available" benign bacteria to which your gut must adjust. Second, there is the change in diet, perhaps more spicy or whatever, to which your gut must also adjust. Third, there are various nasty organisms that one may encounter: amoeba, giardi, typhoid, etc. Diearrhea from the rist two causes is close to unavoidable, and I anticipate similar problems for us when we return to the U.S. We avoid the third kind by assiduously avoiding untreated water, unwashed fruits and vegetables, and poorly prepared foods, eg: uncooked foords, or cooked foods that have cooled too long. Peace Corps gives us a filter, and we boil and filter all our water. Outside the house sealed, bottled water is readily available. As a matter of courtesy in Cameroon, all bottled water and all bottles beverages are unsealed in front of the customer to assure the customer of the liquid's purity. Our water filter, which works by gravity, consists of two 3-gallon cans stacked one on top of the other. The upper can has inserted into it two hollow cceramic cylinders through which the water seeps into the lower can. The interstices in the ceramic are sufficiently small to trap harmful matter. Since we are older than our fellow volunteers, we are less cavalier about ignoring Peace Corps' various warming about protecting our health. So far at least we have had no health problems, whereas many other volunteers have. This week we thank the Davises and Norm Melchert for letters. Edwin LETTER #58 14 July 1996 Dear Everyone: This past week we had visitors for a few days. John Santella, a member of our stage who teaches English as a second language in Kribi, Cameroon's premier beach resort, arrived almost at the same time as two agriculture volunteers and a brother of one. We did not know this second group, but gave them a Peace Corps welcome of flood and floor space. John came simply to relax, while the latter three were here to climb Mt. Cameroon. they did so, but I did not join them. Finally Janice has found a suitable work pattern at OIC. She spends part of her time instructing students in the junior kitchen and the remainder of the time in the kitchen of the restaurant open to the public. Inc the latter kitchen, students get additional, more specialized training after training en masse in the junior kitchen. After some prodding by Janice, the Pavilion Burger made its public debut a few weeks ago. It has received a reasonably good welcome. the rolls that Janice developed to accompany the Pavilion Burger have been too successful as the kitchen staff find them too tempting. To grossly simplify, the white man pushed aside natives of Australia and the temperate zones of Africa and the Americas but left the natives of the tropics on the land. The land in the tropics was less enticing because it is much more disease-ridden than elsewhere. Overwhelmed by tropical diseases, the natives are less able to cope with disease with which we are familiar. That par of the medical care system we would recognized as medical care is primitive by our standards, and the remaining part consists of a mixture of traditional herbal remedies and witch craft. The ineffectiveness of the system (or perhaps the effectiveness of the\ diseases) is evidence by the Cameroonian life expectancy of 52, one of the highest in Africa. On the one hand, the system must combat diseases like malaria, filaria, and schistosomiasis, which are impossible to avoid and can only be treated, and diseases like typhoid which is pandemic because of inadequate sanitation. On the other hand, the system does not protect the populace against readily prevented diseases, so that, for example, polio is commonplace in Cameroon. The public hospitals are poorly staffed and unclean. Hospital patients must be fed by their family or friends. All drugs and paraphenalia, e.g: intravenous equipment, must also be provided by friends of family of the patients. I have heard that the private clinics, some for profit, others the woks of various religious missions, are often quite good. I am truly frightened by the possibility of traumatic injury. The Cameroonian response 2would be quite slow and quite inadequate. This week we thank the Corlisses, Kritzes, and Norm Melchert for letters. Edwin LETTER #59 21 July 1996 Dear All- Our week started with picking Gwen up at the airport, always a slightly unnerving experience because of the lack of communication here. what would happen if a flight is missed or plans were changed? How would we find out? In Gwen's case, the flight was 45 minutes early, a rather pleasant change in plans. Since summer school is being held after all, and I start teaching tomorrow, this past week was the only real chance to travel. We gave Gwen Tuesday off and then headed for Bafoussam, Foumban, and Bamenda, accompanied by Roy Vella, the summer intern at OIC. To some extent this trip recapitulated our trip in December, except that we did some serious purchasing of local crafts. Foumban is an artisan center and, armed with our previous experience window shopping in Foumban as well as our greater experience in bargaining (or "talking market" as they say in pidgin) we boughtr some very nice African artifacts at good prices. On the recommendation of our fellow PCVs, whose tastes are somewhat richer than ours, we stayed tow nights at the Ramada Inn in Bafoussam (yes, that's its name, but I assume that's an abuse of the trademark law, espcially since its logo is a knock off of the Motel G), the first night in three separate rooms, the second night all in one room when we recovered our good judgment and reduced our costs by 2/3 to $8 for the one room. the other two nights we stayed at the PC "rest" house in Bamenda, where we renewed friendships with about 10 PCVs and met four stagies making "site visits" as they pause in training and move from Ngoundere to Kumba. On Saturday we took a spectacular hike to the post of a PCV who lives about an by car then 1 1/2 hours by foot outside Bamenda. Starting at about 5000', we walked along a dirt road and rose to about 7000', shaded by trees initially and passing into a mixture of hardwoods and open mountain pastureland which looks like I imagine the Swiss mountains look. the PCV's post is set in a tiny Fulani Village of perhaps 30 souls and 50 cattle. The village is set on a 2000' high bluff overlooking the Ndop plain which stretches for about 30 miles to the east. On the other side of the Ndop plain we could see Africa's continental divide rising in the sitance. We descended the bluff to finsih our loop hike and returned to Bamenda. I inadvertently left two umbrellas on the taxi to Foumban but was able to retrieve them from the driver when I found him in the bafoussam taxi park the next day. This kind of honesty is quite typical of Cameroonians. To be kind to your pinch-hitter (or key stroker) Natalia, I will finsih here. Thanks to my mother for all the great gifts she sent. Edwin LETTER #60 28 July 1996 Dear Everyone- After Gwen's whirlwind tour of the West and Northwest provinces her first week in Cameroon, things slowed down considerably, as I gave my first week of lectures in summer school and Janice returned to work at OIC. Beacuse I have no classes on Friday, Janice took Friday off to enable us to go to Limbe, but his plan was frustrated by heavy rains, as the rainy season is approaching its peak. We spend much of the day reading and staring out the windows at the downpour. We went to Limbe yesterday instead, touring the zoo and Botanic Gardens. by another of those coincidences to which I respond c'est L'Afrique, we met, or should I say encountered, an Ngoundrere acquaintance, the boyfriend of Jeanette Tchaya, our host sister. We were saddened to learn that our host father, George, dies two days ago. Last night we attenede a send off for some of Janice's trainees, who will be finishing their training with interships. We seem to have acquired a sense of African timing, as we arrived just as the event, scheduled for 6:00 pm, began in earnest at 11. As one of the honored guests each of the three of us cut a piece of cake and made a very substantial contribution to the event's financing. We left the yaw to dawn event at the early time of 2 am. Today we took a nine mile trek with Prabasaj and our Cameroonian friend Fred through the local countryside, viewing some remote villages, some rain forest, and the Tole tea plantation. To finish up today, I am going to talk about fuel (pronounced "foil" here). I am primarily thinking of cooking fule beacuse essentially no fuel is used to heat or cool houses or water, and little fuel is used for transportation. As far as I know, there are no gas lines, and (oops, ironically, the electric is power just went out; excuse me for a moment...)hardly anyone uses an electric stove. The fuels used for cooking, in order of highs cost, are bottled gas (our choice), kerosene, and wood. cost stronly determines the choice of fuel. Foir example, our host family in Ngagoundere would use gas for quickly cooked meals, but w2ould switch to kerosene when cooking was of long duration. Locally, many people use wood exclusively; indeed, many houses have an exterior "country kitchen" for cooking with wood. Locally, others use wood during the dry season. Many restaurants use wood; others use kerosene. Street vendors use wood or charcoal. Apparently the slopes of Mt. Cameroon have been undergoing deforestation for about 200 years, slowly but surely lowing its tropical rain forest. When I talked with Gwen it became clear that some of our letter in each direction have not gotten through. In particular, my letter discussing our reveiving four packages (and thanking Gwen, the Davises, and Mimi Stanfrod) failed to reach her. This week we received three more packages, and we thank the senders: Rona, and (two from) Mimi, (the best a Christmas package sent in December, and the second containing nubmerous seeds and sent two weeks ago0> We are greatly appriative of these thoughtful gifts. We also acknowledge letters from Chava, Joan Carson, the Davises, and the Corlisses. We now think of the Cameroon mail as more honest and less efficient. Edwin P.S. We also acknowledge a letter Margaret Krawiec mailed to us in May. C'est L'Afrique.