#70 6 Oct 1996
Dear Everyone,
     School did indeed start last Monday afternoon, and the pace
of life has quickened as a result. Although registration was
scheduled for the previous week, I had a steady stream of
students this week, slowly killing my hope of having
substantially lower enrollments than last year, with the number
of students in my two big courses going past 300.  For some
strange reason, registration was for both semesters so my fate is
pretty much determined for the year, although I could temper my
fate by failing many students in Math 209, thus preventing them
from taking Math 210 next semester.
     Last week I also ended up participating in the three-day
workshop at the Pan-African Institute for Development (PAID). 
PAID is (I believe) the result of a US AID project which is now
self-sustaining.  It provides courses for social workers,
community development workers, various government workers, etc.,
and draws its clientele from much of West Africa (Anglophone).
The workshop introduced PAID's faculty and staff to relatively
new research techniques called Participatory Rural Appraisal
(PRA) and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), techniques that Bill
Shalinsky first used last year and are now to be incorporated
into appropriate courses. The workshop also reviewed relevant
statistical techniques. Because of conflicts with my classes I
was only able to attend about half the PRA and RRA sessions, but,
as presenter, I attended all of the half day on statistics.
Because, as I suggested last week, planning was so abrupt for the
workshop, I did not get to talk with the facilitator of the PRA
and RRA sessions, Jaff, until after the workshop started. He had
prepared some material on statistics and expected me to present
additional material.  During coffee breaks, at the tag end of
lunches, and before rushing home in the evening, we tried to sort
through our different views on the point of the presentation.  On
Day 3, the day for the statistics, I suddenly had the
responsibility for the whole presentation. About one hour into
it, in response to a question for an example I intended to give
much later, I realized the inherent organization of the material
was poor, and I reorganized the material on the fly, starting
with a presentation of the example.
     Although I have constant reminders of being in the Third
World, the workshop was a magic carpet to the First World. At the
front of the room, flanked on one side by an overhead projector
and on the other by a flip chart, a management consultant (Jaff,
with an MBA from somewhere in the UK) took us through a series of
exercises to familiarize us with PRA and RRA. At the back of the
room, in a use high tech I have not seen before, a secretary used
a PC to take notes and to prepare charts and graphs developed by
the group on the flipcharts so that compilations of the
proceedings could be prepared overnight for distribution to the
participants. During these sessions, when possible, I snuck out
to the room housing six PCs to prepare various overheads for my
part of the workshop. The most interesting aspect of the workshop
(Steve and Rona take note) was the wholehearted unreserved
participation of the people attending, unlike in the same setting
in the States where there is at least some low level of
skepticism about participation in what is seen as a game.
     For different reasons, the pace of work is picking up for
Janice as well. The dry season, which makes travel easier and the
cool weather of Buea more appealing is approaching. Also, some of
the improvements that Janice has introduced and that her
counterpart has introduced are probably increasing the volume of
the restaurant business [at OIC].  This week, they catered, at
Buea's fanciest hotel, a reception for 200 put on by the Nigerian
Consulate in honor of Nigeria's Independence Day (1 Oct).  Given
that the hotel has its own kitchen, it may seem strange that the
consulate would be allowed to use OIC, but this there is a subtle
cultural difference where this is normal.  Yesterday, for
example, I was taken to a snack bar, or maybe I could say tavern,
for drink and lunch.  Because the food being served contained
meat, my host went to a small store next door for bread and a tin
of sardines, borrowed a knife and fork from the tavern, and
served me sardine sandwiches.  No one was offended.
     This week we are happy to thank Gwen, Bertha Kniager,
Barbara Kritz, Rona, Barbara Epstein, Margaret Krawiec, and Gerry
Zupruk for their letters.
     Love,
      Dad (Edwin)

P.S. This week, a number of letters asked about rumors of our
intention of "extending" (our PC service). We have no such
intention. [contrary to what my mother said when I visited. gek]

                                        #71  13 Oct 1996
Dear Everyone:
     In the last few weeks a number of things have come together
to improve--or perhaps better, increase--our enjoyments of being
here.  We are starting the routine of a second academic year but
both of us now know the ropes at each of our institutions.  We
have far fewer frustrations, fewer surprises, and we know how to
get things done. Last year it took me about a month to get my
recitation sections organized, and the schedule was awkward. This
year, having made friends with the person in charge of the
scheduling, I had my recitation sections organized the first day
of the semester and I have a much better schedule.  At the same
time, we are in the transition between the wet and dry seasons. 
The rains have abated if not ceased, and now we are daily treated
to spectacular sunrises and sun sets. 
     Last dry season we suffered from low water presser; now we
seem to be suffering from high water pressure. About three weeks
ago, a number of leaks developed in our plumbing. Luckily they
have been mostly a nuisance as my favorite bureaucrat, Lucas
Oben, has been very slow to respond to my requests for repairs.
Finally, tomorrow we expect a plumber to come and make the
necessary repairs. The repairs are quite simple. In the states,
having the right tools, I would have tackled them myself, despite
my loathing of plumbing.
     Last weekend I spent much of Saturday on a trip to Muyuka,
which is about an hour from Buea. I wanted to see three different
people, but only one knew I was coming, so just seeming him would
have been sufficient. I had no way of knowing whether the other
two would be around because I lack access to a phone and Muyuka
has no phone lines anyway. I met the first person, located the
home of the second, a PCV, but she was not at home, and then I
found the home of the third, a PCV named James Gibney, but he had
left his home within the hour. I soon found his trail by asking
people on the road whether a white man had recently passed, an
effective tactic because he is probably the only white male
residing within 20 miles of  Muyuka.  I soon found James, whom I
had only met briefly during his training in Kumba this summer.  I
had set out to find him so that I could know him a bit better and
to welcome him to the South West. We had a pleasant talk, and I
wished him well in his start at teaching school last week.
     Very much to my surprise, on Thursday I learned that James
decided to "ET" (PC lingo for quitting, ET stands for Early
Termination). Within a few days James will be winging his way
home, having spent about a month at post and about 2 days in the
classroom.
     Although it is hard (for me) to predict who will ET, I think
that some of the math-science placements have been poorly chosen.
In particular, the work loads have been made intentionally light
to ease the PCV into the job. This has 2 bad effects. First, the
PCV has too much spare time.  Second, the job is so light the PCV
wonders why he or she is needed at all. Janice's placement at GTC
had exactly the same problems.
     Our thanks for letters this week go to Gwen, M. Weisman, and
Barbara Rubin, who wrote to say she and daughter Nan will visit
in February.
     Love,
      Dad (Edwin)

                                             #72  20 Oct 1996
Dear Everyone:
     Every semester has a different rhythm which takes time to
adjust to.  This semester's schedule is unusual for me, because
it is a three and one half day schedule that finishes by noon
Thursday.  So far, I have not gone to school on Fridays but have
pursued other projects at PAID, the Teacher Resource Center, etc.

When the rounds of tests start, I will have a substantial block
of time for grading papers.
     This semester I have had a number of reminders of the casual
Cameroonian attitude toward the classroom. I have already written
of the U of B throwing away a week of the semester on the spur of
the moment.  Daily ont eh radio I hear announcements, a month
after the official start of the  public school year, asking
reassigned individuals to report to their new post. At the
University, some newly appointed instructors have yet to show up.

Will they ever? Who knows. On Thursday, about 15 minutes into my
lecture, my lecture hall was suddenly pre-empted for a meeting
that was part of an "orientation" for prospective students.
Eventually, this two-day orientation, which started on Thursday
and hosted hundreds of high school students, brought much of the
instruction at the University to a halt.  This coming Wednesday
the Science dean will probably find unacceptable my missing part
of the faculty meeting to teach classes scheduled at the same
time. Luckily, the faculty meeting has not been scheduled for the
lecture halls I will be using.
     Meanwhile, at OIC, Janice found her schedule abruptly
changed without warning.  She had been staying late in the
afternoon four days  a week tutoring English to a number of
trainees, some FRancophone, others simply semi-literate. 
Thursday she learned that the students are entering a new phase
of training Monday and no longer had time for English class.
     Shortly before we left for Cameroon, Les Sperling gave us
the name of a Ph.D. student of his, Godfrey Yenwoe, who he said
lived in LImbe and was technical manager of the Sonara Refinery. 
I wrote Godfrey when we first arrived in Buea, but he was away in
France, finishing up a 2 1/2 year stint at a French company which
owns a chunk of Sonara. We finally met Godfrey last Sunday, when
he took us to lunch at a club owned by Sonara and then showed us
his almost-finished house.  This gave us a chance to see how
Cameroon's upper crust lives, starting with our ride in a new
Land Rover, our first trip in a private car since leaving the
U.S. [i dispute that. gek]  The Sonara club is set on the edge of
the purple sands of Mile 6 beach. We dined on the veranda, which
gave a commanding view of the ocean.  We left the club somewhat
hastily to avoid an arriving entourage consisting of some
government ministries hosting a visit by a director of the World
Bank. Godfrey's house is a 7-bedroom structure of about 4000
square feet occupying about 10 acres of land on a hill
overlooking the ocean and fronted by formal gardens. Just what
every Lehigh alum deserves, I guess.
     To finish up, I thank Gwen (twice), Ardie Smackey and Bruce
Hargreaves for letters.
     Love, Dad (Edwin)

                                        #73  27 Oct 1996
Dear Everyone:
     As I think back over the time we have been here and the
letters I have written to you, it seems that these letters are
becoming less exciting and perhaps less interesting.  Now instead
of the big differences between life here and the US, I am
noticing and writing about the nuances.
     To remove the suspense about various odds and ends from the
last few letters I note that 1)the plumber finally came and
repaired the leaks.  He recommended drawing water from the water
heater to prevent further corrosion.  This we are now doing, but
without heating the water.  I think, but Janice does not, that
the water, at room temperature, is about 5 degrees warmer than
the 'cold' water. 2)Janice is now back to teaching English to a
combined class on a reduced schedule, putting to great use books
and materials sent her by Joanne Feigl and Ann Goldberg.  3)The
Science faculty meeting, set for 12 on Wednesday failed to
disrupt my 11:30-1:30 class, because the meeting did not begin
until 1:30. 4)The month-long add-drop period ended Friday, with
students trickling in, and my larger class is 395, divided into 2
lectures.  Just as last year, there is a mad rush to the 150-seat
lecture hall by students eager to hear my every word. There is a
slight imbalance in attendance at the seven recitations, with the
numbers ranging from 12 in one to 201 in another.  Oh, how I
yearn for the Lehigh registrar who assigns reluctant students to
recitation sections to achieve balance.  UB's voluntary system
has some drawbacks.
     With the help of many seeds send by friends in the US,
Janice has about doubled her gardening with mixed results. Having
no clear notion when the planting and growing seasons occur in
the dry-wet cycle, she apparently planted too early in the
transition from wet to dry and lost many plants. The neighboring
rooster has not helped matters.  It also may be that seeds
designed for the US do not do well here.  At the moment the most
promising crops are sweet potatoes, peas, celery, dill, and a
variety of (non-edible) flowers.
     Cameroon, and I presume the rest of Africa, is a tremendous
market for used clothing, factory over runs, and factory seconds.

i had always wondered where used clothing went, but I had never
really thought about various kinds of seconds.  Two aspects of
the used clothing market are noticeable.  First, there are the t-
shirt and baseball caps, some of them advertising American
professional sports, primarily the Chicago Bulls, and perhaps
made by bootleg manufacturers in Nigeria, others of it announcing
institutions and gone-by events, foot races and such, colleges
and such, and still others of it clearly the result of misprints,
e.g. "Save waters, showers with a friend." [a near-birthday
present was a notebook w/Yale insignia on the cover. gek]  i have
seen no Lehigh paraphernalia, but I have seen a Dorney Park
tshirt.  Second, the men, and more commonly the women of all ages
daily wear quite fancy, but second-hand clothing. Daily on campus
I see a variety of cocktail dresses and other quite formal
dresses. Often I see little children in fancy, but often quite
tattered, dresses.  Daily, on cam pus I see men in suits or
tuxedo shirts. Then there are the shoes.  Throughout Cameroon, I
have seen unfashionable cast-off shoes that are quite serviceable
and get a second life on local feet. The very poor use undersized
shoes as sandals, with the back of the shoe pressed flat or cut
away.
     Friday evening, taking advantage of an almost full-moon,
Prabasaj and I ascended Mt. Cameroon, hoping to reach the summit
before dawn for sunrise and a clear view.  A heavy storm earlier
on the day presaged clear weather for 36 hours or so, but it was
not to be.  It was beautifully clear and quite easy to see early
on, but another storm later soaked us and forced us to abort the
trip at Hut 2, about 2/3 the way up.  We were the only hikers on
the mountain, and were not harassed by any guides.
     We thank Gwen, my brother Steve, and my mother (sabotaged by
5-week delivery time) for the mail.
     Love,
     Dad (Edwin)

                                        #74 3 Nov 1996
Dear Everyone,
     Congratulations to Gwen on a nice marathon time. I think, in
running a marathon, there is a fine line between running too fast
(and having a catastrophe) and running too slowly (when one could
have done better).  To complicate matters, the fine line changes
over time, as one gets better (or worse). In any case, if I was
in good shape at 20 miles, I would throw caution to the wind, a
strategy that always worked for me.
     In Buea in general and at OIC in particular, things are in a
peculiar state of anticipation of a visit from the newly
appointed Prime Minister, who hails from one of the villages that
comprise (the non-town of) Buea.  In preparation for the
attendant celebration, all the women of the town, including
Janice, have bought cloth in the official pattern, and had it
tailored into a traditional dress, called a kabba, a great deal
of food has been cooked, numerous traditional dances are planned,
the 12 foot tall elephant grass on the sides of the roads have
been cleared, the vegetation and silt that has encroached on the
roads has been plowed back, and the numerous potholes, or perhaps
I should say craters, have been filled with clay. The only
problem is no one knows when he will visit. Originally scheduled
for two weeks ago, the visit keeps on getting postponed from one
weekend to the next, and will now occur no sooner than two weeks
from now. Truly, in depicting the level of (dis?) organization
here, c'est l'Afrique.
     I have been here long enough to encounter an interesting
moral dilemma,the subtleties of which I will try to describe. 
Perhaps my best student in abstract algebra came to me with a
personal problem. As a Francophone he submitted his "BAC" scores
in place of the Anglophone GCE scores to satisfy admission
requirements, and he was admitted directly into the math program,
because all students are admitted into specific programs.  Now, a
month after the start of school and having chased around from
official to another, he could not get registered because math
Professor Kwalar would not sign his form, pointing out that a
mistake (of about 3 pts out of 10) had been made in admitting him
in the first place, apparently because his BAC score had been
improperly transformed into the corresponding GCE score.  This
put the student in a strange limbo between admission and non-
admission.  He asked me to intervene.  By now I know that the
Cameroonian society is rife with extremely rigid rules that
somehow bend when the right person uses some influence.  The
student knew there was a good chance that I, as a white man,
could wield such influence, especially since, despite the
evidence of the BAC, he was quite a good student.  Normally, I
think an injustice is an injustice, without regard to how good
the student is, but in this case the student's quality seemed to
aggravate a substantial injustice.  But then, what right did I
have to intervene? If I were in Dr. Kwalar's shoes, and he came
to me with a similar request, especially after being harassed by
the student for a few weeks, as he had harassed Dr. Kwalar, I
would not listen to Dr. Kwalar kindly.  I told the student I
would not intervene and went home quite depressed. Early the next
day I verified the student's story, which did nothing to make me
feel better. Later that day the student came by to say he was
leaving school.
     This week we thanks Marjorie May, Margo Smith, Gwen, Rona
Roberts, Levin-Dandos (3 in 1), and Talia for letters.
     Belated birthday greetings to Jeremy Ferriter and, in
November, to David Kniager, Steve Krawiec, Adam Cohen, Willie
Kay, Elisha Hopson, and Jean Davis.
     Love, 
     Dad (Edwin)

P.S. Dad, pleading ignorance, neglected to mention that men, as
well as women, have purchased the patterned cloth for the Prime
Minister's celebration from which they will have shirts and loins
(cloth wrapped around themselves from waist down) made. Humph!  -
-Jan

                                        #75  10/11/96

Dear Everyone:
     I assume you will receive this shortly before Thanksgiving.
We tend to ignore, even forget, most American holidays, but we
are conscious of Thanksgiving, because we will be hosting a
dinner open to Cameroonian PCVs.  Now that word of Janice's
cooking has spread, we expect quite a crowd, with our having
received 25 reservations so far and our expecting who knows how
many irresponsible PCVs showing up unannounced.  As an added
enticement we announced that we will be serving the three cans of
cranberry sauce which Jean Davis sent us.
     This Friday at 6:00 AM the radio announced that the Prime
Minister would visit the next day.  Then there followed a long
list of announcements of the scheudle of the visit, postponement
of other events, and teh convening of numerous planning
committees that could now get down to work in earnest (and post
haste). A very long list of names was read, along wth the
individuals' roles in the event.  For Janice it meant overtime in
teh Pavilion kitchen which was preparing food for luncheon for
700 at the Mountain Hotel, a once grand hostely now somewhat
neglected.  Between Janice's working in the kitchen and my havng
to be at OIC to receive a call from my brother (which failed to
come, perhaps because Buea's two outside lines were tined up by
the Prime Minister's visit), we were able to attend only the
luncheon, which was held in the hotel's formal gardens, the one
part of the hotel which has been well maintained.  Of course the
food was great, although it was somewhat of a fight to get it
with sch a crowd.  The guests were dressed in a marvelous array
of traditional clothing, with many of the women's clothing made
from teh same fabric as was used for Janice's kabba.  Some ment
were dressed in suits, but many more wore loin clothes (full
length "skirts" wrapped around the waist), various fancy shirts,
and quite distinctive and colorful headresses of feathers, cowery
shells, etc. Although impossible for me to blend in, I made a
gesture in that direction by wearing my best Africa clothes. That
put me in another minority as my clothes havea  Moslem flavor as
opposed to the local Bakweri style.
     Earlier this week I participated in a neighborhood meeting
to discuss securty. An association has been formed to seek ways
to make the local area safer.  Presently we are exploring ways to
turn the neighborhood into a gated community and gates at
strategic locations.  In that sense, the upscale part of Buea is
intentionally copying some upscale neigbhorhoods in the U.S.
Another of our actitivies addressed (pun intended) a problem
unhead of in teh US--teh street are un-named and the houses un-
numbered, making it very difficulty to locate a given house,
whether in an emrgency of otherwise.  We intend to naem the
streets and number the houses, which should make delivery of mail
possible, at least in prciniple.  The meetng itsel was
fascinating for how well run and decourous it was.  The mo nthly
meetings have teh guiding principle that we leave each one with
at least three "action-items" to be carried out before the next
meeting
     This week, we thank Gwen, the Bravermans, the Rosens, the
Davises, Pearl Schmier, the Corlisses, and Steve Krawiec for
letters and the Melcherts for a veritable tome.
     Love, 
      Dad (Edwin)

****
and a letter from the other half:

     Hello.
     You are often in my thoughts and your letters are a delight.
     If you have seen recent pictures that Ed has sent home
notice that I have gained some weight. You may not notice that my
skin is tanned and freckled, or might you notice that my long
hair is quite grey.
     I continue to observe that Cameroon i is male-dominated
society and am told that a woman's duty is to tend to her
husband. My dear friends Auntie Pat and colleague Mrs. Kimbi
remind me of this as the work day lengthens and I am still in the
kitchen. They say, "Mami Gwen, you must go home and take care of
Papa Gwen."  They were very surprised to hear that Ed washes the
dishes, the floors, and the laundry.
     As expected, this second year in Cameroon is adding a new
dimension to our experience.  We are very comfortable living and
wandering about Buea and its environs, friendships are
burgeoning, we know the "how-to's" of traveling and negotiation
purchases, and are participating in traditional festivities.
     We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with other PCVs but
also recall our past Thanksgivings with family and dear friends:
Davises, Krawiecs, and Sumners.
     Happy Holidays to all.
     Love,
     Janice


                                        #76  17 November 1996
Dear Everyone:
     The main negative aspect of our volunteering in Peace Corps
is our inability to readily fulfill various family obligations.
So, I am dismayed at my being unable to attend Gwen's likely
graduation this spring.  Janice plans to represent both of us on
that happy occasion.  The health of our parents, who are now
approaching advanced middle age, weighted more heavily on our
minds than our attending Gwen's graduation.  We have known for a
very long time that my father would eventually need to move to a
nursing home and that our help in that transition would be
crucial. Well, the inevitable has happened as I learned from Bill
by mail during the week and by phone from my brother Steve this
Saturday over what may have been the world's worst telephone
connection.  So far, at least, things are going smoothly, thanks
to some very capable work on the part of Steve and Rona.
     At some point, I had intended a fairly detailed explanation
of how living in a disorganized society (c'est l'Afrique) makes
planning difficult. In general, I have become quite adept at
working the non-system to my advantage, but the happenings this
past week illustrate the general problems I or any other control
freak faces.  Last fall, when I scheduled my own tests, the dean
pre-empted me, so this year I waited for the dean to act. And I
waited.  As the semester wore on, I felt I had to act and did so,
after apprising the dean.  For my class of 400 I reserved 5
lecture halls for last Saturday; for my class of 68 I reserved a
lecture hall for last Saturday for use for an extra class to make
up for my using a regular class for a test this past Thursday (on
the theory that unexpected things were less likely to happen
during the week). Then the dean struck, scheduling many tests on
Saturday, a number of them requiring the presence of my students
during the time they were scheduled for my test.  The dean was
not inclined to resolve the problem because he thought few
students were involved, so I arranged an extra hall to provide
space for students with conflicts to start the 90 minute test 30
minutes early and thus ease if not solve the problem.  I
recruited Janice to monitor this test, and I recruited four
monitors from the department to supplement the 10 monitors the
dean had assigned from the Science Faculty for the other five
halls.  I made sure Janice and I arrived on campus an hour before
she started monitoring her test to make sure things were in
order. But they weren't.  Three of the halls were locked, and I
had to chase around for keys.  In the process I learned that
someone was planning to give an economics test in one of the
halls during my reserved time.  I quickly negotiated an agreement
to seat both groups of students in alternate seats.  At 9:00 I
started the test that Janice was monitoring, having the lone
monitor who had shown up so far hold the fort at my office.  I
returned to my office at 9:15 and found only two monitors.  At
9:20 one of my missing monitors showed up to say that he could n
to monitor my test because he had to monitor an environmental
science test, and, oh, by the way, about 80 of those students
were supposed to take my test at the same time, so he had told
them that he would give them my math test after they finished the
environmental science test.  Was that all right with me?  In the
next five minutes we worked out the details of how to protect
security of the test, and how I would glean extra copies of the
test from the various halls--once I learned which halls were
missing the students from environmental science--and bring them
to the site of the environmental science test. It was now 9:30,
and I still needed at least one more monitor, but sent the ones I
had off to four of the five halls, hoping at least one more would
show.  Soon one did, and I went with him to the hall with the
already started economics test to orchestrate the seating of my
students.  When that was done, I  was approached by one of the
monitors from another hall who announced that a lecturer in
political science has commandeered the hall for his class,
locking himself and his class into the hall. I went to this hall
and tried to negotiate the lecturer out of the hall. I succeeded.
Was it my heft as a white man, or as the only full professor of
Science, or as a friend of the lecturer?  Probably all three. 
Now, I went from hall to hall collecting extra exams and brought
them to the environmental science test. There I foolishly stayed
to help in the transition from one test to the next.  The monitor
stranded me in charge, saying he had to run a quick errand.  I
had a class to teach at 11:30, which was 20 minutes away. At
11:20 he returned, and I headed for class, stopping on the way at
the physics test to fulfill my promise of delivering a message to
the physics monitor that a student would be late for the physics
test because of the math test which had come after the
environmental science test.  As I proudly reached my classroom
precisely at 11:30 I learned that the dean had mistakenly
scheduled a physics test at the same time, and I ceded my
classroom. With my class in tow, I scoured campus and finally
found a room for class.
     Mail has all been from family this week.  Thanks to Gwen
twice, my mother, Janice's father, and Bill, who sent two letters
to be doubly sure we received his itinerary for his visit here
during Christmas vacation.
     Love, 
     Dad (Edwin)

P.S. On closer inspection of our mail, I realize we also received
a letter from Ann Loux.

                                        #77 23 November 1996
Dear Everyone:
     Our lives this week continued the themes of last week, that
of the lack of organization and planning here.  On Wednesday
afternoon simultaneous with my receiving a written copy,
announcements were posted on campus about this year's official
opening of the universities which was to occur in two days at the
University of Dschang.  I was thereby told that Janice and I were
part of the official delegation, and we should await further
instruction. The only, and I mean only, additional information we
received before our departure on Friday morning was the time and
place to meet for our transportation.  While waiting to depart on
Friday, the university Bursar approached me to request that I
sign for and receive my total per diem for two days of $100, a
generous sum by American standards but a spectacular sum by
Cameroonian standards, especially since all my meals and lodging
would be provided by the University of Dschang.  This is
puzzling. Janice, not being employed by the U of B, directly or
indirectly, received no per diem, but I did not complain. When we
left campus for Dschang we did not know any of the schedule of
activities, including how many days we would be in Dschang.
     Because Cameroonian society is very hierarchical, nobody
thinks it strange that the Vice-Chancellor should, on Wednesday,
start issuing edicts about the U of B's participation in the
Dschang ceremonies, although they do grumble about it. On the one
hand, this contributes to the disorganization by being so late.
On the other hand, it contributed to the disorganization by
giving people excuses for failing to show up.
     Chaos reigned at the University of Dschang when we arrived
at 3:30, thanks so a similarly far-sighted planning process for
handling about 400 guests. Because they omitted housing Janice
and me, my Dean threw his weigh around to get us a room on campus
in guest housing. Then someone else swapped our single bed for a
professors double bed. Then that professor used his influence to
eliminate our housing.  One peculiar aspect of this feature of
strongly hierarchical organization is that it is never clear when
the issue is settled.  Finally at 11 P.M. on Friday we were place
din what ended up being our actual housing at the Centre
Climatique, an upscale resort adjoining campus which caters to
rich ex-patriates.  It consists of a collection of pavilions set
in terraced gardens on the side of a hill, plus a cluster of
buildings for restaurant, reception and poolside cabanas. Each
pavilion has a suite of two to four rooms surrounding a living
room. Doubtless dating from the colonial era, the Centre
Climatique's buildings have a large and grand design and are,
unlike much of Cameroon, well maintained.  Unfortunately, the
room we had was very sparsely furnished, and the condition of the
mattress was the worst we have ever encountered.  On the other
hand, one of the meals given by the University was served at the
Climatique restaurant, and it was one of the best we have had in
Cameroon.
     I will omit more details of the many features of
disorganization, other than to say that everything was rather
reliably late by two hours. Which meant that a lot of people did
a lot of grumbling.
     During the ceremony, I spotted Guy Laurent Fondyo, the
student who I wrote about being given and later denied admission
to the U of B, who had successfully gained entrance to the U of
Dschang. I later talked with him and learned he is reasonably
happy and scrambling to catch up.
     Finally, in thanking our sole correspondent this week, Sandy
Wruble, I finally realize that mail delivery in quite
unpredictable because of the chaotic organization of the post
office.
     Love, 
     Dad (Edwin)

                                        #78  1 Dec 1996
Dear Everyone:
     We are relaxing on the Sunday afternoon of Thanksgiving
after hosting our second annual dinner for PCVs. Luckily the
number of irresponsible people who RSPVed positively but failed
to show exactly balanced their counterparts who failed to RSVP
but did show up and we were prepared for our 23 guests.  In the
spirit of the original Thanksgiving we shared the bounty of our
garden, in this case radishes, dill, cucumber, and sweet potato.
Of course this was supplemented by a number of vegetarian dishes,
plus Jean Davis's cranberry sauce. Among the guests was James
Gibney, a new PCV who I earlier said ETed (ET=early termination)
but had a subsequent change of heart encouraged by a change of
post. He now seems happy with his circumstances.
     In one of my earlier letters which you apparently never
received [not true. gek], I remarked on what seems to be a high
incidence of albinism in the local population.  I was not fully
trusting of my observations because albinism is so striking in
Cameroon--white skin and kinky yellow hair.  Yesterday I learned
from one of the Bio majors that, indeed, the incidence of
albinism in Cameroon is one of the highest in the world and of
scientific interest as a result.
     I will devote the rest of the letter to a discussion of
small critters of various sorts.  During daylight hours, aside
from butterflies, there are essentially no airborne insects, and
we open our unscreened windows with impunity.  We only open our
two screened window at night when there are a few mosquitoes and
many moths about.  The house, both inside and out, has a
substantial population of spiders of about five varieties and of
lizards.  Both kinds of critters I view as our allies in keeping
moths and mosquitoes in check.  Janice begrudgingly agrees so
that our resident dining room spider is now a friend of at least
six months.  Outdoors. lizards are extremely common. Snail na
slugs are less common, and yesterday we saw our first chameleon
here.
     We wage our biggest battles against cockroaches and ants,
effecting at best a holding action both species.  At fist, Janice
tolerated cockroaches, but now she has become an aggressive
killer of them.  The ants, which come in about three varieties,
are extremely prolific, in part because the climate is so
hospitable year round. In the states we have brief skirmishes
with ants in the spring and the fall, when the house is a brief
haven; here it's major warfare year round, with neither side
inclined to take prisoners.  The ants are prodigious in their
numbers and foraging ability, able to make short work of any
formerly living matter. Once I dropped half a peanut on our patio
and inadvertently left it where it fell. About 10 minutes later,
the peanut started moving across the patio, apparently under its
own steam.  Upon closer inspection I saw the peanut fringed with
many ants.  Within short order, the peanut marched over to an ant
hill and disappeared inside. Finally there are the grasshoppers. 
They are non-existent most of the year but last year were
voracious during the dry season. We are unsure whether they will
return this year, but if they do, we can kiss our leafy
vegetables goodbye.
     I usually don't acknowledge letters sent to Prabasaj, but he
receive d a package this week that suggest we can no longer
accept various offers of packages through the mail: it was sent
to him in February. Anyway, we thank Gwen twice, Anita Hirsch
twice, Bill Shalinsky, the Delphs, John Sumner, Gwen again, Jean
Davis,a nd my mother, who once again got six day service from the
mail.
     Love,
          Dad (Edwin)

because my computer's getting repaired, i'm on a different
system, so the file transfer won't be as smooth. apologies. gek** 

#79 8 Dec 1996 

Dear Everyone: 

Just as it does at home, the pace of life has substantially 
quickened as the holidyas approach. I have to prepare the second 
set of tests and the final exams as well. In the midst of this 
work I gave a paper at the South West Associaiotn of Physics 
Teachers in Kumba on Friday, and yesterday I participated in UBUs 
first graduation ceremony. 

Because I was scheduled to give my paper (on my view of changes 
in computing since my first experience at AVCO in 1961 with the 
IBM 704 which had less power than my wrist watch but rented for 
$360/hour) at 8 a.m., I went to Kumba Thursday evening and dined 
on roast fish wiht Terry Luschen. I felt obligated to appaear at 
the venue, Presbyterian HS, on time though I knew I would 
porobably start at 9. I was right. We used PHSUs lecture hall, 
which was a shambles by US standards--all the window glass stole,
the wiring for two lights hanging from the ceiling, the fixtures
residing who knows where, quite primitive wooden seats set behind 
long wooden tables. Nonetheless, even the birds roosting on the 
dangling electrical wires found the hall quite serviceable. 
further, the one existing light actually worked, and an overhead 
projector was available (and functioning). 

It was interesting to hear some of the problems of teaching 
physicis in Cameroon , especially the conflict between tribal 
beliefs and physical facts--e.g. the belief of te Bangem students 
that stones thrown into the Twin Lakes we visited would not sink 
but would be hurled back by the resident spirits. Aslo interesing 
was the belief of one of the participants that the first world 
made internet connection by physical cable cheap and by satellite 
expensive in a deliberate plot to block African access to the 
internet, African infrastructure being unable to support access 
by physical cable. Finally, I learned about the history of the 
GCE (General Certifiate of Educaton) Exam in Cameroon (which 
holds tremendous sway over the educational ssytem from another 
paper presented. By design, the GCE is intended for the top 20% 
of the students. 

The U of B held graduation for the first two classes of students, 
clases normally separated by a year, but with the first class
actually starting n January. The Vice-Chencellor was happy to
report a graduation rate of 42% (so far, because doubtless others
from these classes will graduate next year or even the year
after). In some sense a reply of the ceremony in Dschang of two
weeks ago, the graduation was much smoother, because the
administration had ample opportunity to see how not to do it at
Dschang, but we did have the usual two hour delay in starting.
Each of the 750 graduates was called up to receive a degree,
which caused the ceremony to drag on for three and one half
hours, at leas forus poor captives on stage. Almost everyone else
left before the ceremony was closed. Nobody had to tell those
participants, "Let the party begin."

To add to the excitement of last week an horrendous accident
occurred in Mutengene, a crossroads community about 10 km from
Buea. A truck driver hauling timber for a Malaysian company which
is raping the local rain-forest was recklessly driving down the
mountain from Buea toward Mutengene when he lost his brakes and
ended up plowing thorugh Mutengene at its most bustling. Sixteen
people were killed outright and about 40 people were sreiously
injured. Given the medical care here, more people will die.

Curses, foiled by the Cameroonian post office. We can only thank
Don Davis for a letter. Perhaps next week a deluge 

Love, Dad (Edwin)