Life in the (kinda) Big City

This week VSO's annual partner review took place, so I was asked to come to Bamenda for a week's worth of meetings, workshops and fun!  Not only did I get a good idea of how my partner organization works and how they feel about the partnership with VSO, but I got to spend a week in the city - which was like a little vacation (despite the massive workload).

I'm not sure if you can consider Bamenda the Big City, but when you live in Belo, it is.  So, here are my top 5 city-life treats:

1. Staying in a hotel. Usually I hate them, but this week I had hot water (!!!!) and was able to roll out of bed, have a coffee and log onto wireless internet (it really only worked for one day, but that's better than nothing)...and I didn't even have to leave the building. 

Funniest moment: while most people are worried about getting locked out of their hotel room, Linda (VSO Participation and Governance Program Manager) was locked IN her room, and when she called the front desk to have someone come break down the door, the man spent most of his time asking Mandy out in the hall before attempting to break Linda out!

VSO staff, volunteers and parter organizations at
Penn Pan Hotel during the Annual Review:

2. PresCafe.  One word: cappuccino! I get one every time I'm there (they have real milk!) and this week I had about 10. More highlights of PresCafe: (the best) Swiss Muesli (ever), Pasta and Greek Salads, plus the comforts of a clean European-style café in the heart of Bamenda. We had our final meeting there and spent the day ordering coffee after coffee and eating like pigs (thank you Ryan for the best home-made asian spring rolls and peanut sauce ever!)

Final volunteer meeting at PresCafe

3.  Valentine’s Day at HandiCraft.  A beautiful craftshop in Bamenda with adjoining restaurant and a fantastic view of the city and a local craft shop.  I had my favourite Cameroonian dinner: chicken, ndole and plantains, and spent a lovely night with three other volunteers (one of whom experienced her first Valentine`s day as a married woman without her new husband. Ashia!)

Valentine's at Handcraft:

4.  Creamy Crevette Curry at International Hotel!  A bit expensive (for Cameroon), but SO worth it!  This was my first meal in Bamenda with Amelita right off the bus, and is still one of my favourites.  They have cold beer and a big screen TV on the patio...where I happened to hear my first bit of news from the real world - Whitney is dead! RIP Witney.  

5.  Sister Rose.  I realize all my highlights revolve around food.  This blog obviously has a theme (maybe I should change the name). At Sister Rose, you choose your chicken before they kill it. Then they serve everything on a platter and you all eat with your hands in true Cameroonian style (we had a big group and ordered fish and chicken, jama jama and plantains - I`m still not tired of it!). 

Marja choosing her dinner

Not only did I enjoy a truly luxurious holiday in the city (yes, I am now very easy to please!), but I was back again the following week for the NGO Fair!  

Father Joseph King's Ordination

This weekend I was fortunate to experience the interesting manner in which Cameroonians have adopted Christian beliefs whilst maintaining so much of their traditional practices, which they incorporate into the services.

Amelita invited me to join her in Njinikom to witness the first-ever double ordination of two missionaries into the Catholic Church.  As much as I love church, this was very different from any service I have attended.

Amelita’s very close friend Joan invited us as her cousin, Joseph King, was one of the priests ordinated this weekend.  Joan’s daughter Baby Amy is named after Amelita, so she is considered family.  And we were definitely treated like family.

Another BERUDA volunteer and I met everyone in Njinikom, where a huge outdoor “auditorium” was set up in the field in front of the church.  We sat with the family toward the front of an audience of at least a few thousand, not to mention most of the village watching from the street. 

The formal ordination lasted from 9 am until about 1 pm, and included loads of traditional dancing, offerings, a Cameroonian choir and many excited villagers from all around the region, including missionaries from all over the world, such as a head minister from London.  We were even invited to join the family offering, which involved hundreds and hundreds of “family members” with gifts dancing up the isle to offer them to Father Joe.  I soon realized that Cameroonian church always involves dancing.



Father Joe guiding his parents




Opening ceremony

Father Joe will be stationed in a very dangerous and primitive area of Northern Uganda, where the last missionary was killed.

After the ceremony, we were fed Fufu, Jama Jama and beer with hundreds of family members at a nearby house.  Father Abner (Fundong's Parish Priest) then invited us to sit on the stage with the most important people in the hall for the afternoon community ceremonies. 

After more dancing and singing, we ate cake – such a treat!  The next day Joan invited us to attend Father Joseph’s first service in a village called Fuanantu.  We took a taxi then an ocado (motorcycle taxi) down the dustiest dirt road on earth to reach the village in the mountains.  We were dropped off at the nunnery so Amelita could meet two nuns from India, with whom we sat in the second row throughout the service. 

I thought that since this was not an ordination, it would be a regular one-hour service.  Silly me.  It also lasted from 9 am to 1 pm (not including the entire afternoon of festivities for the whole village), and included much of the same dancing, singing and traditional gift offerings. 

With Father Abner & Amelita outside the 
Catholic church in Njinikom

Afterwards, we were again invited to join the family for a massive buffet of traditional food, including Fufu, Jama Jama, Achu and many interesting and scary things I can’t even pronounce.  The biggest challenge of the day: finding ways to not eat the fish heads (and a chicken foot) served to me without being rude – which is tough in a place where the people value food above all else!  

Joanne’s family and all the villagers were truly so generous…they fed us all weekend, drove us back to Belo and even offered to take us to a Cry-Die (a burial held on the same day). Strangers approached us all day just to shake our hands, and Father Joe even acknowledged us during the service to thank us for coming.

So, needless to say, I’ve attended more church than I have in the past 10 years! And I've since been back for mass and lunch at the mission. Promise of food gets me anywhere!



Drinks at the pub after the ceremony

Hitching a ride with the Priests and alter boys