A week in the life of a PCV: Day One

Sorry for slacking off once again... I was off galavanting in Turkey and Israel, getting up to amazing adventures with amazing people!  Back in the 'roon now, and ready for my last three months of service!  

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Many friends from home have asked me in the past couple weeks:  What exactly do you do everyday? 

It’s a question that I always have a difficult time answering, because I have no fixed schedule.  Some days are jam-packed with activities and meetings (some planned, some spontaneous); other days I have an inordinate amount of free time that either A) forces me to get creative in how I spend it, or B) drives me mildly insane.  

I realize that this does not exactly answer the question:  What exactly do I do everyday?   I usually try to avoid play-by-plays in my blog, sharing only major events and avoiding the mundane, but I guess what has become mundane for me might still be interesting for others... Maybe?  We'll see!  

So here we go!  Seven blog posts for seven days:  a week in the life of, err.. me!

MONDAY

5:30AM  --  I woke up too early this morning.  It was still pitch black outside, and thus an ungodly hour at which no human being should ever be awake.  Yet I had foolishly turned my lights out at 7:30PM last night, falling asleep before 9, so it was my own darn fault.  I debated getting out of bed, but like I said – it was far too early.  I have a mental block against getting out of bed before 8:00, unless it’s to make breakfast to bring back to bed, which is exactly what I did this morning.  Cocoa oats, as I like to call it:  oatmeal with hot chocolate powder.  I like to pretend it’s the healthy version of Cocoa Puffs.

Snuggling back under all of my blankets (it was a brisk 70º), I enjoyed my cocoa oats while reading a book.  About an hour later, it was time for a nap.  Oh wait, you weren't expecting details of my breakfast and naps??  Oh... Okay.

8:35AM --  I woke up to my alarm at the absolute latest time that I could roll out of bed, get dressed, and make it to my 9AM meeting.  

9:00AM  --  I was searching for the path that leads to Mr. Ndzana’s ponds.  I’ve only been there once before, and the bushes have grown quite a bit since then.  Eventually I heard a radio playing and the sound of a machete hacking away at weeds, and guessed that this was probably the right path.  Voila!  Mr. Ndzana!

We spent the next hour walking around his three ponds, discussing the work that he’s accomplished in the past month and what he can do next.  Mr. Ndzana is a primary school teacher and constructed these ponds as a side activity, but is enthusiastic and eager to learn the ins-and-outs of aquaculture.  We scheduled a time to meet in my office next week so that we can sit down and discuss further.

As we left the ponds, we waked through his small garden and picked some ripe guava fruits to eat as we walked back to town.  Mr. Nzana and I parted ways at the Akono Educational Block (where all of the schools are located), where I ran into the director of the primary school.  We briefly discussed the details of our library project, which will hopefully be complete by September/October.

11:15AM  --  I had been home and frantically researching grad programs and potential jobs (ugh!) for about 20 minutes when I heard Madame Obama calling my name from outside.  Apparently we were supposed to be meeting the trainers and technicians of FECDEC’s greenhouse project at Dzamtewutug (pronounced jam-too-woo-too, duhhh!).

We walked the 25 minutes to the agricultural school at Dzamtewutug and spent the next two hours sitting and watching technicians dig holes.  The women of FECDEC were frustrated that I didn’t bring my camera; I was frustrated that they only invited me to use my camera.  With no tasks at hand, I tried to make small-talk with Madame Obama and Mama Marie-Therese, but they kept dozing off, so I spent the better part of two hours daydreaming -- something that I've become really good at in Cameroon.

I was relieved when it was finally time to go home.  Being useless was getting a bit dull.  (At least at home, I can be useless on my own terms!)  I made mac & cheese using the 1lb jar of delightfully bright orange cheese powder that my Mama sent me in a care package, and spent the afternoon reading.

4:00PM  --   Yves, the president of JEMA, came over to discuss a few project plans.  We discussed JEMA’s upcoming waste management project, as well as the upcoming cultural summer camp that we’re going to infiltrate with lessons about various health and environmental topics.  Yves is a wonderful counterpart; he's always coming up with new ideas and is incredibly receptive to suggestions.  We both walked away from this meeting feeling positive about these upcoming projects.

5:30PM  --   When Yves left, I slapped on my sneakers and went for an hour long run, to my favorite tree and back.  It had rained earlier in the afternoon, the air was fresh and the sky was still filled with clouds -- a perfect evening for a run! 

Three things that made me smile today:

1. I saw a baby goat.  It was incredibly cute and fluffy and just the best thing ever. 
2. I’m really excited about launching the waste management project with JEMA.  It feels great to have one last big project to focus on before finishing my service.
3. “Rockin’ Robin” came on shuffle while I was running, and reminded me of Montreal runs with my roommate Claire, when we would accidentally get a few miles off-course but power through by singing oldies at the top of our lungs and looking like nitwits.