Mom and Mike Visit Cameroon: Part 5 -- American Family, meet Cameroonian Family

Having my family visit Akono was no doubt an incredibly special opportunity for all of us.  This evening, my mom and I were talking about how it wasn't so much of a "touristy vacation", but rather an "experience".  More important than any sites to be seen in Cameroon, Mom and Mike got to get a taste of what my life is like here and meet the people that they hear about all the time on the phone or when we Skype.

Our first day, Carole and Michael invited us over for lunch.  Carole has been my best friend in Akono since my first week here, and Mom and Mike quickly learned why.  Her family – Carole, Michael, and their three children – are not just incredibly kind and hospitable, but they are full of life.  Not only do they have hearts of gold, but they are full of laughter and love, and are always looking to have a good time.  The minute they opened the door, they gave Mom and Mike big bear hugs, totally thrilled to meet people that up until that moment, were simply names and ideas of people that existed in my American life.

Carole prepared a big feast for my family: spaghetti omelets, koki, salad, bananas, papaya -- I don’t remember what else, but I'm sure there was more.  Then Mom, Carole, and the two Michaels sat on the couch together flipping through old photo albums.  While Carole doesn’t speak English, Michael is Anglophone, so between he and I, everyone was able to get along and communicate just fine.

We spent a lot of time with them.  The kids took a huge liking to “Uncle Mike”, constantly jumping on him, driving Hot-Wheels cars across his face, and borrowing his watch.  

One night, Carole and Michael came over around dinnertime while Mom and Mike and I were playing cards, so I whipped up some pesto pasta (they were astonished to learn that I knew how to cook) and we spent the night drinking wine, playing Uno, and discussing development and education.

Carole came along with us for evening walks, taught my mom how to make a local dish (fish with black sauce), and even accompanied us for a trip to Mbalmayo to go on a canoe trip through the forest.  

On my family's last day in Akono, Carole prepared a final lunch for us to eat together, and they presented Mom and Mike each with a traditional Cameroonian outfit.  

It was fun to share Carole and Michael with my family, and vice versa.  Now my Cameroonian family knows a piece of my real family.  Finally they can put faces to the names.  And more importantly, I think my mom was happy to learn that I truly am surrounded by wonderful people here in Akono – people that are not only fun to be around, but who protect me and look out for me, and will treat me like family.

Of course they also met other key people in my life here – we had a brief encounter with my counterpart Madame Manga, shared a beer with Madame Obama, spent time at my good friend Patience’s bar, met Mama Sofie and her exuberant and kind family that owns the main boutique in town, bought bean sandwiches from Mama Melanie and plantain chips from my neighbor Marie.  With just a week’s visit, my world here in Akono was transformed from simple stories to real people and places. Now my Mom will have a understanding of what I mean when I say things like “today I was hanging out with Patience…” These people and places that exist in my Peace Corps life are real to her now as well, and to me, that is invaluable.