Salut tout le mondes!

I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall weather and all that, that entails (football, football, football, thanksgiving ,football, not that I miss it or anything ;) I’m having a great November, although I’m sure much different then most of yours (sweating bullets in November is something that’s going to take a little getting used to ☺). A lot has happened since I last got a chance to update this thing so forgive me if this post feels like it’s all over the place. Ok here we go!

Things on the home-stay front continue to be great. My family is wonderful and I’m going to be sad when I have to say goodbye in a few weeks. I definitely plan on stopping by for a visit whenever I’m in town.

Here are the highlights from the past month and a half:
1. I got locked in the bathroom at the training house for 30 minuets and had to end up being axed out by 3 Cameroonian men.
2. I attended a special ceremony in a neighboring village where a new chief was being crowned. It was by far one of the coolest things I’ve done in country thus far. There were easily 5 or 6 thousand people there and it was like a giant festival/party/parade thing! Also it was pretty cool cause we got the VIP treatment and were invited into the “royal compound” for a private party… BALLER ;)
3. I was sneezed on by a goat, that’s one of three currently living in our kitchen. It was gross and at the same time so funny that I actually laughed till I peed my pants a little. It’s moments like this, when you find yourself sitting in a wood fire, dirt floor kitchen, and your arm covered in goat snot, when you just have to laugh!
4. I got a chigger. It was really disgusting. I can happily say that now I am chigger free (YAY!) but digging a parasite out of my toe with a needle and a pair of tweezers, accidently popping the egg sack, and watching tons of little chigger egg-pus ooze out of my foot is definitely worth making note of ☺
5. I found out my post and attended a counterpart workshop, which was hot and long and a little boring but totally worth it, because one I got to meet my counterpart, and two I got to learn a little about my post in Bankim. My counterpart’s name is Bernadette and she is the senior nurse at the Lutheran Health Center in Bankim, which is the institution I’m partnered with. As far as I can tell she’s motivated, dedicated, and really excited to work with me. I don’t want to call it to soon, but I think we’re gonna work great together.

Site Visit Recap!!!
1. My post is in Bankim in the western part of the Adamoa. It takes 4 hours to get from Baffousam (the provincial capital of the West) to Bankim on mostly dirt roads in a bush taxi when the roads are fairly dry, and up to 9 hours at the height of the rainy season. It took me about 5 to get there and then 6 to get back at the end of the week, so not bad if I do say so myself.
2. Basic things you need to know are it’s a major truck stop so a pretty bustling medium sized town, there are no paved roads, even though main street is technically an international highway, the people are great, and there’s a huge amount of diversity in the town because Bankim finds itself an ethnic crossroad of sorts
3. People in Bankim speak French, Pidgion, Fulfulde, Tikar and what it’s commonly referred to as “special English.” I’m gonna need to make friends with some people willing to translate ASAP
4. There are easily 25-30 little villages “en brusse” surrounding Bankim, and I think I’ll be doing the bulk of my work as a PCV in these areas. We visited one of these little villages and I would say the population was probably less then 75 people. Not gonna lie it blew my mind a little!
5. I sat in and helped with a baby vaccination day. For those of you laughing hysterically right now let me just add some fuel to the fire. Picture me in a room with 50 Cameroonian babies all under a year old and their mothers for 5 hours. All I can say is someone out there has a great sense of humor. All jokes and soul sucking stares aside though, I really did have an awesome time helping out. Maybe babies aren’t so bad after all… maybe ;)
6. I took my first motorcycle taxi ride and… IT WAS AWESOME! Mom, if you’re reading this clam down I was wearing a helmet and I told the driver to be careful… breath. The driver took Ralph (the guy I’m replacing) and I all around Bankim so I could get a good feel for the landscape, which by the way is gorgeous. I’m right where the rainforest and the Sahara start to meet so there are tall grasses and beautiful tropical trees everywhere.
7. So Ralph… I think he’s kind of a legend within Peace Corps Cameroon. He’s a 65 year old retired Navy seal/ski patrolman/ Peace Corps volunteer who’s been working in Bankim for the past two years. He was great site visit host and it’s not going to be easy to fill his shoes. If you’re reading this Ralph, thanks again for showing me around Bankim. I had great time and can’t wait to get back and start working! One last note about Ralph and site visit; I can now officially say I’ve been in Africa and watched Mean Girls with a retired Navy seal… just you try and beat that one ;)
8. Overall I loved my site visit and I’m really excited to get back and settle into the community. I feel like there are a lot of places in Bankim where a PCV can be a community mobilizer, and I’m PUMPED!!!

I know I’m forgetting things like crazy but it’s hard to put this entire experience down into words. Final things I wanted to let people know are that I have a phone (you can get the number from mama millman), you can text for free from Skype, there’s internet in Bankim (KMillmavt09@gmail.com), I wrote some letters so be on the look out, and I miss all of you tons but I’m still having the time of my life here!

Peace!
Kate

P.S. Happy birthday Rose and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else!!!