The Little Things

Now that I've decided on my next move, I'm getting increasingly more anxious with the rest of my time here in Cameroon. Yet at the same time, I am trying to take in every last bit of this love-hate relationship that I've developed with Cameroon.

Some things in the past few days that I want to remember:

• The drive from Bafoussam to Batié. This is 30-45 minute ride is one that I take very frequently and over the past 20 months, I've now gotten quite comfortable. I almost always sit in the front passenger seat, meaning I only need to be squished with one other person. And if I get lucky, this person is skinny and I'm riding (relatively) comfortably. The ride is beautiful, and I made a mental note that I will take a video of it before I leave.
  
  
• I have grown to be practically immune to bugs. I don't even bother to get up and kill bugs when I see them now. It's too much work. I simply let them roam freely in my house. Luckily, I have lots of little lizard friends who are around to eat the bugs. These lizards remind me of childhood in Taiwan, so comforting also in that way. Few nights ago, a lizard attacked one of the biggest spider I've EVER seen in my entire life. And friends, I've seen a lot of freaking large spiders, this one was special. Little lizard somehow was able to attack this spider that is bigger than himself and proceed to start swallow/eat it. I sat in my chair and watched this live attack going down. Who needs National Geographic when I have this happening 3 feet from me?
  
  
• I was running today and neighborhood kids were sliding down a sandy hill with various lids/tubs, then climbing back up the hill, and repeat the act. This immediately reminded me of going sledding in the snow! Appropriately enough, it is still winter in the Northern hemisphere. People do the same things. Black or white. Snow or sand.
  
  
• Recently discovered that eating locally produced roasted peanuts and Mambo (local, I think, chocolate) bar simultaneously really closely mimics peanut M&Ms! Wish I had discovered this earlier. But, I still won't mind if you send me peanut M&Ms. :)

That is all. And lastly, I recently received an email from a prospective PCV who shares the same Taiwanese-American background. Not many Asians join the Peace Corps and I was happy to discuss with her my experience and provide some insights. I try to be meticulous about keeping up with this blog because I enjoyed reading others' experiences while applying. If you are a prospective PCV reading this, let me know what kind of info you would like me to write or to add. And of course, I'm always happy to answer questions via email!