A few weeks ago, I received an email from a lady who work with l'AESCO, a French NGO whom I've contacted about book donation for our library project. She said would be in Yaounde for a few days around the 15th and wanted to meet with me. Just so happen that I was suppose to attend a meeting in the Capital on the 15th with the umbrella organization of my microfinance institution. I wasn't going to attend because it was the last week of my business class, and I wanted to be there for the "graduation". But everything eventually worked out because my students protested to have the graduation moved when I announced my pending absense. So, I got to go to my meetings, and still take part in handing out the certificates for my students!
Anyway, back to the meeting. Monday of the week I was traveling to the Capital, I emailed the lady with my contact information and the exact time that I would be free. Still nothing. I became rather disappointed thinking perhaps the meeting won't take place after all. Then, 6:30am on the day of the meeting, I got a call from her. Still asleep, I jumped out of bed and took the call, mustering what French I could during my half asleep mode. She wanted to meet that day. So we arranged a time to meet at the University of Yaounde. I couldn't tell before if she is Cameroonian or French, but after a 6:30am call, it was clear - definitely a Cameroonian! It still amazes me that I get calls at 6am and they think it's perfectly normal, because they've already been up for at least an hour, if not more!
Siobhan, fellow volunteer working on the project, went to this meeting with me. We were perfectly content expecting it to last forever, as most Cameroonian meetings are. But, to our surprise, this lady had spent enough time in France and has adopted to the efficiency. We were in and out of the meeting in 15 minutes. We talked more about our project, who it will benefit, where it will be, etc. She asked some questions, took notes, and said, "we'll supply the books you need if you can find a way to pay for the transportation. We've stopped the book drive operation, but we are starting it back up for you. I am in the country until May 1st, and I will go back to France and discuss the details with the President. We'll be in contact." Just like that. Clear. Simple. To the point.
I was in shock leaving this meeting. This lady even drove me and Siobhan to where we were headed next, saving us a trip in the taxi. I could not believe how easy it was. And just like that, we have a promise of French book supplies for 25 village schools! Before I left the village for vacation, I had gone around to delivering project applications to most of the schools in my village and a few nearby. I've also selected the schools who will participate in the project, keep those who weren't selected on the backburner, in case we have more books than we can manage, then they'll benefit as well.
The project is growing with a snowball effect. For the first 8 months of my time in Cameroon, everything I did felt like pulling teeth. Everything took forever and never works. Suddenly, things are falling into places and working, and I can't be more satisfied!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Business Class Success!
My first series of business classes came and gone. Thus far, this marks the most concrete and rewarding project I have completed during my service. Since it was the first time for me, it was immensely helpful having Nura, who have taught the class many times, teaching it with me. She guided me through logistics and tips about managing the class.
I am very pleased with both the turnout of the students and the motivation demonstrated. We taught at the makeshift community center in town and students came from not only Batie, but also neighboring villages. Teaching the class has helped gaining confidence both in my French, and my ability to manage projects and working closely with villagers. Students are very patient with my French and would help me explain concepts or find the words I am searching for. After all, I am (supposedly) the expert in business knowledge, not French.
Through this class, I've also put on my business advising hat and giving some ideas about better improving business/projects, or even at the most basic level, determining whether an idea can work. I studied finance and economics in university, and when I left last May, I didn't think I would ever create financial models again on Excel for a very long time. But surprisingly, I found myself downloading the final exam from my financial modeling course and creating models for village entrepreneurs to determine their break-even points. Now, this may sound pretty simple, but quite the contrary. In school, no one taught me how to determine the expected growth rate or such other factors; they were always given! Also, MACRS depreciation schedule doesn't quite apply au village. Changes are thus adapted to these models. If nothing else, I am glad I am finding a way to apply knowledge from that very expensive and overpriced university education to help some villages in the middle of nowhere Africa.
Overall, quite the success with first series of business class and I look forward to hosting many more and seeking many more motivated individuals to work with!
PS-I shall post pictures in the near future on our "graduation". The students organize a little party with food and everything. Naturally, I had to get my picture taken with every single student and their certificates. They love those certificates!!
I am very pleased with both the turnout of the students and the motivation demonstrated. We taught at the makeshift community center in town and students came from not only Batie, but also neighboring villages. Teaching the class has helped gaining confidence both in my French, and my ability to manage projects and working closely with villagers. Students are very patient with my French and would help me explain concepts or find the words I am searching for. After all, I am (supposedly) the expert in business knowledge, not French.
Through this class, I've also put on my business advising hat and giving some ideas about better improving business/projects, or even at the most basic level, determining whether an idea can work. I studied finance and economics in university, and when I left last May, I didn't think I would ever create financial models again on Excel for a very long time. But surprisingly, I found myself downloading the final exam from my financial modeling course and creating models for village entrepreneurs to determine their break-even points. Now, this may sound pretty simple, but quite the contrary. In school, no one taught me how to determine the expected growth rate or such other factors; they were always given! Also, MACRS depreciation schedule doesn't quite apply au village. Changes are thus adapted to these models. If nothing else, I am glad I am finding a way to apply knowledge from that very expensive and overpriced university education to help some villages in the middle of nowhere Africa.
Overall, quite the success with first series of business class and I look forward to hosting many more and seeking many more motivated individuals to work with!
PS-I shall post pictures in the near future on our "graduation". The students organize a little party with food and everything. Naturally, I had to get my picture taken with every single student and their certificates. They love those certificates!!
Les nouvelles du village
Hello world! Yes, I am still alive and sincere apologies for the lack of updates this past month. The first part of April was occupied with business classes and other projects; the past two weeks, I was in solitude because I had to give the ghetto charger back to Nura (see previous post) and therefore no working computer, thus disconnected from the world.
Life au village continues to treat me quite nicely, although two weeks of solitude made me rather stir crazy and I am glad to finally be in the capital, making my way slowly onto the long-awaited vacation. Last week, my mother reminded me to not go to the wrong airport when I'm in Paris boarding for my flight to Taipei. It occurred to me that it has been exactly four years since I began my travel frenzy; it all began the summer after freshman year in college when I spent the summer in Taiwan/France/Belgium.
If you don't know the infamous wrong-airport story, it goes something like this in summary: I let my dear friend Jess planned our extra stay in Europe after France. She took care of everything, including taking us to the wrong airport (Orly instead of Beauvais where Ryanair flies). Then told me the train to London is overnight and we wouldn't need to find a hostel for that night - we got to London at 10pm and right after the '05 bombing so the transport was chaos. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure, and made a great story to tell. Jess remains a dear friend of mine to this day, and we retell the story every chance we get.
I titled this blog Round II for I felt somehow this experience in the Peace Corps will connect me back to my past. This trip back to the motherland is unexpected, but I think will attribute to me making the linkage between my past, present, and future. Stay tuned to see how the connection unravels!
Life au village continues to treat me quite nicely, although two weeks of solitude made me rather stir crazy and I am glad to finally be in the capital, making my way slowly onto the long-awaited vacation. Last week, my mother reminded me to not go to the wrong airport when I'm in Paris boarding for my flight to Taipei. It occurred to me that it has been exactly four years since I began my travel frenzy; it all began the summer after freshman year in college when I spent the summer in Taiwan/France/Belgium.
If you don't know the infamous wrong-airport story, it goes something like this in summary: I let my dear friend Jess planned our extra stay in Europe after France. She took care of everything, including taking us to the wrong airport (Orly instead of Beauvais where Ryanair flies). Then told me the train to London is overnight and we wouldn't need to find a hostel for that night - we got to London at 10pm and right after the '05 bombing so the transport was chaos. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure, and made a great story to tell. Jess remains a dear friend of mine to this day, and we retell the story every chance we get.
I titled this blog Round II for I felt somehow this experience in the Peace Corps will connect me back to my past. This trip back to the motherland is unexpected, but I think will attribute to me making the linkage between my past, present, and future. Stay tuned to see how the connection unravels!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Zap Back Into Reality
The only thing about the rain is the higher chances of power disturbances. This past Thursday, a huge storm came through while I was teaching. The class itself was kind of a funny disaster because on top of the fact we were teaching income statement/balance sheet, which no one ever understands, the rain caused loud noises that forced us to divide the class into small groups. Then, the poorly constructed building led to water everywhere. It's pouring outside, but we were not exactly dry inside. Finally, the rain subsided and Nura and I ended the class. While making our way back to my house, we saw crowds of villagers heading somewhere, and turns out the storm knocked over a power line and caught Charlie's house on fire...
We got home and were in the process of making hummus when I noticed the fridge wasn't working. This is when I realize my power regulator box had been fried. Bummer. Later when I attempted to put on some music, I realized the charger to my Macbook is also fried. Blast! I was quite annoyed by these things, but they all eventually worked out. The next day, I went back to Nura's house and she let me borrow her ghetto fabulous extra macbook charger that someone in this country had made - the Macbook magnetic charger somehow connected to an IBM battery charger. It's amazing the things people can come up with here. I also made a trip to Bafoussam to buy another regulator, this time twice as powerful,in hope that nothing else gets fried again.
Everything worked out all within 24 hour but it really had me worry for a bit there. So much of my work now depends on the computer. The thought of my computer crashing again scares me to no end. Earlier tonight my computer was acting up and I think my heart stopped for a second. This is what I will not miss about life here - the constant fear that my computer will freak out and there will be very little that I can do about it. When things work, you want them to work better. I was contemplating on upgrading the memory to my laptop to make it work faster. After this exeperience, I am now just focusing on having a computer that simply works and has power source. Perspectives, I tell ya.
We got home and were in the process of making hummus when I noticed the fridge wasn't working. This is when I realize my power regulator box had been fried. Bummer. Later when I attempted to put on some music, I realized the charger to my Macbook is also fried. Blast! I was quite annoyed by these things, but they all eventually worked out. The next day, I went back to Nura's house and she let me borrow her ghetto fabulous extra macbook charger that someone in this country had made - the Macbook magnetic charger somehow connected to an IBM battery charger. It's amazing the things people can come up with here. I also made a trip to Bafoussam to buy another regulator, this time twice as powerful,in hope that nothing else gets fried again.
Everything worked out all within 24 hour but it really had me worry for a bit there. So much of my work now depends on the computer. The thought of my computer crashing again scares me to no end. Earlier tonight my computer was acting up and I think my heart stopped for a second. This is what I will not miss about life here - the constant fear that my computer will freak out and there will be very little that I can do about it. When things work, you want them to work better. I was contemplating on upgrading the memory to my laptop to make it work faster. After this exeperience, I am now just focusing on having a computer that simply works and has power source. Perspectives, I tell ya.
Village Love
I'm wrapped in a fleece blanket with a cup of warm jasmine tea by my side. The rainy season has finally arrived, and I couldn't be happier. Since around November, I've been suffering through the horror that is the dry season. No matter how much I clean, my house is always dirty, as are my feet. The dust is everywhere. It covers everything in the house. If I dare step outside of my house, I am instantly covered by the dust, and if a car or a moto drives by - forget it, there is no part of me that will remain clean. I get lazy with the shower, because on top of the fact it's a pain in the butt to get water/boil water/bucket bath, what's the point? I will be dirty again in 3.5 seconds. Furthermore, my respiratory system is all screwy from the dust. I take decongestants as if they were candy. This problem wouldn't be so bad if this country has more paved roads. It's a vicious cycle, you see? The roads aren't paved, the dust get people sick, and then people aren't productive. This results in people never being productive because they are too sick in the dry season, and in the rainy season? well, there is the rain! Why would one uses the umbrella and brave the rain when you can just "sit it out"?
In any case, I am so so happy the rain is upon us. I love the fresh smell of the air in the morning, the cold breeze that causes me to put on a sweater and wrap in blankets. The beginning of the rain also makes this the only month that the weather corresponds with the Northern hemisphere. April shower!
I am in a jolly good mood, even though the quiche tonight didn't turn out quite as well (evaporated milk makes all the difference..!). Today, I thought about how I will really miss this place when I have to leave it behind in roughly a year's time. Despite of all the things I miss about the modern work (tonight, I particularly missed Jazz bars and a good glass of red wine in big heavy wine glasses), I will never again live in a place where strangers are so nice to me. The more I live here, the more I am amazed at just how NICE people are. I am not talking about Cameroon, I am talking about my village. Trust me, outside of my village, people are not nice.
Apparently the kid who stole from me stole again, this time with his older brother. They were caught and put in jail. I absolutely love the fact nearly a dozen people have came and told me about this news. They all come to me with this, "I just want to make sure you know the kid got what he deserved" kind of niceness. I will miss this about village living. I will miss everyone now calling me by name - the lady that sells me my everyday things, the vegetable mama, the fruit lady, the bar ladies, the tool guy. Everyone knows my name, and they all now throw in a little something extra when I buy things. When was the last time you bought your grocery and the guy at the checkout greeted you by name and threw in extra tomatoes? Also, I love love love the kids that wave and yell my name when I am either on a moto or walking down the street. Every kid that lives along the way from my house to the carrefour has now properly learned my name. No one calls me "la blanche" any longer.
I count my blessings everyday with the people I encounter: the unbelievably nice villagers, the motivated students, the adorable kids, and then there are the fellow volunteers and the seemingly endless supply of French students/volunteers whom I can have "real" conversations with and they get my craving for a glass of really good wine and a piece of really good chocolate. My daily life here may not be at all exciting, but life in general is ever so unexpected. There hasn't been a month that gone by where I hadn't thought, "well, that was an interesting and unexpected month". I don't know too many who can say that about their lives in the world of running water, washing machines and plentiful choices. (I can't wait to get my jeans washed in a washing machine!!)
In any case, I am so so happy the rain is upon us. I love the fresh smell of the air in the morning, the cold breeze that causes me to put on a sweater and wrap in blankets. The beginning of the rain also makes this the only month that the weather corresponds with the Northern hemisphere. April shower!
I am in a jolly good mood, even though the quiche tonight didn't turn out quite as well (evaporated milk makes all the difference..!). Today, I thought about how I will really miss this place when I have to leave it behind in roughly a year's time. Despite of all the things I miss about the modern work (tonight, I particularly missed Jazz bars and a good glass of red wine in big heavy wine glasses), I will never again live in a place where strangers are so nice to me. The more I live here, the more I am amazed at just how NICE people are. I am not talking about Cameroon, I am talking about my village. Trust me, outside of my village, people are not nice.
Apparently the kid who stole from me stole again, this time with his older brother. They were caught and put in jail. I absolutely love the fact nearly a dozen people have came and told me about this news. They all come to me with this, "I just want to make sure you know the kid got what he deserved" kind of niceness. I will miss this about village living. I will miss everyone now calling me by name - the lady that sells me my everyday things, the vegetable mama, the fruit lady, the bar ladies, the tool guy. Everyone knows my name, and they all now throw in a little something extra when I buy things. When was the last time you bought your grocery and the guy at the checkout greeted you by name and threw in extra tomatoes? Also, I love love love the kids that wave and yell my name when I am either on a moto or walking down the street. Every kid that lives along the way from my house to the carrefour has now properly learned my name. No one calls me "la blanche" any longer.
I count my blessings everyday with the people I encounter: the unbelievably nice villagers, the motivated students, the adorable kids, and then there are the fellow volunteers and the seemingly endless supply of French students/volunteers whom I can have "real" conversations with and they get my craving for a glass of really good wine and a piece of really good chocolate. My daily life here may not be at all exciting, but life in general is ever so unexpected. There hasn't been a month that gone by where I hadn't thought, "well, that was an interesting and unexpected month". I don't know too many who can say that about their lives in the world of running water, washing machines and plentiful choices. (I can't wait to get my jeans washed in a washing machine!!)
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