goat intestines, talking politics, and hot hot heat.

Well, I've made it one week! And I can't even begin to tell you what a whirlwhind it has been. The past week was spent at a monastery on Mount Febe (faybay) for our orientation into Cameroon. It was a really nice transition because the monestary/ Mount Febe overlook Yaounde and so we're removed from the hustle and bustle of the city itself. However, on Thursday, we had our first big challenge- "the drop-off". My fellow-Ohioan Clark and I were paired together for this activity (if that's what you could even call it) and taken in a taxi to be dropped off in a random part of the city. We each had 3000 francs or roughly $6 to make our way around the city and complete a list of tasks. We had four hours and in that time span we: had a soda at this dingy bar, bought some gifts, went to many different quartiers (neighborhoods), and took about 40986 taxis all around the city; and it must be mentioned that taxis here are nothing like the US... here, you pile as many people into a taxi as you can, whether or not you're going to the same place. Wild. So, all in all, the drop off was probably the craziest thing I've ever done in my life but we made it back to the monestary safe and sound by 630 that night.



On Friday, I moved in with my Yaounde host family, the Djonke Family. There's Michel and Daphne (Daph-nayy) and my two host brothers Patrice and Huit Frites (wheat - freet)... well I'm pretty sure that's his name I can never really tell- it sounds like wheat freet. The past two nights Michel and I have talked about a wide array of topics including unemployment in the US and Cameroon, politics, the Obama elecition, our thoughts on Burkas, socialism v. capitalism.... Honestly, there's a lot of those conversations I have missed because no one in the family speaks a lick of french. But I actually think it's for the best because I already feel a lot more comfortable and could fully participate in the 'unemployment' convo last night. But it does make me laugh that our conversations have started out on that level.

There's a nice breeze on the roof of our house which is really nice considering I've been sweating non stop since I got to the airport. You can sit on top of the roof and see the neighbor kids playing football (soccer) to the left, goats roaming, a bunch of tiny houses sprawling beneath us, and the one and only horse stables in Yaounde to our right. Not to mention the 3-4 churches that surround us which are constantly emitting gospel-y tunes. This afternoon, I helped Daphne and Wheat-Freet clean fish, season the fish, fry the fish, and fry the plantains for a giant lunch with "ah-nan-nan" (pineapple) for dessert. My life is great.

More to surely come, happy weekend!