Radio Celeb

Sorry for the ten day lapse, I’ve been in the thick and heavy of research and it is going SO well. One, the independence of ISP is just wonderful. I figured without the structured time and fullness of our group, in a foreign country nonetheless, that I might be bored or too much out of my element but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The freedom has been so refreshing and has let me get to know the country without someone ‘holding my hand’. And I wouldn’t necessarily say SIT holds our hands in anyway, quite the contrary really; but during ISP you’re not waiting for a field trip, student night, or doing a homework assignment with your homestay family. I’ve been all around this city talking to this person and that person, delegates, teachers, students , NGOs, neighbors, etc. I have a little recorder, I write interview transcriptions, I frantically am writing down notes or new realizations throughout my days, not to mention my beach visits. I’m living such a weird life, but I absolutely love it. And it’s going to be over, well at least this chapter, shockingly soon. One week, ISP is done. Then off to Mt. Cameroon, and then only one more week spent in Yaounde. So. Wild.

Anyway before I start getting all worked up about leaving and the simultaneous sadness and excitement that comes along with it, I’ll share a few highlights from my past ten days.

1. I was on the radio today! I feel like a Cameroonian celebrity. This radio DJ person found out about my research and wanted to interview me on air. So Veronique (host mom extraordinaire and head of the NGO I’m working with) and a friend Carole who also as an NGO, talked on the radio for about 45 minutes about my research, my time in Cameroon, and my suggestions about helping young girls stay in school and out of the streets, etc. I certainly don’t feel like an expert on this issue but I’ve learned so much in my past three weeks that I actually could feel my progress while explaining to the DJ man. Anyway, point is I feel famous and it was a lot of fun, and better yet if people actually listen to Kribi FM 95.5 then maybe people learned some things?

2. I had a Women Writing for a Change writing circle yesterday with a group of ‘filles/femmes libres’ or free women /some of them would consider themselves prostitutes. For those of you who know what WWfaC is, it was a really rewarding experience doing it with these women for so many reasons. (For those of you who don't, www.womenwriting.org, WWfaC is a writing school/community that I'ven been a part of for a few years and where I learned how to lead creative writing circles, and thus did one with this group of women here.) Veronique really doubted it working, because a lot of the time filles libres aren’t very educated (hence my research) and it’s very un-Cameroonian to do a creative anything really. Not that Cameroonians are uncreative, but they just like to follow life by the books and writing circles for women do not fit into their books. But I decided to do it anyway because I felt like it couldn’t hurt and it turned out so well. The women shared what they wrote and despite the fact that the whole thing happened in French in a boiling little room in Cameroon the presence of WWafC was clearly there.

3. Veronique is wonderful, as I’ve mentioned. Well I met her husband for the first time this week (he’s a marine biologist and has been travelling for work) and it makes sense that they’re married. He’s very chatty, loves to eat but is on a strict diet (which apparently allows for stealing and eating my french toast), and plays tennis every night in the whitest outfit you’ve ever send with pants that stop above his ankles. So my nightlife at home has become that much more lively.

Ah okay, enough for one post. Hope that you all are doing well, and special shout out to Katie Grimm, Maddie Katz, Liz Smith, and Catreena Besb for the lovely mail.

Love from Cameroon,
Cootenay Booster (how the DJ referred to me the entire show)