Why I love America

In the 4 months that I have been at post I have learned so much. Firstly, I learned to never trust anyone. My neighbor who invited me out to her village for a 5 day seminar turned shady; ca va dire, I have reason to believe she is a liar and a petty thief of soy seeds and soy money. If you ever suspect anyone of being immoral, it is usually best to assume that they are. But this is a lesson learned the hard way and really makes me reconsider the eyes with which I view this world. I keep forgetting that I am the white girl here. Despite calls of "La Blanche!" or "nytangun" in patoi, I feel so at home here that I never notice just how different I am outwardly. I realized that my neighbor was using me for small cash and for "partners" in the states, never with the intention of improving the conditions of her own village, her own family. Whenever someone talks about partners, they always assume that you know someone who can get them money. Furthermore, whenever someone talks about partners, they are probably not sincerly interested in doing work, but would rather sit comfortably and eat buffets, laughing while food falls out of their mouths and the rest of their family sits outside the window looking in with big eyes. Also, whenever someone wants you to work without your counterpart, they probably just want to trick you into going to their village to show off the white girl, reinforcing their high position in society. I have realized this the past few villages I visited with friends who were surprised when I asked why we were turning off the road instead of picking up Serges, my counterpart, first. "Oh, you want Serges to come?" HELLO! What do you think you are doing?!?

Despite learning the everyone has a village that needs a water pump (God, I hate water projects), I have also learned that the people who understand Peace Corps are probably going to be my only true friends during my time here. I have grown to really appreciate Serges more and more everyday, not only because he may be the only 36 year old Cameroonian man without a child, but because he works hard and he really understands Americans. Also, he knows that while I have some money here to enable me to live comfortably, I have very little financial means in the states, not counting my debt for student loans.

Other things that I really miss about America includes the fact that Americans are capable of listening to new music, not the same CD that took over 4 months to change, or the same Wyclef song that I heard once for an hour while it was played on repeat at a loud volume. I miss that it is okay if I don't cook. I am so busy here that I don't even have time to go to the store, or marche, let alone cook anything. My response to what have you prepared today? "Je travaille et je n'ai pas la femme." Or, I work and I don't have a wife. Aren't you lucky that you get to eat real food at the end of the day instead of soy yogurt and popcorn? I also miss the change in seasons. Everyday is the same, even the rainy season is just as rainy as the dry season and the dry season is just as dry as the rainy season. Everyday the sun rises at 6:15ish and eveyday the sun sets at 6:30ish.

But here there are mangoes, a bucketful at a buck. And as long as there are mangoes, I am content to put up with this other crap because at the end of the day, I get to close my door and play with my postmate's cat, who I am cat sitting, or the neighbors dog, who knows I always give food, and be in my own mini-America, though one without malls, televisions, fastfood, and all the other things I could do with never experiencing again.