The week passed

Things are more or less back to normal here in Buea. When I say normal I use it in the loosest sense of the word, there’s still chickens digging holes in front of my house and staring at me and gravity defying lizards walking on my roof.

As far as the strike is concerned, it’s all over, for now. There is still clearly a bubbling resentment under the surface of peoples’ opinions like the lava that will one day rain down from Mount Cameroon when the pressure gets to high.

Food is re-stocked and there is cold beer to enjoy. The roads have returned to their previous chaotic state of incessant car horns and dangerous manoeuvers.

I’ve mainly been teaching with the school on wheels and remedial reading programmes. They’re going very well but sometimes the kids are hard to control when they’re hopped up on sugar and life. Steven Ndive (a teacher of class 4 at jamandianle) has joined the school on wheels programme and his help is much appreciated. He is also going to be helping me with the remedial programme when the other volunteers leave in a week.

I’m really enjoying teaching, I think with a bit more practice I could be very good at it. I like kids. I love their honesty and energy.

My french lessons with Ines are going okay. She is a hard teacher though, and she screws her face up when I speak in my franglais accent. I clearly have a long way to go. I am giving her guitar lessons by means of a trade. She’s gonna find it tough however, as she has the hands of a five year old child, but what she lacks in hand dexterity, she more than makes up for with enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to learn.

I’ve also started sign language classes at Buea school for the deaf. I know the alphabet and some other handy things to say. It is cool to actually say something meaningful in sign to my teachers, both of whom are deaf.

That’s been it really, once March is over I get to go on an excursion round Cameroon and hopefully see elephants in Korup national park. Also in April, Ines and I are going to go to Bamenda in the north, where she was raised, which should be both wicked, and amazing.

P.S I’ve noticed that a few people have been kind enough to leave comments on some of these blogs. Thank you. However, I cannot comment back as the computer says no, something about non-secure items that makes computers here make a farting noise. Could I ask that you e-mail me?

jwringe@hotmail.co.uk