Alright
folks, I finally have a working computer again, and therefore no excuses for
neglecting my blog or emails! Huzzah! J
Currently, I
happen to be less than a week from the halfway point of my internship… crazy,
right? As such, I think I have become
quite adjusted to life here in Cameroon, and thought I would dedicate this blog
post to sharing some of my “new normals” with you (and yes, with the usual
bullet list to follow since I get lazy about writing in proper paragraphs-
sorry!):
Bargaining: Unless things have a set price, expect to
bargain for everything from your fruits and veggies to your moto-taxi fare to
your bed sheets. I happy to be pretty okay at it and snagged the haul of
veggies pictured below for under 3 bucks…. Not bad, right?
Hoarding water: There’s nothing worse than when the water stops
and you can’t shower, do the dishes, let alone flush the toilet… SO I have
become a pack-rat water-wise, and have probably over 30L stored.
Mmmm, mould?: Hey, fun fact! Did you know in humid places,
it’s super easy for clothes, papers and even backpacks to go mouldy!? Cool,
right!? Another fun fact- vinegar helps to kill mould bacteria. Guess who
smells suspiciously like vinegar sometimes……
Moto-taxis: Gone are the days of the share taxis in Yaoundé…
Kribi is all about the moto-taxi! These are motocycles you hop on the back of
and bargain for your trip. Moto's in Kribi range between 25 cents and 2 dollars, depending on the destination. I attached a video below I took of my moto-ride to the office in the morning (ignore the awkward ending haha).
Eco-conscience erased?: Back home in Victoria, I compost, ride my bike, drink tap water and recycle. While I do still drink tap water (albeit, boiled then filtered tap water), I have (hopefully only temporarily) become the worst person environmentally. Bleach is my go to cleaning product and I use it to clean and disinfect everything (including my vegetables). I also throw my garbage directly in the bushes, where it will later be burnt (I don’t even want to get into the air quality repercussions of this)… And then there is the fact that I use insecticide like its air freshener… which when cockroaches are close to 10 centimetres long, I feel is justified. Plus, I lose my mind sitting on buses or cars that will idle their engine continuously for upwards of 10 minutes… eep! Hopefully you all won't judge too harshly.
Apologies for the lack of photos this blog post, but hopefully the video makes up for it.
A la prochain!
x C
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