Adjusting into a new life

I’d like to say that I’ve lived through some crazy times in my life so far, but this last month may very well top my list. It’s been an incredible time adjusting to life out in the jungle with no electricity or running water- learning how to hunt, use a machete like nobody’s business, travel 3 people per motorcycle through the forest over bridges made out of logs, hunting monkeys, trekking deep in the jungle, starting a garden of tropical fruits, learning the realities of the effects of neglected tropical diseases and slowly integrating into my neighborhood as well as with my new colleagues at the hospital.

Wheres Waldo

A traditional pygme house near me

A training on Neglected Tropical Diseases

Working at the hospital has been an interesting road… the doctors and nurses who work there do not exactly love their jobs. Here in Cameroon you have to go to the university in Yaoundé, the capital, and then from there the government decides where you will be placed. So, everyone there is placed far away from their families in a town with no electricity or running water… you can imagine how that could really drop your enthusiasm to work. With that being said, it has been hard to gain a full understanding of how the place runs because no one likes being there and they get annoyed with all my questions. As time goes by I am picking things up piece by piece. This past month the staff has focused on training others on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD’s)- the doctor set up a training of trainer for the workers at the nearby health centers who then teach community leaders the same information. I learned how to diagnose and treat 5 of the 13 major diseases such as Onchocercose (river blindness), Filariose Lymphatic, Stomach worms, Schistosomiase and Trachoma. There is a public health initiative run by the Helen Keller foundation –based in the U.S.- who is in the process of eradicating 3 of these diseases by supplying and distributing the medications. They have been in the process of doing this for 7 years and have 8 more before they reach their goals. I have many issues on the ethics of how this plan pans out, as with a lot of other public health initiatives but do see the importance of the work- it should not, however, be tested on vulnerable populations in the poorest regions of a developing country.

Standing at the entrance of the Dja Reserve

Fixing a flat out in the woods

The way the health care system is set up in this region is that there is one hospital for the district of 35,000 people that spans an area of over 110 miles (can you imagine having to travel that far on a dirt road with no car in a case of emergency?) Then there are 12 Health Care centers in that same district that offer basic services- vaccinations, small surgery and can deliver babies with a staff of one nurse each. Then, there are Community Distributors- one per village- who are trained on diagnosing minor health problems and have a supply of medications on hand to give out to their community. The idea of the Community Distributors is really fascinating, it is a way to put public health really into the hands of the community in order to make everyone responsible. These people are chosen based on if they have passed primary level of education. Access to education is not easy out in the jungle. I think I will be doing a lot of work with these people to working on health trainings and healthy life practices (not like I am a master at that either- but it’s a work in progress). I was really impressed by these trainings but with all behavioral change projects there is always a clear line between knowledge and action. The best example of that being flossing- we all know the importance of the practice but statistically the actually amount of people who do it does not match the people who know the benefits. Here in my town an example is how the doctor and nurses were talking about the high rates of HIV and STI’s in this area and how the community refuses to wear condoms. Then, they started getting on my case that I need multiple wives and multiple kids… ugh hmm… no- are you implying I should be having unprotected sex with multiple women after just talking about the rates of HIV and STI’s?  I didn’t expect to hear that from the staff.

This is the type of boat I am currently having built

As I am learning how the hospital functions, I walk around and introduce myself to everyone there. One day I ended up in the bureau that distributes free ARV’s for everyone living with HIV/AIDS. He pulled out the logbook and showed me how it works. My heart sunk when he showed me the size of the book of everyone who had died form HIV/AIDS in this town alone. And this is only the list of names of people who were brave enough to get tested and come to take medications in a society with the illness is highly stigmatized among the community members. Before joining the Peace Corps I asked a friend who had already finished their service if there had any advice to prepare me for going and they told me, “Be prepared to go to a funeral of a really close friend you will meet.” After seeing that office I went home with a heavy heart thinking about the realities of what exists around me. So, I am learning a lot out here and I am doing my best to keep a positive spirit while I am here.

Hiking through the jungle to go hunting

Working out in the jungle on Bicks farm.. That is my machete!

My kitchen and shelves I built in

My bed I built with the sheets I sewed by hand

The mural I painted on my wall in the living room- this is my neighbor Aicha

That damn chicken again on the table I built

Storage shelf I built myself!

It’s interesting to see the things you can get done when you don’t have access to Internet of any electricity for that matter. When I am not at the hospital, I am working on my house- it’s become my new big hobby (along with tactfully dodging conversations about religion, why I don’t have a wife and keeping a poker face when I see people gnawing on a monkey head). I think I am most excited about my house because since I’ve moved out of my parents house I’ve lived in some tight quarters- 3 people in a one bedroom in San Diego, a maids room of 8ft by 8ft in Rio, a 2.5 bedroom shared with 9 other people in Mumbai…. I’ve never had my own place before-let alone a whole house to myself. So, for that reason, I’m going all out and just getting creative with what I can do with the resources I have access to near me. I feel like I’m back in the days of hanging out in my treehouse again- making things out of sticks and figuring out how to make things work with what you got. My neighbors stop over all the time to watch and help out- its nice to always have company, they love to ask questions and see what I’m up to. It’s been a great way to gain their respect to work with them in the future. So far I’ve made a dinner table, a bed, an awesome kitchen counter with built-in shelving, storage for my clothes, a desk, painted a mural of the world in my living room, painted my bathroom and a number of other things.. I just bought materials to install 3 sunroofs, make a wooden boat and continue my garden… I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I love cities and always will and will most likely return to San Francisco or Rio after the Peace Corps but I am diggin' life in the village for right now. Its great to have the space to work on hands-on projects.

My garden in progress!

A beautiful gigantic tree

My garden is coming along great- I have planted 6 banana trees, 4 papaya trees, 3 pineapples, 4 hot peppers, 5 onions, 6 macabo (a kind of sweet potato here), beans, okra, soy, and tomato plants. I am doing it purely for fun (and landscaping). Bananas sell for about 3 for 10 cents so I am definitely not doing it for a profit. I think my neighbors are more excited about the garden than I am- they come and help out everyday and just built a fence around the perimeter to keep the chickens out. The ground is so fertile here, you literally throw things on the ground and they start coming up! Most of the produce in my town, however, is shipped in from other cities. I am planning on working with some of the community members on creating community gardens here to supply their own produce locally- there is definitely the space to do it here! My neighbors don’t fully understand my compost pile yet and always laugh at me but they support it. They did however crack up when I potted a few plants to put in my house… to them those plants symbolize work.. and why would you put work in a place you want to relax? It would be like if you worked in an office and decided to put a fax machine as the centerpiece in your living room.

My neighbors chicken came to lay an egg on my couch

Every Peace Corps volunteer has a “Community Host” someone to help introduce them into the community and the life out in the village- My community host is Bick, Jean a village chief of a small tribe nearby. He is such a badass. He’s taken me hunting deep in the jungle and has showed me how to sharpen my machete to the point I can chop down a small tree with a single swipe. To get through the jungle there is one stretch of marsh that you have to hike through dark opaque water that has logs placed underneath to walk through- Bick Jean does it barefoot and can pretty much run through it. Luckily, I didn’t fall in the much but afterwards we had to sit down and search ourselves for leeches. I’ve seen some of the craziest bugs so far- Bick was telling me about this certain ant that alone could kill an elephant… an elephant. We worked on his farm for the day and he gave me a huge bag of plantains and potatoes to bring home- then sent one of his daughters to my house to cook them.. I tried to help and she told me that men don’t belong in the kitchen. Girl, women shouldn’t hold all that responsibility. Equality.

Just another stop out in the jungle.. with my solar panel in the back of the truck!

Although I am living out in the jungle, I really don’t have it bad at all. I have a solar panel that can charge my phone, ipod, speakers, and all my neighbors’ phones for the small price of a plate of food J. I am in the process of connecting the panel to my laptop and a light switch and even installing several sunroofs to gain more energy. I also have a solar shower- its basically a plastic bag with a black bottom that collect heat through out the day then you hang it up and you can get water that flows through a connected hose. It’s been such a fun hobby and I’ve only been on it one month- I can’t wait to see what will come out of it over the next 2 years. I am trying to get a local solar company to come out here and do demonstrations for the town because everyone in interested- the problem is the start up capitol. I am currently having a pirogue (a wooden canoe/boat) made out of a large log. I am learning from my friends how to fish out in the river- how to use the best techniques and where the best spots to set up shop are. So.. yeah.. life is pretty damn good.

Once a month I have to head to the large cities to do banking. Our Peace Corps allowance is automatically deposited into our bank accounts each month and we have to travel to the regional capitals to pick it up. We receive about $300 a month.. which sounds like nothing but is the same salary of a doctor here. I love the trips to the city- it’s a chance to catch up on life everywhere else, speak English as fast and as much as I can with all my Peace Corps friends and make new friends in the cities. In Yaoundé I’ve made friends with the marines who are posted at the US Embassy and get to play ultimate Frisbee and swim in the pool there. At night we can go to a large club when the DJ knows all our names and we get dropped off in a private car and have access to Thai, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese and basically any other international food you want. It’s just expensive- and $300 a month doesn’t support that kind of lifestyle here- so I like to stick to my village. It’s a total shock every time I arrive into the city after coming from my village of only mud huts.

Everyone thinks its so weird that I am left handed- some call it sorcery

So, it’s been a crazy month and I’m looking forward to then next one to come. I’m really starting to get comfortable here and it’s nice to start making a circle of friends. I love my neighbors- they got my back and look after me everyday. They interview everyone who enters my house to make sure they are worthy of entering- they don’t want me getting robbed. I am liking the routine that I am getting into- I feel healthy and happy. I’m starting to love my village and my work- I love being my own boss and creating my own schedule as a volunteer… it’s the right lifestyle for me. I can’t wait to see what develops from all this!