Well...

To explain our first week in a nutshell...would be really impossible. Cameroon is a place like nothing I have ever experienced; it's a mishmash of modernity and tradition; serenity and anxiety; and frankly, highs and lows. This place is bizarre and utterly foreign but all the while completely as per usual and just like home.

I find that this place is completely not as I expected. The city is really not all that hot (shocking being that it is around 30 degrees every day) so that has been an awesome surprise. Plus the AC is everywhere. Not too much Sweaty Yvettey! The office here is fantastic - leather chairs and nicer desks than we have at home! Plus, the food is really good. And beer is cheap! :)

However, the women dress really nice, which means that in our 'homely' clothes, Caitlin and I look like men. It's bad. But you know, we get a tremendous amount of attention since we stick out like a wonton in your noodle soup (which is a great surprise by the way) thus dressing like men = not so much attention. We are going to get some great Cameroonian dresses soon since they have some awesome fabrics (there's some with the President Paul Biya's face).

The flight over was great - zero issues minus a 2 hour delay in Paris due to a strike? - so that part was fine. Traveling here in general though, is just borderline suicidal. Two way traffic for some reason equals between 2 and 4 unmarked lanes. Passing is frequent and done via honk/flash of brights, and you could never hold a cup of coffee on your lap. It's so stop and go, plus there is no real speed min or max. And you can ACTUALLY stop in the middle of the road. Unexpectedly. Oh, and people, bicycles and large objects are amidst this havoc. It's generally just crazy.

This might have to be everything for now, being that both Caitlin and I are obnoxiously hungry! So expect another great entry tomorrow.

Au revoir! :)

Yvette