Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Morning Sounds



I am not a morning person.  My preference is to stay up late, and sleep in.  After the kids go to bed is when Joy and I get some relaxed time together, or I can get some work done preparing for my teaching.  Usually, I have a gift for sleeping.  I can sleep anytime, anywhere.  I can sleep through almost anything.  But here in Cameroon, sleeping in is a challenge!  Perhaps because so many here do not have electricity, people get up with the sun (even long before!).  I get awakened, drift back to sleep, then jolted awake again. the noises are more noticeable since we got our new room as there are now two windows so we get it from both sides of the house. Here is the typical morning routine:

4:45 am        Muslim call to prayer by the loudspeakers at the local mosque
5:00 am        53 dongs from the Cathedral bell tower (we’ve counted each dong!)
5:15 am        First round of “cock-a-doodle-doos” from the roosters outside our window (I keep 
                    thinking it’s time to have that fowl for dinner!)
5:30 am        Singing and drums from morning prayer at the sisters’ convent next door
5:45 am        Another Muslim chant (loud up-and-down sound which I don’t consider melodious!)
6:00 am        Another round of 53 dongs from the bell tower signaling morning Mass
6:15 am        More “cock-a-doodle-doos” from Freddy and Mister-Mister (named by the kids)
6:30 am        The kids are getting up and getting ready for school
6:45 am        Time to roll out of bed for morning Mass in the bishops’ private chapel

Oh well.  At least there is the local practice of a long lunch hour, for that sometimes much-needed siesta during the day!  And it beats the sounds of urban traffic.

So there you have one dimension of what life is like for us here in Africa!

-Pete

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Limbe



Here is a picture of Pete and Emily horseback riding on the beach in Limbe.  Notice how close in the Oil Rig is. The sand in Limbe is black, not from the oil, but from the black volcanic ash from Mt Cameroon which last erupted in 1999.


Had a great trip to the zoo and saw lots of primates.  I kind of freaked out that this one wasn't caged.  Our friends who went a day later got to shake hands with a gorilla (but they knew him when he was a pet in their village).


The wedding we went to was for a couple from Sacred Heart in Rancho Cucamonga (Felicia and Celestine Musa).  They had a beautiful Church wedding by the ocean and a lovely reception by the beach.



There is a pic is of one of the girls at the Treasure Center where I started volunteering on Mondays. She is knitting a scarf. I love to sing with the kids and they laugh and laugh.  


The last pic is of the Christmas party at St Josephs where I teach on Thursday mornings.



-Joy

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Happy New Year!


We spent Christmas with friends in Bamenda (see Josh as a Shepherd, Jessica an angel, and Emily a sheep in the Christmas play).  We had Fulani (Muslims), Cameroonians and exPats all celebrating together.

Then we spent one week in Limbe (beach) and Buea.  Buea only has running water every other day (and the day of water may be only two hours).  Makes me grateful for the water we have almost every day here in Bamenda. The beaches in Limbe were gorgeous and the kids were able to ride horses on the beach twice.

We were able to skype with family for Christmas and felt so blessed by all God has given us.  Missionary life is so much more wonderful than I ever imagined.

The kids went back to school and Pete resumes teaching with mid-term exams approaching next week.  I started back up with my volunteering and will do some counseling this weekend at the local High School.


-Joy