November 1

November 1, 2007

My alarm went off this morning, I first thought “ugg, I need more sleep” then the thought of post announcements came into my head. I sprang out of bed, only to be shut down by the mosquito net…whoops.

Anywho back to post announcements! We all were handed a piece of paper folded in half with our post – ahh! Then we all looked at the same time – it felt like Christmas, without the commercialism and wrapping paper though. I will be posted in the Northwest Province in a small village working with a Medical Center along with other community groups. The NW province is quite developed for the most part in comparison to the other 10 provinces in Cameroon. The town I’ll be living in is about 30 minutes away from Bamenda, which is a rather large city boasting a population of 235,000. I am absolutely thrilled with my post!! The Northwest is an Anglophone region, which means it’s technically English speaking along with Pidgin English. After I meet my French level I will begin taking Pidgin classes. I will be replacing a current volunteer, whom by coincidence is also a Kate. She was in town last week and I had a chance to speak with her. It sounds like a wonderful place to be posted with numerous opportunities for interventions.

As I understand the main focus will be a water project. In addition to the water, I will hopefully be assisting a VIH/SIDA compassion support group. On Monday I will meet my counterpart. He or she will help me integrate into the community and get things rolling. I will know much more about the post after that meeting. Also, on Wednesday all volunteers leave for a weeklong site visit to check things out. I am really looking forward to this. The idea of Peace Corps has been such as ambiguous idea in my mind for so long. It is really fantastic to be at this point in training. Being able to actually SEE the site and meet community members is really exciting. Also, quite a few trainees will be posted within an hour of Bamenda so it will be great to meet up with them once a week or so. There are also volunteers close by to Bamenda who are currently working already.

My home is situated in the medical center. From what I hear it is quite nice and not what I expected at all. For a few months out of the year, the guest room will be occupied with European doctors or nurses whom are visiting and working at the med center. I had the option of having my own home off site. Though I think this sounds like a wonderful chance to meet new folks. Also, if it doesn’t work out I can always change living arrangements. Overall, this post sound very structured, though with room to explore new projects. I am really grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to travel to Bafut next week! It feels like the right fit and I couldn’t be happier.

I moved from the Northwest, only to move to another Northwest. YEA!

Cheers and much love!

KT