Shaking the Dust off!

Hi. Well, after many people complained how I never "post" anything to my blog anymore, I've succumbed to peer pressure and will try to start blogging regularly again. Since it has been forever since I last posted anything I thought I would start by answering a few questions that I often get asked.

1. Where are you again?

Sometimes I wonder this myself! But seriously, I am living and working in Cameroon, West Africa. I'm in the capital city of Yaoundé.



2. What is the weather like there? Do you have "seasons?"

Since we are very close to the equator, the weather is very tropical year-round. During the day, temperatures range from high 70's to low 90's. There is often a high humidity factor which make it seem even warmer at times.

We have 2 seasons, "wet" and "dry" with slight variations of each in which they are called the "long dry season, short dry season, long rainy season, and short rainy season." At this time we are in the "long rainy season" and it rains at some point in time most days, however, the temperature is often lower than we are used to and often referred to as "cold" at times. Crazy but true!

3. Where do you live.....in the bush somewhere????

Actually, not even close to it, but thanks for asking! I live in an apartment with Mandi (same apartment-mate from Switzerland) and there are 3 other apartments here also (all filled or soon to be filled).

It is very modern, except that we have gas bottles that we hook up to the stove and water heater for the shower. This comes in handy when the power goes out, which it does very often....usually for the evening but sometimes for a few days. We have lots of candles!

4. What's the food like, have you eaten anything unusual?

The food is a lot like home, except there is less "packaged & prepared" food so it takes more time and effort to make a meal. We make the usual: spaghetti, curries, peanut sauce, chicken dishes, pizza, french toast, etc.

Cameroonian food in itself is very good and usually includes rice, potatoes, or plantains and chicken or fish with some sort of sauce. There is also manioc which is a fermented type of root that is often eaten with some sort of cooked green leaves. I'll admit I don't like it at all...and I even gave it a good try of 3 times. :)

As for unusual food, unless you count popcorn and M&M's for dinner, then no, I haven't branched out into eating porcupine or snake or anything like that.

5. Do you use your French a lot?

Oui, je parle français chaque jour. (Yes, I speak French every day.) My day is usually a mixture of French and English but I try to speak as much French as possible to keep my level up there. I wouldn't say that I'm completely fluent, but I can understand the majority of what is said, or at least ask someone to rephrase things if I have no clue. It is helpful knowing 2 languages, I highly recommend it.

6. How long will you stay there?

Excellent question and when the Lord lets me know, I'll be the first one to tell you! Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm thinking through June of 2012 at this time. That time frame could be shorter or longer, depending on where the Lord leads. I'd appreciate prayer on this matter as all I see before me at the moment is a blank wall, yet I have confidence that God will show me the next step in His time.

So, that's a bit of an idea of life over here for me. I'll keep you posted.