Return to Ebolowa

On the bus back to Ebolowa after five hours in Yaoundé and 12 hours on the train from Ngaoundere. It's been an enlightening experience spending these last few days with some PCVs in Adamaoua, and I think that over the course of our short vacation from training we saw a few important aspects of service: Brian, a health volunteer, tried to build a maternity hospital in Meidougou, but the project has stalled since few people in the community are willing to contribute. Colleen was frustrated and disappointed to discover that her girls' group is being discontinued. Meanwhile, Emily is full of hope and optimism as she prepares for her first secondary project, and her unbridled joy is evident whenever she plays with the children in her neighborhood. And, of course, over the course of our long weekend, there were plenty of adult beverages.

Once our train from Ngaoundal arrived in Yaoundé, we met up with a few other PCTs at a pizza place, which ended up taking two hours. I have to admit, spending time with some of them just makes me think that "stage" (training) is like High School 2.0, with people trying to one-up each other amend bragging about their small acts of rebellion.

"I had six beers and four shots last night," says one.
"I had red wine with breakfast this morning," says another.

With the exception of the Adamawa group (because of the increased travel time), all of the trainees were expected to return by six last night. Only two people did.

I understand that these are adults who are tired of others scheduling their lives, but frankly, I'm tired of their complaints, especially when people whine about having to make their own travel arrangements. Isn't that what you wanted--a bit of independence? It seems that the answer is only "yes" when the situation involves little or no responsibility.

The good news is, experiences like this make me all the more eager to leave training and begin establishing myself at post. I'm ready to sacrifice some of my American-ness in exchange for becoming a part of my village, rather than clinging to every vestige of the States, whether that be food, music, or individuals. I hope some of my fellow trainees come to feel the same way.