All good things...

This is our last post from Cameroon. There will be more posts to fill in some gaps and probably some reflections, but our time here is over. After a hectic couple of weeks (Graduation, then moving RFIS to its new site), we're done. We got to watch Cameroon v Denmark in a local establishment, surrounded by Cameroon fans. Sadly, the Danes won. We'll miss the enthusiastic supporters of the Lions

We'll miss the equal enthusiasm of the folks at Grace Baptist Church. Apart from the lively singing, the way that Christians here discuss their faith and the Bible with a lot of openness, is a challenge. You can't help but get the impression it's important to them.

We'll miss the local 'boutique' shops. The idea of a personal service is alive and well here – at least it is in the many places where one guy stands behind the counter all day and the shop is not much bigger than our bathroom!

We'll miss our various international colleagues at SIL as much as we will miss our Cameroonian friends. We've learnt a lot about living in, and with, many different cultures.

We'll miss the fantastic students at RFIS.

We'll even miss market shopping (sometimes). The main market (Mokolo) is still a huge noisy, baffling jumble of people and sounds. The Artisanat has become fun (almost). We've realised that bartering is a social game and you are appreciated for playing the game properly instead of paying the asking-price. Playing properly includes banter and joking (“No sir, we are not rich, we do not work for the American Embassy! We are poor Irish people!” - “Ah, but we are more poor, we are Cameroonian!”) Being called “The Bamileke of Ireland” was a big accolade. The Bamileke are a highland tribe who are very good at business and notoriously tight-fisted! For a foreigner to play the game like them is an achievement – and worthy of hand-shakes from the boss! Don't try it in Tesco though...

We'll miss hearing about our own culture as seen through the eyes of others. In the words of a Cameroonian colleague, “Are British people born wearing watches?”

We'll miss (some) food. Fresh pineapples and mangoes, Poulet DG and Cameroonian-style egg sandwiches, among other things. If you know where to get plantains in NI, let us know. A few dishes did not always agree with our spoilt Western tastes.

We'll miss waking up to the sound of the neighbourhood livestock (mostly chickens and the occasional goat) and the many, many birds whose background-sound changes during the day.

We'll not miss getting half-way through a sentence in French, only to realise we've no idea how to continue.

We'll not miss the need to filter our water. However, we won't take clean water for granted any more.

We'll not miss the feeling of being aliens in a strange culture (whether that is the local culture or when surrounded by other foreigners). We will miss the lovely, warm, Cameroonian people though who have helped us feel at ease. We will miss the humbling experience of having to listen to and learn from others, every single day.

Looks like we'll miss more things than we'll be glad to leave behind. I suppose that's a good thing.

Better go now, or we will miss the plane!