Week 4....already?!?!

I can't believe I have been in Cameroon for a month now and only have 3 weeks left! It has gone by way too quickly!!!

So last week we worked really hard to finish the wheelchair at SAJOCAH but when the end of Wednesday came it was still not complete. So close to being done but when the client sat it in he started to slip out despite shoulder and waist belts. This was something we had not noticed in the trial runs of our adaptations but was something that definitely needed to be fixed. We were both very frustrated at the end of Sunday just due to the amount of time we had spent on one wheelchair for one child but after a lot of reflecting and talking with each other and a few other people we realized that we have learnt more than we thought we have in making the wheelchair and although we have only spent limited time with other clients, those times have been fantastic and have also been valuable learning experiences. Although we may not be learning as many specific OT practical skills, the soft skills we are learning through this experience - creativity, flexibility, adaptability, patience, reflection etc - are so valuable and will not only serve us in our professional careers as OT's but in our personal life as well. And sometimes these skills may be more important and harder to learn than the practical skills. So all in all I am incredible thankful and grateful for this experience and still have 1.5 weeks to go in placement and 1 week left to continue our Cameroon adventures outside of Bamenda!

Thursday and Friday we worked at the Centre - had to go to town to use the internet for a bit since it was out here but that was a nice change of scenery. Afterwards we went to Handicraft Cooperative to begin our shopping of art and craft pieces that are just beautiful here. This was the first shopping we had done that wasn't basic necessities like food and cleaning supplies so we were pretty excited. And Friday we finalized our plans for the weekend!

Shela, Sara and I at the top of UpStation around 6:30am!

So Saturday we woke up early, but not bright since it was 5am to go walk upstation (which is the hill with the main road leading into Bamenda from Douala). We met Shela (the admin assistant at BCCSDR) and started our climb from finance junction. This is something a lot of people in town do every morning from about 4:30 to 7am, but Sunday is the most popular day for it. There were still quite a few people running and/or walking up/down the hill when we began around 6am. We decided to just do a fast walk about but Shela laughed at us since our fast walk was the same as her jogging; not that we are in better shape than Shela but I think it just has to do with the pace of life here! It only took us about 45 mins to walk up and then back down with a quick break at the top for some pictures to prove our accomplishment. We decided we didn't really feel like making anything for breakfast so instead went into town to go to PresCafe to treat ourselves to a big breakfast and so Sara could get a cappuccino. It was so nice to sit back and just eat a leisurely breakfast. Then we headed to the market to meet Ruth about getting dresses made. Haven't quite found the styles we want so decided to check some out online, sketch what we like and then head back to pick the fabrics and get them made. So we had some time left and did a little more shopping at PresCraft on World Fair Trade Day. Both Handicraft and PresCraft are part of the World Fair Trade Organization so it was great to support them on a day recognizing the global Fair Trade movement! When we got home it was time to get ready for the wedding, so after getting dressed up for the first time here we arrived at the Cathedral at 3pm! It was a beautiful ceremony although a tad long at 3hrs, and it was in French. Sara did her best to translate but even she said she had trouble with some of the accents and specific French dialect they were sometimes talking in. Really enjoyed the music and dancing and joyous spirit that was part of the entire ceremony!

Menchum Falls!

Sunday we headed off for another adventure to visit Menchum Falls, a crater lake called Lake Illium and the Fon's Palace in Bafut. The falls and Lake Illium like I've said multiple times about the scenery here were just breathtaking. The colours of green and the blue sky on Sunday were almost surreal and to walk through the hills to arrive at a crater lake was so cool! The drive there was also really picturesque and took about an hour. On the way home we stopped at the Fon's Palace which means the Chief of Bafut. There we were greeted by the head wife Ma Adela who introduced us to the Fon's 6th wife to take us on a tour of the Palace and Museum. Such a unique experience and so different from anything I've every experienced. The current Fon is the 11th Fon of Bafut and became the Fon in the 60's when he was only 15 years old. He currently has 48 wives....but they are not all directly through marriage but a good majority were inherited from his father, uncles and brothers when they passed. In the museum are carvings and statues all the way back to the first Fon's reign which began in the 1700's. There are also the furs/skins/teeth/foot of the elephant, buffalo, python, and leopard which are the animals the Fon can transform into to escape dangers. He also wears a seashell bracelet which stays with him when he transforms so that hunters of the animal know he is not just an ordinary animal and should not be hunted. After getting the tour the head wife invited us into her home for a drink and snacks and it was great meeting and talking with her. Her daughter (the Fon's first child) lives in Canada and knows our professor that was here for a bit with us earlier and is how we were able to meet Ma Adela.

Another great weekend and we already have ideas for the weekend to come and have started to book and plan our last week of travels!