Rebecca at the Well

So yeah, that’s a biblical reference. But it’s relevant to my life in Cameroon in not one, but two ways…

(1) It amazes me how often I tell people my name here, and they respond with much excitement: oh, a biblical name! People here are often very religious, and I feel really lucky that I’m not atheist or agnostic; it would just make life here harder. Instead, I love it when people tell me that they like my biblical name, or that it’s their grandmother’s name. I’m like: your grandma has a great name!

On the other hand, unlike the French, Cameroonians are totally okay with the nickname Becky. In France, the conversation went like this:

• Je m’appelle Becky.
• Becky?
• Bé-kiii.
• Becky? C’est quoi, Becky?
• Rebecca.
• AHHHHHH! Rébecca! C’est beaucoup plus joli. 

Here, it’s like:

• C’est Becky.
• Ah, Becky! C’est très cool! Très Americain!

Personally, I think it’s hilarious when I can fool people into thinking I’m cool. So this is great!

(2) This particular Rebecca IS at the well -- everyday. It’s part of my daily routine to go to the well to get my water for bathing, drinking (after filtering, boiling, or adding bleach), flushing the toilet, cleaning cloths, and all the other things for which we normally just turn on the tap. It’s amazing how much more I find myself appreciating water when I need to throw a three litre plastic bucket into a well, then tow it up with a knotted rope--over and over and over. Honestly, it makes washing hair totally not worth your time and effort… Bye bye vanity!

After I get my day’s water at 6am, I usually go for a little morning walk or run then shower (and by shower, I mean use a bucket and cup to wash myself and ignore my hair) before breakfast. After breakfast, I go to school for a day of training. Training usually involves how to communicate in French, how not to die of malaria (or other health issues), how to stay safe, and how to develop the youth. Most of that is a grind, except the youth develop-y part where we are taught by super cool Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) about community needs assessment, how to teach classes on HIV prevention or other issues, and all sorts of other stuffs!

Post-training usually means integrating…and by integrating, I mean non-integrating with other Americans at a local bar playing college-y games like Never Have I Ever. After speaking French all day, it’s really nice to just speak English, relax, and do something simply because you want to. But other days, I love hanging out with the two host brothers I’ve met and their friends (also at the bar), exploring town, etc. 

Every day ends with family dinner around 7pm, watching the Brazilian soap opera “Clone” dubbed in French (hilarious. epically hilarious) at 8pm, and bed before 9pm (so early!!). 

Samy, Me, Papi & Donald