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Blog June 16th, 2008
It is now my 13th day of being a PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) and it feels like I have been here for years. The friendships I have made feel like they will last forever, if not for the reason that we are the only ones who will understand the process we are going through, then because the people here have fabulous values and great courage. I wrote a bit in my journal today and since it’s so hard to get on the internet here and get anything done I am writing my post up before I actually post it so hers what I’ve written so far:

Observations: They eat fish for breakfast here- It’s like living in an episode of Heathcliff. This morning I was given a whole fish and I had to eat it while it looked at me- My mama ate the head thank god! The water goes on and off sometimes for an hour and sometimes for a day and it makes same wonder how you can get used to everyday feeling special and humbling- I guess you forget what it’s like to depend on tabs that you always assume will work. The lights or power go off almost every night unexpectedly and I’m constantly recalling and evening when my whole family was home and I was about 14 or maybe younger and we were still living on Golden Lane in Peoria. The lights and power went off for about hours
because of a wicked thunderstorm and Dad was in a playful mood. WE ended up eating cold tacos, playing blind man’s bluff, and flashlight. I remember dad telling stories about his childhood and us laughing around the flickering glow of candles. It felt like a holiday and very much like a one-time thing as Ethan would call it. I can still remember the experience vividly with some details that have been softened with time. For some reason I am transported to that memory ever time the lights go out and we light our candles at my house in Cameroon. Maybe it’s the intense feeling of family that is present at my host family’s house or maybe the kids feel the same excitement and like the distraction from their everyday routine, but I get excited when the French voices on the TV are silenced and a game of dark Uno ensues. It’s a very odd thing to be adopted into a family when they really don’t know you. Of at least they don’t know the you that you were in the US for the past 23 years.
Other observations, as we sit in French class and the obstinate rooster or le coq crows insensately I cannot help but smile or giggle. I am reminded of the children’s toy where you wind the arrow and whatever animal it lands on the toy cried “The rooster says- cock-a-doodle-doo” Where the heck did we get that interpretation of the noise. Evidentially, no American who teaches animal sounds to children has ever been to Cameroon and met my annoying friend. Other daily observations include the fact that the mud her is dull rust red and when it is smeared on my terribly white legs it looks like cuts or blood like I’m being physically assaulted by the very earth of this country. Also it is almost impossible to keep your fee clean. Sorry lieutenant Dan. You might as well give up because cleanly feet will not last. Even washing my shoes seems silly when every morning it rains and fresh mud can be found ready to cake my feet in its mixture of bloody earth.
Now these are my daily observations. I think about as I continue developing my routine here. There are other things that are quite surprising for instance take a look at the following quotes I have comprised from the various sessions we have taken here:
“If the driver is drunk- get out of the car”
“How often is the driver drunk?” (Trainers look around laughing, “Often”)
“If the bus kills someone it will stop.”
“Watch out for goat pee and if you are sitting by the window keep your mouth closed.”
“Visits from men after dark equal a sexual relationship, except for two white people.”
“Smoking outside for women means you’re a prostitute”
That’s just a few tidbits, there are some very scary/hilarious ones from our medical classes but you don’t want the details.
Some other scary things about my Education Training in particular:
1. They aren’t encouraging differential instruction- they just lecture and note take- yuck
2. Most people haven’t taught before so they don’t think about learning- they think about information instead and not how to present it in an interesting way
3. There are no art classes here. There may be music or dance groups but no theater in Cameroon but Yaoundé has a theater being built for music programs and lectures- ouch.
4. No ART IN CURRICULUM but they do have manual labor=- no joke it’s on the schedule
5. Their “special ed” kids are in special schools and this includes kids with minor physical disabilities, emotional disabilities aren’t even classified.
6. Not all kids have books or pens or seats and the classroom desks are very uncomfortable and crowded
7. They also have a discipline master who hits the kids when they are bad with a rubber lasso type thing or a switch- nice.
That’s about all I have for right now but I think it’s enough to make you interested in what I’m doing here.

thank you to everyone who has emailed me it takes me a 20minute walk and then a 1 hour wait and then the computers are super slow so checking email is way worth it when you give me exciting info. note its really hard to read the comments on the blog because it takes a long time to load so email is the best right now also dont tell me about the good food you are eating or ill stop talking to you also look for me on google if you want to chat and call me

yesterday i played soccer and i have a war aound on my leg its awesome i am truely horrible at that insane game

ok love you all

In Cameroun!

Hello everyone. I have made it to Cameroon, yay finally! I am currently in the Peace Corps office in Yaounde where they have toilet seats, American keyboards and fancy guards with guns. I'm safe!

Some observations since I've been here:
There are a lot of car accidents in teh big city and there are no traffic laws, lights, signs, or even dividers on the road adn the honking is constant any time of day.

There are huge lizards everywhere that are black and orange- My family might remember when we were in the pet store and that lizard scared the poo out of me and I jumped five feet, well I handled these better.

Some other things include how big the beers are here! They are double the size of home, and they cost about 1. 50 in american money.

Some things I"m not so excited about are the fact that the amount of diseases and specifically interesting parasites that we are learning about. Let's just say I think I'm coming back with a stronger stomach.

I miss you all and love you all adn think about you often. Last night I couldn't sleep (jet lag) so I listened to my Ipod adn certain songs remind me of certain people- it was like being home.

Technology didn't corrupt the world it brought us together- that's what I decided.

The national motto here is :Nous sommes ensemble: We are together. People say it when they are leaving each other sort of like when Heman says Good Jouney and not goodbye, except this is awesome because it's in French, anyway I love you all I will hopefully blog again soon I have a video to show of you a swarm of bats!

Love Elyse

Greetings from Philly- the filthy city with few smiles to give.

I am currently in my room in the beautiful Holiday Inn wasting some time before checking out. We leave today on a 6:45pm flight where we will fly for 7 hours and 40 minutes to Paris and then another 8 hours to Yaounde, Cameroon. WE also get to wait 5 hours before leaving in the airport in Philly because we have no where to go after the hotel kicks us out. Honestly I can't wait to get there. The last two days have been all about giving us some basic information we will need and answering some questions for us, but overall it just wet our appetite for wanting to get in country.

The interesting thing is my training class- we are 38 people! That's a lot of new friends. We are all doing Secondary Education- English or Science teachers or Small Enterprise Development. We have about 15 boys, which is better than can be expected I think. On a side note we were told the first day that a lot of people meet their future spouse in the peace corps- talk about some pressure adn anxiety suddenly felt around the room (but i guess they said that about college too)! The boys are an interesting bunch some are very focused on sports, some seem to enjoy video games, some have taken the hippie route and some look like Clark Kent because everyone has reverted to glasses here.

The girls are a wide bunch of personalities and I am really excited to get to know them, one or two remind me of my girls back home and a few more remind me of my Lexington friends. It's interesting what states are represented we have 3 from Seattle (yes i know that isn't a state), 3 from Austin, about 7-8 from Ohio, 10 Maine ppl, 5 NYers, 2 NJ's, Lots from Louisiana and 1 from Kentucky, some Michigan folks, 1 Arizonian (me), 2 from Oregon, and 1 Californian (I guess they like their pollution too much- take that Ethan), 1 from St. Louis that was telling me was voted one of the most dangerous cities in the US- her car got stolen and lit on fire-, 1 from Chicago, a couple Philly ppl, and others from D.C., Iowa, Tennessee etc. We're from all over, but the west coast isn't really represented.

There is one funny thing I wanted to share, we were doing a get to know you introduction game and one of the questions was "what is something weird that you packed?" Now, we got second place with our team because a girl brought Fraggle Rock DVDs (an old tv show on Nickelodeon) and I was up there with my Tick Key bought for me from my bros (it's a metal bottle opener looking thing that you can remove ticks easily with- thanks guys). However, the best was submitted from a gentleman whose grandma gave him a huge liter of holy water. Evidentially she poured it all over her bags and he is now carrying it around. He said it just looks like a jug with a cross on it. I guess everyone gets their peace of mind in different ways and I'm glad his grandma is passing around the blessings.

Well I guess that's it for me. I should arrive in country in the evening on Saturday night. I start my Malaria medication today and I got my Yellow Fever vaccine so I'm ready to hit it and quit it. Here is my official good bye to warm showers, smelling decent, soft fluffy pillows, quality meat, flip flop wearing, television, the wireless internet, ice, not living out of a suit case, and bagels. I will miss it all but I'm sure it won't measure up to the insanity of living in Africa with a bunch of like minded people for the next 10 weeks. You should hear from me in the next few days, we will be staying in the capital and I will have access to internet.

Love you all,
Elyse 2008 volunteer in the 'Roon

Parlez-Vous avec moi?

Greetings Friends,
Salut Amis,

I have two weeks left so I wanted to give you my address and all of my contact information. If you are sending me something there are a list of dos and don'ts. All mail takes about 2-3 weeks to get to me and sometimes up to 6 weeks so don't get sad if I don't get it right away. Make sure you read through the following lists because if you don't my stuff might be stolen or stopped by crazy mail inspectors.

(I'm getting this information right from the PC Cameroon)

Mail Contact

Do list

1. Send mail through Air mail
2. Mark all Mail: AIR MAIL and PAR AVION
3. If you are sending letters Number them because I might get them out of order
4. If sending packages, "bubble envelopes" work best. If sending any food items, put them inside a ziploc bag. This will reduce chances that bugs or rodents will devour them.
5. Mark Packages Honestly on the outside so greedy postal workers aren't interested for instance:general description of the contents is sufficient: "clothing and candy" rather than "Nike high top sneakers and 2 lbs. Godiva chocolate."

Don't List

1. Don't send something that you would be really upset if it got stolen (for instance: a baby or priceless diamond toe ring)
2. Send mail through Surface Mail- it can take up to 2 years to arrive
3. Send Heavy things: There is a tax which Volunteers will have to pay on all packages received before they can retrieve them from the post office. This tax varies according to the size of the package. It might be a nice gesture from friends or family to send a six-pack of Mountain Dew, but it may cost a Volunteer up to $10.00 to get it out of the post office.

My Address for the next 10 weeks:
Elyse Tussey
Peace Corps Trainee
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 215
Yaoundé, Cameroon

Computer Contact

Keep in mind that the time change is 8 hours ahead.
My primary email is: tussey.elyse@gmail.com
I will try to be on AIM where my name is: Theatreet6
And you can find me on SKYPE by searching for my email address: tussey.elyse@gmail.com and we can talk live- like a phone for no money! (download this now:http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/)
(I have a video camera as well as a head set so if you get a head set we can talk for free)

Phone Contact

It costs a lot of money to call from Cameroon to the states so I will probably call you and then you can call me back on an international phone card. I will also be getting a cell phone in Cameroon but the signal may not be very good and I'll be mostly using it in country but I'll let you know the number when I get that. The internet is going to be the easiest way to get a hold of me.

Well that was a lot of information but I hope it was thorough. Let me know if any of this isn't clear!

Discovering my former wisdom

So I've been looking through all of my education folders to see what might be useful in Cameroon and I came across this list I have created. I detail a lot of things I've learned thus far in my life and I thought it would be fun to share it with you. Though I'm not sure how many of these will be useful in Africa.

Things I've learned:
1. Relationships are not always chocolates and roses. Your smile is not always adored, every kiss is not like the first. Every phone conversation doesn't end up with an "I love you". When you realized these things and stop expecting everything to be perfect is when you will being to realize how wonderful the special moments are.

2. No correspondence is ever as good as a letter you get in the mail.

3. It is always better to brush your teeth twice ad ay then once.

4. If you have an opportunity to give, take it.

5. Never think your vote doesn't matter, it does.

6. You aren't always right.

7. Admitting your mistakes is hard but necessary to learn.

8. When something is scary, it's always more fulfilling when you are facing it, than when you run away.

9. Never underestimate the love of an animal.

10. Coloring is always fun, especially if you aren't color blind.

11. Being cheesy is cute.

12. I probably would be a millionaire if I saved all the quarters I put in candy/video game/sticker machines.

13. Nail polish on your toes always makes you feel attractive.

14. Friends can help you through anything.

15. Doing something that has to be done will always be better if you do it right away, then it doesn't loom over you.

16. Don't hold on to things that aren't yours anymore.

17. Refrigerate Chicken Salad.

18. Don't spill juice on electronics and then turn them on, multiple times.

19. A single bed does not two sleep.

20. Get yourself a stuffed animal. They don't cost very much. They give you unconditional love and endless snuggling.

21. If the temperature in yoru room is perfect, you sleep a lot better.

22. Always check for toilet paper before going ot the potty.

23. Anything can be shaken out of a vending machine when its stuck if you are dedicated to shaking it out.

24. Always be early to work.

25. If you are paying for your food get what you know you like, if someone else id payign for your food try something new and expand your horizons.

26. Cussing doesn't make you sound smart.

27. You can never go home again.

28. Friends are what keep you sane.

29. Everybody needs therapy in one way or another.

30. Always wear shoes in a bathroom that isn't yours.

31. Music can affect your mood, utilize its powers of persuasion.

32. Listen to those who have experience, many times you will not understand but when you finally do you will smile and remember that they told you so.

33.You will never appreciate your parents until you are older and see them as people and not parents.

34. Don't judge too quickly you burn bridges, burn opportunities, and never change.

35. Comfortable shoes can make or break your day.

36. Talking yourself out of exercising will always be a disservice to yourself.

It's all happening.

So I just got back from Congress with Jaime and I looked in my mail box to find my staging packet. This is the last packet the pc will send before I depart. Now the crazy thing is that it includes my itinerary as well as my actual flight information to get to Cameroon. How weird is it that I am actually booked on a flight to Africa!

I was hanging out with my friend Dave tonight who is leaving his teaching job at a local high school to go to grad school for English Education and he hasn't been sleeping very well do to some anxiety he is having. He is going to NYU for his graduate studies so moving to the big city can be daunting. I realized that I have yet to have an anxiety dream or really big freak out so far. This is very unlike me because I have anxiety dreams before and during every new job that I've had or lesson that I introduce. Yet, right now I have yet to really let it hit me that I will actually be in Africa in less than a month.

A piece of paper in front of me says "at 5:05pm on Januarey 08th I will be in Douala, Cameroon starting my training. I'll be flying through Paris. Paris! Who does this?

Anyway, I guess it's all happening.

The first blog

In my mind blog is something you do after a bottle of wine, a French baguette, and some brie. Alas, it is time for me to join the ranks of the bloggers so that I can tell as many people that want to hear about my experiences in Cameroon. I thought I would start writing about my experiences from about 6 weeks from departure, because anticipation makes things 10 times sweeter.

I really went through the ringer when it comes to being invited to the corps. It turns out that I had a stop on my medical and I probably wasn't going to be able to go. However, about a month ago I finally explained the circumstances to my doctor and she wrote a notes to the corps explaining that I'm good to go. I then got told that I passed my medical and I would know in two weeks. Then I waiting for two weeks and called the corps and they told me it will be another two weeks and I explain that my lease is up and I will graduate in three weeks and I need to know what I'm doing with my life.

Then, about a half hour later I get a return call from a higher up in the corps and I hear that my folder has been processed and that I will be going to Cameroon to teach English and AIDS education. I'm primarily a Theatre Teacher so I am also focused on implementing some Theater for Social Change when I'm over there. Needless to say I am currently in the process of jamming as many French vocabulary words and grammar rules in my head as possible and I'm doing an insane amount of paperwork.

A week and a two days until I'm done student teaching.
Three weeks until I graduate
6 weeks until I leave for West Africa