Miscellaneous Observations

So now that I've been here for a week, some patterns of Cameroonian behavior and culture have begun to emerge. These are listed below, and I'm sure more will be added in the months to come.

-If you are not Cameroonian, you are a 'white man'. (This is a particularly odd experience for me, as I am neither white nor a man, but that doesnt seem to matter to the people here.) And everywhere you go everyone, both young and old, feels the need to shout 'white man white man!!!'

-Once people see a 'white man' and get their attention, they say 'You're welcome', which comes off as rude, as if you forgot to thank them for something, like allowing them into their country. What they really mean however is 'You ARE welcome', a much nicer greeting.

-They are obessed with America. Europe is good, but America is great, which is why every cab has an American flag air freshener in it.

-The word 'please' is completely unheard of, which makes many people come off as rude in the eyes of foreigners, until you realize that they arent as demanding as they seem.

-There are relatively few wild dogs, especially as compared to India or SE Asia. Instead there are lots of wild goats and chickens.

-'Asha' is the Pidgin English answer to every statement. It means 'sorry', 'thanks', 'thats good', 'fine', 'tomorrow', etc, etc.

-'African Magic' is a Nigerian program which is on 24-7 and may be both the worst and most hilarious TV show ever. The stories are always relatively scandalous (someone takes advantage of drunk woman, someone beats their girlfriend, someone steals from the church, etc) but the acting is so horrible and the plots make no sense that they become farces. I'm going to try and tape some to bring home.

-The men here are fairly skinny, but they all seem to prefer women who are much bigger than them, so it looks like many wives could crush they husbands.

-There is never enough change. Giving someone 2000CFA for a purchase worth 500CFA is like giving someone $100 for a $5 purchase- it incurs the same glare and frustrated sigh.

-All transactions can be done while in a moving car. Taxi drivers love to slow down, make a kissing noise (how you get people's attention here) and then shout something at a vendor down the road, and by the time the cab rolls by, the newspaper/food/candy/cigarettes/change is ready for them and the car doesnt even have to stop.

-Ever wonder where the clothes you donate to the Red Cross or Salvation Army end up? Well its here, but strangely not the T-shirts or shorts, but the wool sweaters and parkas you gave away in the 1980s.

-There are a few Albinos in town (due to a genetic defect) and there are a lot of myths about them. Some people believe they dont die (because they've never been to the funeral of an Albino person), that they aren't whole souls, or they are only ghosts.