RPCV's Daughter Tells the Tale of Her Trip to Cameroon

We know the children of RPCVs often have unique experiences from their peers.  Some (like the founder of Goodie Goodies, we blogged about here) are moved to make a difference from what they know about other places in the world.  One RPCV's daughter recently wrote a letter describing her trip to Cameroon, the homeland of her father and the place her mother served as an PCV.  Here's what she had to say about the experience:

My trip to Africa was amazing.  I went to visit my family.  We go every three years because my dad was born in Cameroon and he met my mom while she was in Peace Corps.  It took a very long time to get there, 20 hours!!!!!. I went with my mother, my father, my sister and my brother.  When we got off the plane the airport was packed and extremely HOT!  My dad went to go look for our luggage. Usually I look for his black bald head, but there were so many black bald heads I couldn’t spot him!  The next stop was our hotel. The hotel was pretty boring.  

Whenever we go to Cameroon, the first stop is always Bandjoun, my father’s village.  My grandmother still lives there. We popped a tire on the way there so we arrived around midnight.  Every one was very happy to see us, but very tired.  Soon we were shown to our beds.  Despite Liza’s (my little sister’s) constant kicking I immediately fell asleep.  I discovered work in Bandjoun is very fun.  It’s very different from the work here in the U.S.A.  Liza and I thought it was much more entertaining than cleaning our rooms!  We helped my grandmother gather beans in her field, then we had to shell them, so that they cook them for dinner.  We also helped wash clothes in the morning, but not my brother’s diapers!!  I was also in charge of crushing up the garlic, onions, leeks, and ginger on a stone in my grandmother’s kitchen. Soon it was time to leave to head to the big city. Before I go on I just want to say that Africa isn’t just wilderness.  My cousins have a 2 story house with satellite TV and cable! Isn’t that awesome?! 

Finally the place I had been waiting for: Yaoundé!!  I couldn’t wait to play with my cousins, but when I knocked on the huge, dusty, orange gate I felt shy.  What if they were different?  Marlene (14) opened the gate she looked pretty shy herself.  I entered the compound and saw Anaelle (9).  She’s my cousin of exactly the same age.  She looked like my opposite, strong and determined.  She then said ‘bonjour’ so suddenly I jumped.  “Oh! Bonjour!”  I said and smiled.  We both ran off to play in the grass.  At night I asked Anaelle about the fireflies.  Last time there were millions!  She said that they never came back after I left.  Oh no! I thought.  Then Anaelle said “look!”  I turned my head and saw fireflies.  Our nighttime was booked solid.  Soon it was interrupted by Cyrielle (16) “Time to take a bath!”  She called. I rolled my eyes but reluctantly started inside. My brother, sister and I stayed here while my mother went to her village to visit the family she stayed with in Peace Corps.  When my baby brother gets a little bigger, we will all go visit her village.  It is a long trip to get there. Every day in Yaounde was filled with fun.  We played and played, watched Disney Channel in French and played even more.   “Noooooooooooo!!!!” I cried “I don’t want to go home!”  We loaded up the car.  We were headed back to Bandjoun to say goodbye to my grandmother and then to Douala to catch our flight home.  I missed Yaoundé already.  Bandjoun here we come. We said goodbye and then got our flight to Miami.  I miss Cameroon a lot, especially my cousins.

Comments

[Makira Walton]

Dear Em,
That was an awesome story. It's so cool that you got to go to Cameroon and do stuff like that. I agree -- It's much better than cleaning your room! See you as soon as I can!!!!
BFF
Makira

[Jackie Bohdan]

Hi Emily-I thoroughly enjoyed your description of your trip to Cameroon. I knew when I showed you and Makira my Tanzania safari pictures several years ago that you were already a world traveler. You not only recognized all the unusual animals, but you also knew so many facts about them. Keep up your happy travels. The world is yours!
Love, Jackie Bohdan (Makira's grandmother)

[Emily Eisenhauer]

That sounds like a great trip, and your description really let me imagine how it was. Great job!

[Chris]

I love your story, my father is from Bandjoun, I remember when we lived in Bandjoun in 1983 our next door neighbor was a Peace Corps, Peggy, when she left in 1984 or so I was 4 she was very interested in adopting me. I have been in the US for almost 10 years, I am married and we just had a daughter. I am planning a trip for the familly to Cameroon next year and plan on having them visits the village, Yaounde where I was born, and Douala where my parents and some sibblings live now. My wife is very excited, she was in the Peace Corps but was in Paraguay. Your story, reminded so much of Cameroon and really makes me eager to go back and visit.

Who knows we may run into each other in Bandjoun some day...

[Susan Walton]

Emily, you are one special girl! You are so lucky to have travelled to such a faraway place. And your parents are very lucky to have such an adventurous and eloquent daughter. Keep writing!!! We love you lots and miss you! Susan Walton