My Cameroon Experience

Hi everyone, It has been some time between posts.

I am in the process of uploading some pics but it takes time.



Anyway I have traveled much of northwestern and south western Cameroon and have seen much in terms of beautiful scenery, amazing culture, and met wonderful people.

I traveled Cameroon's Northwestern region which is arguably the richest cultural area in all of Africa in terms of its buildings, chiefdoms and the way its traditions coexist with the modern world. Just the northwestern province has 109 chiefs alone and it is wise to task their permission before climbing a random hill or pitching a tent.

As I have mentioned Cameroon is technically bilingual but that is far from the reality. The northwest and southwest are English speakinig areas that were once independent and were actually a separate multi-party independent state called Southern Cameroons, I bet you didn't know that! Because I know I didn't and I studied Africa in depth in school.

While in Bamenda, an English speaking city and opposition center to the President, I was having some beers with some locals when they invited me to a local and highly secretive as well as highly illegal political meeting. The risk of beating, raping of women and even death is so great that these meetings are held far away from the police and military who even in the English province are all Francophones.

The meeting was held in the dark and the group is trying to re-establish the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons. They are a very peaceful group and I was reluctant to tell them that Obama or the US or anyone in west probably won't even be aware of their cause unless lots of people start dying and there are people to document it. The whole meeting and the secretive nature in which it was held as well as the unimaginable consequences for attending such a meeting were I have to say extremely exciting.

Anyway the landscape in the Northwest consists of beautiful and endless rolling mountains filled with parrots, waterfalls and some cool weather. The people in this province were by far the friendliest I have met in my time in Africa.

I have yet to see wildlife though I head to Gabon tomorrow and then to Congo and I am determined to view Gorillas in their natural habitat. I did go to a rehabilitation center for primates which oddly enough was founded and funded by the Israeli government which I got to see gorillas very up close although behind a fence.


Here is a list of interesting daily aspects of life in Cameroon and Africa that I should mention

1. My morning coffee is purchased from the "Nescafeman" which is a young kid who pushes a big cart around the street with the Nescafe logo and he makes you coffee on the spot for about .20 cents

2. A sign of affection and friendship between men is to hold hands in the street (yes it sounds weird). It takes some time getting used to but if a man starts to hold your hand as you cross the street it is a geniunely very affectionate act.

3. Even in non-Muslim areas eat with your right hand and never ever wave hi or shake hands with your left as that is traditionally used to wipe one's ass.

4. Cameroon has a lot of Albinos, the Albino gene is very common apparently in Cameroon and Albinos stick out like a sore thumb in Africa.

5. You don't get someone's attention by yelling "Excuse me" or "Pardon" or even whisteling or snapping your fingers, you do it by hissing, this all over Africa and it really takes time to get used to it. Even in a restaraunt you get the attention of the waitress by loudly making a HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS sound similar to a snake sound.

6. Many Africans can't count, especially in Ghana, and you are often shortchanged as well as freauently you will recieve extra change. Mathematics can be foreign to many Africans and they sometimes even have a calculator trying to prove a price to you but they don't know how to add or subtract. You can't really argue when you are trying to show that this plus this equals this when the person insists that the multiplication symbol is used for addition!!

7. I found a Kabbalah center in Cameroon!

8. Cameroonians consume more alcohol and eat more then any other Sub-Saharan African nation.

9. Cameroon has by far the worst roads I have ever seen if you can even call them roads.