been gone for a minute but now i'm back with the YAOUNDE

been in Yaounde since wednesday, but have just now got to a cyber cafe. i was surprised and relieved that i didnt have too much interneting to catch up on. this entry should take up some time, though.
it was kinda sad to leave dschang. i definitely liked my homestay family, but wwas also ready for a new experience. my family made spaghetti tuesday night, which i really appreciated, in part becaue it was tasty. they were nice enough to walk me out to the road to get picked up on wednesday morning too. i'm looking forward to seeing them again in april or maybe may. and i'm definitely excited to see the baby on the way from sister huguette (have i mentioned this?) its due in mid-may.
the trip to yaounde was done in the van and took only six hours. we're staying at a mission quite centrally located, which has toilets and hot running water. its been a lot more like dorm life this week, though, just being around students in 2-4 person rooms. I'm staying with Boniface, the ever gentil assistant academic director. its been great though, and lets me speak at least a little french. spending a lot more time amongst fellow students has been fun, but is not helping us with cultural insight.
the city is huge, and i am permanently lost. there is a map in my guidebook that helps, and taxis just drive us everywhere. we've actually been out after dark now too, which is exciting, but definitely necessary since there is far less to do at home here than there was in dschang.
so wednesday afternoon we had some free time about the city, which i spent with Winnie just exploring and looking for a bar to chat it up with some cameroonians. by great chance we stumbled upon 4 elegantly dressed business men who invited us over and paid for our drinks. turns out, one was the mayor of a large neighborhood it town (300,000 consituents), so it was great talking to him about grassroot style politics. he told me that has a campaign coming up in june where he'll go door to door, and gave me a lot of good insight into the political system here, which might also help me out for my ISP. after, one of his staffers (his companions) also bought us each a CD, and the whole meeting was just one of the highlights of my trip, to have such luck like that. we're hoping to get together with them again, also to bring others along and have an informal talk about local politics here in cameroon.
thursday was la journée international des femmes, or international women's day (this doesnt exist in the US?), which is a big holiday here in Cameroon. Women sew themselves dresses in matching fabric and go march with their commuinity organizations. being in yaounde, it was probably the biggest parade in the country, overlooked by the presidents wife, chantal biya. a few students marched while we all watched, then after we went and hung out with MUFFA, which is a women's micro-credit organization. they were partying it up and we got to chat with the ladies, then learned a bit more in a formal setting. a fun day in all.
friday was a busy day. 3 consecutive 2-3 hour meetings with NGOs - CAMFAMM (social security), SIL (preserving native languages), and CED (environmental advocacy). then, we had our first west african dance class, where we learned some guinean moves. i also stopped by the city Hilton, where christianne (program director)'s brother was presenting his water purification powder along with his japanese company. quite impressive natural chemical stuff, straight cleaned water of dirt (but not bacteria). so all those presentations and classes were interesting. we ate out on our own for dinner, and i went to chinese across the street with a few and got really good squid and other non-cameroonian food.
but friday night i got sick in the stomach. caused probably by a tuna pizza i had eaten earlier at a boulangerie. so i spent some time friday night throwing up, and have since been having "digestive issues," which i think are calming down now. i have self diagnosed and all and am thinking it should clear up soon. saturday i spent in bed, missing some ISP planning talk and the second (seemingly awesome) african dance class. i also failed to eat the best foods to help, but i'm making sure to take it easy today.
so sunday i felt good enough to go with Sarah Oh to a korean missionary's. being korean, she was spotted in town saturday by a couple who were visiting to decide whether the man would become a missionary here... so we took a long cab ride across town to a huge building on a hill. Rev. Yoon, who is the man in charge there, had been in country for 20 years and had built the huge church in yaounde along with 60+ others around the country. we spent plenty of time talking to him before and after the service, and even got to eat lunch at his house with Rev. Kim (the visiting guy), and their two wives. it was korean food and i was so pleased (but this is an example of the food i shouldnt have been eating while sick). the church was populated entirely by cameroonians, and only he clergy was korean. i had an overall positive impression of the whole thing, despite some curious opinions anc comments by the korean pastors about culture. but Rev Yoon was just so hospitable, so again, another memorable experience here. The home made korean food in cameroon was definitely unexpected and awesome.
so spent the rest of the day relaxing, and today we only visited the US peace corps to learn a bit. i am putting in my time after on the internet, catching up and changing my flight back (31st, still).
the city is strange, because we've encountered a lot of tourist-geared restaurants and other places, with english speakers and white clientele. I havent got to exploree enough yet, but am hoping to do so and hit up the huge art market and to also find some authentic culture around these parts.
think that is enough for now... take care and feel free to contact me.