Ngaounderé

On Sunday night, our entire group piled onto the train in Yaoundé, and when we woke up in our bunkbeds on Monday morning, we were in Ngaounderé, a small city to the north. Northern Cameroon is mostly Muslim (entering the area near the Sahara), and so are our homestay families. We're not in the desert, but the heat here is indeed intense and dry.

In Cameroonian Muslim culture (like most of the traditional cultures of the over 250 ethnic groups of the country), girls often marry young. My homestay mom here is 21, like me, and she has two children - an 8-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl. I love them all already, though we have some challenges communicating - the first language here is Fufulde, and then kids learn French in school.

Today we Americans had a "Survival Fufulde" class. Here is a sample conversation for you:

Fufulde-speaking-person: Sanu!
Kayce: Sanu!
FSP: Jam na?
K: Jam.
FSP: Jam bandu na?
K: Jam koo dumi.
FSP: Noy inde ma?
K: Inde am Kayce.
FSP: Toy lesdi ma?
K: Lesdi am America.
FSP: Toy wurro ma?
K: Wurro am Brunswick.
FSP: Sey yesso!
K: Sey yesso!


Love you all,
Kayce