Wednesday, August 6, 2014

We Made it!

3 August 2014

We arrived in Yaoundé Tuesday night –


  
Leaving Geneva

Later than planned, as the weather made our flight late. 




Our welcome sign in our new apartment

Our friends, Gabrielle and Blake came to help with our bags and sort out help at the airport. Amazingly, all 15 of our checked bags arrived. We made it to our new ‘home’ around midnight, found pajamas and toothbrushes and went to sleep.  Wednesday we woke to cereal, eggs and bread provided for us, and the beginning of the fight with ants.  The Mayos helped us with lunch (peanut sauce beef) and all kinds of information:
How to use the water filter in our home (it’s a big plastic bucket with a spout and another plastic bucket on top to put tap water it), the importance of drying our dishes after they are washed and before using them, making sure clothes are completely dry before wearing them, how to get internet and phones, little tidbits about buying food from the ‘boutiques’ on the street (little shacks or lean-tos on the side of the road); washing fruits and vegies in bleach water solution for 20 minutes.  They had stocked our place with some essentials, but we would need to shop soon.

We unpacked more in the afternoon and then had dinner with Ray and Ann Kapteyn and their son- yummy mac-n-cheese and noodles with chicken sauce.

                                               
                                                (They were house sitting a parrot)

Wednesday night I took Noah’s temperature.  102.6.  No visits for him on Thursday! Thursday we went to turn our passports in and receive certified copies until we have local id.  And we went to the coffee break.  We were fortunate enough to be there on a day that a new testament was having a preview dedication.  It is finished and has been sent to the printers in Korea, but two prototypes were given to the pastor and leader of the community. 







There was a choir and a speakers, prayers, and cake.  Joey gave us a ride there with Gabrielle.  She helped us buy aunt killer and tp at a boutique on the way home.  Lunch that day was with Ruth and Christophe Mueller. Smoked chicken.  YUM!  Really good.  Ruth helps with making sure we have all we need, like hangers and pots.  Somehow we needed a nap after that. That night we ate at Kay Watts and Gabrielle came too (guess what peanut sauce beef again, with the traditional greens). 




 Friday we had to figure out lunch and it was only bread with jelly.  Laura took us to a store in the pm- santa lucia. That night it was dinner with Joey (guess what- peanut butter sauce beef!).  We talked a bit about the project we might go to, the foundations that have been laid, and the distance to travel.  Food for thought-
Saturday we were up to meet Blake at 745 to go grocery shopping.  I don’t feel like we got nearly enough food, but we ran out of money. We did buy something for dinner for the week and some lunch meat.  That night we had dinner with the Isaac family.  Kendall and Renee have 3 boys, full of life and enthusiasm (and a bit of mischief…)  It was NOT peanut sauce! We ate a sudo-lasagna with tomato and cheese and green beans and stayed and played games.
Sunday we overslept and missed church, but had a picnic at Rainforest International school.  We met lots of teachers, students, parents and staff of both rfis and greenhouse. Tonight our hot water line leaked – tomorrow they will fix it!
(and they did first thing!)


First thoughts:
It is not all that different from what I expected. 
The traffic is similar to that in Casablanca and what I saw in Sicily 20 years ago. 
The people are, at least outwardly, friendly. 
Everyone is working.  There are so many stores or boutiques, or people walking with wares.



 They are all looking for more work.  We have been offered house help from many people and with high recommendations.    On the aisles of the grocery, there are people who are supposed to help you.  One on each aisle!  
I have refrained from taking pictures of many things, but I will take more as I sort out what is culturally acceptable.
Taxis are cheep and you give your price and see if they are willing. A good taxi driver helps with more than driving.  Pay with your right hand.
Meat is less expensive than in France.  Other things, not so much.  Cheese is pricey and there is not much to choose from.
You buy peanuts in repurposed whisky bottles and they are good.
Bread is white and not as good as in France, but not bad.  Your house help can make it too or you can go to the booth down the street.  We can get bagels here!  And English muffins!  We never found those in Albertville.
Older women are called mama.
You can barter, but the vegetable woman right outside my gate does not lower her prices.  She is there all day each day with her children- except for Sundays. 
Converting prices is crazy!  5,000 here is about $10 US.  So when grocery shopping for the first time, 50,000 is most likely not enough!
Power and water and internet outages are common, not usually for too long, but it can be annoying when you had planned a Skype date and something is out. 
Weddings can go for HOURS!  The music Saturday started early afternoon and went all night until 8 a.m. LOUD with a wide range of styles.  They told us it is not like that all the time, but it is not unheard of on a Saturday night.  Tonight, Sunday, it is quieter than any other night- or day for that matter.
Dogs are on the street at night.
When the president is scheduled to leave his palace, stores are closed along the route for hours.  Guards with machine guns (or some kind of gun) line the street and are atop of buildings.  Don’t take pictures of them.
I am tired here and hungry.  Always seem hungry.  I think I will have a snack now.
Outside the city is really rainforest but the city keeps growing and moving in on it.
The roads here are like the JAARS off-road driving course. 
When the tap water is non-potable, cooking is seriously more difficult and everything takes longer.
There is chocolate to be found here.  It is not in the same class as French/Swiss/Belgian chocolate, but it works!
There are beautiful flowers, birds, and lizards, but it is hard to take their pictures because they are small/far away, or fast!




Food is more expensive than I thought it would be. Meat is less or the same as in France, but other stuff is more that France.
Powdered milk isn’t so bad especially if it’s cold.
The kids are beautiful.  The ladies dresses are beautiful.  There is much beauty.


     View down my street from a neighbor’s porch


Red clay is still hard to get out of clothes and it will suck off a flip-flop.



Thanks for reading and praying!
If you’d like to send a letter, our address is
Gassler Family
c/o SIL
BP 1298
Yaoundé Cameroon

We have phones and a shipping address if you would like that information, send me an e-mail.




Please keep praying that our house in Virginia rents very soon.


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