It’s a little over 4 weeks until my completion of service and embarking on the journey home. It’s incredible that my 27 months are nearly over. I have grown quite fond of Africa – its people, its culture, its idiosyncrasies, and its contradictions.

     A lot has happened since my last entry. I’ve closed my post. Packed up or discarded 2 years worth of home furnishings and acquisitions. I’ve once again reduced my life to just several bags. I left Garoua in early June after being asked by Peace Corps Administration to help lead the training of a new group of future volunteers. I had to say good-bye to all my friends, colleagues and clients in Garoua. This included the mamas in the market, the women at the Women’s Center, the folks from the various city Quarters (Quartiers) of Garoua that I was teaching, advising and coaching in their businesses. It was very emotionally and physically exhausting.

     Once I left Garoua, I relocated to Bangangté for the 3-month Training Program required of all the new Peace Corps Trainees. I’m staying in a very nice house rented for staff. My roommates are David, Ibrahim, and Oumarou. We are having a great time. I’m continuing to learn African cuisine, habits, and etiquette. We continue to chat away even in the total blackness of the evenings when the electricity is randomly cut. I’m finding Bangangté chilly this time around – this is my third time in this village for training. I‘ve gotten used to the heat in Grand North and I’m finding the rainy mountain climate of the West Province very cool. I’ve even worn my fleece on occasion – which I hadn’t used in 2 years.

     Everyday I think about re-entry. This is strange in itself, because I never thought about returning because it used to seem so far away that thinking about it seemed rather pointless. But now, it’s right in front of me. 2+ years is nearly finished. I’m thinking about lots of things like:
                                    • Where am I’m going to live?
                                    • Is getting a job even possible?
                                    • How long will my kids put up with a deadbeat dad?
                                    • Should I just get a plane ticket and return to Africa?
                                    • Do I still remember the Tango, Waltz, Swing or Cha-Cha?
                                    • What’s on TV?
                                    • Do I remember how to drive a car?

Because so many people have been asking I’ve also been thinking about, in no particular order:

      Things I‘m looking forward to in the U.S. 
                           • Reliable high speed internet 
                           • Reliable electricity
                           • Hot showers with good water pressure
                           • Steak dinner with martinis and after dinner cordials 
                           • Ballroom dancing
                           • Bikram Yoga
                           • Bicycling
                           • New computer
                           • Catching up with culture – music, movies, TV, theatre, sports

     Things I’m going to miss from Africa 
* The calm pace of Cameroonian life
* Poisson Braisser (Roasted Fish on charcoal with herbs and spices)
* Soya (cooked meats available on the streets)
* My African friends – they are so much fun to hang out with
* The cheap and delicious produce – Pineapples, avocados, mangoes, papaya, bananas, plantains to name a few.
* Foléré juice – homemade juice of the Hibiscus Flower
* Drinking beer(s) under a tree with good friends and music from all over Africa blasting
* My marmites – cooking pots
* Garoua – the dust, the heat, the markets, the vendors, the colors, the noise, and the motos are all unforgettable and addicting
* Klishi – African beef jerky, dried under the sun and spicy enough to bring tears.
* My house – so simple to live in, keep up and relax

     But in the end I know that all this will work itself out. Somehow all my questions will be answered, all my concerns alleviated, all my desires fulfilled (more or less), and life will proceed on its appointed path. If I’ve learned anything at all in my sojourn in Cameroon it is to appreciate what I have, be patient, and accept each day for what it is.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you very soon!