March & April

March 8th: The girls and I in our matching women's day outfits. 

The Journey East: Liz and I in front of a "prison van" a very specific type of bush taxi, noted for the prison -like bars separating the driver from the rest of the passengers.  Luckily for us, Jannel knows the agence owner so we got to ride vip style in the cabin.  This made a HUGE difference.  We could not escape the red dust that blows through the windows and sticks to your sunscreened/sweaty body ... fortunately this picture is not close up enough to see our rather red skin and hair.   It was really cool to see the east, the entire landscape/vegetation is sooo different from the extreme north.  It felt like we were driving through a jungle at times.  We also got to check out the cool cities along the way and visit our friends who are posted out there.  It was a lot of fun! 

 

After a long but really fun trip through the east, we arrived in Yaounde just in time to celebrate Liz and I's birthdays.  Claire's mom and brother were still in town on their visit and got us this beautiful cake from the fancy Yaounde bakery. 

Then we celebrated Lindsey and Claude's wedding!  Lindsey and Claude met during our training and have been dating ever since.  Their wedding was really beautiful!  First was the official signing of documents in the mayor's office (pictured above).  Then there was an elaborate photo shoot in the park followed by a reception with lots of dancing, eating and drinking.  Lindsey looked so beautiful and everybody had a ton of fun. 

The main reason for coming south was for C.O.S. (close of service) conference.  This is supposed to help us figure out our transition back into the states.  Some former volunteers talked about how they "figured out their lives" etc. after getting back and they gave us some resume and job searching tips which were pretty helpful.  They also took us to the U.S. embassy when I decided that I definitely do NOT want to become a career diplomat (I'm so good at crossing things off of my list) but they did feed us delicious enchiladas, well worth the trip in itself.  The conference ended with a field trip to the primate center outside of Yaounde.  That is our group in front of a giant tree. 

This is me with some baboons. 

After the conference was over we went to the beach one last time!  Martine came with us... casually mentioning on the bus that she had never seen the ocean before!  So, it was very exciting to share her first trip to the seashore with her. 

We also ate a barracuda.  (Look closely at its face/teeth, pretty cool)  It was delicious.