It Goes On

Whatever else life does, it always goes on, to paraphrase Robert Frost. I don't know about the rest of those in the Jackson Village, but I feel like I am slowly becoming accustomed to life in Cameroon. It's been 3 weeks since we arrived in Yaounde, but it feels like it's been much longer. We haven't started school yet, but some semblance of routine has set in since the first week that we spent unpacking and wandering around and wondering what to do with ourselves. Yesterday both Carolin and Fadi moved up to Sabba Njowra, Fadi's village. Carolin's staying up there until she finds a place in Bamenda, and Fadi is going back to stay with her family until school starts again. So there's been some switching of rooms; Sarah and I moved into Carolin's old room (with our own bathroom! Woohoo!), and Katelyn got her own room. Once we paint, we'll be completely settled into our rooms for the whole year!

Waking up this morning was a little weird in a new room, and a new country, for that matter. But the rest of the day was lovely; Karen, Sarah, Lum, Katelyn, Nelly and I drove into town to visit the Helping Hands orphanage. We were given a tour by Pa, or Patrick, the older man who runs the orphanage with his wife. We walked through the girls' room, the 3 rooms that housed the boys, the baby's room, the kitchen, the reading and computer room, and the backyard where they raise chickens and rabbits for selling and eating. There are about 15 boys and 12 girls, but those who are 13 years or older were away for a month at Teen Mission, so we played with the rest of them, showing them how to set up dominoes and take pictures with our phones, which they quite enjoyed. Several boys spent the entire afternoon taking pictures of themselves and each other, laughing every time the shutter sounded. We were also treated to a few they sang for us, which was marvelous!