I take the first steps on the African continent on August 05, 2017 when I arrive in the late afternoon at Douala Airport with a 30 min delay. When exiting the airplane, hot and very humid air welcomes me. I find my way through the immigration procedure to the luggage pickup where I waited for one hour before my backpack was appearing as one of the last pieces. I get out of the airport and find myself surrounded by a big crowd of people that are all talking to me at the same time and that seem to know what I was looking for. Luckily, one guides me to a gate where people wait for picking up friends and family. I find, Tabi, my coordinator from Buea among the many people waiting. He warmly welcomes me (despite him waiting there already for 3hours) and guides me to a taxi that he already reserved. We drive in a rather antique and improvised Toyota to a central gathering point in Douala, where we transfer to another car that takes us directly to Buea. We waited for another 35mins until the car was full and we started our journey.
The ride from Douala to Buea can take between 1,5 hours and 4 hours depending on traffic and road conditions. Luckily, it only took us around 2 hours and several shock moments (traffic is crazy!) to reach Buea, where I was already expected by Teresa, Eva, and Lukas, the other volunteers at our student residency.
During a delicious dinner, the others shared their stories and experiences with me after already spending one month in Cameroon. I was truly impressed by how they managed to install a kitchen in the student residence, manage their daily life without running water, overcome frequent power failures and get used to the slow life here in Cameroon. Tired and filled with new impressions, I spent the first night at Eva's room since all the cockroach and mouse home stories kind of stuck in my head and spent a wonderful first night under a protective mosquito net.
The following days were filled with many first-times and new encounters. We went to the market, ate great local food, bought fabrics and get tailored dresses, went to visit a school for children, learned to elegantly fight the muddy roads with our rubber boots, celebrated the rain-free periods (it's rainy season), met local street goats, set-up the office schedule for the next months, and explored the local shopping and service landscape!
Only down-site: my phone got stolen, but I am available via Whatsapp with a new number, so drop me a line if you want to reconnect! We already planned our first trip to Kribi Beach this weekend, so stay tuned for the next story!