Day 90 - February 11th

So on this lovely Saturday, I hung out with my Bamenda friends, while the Conrods (minus Nandry, who is having a slumber party weekend with her BFF Ysabelle who lives here) went to visit one of the other SCA families in nearby Mbingo (not sure on that spelling). I slept in, and didn't really do much of anything until after lunch. I am a little disappointed I didn't get up and moving early, because today was Youth Day, and kids from schools all over marched and sang in their best school uniforms at the city center. Similar celebrations happened all over Cameroon today.
After lunch, I hung out with Elsie, and we later went shopping down near the grandstand where the program had taken place. We took a taxi, and I even paid him, rather than someone else paying for me! That may seem small, but it is another step in feeling and acting more independent in this culture so vastly different from my own. We were more checking out the area than anything, and there were people EVERYWHERE! We passed two men, who were like, "Hey, white people, hello! Are you English?" which started a nice little conversation, where we learned that they were a Brit and a Hollander, and the Englishman is traveling around the world (cool!) and the Hollander around Africa. They are riding motorcycles, too, through Africa. That must be really cool, but I don't know if I'd ever have the guts to do it (travel around the world, even to the questionable countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, not the riding a motorcycle part).
Also, it was cool to see the kids all bedecked in their spotless uniforms, and to see all the food vendors and the like. There were street vendors who had soft serve ice cream machines right on the street corner! So strange. :-) But people were enjoying their cold treats, though it wasn't too brutally hot today, here in Bamenda. We had a wonderful breeze, though the sun is always intense once it breaks through the clouds.
But it has been unseasonably warm while we have been staying here, which is fine with me! I've barely needed long sleeves or my hoodie, even in the morning!
All the same, it has been cool enough to not need my windows open, either. Or maybe I'm just not in my room at the warmest part of the day.
Tonight, the remaining ladies (we are four) worked on a jigsaw puzzle together. I LOVE that, with the lack of places to go in the evening, this is a fun pastime that we can enjoy in a group! Other nights we have played games or watched movies, but I enjoyed doing an activity where we could talk and hang out, but also use our brains analytically.
So, now, it's off to bed I go! I have to be at breakfast at 7, ready for church! It will be my first time in a Cameroonian church, and in a church building, for the first time since I got here!