Africa .... One Week Update

Hello Everyone!  

It has been a long and interesting first week here in Limbe Cameroon; but I made it!

After a long awaited Toronto departure, the stresses of living in Africa for 3 months started no more than 20 minutes after landing.  The drive from the Douala International Airport to Limbe was a rude awakening to the living conditions I will need to get used to while in Cameroon.  The conditions of the vehicle I was in (the centre console was removed and I could see straight through to the engine block) and the others on the road (clouds of black smoke filling the air) gave me an idea of the tools and resources available.  Scary stuff.  Makes me think about how lucky we all are to have what we do...

As the days fly by they get easier and I can feel my level of comfort rising, slowly but surely.  A few amenities have been introduced to my living situation including a fan, a television complete with rabbit ears, and a second working bathroom.  Of course when I say "working bathroom" I mean a room with a sink, a toilet, a toilet seat (apparently sold separately here), and a shower handle that spits ice cold water at me.  Important lesson of the week here is that toilet paper is a LUXURY never to be taken for granted! 

Sleep comes easier now than in the first couple of nights which gives me hope for the coming weeks.  Andy, myself, and some of the kids who live near by got a glimpse of the Olympic opening ceremonies last night and I was very excited to see Cameroon come out followed by Canada.  It was very cool to think about where I was at the last Olympic Opening Ceremonies (watching them on my couch in Guelph with BFF Ben Kanee) and to think that at the time how hard I would have laughed if you told me that by the next Olympics I would be in Africa. 

Working with the kids has been a healthy combination of excitment, frustration, sadness, nervousness, and a humbling realization of how unbelievably lucky I was to have been able to play so many sports growing up.  THANK YOU MOM AND DAD. 

Everytime I see the kids playing I can see the passion and excitement in their eyes and it just pains me to think about how many kids in the Western world are playing with brand new shoes on state of the art fields and just totally oblivious to how lucky they are.  And still I do not know what is more upsetting the fact that the kids here have so little or the fact that there are still so many in Africa who have less.  It is a terrifying realization that there is only so much I can do here.  The kids that have asked me to buy them water, food, or new shoes break my heart because of how badly I want to help them but know that if I were to give in and purchase them what they want that it would not end there and I would soon be the one going hungry. 

It is however very exciting to get to see how the kids live and interact with one another.  Andy and I have made friends with some of the kids who live pretty close to us and they are awesome.  So much fun.  So full of life.  So excited to play with my camera.  Always laughing and encouraging me to get involved and trying to teach me phrases in their native Pidgeon English.  I am getting more excited as I think about what kind of programs I can run with these kids and the effect that they may have on them and their lives. 

All in all, I think it has been a good first week full of horrible lows and hopefull highs.  I am, as always, looking forward to getting comfortable in my surroundings and the more days that go by the sooner I see that happening. 

Cheers to all.  And trust me.  Take a look at what you have around you right now and BE THANKFUL. 

-Josh