Since I haven't spent much time articulating the differences between the culture and daily life in Cameroon and America I decided to do so in this post.
I'm going to start with the shared taxis here because its a huge difference that we deal with multiple times a day. Its actually gotten to the point where I think using a taxi in the states will be weird for me for awhile. In Douala, there is almost no public transportation. We see sporadic over crowded buses here and there, but they are rare and I don't know anyone here that ever uses them. Shared taxis are the main method of transportation within in Douala, and you cant look down a street for more than 5 seconds without spotting atleast one. They are all yellow dodge cars from the 70s that are in less than stellar shape. Shared taxis are what their name suggests - shared. There are five seats available not counting the driver's. This means 3 people sit in the back (or more if a kid is sitting on someones lap) and two people share the front seat. The cars are all manual, so its not like theres much room in the middle counsel to make this arrangement at all comfortable. Sharing the front passenger seat closest to the driver is definitely the worst seat in the car. So to get one of these taxis you hail one like you normally would, and the car slows a bit as you yell your destination to the driver. If he's going that direction and has room, he will stop the car and honk - indicating you have been approved to take a seat. Sometimes the taxi drivers take a little while to weigh the option of taking you, which is the worst because you end up doing the tango towards the car as it decelerates and then accelerates again. If your destination is convienent and not too far, you pay 200 CFA, or around 45 cents. If you want to go farther you negotiate, usually agreeing to no higher than 500 CFA. There is also the option of taking the car privately, which in french is called depot. Because were white, if we flag a taxi that is empty, the driver usually assumes we want it depot, which costs 1500CFA, or about 3 dollars each. So now we make sure to say pas depot, pas depot before getting in.
Related to shared taxis is the driving and traffic here. I was less phased by it than other volunteers when we first arrived since I had spent time in Vietnam previously, which still holds the title of craziest traffic in the world in my mind. Here though its not exactly normal either. In addition to the thousands of taxis in Douala, there are also a lot of motorbikes. These bikes are what make traffic dangerous, because they a) don't believe that traffic rules apply to them, b) drive like maniacs (although those two things might be one in the same). They weave in and out of crevices between cars, and most surprisingly... and dangerously..., decide to make full uturns into oncoming traffic at will, forcing cars to yield to them. Also unusual about the traffic here is that if there is an accident, no matter how big or small or circumstantial or obvious as to who caused it, it is never ever ever your fault. And not just oh yea its not my fault. IT IS NOT MY FAULT! As in, people get incredibly angry when they are a part of a collision, specifically at the person they collided with. Ive seen many accidents, and been a part of a few tiny ones that include nicking a moto while riding in a taxi (almost always the motos fault), and never have I seen anyone ever admit to the fact that it was their fault, nor accept the other person's involvement in the accident in a calm manner. This applies to pedestrians as well. For example, yesterday I saw someone dart out in front of traffic and almost get hit by a car that most likely didn't see him. After jumping out the way, the pedestrian punched the car window out of anger. It was actually a pretty funny scene. And finally another odd thing about accidents here is that everyone on the street seems to become instantly invovled, and they always seem to take the side of whoever is most vulnerable. So if a drunk driver hits a car and its his fault, they will probably defend him because they know he will be in big trouble if he is found guilty of drunk driving.
Alright now a little bit about politeness. Its probably what bothers me most here, just because I don't like the feeling of being afraid to act naturally in fear of offending someone. Plus i'm naturally messy and not exactly prim and proper so its difficult for me. People dress very nice here, and it usually isn't due to Islam, which is what I first thought. Its more due to pride and dressing respectfully. I haven't had any issues, but the other day for example, Harold was wearing running shorts because he was going to the gym later. A guy on the street yelled out to him saying it was rude to wear that and it wasn't the way they dress in his country. It is also important to say good morning, good afternoon or good night to whoever you encounter, to respect and listen to authority, and my personal favorite (not) is always covering your mouth when you yawn. Seriously its bad if you do that here. One time we walked by a taxi driver who yawned without covering his mouth and Olivia and Jo were up in arms. In the beginning they always covered my mouth for me and I thought they were doing it as a joke but I eventually learned it was not. I asked my French teacher about it and she said they just do it to copy the French but who knows.
The food is also different than what we're used to at home. Their main food starts with a D and I can never remember how to spell it. It's made out of seaweed, peanuts, tiny shrimp, palm oil and all this other stuff. It took us weeks to find out the main ingredient was seaweed, because everytime you ask someone, they say legumes, which is just the french word for vegetables. It looks like creamed spinach if you want a mental image, and as weird as it sounds I don't really mind it, although Im sure many more picky eaters would. They also eat cassava, which is the weirdest looking stuff ever. I dont think I can even describe it, its pale whitish yellow, a mix between a hard consistency and jello, and tastes like nothing with a hint of sugar. I dont mind it but when you eat it it just feels like you're eating to fill yourself, not to enjoy. They also have a lot of grilled fish, which is great except that we eat it every day. My favorite food is their avocado vinagrette salad. Its just chopped up avocado with a really good vinagrette sauce and onions, and you usually eat it with a baguette. All of that, plus about 4 mangoes a day makes up about 80% of my diet.
Their drinking culture here is nice, they have a ton of outdoor bars where people just sit and talk and drink beer, whisky... or smirnoff ice (huge hit here with women and men alike). They always have nice lively music on as well. Which reminds me that I want to share my favorite African songs with everyone, I can only find one on youtube right now, see below. I just went to a big concert in Douala where almost all my favorite artists preformed, including the one singing the song I posted, it was really cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uizpFObeWu0&feature=related
Other random observations... phone calls. Here you are asked for your number frequently, and if you give it out, you will be called constantly until you answer. They also call very early because they wake up very early and I also heard something about it being cheaper to call early in the morning and late at night. And sometimes they call just for a second if they dont have credit so that you will see they called and call them back.
They are also very collectivist. Most of them have big families, and usually when you work, your money is the family's, not yours. Some of our local friends have expressed that it sometimes encourages people not to work, because they know they will see so little of the money they earn. Also, they will do anything for a buck. One job I find particularly comical is the job of filling up a taxi for a taxi driver at one of the big taxi hubs. The driver will tell a guy what neighborhood he wants to drive to, and the guy will hold open the door screaming the name of the destination so that people who need a taxi to that area will come. They usually get the job done in about 30 seconds, and are rewarded with the equivalent of about 20 cents most times.
Money here is somewhat of a hassle. When you go the ATM you are always given 10,000 CFA bills, about 20 dollars. Unfortunately only a few stores except these bills, and you cant have anymore than a 1000 CFA if you want to pay for almost anything - food, taxi, drinks etc. This usually means having to buy someting in a big shop that you dont necessarily need to make change, it's usually a pretty big pain. And if a small shopkeeper offers to make me change I feel guilty because I know they will struggle to give change for the next few hours if they do. Also because we are white, people often try to rip us off, but if you know the local price and are firm you can usually get it for a good amount.
People here are also very friendly and curious, and after encountering you more than one time you are considered a friend. For example if we have the same taxi driver twice, they will instantly recognize us (for obvious reasons) and will be more willing to take us where we want to go for a better price and less haggling. This has made me feel a lot safer around my neighborhood, because everyone knows me there now, and I think if I was ever in trouble they would come to my defense. Related to that topic is how well your insticts serve you here. Its hard to explain but all of us have felt it. Sometimes a certain area or a taxi driver just give off a bad vibe, you just know what to avoid instictively.
The people here are more blunt, usually in a comical way. For example when a teacher was taking us around the school to introduce us to all the students, in each class he would say in French, "These are your new friends, they are going to help you with school. Are they black???" with the kids responding "NO!!! They are white!!!". Which I found hilarious. Can you imagine the same at home? So ridiculous.
Going out to clubs here is also an experience. The girls dress SO nice, and Ive heard that the girls you see that are very well dressed work on looking beautiful full time, as in they don't work and just primp themselves most days. So it's only rich girls that can do this. They put me to shame in the clubs though, with me wearing flip flops and jeans. Dancing is also very interesting. They learn since they are very small, I see them teaching the little kids at our school and they already look just like the adults at age 5. Its a very slow, specific kind of dance. Whenever I imitate it they go nuts cause its not exactly a common dance for white people. Pretty fun.
Politically its hard to say, but it seems as though they do not like their current president Paul Biya, who doesn't have the best track record. Olivia refers to him as a son of a bitch.
