Here is a comprehensive list of every singe blog post I’ve ever written. Happy Reading!
New Beginning!
I am excited to have finally moved this blog to a self-hosted address! This new change will allow me to have more freedom in the layout and design. Web design is still a completely new area for me. But slowly, I am learning to tweak a thing or two to…
Celebrating Women’s Day
The Indomitable Lions is the Cameroonian national football (or soccer) team, but the real national sport is drinking at a bar. There are more bars in Cameroon than any other type of enterprise. Even if you find yourself in the middle of nowhere with no food in sight, there will…
Stepping Back: to Grandmother’s House!
Last summer, I had the chance to revisit my birth country of Taiwan. One of the many stops we made along the island was at the Lee family estate in Ping-Tung (屏東), to visit my amazing 91-year-old grandmother. At 91 and without much formal education, my grandmother still speaks 3…
O.M.G. Books!
I am exhausted. I haven’t worked this hard since May 2008. After the ultimate obstacle course, which I will write about it at a later time, the 40-ft container of 23,000 books have arrived in Bafoussam on Saturday at 11am. Since then, the team of volunteers and I have been working almost around the clock during most daylight hours to sort through all these books. In total, we received 617 boxes of books. For the large majority, we had to take them out of the boxes and sort through them by subject and level.
The Ultimate Obstacle Course
I’ve been dreading to write this post on the difficulties and pure ridiculousness that we went through for those 23,000 books to arrive. After the past two weeks, the only thing I want to do is rejoice in the success, not revisit the frustration. However, yesterday I came to the realization that my time in Cameroon remains only 3 precious months. I became nostalgic for these past two years and frankly, quite sad. I need to write about the obstacles in order for me to appreciate the efficiency that I will undoubtedly face in the “real world”. It’s human nature to reminiscent over an intense experience and think of only the peachy parts, yet the details of the trials and frustration is equally important and merits documentation.
A Celebration
After weeks of banging my head against a wall, cursing at inefficiency, and later moving 23,000 books around, we were able to see the appetizer portion of the fruits of our labor on Friday, March 19th, when a small ceremony of book distribution took place in Bafoussam. The Books For Cameroon team – Kate, Siobhan, Connie, Laura and myself – was present at once finally. Prior to this, we’ve been working largely through email or meeting separately. It was great to have all of us in one space and witnessing the books going out to recipients.
Beginning of an End
After the successful distribution of books, I headed to Yaoundé for Close-of-Service (COS) conference with my fellow ’08-’10 SED/ED volunteers. To celebrate having endured Cameroon for nearly two years, Peace Corps put us up in a nice hotel in Yaoundé. While one of the nicest hotels in Cameroon, in comparison…
Understanding Big Chairs
Laura: What are we going to do when it’s not socially acceptable to drink a cold Castel on the beach at 10 in the morning? I have been back in village for a week now after the whirlwind of COS conference, and I have never missed Americans this much…
Language, Culture & the World
Hello readers, if you are still out there! I know going on a hiatus is not the smartest way to build readership in a newly established blog. Yes, I do have some excuses: I brought books to Cameroon, went to a conference with fellow Peace Corps volunteers, and…slow Cameroonian Internet…
81 Days & Counting
It’s been pretty quiet around here au village these days. With my projects mostly wrapped up and not enough time to really do much else, I am relishing in these last 81 days of freedom and embracing every bit of boredom that I may feel. Chances are, my life will…
Stepping Back: Paris
Paris, the city of lights. Some claims it as one of the world’s most romantic cities. Exactly a year ago, I had the great pleasure of stopping in on this enchanting city during a layover en route to Taiwan. Since I had been to Paris before, I avoided all touristy…
Visa Fun
One of the things that come within the territory of being a globetrotter is taking care of paperwork – visa is one of them. To apply for a student visa for the UK, one needs to apply 3 months prior to the start of the course. Unfortunately, for me, those…
Traveling Blahs
Bientôt, I’ll be in Cameroon for two years. I’ve seen and experienced so much over the past two years that it now takes a lot for me to freak out about something – mice, bugs, obnoxiousness, strange animals being held on the road for sale – you name it, I’ve…
Sandwich Art
We Peace Corps Volunteers get very creative in our leisure activities and are very easily amused people. Few weeks ago, David and Jim decided to make sandwiches. That sounds like a pretty ordinary activity, n’est-ce pas? mais non, not in Peace Corps land. We didn’t just make sandwiches, we replicated…
Stepping Back: London
With my time in the Peace Corps coming to an end, I’ve begun to look forward to the next phase of my life. I’ll be returning to my beloved city of London to pursue a masters program at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I am so so…
