2010年4月27日星期二

More after 1 May

Since I am in Douala and I will visit Limbe and Buea in the coming three days, I will get more update after I arrived HK on 1 May.

Keep visiting afterwards =]

Culture difference?

We chose an overnight travel back from Bamenda to Douala. We thought that we were lucky as the bus left on time (10:30pm). At that moment I was already very sleepy ( I normally sleep before 10pm in Kumbo), the music in the bus was loud and I thought that it would stop soon (as from my experience last time, the bus driver turned off the music when it started to leave). I kept waken up because of the music several times since then. At around 1pm, I was sort of mad and I shouted to the bus driver, 'Could you stop the music please?' (There was no way for me to walk to the driver seat and talk to him as the bus was moving down in a very fast speed T_T). One of the ladies in the bus laughed and said 'You know what...hahaha....The white man wants to stop the music hahaha...Here is Cameroon..hahaha'...and a series of words which I don't understand) in an annoying voice. Afterwards, the bus driver turned the music even louder. Ok, maybe it's a culture difference that they listen to African pop music at night while sleeping??? However, some more people tried to say 'turn it off' during the journey.
At around 2pm, the bus stopped for a while so that people can get out for food or something. I asked one guy sitting next to us if it's normal for the bus driver to turn on the music in such a horribly loud sound at night and he said that it's not normal though it could happen. I asked if he enjoyed the music and he replied that he could only enjoy it during the day. Another guy sitting in front of me told me that he asked the bus driver to lower down the music but he rejected as there was only one volume for the music. Jeff was angry and he tried to talk to the bus driver again. The bus driver laughed at him and walked away. Jeff followed him and said that there were babies in the bus and how could he turned on the music so loud but the bus driver kept walked away.
The journey continued and the lady who laughed at me kept talking in a very loud voice about me asking the bus driver to stop the music. Another black man got angry and walked to her to ask her stop talking. The lady shouted back, ' You are not Cameroonian!' Luckily they didn't fight and the lady stopped talking finally.
The music kept playing for the whole journey!!

It was a horrible 7-hour journey to me!!!

2010年4月22日星期四

Teaching little kids

I went to G.N.S Meluf today to teach those students in drawing thank you cards for donars. Due to this experience, I realized that teaching little kids is never an easy job, esp when you don't speak their language.
They did try to draw those cards and I'm sure that they enjoyed it!

My last week in Kumbo

I will leave Kumbo on 25 April and spend my last week in Douala and Beau to visit the two universities.

It is a busy week for me - teaching in schools in the morning and giving tutorial lessons to form 5 and form 7 students who are living near me. :D

There is neither light nor water this week T_T
Light just came half an hour ago!!! Hopefully it will stay longer so that I don't need to use candles any more :P

2010年4月19日星期一

About the school building project 關於學校興建計劃

Thank you for all your support! We have already got enough fund to finish the whole project. The reminding amount will be reserved for another school building project in Cameroon.
感謝各方的支持,本計劃已籌得足夠的善款,而工程已踏入最後階段,將於明天完工.
所有餘款將用於另一個由Navti foundation 籌辦的學校興建計劃.

2010年4月11日星期日

文化周之與會見Fon

時至今日,這兒還有「王」的存在,人們稱之為fon.fon並沒有甚麼實際的權力,但人們對他亦很尊重.fon 有許多妻子,聽說有些fon有多達一百位妻子呢,而本任fon有三十多位妻子.他們與王子公主們都住在「皇宮」內.文化周於「皇宮」附近進行.對於皇宮使 用引號的原因是這兒一點也不像皇宮,我無意中走進了一所我還以為這是古代遺址的房屋,原來這是其中四位王子的居所.其他皇親貴族的房屋也差不多,比一般平 民的房屋還要也很簡陋呢.
無意中又走進了現任fon的其中一位妻子的屋內,坐了數分鐘,沒事可幹,便離開了.正當我準備離開皇宮之際,再遇上那位「妃子」,她說她正四處找 我,fon要會見我呢.
她領我到大閘之後,並說我要彎下身子,fon來到了,她便叫我向前走,我不知道是否還要彎下身子,便站起來跟fon對話.
fon問了我的名子、國籍及來了Kumbo多久,他好像不滿我已在這兒兩個月也沒有拜會過他(但我知道有文化周時跟人家說笑要見fon,他們說這是不太可 能呢.),然後便叫我離開了.「妃子」帶我離開,並送我一支芬達汽水,說是fon給我的禮物.
後來我發現,原來於fon面前,你要一直彎下身子,儘管你正跟他對話,但一直這樣彎下身子,fon能聽到我們在說甚麼嗎?
真的很有興趣知道fon的居所是怎樣,而他又是否喜歡當fon呢?

2010年4月8日星期四

Cultural Week


兩年一度的文化節於本周舉行.今天我終於也能抽空到場觀看!
剛到場時有許多人在圍觀,完全看不到那些表演,有位婦人看到了我正努力舉起相機,便替我開了條路,讓我站到最前XD
這個文化節會有一些傳統儀式的演出,這些儀式已不再進行了.今早的表演是於「戰爭」前或用來嚇怕野獸的儀式.他們會先跳一種特別的舞蹈.然後便是圖中他們的搶火環節,他們會把火放進口中.其他人則在旁唱歌.其後他們會邊飲酒邊殺雞--徒手殺雞!

整個表演也很有趣呢,特別是看到他們那種「臨記」的表情!

2010年4月7日星期三

缺水

期待以久終於下雨,亦因如此終於有自由水!
昨夜四時鄰居發現有水,便立即把我喚醒.把屋內所有能盛水的器皿都盛滿了水.並立即洗小部份衫!一如所料,自來水的供應於清晨六時便停了.對上一次有自來水的時候是五天前,那次等待了足足八天呢!

沒有水的日子我們是如何度過呢?
從我的住所步行五至七分鐘左右有一條河,從河的沿頭接駁了一條水管,人們便會從水管處取水.某次我拿了一個20L的水桶,去程花了六分鐘,回程卻用了差不多三十分鐘!
在非常時期,取水實在太辛苦,便索性於河邊洗衫.有些人還會於河邊洗澡呢!
於香港,若我於河邊玩水,回來家後第一時間便是洗澡及洗衫.現在我用河水洗衫及洗澡,又算不算乾淨呢?

cooking of fu fu corn


it's too hard!!

2010年4月6日星期二

About the project








While the classrooms are being built









The new classroom!


What we have done with the money raised:
- Cements and sands for plastering the school
- Cements and sands for the floor
- Stones, cements and sands for the verandah
- Plywoods, nails, woods and sand paper for ceilling
- Windows
- Labour for building the school

Pear and Avocado

A new volunteer called Jeff from Canda came on Friday. He was given a pear from a friend of mine yesterday. I was supprised that he would like to eat that pear after a full meal yesterday night. What supprised me more is that he ate it without peeling it - 'you don't peel the pear?' I asked. He looked confused to me and asked me, ' isn't it a pear?' 'Oh! So sorry! They call avocado pear here! They don't have pears we have here!' I laughed.

葬禮

今天被邀請參加一個葬禮.雖然未曾見過死者,但跟死者的親戚份屬好友,便被邀請了.

這是一個天主教的葬禮.
首先,我們於教堂,儀式跟周日的差不多.
然後,便會把棺木抬到下葬處
通常死者都會被葬於家前,這跟香港的分別很大呢.
他們於安葬死者時,會唱歌和跳舞呢.
最後,大伙兒會到主人家處進餐.

------

被問到於中國是如何安葬死者,他們好像覺得火葬是不能接受呢!

2010年4月2日星期五

Needs more funding 籌募捐款

We need HK$5,500 more in order to finish the school. If you are interested in supporting the project, please kindly contact me through pinky.navtifoundation@gmail.com

我們仍需要HK$5,500才能完成興建這所學校,若閣下有興趣資助本計劃,請透過電郵(pinky.navtifoundation@gmail.com)來聯絡本人.

Financial report of the project

Oku Lake and Water Fall




Since the Japanese guy was going to Oku and I had nothing to do, I joined him to Oku and visited the lake and the water fall.

世界真細小


上星期六早上,當我剛從辦公室回義工屋時(辦公室正正在義工屋的對面),看見有位貌似中國籍的男子剛乘電單車並停於義工屋前,由於我知道將有由加拿大來的義工於本星期來到Kumbo,便上前查問,但他並非從加拿大來的,而是從日本的,而他只是路過Kumbo並將到Oku.並閒談兩句,發現他竟是我去年到烏干達認識的日本女孩的朋友!那位日本女孩於他到喀麥隆前告訴他我正在喀麥隆,但她忘記了給他我的聯絡方法,怎料竟這樣恰巧地讓我們遇上了!
若果我並不是於這分鐘離開辦公室,若他並不是正正停於我家門前,若我並非因知道將有新義工到來而上前查問,若並沒有談起AIESEC,這個恰巧便沒有發生了!!!