Sunday, December 16, 2007

Yaoundé

Greetings, all!

Sorry to have taken so long to add to this blog – it has been a very busy three weeks, and, to be honest, the writing spirit didn’t really strike. And, I must say, I’m enjoying relaxing evenings!

Well, the bank account was finally set up, nearly three weeks ago! You’ll remember that I needed a letter of introduction from the High Commission, a lease, two photographs and a photocopy of my passport in order to open the account. I had asked for the letter of introduction a while back, but the person responsible for this was on vacation, so I had to wait until his return, which was fine by me. I finally reached Mr. Z., and he very kindly informed me that I should contact Ms Y on the matter, so I grinned (I try to smile when my teeth are showing) and went off to contact Ms Y, who, of course, was not in her office. I also discovered that our representatives prefer it if you make appointments to see them, so I made an appointment for the next day. I dutifully showed up, and Ms Y very kindly told me to contact Ms X, the lady who had first directed me to Mr. Z. At this point, although still showing my teeth in what I hoped was a smile, I explained that I was being passed around rather nicely, but that this didn’t help in terms of getting the necessary letter. Ah, said Ms Y, why don’t you write a draft and drop it in, and we’ll set it up properly. I was a bit miffed, to put it mildly, since I can’t imagine that I’m the first person for whom the High Commission has had to do this, but I did as told, and produced a draft. Two days later, I received a call, saying that the letter was ready, and could I come and get it. So, I did…

That was step 1.

Now, for step 2.

I had to get my lease. Although I had a receipt showing that I had paid rent, this did not constitute a lease, and I had been promised the said lease (see previous entry of blog). So I called my contact, Roger, to ask if he had the lease, since I really needed it. You have to understand also that the bank with which I wanted to do business has its offices in the same building as the High Commission, and I didn’t want to rush around too much if it could be helped. Alas and alack, the owner of the property was still in Europe, so the lease couldn’t be signed until his return on the following Saturday (i.e. December 1). As you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with me, but what can one do? So, I went to the bank anyway, and saw a different person. I explained that I wanted to open a bank account, and she smiled and said “Sure.” Holding my breath, I started signing a number of forms, ensuring that the signature was exactly the same on each document, each in duplicate. I provided the two pictures, I provided the passport to be photocopied, I provided the letter of introduction and I provided a copy of my letter of employment (this is because you need to have a verifiable income before you can open an account!). Forms filled, the kind lady proceeded to do things at the computer, checked all her files, and said “Ah, we need to know where you live… can you draw a map of where it is?” Of course, I said, and did so, holding my breath and waiting to be asked for a copy of the lease. Lo and behold, the question wasn’t asked, and, after about 90 minutes, I left the bank with an account. Ho, ho… Obviously, each person at the bank decides what documents are needed! Anyway, it was a great relief!

Having got that matter sorted out, it was now time to worry about furnishing the apartment. You have to understand, of course, that while all this was taking place, I was also expected to do some work, so it took quite a bit of juggling. Basically, one has to accept that one can only accomplish one thing a day (e.g., get a letter, open an account, etc), as it takes a lot of time – one has to wait… and wait … and wait. However, it all works out.

Furnishings are provided by the project, a nice little benefit, I must confess. In this case, my predecessor had left his household of furniture, and the High Commission had stored it on behalf of CIDA. Wednesday (November 28) was the day of the bank, and on Thursday, I was taken to “visit” the furniture, stored in a container at a mover’s place. The object of the visit was to make sure that I would be recognized when the time came to remove the furniture to my new abode. It was agreed that Monday morning would be a good day to do this (oh, hum… one must be patient). Of course, in order to get the furniture, I needed a letter (agh!) of authorization from the High Commission, and I was asked to drop in on the Monday morning, at 8:30, to pick it up. So much for my hopes of moving in quickly… ah, well.

Monday morning came, and to my great surprise, all went smoothly – unbelievable. I was sure it would take all day, but no! Not only was the letter ready and waiting for me, but the movers were on hand, with a truck, and, after signing a few documents, the workers proceeded to remove the furniture from the container into the truck. Fortunately, I had figured out beforehand that there would be too much furniture for the apartment, since I knew that my predecessor had rented a house (which will happen in our case also, but at a later date), so I had made arrangements at my office to have a bit space freed up to store the excess furniture. And the workers removed furniture, they removed furniture, they removed furniture (as well as some boxes). I couldn’t get over how much there was… From one of the documents, I gathered that my predecessor had rented a four-bedroom house, with two living-rooms and a study…

Off we went – truck following my taxi, taxi ably driven by Njikam, and within an hour, the furniture had been off-loaded at the Centre, and the truck returned whence it came. Only 11 o’clock! I had meetings in the afternoon, so unfortunately, didn’t witness the next step, which consisted in moving the furniture that I’d chosen to the apartment around the corner. I gather that one piece of furniture (a huge three-sectional china cabinet, of which I wanted to use one section only) couldn’t fit up the stairwell (the apartment is on the second floor), so a system of pulleys and men dragged it through the neighbour’s courtyard in order to gain access to my balcony, and heaved the said cabinet up that way!

The next couple of days were spent sprucing up the place. Fortunately, as I didn’t have time to do this myself, Judith, our new housekeeper (recommended by another Canadian who had worked with her for a couple of years), arrived and promptly took over. Of course, there was nothing with which to clean, so the first duty was to rush around getting mops, buckets, soap, etc, as well as stuff for the kitchen (pots, pans, plates, cutlery, etc., etc.). Judith had raised her eyebrows at the size of the apartment (“Quite small, isn’t it?”) and was a bit nonplussed by it – I think she felt that she had come down in the world. I explained that this was temporary only, until I found a house that would suit my wife (hem, hem) who would be joining me in a few months. Judith marched me off to various supermarkets to purchase the necessary items – I asked if we shouldn’t buy what we needed in the local shops, since I’m a firm believer in helping the neighbourhood shops, but it was not to be. Judith announced that quality could only be found in the supermarkets, and that’s where we were going – plus, it wouldn’t take as long. Ah, well… and I had hoped to engage in bargaining…

Still, I really can’t complain! Judith comes highly recommended, and has done an impressive amount of work in getting the place set up, cleaned, furniture polished, etc. I have to find a small shelf and a table for the kitchen, as there is no storage space, but that will be done this week – simply a case of ordering it made at the Centre by the students in the Woodworking section. I’m sure that these items will mollify Judith. I did repeat that I didn’t want to spend too much on the apartment, since I’d be moving at some point… I think she found it difficult to accept that I didn’t buy a full set of matching dishware, company utensils, daily utensils, etc, etc. I suspect that I’m not as high class as she hoped I’d be…

So, on December 9, I was finally ensconced in the apartment. The suitcases are empty and stored away. The previous day was spent getting final items, haring around town with Njikam. Such a helpful person – he said that it was a problem being with me, so dropped me off at the hotel, while he went and purchased various items for which he could negotiate a better price without my presence. He came back three hours later with all that was needed, and we off-loaded here. We also had to find a fridge repairman, as the fridge wasn’t working – not surprising, after nearly two years in storage, but it was simply a case of refilling it with whatever gas it requires.

The fridge wasn’t the only thing that needed repairing, and it took a couple of days to find someone to fix the stove. One of the rings wasn’t working, and there was a smell of gas around the kitchen – not a good sign! Anyway, that was finally repaired, and other than still needing to get a few things for the kitchen, I’m pretty well set up.

Last week, that is, my first week in the apartment, was quite busy, since the various repairmen were around almost all the time (the fridge required three visits, in the final analysis, but is now working well.). The water heater, newly installed, went on the fritz, and we had to change the switch (an old one had been installed), and then, there were the improvements in the yard (all paved) to increase security.

There is a lot of talk about insecurity in Cameroon, and expatriates are advised to have strong and working security systems in place, and not to go out at night, etc. Not that I plan on going out at night, since I don’t have a vehicle. The security system has been installed, and consists of two guards (do I dare call them sentries?), one for the day and one for the night. Roger, my helpful colleague, found both of them for me. The day guard, named Daréou, lives around the corner and is an affable chap – perhaps too affable! – and quite handy, as he was a mason by trade. He speaks French poorly, so I have a lot of difficulty communicating with him, but we get along all right. There’s not much for him to do, but he seems to survive!

The night guard, Aurel, is a short, powerhouse of a man, well-versed in martial arts, who interviewed me at length before accepting to work for me. Most amusing to be interviewed. Anyway, he comes highly recommended (he has worked for other Canadian projects), and told me what his minimum conditions were in order to accept the job. Other than salary, he wanted more lights installed around the yard (now done), a comfortable chair (reasonable request), more padlocks for the various gates (done), the spot under the stairs where he would take up his vigil needed to be cemented, as it was only dirt (done by Daréou), a radio (purchased), a socket so the radio could be plugged in (done), an electric kettle so that he could boil up water for his three mugs of coffee a night (purchased), the edges of the gates covered by a sheet of tin, so that people can’t peek in and see if he’s there. I considered the latter a peculiar request, although I can see his logic; still, as I said to him, I don’t want to spend too much money on security here, since I’ll just have to start all over again in a few months. Then, of course, other than all these little items (which required my presence to supervise the works and oodles of money to carry out), he also needed the tools of his trade including, a sweater for the cold nights, a thick coat for the colder nights, a tuque and a hat, a flashlight, a club, a machete, and a bow with a couple of arrows. Positively medieval! He has also mentioned at a bird-gun (I assume he means a little shotgun with some type of pellet bullet), at which point I said no. He’s also hoping that I’ll buy him a small TV so he can watch movies while keeping watch; I pointed out that if he were watching movies, he wouldn’t be watching the yard, but I don’t think I persuaded him that my logic held. He’s quite insistent on the TV, as he says the next couple of weeks (Christmas time) is the most insecure time of the year, as people come rolling home at all hours of the night, and all these young hoodlums will be looking for houses to break into. His reasoning is that the noise coming from a TV set will put them off; I asked if the radio wouldn’t do the same thing, but all I got was a pitying look. Hum… I tried to explain to him that I didn’t have a TV at home, and didn’t want to have one around, but I think that that was beyond his understanding. Hee, hee…

Aurel, along with Judith and Roger (not to mention Njikam), are looking for new accommodations for me – I think that they feel that I’m letting the side down by not living in the proper manner. I keep on pointing out to them that I’m here alone for the moment and don’t need more space, but that’s a message that isn’t getting through! Ah well…

All this to say that I’m having a great time and have settled in nicely. The office is just around the corner, so I can come home at lunch and check up on things, and days will no doubt become routine starting this week. Speaking of routines, the morning one is most amusing!

There are two bathrooms in the apartment, one of which is en suite to my bedroom and it’s not very large. You have to understand that the water heater is located in this bathroom, to the right of the toilet, and a bit up the wall. However, when rising from the toilet, one has to shift one’s head slightly to the left, for fear of hitting the heater – and, perhaps, knocking the latter off the wall. There is no bath, but there is a shower head, jutting out of the wall to the left of the toilet. There is no shower curtain, and the shower head aims directly at the toilet seat. So, for the morning shower, first one has to remove everything from the bathroom that could get wet (towels, toilet paper, etc), then one has a shower, quickly, in order to be able to turn off the shower to grab the squeegee on a long handle in order to sweep the water to the drain hole (located under the shower head). Unfortunately, you see, the floor slopes away from the drain, and, as I discovered on the first morning, the water flows nicely into the bedroom. It makes for a very lively beginning in the morning, much better than jogging, I’m sure, although what do I know about jogging?

So far, there have not been many power cuts, but I’m told that they become more frequent during the rainy season, because of thunderstorms. As a consequence, I have stocked up on candles and will probably invest in a couple of gas lamps too. Water shortages are frequent during the dry season, which has just started, and I’m told that I need to invest in a couple of barrels so that I can store water for those occasions. Given the amount of rain that falls in this part of the country, I’m quite surprised that there are water shortages, but such is the case. I’m just hoping that there will be no major cuts (some can last as long as a week, I’ve been told) before January, since, with the approach of Christmas, shopping is becoming a bit difficult – the streets are full of vendors and customers, and shops are experiencing shortages of certain things, including water barrels! As nothing much will get done between December 21 and January 2, I shall have to be patient.

Christmas is fast approaching and Yaoundé is gearing up for the festivities. It’s rather incongruous hearing “Frosty, the Snowman”, bellowing over speakers downtown (and in all the shops), not to mention inflatable (very white!) Santa Clauses in most of the supermarkets. I shall no doubt decorate the apartment a little bit in time for the festive season.

That just about sums it up, my friends, for the moment. Not exciting news, perhaps, and not so many amusing incidents (but then, one gets used to them, so they become normal!), but all is going well, and I’m enjoying myself immensely. Work has had to be placed a bit on the back burner over the last few days, but next week should be more “normal”, although there are still a few little formalities to go through – getting my residence permit, and, no doubt, a few more things to make life a bit easier in the apartment, without going too wild! I’ve found two libraries, which provide me with reading matter. The big question is whether I’ll be able to find a turkey for Christmas…other than me, of course!

I don’t have an Internet connection at the apartment, though this will come. Already, a technician from the provider has been around to see what type of set-up is needed, and I’m waiting for the estimate to install it – no doubt another series of amusing incidents to come – but probably not until after Christmas, since the whole city shuts down for about ten days, including my office. This means that I will not have Internet access between December 21 and January 2, unless I decide to be brave and use the local Internet café. But can forced relaxation be so bad?

I’ve been kept informed about the weather in Canada, and you may be sure that I don’t miss it!

Cheers!

David

More to come...

Greetings, all!

The writing Muse didn't come calling today, sorry to say! I did try to write something, but it was so dry that I deleted it. More to come in a few days' time...

Cheers!

David