Yesterday we went to see a friend of Mary who lives in Bamenda, the biggest local city, about 45 minutes by cab. Our trip there was quite fun—normally a taxi is split by about 7 people crammed into a model similar to a Volkswagen beetle, however we had the privilege of sharing the cab with a load of about 10,000 bananas on their way to the market. Out driver was quite fun, and talked to us about his job as a cheufer for a ‘white man’ which enabled him to buy his own cab. He also showed us his house, which was half-way between Mbingo and Bamenda. We arrived at the central cab hub, which is quite a circus of little shops, meat stands, and of course, cabs. Eunice, Mary’s friend, met us there, and immediately hugged us and welcomed us to Bamenda. We took a cab to the main market, where she has a ‘friend’ who exchanges money at a good rate, and wouldn’t give us counterfeit bills (a common practice by ‘evil Nigerians’ in Cameroon). The process of bartering was amusing to watch. We sat next to an old Cameroonian nun in this 5x7 room at the market while Eunice bargained with the man in a rather fast and harsh tone. This is how the market works, and Eunice is very good at bargaining. We then walked around the market for a while. One of Eunice’s friends sells pots and pans, but also has roast peanuts and this weird bready-cookie-deliciousness stuff. The nuts had an odd texture at first, and Eunice explained that when peanuts became more expensive they started wrapping them in dough and frying them, expanding the volume at less cost. We were, however, able buy two bottles of peanuts, sold in used peanut-oil containers. They are quite good.
We then went to buy laundry detergent (yes, we washed our clothes in a giant tub in the bathroom, and hung them to dry outside during one of the rare dry-sunny periods), as well as fabric for mum. I found one ‘rappa’ (about a yard) for 900 Francs. Eunice told the vendor “800 Francs” to which he replied “900 Francs” to which she replied “yes, 800 Francs” to which he acquiesced. We toured Bamenda on foot for a while, visiting some different shops, and stopping at what I am sure was a Department of Health authorized lunch stand which had various parts of a meat-based animal roasting over some open coals. Eunice ordered “Soya” which is spiced roasted meat eaten with onions and hot sauce that would make the staunchest Mexican sweat. This is eaten with toothpicks. Most of the meat was fully cooked, though we might end up with trichinosis or cystecercosis, but so far so good. The man next to us indulged in the roast intestines, and I think he was taking a greater risk. It was delicious.
We bought some souvenirs (can’t say what for the sake of surprise) and then went to Eunice’s home, where her family warmly greeted us. I hadn’t realized how accustomed Westerners must be to the simple joy of candy, and the glowing eyes of kids as we gave them an assorted bag of fun-sized chocolates warmed my heart. They made us a meal of smoked fish (I opted against the head, but could have had one), and ‘Gelaf rice’ which is best described as Spanish rice, though not as peppery. It was very good. Mary brought an NIV Bible for the family of 8, and Francis, Eunice’s brother, said it was wonderful as they had to fight over the Bible that they had (makes me want to buy them all one).
The trip back to Mbingo was a little strange. We found a cab going that had a woman and three little kids in the back. The man gave us the rate and we got in the cab. He then proceeded to scream in Pigin English at the woman “You ???????? pay Sistah’, sure!” He would then walk around, laugh with friends, and return to scream at her again holding up a 1000 Franc note. In the meantime a rather large woman in bright clothes got in the back next to the woman and her kids. She argued with the driver as well, however it was not as tense. I had given the driver 2000 Francs and was waiting on my 400 Francs change. I asked what the woman owed, and he explained that he wanted 1800 for her and the kids, and she would only pay 1600. 200 Francs is about $0.50, and so I gave him the difference and then some. I had hoped we could then leave, but he wanted to cram two more people into the already-full cab. I was about to give him another 1600 just to go, but didn’t want to flash a bunch of money and call attention to ourselves, but about then he pulled off in a pseudo-huff. He would aim his taxi at people on the side of the road, lay on the horn, and then turn away at the last moment laughing. He seemed like either an antisocial jerk, or a fun-loving jokester--an experience to remember.
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