Bonjour! Salaamma Alaikum!Hello!
Although I don't know that much about the linguistic overlaps between Arabic and Fulfulde, it makes sense that there would be some intermingling between the two, especially since Maroua is so close to Chad, where Arabic is an official language. Maybe that copy of Al-Khitaab should come along, eh?
Kate, the current Fulbright ETA in Maroua, has been a quite the saving grace for me, with (what seems to me at least ) an overflowing wealth of knowledge and very helpful and thorough advice. In a recent message, she taught me that the phrase to learn is "ceda ceda mi don ekkito foulfoulde" (seh-duh seh-duh me dun eh-kee-toh fulfulde) which means, "Little by little I'm learning foulfoulde." So there you have it. I will utter that in my sleep till I get it right! THANK YOU KATE!
Recent updates:
1. I have received word that I am not supposed to arrive in Cameroon until October 1. So, that gives me a bit more time to gather myself and enjoy the states before I go! Hopefully, July and the rest of August (and September, I guess!) will hold some great time camping with friends, and some good old family time (especially with my sister when she gets back from her fantastic workshop in Colorado!) Gots some mountains to climb!!
2. Team Cameroon (the 6 mighty Fulbrighters!) has been a great comfort to me, sharing advice and logistical tips via very lengthy email chains. I feel lucky to be part of this team and can't wait to see them all in Yaounde!
3. Last week, I got vaccinated for Polio, Yellow Fever, Rabies and Hep A. The Beth Israel Travel Clinic is a fascinating and very helpful place, and all in all eveything went fine (other than the fact that the rabies vaccine is neon pink! whhhooooaaa!)
4. Just sent in all the peices for my visa today (including my passport- yikes!). Sent it all out from the Pride's Crossing post office- the same place where I sent out all my college apps. Kinda a full circle thing :) Hope it all comes back in one piece.
I've spent a lot of time rereading my notes from the orientation in DC, and there are a couple things that I wanted to put down here.
More and more, I'm realizing that very major component of foreign travel (especially now, as an "official" representative of the US), is understanding how others see you and the culture that you are coming from. In his lecture on "Public Diplomacy and Intercultural Competence," Michael Vande Berg of the Council on International Educational Exchange, cited Dianne Hofner Saphiere's idea of US Cultural Values as described in the work "Cultural Detective." According to Hofner Saphiere, a list of US Cultural Values is as follows:
Time: Time is a valuable commodity- don't waste it!
Control: Take Charge!
Law and Order: Play by the Rules
Self-Reliance
Equality
Capitalism: Live the American Dream
Competition
Now, of course the US is such a big place, and it seems impossible to create umbrella values for the "collective American self," I personally think that this is a very thought provoking way of looking at oneself. I don't know if Hofner Saphiere's definition of a "value" is something that is displayed through action, or if it is something that people just "consider to be important." Complicated. While I have not read Hofner Saphiere's work in its entirety (and hope that I have cited it correctly!), I think that, to an extent, she provides an accurate portrayal of cultural values that may be so engrained in us as Americans that we don't even realize it (maybe with the exception of "equality....." which I find problematic...) I just wanted to put that out there, and see if anyone had any thoughts. Do you find these accurate??
*Also, dear AUCPer's does this sound reminiscent of Debby-Debb's Friday class?? I liked it much more this time....
Another really memorable speech "tid-bit" that I wanted to include was from Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, president of Kalamazoo College and a very acomplished woman and inspiring speaker who has extensive experience living and working in West Africa.
In her speech, Wilson-Oyelaran advised all of us doe-eyed listeners of the complexities of international living and cultural exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa. She offered us a sort of ethos; some bad habits to avoid, some rules to follow, or at least keep in mind while we were away. I found her words very powerful, and thought-provoking for and American like me who is about to approach life and cultural immersion in Cameroon. I apologize that here her eloquent ideas are definitely very roughly paraphrased!
Her "rules" were:
1. Recognize and be aware of what it means to be a guest (versus a host) in the context of your host country.
2. Be very careful with how you respond to the things that you encounter on your journey.
3. Be flexible.
4. Be cautious with what you write and publish on the internet. Take time to reflect on what you write, and keep in mind the value of the editing process. Be aware of the proper time to press the "send" button, and when to press the "delete" button. (I will!!)
In another very powerful part of this speech, she outlined a set of "syndromes" that we should be wary of, and careful not to fall into as we embark on these journies. They are as follows (although, again, grossly simplfied from what the speaker gave):
1. The Missionary Syndrome
2. The Curiosity Syndrome
3. The "Going Home" Syndrome
4. the "I am Intellectually Superior" Syndrome
Although some of these Syndromes may be easier for me to fall into than others (I don't really have much fear of falling into the "Going Home" syndrome- my cultural roots in Africa stretch a bit too far back for that....) it was humbling and grounding to hear that laid out out loud, especially coming from someone who is obviously a well-versed and practiced cultural worker.
Just some things to keep in mind....
À Plus Tard. Sey yeeso. See y'allz latahhhh..
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
A first entry!
Hello readers!
So, here it all begins. In written, blog form anyway.
I'm totally new to all of this blogging stuff, and kind of feel as if I'm in a movie, and that the words that I'm typing should be projected as a voice-over, but maybe that is a normal feeling to most any first-time blogger.
To start, I'll tell you what I know, and what has happened thus far.
In September of 2008, during my senior year at Oberlin, the inevitable and ever-daunting question of "what to do next" was ceaselessly lurking in my brain. Out of curiosity, I started looking into what applying for a Fulbright grant would entail. For several reasons, I decided to postpone my application until the following year. After many essay drafts, and endless emails incredible support from professors, mentors and friends (to whom I am ever-grateful), the application was complete.
I chose to apply to Cameroon for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant. This seemed to fit with both my interests and background (turns out having a BA French and Comparative Literature, as well as all of those hours of TAing language classes and working as an ESL conversation partner under your belt could actually be applied to something! Hurray!), and therefore the grant for which I was most qualified. Something that excited me about the assignment in Cameroon was that the ETA posts were in universities, specifically teaching as assistants to English professors in a Teacher's College, teaching the teachers... sounds great!
After applying in September (word to the wise: for future Fulbright applicants, APPLY THROUGH YOUR UNIVERSITY! My experience with the Fulbright committee at Oberlin was very supportive, and the faculty on the committee are experts at this sort of thing...obviously.)
I heard back in January that I had been selected as a finalist, and then on a sunny day in April (as the lovely Alice Manos can tell you, she was there!!) a big fat envleope arrived in my mailbox. Not thinking anything of it, I picked it up with the rest of the mail. It was from the Institute for International Education (IIE) in New York. My moment of "OH SHIT!" flushed through my entire body, and there it was: THE LETTER.
After the Honeymoon period and the shock factor wore off, I started doing some research one where I was acutally going. By the time I went to the Fulbright Orientation in June, (which was an experience in and of itself!) I found out the following:
1. I will be leaving in mid-September 2010 and returning in mid-July 2011 (9 months, to be exact...) I am currently trying to get all my "Ducks in a line" as far as visas, vaccines, flights etc. Just today, I received a letter stating that I have "Medical Clearance" and am good to go from the US side of things. We'll see how the anti-Malarial drugs go...
2. I will be teaching at the Université de Maroua, which is in the Extrême Nord (Extreme Noth) region the Cameroon, up near Lake Chad. Maroua is a Muslim city where people speak French and a language called Fulfulde, which I am making babystep attempts at starting to learn...
French and English are both National languages of Cameroon, but it seems like the language that the majority of the people speaks depends heavily on the region.
3. There are 5 other "Fulbrighters" going to Cameroon as well, although for the most part we will all be stationed in different parts of the country. The 2 other ETAs, Eva and Meera, will be teaching in universities in the southern part of the country, while the 3 researchers, Devon, Joe and Mackenzie, will be travelling throughout the country for the duration of their grants. We will begin our journies in the capital city of Yaoundé, for an in-country orientation at the US Embassy, with our trusty, wonderful go-to friend Gerald, who works for the Department of Cultural Affairs there.
Whew! That's all I got for now. A good opening? It's very strange to think that I am sitting here on a beautiful, green, breezy New England day, and will be writing to you all from this same "place" from the deserts of Maroua (which, for the record, is VERY, VERY close to the equator, but still on the Northern side!)
Hope you enjoy, and keep up on this journey with me!
Love,
Jade
So, here it all begins. In written, blog form anyway.
I'm totally new to all of this blogging stuff, and kind of feel as if I'm in a movie, and that the words that I'm typing should be projected as a voice-over, but maybe that is a normal feeling to most any first-time blogger.
To start, I'll tell you what I know, and what has happened thus far.
In September of 2008, during my senior year at Oberlin, the inevitable and ever-daunting question of "what to do next" was ceaselessly lurking in my brain. Out of curiosity, I started looking into what applying for a Fulbright grant would entail. For several reasons, I decided to postpone my application until the following year. After many essay drafts, and endless emails incredible support from professors, mentors and friends (to whom I am ever-grateful), the application was complete.
I chose to apply to Cameroon for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant. This seemed to fit with both my interests and background (turns out having a BA French and Comparative Literature, as well as all of those hours of TAing language classes and working as an ESL conversation partner under your belt could actually be applied to something! Hurray!), and therefore the grant for which I was most qualified. Something that excited me about the assignment in Cameroon was that the ETA posts were in universities, specifically teaching as assistants to English professors in a Teacher's College, teaching the teachers... sounds great!
After applying in September (word to the wise: for future Fulbright applicants, APPLY THROUGH YOUR UNIVERSITY! My experience with the Fulbright committee at Oberlin was very supportive, and the faculty on the committee are experts at this sort of thing...obviously.)
I heard back in January that I had been selected as a finalist, and then on a sunny day in April (as the lovely Alice Manos can tell you, she was there!!) a big fat envleope arrived in my mailbox. Not thinking anything of it, I picked it up with the rest of the mail. It was from the Institute for International Education (IIE) in New York. My moment of "OH SHIT!" flushed through my entire body, and there it was: THE LETTER.
After the Honeymoon period and the shock factor wore off, I started doing some research one where I was acutally going. By the time I went to the Fulbright Orientation in June, (which was an experience in and of itself!) I found out the following:
1. I will be leaving in mid-September 2010 and returning in mid-July 2011 (9 months, to be exact...) I am currently trying to get all my "Ducks in a line" as far as visas, vaccines, flights etc. Just today, I received a letter stating that I have "Medical Clearance" and am good to go from the US side of things. We'll see how the anti-Malarial drugs go...
2. I will be teaching at the Université de Maroua, which is in the Extrême Nord (Extreme Noth) region the Cameroon, up near Lake Chad. Maroua is a Muslim city where people speak French and a language called Fulfulde, which I am making babystep attempts at starting to learn...
French and English are both National languages of Cameroon, but it seems like the language that the majority of the people speaks depends heavily on the region.
3. There are 5 other "Fulbrighters" going to Cameroon as well, although for the most part we will all be stationed in different parts of the country. The 2 other ETAs, Eva and Meera, will be teaching in universities in the southern part of the country, while the 3 researchers, Devon, Joe and Mackenzie, will be travelling throughout the country for the duration of their grants. We will begin our journies in the capital city of Yaoundé, for an in-country orientation at the US Embassy, with our trusty, wonderful go-to friend Gerald, who works for the Department of Cultural Affairs there.
Whew! That's all I got for now. A good opening? It's very strange to think that I am sitting here on a beautiful, green, breezy New England day, and will be writing to you all from this same "place" from the deserts of Maroua (which, for the record, is VERY, VERY close to the equator, but still on the Northern side!)
Hope you enjoy, and keep up on this journey with me!
Love,
Jade
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