Got to shake the hand of the Japanese ambassador last Wednesday.

Wun da ful. He was here with the representative of the first lady of Cameroon to inaugerate the new women’s center that is about to open here in my little ville of Bare. This center has many Singer foot powered sewing machines, 10 computers (and hopefully internet sometime before I leave), a classroom for lectures, a cooking classroom, and a coiffure classroom. So funny that it was being built all this time without my knowing. Bizarre. Now it seems as though I may be teaching some classes there.

Hundreds of ladies showed up for the inauguration, dancing and chanting, sweating in the hot afternoon sun, all waving their GIC plaques. I was sitting up above with many elites from Yaounde, Douala, and Nkongsamba, wishing I was down below with my ladies dancing. You can call me villegoise if you’d like, but I guess that is really the Cameroon I know…in the fields with my farmers, in the traditional kitchen with my ladies, hiking up the terrible road to Mpaka and beyond.

It was a wonderful day though, full of fanfare and singing. Then I was ushered off to the reception at the sousprefet’s house to feast with the elites. An amazing table setting…Cameroonian buffets are a sight to behold especially at the sousprefet’s house. There was much confusion as to who I was. Many thought I was with the ambassador, which is understandable. When I threw out some Mbo salutations to friends, people around me jumped backed, confused and curious. It was more obvious that I was not with the ambassador when he did a double take walking out of the sousprefet’s house and shook my hand. No more than a smile and a shake and he was on his way back to Yaounde, most likely a little baffled by my quiet and sudden presence on his way out the door.

Now that I’ve resurfaced from en brousse and beyond back into the Bare spotlight, the radio interviewers are hot on my tail. I really have no interest in being interviewed again but it seems that I’m doing some sort of injustice to the arrondissement du Bare-Bakem if I don’t…maybe I can get a collection of music together and just do a music show. I know many Cameroonians will love some of the music I got from Ryan Lewis, appropriate named fo’ cheesy by him and Rick. Though I must admit I haven’t listened to much of it, I will subject the ears of many in Bare to the vocal stylings of bands like Ace of Base and Arrested Development if I get suckered into actually speaking on the air. Tee hee.

okay, enough for now