Still Recovering

Hello, Hello, Hello. It is officially Tuesday (I wrote this on Tuesday, but posting on Wednesday), and just to let you know, my knee is still sore!! I can’t believe this is my fifth week in Cameroon and I already have an injury! The doctor told me there are no broken bones or extremely torn ligaments. As a souvenir for the visit, he let me keep the x-rays (which is great because I wouldn’t want them wasting away in the pile with the others). I have decided to keep off of my knee as much as possible for a minimum of six weeks. I hope to stay away from further injury. It has been tough, coping with the fact that in my current state, I cannot participate in sports. Also, it is very difficult to stay completely off of the leg because of the nature of my profession. You should see me moving around campus with my crutches, it is a funny sight. I must realize that things could be worse. I am happy to have great health and to be alive. Like they say, each day is not promised to you.

One of the students made me laugh today. We stood outside on the playground and he asked me what happened to my leg. I told the little boy the story and he replied, “I have played sports all my life and I have never gotten hurt. I think you got hurt because you are getting old.” I laughed at his comment and told him I didn’t agree, but he then reassured me that my old age is why I hurt my knee.

I think I have mentioned several times how crazy driving can be here in Yaoundé, especially when driving at night. We left the school this evening rather late. The sun starts setting around 6:30pm and we left this evening close to 7:00pm. I haven’t quite figured out why it is so difficult driving at night, but I think I have come up with three possible reasons:
1.) There are absolutely no reflectors on the streets. What they do have, though, are painted white lines, which by the way have faded through the years. Also, cars usually don’t bother to stay in their lanes on their designated sides anyways.
2.) There are many streetlights. However, the problem is that every single one of them is out!! It seems as though I am driving down a never-ending pitch black road.
3.) People drive with their brights on!! I have to squint and keep my eyes towards the right side of the road to keep from complete blindness. This task is quite difficult, especially if there are several cars in a row coming towards you.
Those are only a few theories. I think they are good ones though. I’m not complaining or saying that this is totally wrong, merely saying that driving here is quite different than the fast-paced hustle and bustle of the 405 in Los Angeles.

I sent a total of 13 boxes (filled with teaching supplies and household items) to Cameroon. The container is scheduled to arrive today sometime. I am very excited, although, I cannot quite remember what I packed since it was so long ago.

Tonight, at school, is Back to School Night. I have posted some pictures of my classroom. The border around my classroom is painted blue. I asked to have it painted because I didn't like what was painted before. The school workers did an excellent job! I have also posted one picture of a bar we went to this past weekend (yes, eventhough I have a hurt knee I can still hit the bars eventhough I probably shouldn't).

I hope all is well. Talk with you later.