BABE

So, as you read in the "Jack and the Beanstalk" post below, our lodging situation at Sabga turned out not to be the best idea, despite Usuman's wish for it to be so. We did, however, get quite lucky in our hasty apartment search in Bamenda. We had been searching to no avail all day last week Thursday (the 9th). We even considered renting a crazy huge apartment (three bedrooms, each with its own toilet!) for $130 a month, with electricity and water excluded (the latter of which wasn't even working, so we would have had to trek to Mecca and carry huge buckets of water up three flights of stairs...to bathe, to do laundry, to flush the toilet!). Then, lo and behold, a friend of Dairou's family (remember: Dairou, our good friend/driver extraordinaire) told us of a new place in their neighborhood on the outskirts of Bamenda that had just been completed and had good security. The apartment is in a complex (where we can park the car) along with four other units. We made a deal with the landlord the next morning, and proceeded to move in ASAP. And we've been happy with the choice ever since. Each apartment has two bedrooms, a parlor, a kitchen and toilet...and it's only $50 per month! And the water is free...though freezing :) To add some extra security (besides all the bars on the windows), the landlord cemented in broken glass bottles on the top of the wall/gate to the outside -- which seems to be the main form of external security in these parts.

The only downside to the apartment is that the entire interior is painted sky blue, and the trim on the windows and doors is, as Usuman calls it, "ox-blood red." Sadie says it feels like living inside Babe the Blue Ox. :)

It took us a number of days to furnish the place. All the floors were just cement, so we needed to buy the funky plastic flooring that just about everyone has here. We sort of have a red-gold thing going for the parlor...while all the other rooms are quite the hodge-podge. We got some great ken chairs/furniture that are made locally; they've got lots of charm and are actually ergonomically sound (sorry, I'm a nerd) -- though I must say I do miss having a comfy couch! To add a little character to the place--and to get rid of some of the blue--Sadie bought some good poster paper and plastic pastels at the market to make us some paintings for the walls. Definitely a bonus when the sister accompanying you on your research adventures happens to be a crazy talented visual artist! To feel a little more in touch with the world, we also bought a radio at the market, on which we can get the BBC and sometimes the Voice of America. All other channels are either Cameroonian or Nigerian. There is no jack for a phone or cable, so internet and CNN on TV are out of the question. BUT -- the place is already starting to feel like home away from home, and it's really great to have a place of our own -- finally!

Pictures coming soon.