Day 4

There’s another America staying at the Presbyterian guesthouse. Her name is Lexi, a fellow blogger prowling through Africa. Though to be honest, to describe Lexi as a ‘fellow blogger’ is to imply we’re on equal footing, which, is far from the truth. She’s a member of an enviable breed of traveler-journalists, freelancing her way from Senegal to Madagascar, financing the 6-month trip out of her own pocket. Well, I suppose the last part isn’t so enviable, though it’s not far from what I’m doing. Check out her blog at Inkslinging in Africa.

Lexi is a Godsend. Everywhere we go, it seems, she has some advice to impart or experience to lend.

I took her to the university to find someone who could speak to her about polygamy for an article she was writing. I was also trying to find a computer lab on campus, which I did, only to discover there was no internet connection anywhere on campus that day.

On the way back from the university, we asked a taxi driver where to get some good food. “OIC” he said. Henri (Dr. Kamga) had told me that the OIC is one of the nicest restaurants in town, so I figured it would be expensive.
“Where can we get some cheap food?” we asked.
The driver thought for a moment, and replied knowingly “The OIC.”
We decided to go check it out anyways, but found that it, indeed, was a very nice restaurant, and it was, indeed, fairly expensive. We also managed to find a Fakoship, a small grocery store chain, along the main road in Buea. Jam, canned tuna, honey, liquid dish soap; hell, they even had frosted flakes. Everything was really expensive, though. We also ran into a couple of soldiers outside of the Fakoship: no problems, they were nice, but it was just a reminder to start carrying my passport on me at all times, in case one of them decides he needs to see my ID.

I didn’t end up getting anything from the Fakoship, but I did get about 10 cups of rice from the local market in Bueatown. I still need to get some peanut butter and some sort of preserved meat. They have a lot of dried fish in the market, but it looks and smells unappetizing, and judging from my experience with dried fish in Asia, it probably isn’t that great. Lexi points out that the kitchen in the guest house has an oven—a rarity in Africa—so now there is a possibility to bake meals and do more with the plantains, yams, and potatoes than fry them in palm oil.

I jury-rigged the wall adapter to fit into the socket by pressing a chair up against it. I only use it for the laptop, so it’s not too much of a hassle. Still, I’ll get the proper adapter (huge 3 pronged) if I see it. Ironically, I took that one out of my adapter kit since the guidebook said they didn’t use it in Cameroon. Bah.

They also gave me a room to use at the University of Buea. I should have access to the University’s wireless network from the room, but the best part is that it says “Visiting Professor” in big letters on the door, hah!

New critter update: geckos.