I am a little slow at responding to email and writing because I am without home Internet. Bare with me mmmk? I am using the schools computer again. I get my own walkie-talkie to radio for a driver so that I can go where I need to. It�s weird though. Today was the first day I used it. I am Pooh Bear for my call sign. I was gonna go with Rubber Duck but unless you�ve seen Convoy I guess you wouldn�t get the reference. So yea that�s why I�m slow at this. And I am really touched by those of you who took the time to comment. Thank you.

So about where I am. I live in Yaounde, which is the capital city of Cameroon. It is located in what some call the armpit of Africa, which is the upper west side crook. It is very green here due to the rainy season I�m sure. We are up in the hills so we don�t get the extreme temperatures up here. I�ve been here for almost 2 weeks now and how to describe it. It�s hard but I�ll do my best in bits and pieces. I can�t really take pictures in town because the locals DO NOT like that but when and where I can I will. I can�t really talk about the ways of life here just yet because I�m not really familiar with them. I can tell you what I observe and maybe give you an idea.

We were on a shopping trip the other day and in one part of town we saw people with small stands grilling stacks and stacks of what looked like coiled up cow patties. They were palm sized and about 2-3 inches thick. They sell it and the locals love to eat it. Wanna guess what it was? If you guessed giant caterpillars or larvae, you win. And I saw hundreds of them grilled and stacked. I doubt I�ll try one. Not cuz I�m afraid (I�m actually curious) but because my body is not accustomed to the local food and I�d probably get sicker than a dog. During the drive I also saw what at first looks like hundreds of large birds circling the treetops. In reality they are fruit bats Big-assed fruit bats. I thought they only came out at night but I�m told that the locals are currently hunting them for food (the meat is supposed to be particularly sweet) so that has them in a tizzy during the day. The first time I saw the swarms of them I was in total awe.

Some of the things I hadn�t expected to see are all the people in town. I mean crowds of locals everywhere all the time. They weave in and out of the cars on the streets and cover the sides of the roads. They are often trying to peddle something whether it�s fruits and vegetables or used shoes or peanuts; it�s something. The roads are packed with small yellow Toyotas that are used as taxis. I�d say they make up 75 to 80% of the traffic on the road. There is neither rhyme nor reason in the way they drive either. No real rules just cover your butt. I doubt I�ll drive here much if at all. It�s safer to call for a ride. Not that we have our stuff yet anyway. That�s all I can come up with at the moment oh; there are a lot of lizards here too, some very colorful ones too.

One last thing on my mind if you�re still reading, I�ve been watching the news and Oprah and have just been devastated about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I have sat and cried and just felt so helpless from where I sit. I want to help, I want to fix it but I can�t from here and I can�t alone. It tears me up that all I can do is sit, watch, and pray. Some of the footage I�ve seen is just unbelievable. Kelly was watching the news the other day and asked me why God did that to them. I really had to think about how I�d answer. But what I believe and what I told her is that God didn�t specifically do it to them. I don�t believe he just picks an area and says ok these people are bad I�ll just wipe them out. No, I don�t think it works that way. God created nature first and people last. Nature does its things and unfortunately people get caught up in the crossfire. It�s totally random. People have free will and awareness. What they do with it is up to them. I�m not saying it is their fault, no not by any means. But God didn�t purposely set out to destroy anyone specifically. Now they have to rebuild and try to find a way to live again and it�s going to be a long time. They say that which doesn�t kill you makes you stronger. I pray that I should never have to know what it means to find that kind of strength. I pray for these people to rebuild there live as quickly as possible and if you can do anything and I mean anything at all to help, don�t hesitate to do it. It does make a difference. Until next time.

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