Our First Week in Cameroon

Welcome to our first blog post in almost two years! We’re excited to give you a glimpse of life in Cameroon through pictures, videos, and stories. Will will also give our kids the opportunity to share about life in Cameroon from their perspective. This week, we’ll show you what life in the capital will look like for the next few weeks.

During our time in Yaoundé, we are staying in an apartment near the kids’ school. When we arrived, the vehicle that we bought last year was waiting for us. It’s the perfect vehicle for navigating Cameroon’s rough roads and for fighting through the traffic of Yaoundé.

Since traffic can be crazy and unpredictable, we decided walking to church might be a little easier. Joshua discovered that if he greeted people with “bonjour,” he would get a smile and a greeting back. We attended a church service that was a mix of English and French. Attending church, going shopping, and just walking down the street has helped us discover that we can do just about everything we need to in French, but our ability to understand the West African accent needs some improvement. Next week, we will sit in a class at a local Bible school to help us solidify our fluency and comprehension.

Overall, our kids have adjusted well. They’ve made friends with some neighbors who don’t speak English and, despite the language barrier, have played with them for hours at a time. This should be good practice for when we first arrive in the Baka village. Another big adjustment for the kids has been learning to swallow their malaria medicine each day. After struggling with it for a couple of days, each of them has found their own method that works. Another adjustment for the kids has been food. Even though we’ve found some familiar meals to make, everything just tastes a little bit different. Fortunately, Ava was still able to enjoy her favorite snack.

That’s all for week one. We look forward to sharing more about our life in Cameroon!