A Journey in Northern Cameroon
A Young Woman Teaches English Abroad in Africa
Travelling to North Africa, she meets shy girls and beautiful children
Susana Herrera joined the Peace Corps to make a difference in the world. She got a job teaching English in a village in the northern part of Cameroon, Africa. A young American woman, she thought that by leaving home she could escape her past and make positive changes in the country.
She quickly found out that things would not be so simple. Americans had a reputation in Africa and no matter how good her intentions, she was stereotyped from the beginning. Her journey, misadventures and emotions are all captured skilfully in her book, Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My Skin.
Fitting In with the Village Women
First and foremost, as soon as she arrived there were the practical things to take care of. She was provided with her own place and enough money to live off of, nothing more. She was there as a volunteer to teach the children English.
But the village proved even more different than she expected. Early mornings were for getting water from the well. The village women would giggle at her as she tried to balance the water pale on top of her head and laughed when she fell down and spilled it all. Children stared at her incredulously, as if she were an alien. It took her months to gain their trust and respect.
Teaching English
While learning to survive in an African village, she also had to educate the children. Over 100 students packed into her small schoolroom, 4 of them sharing a desk and many on the floor. The girls always sat at the back and kept their heads down, taunted by the boys if they spoke out.
She couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t listen to her until one day a boy told her that they couldn’t respect her because she didn’t beat them. It took her weeks to devise her own form of punishment that she could live with and that they would understand. If a student was late or wasn’t behaving, they would have to walk 3 miles to the nearest well to get water and bring it back. In the scorching heat of midday, this was the worst form of torture and gained her the respect she needed.
Living in her Skin
Eventually the villagers got used to her being there and she made many profound relationships. The village women would often ask her, “Jam bah doo nah?” which translates roughly into “Are you in your skin?” or “Is your soul in your body?” To which she learned to reply, “Jam core doo may!” “I am in my skin!”
By the end of her stay, she understood what that greeting meant and could say it and truly mean it.
You can find Mango Elephants in the Sun at AMAZON.
