World Teacher’s Day

This past Monday we celebrated World Teacher’s Day. And, boy, do the teachers here deserve a little appreciation. They work with large classes of unruly students without many of the classroom luxuries we are accustomed to in the U.S. The teachers accordingly went all out for their celebration. They had clothes made out of a national fabric made purposefully for the holiday. (It had lots of numbers and letters covering it, interspersed with drawings of classrooms and school items with “International Teacher’s Day 2015” written sporadically across it, all on a background of bright yellow). The teachers canceled classes for the day so they could take full advantage of time to celebrate. They rented a dance hall in town and invited all the teachers and other community leaders. The event, like any typical event in Cameroon, involved a lot of food and drink. They served plantains and a local soup and giant pieces of antelope. You know the food is fresh when you find buckshot in your meat. Let me just say, my food was very fresh. I mean it’s not a party until you’ve pulled buckshot out of your mouth, right? That was just the start of my surprises that evening. After finishing the meal, I was called upon to give a speech to the assembly of people in the hall. “And now a speech from your Peace Corps!” rang through my ears as I looked up bewilderedly from the remnants of my meal. Had I known I was to give a speech, I probably would have planned at least an outline in my mind of what I intended to say, but I think I pulled it off pretty well given the circumstances. Following the speeches, the program called for dancing. Once again, I probably should have foreseen the events slightly better, but still managed foolishly to be caught off guard. “And now, to open the dance floor, three couples will be selected…” Guess who was picked to participate in one of those honored couples? Yup. I had to get up and dance alongside the headmaster on the wide-open floor while the room looked on. However, the sound system broke out halfway through the song and I was able to escape, and for that, I am truly thankful. All in all, in was a great celebration and I am glad the teachers get some credit at least one day a year because they certainly deserve it! Happy Teacher’s Day!