Your Cam-quiz!

Hey folks, we are still here and doing well! There is still no internet except in Bafoussam, so we're limited in how often we post stuff.
We had a great meeting with the water committees, chiefs, and others yesterday. The Mayor gave a long talk about how the water committees have to step up to the maintenance and administration needs now that the system will be totally theirs. I gave a little speech too, and thanks to google translator, it was apparently comprehensible.
Below is a pic of all our stuff set out at the Mayor's house for inventory. Although I am in the picture, this is not meant to imply I did any of the inventory work. in fact, I was busy trying to get Verizon to get my phone working. They say I owe them $500 for data roaming although I paid them for a $79 huge data plan. Apparently Cameroon doesn't honor that plan. Big fight when I get back home!
We have installed the wet well and pump, repositioned three tanks, laid all the poly pipe and conduit (except a short section we just bought here in Bafoussam), and fixed the sediment-blocked system in Balatsit. Their cleanouts were built with the valves in the wrong places, so we're getting that fixed to avoid future clogging. The ditches are dug for almost all of the PVC line out to far Bakang II. We are on it!!

No more pictures right now, sorry. BUT here's the new issue of the sporadically released Cameroon EWB quiz!!! Answers might be at the bottom of the blog.

1. A machete can be used for:
a) digging a hole
b) opening a soda bottle
c) opening a package of crackers
d) fine surgical operations
e) all of the above except one

2. On market day in Ndang, you can find
a) manioc (dried or freshly dug)
b) machetes (must be sharpened before use)
c) used shoes
d) a cute piglet on a rope
e) a basket of Guinea pigs or peeping chicks
e) all of the above

3. A typical dinner for the EWB team includes
a) a green salad
b) choice of a hamburger or veggie burger
c) platter of burrito, enchilada, and taco with extra cheese
d) a warm brownie with Ben and Jerry’s on the side
e) a rotation of 3 items from 5 basic sources of carbohydrates

4. To greet someone, you can say
a) oh-leh-ah, but oht-soh-ka after noon
b) bonjour, but bonsoir after noon
c) salut!
d) Bonne Année (Happy New Year) during the month of January, and somewhat into February
e) any of the above, at least in Bamendjou

5. To join two pieces of pipe, you can use
a) compression fittings for poly-pipe
b) Teflon tape and a pipe wrench for galvanized pipe
c) solvent or threaded joints for PVC pipe
d) a machete
e) all of the above except one

6. What do you do when there’s no water in Bamendjou?
a) don’t shower
b) shower in the rain
c) stop producing any waste products
d) because “water is life,” you totally lose hope
e) you go out to the village and get water from the EWB wells

7. What can you be ticketed for while driving to Bamendjou?
a) no seat belt for the front passenger (Dr. Steve)
b) no county registration
c) failure to pass on a blind curve
d) sufficient volume in the vehicle to fit an additional person or plantain
e) nothing, if you have the special placard on your dash

8. Alarm clocks for the EWB team include
a) a “Kamikaze” bird attacking your window
b) strange noises from the Mayor’s peacock
c) Taryn sitting up, yelling “Where’s the water? There’s something on me!!!” then going back to sleep
d) our new driver (Cyrille) gunning the Land Cruiser engine to “warm it up”
e) all of the above on the same morning

9. Duct tape can be used in a Toyota Landcruiser for
a) repairing a flat tire (temporarily)
b) repairing a shock absorber (temporarily)
c) repairing a roof liner (temporarily)
d) providing Dr. Steve with a seat belt (temporarily)
e) all of the above, but these would be considered *permanent* repairs


10. The people of Bakang and Balatsit
a) have dug over 4 miles of pipe trenches by hand for the water system
b) have a lower rate of student absence where the new water system is in use
c) have anointed Dr. Steve as a “village notable”
d) have perfected the logistics of system maintenance for the long term
e) all of the above but one

Sorry, but there are often no answers to questions such as the above. Mainly the last answer is the correct one, but it depends on whether it was properly translated and many other factors.

Dr. Steve