IDUNN!

Idunn, min kjære nasara, husker du da vi var spente og uerfarne og lurte på hva det var vi kom til å møte da vi kom til Kamerun? At vi var så sykt gira, og vi var overbevist om at vi var det beste teamet i hele verden, selv om vi ikke ante hvordan teamarbeidet vårt i Kamerun egentlig kom til å se ut?

Vi møtte jammen uventede ting, selv om det som overrasket kanskje ikke var det samme som det vi trodde vi kom til å reagere på. Men jeg syns vi gjorde det bra. Jeg har satt stor pris på våre lattermilde øyeblikk, og til tross for våre relativt store forskjeller, så syns jeg vi har samarbeidet bra. Helt fra våre første to timer på kamerunsk jord, der hvem som helst kunne revet seg i håret og tenkt "OI-OI-OI! -Hvordan skal dette gå?"(Yes! Jeg fikk den med! Hihi).

Du har krydret min hverdag, fargelagt mine opplevelser og gitt tilværelsen gode nyanser. Det har vært gøy å erfare Kamerun med deg, du har vært en så bra teammate at det er ikke vits engang. Ditt søte smil, dine gode ord og tanker, ditt positive og sosiale vesen - og ikke minst din herlige latter når du ser på Friends med ørepropper - er noe jeg vil huske og verdsette lenge. 

Nå vet vi hva vi kom til, og vi vet hvordan teamarbeidet ble. Hadde bare lyst til å gi deg en liten hyllest sån i all offentlighet :) Jeg er fortsatt overbevist om at jeg ikke kunne hatt noe bedre team enn deg.

Friends

Making friends when you come to a new culture is not always easy. First of all, there is the language: conversations do not flow freely when you feel your communication skills are comparable with a three-year-old (luckily they have improved along with the length of my stay).

Secondly, you have to figure out the social and cultural codes: what do they talk about, what do they do? How are their lives, and how can you relate to them? And even more deeply; what does the world look like in their eyes?

Many times during my five months here in Cameroon, I have asked myself if I will be able to look back on my stay here and remember faces, names and friends. Often I have been discouraged, thinking that the answer would be no. Most of my relations are utterly shallow and superficial.

Thinking further, I find that maybe I have to redefine my conception of friendship a little. All friendships start with small steps. To grow closer takes time, and half a year is not so long after all. If I turn from how well I know certain people, and look upon how many people I have actually gotten in touch with during my stay, I find that I have many friends; names and faces that stop and ask how I am doing when we meet at work, choir rehearsal, volleyball or on the street. We actually have a relation.

Sometimes that is all it takes. That is how well you actually need to know people before you can go one step further. Tonight almost my whole choir came to our house to sing, pray, dance, laugh, play and eat "poff-corn", beignets and makala (different kinds of doughnuts) together. We had the most wonderful time, and I could really feel that these are my friends. My being part of that group makes a difference. They notice if I am gone, and care about my well-being.

I belong a little to them, and they will always stay somewhere in my thoughts and memories and e-mail adress list when I return to Norway. We are friends. Nous sommes ensemble.