Marriage

Indian's wedding.

Many experiences have been lived and are still lived by individuals. Some of these experiences are related to health, while other are related to a life transforming event. Other can be spiritual as well. One of them is the story of a passenger among other I was travelling  whith when going home from University of Dschang in Cameroon. In that car driving us to Bafoussam, there was an elder telling us of a decision making process when it comes to choose your wife to be. He had said that, because a wife is someone who will be part of our life, and will spend the rest of our pilgrimage on this earth, we had to make a sound decision. Choose the less evil if not the right person. There are ways to seek help in making such decision. One can pray for guidance, another can seek the help of a traditional healer. Nowadays, some find the guidance from astrologers.

Western's wedding

Coming to his experience, he said that he had pray for GOD to show him which woman he fits to spend the rest of his life with and build a strong family where children given to them by the Almighty will receive the "fear of God "as their education. He continued telling us that, he bought two pairs of shoes with white and black colors. He had prayed for GOD to let the woman who fits him to choose the white color as GOD's choice. He has prayed for a week to get his request transmitted to GOD.
The day had arrived and he went to the first lady, who choosed the black color. Thus she was eliminated as his wife to be. The same day, he went on to buy another black color's shoe so that the second woman will have a choice to make among the pairs of shoes.
In front of the second girl, he presented the pairs of shoes and suddenly she choosed the white color. In regard to this choice, the man invited her to his house for an engagement ceremony. And sixth months later, they became wife and husband and they form a beautiful family of three kids.

I see myself with my wife to be holding
hands like this couple.

Another story is the one of a man. Here the man was looking to make a choice between two ladies. He was in love of two sisters of the same family. He had dreamed of marrying the older sister but was not sure about it, so that is why he thought of a junior sister as his second choice. So, because he was not sure to whom to propose, he asked GOD to show him who to make a proposal. For that, he prayed hard by asking GOD to show him who will fit for a long lasting life of harmony and happiness. His request was to send a message to both of them and that the only girl to call him will be for sure GOD's choice. The first night of his novena, in dreaming, he saw himself with the junior sister pregnant both in the bed holding each other. He thought this might be the response of GOD to his request before the end of the novena. He kept praying till the end of the novena. By then, he sent two letters to the sisters and received no call from them. The only person who replied in written was the junior sister with whom they were holding each other with the pregnancy in his bed during his dream.
The question here is to know if GOD has choosen to answer differently or if this was a negative answer to tell him that none of them fitted him.

Say NO to FORCED MARRIAGE

11 Years old Girl combatting
children marriage

The guy having not a call from one of them but a written response from the little sister was confused and could not figured out what the next step to take. By default(Because his original request-phone call- was not granted), one can say GOD has choosen to answer differently. The guy went on and decided to talk to the older sister first and he was waiting for her to reject his proposal because the former had not responded neither in writting nor in phone calling. When deceived, he started to move to the little sister and discovered that she was nineteen (19) years old or that he was 18 years older than her. This gap in age had discouraged him to make a proposal to the little sister.  

Wedding's rings

It was obvious that the girl you wants for marriage is not the one GOD has in store for you. Sometimes she is the one GOD has choosen for you. We have to have a spiritual attitude to listen to GOD and make a good decision based on his will. This necessarily comes through prayer, and constant meditation. Marriage is an institution that guarrantees the perinity of our society and, we need to make sure that the woman with whom we partner with fits our nature so to create an harmony, peace,happinness and well being of the children. Thus for the society at large.
Coming back to the last story, can we say that, the little sister was his wife to be or, by not choosing to make a proposal to her was lacking faithfull lecture of GOD's will?

Pinguis Dance

Cameroon is a multicultrural and ethnical country. It is said that more than 230 native languages are spoken in this land of 18 million inhabitants. This multiculturalism has produced a variety of dances within which some of them are a combination of of the major rythms. One of these is the so called "Pinguiss".

I was told that this is a new dance in Cameroon. Going to Night-Club, I had the opportunity to move according to the Pinguis rythm. I had fun dancing it with other people. Once the rythm was lunch, all the night-Clubers stood up to dance. The dancing floor was packed. To dance it demands energy. A dancer has to be in movement from the beginning to the end. I was happy to dance a rythm created by a young artist called Daniel Mbaka. Above is the video of the clip. Dancing such a ryth will put you in good mood throughout the day. Enjoy it

DISHES from CAMEROON

 I feel like in heaven when having original dishes made at home. It tastes good and natural. No preservatives added, or no radiation from a microwave. These foods are healthy and natural. Let's me give you some of the dishes I have tasted so far. They are many of them. Please this post is not complete yet.

ndole na miele

this type of dish is made of "ndole" which is a composition of spinach, nuts and some traditional ingredients. It is one of my favourite dishes. Miele is one of the two types of bananas. This type can only be eaten cooked.

soup'a mbongo tchobi

This is one of well known soup in the Sawa's region or people from coast. It is made with a type of fish that I cannot describe, also it is made of some type of traditional ingredients. I love it. It can be eaten with with miondo, cassava, bananas, etc.

poff poff and beans

This dish is made for breakfast. some people eat it in the evening in street restaurants or make it at home as a dinner. It can be eaten in the morning or evening.
the poff poff is made of fried flower. the bean is a mixture of bean, oil and ingredients.

soupa'a kingan

fufu

 This is a combination of dishes that go together. Fuffu is made of cassava powder that was stired in the hot water. soupa'a kingan is a made of grinded nuts, ingredients and (meat, dried fish).

Irish potatoes, fish and vegetable

                                                 
This is a mixture of vegetables, irish potatoes and fish. It is a Lunch's dish. Potatoes such as Irish or sweet are found all over Cameroon.


P.S More dishes are to be published.

An Unpleasant Welcome

I am a US Citizen of Cameroonian origin. On July 20th at 8:00 PM central standard time, I landed in Yaounde, Cameroon from Nsimalen Int'l Airport. I was, from the plane Swiss Airline that I flew very happy to touch the land of my origin. Let recall that, Cameroonians when flying to Cameroon, always clap hands when the plane touch the driveway. I was amaze and happy to witness such a moment. I have never experienced such a happiness of passengers of landing home throughout my travelling experiences. Even before nearing the Capital of Cameroon (Yaounde), passengers whom 98% are Cameroonians going to visit family, were happy and talking about the foods they will eat, what they are going to do. I myself was thinking about my family, how I will see places of Cameroon. The trip from Zurich to Yaounde Nsimalen was safe and joyfull.
This joy to landing on the land of my ancestors started to fade when at the Airport Custom, I was told to present my Card of Yellow Fever Vaccination. I was disturbed by such request. I recall that other passengers were providing such card. So, I asked myself how come they knew that they have to present such card? To me, once you ask a visa to visit a country, you have to fulfill all the requirements for your visa to be granted. I recall that, the Cameroon Consular Office in Washington, DC posted all the conditions on their website www.ambacam-usa.org. Here, there is not a mention of yellow fever vaccination to fulfill for a visa request.
I have explained the procedure of visa request to the custom agent, I told him that, according to the Cameroon Consular, a tourist or a visitor has to among other conditions provide a card of Typhoid Fever Vaccination and that, there is not a mention a yellow fever vaccination. The agent said according to the Cameroonian Governement through its Health Ministry, any visitor to Cameroon has to provide a proof of Yellow fever vaccination. And, if not the visitor has to pay F CFA 12500 ($27) for a yellow fever vaccine that will be given to him before leaving the Airport.
I was trying to explain to this agent that it is not my fault if I cannot provide such card.  When coming here, and my visa granted upon fulfilling all the requirements, I was sure to cross the border without any difficulties as I do in every country I travel.
Noticing that, arguing will not solve the problem, I decided to pay the fee and take the vaccin. The issue here is that, a respectable country has to provide up to date information about visa procedure so that s/he will not have an unpleasant welcome in the country of visit. The Cameroonian's Government through it Foreign Office should send these information to any Consular abroad. From this experience, I understand why some tourists avoid travelling to third world countries because of inadequacy and uniformization of tourism policies of the host country. I recall that passengers coming from Europe have provided the card whereas those coming from US haven't. I asked myself what would have happened to me if I had not some currencies with me? Would they have jailed me? or put me back in a plane to return to my country (US)? It was an unpleasant welcome to me by the people with whom I share the same origin. May be this example can serve as a lesson to always be prepared when I travel to Africa because, the policies or information might have not been updated. It relies wholly to the host Government to update visitors on a daily basis about travelling to their lands.
Please, anyone wanted to visit Cameroon should be prepared to provide a Yellow Fever Vaccination proof before entrying the country.
I hope that this will be an isolated inconvenient during my journey to the land of my ancestors.
I left the Airport and went home happy to meet my family and eat good foods from Cameroon.

Cultural Competency and Medical Practice in US: Hindu case

My journey in India was foremost to volunteer by providing the expertise I have learnt so far. Accessorily to that, it was also for me  to implement a survey of Hindu culture (Religion) in regard to health care provision. This will help me provide an appropriate care to any Hindu patients based on their culture hereas religion.
My entire work cannot be shared here as requested by my director. So, I will just give few observations.
It is known that some animals such as cow and pork are sacred in Hindu's faith, any Hindu will refrain eating its meat; which is full of protein. Knowing this, a health care provider (HCP) has to refrain to provide this source of protein to a Hindu's patient. An alternative to this will be to provide him/her with bean, rice milk or soy milk. The health care provider can request the Indian's family to cook for their sick relative. Just make sure that the meal is not AMA (Against Medical Advice).
I recall one Hindu telling me that a leftover (or tamasic in Hindu) is considered tainted with bad spirit, thus eating it will keep your mind, spirit and body unclean. This can be seen in people with anger, jealousy, and greed. My thought is that in face of a psychiatric patient of Hindu's faith, a HCP should not provide leftovers from last day, even from few hours ago so, not to exhacerbate the psychological condition of the patient. Instead of leftover, rajasic (foods condusive to healthy mind) should be given. These are, among other: fish, onions, hot peppers, etc. Another alternative is to provide what they call sattvic which are foods non-GI (Gastro-Intestinal) irritating and purifying to the mind. Among these we find fruits, nuts, whole grains and vegetables.
This survey has shown that, any health related decision is taken by the breadwinner herein the father or husband. An HCP has to know that in front of a female patient, he has to refer to her husband to conduct any procedure that needs consent. The same cultural fact is seen in Hispanic culture.
Hindu are known for fasting a lot. This practice according to Hindu's faith helps the body, mind and spirit rid off negative spirits and reinforce their closeness to their god. This can be done regardless of the health condition of the believer ( healthy or not). I have been informed that, for a sick patient, the fasting is a request send to their god to cure him/her from his disease. If this happens, an HCP has to provide medical advices so that the patient can make an informed decision about his/her condition.
Knowing such cultural facts will help us provide a more culturally competent care in USA, the most diverse country in the World. Also it is a way of bringing medicine to the patient in regard to his Culture(traditon, religion, language, convictions, etc). Health Care system are geographically closer to patients such as Hospital and  Nursing Homes in the residential areas, urban and rural ones. So, it is time to bring it to every patient's Culture in other words to tailor the health care provision to every individual. This will take time, ressources to meet this goal. And, it is a never-ending task since individuals are always changing in their life-time.

Jet Lag

I travelled a lot and will have many trips in the future to come. My trip to Calcutta, India from Chicago, US was a wake up call for me to start thinking of the remedy of jet lag I have experienced.

Here at the IGI Airport New Delhi
I was really tired and took a nap

I have decided to dig deep and find these for you and me so that we are well equipped to fight this common airtravel malady.
Jet lag is a set of symptoms we encounter during and after our flight from one time zone to another. These are insomnia, constipation, fatigue, diarrhea, headache, anxiety, dehydration, irritability and nausea as the most common travellers experience.
Many scientists are certain that jet lag occur because the body is incapable of adapting to its new environment and schedule. For example, leaving Springfield, Missouri USA to Calcutta, India which is 11h 30 min time difference has set my  biological clock to disruption. This body which is used to go to bed every 11pm in Springfield (10:30 am in Calcutta) was now forced to be eating breakfast at this time. Or going to work at 7:00 am (Springfield, USA) or (6:30 pm Calcutta, India) was forced to eat dinnner at this time in Calcutta. This shows how the traveller's body is going under tremendous and radical changes for it to adapt to the new country, culture, climate, etc.

Venice, Italy on a winter period where I felt
cold.

According to scientists, it is a known fact that people, the lesser time zones they fly accross, the greater the adapatation to the new environment of the body. Travelling from North to South accross the globe or South-North is comfortable for the body to adapt quickly.For example, France (North) and Cameroon (South) are separated by one time zone or an hour difference, thus it easy for either national to adapt once in the country of destination. But travelling from West to East is putting the body into a radical change that it will needs more days or weeks to adapt to the environment thus the severe the jet lag will be. USA (West) is at least 11 hours separated from India (East) so it will take a lot efforts for either national to adapt once in the country of destiantion.

having good foods in a Venice's restaurant

Tips to cope with jet lag before, during and after the trip are to eat well, drink plenty of water, make sure to be physically fit, exercise while in the airplane every two hours so to prevent blood clot that, in turn can cause a heart attack or chest pain which can lead to death. Also it is recommended to meet your doctors before and after your trip abroad for medical advice. Another tip is to avoid ALCOHOL and CAFFEINE a day before, during and a day after your flight since these are contraindicated for a healthy body and can exhacerbate insomnia, cause dehydration and loss of concentration. Also, one can break his/her trip when it is too long. For example flying New York, NY. US to Bombay, India is a 15 h 37 min trip; instead of flying directly, one can choose an itinerary with a stop in Munich Germany or any European country for a day or hours since there are four time zones between Europe and India. This will reduce tremendously the impact of jet lag while the body will have time to rest and prepare to adjust in other changing environment.

A beautiful Italian

Other scientists recommend to change a schedule or to prepare the body to an upcoming schedule. My next trip is to Cameroon, Africa from Springfield, MO. US where I will spend a month. I need to prepare my body adjust to Cameroonian environment by scaling back my activity of daily living at least for an hour, this four weeks prior of my leaving. I will have to scale back one more hour for the first week, and two more the second, etc. This will prepare my body to adjust to the new time zone, which is between Cameroon and Missouri US 7 hours.

Having fun in one Jamaican's beaches

Another tip is to adapt to a local schedule. To put it simply, if a traveller from Hong Kong arrives in Kingston, Jamaica at 10 pm (noon  in Hong Kong), he has to go to bed instead of having lunch.
A traveller has also to wear shoes and clothes that are lose and light. This will ease the trip and also prepare your clothes according to the destination's climate. It is obvious that one going from Morrocco to Alaska, US will prepare the winter clothes to wear once in Alaska.

Niagara Falls That I visited

Another tip is to have a good accomodations that are conducive to a good sanitation and hygiene. If a traveller is accustomed to a hotel facilities in his journeys abroad, s/he has to keep this habit of living in hotel facility where a good sanitary conditions is a standard.

Having a breakfast in Munich
Germany

Eventhough some doctors prescribed sleeping pills to help one fight insomnia, it is recommended to take these pills upon Doctor's prescription. A traveller should not drive nor drink alcohol while under this medication. Another well known pills to fight insomnia is Melatonin supplement which is an OTC (Over The Counter) supplement. Doctors recommend that a traveller to enhance sleep should take between 0.3 mg to 5 mg of pill on the day a traveller arrives at destination, take this 30 minutes before going to bed. The traveller should continue taking this for a few days while at his/her destination.
Meeting all this prescription will surely help us figth this disease called jet lag. After coming back to India, I had insomnia and fatigue and a friend of mine who is Doctor talk to me about Melatonin. I then bougth it on a store like WalMart and, the first day, I started to take MELATONIN 30 minutes before going to bed. I can tell you that since that time, I have a deep sleep and can dream about my next trip to Cameroon.                         

SUDDER STREET in CALCUTTA

Here pausing with Volunteers from Spain
eating street foods on Sudder Street

Another Restaurant I used to eat
on Sudder Street

Any volunteer in Calcutta will go through one famous street called Sudder Street. One day during a sharing activity that is always done with a nun who speaks your language every Sunday at Mother's House, I have suggested that Sudder Street be named Volunteer Street. That can only be possible if I submit the request to the Calcutta Municipal Corportation.

Sudder Street is famous for, it houses many Restaurants (Street food stands and Conventional Restaurant). It also is a land of many Money Exchanges agencies (Please I suggest any volunteer once in Calcutta not to exchange money at the Airport but do it on Sudder Street) who offer high rate compare to Airport. For example a US dollar costs INR 44.50(Indian Ruppees) compare to INR 41.50 that you will get at the Airport. A EURO is  INR 66 compare to less you can received at the Airport. Also you finds here many Travel Agencies that book Train, Air and Bus tickets to different cities in India. This is where many volunteers book their tickets when they want to visit high touristic spots like Taj Mahal, Darjeeling, Varenasse, New Delhi, Bombay and other.

One of the bedrooms at Galaxy Hotel

Sudder Street is full of hotels of which the most known and cheapest ($3 a night) is Hotel Maria. Here you can find dormirtories and single room with price ranging from $3-$7. The sanitation here is compared to a third world country so prepare for it. There is also Galaxy Hotel that I like the most. It is mostly double bedrooms with prices ranging from INR 300 and INR 400 for a single($6-7). I recommend this one. It is clean and safe and the owner is very nice.

Entrance of Fairlawn Hotel
one of the expensive



So, I recommend hotels like Galaxy, Maria, Paragon, Modern Lodge for a volunteer who is coming in Calcutta for a long stay. These hotels are the most populated by volunteers, tourists and are cheap.



Veg Sandwich that I love to eat at
Spanish Cafe



Restaurants well known on Sudder Street are Blue Sky Cafe and Spanish Cafe. These restaurants offer good Thailand, Indian and Western foods. There are also other good one besides the above-mentionned who provide good and clean foods. On Sudder street, there are also many shops to buy Indians dresses and any item you need. The New Market, which is one of the biggest in the area provides a variety of shops such as an Under ground Mall, shoes and dresses, and Hotels. The Blue Beyond or Lindsay hotel provides a restaurant at its roof from where you can view Calcutta in the night, it is romantic to have a date there. One can live on Sudder Street without needing to go some where else. I will really like the Municipality of Calcutta to name it Volunteer street. Sudder Street is always busy. This is also where

Muesli Fruit Curd the breakfast that
I always took either at Spanish or Blue
Sky Cafe

                              yellow cabs are stationned to wait volunteers leaving to the Airport. It cost INR 250 for a yellow cab to drive a passenger to the Airport.

A yellow ready to pick up a volunteer at
Galxy Hotel to the Airport

Sudder street will never forgotten by any volunteer who have come to Calcutta. Let it known that not only volunteers live on Sudder street, also people coming from around the World mostly the bag-packers enjoy living here while visiting Calcutta since it has cheapest hotels. Some can be there for a short stay and move to another city afterward.