Independence Day Approaching
This Wednesday, May 20, is National Day (Independence Day) in Cameroon, which marks the end of French and British colonialism in Cameroon. Yippee! Of course, there will be a parade and parties all day and night. Cameroonians love parades and each town, even small ones (but not villages) have an "esplanade" at some central location from which spectators and important dignitaries can watch the groups parade by. We saw this on "Youth Day" in February, when each school class marched in green uniforms and Linden walked with a special garland representing that she was first in class in the village. This was in Mbouda. Here in Dschang, our balcony over the pharmacy gives us a great view of the festive area. We saw the Women's Day parade from here, although I went with Madame Panka, our landlady, to sit with the hotshots for a while. This Wednesday, school children will again march, and again in uniforms. They will sing and Linden will carry the Cameroonian flag for her school. They chose her to do this so that when she goes back to the States her friends will see how important she was in Cameroon :)
When these parades are upcoming schools basically do nothing but devote themselves to practice marching for the week previous. Our apartment looks out over a primary school and I've seen the kids in beige uniforms marching around the dirt schoolyard more times than I want to think about. Arms must be swung in the correct way, one must keep up with the row, songs must be learned.
So, keep your eyes out for any news in the States on Cameroon's independence day and wish Linden well as she carries the large yellow, green, and red flag with the star in the middle!
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