Elections!

I have a great respect for the electoral process.  In college, I tried to push all my roomates to go and vote.  I don't really write too much about my feelings on candidates or policies.  I am just not a talented enough writer to express myself fully on a blog and things could be misinterpreted very easily. 

I have lived on four continents now.  I have lived through Presidential elections on all four.  Yesterday was election day here in Cameroon.

With all the political unrest in Africa regarding Elections everyone has been on high alert.  The mood here is calm panic.  In the days leading up to the elections people were stocking up on the basics; rice, drinking water, toilet paper and can foods.  We went to the market and got the following; 5 chocolate bars, raisins, yogurt, chick peas (for hummus), tomato paste, pasta, rice, feta cheese, brie and lots of baguettes to freeze.  We were prepared.  So many people were predicting big riots or demonstrations in this capitol city, Yaounde.  Walter and I really stocked up.

The week before elections a bridge in another city was caputured and the people in the cars were forced to evacuate and turn thier car keys over to the bad men (don't really know what to call them).  They had machine guns and fired syronchinzed shots in the air claiming that this year things would change finally for Cameroon. 

Cameroon has has the same president, Paul Biya, for 30 years.  He is seeking re-election for another seven.  This is typical of many African countries.  The "president" is basically in power until he dies.  But countries like, Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya have fought hard recently to change this. 

Picture of Paul Biya and his wife

Picture of Paul Biya's campaign posters

The preisdent has put up these posters EVERYWHERE!  Cameroonian people feel very little hope that this situation will change anytime soon. Elections came on the 9th of October and went off without a hitch.  (I was relieved!) 

The problem is that the elections are generally believed to be corrupted.  Cameroonians claim that people buy votes (the voting cards) and place 20 or 30 ballots.  Cameroonians also claim that fake indelible ink used for marking voters' fingers was distributed to polling stations.  Someone showed how they were able to remove ink from thier thumb using saliva, minutes after voting in Yaounde, the capital. Easily removable ink opens up the possibility of people voting multiple times in the West African nation. (that was from cnn.com)

So, with faulty ink that could allow for a quick change after the voter has turned in thier vote and the fact that many people had 20 or 30 votes.  The elections hardly seem like they could be fair.  In 2004, the people believed that another candidate actually won, so there was rioting when they announced who the election winner was.  Shortly after the rioting, there was a coup d'etat attempt which was promptly shut down by the "re-elected" president. 

They announce the winner of the presidential election on the 23rd of October.  This country is over-due for a change and the people are desperate for it.  If the president claims to have won the election again, I fear there might be uprisings, like Egypt, Libya or Tunisia.  Only time will tell......

AFRICA

I wish I were a talented writer. But I'm not. I am living in Central Africa. I love it here. There are so many great things about living in Africa. I see things that shock me all the time. I see beauty. I see nature. I see poverty. I see disease. I see death. I see life at it's hardest. I see a beautiful culture of community. I see wealth, more wealth here than I've ever seen in America. I see animals. I see bugs, bugs, bugs. I see things that literally shock me all the time. I am excited and I am going to try to blog about things I see and experience here.

Since it's expensive to have cars here, most people take taxis. In Seoul, taxis were the most expensive way to travel and I only did it as a luxury. Here it is common. The average taxi ride is about .40 cents.
I like riding in taxis because it's a good way for me to meet and see different people. It's a very communal experience. I ALWAYS meet interesting people in taxis. Some of the best conversations happen in taxis. Sometimes in French but I'm starting to follow along.

Basically, getting a taxi here is like a gamble each time. You stand on the side of the road with the other travelers. The taxi pulls up and starts at the end of the line. He honks, the first honk, and this means, "Where are you going and how much do you want to pay?" You then state your destination and price. The driver will then think about it for a few seconds and then honk, the second time, which means get in. Or if he is going somewhere else he just moves on to the next person.

The driver has a destination which is determined by the first passenger. If you are on the way or if he can drop the first passenger on your way then you will be honked at the second time to get in to the taxi. Now, there are many variables. If you wish to pay more this can usually influence the driver to go out of his way and drop you, much to the dismay of the other passengers. If this happens, they (the other passengers) will not hesitate to let you know of their displeasure. If you offer about 3 dollars, which is quite high then the taxi will kick everyone out of the taxi and take you directly to your door.

On my commute to work it's common to have more than five different passengers with me in the taxi. Three passengers in the back and two in the front. Then as people get dropped off the driver will inevitably pick up more people. These taxis are desperate to fill the taxi.

This time for Africa!

I am moving to Cameroon today. I have a short stint in Bangkok on the way and am now in Hong Kong again. I love Hong Kong!

Here is an old music video from Cameroon. The song that inspired Shakira for her world cup song is Cameroonian. There is alot of culture there and I am so excited to share Walters home with him! Here is the video! It's so cute!

no j.crew.com in South Korea

A solid 40% of my wardrobe is from J.Crew. I have shoes, sweaters, pants, coats, jewelry......loads of jewelry, and shirts. I love the quality of the clothes. I have sweaters, pants and jewelry from 2003 still from J.crew that are in amazing condition. Each piece is so unique that I feel they will forever be in style or forever be able to be styled. I just adore J.Crew.........
but http://www.jcrew.com/ does not work in South Korea.
I am going through major withdrawals. My first month, I checked jcrew.com everyday hoping that it would eventually come online. Five months later, I have come to terms with no jcrew.com. But I miss it dearly.
I went to Guam for thanksgiving. I went to an internet cafe and spent two hours looking at j.crew.com.

I miss J.Crew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Project Runway Korea

I love watching Project Runway Korea. This is the second season.  A korean network bought the franchaise for only 100,000 dollars.  I'm so surprised that more countries have not bought it.  I love watching the Korean design process.  They are very creative.  I love almost all the creations which is not the case in America. 

Even though I can't understand much, there seems to be less drama in the korean version.  The host, Lee-so ra has tried to replicate exactly Heidi Klum's role.  After a designer is kicked off, she gives a kiss and says, goodbye.  Heidi Klum's aufwiedersehen is so much more charming given she is acutally german.

This is the first seasons winner, Lee woo Kyung.  I love her personal style, it's so well defined.  She looks like the costume designer on the incredibles. 

The second season of Project Runway Korea has started and I wait with baited breath every week trying to catch it on tv.  I can't read the tv schedule as it's in korean so it's a shot in the dark each week. 

Jeju Island -- niceeeee

A valentines day getaway with my boyfriend in two days.........

Photo Shoot

In preparation for the upcoming school year (March is school year start in Korea) we had a photo shoot with the oldest two classes at school today. It was exhausting as little kids need so much attention. Here are a few pictures from our shoot.

The photographers spoke zero English and I had to 'interpret' everything on my own. It was an exhausting six hours.  As soon as I finished preparing one student the others all required adjusting. One picture was at least 20 minutes of me running around. Plus, most Koreans are amazed by 'westerners' so all eyes were on me all day long. 

Here is a picture of me running around like a crazy woman.