What the Heck Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Those were my first words to Jose as we were being driven to our host homes in the middle of a blackout.

My first few days in Cameroon have been nothing less than interesting and educational. We arrived in Cameroon on May 21 at the Douala airport at about 9:00 pm. As soon as I stepped off the plane I felt the heat and humidity hit me. The airport is not air conditioned, but has windows with slats in them to let the air in, but not the rain. The airport had many police and security officers there, and yet I think it would be very easy to sneak past the two women checking yellow fever vaccination cards. The only two computers I saw were being used by the women checking passports and visas. We then proceeded to baggage claim, found all of our belongings (thank God) and went outside into the rain to be driven to our homes. The car ride was about 1.5 hours in the darkness. The drive was basically uphill once we left the city. We drove mostly on paved roads, but once we got into Buea and towards our host families, the roads became dirt and rocks, which was incredibly bumpy. I finally arrived to my host family’s house around midnight, and met no one but my host parents Cellestine and Marcel. They took me back to my room where I fell right to sleep.

I was abruptly awoken the next morning by strange children opening and closing my squeaky door, presumably staring at the “white man” inhabiting the room. They shoved me, asked me if I was going to work, to which I responded yes, and then they left me alone. They now do this every morning if I am not awake before 7, even thought I don’t have to be at work until 8 and it only takes me about 10 minutes to get there.

Our first day at the office last week, I shook a lot of hands, met a lot of people, and mostly took it easy and went over what they wanted us to do for the first few weeks. Day 2 we went to a ceremony at a very poor school where NKong Hilltop (the organization we are working at) installed a brand new ventilated latrine. The old outhouse at the school was so gross, that most children chose to urinate and defecate around the outhouse rather than go in it, which lead to about 30 students getting cholera in the 2012 – 2013 school-year. This week we have been visiting the communities and meeting some people that we will be working in this summer, all of which are much more rural than Buea, which is more like a city. The villages each have their own types of building materials that are used, some use wood, others use bricks or concrete, depending on what is available around them.

My host family is very nice, and I am living comfortably in my house. Cellestine and Marcel both graduated from a university and work during the day. Cellestine is an administrator in a nursing/midwifery school and Marcel is a high school and university teacher, who is also working towards his PhD. They also own a small bar. They have three children their son Jevis is 10 years old, and their daughters Karli and Delores are 6 and 1 respectively. They also have two of their nieces living with them, Joyce and Laura, who take care of Delores during the day and go to school in the evenings. Jevis and Karli have no idea about boundaries or personal space, so when my bedroom door is closed, they come in whenever they want, jump on me or my bed, touch all of my things and then try to eat my vitamins. I have had to hide almost everything I don’t use every day so that they won’t get into it. They are very loud, very early in the morning, before I wake up, which often wakes me up before it is necessary. They slam doors, yell at each other, and Delores cries and screams at the top of her lungs. They also wake up the roosters and chickens which make lots of noise outside my window.

The weather in Buea is very comfortable compared to the rest of the communities we visited, because of its elevation. The rains have not begun yet, but I am told that within a few weeks it will rain day and night for a few weeks without stopping, luckily my clothes dry pretty quickly. Because it is cooler up here though, the water I shower with every morning is frigid, which would feel nice after a long day in the sun, but the water does not always work at night, so I can only shower in the mornings.

The food here is definitely something I will have to get used to, but I decided that I would try everything at least once. So far I have tried snails, corn fufu, puff puff, vegetable (bitter greens, chopped nuts, and any meat the kitchen has), African yams, fish stew, mango, plantains, and salad, which is similar to our coleslaw. I also tried the Cameroonian beer, called Export, which comes in a 23 ounce bottle. It is easily the most popular drink here, but people also drink many Guinness products, and some places will sell Budwiser products, other places will not, but I haven’t seen anyone drink any yet.

Yesterday, I finally got travelers illness and ended up with a fever and stomach and intestinal pain, as did another student. Cellestine insisted that I eat last night, so she made me eat puff puff (fried dough balls) and some yellow, warm, creamy something, which even after putting some lemon in it to try to make it better, was gross and I could only manage a few bites. I only really ate a cliff bar and saltines yesterday. This morning she gave me some grasses to chew on and said they would help my stomach, but since they were rinsed in tap water (which I cannot drink) I chewed on one little piece and threw most of the rest of them away. I think sticking to my American medicine will be the best way for me to get better. My fever is gone today, but my stomach is still a little upset, so I am not sure I will be attending Mass early tomorrow morning for Ascension because I am pretty sure there isn’t a bathroom and when I went to Mass on Sunday it was close to 3 hours long!

I miss all of you so much and hope you’re all doing well! More next week!
Sorry, I tried to post pics but the internet here at work is very slow!

Anticipation: The Cameroon Saga Part 1

So this is it friends. Tomorrow I leave for my 10 week immersion in Cameroon. To say that I am excited would be an understatement, but as with most things, excitement is always accompanied by a little bit of nervousness. However, I truly believe that the last 16 years of my education have prepared me for this summer.

I was reflecting on just how much my education influenced my decision to apply for ETHOS in the first place. Between traveling to and hosting a student from Germany and the amount of studies about geography and different cultures in Grade School and the amount of traveling I got to do through Intercession in high school, I simply cannot imagine not traveling in college. It is also my Marianist, Catholic education that told me that the next time I traveled, it needed to be an experience where I could live in community with others and come to at least partially understand a culture completely different from my own, while also getting to do a little bit of good. My education has molded me to become a citizen diplomat.




I have always been taught that in order to really understand the world around me, that I must step outside my own comfort zone and outside of my own back yard. I know that will happen on this trip. I am fully confident that I will come back not only with some technical skills, but with the understanding that what is different is not frightening but an opportunity to learn and challenge ourselves.

I am more than certain that this summer is going to simply fly by, and that Jose, Alyssa, Chinedum and I are going to have the time of our lives. If you want to learn more about the ETHOS program or donate to our cause in Cameroon please visit http://www.udayton.edu/engineering/ethos/#1. (If you are donating you have to scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click the "Give Now" button and enter my name in the comment box.)

Hopefully Weekly Updates to Come!
Katie

My Favorite Things of 2013

So every year Oprah compiles a list of her favorite things and puts them in her magazine, and seeing as I still have a week and a half until I return to UD, I thought I would take some time to think about my favorite things of 2013!

10. Steel Toe Shoes: These androgynous beauties are great for when someone in the factory drops something heavy on your feet, or when your sister who can't feel her own feet stomps on your feet so hard you're afraid she might break your toes

9. Safety Glasses: I wore them at both of my co-ops in 2013 and maaaaaan are they attractive...

8. Greek Yogurt: If you ask any of my former roommates, they can attest to the fact that at school I eat yogurt almost every day, and Chobani is like crack to me...

7. My J Crew striped shirt: This shirt is seriously one of the best things I bought in 2013...my friends and I even started referring to it as "Ol' Faithful" when talking about what we might wear out that night

6. Bro Tanks: Seriously though, they are comfy, I can wear them on a warm Saturday on campus or chillin in Michigan by the lake. Or in the winter with leggings and a sweatshirt...layers anyone?

5. Hoodie Allen: This goes with the above image, as that is his logo on said bro tank. My friend Kyle introduced me to Hoodie Allen and it has been love at first listen. Seeing him live last summer was seriously one of the best things ever!

4. POTH: That's right, one of my favorite things this year has been being UD's reigning POTH champs. Hard work and some killer moves brought the title back to Pi Phi

3. The Hunger Games: Whether you're Team Gale or Team Peeta, The Hungers Games, both the books and the movies are seriously awesome, and can we talk about J. Law for just a sec...because I want to be her BFF like right now. Plus Josh and Liam are no eye sores either...

2. Sperry Shoes: If you know me well, you know that my shoe of choice is a pair of Sperry Boat Shoes, whether they're leather, suede, or canvas, they are like the comfiest things I own. Plus, my Sperry snow boots are like the best thing ever invented

1. Red Lipstick: That's correct, my number one favorite thing this year has been red lipstick! I'm usually a fan of the bright reds, but that has been my favorite addition to my make up drawer this year, and I think it will stay that way for a while.

Well...tune in next year to see my favorite things of 2014, and I'm pretty sure you can expect to see Chacos on the list!

Adventure is Out There!

"Adventure is out there!" is hands down the best line from the Disney and Pixar movie UP. And as 2013 draws to a close and 2014 draws nearer, now is a good time to think about all the great adventures I've had this year.

2013 marked an end to my second decade alive, and if you ask me, breathing for 20 straight years it really a pretty big deal. Turning 20 was the strangest birthday experience I ever had. For starters, I spent my birthday alone in Louisville, Kentucky. I woke up at 4:00am, went to work, came home, made myself dinner at my apartment, and went to bed. The best part of my day, was the free Venti Caramel Macchiato I got from Starbucks. Normally I spend my birthday with family and friends, so being 3 hours away was not sitting well with me.
Why else is it strange? Well turning 20 is like the most disappointing birthday because it just sits there and mocks you. That whole day will look you straight in the face and tell you that you have to wait another 365 days just to buy a beer. People either say to you, "Oh! Way to not make it on Teen Mom!" or "Just one more year!", neither of which are comforting, or really all that exciting. It is great to be still alive, don't get me wrong, but I began the official 365 day countdown that day.

2013 also brought me two different co-op jobs. The first, being at GE Appliances in Louisville, was so far from what I expected.
       Day 1:
          Katie wears her new blue pencil skirt to work - no other person                  she sees all day is wearing a skirt
          Katie says she is a Chemical Engineer - only one other co-op out                 of 150 is also a Chem E
          Katie expects to be working an 8 - 5 job in an office - her desk is                 in the middle of a production floor and she is told to arrive at                   5:30am the next morning
          Katie thinks about all the cute clothes she can wear (as long as it's                 with pants) - she is told that she should wear jeans or khakis                   with steel toe shoes
After day 1 at GE, I decided I should stop expecting things and just see what happens next. And what happened, was me working 50-60 hours most weeks, being in charge of planning weekly lunches and weekend events for other co-ops as the celebrations committee co-chair, and me running a production line by myself for a week while my boss went on vacation.


My co-op at Silfex, where I finish my first rotation this week, has been much more what I expected. Being able to live on campus is just one of the many perks of working here. And while I still do wear jeans and khakis to work most days, I can dress them up with a nice pair of Sperrys! I also have a desk, right next to the production floor, not on it, although I did spend quite a bit of time on the production floor. Also, knowing that no one is going to yell at me for touching a part is nice. Working on a development team has been incredible, and a small manufacturing environment has proved to be a place where I can excel.

New friends is probably one of the coolest things 2013 has led to. I have met new people through couch crashing (thanks to living in Louisville, this became a weekly thing in 8E), working, going on retreats, leading retreats, Marianist Leadership Scholars, singing at Mass, and summer classes.
*A note on taking classes in the summer: When you sit though class together for an hour and a half, four or five days a week, you make new friends very quickly. Also, summer classes are miserable and I am so glad that I only have to do that once.*

Campus involvement is one of the last big adventures 2013 has brought me. While living in Louisville it was impossible for me to stay involved in the organizations I love, but being back on campus has allowed me to have the best of both worlds. I have been able to take a leadership position within Marianist Leadership Scholars, which has allowed me to get closer to so many people, including our newest freshmen. I have also been able to continue singing and playing the flute at Ghetto Mass on Sunday nights, been able to be more involved in my sorority, and I got to be involved in ETHOS club and Society of Women Engineers. On the whole, this year has brought me some pretty awesome stuff.

2013 has been pretty awesome and I can only look forward to everything that 2014 is bringing me. Just in case you're curious about my 2014 adventures here's what I know about so far...
       I am moving into the Pi Phi house in January!
       I will hold an Executive Council Position in Pi Beta Phi for 2014
       I will turn 21 - and my parents will go out to celebrate with me
       I have more retreats to plan and lead
       I will be on the Union Advisory Board as a student representative of Greek Life
       I will be going on Dayton2Daytona with some of my best friends
       I will be participating in the ETHOS program this summer, which will send me to one of seven countries             for 10 weeks
       I will have another co-op
       I will be taking a little!
       I will begin the first of two senior years
Adventure is out there!

I Believe

As I was driving home from work yesterday, hoping to make it home on the fumes left in the car's gas tank, I thought about how coming to GE and learning how things work all over again, was like being a freshman at a new place. I then remembered an assignment we did before school started my freshman year. The assignment was to read the book This I Believe. A book of short essays or stories of how people came to believe in what they did. People like Albert Einstein and Hellen Keller, explaining why they believed what they did. As a New Student Orientation chair in the fall, I witnessed the new recruits reading This I Believe II. So I did some thinking yesterday, about what I believe in, and how my beliefs have changed over the last 20 years. This is what I came up with:

          I believe that all people are entitled to their own beliefs, but I also believe that I am entitled to disagree with those beliefs.
          I believe that all people, no matter what their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or mental or physical abilities, deserve to be treated with equal respect and dignity.
          I believe that there is higher power in the world, no matter what name you call it by
          I believe that death is the last big adventure in your life's journey
          I believe that the only way to be truly happy, is in one way or another, to help others be happy too
          I believe that family is one of the best and most important gifts we are given in our life
          I believe that my best friends are really just my extended family
          I believe that telling someone you love them, and actually meaning it, is one of the hardest things to do
          I believe that if you put words into song, you automatically have added more meaning to them
          I believe that classical music can make you feel more than any other kind of music
          I believe that the people who live without love in their lives are the poorest of us all
          I believe that a good book can be the best escape from reality
          I believe that if it was possible in any way, I would live in Target
          I believe that hard work pays off in the long run
          I believe that I have learned far more from life than I have from every textbook I've ever used, put together
          I believe that working together always beats working alone
          I believe that a good cry can be more therapeutic than seeing a therapist
          I believe The Beatles pretty much had it right when it comes to love, you can't buy it, and it's all we need in life
          I believe that laughing until I cry with my friends is the best way to feel better
          Finally, I believe sometimes you just need to eat some ice cream, turn on a chick flick, and remember why you're glad your life is not a movie, but is real.

Home

They say home is where the heart is, and I have to agree with whoever actually first said this. I believe I first learned it from an episode of the TV show Madeline. She and her boarding school friends all sang a catchy tune about it, and since then I have firmly believed this.

Home for me is a little different now, though. After 20 years, there are quite a few places where my heart lies.

My actual home of course, with my family, has always been my first home. Where I learned to cook, share, argue, dream, make messes, and most of all, love, was at home with my mom and dad. Saturday morning pancakes, a long-standing tradition, made the first day of a weekend at home, the best, even when I was still actually living at home. The memories I have of home, will always be some of my favorites, and will certainly be the stories I pass on to my children some day, and hope for them to do the same, because there's never really anything to cheer you up, like coming home.

My second home, is a place where laughter is common, lack of sleep happens more often than it should, and doing homework consists of attempting to do a problem, realizing you have no idea what you're doing, and walking next door to see the people going through the same thing you are. Dayton, to me, is home. My heart will always believe that friends don't let friends go to Xavier, and that the best thing about college is community. The blue dome of the chapel reminds me that I am where I should be, whenever I see it. My friends who challenge me not only academically, but spiritually, are where my heart lies at Dayton. My friends who welcome me  back with open arms and allow me to sleep on their couches and futons when I visit from co-op, are the reason why UD is my home, and why my heart will be there while I am away.

The last place I consider home, is a place I visit when I can while I am at school. It is a place where I have opened my self up to others, and bared my soul for them to see, while listening as others do the same. It is a place where relationships are mended, where new friendships are born, and where I am constantly reminded that my life is full of love. Bergamo has been that place for me for the last few years. Whether I'm just stopping in to say hello, or I'm leading others in a retreat I, myself participated in not that long ago, it is a place that has accepted me where ever I have been along my journey of life and faith, and encouraged me to share in experiences with others. My heart lies there because of the friendships I have made, the people who I have seen change in the course of 24 hours, and because of the quiet calm I feel when I step into the chapel where I have witnessed so many incredible things. 

It is finding a home in this new place, that I am having trouble with. There is nothing here for me to be so passionate about, or care so much about, for me to consider it home. I have learned a lot in my time here so far, made a few new friends and like my job, but it is the pull to be where there are people who love me, the pull of my heart wanting to be where it belongs, that brings me back to my many homes whenever I can.

My First Blog

So this marks my fourth week on the job today. So far, everything seems to be going pretty well, unless you count the days my car gives me trouble or I wake up 2 hours late. I have started a project that I think I will try to carry out by the end of my term, if not sooner. I also have some side project ideas that I think are important in order for the plant as a whole to be more successful.

I have a pretty cool chart for my main project that actually took a long time to put together, and a fight with a gigantic printer, unfortunately the printer won. Hopefully by the time I leave my line can be producing at least 16 more units per day.

Life here is a bit different. Like having my own room and bathroom for the first time in 18 years...weird. Being the only one responsible for my messy room...not quite as fun. But I am learning my way around and have discovered some pretty cool restaurants and shopping places. I am excited to try out the shopping once it gets warmer, as they are mostly outside. 

The living next to a railroad track is taking some getting used to. For instance, when the train just drove past here and set on it's whistle, I jumped out of my skin and had to do some backspacing on the keyboard...no me gusta.

I hope to post about once a week to keep everyone in the loop. I miss all my friends and family so much.