Travel by the Book Challenge - Cameroon

It seems like just yesterday we celebrated New Year's, but we are already winding up the first destination of the 2017 Travel by the Book Challenge!  This month took me to Cameroon, a small country on the western coast of Africa. When I began the challenge, I didn't realize how difficult it might be to find books and movies without a proper library and without Netflix... so I took whatever I could find.
​Here's my Cameroon Travel Log :

HISTORY BOOK
​This ended up being the hardest category! I could not get my hands on a good history book without spending tons of money. I also realized that I know next to NOTHING about Africa's history in general. So I opted for Fortunes of Africa, which details the last 5,000 years of African history.  I also did some basic research online to get a better understanding of Cameroon's specific history. Cameroon was first colonized by Germany in 1884, but after WW1, it was split up between the French and British. In 1960, it gained its independence, but has since struggled with national unity, even until today. 

​FICTION BOOK
​Though not set in Cameroon, "Behold the Dreamers" is written by a Cameroonian immigrant to the United States and seemed like a timely read with current events. You can see my full book review of it here.

MOVIE
I explored all that YouTube had to offer in Cameroonian movies. I watched a bit of some recent amateur films, but then found the full length version of Chocolat (1988) which is set in colonial Cameroon and would help me with the historical side of things. Even though it was in French, I was able to follow the plot through wikipedia as I watched. I am still going to try to get my hands on a subtitled version, because the movie really centered on carefully nuanced dialogue between the characters. It focused the racism and irony of the time, but told through the eyes of a small girl.

MUSIC
I listened to some Cameroonian radio stations online, which mostly resembled R 'n B music that you hear in the United States. 

CURRENT EVENTS
The current situation in Cameroon is fragile. There is a huge division between the French speakers and the English speakers. Late last year, the predominately French-speaking government passed laws that were seen as discriminatory to the English-speakers. While protests have been largely peaceful, the government has taken measures against them including blocking the internet in the English-speaking regions and jailing some activists who have been blamed for stirring up the protests. 

FOOD
One of Cameroon's signatures dishes is Ndole Soup. More than a soup, it is similar to an Indian curry, with a thick gravy and meat. I had fun cooking it and it tasted good enough for us to finish all in one sitting! Traditionally it would be eaten with a fermented tapioca dumpling called fufu. We ate it with rice. I made a variation of the recipe here, using shrimp for the meat and leaving out the dried crayfish since I had no idea where to find it.

LANGUAGE
Along with French and English over 200 other tribal languages are also spoken in Cameroon! In Pidgin English, Dis chop too sweet means This food is delicious!

Since it will take me another month to finish Fortunes of Africa, I'll be changing up my schedule and camping in Africa for the next two months. So for February, I'll be visiting Botswana. Happy Traveling!