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How brave!” No, brave was trying to cycle alone in the mountains on a dangerous road
with horse flies attacking you in the heat. No, wait, that was stupid. Anyway, I tried to
ignore the conversation and focussed on helping my team win the dart match. (Not that I
knew what I was doing, but it was pure luck that I threw the winning dart by hitting the
double 20.)
IreturnedtoRosa'splaceandIwentstraighttobed.Myhealthtookaswingforthe
worse for my stomach pains were getting sharper which prevented me from sleeping until
3:00 a.m.
I awoke late and made it to the embassy by 10:00. Joe, a Cameroonian, drove
me first to pick up my passport and then took me to an orphanage 20 kilometres out of
Yaoundé. There, I met a family who had six children of their own and 30 orphans. Their
home was in the peaceful countryside with lots of acreage to grow pineapples, sweet pota-
toes and vegetables. The children maintained their own garden and shared the responsibil-
ity of tending to it between them.
When I returned to Rosa's place I went to lie down. I felt so weak that when Joe
Champagne called me to see if I wanted him to setup an appointment with Care Interna-
tional, I said no. I asked him to let the Canadian Embassies in Libreville, Brazzaville and
Kinshasa know that I would be leaving Yaoundé the next day. He then informed me that
the Canadian Embassy in Lagos sent a fax to see if I arrived OK. I felt so ashamed for I
shouldhavetaken theinitiative tofaxthem assoonasIarrived. Thiswasamistake Inever
made again.
Later I met Michael Passebon from SNC-Lavalin International for a late lunch and
then had dinner with Daniel at his home. At both meals, no matter what or how little I ate
my stomach hurt. I didn't complain about the stomach pain to anyone but simply put on a
braveface.IknewIwasn'treadytocycle thenextdaybutfeltIwasinconveniencing Rosa
for far too long. She never said anything but I felt it was time for me to move on.
The next morning, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. but stayed in bed hoping my stomach
pains would subside. They did a little, and then I forced myself out of bed at 8:30 and
sat with Rosa as she prepared a great breakfast. Just before I left, she gave me some local
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