My First Fully Cameroonian Party in the US

Last weekend was eventful for me. On Saturday we went to parry with a Cameroonian couple whose first son graduated from high school. Then on Sunday, we went to have dinner with a lovely Christian Indian family. As usual, my eyes were wide open, noticing all the noticables, questioning the questionables and laughing at the laughables. I’ll start with the Camer party.

First, Africans have refused to divorce from African time. We take it with us everywhere we go! The occasion was scheduled to start at 6:00pm. We went there at about 8:00 pm. Tons of people came after us! That’s the trend with every African gathering I go to. They never begin on time so I purposely go late so I don’t go so early and feel bored. Yet, I always turn out early.

Then the food oh the food! There was authentic Cameroonian Jollof Rice, Koki Corn, Ndole, Poulet DJ, Fried Fish, puff-puff and more. In the typical Cameroonian tradition, we served ourselves off the table. For a moment I almost forgot that I was in the United States. It felt like home.

There was booze and more booze. I think it is safe to say it’s not Cameroonian if there’s no liquor. A lot of party guests brought wine as gifts for the hosts. There was so much to drink. A past middle-aged lady fidgeted with a bottle of wine and finally hid it by her leg. She then opened another bottle of wine and drank some then made sure she carried her loot as she left. One old lady who noticed her mischief complained to me saying: “Those Cameroonian women have brought their mischievous ways here.” The hosts told my hubby and I that some people ended up sleeping at their residence because they had so much to drink and could not drive back home. Let me just ask this: What’s in a bottle of wine/beer?

Another think I noticed was the outfits of several ladies. See, in America most of our country ladies don’t have many occasions they can dress excessively for. That’s why they seize every little opportunity to show off their gorgeous clothes. There were heels, dresses, hot and cold pants and elaborate jewelry all over the place. This got me wondering if they had other plans for the night or the graduation party was their final bus-stop.

In all, I had a great time. I heard people speak Cameroonian Pidgin English, discovered a lady who was my Mum’s colleague and made a new friend! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures. I’ll make sure I do that next time. I’ll save my Indian dinner story for another post so I don’t load you with so much information at once. What about you? How did your weekend go?

Whatever you do, do it as serving the Lord and not men. Love you lots!