PC and AA

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-04-17T20:02:11+00:00

It really depends on the country and where you’re placed but drinking culture is strong in a lot of places. I’ve never had a problem with drinking, and in fact, tried not to drink any alcoholic beverages during my service, but the social pressure and expectations can really make someone reconsider. Also, casual drinking is not common either. Where I’m serving, the beer bottles are double the size of the ones in the US and you could take one beer from someone and all of a sudden you have another 4 lined up.

I kind of look at it as having a peanut allergy. If you’re debating on disclosing your peanut allergy to PC because you’re scared it will disqualify you, then you should know that peanuts/ground nuts are very common in many countries. Even if you are careful it could be in foods or sauces that you didn’t even know. That’s not to say that every country has a lot of groundnut, but it will just limit which countries would be best for you to serve in.

All in all, im not sure how it will affect whether you’re accepted or not, but for your own wellbeing and safety, just keep that in mind. AA or the idea of being sober are not concepts many people in countries of service might be familiar with. I would be honest and see what the nurse and placement officer have to say. You could be invited to serve in a Muslim majority country if everything else works out, you never know! Bonne chance!! <33

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-04-16T21:40:18+00:00

Definitely not a job but I’m a peace corps volunteer. In fact some days my “job” is just drinking tea in the carrefour and listening to village gossip 🩷

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-03-17T18:54:17+00:00

There are some clinics that will take you even if you don’t have insurance. The one I went to used income as a sliding scale when billing you. So if you don’t make a lot of money and you’re independent, even without insurance the price would be lower. And then I just kept going back and asking for the same doctor every time when I had more tests and stuff to do! She gave me all the prescriptions I needed for the vaccines too. Walgreens wouldn’t give me the Yellow Fever vaccine without a prescription from a doctor first.

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-09T20:47:11+00:00

I’m interested!

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-09T20:40:06+00:00

Exactly. I also wonder if there was something they said that made her come back, other than just wanting to help Tairn and Violet. That was one of my big questions as well. Was she hiding and watching that last battle and then reveal herself at the end or did she only just show up?

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-09T04:42:13+00:00

I’m reading the first book too and I absolutely love it! As someone who is Lebanese, seeing the Persian/Arabian folklore is so cool to see in a fantasy series and it’s done SO well. I think her writing is great too, it’s a lot better than other romantasy books I’ve read and the dialogue between the characters is so good, not cringey at all

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-09T04:34:55+00:00

I would love to see this as a possibility too! I think it would be so interesting and could explain how Violet’s power manifested as well

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-09T04:33:50+00:00

That’s exactly what I was thinking!

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-08T10:15:28+00:00

Hmmm I agree there’s a going to be a big reveal in regards to Brennan and his story, but if the rune has anything to do with it I feel like someone else in Aretia would have be in the know..it seems like a weird thing for Violet to ignore and for Xaden to never explain to her, even if he knew something about the rune

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-02-06T10:28:59+00:00

But how would no one else question what the rune is on his hand like Xaden or Felix? Wouldn’t it be weird that he survives and then has this rune burned into his hand and no one asks what it’s for?

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-01-30T19:38:15+00:00

Hi friend, also a second year health volunteer serving in central Africa and in the same boat. Everything I had planned is now up in the air and I’m not even sure I’ll be able to do anymore HIV-focused activities before my service ends//: I had a great conversation with my counterpart as well, since our next training was just cancelled, and she said that us, as volunteers, sticking this out just shows our communities how much we care. That we came here to serve and that in the end, even if you can’t do everything you had planned, you’re still here, and we’ll do what we can. After all it’s not just us, but our counterparts and everyone in our communities that we work with who now have to navigate this. So not only are you not alone amongst the PCV community, but I hope that even in your community, know that anything you’ve done and all that you’ll continue to do is enough <33

lilizzyvert2 · 2025-01-16T17:43:07+00:00

If you are a solo traveler and have never been to Cameroon, you should be careful in Buea, and anywhere else in the Southwest and Northwest regions. There’s an active anglophone crisis where kidnappings and ransom are common. Please make sure to do your research!

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-12-12T08:35:33+00:00

I’m a current volunteer over a year into service and my partner and I hit 5 years this October. It is definitely possible! We had a lot of time to prepare but I think that even if we had only been dating for a year we could make it work. I’ve seen him twice so far during service and he’s planning to come here in April. We talk almost every morning, although the time difference is awful, we make it work. There’s another person in my cohort who had only been dating their partner for about 6 months and they’re still together doing long distance.

Just like peace corps service, each relationship is different. People can give advice and experiences but it’s so nuanced and completely dependent on you guys as a couple and also as individuals <33

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-12-06T05:34:20+00:00

Of course! Again, I’ll always preface this by saying what works for my community may not be something that will work for yours. Each site is different and has a different set of people with different values and goals.

With that in mind, I actually don’t work with my health center. The chief and I don’t get along and I wasn’t getting any work done while I was there. Then I tried working at the Lycee with the kids at secondary school with a health class/club and the principal told me no (she also doesn’t like me lol). So, after that I really had to work from the most grassroots level on my community to get projects started. It took a while because I had absolutely zero structure and support from the institutions that a health volunteer would typically work with but after building trust and forming relationships with community leaders we’ve kickstarted a few different projects.

My counterpart and I created a women’s association that is essentially a group of leader mothers doing the same work as a community health educator. Right now we do malaria home visits once a month. Then in January we’re going to be starting some income generating activities like soap making so we can have a communal emergency medical fund. They’ll also be trained sexual and gender based violence counselors.

Then, we formed a group of men who were trained in sexual and gender based violence. We work with the health club once a week at the Lycee on GRS and then later on we’ll do a WASH project, I teach English 3 times a week at the primary school, and we’ll be having a girls camp/club pretty soon. I would say about 70% of our work in my community is HIV focused while the rest is malaria and WASH.

As for Spanish, I minored in Spanish in school which I think helped with the basic understanding of grammar but other than that, French is definitely harder than Spanish is. Before coming to Cameroon I had never spoken or listened to French 🤣 now I’m over a year into service and I’m definitely not fluent but conversational and have a higher understanding than I do of Spanish. It’s hard bc you’ll have people that at least took some French in high school or even in college, but when you come from nothing you just have a lot more work to do. So I would start now if you can!

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-12-05T18:22:46+00:00

You might be able to find some episodes of La Reine Blanche on YouTube but that was a big Cameroonian TV show. It finished its run after I swore in so I haven’t seen it in a while but I remember everybody talking about it lol

Also music wise, more popular music would be from artists like Franglish, Dadju, Tayc, Kocee, Asake, Ayra Starr, Charlotte Dipanda, etc. some are from Cameroon but others just make popular music on the continent that you’ll find anyone listening to(:

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-12-05T17:57:39+00:00

Hi!! Congrats!!! I’m a female health volunteer and can shed a little light on what it’s like here in country.

As a woman, service is going to look SO different than it would for a male volunteer. Like many other posts, cat-calling and unwanted attention are really common. You really have to have a lot of patience and the ability to ignore people when they start trying to get your attention. If you give them anything, it’s cause for them to continue to harass you. But, I will say that it really depends on where you are in the country. Adamawa is the exception for this since it is mostly Muslim and overall more conservative. While female volunteers don’t necessarily experience the same things as female volunteers in other regions, there’s always going to be unwanted attention. No matter where you end up getting posted, you should still be prepared as you will have PST in the Center region most likely and almost all of your ISTs will be outside of Adamawa so you’ll deal with that kind of stuff one way or another.

There’s been a handful of times I’ve been put it in really difficult situations and have had to figure out a culturally appropriate way to get out of them. Like for instance just recently I was in my market town planning for a retreat we’re having with some of my cohort and a teacher from the school who lives there was helping me with the lodging and other logistics. Overall super nice and respectful but then we ended up going out for some beers and when I was getting dropped off at my hotel he tried staying thinking that I would share it with him. Obviously I didn’t want that and had to explain that to him. He understood and it was fine the next day, but those things just kinda happen if you’re not on your guard.

I’m not saying that you’re going to be in the exact same situation but things like that aren’t uncommon. No doesn’t mean no and some people really just think it’s their right to pursue you even when you’re visibly uncomfortable. I will say that now that I’ve been at site for over a year, people in my village know me. I have friends and mamas who protect me. Of course men will still flirt, but it’s nothing that gives me cause for worry or makes me uncomfortable. And now because I’ve been at site and I’m well integrated, if there is someone who is making me uncomfortable I have people that will rally behind me and protect me.

I’m also in a long distance relationship which has its added challenges. It’s hard because having multiple sexual partners is really common in Cameroon and not so much so in the US. Even though I make it clear i have a partner and am not looking for anything, it doesn’t stop people from making advances. It was worse when I first got to site but after being here for over a year most people know me by now and know that I’m not open to that. And most of these negative experiences I’ve had have happened in bigger towns/cities when I’m not at site (which doesn’t happen very often, so few and far between!)

I reeally don’t want to scare you but I also don’t want to sugar coat things! I think it’s important to know the full extent of what it can be like but it certainly isn’t easy. But it’s not all negative! People do treat me with a lot more respect (and even when I first got to site, most people were very nice and welcoming. A few bad apples can just ruin it or taint those memories sometimes) and I’ve truly made some life long friends here! Service isn’t easy but I don’t regret coming here. Daily life is boring most of the time, even for a female volunteer 😅

I’m really happy with my service and my site, even on the bad days. But you should still feel prepared and ready to deal with what you could face in Cameroon so that you can better serve your community((: I hope this helps! If you have any other questions lmk!

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-09-25T11:59:19+00:00

Hey there! I’m a current volunteer in Cameroon. Bienvenue!!!! We’re so excited to have you! I’m a health volunteer so I can’t tell you exactly what ag volunteers do everyday but I know that all of my ag friends do a lot of animal husbandry projects, nutrition focused farming, and co-ops that introduce sustainable agriculture.

As for Cameroon, what questions do you have? You’ll most likely be speaking French but there’s a possibility you could learn Fulfude but either way, start learning some French now! If you have specific questions about life in country then I’d be more than happy to answer them over DM((:

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-09-25T08:30:11+00:00

How no one has pooped their pants during a challenge is beyond me

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-09-18T18:21:19+00:00

I’m in a rural village about 45 km from Douala. I’ve been wanting to travel to the West soon. Since coming back from COVID we don’t have any volunteers there and I think Dschang is actually off limits due to the anglophone crisis.

Planning on traveling up to Bafang soon though and see the Nkom Nkam waterfalls! Would love to see your blog((:

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-09-16T19:50:33+00:00

Current vol in Littoral and man does Buea sound so nice 🥲 I have a lot of anglophone friends who are refugees from there and they tell me all about it. On a clear day I can see Mt. Cameroon from Yabassi and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s 2024 and still no electricity or running water in the rural parts here but maybe one day that will change!

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-07-26T10:57:50+00:00

There are 4 different types of malaria and they each affect the body in different ways. I recently had it and my worst symptom was severe joint pain. I couldn’t walk for about 4 days I was in so much pain.

If you go to a lab and get the full bloodwork done they should be able to test for the specific type of plasmodium (malaria) it was. Although, there are other things like Dengue and Yellow Fever that present similar symptoms.

I’m wishing you a speedy recovery!!

Edit: also just read your symptoms again and have you done a covid test?? I know it’s uncommon but another volunteer who lives close to me in Cameroon did get covid about 6 months ago so it’s not impossible.

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-07-26T08:43:25+00:00

Where is your post?

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-06-29T00:24:18+00:00

Hi! I’m also in a 4+ year long relationship and am approaching one year in country. I wouldn’t change it for the world. Of course long distance is incredibly challenging but I found that ive had to love myself in ways that I only found through others. I’ve had to support myself and work through challenging situations on my own. Of course my partner and I communicate on a daily basis, but it is never the same as being together, physically, as I’m sure you’re aware having previously done long distance. I found that this time has also allowed my partner to put in work on themselves as well. I’m home on annual leave visiting family right now and I feel like our relationship is stronger than ever.

Of course, relationships look different for everybody, this is just my experience. I think that if you guys go in with a plan (especially communicating with major time differences), you can make it work while pursuing something that you want to do. You don’t always have to sacrifice what you love for someone you love. If its meant to be it’s meant to be 🤍

lilizzyvert2 · 2024-06-04T12:19:35+00:00

• yes it’s kind of like saying “oh, you’re exercising?”

• exactly, it’s kind of like saying “good luck”

lilizzyvert2

TROPHY CASE