Back to Normal?

After four days of tension, Friday was a better day in Yaounde. Everyone woke up with a weary eye to the streets, where only a few taxis were running at first. By midday, however, the streets were beginning to fill.

In the afternoon, I even got in the Mission car and drove downtown, where I ran into the usual traffic jams caused by rude taxi drivers! People were walking the streets, shops and markets were open. There was even a greatly reduced presence of police and gendarmes.

In short, I think things have returned to normal, though there are still reports of isolated problems in the countryside.

After it got dark, I heard rumbling in the distance, which made me worry for a second, until I realized it was only thunder! We then had a good old-fashioned thunderstorm, punctuated with lightning flashes and a good amount of rain late into the night. That's unusual for this time of year in Cameroon, but greatly welcomed.

As I wake up on this Saturday morning, the air smells fresh and clean. Like a new start.

I'm grateful for the calm. And I'm looking forward to Sunday, March 9th ... my departure date.