Cameroon, not Cancun.

With all my free time at home, I thought I'd explain why I choose Cameroon. And, as my sister initially thought, not Cancun.

Why Cameroon? At least that's what everyone asks me, which admittedly makes me feel pretty cool and affirms my own sense of adventure. But whenever I get asked this, I am always so self-conscious of boring people that usually give some short, two sentence response that never quite seems to do the question justice. Choosing Cameroon is, at least for me, a huge component of the whole experience and reflective of not just what I want out of my study abroad experience, but who I want to be (blah, blah, blah, cliche!).

Okay, well first off, Dickinson has a program in Cameroon. I did not just throw a dart at a map. But Dickinson has programs everywhere so I certainly was not limited to Cameroon through my school. I was really considering going to Italy or England -- Dickinson has a great political science program set up in Bologna -- and I know I would've loved traveling around Europe, not to mention the thought of shopping has me salivating. Oh, and my infamous scarf collection would finally get the appreciation it deserves. Really, I know I would've had an amazing time in Europe. I would also become very well-dressed & sophisticated. Nicee.

But, I (*cross fingers*) will hopefully make to Europe some other time and maybe even live there after college which would truly be fantastic. Cameroon though is off the beaten path. It is different, it is uncomfortable, it is exciting, it is terrifying and it is something I can only do now. And that is exactly what I want. I want to go somewhere that doesn't have tourism, that can't help but be chaotic and, for better or worse, authentic. Of course, that's a problematic statement since France is no less France for being a developed country, but I mean to say that I expect Cameroon to not have the advantage of hiding behind those human comforts that overwhelm so much my time here in the US. Going to Cameroon, which for obvious reasons is so unlike everything I have ever experienced, I feel cannot help but change me, throwing me off the normal trajectory that I have followed despite my conviction of my individuality. Of course, going to Cameroon is furthered by many other things too. I'm not sure if I would have the guts to go if the other people on the program weren't so great or if my friends who have been on the program before hadn't talked to me about it with such passion. I'm also excited to improve my french and the poli.sci nerd in me is curious to see how politics operate outside the Western world, but these are little reasons. And while I can't quite "sum up" my feelings on what made me choose Cameroon, a large part of my decision is because I really do not know what to expect. I love that idea of jumping off into the deep end of things and not quite being sure when my feet are going to touch bottom.