Prison Workout meets Dustbowl.

Add it to the little list of things that just don’t happen aux Etats-Unis (in the United States!)—rolling around in the dust trying to get a workout. (This sounds oddly porcine.)

So when I was in Haiti, I perfected my prison workout routine, seeing that I really couldn’t just go jaunting around the neighborhood (kidnappings hmmmmm). The prison workout isn’t a security-based necessity in the same way here in Cameroon, but it sure helps keep my mental health in balance when I’m feeling a little blobby and don’t want to go running outside.

Recently, however, the phenomenon of the Cameroonian dustbowl has been getting in the way of the prison workout, which I should clarify involves lots of rolling around on the floor, sit ups, pushups etc., anything that can be done within the confines of a small indoor space, ie: a prison cell. When it is so dusty your hands are slipping, or leaving handprints on the ground… that can be a problem. Also to demonstrate the dustiness: I was leaving my MC2 today. It was only about noon, and the motorcycle of my counterpart, Bouba, was parked out front. It was already so covered in dust that I couldn’t resist writing “Hi Bouba!” with a smiley face on the moto’s seat. When our guard looked at me funny, I had to explain to him that this is what 8-yr. olds in the United States do to their parents’ dirty cars.

So now I have to suck it up and start sweeping out my house about once every two days if I want to be able to roll around on the floor in any level of comfort!! Sweeping is tiring! I’ll chalk it up as the Cameroonian aerobic addition to the classic prison routine.