A Yaundé

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to write you a note so you know where I am. I'm in Yaundé, at the SIL center, and I didn't end up going to the So village. Instead, a native speaker of So is coming every day, and we are doing recording sessions and writing a list of words in IPA to figure out the phonology of the language. I'm learning a heap because the person leading the sessions is a senior linguist, and I'm going over a lot of what I studied at the masters. I'm also helping a bit in listening to the sounds and suggesting slightly different phonemes. Yup... for ears listen better than two! I start every morning at 8.

Molt bones, tothom! Només us volia escriure una nota perquè sapigueu on sóc. Sóc a Yaundé, al centre de la SIL, i al final no me n'he anat al poble Sò. En comptes d'això, un "soenc" està venint cada dia, i estem fent sessions de grabació de paraules i omplint una llista de mots. Estic aprenent molt perquè les sessions les està dirigint un lingüista de molta experiència, i estic refrescant molt del que vaig estudiar en el màster. També he estat aportant de la meva part en escoltar les paraules i proposar fonemes lleugerament diferents. Ja se sap: Amb quatre orelles s'escolta millor. Cada matí començo a les 8!

On Saturday early in the morning, Lord willing, I'll be taken to a remote village where I'll give a married couple a hand at giving classes to their 6 year old, as well as helping out in any linguistic research they may be doing. I'll be there for a week or so, which is great because I'll get to know a bit about family life withing a village. Who knows if some day the Lord will lead Christina and me to a village?

El dissabte al matí, ben d'horeta, si Déu vol em porten a un poblet remot on ajudaré un matrimoni amb donar-li algunes classes al seu fill de sis anys, i fins i tot a ajudar en alguna tasca lingüística. Hi estaré una setmaneta o potser una mica més, i és fantàstic perquè coneixeré una mica el món interior d'una família en un poblat. Qui sap si algun dia el Senyor ens guiarà a la Christina i a mi a un poblat?

A great big hug for you, and thank you for your prayers. These days I'm also busy with the wedding web page and at planning other things.

Una abraçada ben forta, i gràcies per les pregàries. Aquests dies també estic ocupadet amb la pàgina web del casament i amb planejar altres coses.

Your brother/son/grandson/uncle/friend/cousin/fiancé,

El vostre germà/fill/net/oncle/amic/cosí/cunyat/promès,

En Ricard-Cristià

Quina ploguda aquesta tarda!

Week-end!!

Hi, dear everyone!
Benvolguts tots:


First of all, a little tip: Thanks to my mother, I realized that the blog wasn't in Catalan only for me, but for all of you. I didn't know it was default. So I changed it to English so everyone who wants to comment at the end of each post (which is most welcome and appreciated) can do so through understanding the steps now that it is in English. Pictures have been taken with my mobile phone.
He canviat la llengua del bloc a l'anglès perquè la família i les amistats guiris puguin deixar comentaris sense problemes. Ah, les fotos les he fet amb el mòbil.
He cambiado la lengua del blog al inglés para que la familia y amigos extrangeros puedan dejar un comentario sin obstáculos. Las fotos las he hecho con el móvil.

Now for the real thing. :)
¡Ahora sí de verdad! (en castellano próximamente)
Ara sí, de veritat...

Careful not to step on any toes!

Aquest cap de setmana ha estat un bon moment per descansar una mica després d'una setmana de feina lingüística. Ahir, dissabte, vaig trucar diferentes persones per planejar la setmana vinent... I després de començar a passar a ordinador les dades lingüístiques, vaig anar a un sopar de Sant Valentí que organitzaven els de segon de Batxillerat de l'escola del SIL pel viatge de fi de curs. Un sopar deliciós espaguetis a la carbonara, verdura, i pastís per postres. Les taules estaven decorades amb cors petits de plàstic, em vaig asseure amb tres parelles més grans, així que erem 7 a la meva taula.

This week-end has been a good time to relax a bit after a week of linguistic work. Yesterday I called people to plan my up-coming week, and for supper, after starting to pass the linguistic data from the village on to the computer, I went to a special Valentine supper that grade 12 from Rainforest Academy (the SIL school for MKs here in Yaundé) was organizing to fund their grade 12 trip. It was a delicious supper: greens, spaghetti (à la carbonara maybe?) and cake for dessert. The table was decorated with little hearts, and I joined three older couples, so we were 7 at my table.

A baby I got to hold for a while! :)

Llavors vaig trobar molt a faltar la Christina, ja que hi havia música romàntica, i hi havia parelles ballant valsos. Les taules estaven al voltant d'una pista de bàsquet, i es ballava al centre. Em vaig quedar assegut mirant les parelles ballant mentre xerrava amb els altres sobre les organitzacions amb les quals formaven part, com Wycliffe, World Team i Wycliffe Associates. Em va fer gràcia veure un noi que intentava no trepitjar-li els peus a la seva pobra parella de ball, que anava descalça.

I really missed Stina then, as there was some love songs in the air, and people waltzing. The tables were set around a basketball court, so people danced in the center. There was a couple in grade 12 who could dance, so they taught some couples the basic steps in a waltz. I just sat there and watched the people dance, and laughed at the sight at one poor guy trying not to step on his poor Valentine's toes. It made me think of the times in the masters when Stina and I would occasionaly waltz around for fun at any given moment. It was also a great moment to talk to the people at my table about their experiences in different organizations, such as Wycliffe, World Team and Wycliffe Associates.

Avui al matí he anat a l'església baptista de Etoug-Ebe a Yaundé. Ha estat una bona ocasió per estar en contacte amb germans en Crist, que m'han donat una bona rebuda. He arribat a la segona meitat del culte en francès, i m'he quedat per tot el culte en anglès. Hi havia quatre cors de cantants, cadascun amb la seva vestimenta. Dos cors cantaven en llengües autòctones, i dos altres cantaven himnes coneguts, que també cantava la congregació. El sermó, per un membre de la congregació, era del tema de la nostra responsabilitat davant del Senyor en sis àrees diferents de la vida: el meu temps, els meus talents, els diners, la meva relació amb Crist, la meva influència (porto als altres al Senyor o a coses dolentes?), i la meva família, la última àrea i probablement la més extensa (com a marit, esposa, pare o mare). Ha estat un bon recordatori no esperar fins a la vellesa per començar a considerar si la meva vida ha estat d'honra pel Senyor, sinó demanar-li al Senyor dia a dia que m'examini. M'ha fet pensar en els versets del Salm 139:23, 24: "Examina'm, Oh Déu, i coneix el meu cor, prova'm i coneix els meus pensaments, mira si hi ha algun camí de mal en mi, i guia'm pel camí etern."

Jam-packed! I was sitting at the middle row.
¡Estaba repleto! Yo me senté en el banco del medio.

End of the service
Final del culte

This morning I went to the Etoug-Ebe Baptist church in Yaundé. It was a good chance to meet brothers and sisters in Christ, who gave me a warm welcome. I arrived at the second half of the French service, and stayed for the whole English service. There were two choirs who sang in regional languages, and two other choirs who sang beautiful known hymns in English that the congregation sang along to. Each choir had their own colourful array. The sermon, by a lay member of the congregation, was on keeping accountable in six different areas of life: my time, my talents, my substance (money, etc), my relationship with Christ, my influence (am I leading others to the Lord or to bad things?), and my family, which was the last area, and probably the longest. It was a good reminder to think that each one of us will stand accountable to God on these areas, and that we shouldn't wait until old age to start observing whether my life is being lived in a way that is God-honoring or not, rather to ask the Lord to examine me day by day. It brought to mind the verses in Psalm 139:23,24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way."

Una forta abraçada per a tota la família i amics que estigueu llegint això! Considero molt valuós el temps que passo aquí al Camerun, el Senyor m'està ensenyant moltes coses que em seran de profit per quan si Déu vol servim per llarg termini. Us agraeixo les pregàries i els encoratjaments, sou molt amables.

A big hug to all of you, family and friends who are reading this. I really value my time here in Cameroon; the Lord is indeed teaching me many things that will be profitable for long term service, Lord willing. I appreciate all your prayers and encouragements, you are all being very kind and supporting.

Moltes benediccions en Crist!
Love in Christ,

Ricard

Village life

That hut was my bedroom! It was in front of the main house, where the family lived. Oh, and this is a neighbour girl.
Aquesta caseta era la meva habitació. La família vivia a la casa principal que hi havia al davant. Ah, i la noia a la foto és una veïneta curiosa.
Esta casita era mi habitación. La familia vivía en la casa principal que había delante. En la foto hay una vecinita curiosa.

Una de les típiques casetes.

Menjant canya de sucre
Comiendo caña de azúcar
Eating sugar cane

Fregint plàtan
Friendo plátano
Frying banana

I visited the Fon, a type of rural king.
Vaig visitar el Fon, un tipus de reialesa rural.
Visité el Fon, un tipo de realeza rural.

The family I stayed with: Christina, the grandmother, her two daughters (Vilma and Nissa), and her two grandchildren (Ludovic and ---, also nephews of the two daughters)
La família amb la qual em vaig quedar: La Christina, les dues filles (la Vilma i la Nissa) i els dos néts (en Ludovic i en ---). Els néts són nebots de les dues filles.
La familia con la que me quedé: Christina con sus dos hijas (Vilma y Nissa) y sus dos nietos (Ludovic y ---)

The first classroom I taught in at the Baptist Mission School.
La primera aula on vaig ensenyar a l'Escola de la Missió Baptista.
La primera aula donde enseñé en la Escuela de la Misión Bautista.

Neighbour children (a girl here) helping with their difficult language and enjoying the camera.
Nens veïns (aquí una nena) ajudant amb la seva difícil llengua i a la vegada experimentantla càmara del mòvil.
Niños vecinos (aquí una niña) ayudando con su difícil lengua a la vez que experimentando la cámara del móvil.


Dear friends and family,

So much to say! I don’t know where to begin. These 4 days at the village have been awesome, it has exceeded my expectations far and beyond. I left Bamenda on Tuesday at noon, and arrived in Bafummen two hours later, by car. At first we arrived to the house where the Swedish lady was staying, and then we all went to the house where I was staying, which was more in the countryside. I arrived and was greeted by Christina, a middle aged lady. She lived with two of her daughters and two grandsons. They all went to school early every morning at 6:30 am. They had to walk a lot and started really early! I also got up early: around 6:30 every morning, even 7 am felt like it was late, as the sun was already shining.
I would get water in a little pot; go behind the house and wash. Then I would go and have breakfast with Christina (the daughters and grandsons were on their way to school already). She is the kindest of the kind. She is a believer in the Lord Jesus, has a gracious spirit, loves laughing and joking, and is an excellent language helper.

The first morning I went to the Baptist School, where I had been invited to the previous afternoon after arriving there. I visited the different classrooms, gave the children an introduction about languages in Cameroon, and told them the Gospel in one of the classrooms. I also recorded a few “volunteers” on my mobile phone, and they loved hearing their voices. Throughout the day I filled my notebook with word in IPA.

On the second day I went to the government school and told the children about languages in Cameroon and the value of their own language. Afterwards the teacher offered me to use his class to learn some of the language, so after a few common words, I wrote numbers on the blackboard, and as I pointed to them, a whole chorus of voices rang out the number. It was especially good for the tone, as all the voices gave the average tone, which is the ideal to write down. I also wrote different words down in IPA throughout the day.

On the last two days, I went over a list of words that Lena had typed in IPA for revision. I went over them with Christina, the language helper (not my fiancée), apart from adding words and sentences to my notebook. I also was interested in some basic grammar, so I wrote down some verbs in different tenses and the persons. I still have to put some order in the heap of information there is in the notebook for Lena to be able to read it!

I came back to Bamenda this afternoon (Friday) at 2 pm, and I’m going for a 6 hour bus ride to Yaoundé, the capital, in a matter of minutes. I thank you all for your prayers! They are really necessary and valued. Please pray for safety during the journey, and for the upcoming project in the So area, where Lord willing I will be gathering a word list of 1800 words. The So area is about 1 hour and a half east from Yaoundé. Now I am in the Northwest region, and am going to the Central region, where Yaoundé is found. The So area is in the Central region, one of the biggest ones in Cameroon.

A big hug for each and every one of you!

Blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ricard

PS: I’ll include pictures as soon as I get some time! :) I took many.

"I´m out in the village and I don´t have internet!"

That´s right. I don´t have internet, but I did finally get a signal on my mobile phone so I called Christina. That´s right. This is she updating my blog for me in my absence. I am indeed out "in the bush".

Ricard left Tuesday morning to "the village" by car with a Bible translator. He is living with a family in the village. They are Mmen speakers and Ricard is very much enjoying his time in the village. He has had the opportunity to go to the "baptist" school and meet the children there and he even had the chance to share the gospel with many of them. He also gave them a bit of a geography lesson as many of them wanted to know where Spain was. :)

Ricard is enjoying himself and has finally gotten to experience "bucket showering" which, is really quite nice in hot and humid places like Indonesia or Cameroon, as the case may be. :)

Thank you for all your prayers for Ricard. Please pray for opportunities for him to use his gifts and language skills to further this Bible translation project.

Standing with you all in prayer for Ricard,

Christina.

Village bound! -- Cap al poblat!

A military parade I saw this afternoon

Going back to the SIL center on motorbike this afternoon

Dear Friends and Family,

On Sunday morning I went to a Baptist church in town. They send their warm greetings in the Lord to the body of Christ in Spain. It was a very new experience to be in an African church. The hall was jammed packed, and all the voices made everything vibrate :) There also was a group of singers clad in red robes in the front on the left who sang a couple of times in a regional language, but mostly everyone sang. Most of the hymns were in English, as this is one of the two anglophone regions, and as there more than 150 languages spoken in town, where people migrate to from many surrounding villages. It was nice enough to at least have that group of singers sing in a native language that (I think) is a bit more known than the others.

today has been an interesting day! This morning I got up at 7.30 am and started an informative session at 8 am with a Swedish language worker, who showed me her research with her language called Mmen (yes, two m's). It's a tonal language, like most here in Cameroon. After looking at her unfinished phonology description, she told me she was going to a nearby village tomorrow morning to stay there for a few days in language research. I told her I was available for anything she would need, and she offered me the possibility of going there as well. She has contacted a friend to give me lodging, and if there isn't, I'll have to sleep in a hotel for something like 5000 cfa, (about 10 US $) a night, so pretty good for European standards (I mean the price, I have no idea what the hotel would be like). She is staying with another native friend of hers. [LAST MINUTE after writing this entry: She just called me and said I am staying with a family!! Horray!]

After looking into the Mmen phonology (all its interesting tones), I went on with the Bakoko primer, which is a slow job because each word has to be especially chosen for the particular letters being studied on a each lesson, added to the exercises!

Here’s an example:

EXERCICE 2 : Lisez à haute voix :

1- lìkag emballer, attacher

2- milik lait

3- lìpàn forêt

4- bisààmà six

5- ǹdimpo musaraigne

6- fùfu couscous

7- lìmùt foule

8- lìzùmyɛ̀ɛ profondir

9- vom endroit, lieu

10- kolsì rat

So the words on the left were other words in Tunen which had letters that are studied on this lesson. So my job is to look for other words in Bakoko to suit the letters that are studied in this lesson, one by one. I also have to write the translation in French on the right. This is one type of exercise. Another one would be to translate words from French to Bakoko. Remember this is a transitional primer, which means for people who already read French. There are many new things to learn about their own language, as it has other sounds, and it can be especially tricky when we think of the different tones in the language!

This afternoon, after lunch, I had a bit of a siesta and then went to the center to buy some bread for the trip. I also visited a book shop in town, saw a military parade by chance, and then came back home. I went on motorbike, which is faster since there can be lots of traffic at that time.

Well, everyone, thanks for reading this. Now I’m going to pack for tomorrow: only a backpack, as part of the ride to the village will be on motorbike. [LAST MINUTE: we are getting a ride by car, so we'll only use a motorbike on our way back]. Please pray for safety on the road! I don't know when I'll have acces to internet next, as I'll be in the village, so don't wonder if I don't write.

May God bless you.

Ricard

Oh, and I forgot... On Sunday afternoon I played Set with Gy! (pronounced [gi:] in IPA)

Ara per fi hi ha més temps...

Good afternoon, dear friends and family!

I finally have access to internet on my laptop here at SIL in Bamenda. Now I have time to put up some pictures! Let's see...

Bon dia, estimada família i amics!

Ara per fi tinc accés a l'internet amb el meu portàtil aquí mateix al centre de SIL a Bamenda. Ara ja tinc més temps per penjar les fotos. Aviaaam...

Li vaig donar un plàtan a aquesta nena, i se'l va menjar amb molt de gust! La vaig fer riure fent ganyotes de les meves, però vaig parar perquè no s'ennuegués amb el plàtan.

I gave a banana to this little girl, and she started eating it right away. I first peeled it for her, as I didn't want anyone to take it away.

This was the dirt road coming out from the center where they were doing the recordings in the village. I saw those children playing with a rolled up sock as a ball, and I played a bit with them and made them laugh. Then I went in to find some pen and paper, came back out and they magically started saying words to me to write down. So I started a small corpus in a way to train for the upcoming Sò project! They spoke a language called Ngiemboon in this village. I first asked them to draw something on some pieces of paper. One drew a tree, and another one a dog. The others screamed in laughter as they drew. Actually the way they drew was pretty funny. And afterwards I got the help of an 18 year old that knew French better, who translated the words and sentences that the children said. They were patient and repeated a few times.

Hi havia un camí de terra a la sortida del centre on feien les grabacions al poblat. Vaig veure aquesta mainada jugant a pilota amb un mitjó enrollat, i vaig jugar amb ells una estona tot fent-los rient. Llavors vaig entrar a buscar paper i bolígraf, vaig tornar a sortir i màgicament van començar a ensenyar-me paraules! Salutacions, frases normals com "qui ha picat el nen?", "ara baixa una moto" (hi havia una pendent), i intentaven ser originals en trobar frases per dir-me. Ah, i abans d'això havia trencat el gel jugant amb ells, però volia trencar el gel del paper i el bolígraf, així que els vaig demanar que dibuixessin un arbre i un gos a dos nens. Tothom esclafia de riure en veure'ls dibuixar (era bastant còmic, de fet), i així crec que van perdre una mica la por del fet que jo escrivís el que deien. Un noi de 18 anys em va donar un cop de mà en traduir el que deia la mainada, que tenia paciència en repetir uns quants cops les paraules o frases que deien.

El noi de 18 anys que em va donar un cop de mà traduïnt el que deien els nens.
The 18 year old guy that helped me out by translating what the kids said.


En un moment donat, vaig fer servir el mòbil com a grabadora, i els va encantar escoltar-se les seves pròpies veus! Després vaig fer servir la càmara del mòbil, i quan van veure aquesta foto, tots van esclatar en crits i rialles, incloent la nena mateixa. Tothom la senyalava rient mentre veien la pantalla ("és ella!!"), i la nena ben contenta de ser el centre d'atenció, i reia ben fort.

At a given moment, I took out my mobile phone and recorded their voices, which they loved hearing afterwards. And then I used my phone camera and took this picture, and when I showed them the picture of this little girl, they all started screaming and laughing and pointing to the little girl (it's her!!), who was giggling and bending with laughter as well.



Llavors em van cridar a dins del recinte per dinar, i els vaig dir als nens que me n'anava a menjar. Pel que sembla, em van seguir fins a la porta i em cridaven coses (els podeu veure a la porta?). Dins el recinte em van dir que el que deien: que els portés alguna cosa. Més tard, després de menjar, vaig sortir de nou i els vaig donar un coco enorme que havia comprat pel camí entre Yaundé i el poblat. Li vaig dir a una nena que li donés a la seva mare quan tornés del mercat (l'havia saludat abans). Em van dir en el recinte que era un bon regal, ja que de cocos no n'hi havia masses, per aquells indrets, i que els agradaria molt.


Then I was called for lunch, and I told the children I had to go to eat. They followed me and started shouting things at the entrance (you can see them there, really tiny), and I was told by local people from the team they were asking me to bring them something. So after lunch I went out and gave them a huge coconut I had bought on the way from Yaoundé. I had been told it was a good gift in this village, as coconuts weren't so common in that area. So I gave it to a responsible girl to give it to her mother, who I had seen before. She told me, "as soon as she comes home from the market".


This young man was in the recording team for a nearby language called Ngombale.
Aquest noi estava en l'equip d'enregistrament per la llengua veïna ngombale.



I després de passar un dia al poblat, vam arribar a Bamenda (ahir).
After spending a day in the village, yesterday we arrived in Bamenda.




This is the bunk bed I am sleeping on. Since the mosquito net is so inpractical now on the bunk bed, I just hang the flashlight my father gave me for the trip, and turn on the anti mosquito mode, which sends out an ultrasound that scares them away. It works wonders!

I aquí està la llitera on dormo aquesta setmana. Com que no és pràctic penjar la mosquitera en ser una llitera (rodolí!), aquesta nit he penjat la llanterna que em va regalar el pare, que té un mode antimosquits que emet un ultraso. Funciona de meravella!


Ah, i m'oblidava... Un matrimoni suec ens va convidar als tres que veníem de Yaundé i uns altres nouvinguts a Bamenda a menjar uns pancakes. Molt bo! Vam tenir una bona vetllada. La llum se'n va anar un parell o tres de cops, i va ser guai menjar amb les llanternes engegades.

Oh and lest I forget... A Swedish couple invited us and other newcomers to pancakes for supper at their place. Sooo good! We had a good chat, and the light went out a couple times. It was so cool to have flashlights on for five minutes or so until the light came back on!

In Bamenda!

Dear friends and family,

I'm in Bamenda already! I'm in an Internet place as it is week end in the SIL office, and there's no one to connect me to Internet. Que hi farem! We arrived safely. We spent a great time in the village. We actually arrived yesterday afternoon. There were people in the old school building that were watching a movie about the Lord Jesus in their own language for the first time, so it was good to hear their impressions. Then it got dark pretty quickly, so there was no time to do anything else but play a couple games of chess and Set, which a Cameroonian called Guy (French name) loved and picked up really quick! So we had a good time.

This morning I went for a few walks around the village. I found some children beside a house playing ball with a rolled up sock. So I played a bit with them and made them laugh, and then they started doing what I hoped: They started teaching me words in their local language! SO I took about my pen and started writing the IPA. Their older 18 year old brother was there to help me out with the pronounciation a bit. I also recorded some voices, and great was their surprise when they could hear themselves shouting the words! I also took some pictures which they loved seeing. I will upload them as soon as i have some connection. They gave me an avocado, and I gave them a big coconut, bigger than their wide eyes. :)

Well, now I have to run as Michael, Guy and I have been invited for pancakes at a Swedish couple's place! Thank you for your prayers, and Lord bless.

In Christ,

Ricard

PS for Stina--> Stina, I miss you so much! Szeretlek. Thank you for the previous post. I can't wait to see you in March!! Muac.

Spending the Night in Babadjou

A little update from Stina on behalf of Ricard. It´s not much, but it´s what I´ve got! :D

Ricard had a safe six hour bus ride to Babadjou! Babadjou is a small village about half an hour outside of Bamenda where Ricard is spending the night. So, tonight is Ricard´s first night in the "village". He is sharing a room with Michael´s team (Michael is the Swiss audio tech guy) so when Ricard called me we had only a few moments to talk since others were going to bed (and I can imagine he was very tired himself!).

Thanks for all your prayers for him! Blessings on you all!

Here's the real deal... Bamenda!

Sorry... no time to translate!
Ho sento... No tinc temps per traduir!
Lo siento... ¡no tengo tiempo para traducir!


Dear Friends and Family,

I know. I've written so much lately! So many changes of plans, and I'm always so excited about everything, I tend to write as soon as I know something, instead of letting it chill a bit just in case things change! Well, now I finally have something definite (humanly speaking). I am not going to the Sò area this week. I'm leaving that for Monday the 22nd of February, more or less.

So what is happening bewteen today (the 11th) and that day (the 22nd)?? Well, guess what... If the Lord wills, I'm leaving for Bamenda tomorrow morning at 5:30 am! Awfully early, I know. I'm taking a taxi to a bus stop nearby here in Yaoundé, and then it's a six hour bus ride to Bamenda, a town in the Northwest region of Cameroon (Yaoundé is in the Center region). I will be there for 7 or 8 days, and then I'll be going back to Yaoundé to start planning for the Sò people group, which is an hour and a half east from Yaoundé, as I told you before.

What am I doing in Bamenda? Plenty. In Bamenda there is one of the 3 regional SIL offices in Cameroon, and it's the office with most language projects in the whole country. In fact, the Northwest of Cameroon, a small region, has a huge bulk of languages for its size. I'll be in contact with lots of people in Bible translation, with lots of projects, and I'll often be going to surrounding villages with Michael, the Swiss technician I told you about, where he'll be working on audio projects. It will be a good opportunity for me to observe the projects going on in those villages as to language and translation. Since I will experience some village life as well, it will be a good preparation for the Sò people a week after that.

************************

So, that's it. Or is it? Well, there's one little more thing... Good news: I finished the parables in Bube (language from EG), and some of them have been printed for review! They still have to be reviewed by Bube speakers, but it's so nice to hold and read them! My job had been (apart from the primers, that's another story) to copy the Bube passages into the Microsoft Publisher templates. So now Bube speakers will have new booklets in their own language!

Thank you all for reading this! I'm sorry about all the change of plans as I have had to write more, but I'm glad I'm still on for the Sò project. I already called Mr. Ossimba and told him I'd be ready in about 9 days, and he said "great, no problem".

So now I'll start packing, since I have to move out from CTC! Then I tidy the room up, and talk to Christina before going to sleep. Have a good night and a good week-end! A big hug.

Ricard

[[Antz]] ***Funny story*** The news are down below!!!

I thought the bread was safely guarded
Pensava que el pa estava ben segur
Pensaba que el pan estaba a buen recaudo

Akonalinga + vídeo + notícies fresques/fresh news

ENGLISH in green
CASTELLANO en naranja
CATALÀ--> blanc


Akonalinga -- Aquesta és la ciutat (a 150 quilòmetres de Yaundé) on pot ser que em quedi al final, ja que hi ha la possibilitat que SIL no em doni llum verda a anar a un poblet a 40 quilòmetres d'aquesta ciutat sense comunicació amb mòbil. Hi ha l'opció del mòbil de satèl·lit, però de vegades no funciona. En principi seria més fàcil anar al poblat si hagués passat per unes setmanes de preparació per aquest tipus de vida o si algú m'acompanyés. Però només he tingut uns quants dies d'orientació en algunes coses bàsiques.

Akonalinga -- Esta es la ciudad (a 150 km de Yaundé) donde puede que me quede al final, ya que existe la posibilidad de que SIL no me dé la luz verde para irme a un poblado a 40 km de esta ciudad sin comunicación ni cobertura de móvil. Se podría probar con el móvil de satélite, pero a veces no funciona. En principio sería más fácil ir a poblado si tuviera más tiempo de preparación o si alguien me acompañara, pero solo he tenido unos pocos días de orientación en cosas básicas.

Akonalingua -- This is the city (150 km from Yaoundé) where I may end up in, since SIL may not give me the green light to go to a village 40 km from this city with no communication (we could try a satellite cell phone, but they don't always work). In principle it would be easier to stay in the village if I had had more weeks of preparation or if someone were free to go with me, but I've only had a few days of orientation.

Això vol dir que potser m'hauré de quedar a Akonalinga, que és una mena de capital de comarca, a casa del propi alcalde, que és parlant de sso. De fet, aquesta ciutat està en zona sso, on hi ha molts parlants, encara que està bastant influenciada per una altra llengua. El poble seria un sso més pur. En aquesta ciutat hi ha telèfons i comunicació, per tant no estaria aïllat en una fase (suposadament) prematura de la meva estança. No obstant, està per decidir. Avui és complicat saber-ho perquè és festiu (per això tinc tant de temps per escriure). Ja us diré alguna cosa quan ho sàpiga. :)

Esto significa que quizás me tenga que quedar en Akonalinga, la capital de la comarca donde está el poblado, en casa del mismo alcalde, que también es hablante de sso. De hecho, esta ciudad está en zona sso, aunque hay bastante influencia de otra lengua. En el poblado habría un sso más "puro", por lo que parece. En esta ciudad hay móbiles y comunicación, por lo que no quedaría tan aislado en una fase (supestamente) primitiva de mi estancia. No obstante, está por decidir. Hoy es complicado saberlo porque es festivo (de ahí el tiempo que tengo para escribir). Ya os diré alguna cosa en cuanto lo sepa.

This means that I may have to stay at Akonalinga, the capital of the "county" where the village is. I could be staying at the mayor's house! He's a Soo speaker himself, but the city is much influenced by another language. There are many Soo speakers in that city, but they say that the Soo spoken in the villages is much "purer". Nevertheless, the city is better at the beginning, it seems, and eventually I would be allowed to go down to the village, but I'd have to sleep in Akonalinga. But it still has to be decided, it's hard to get an answer today as it's a holiday (that's why I have the time to write so much). I'll tell you as soon as I get an answer.

Al principi estava una mica desanimat en saber que potser no em donarien la llum verda per viure en el poblat, però com que per una banda a Akonalinga hi ha parlants de sso, i per l'altra em podrien donar permís per baixar al poblat de tant en tant, no és tan greu. :) Demano les vostres pregàries perquè aquesta situació es resolgui. Moltes gràcies a tots!

Al principio estaba un poco desanimado al saber que puede que no me den luz verde para vivir en el poblado, pero como por un lado, en Akonalinga hay hablantes de sso, y por el otro me podrán dar permiso para subir al poblado de vez en cuando (pero no pernoctar), no es tan grave :) Pido vuestras oraciones para que esta situación se resuelva. Muchas gracias a todos!

At first I was a bit gloomy when I realized there was the possibility of not staying at the village, but since there are Soo speakers in Akonalinga and I may get to go down to the village now and then, It's not so bad. :) Please pray for this situation to resolve. Thank you all!!

Una abraçada,
Ricard

PD/PS--> It's pouring!!! WOW
Està plovent a bots i barrals
Vamos a necesitar otra Arca de Noé (traducción libre)

PSS--> NOTÍCIES d'últim minut sota el vídeo!
NOTICIAS de último minuto debajo del vídeo!
Last-minute NEWS under the video!

As Scott presumed, staying at the village has fallen through, so we will have to get in contact with Ossimba to tell him to talk to the mayor so I could stay in his house (it seems he has a big house with many bedrooms). Let's see when I leave! Tomorrow? The day after? Only the Lord knows.

Com el Scott pensava, pernoctar al poblat no serà possible, així que ens hem de posar en contacte amb l'Ossimba perquè parli amb l'alcalde perquè em quedi a casa seu (gironinada), ja que té una casa molt gran, i crec que això del projecte del sso li interessa.

Tal y como Scott lo suponía, lo de quedarse en el poblado no va a ser posible, así que nos pondremos en contacto con Ossimba para que hable con el alcalde para que me quede en su casa, ya que parece ser que tiene una casa bastante grande, y lo del proyecto sso creo que le interesa.

Getting ready for the village (update below))

Linguistic map. There are almost 300 languages! I'd be going to the south east, about 150 km southeast from Yaoundé.

'Articulatory phonetics'... I'll be needing this in the village!
Thank you Scott, for lending it to me!!

Well, this was today's lunch... Not bananas, it's a type of mandioca (I thnik), plus a mish-mash of veggies and other elements. Less than a euro, a real Cameroonian meal! This was in Yaoundé.

Amazingly unbelievable...

Dear friends and family,

first of all, I apologize for not putting the directions on bcc. It's my duty, but I was in a hurry and forgot. I'll try not to do that again. I really value your privacy.

Now for the news!!

I am so excited! I've got very good news. Well, as some of you know, the EG visa didn't work out, so we had to look for a plan B. These last days Scott and I have been talking to several people, and it seems there is a couple who were in contact with a pastor from a people group called sò [sɔ]. A few years ago he came to SIL and told them the need of his people group (about 20 villages, many thousands of speakers) for the Bible in their language. So far there has only been a small word list written by his uncle, a learned man, but in French orthography (not IPA), and very limited. So today we talked to this couple of SIL who know the pastor, and the man (Dave) called the pastor, who lives in Yaundé, the capital. The pastor's name is Ossimba (easy to remember), and he was at CTC in a shot!! So we all sat down on some chairs and talked: Ossimba, Dave (the contact), Scott and myself. Ossimba told us his story. He's a very learned man, a teacher of profession, and he told us (in French) "I would look at the Bible in French and read to them in So." This and other things he said were so touching.

The methodology is to start with a 1800-word list. My job would be a bit what we did with the Fa d'Ambu in the subject of "Learning a second language": with no grammar, I'd be writing down nouns, verbs, etc., in the So language in IPA, so I thank Andrew (second language) and Scott (phonetics) for giving me the needed elements to do this. :)

There is one final step before going to the village, which is about two hours away from Yaundé: about 1 hour and a half on an acceptable paved road to another city, and then about 40 minutes to the village, no guarantee about the road. Oh, the final step: To get the final approval of the Linguistics Director (something like this), but it's a formality, and it's pretty sure.

Praise the Lord!!! He has found me a way. He has provided for Ossimba, who has been praying for something like this for years. I'd tell you more (much more), but I've been invited for supper to the Smiths. I may be leaving on Friday noon to the village! Pray that things may work out. :)

God bless!
Love in Christ,

Ricard