Into the Jungle
A Journey into Cameroon’s Markets
By Will Johnston
When going on a vacation, it makes sense to buy a souvenir to remember the experience. Going to Africa seems like the great time to buy something. Who knows if I will ever be back and given the amazing places we’ve been, bringing something home other than pictures would be awesome. The thing is, I told myself for the longest time I would be happy with just some pictures wanting to save money for emergencies only. I quickly realized after arriving in Cameroon that there was no way I could let the opportunity slide to buy a souvenir. I no longer wanted to go just for myself, but for my family back home too. We went to a Douala market on the back end of our trip and now, I had a quest in mind. And boy was it a journey to fulfill my quest.
I picked up a souvenir when in Bangoua, a mask made from the trees in the village and unique to the area. It was very authentic and reminded me of something I’ve seen in my Nana and Poppop’s house back in PA. So, I had bought something for one person. Now, I needed to buy something for myself and my parents. I didn’t have a preference what I got myself. Only if something stood out as amazing. Rodney and Mark were talking about how they were buying stuff for themselves and family, and the type of stuff they were getting. Guess I wasn’t as prepared as they were.
When we entered the market, it was a lot smaller then I imagined (though I had very little expectations). Our journey began in a boxed in area surrounded by about a dozen or so stores that all generally sold the same thing: tapestries and clothing. I couldn’t imagine where my parents would hang a tapestry, and I didn’t want to try and guess the clothing size since sizes tend to run smaller overseas (from previous experience). But I wandered the stores anyway hoping something would catch my eye.
These shops were really no bigger than my room at Stevenson. You could fit five people in before you would stop feeling comfortable and even then, that was pushing it. Clothing dangled from the ceilings in the store and out front under an overhang. Some stores had these paintings of landscapes or animals specific to the area. I came close to buying one for myself, but I decided I wanted something that I would look at and know it was authentic specifically for Cameroon or Douala. Something I hadn’t seen before. We were here for about 45 minutes though it felt much longer (and may have been). I thought that was it. Oh well. I’ll be happy with giving pictures.
“Outside it was just a small little area. But inside this building was not like the other one. It was like walking through a tunnel filled with stores in ever crevice.”
Then Alang surprised me. He took us around the corner and the market opened up a little bit. There were a lot more stores of different things spanning the sides of buildings. My selection got a lot more varied. The first place we came to was a store that was selling wood carvings. There were mini statues like elephants and tigers. They were cool but didn’t interest me. Then I saw these plates. They were many colors, browns and reds, and in the center of the plates read “Cameroon.” If something was going to scream Cameroon, of course it was something literally reading Cameroon. The shopkeeper, a man not much older, if at all, then Mark, Rodney, and I started talking about the way this plate was made, crafted from many different types of trees in Cameroon. It was really nice, not very big like for a little snack such as peanuts, but it was very pretty. I wanted a couple. If I didn’t find anything else, I could give one for my parents and keep one for myself. My shopping would be complete.
Now, it’s time for negotiating. I never negotiated. Alang warned us ahead of time that the shopkeepers would know we were from America so they would jack the price up on the items they were selling because we could afford it. Gioudonne, a volunteer nurse, did the negotiating for us. He had a good sense of actual price on items and how to hold your position when negotiating. I would’ve caved in a couple times. I eventually got the plates for 10,000 francs, which is about $20. I tied the bag with the plates shut and was ready to go….but we forged on forward.
We stuck with this shopkeeper for a while. He eventually brought us inside to view more of his belongings. That is when my eyes opened up to the markets real size closer to my expectations. Outside it was just a small little area. But inside this building was not like the other one. It was like walking through a tunnel filled with stores in ever crevice. The thing is, there wasn’t that much variety in items. Occasionally a store sold something unique, but generally, it was the same thing served up just slightly different whether that be size or color. I looked around the wood carvings a bit and found a couple items that interested me. Like outside, there were some finely crafted dishes and bowls. I eventually bought some bowls that reminded me of a mother’s day present I got my mom that she loved as we use often. These bowls were also crafted from trees and were really smooth and large. I bought two for 7,000 francs (about $14). I could’ve kept buying but I had to think about luggage space for traveling home so I stopped but still kept looking. The shopkeeper at one point showed off this cane to me. It was nice but I really didn’t need a cane. He told me to wait a minute and proceeded to pull out a sword. The cane was a sword too. It was like something I’ve seen out of movies but never in person. I really wanted it but knew it would be impossible to bring that back home. I told him no and started to make my way slightly to the side so everyone else could shop. My favorite part in the shop was Mark buying his Cameroon statue. It’s a medium sized statue of the country of Cameroon. Mark held it but didn’t have any money left with him except for 3,000 francs. The shopkeeper saw him holding the statue and asked if he wanted it. Mark said he didn’t have enough money left. The shopkeeper asked how much. Mark said 3,000 francs. The shopkeeper got wide-eyed. Clearly not a lot. He asked for 7,000. Mark said no. He tried showing a smaller one. Mark said no. He was ready to put it back when the shopkeeper talked to his boss for a second. He looks back at Mark and goes, “Okay. 3,000 francs.” Best negotiating job on the entire trip.
“…going into the market was like walking into a different world.”
Mark was eyeing other stores more than I was when finished shopping. Suddenly, someone came up to him. The man was insistent on Mark checking out his stuff at his store. Mark was reluctant at first but caved. He asked that I joined not wanting to go alone. Knowing it may not be smart to wander alone, I followed him. We didn’t walk far. This man’s store was about half the size of where we just were but didn’t really have anything new. The man started showing Mark various items. Mark kept telling the man they were “pretty” or “impressive” but was saying how he wasn’t buying. But the man was persistent. I looked to my left and saw a man signaling towards me. He was calling me over the same way the other man called Mark. I didn’t want to wander. I knew I wasn’t going to buy anything. I told him, “no,” but the man said he, “just wanted to show me. No buy.” Alang walked by me going to another store saying that, “they just want to show us their stuff.” True, but they want me to buy, buy, and buy.
I agreed to go with the man. I went alone though. I kept a little distance back in case I didn’t like where I was going but the man only took me to another little shop. His store was filled with pottery. They were nice but massive. There was no way I could take one home. I looked a very short time as the man tried to hand me stuff. I smiled but took nothing and left. I spotted Gioudonne near the entrance. I walked up to him so I’d be near someone I knew. I went outside and sat on the front step alone. Rodney was not far behind me. He was swarmed. Four or five men were around him holding stuff up to him. He took something and looked at it. He tried to give it back but the man was reluctant. Rodney eventually came to the steps with me but the men followed him. The two of us started talking hoping that they would realize he wasn’t interested and busy. They stopped talking to him and waited. I tried to think of whatever possible to keep a conversation going. It didn’t last long.
Slowly, they withered away but once a couple left, a new one approached. These men were doing whatever they could to sell. They even started to get a little more friendly with us asking where we were from and if we thought we would come back. They were impressed that we were from America but it mostly felt like sweet talk to sell their items. At one point when men were talking with Rodney, I let my guard down and a man came up to me trying to sell this little elephant statue. I took it from him to look at. It was nice but I didn’t need an elephant. He didn’t want me to take it back. He kept knocking down the price so I would say yes. That’s when I remembered advice given to me before the trip, “Don’t take items from shopkeepers. They don’t want it back. They want your money.” I was at this with the man for a minute or two before he shrugged it off and took it back.
Mark joined us trying to escape from the shopkeepers too, then Alang not too far behind him. Rodney and I were at the front of the group ready to get back to the van. The items we got looked great but going into the market was like walking into a different world. So, of course we went back on our second to last day to the market. Some people had to get some last minute things. I stayed in the van. I had made it through the jungle once. That was enough for me.
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Our first big screening of the film was with the senior showcase in May 2020. The next step for the film was to submit to a variety of film festivals. We got some great news from the 15 minutes of Fame Festival. 15 Minutes of Fame is a Film Festival based out of Florida, and is a collection of films produced anywhere in the United States or Canada that are under 15 minutes in length. Submitted films were viewed by a panel of five judges and the highest scores became official selections. We got our Official Selection notification at the end of October. It is with great anticipation that we look forward to the digital screening of the festival that runs for the month of December. We are one of two documentaries being screened.
Before being brought on to this project, I had already edited numerous short documentaries and short films both at Stevenson and my various internships. I knew how to organize and prepare footage, but I was only doing it at a semi-moderate level. Most of the time, the footage was on the same hard drive as the project and I was only dealing with-on average-maybe two hours of footage in any given project. I knew that this would be a totally different animal so I had to make sure I was ready.
I like to play with hypotheticals in my down time. It could be what would happen in a class, or writing a project, or a later conversation I’m going to have with a person. They’re easy to come up with and I can think of some crazy hypotheticals when I want to. Going to Africa was no exception. I was going to a place I was unfamiliar with having no experience in Africa with Alang having made the mission trip once before. Since he grew up in Cameroon, I felt better, but that didn’t mean that butterflies went away.
I woke up at 3:00 am the day we left for Toube. My mind was coming up with all types of ideas on what to expect to see in Toube. Would this be when culture shock hits me? Will I feel like I’m starving myself to death? Will I be able to handle some of the sights I see? I didn’t go back to sleep. Everyone else woke up around 5:00 am. The ride to the boat was one of the smoothest rides we had so far. There were actually roads (most of the trip) and they weren’t in terrible condition. Plus, not many cars were out at 6:00 am (understandable). Police/military were patrolling the roads and pulled us over a couple times wondering our reason for traveling. Geh showed his military ID and explained what we were doing as other men shined flashlights into our van. We were cleared to go but it was a little nerve wracking watching men with guns tell us whether or not we could go and wondering what would happen if they told us to exit the vehicle.
Our first big screening of the film was with the senior showcase in May 2020. The next step for the film was to submit to a variety of film festivals. We got some great news from the 15 minutes of Fame Festival. 15 Minutes of Fame is a Film Festival based out of Florida, and is a collection of films produced anywhere in the United States or Canada that are under 15 minutes in length. Submitted films were viewed by a panel of five judges and the highest scores became official selections. We got our Official Selection notification at the end of October. It is with great anticipation that we look forward to the digital screening of the festival that runs for the month of December. We are one of two documentaries being screened.
Before being brought on to this project, I had already edited numerous short documentaries and short films both at Stevenson and my various internships. I knew how to organize and prepare footage, but I was only doing it at a semi-moderate level. Most of the time, the footage was on the same hard drive as the project and I was only dealing with-on average-maybe two hours of footage in any given project. I knew that this would be a totally different animal so I had to make sure I was ready.
I like to play with hypotheticals in my down time. It could be what would happen in a class, or writing a project, or a later conversation I’m going to have with a person. They’re easy to come up with and I can think of some crazy hypotheticals when I want to. Going to Africa was no exception. I was going to a place I was unfamiliar with having no experience in Africa with Alang having made the mission trip once before. Since he grew up in Cameroon, I felt better, but that didn’t mean that butterflies went away.
I woke up at 3:00 am the day we left for Toube. My mind was coming up with all types of ideas on what to expect to see in Toube. Would this be when culture shock hits me? Will I feel like I’m starving myself to death? Will I be able to handle some of the sights I see? I didn’t go back to sleep. Everyone else woke up around 5:00 am. The ride to the boat was one of the smoothest rides we had so far. There were actually roads (most of the trip) and they weren’t in terrible condition. Plus, not many cars were out at 6:00 am (understandable). Police/military were patrolling the roads and pulled us over a couple times wondering our reason for traveling. Geh showed his military ID and explained what we were doing as other men shined flashlights into our van. We were cleared to go but it was a little nerve wracking watching men with guns tell us whether or not we could go and wondering what would happen if they told us to exit the vehicle.