Textbuch zur Auslandsakademie Afrique en ... - Cusanuswerk

leaving Cameroon for good. While stranded
in Moscow, I thought of returning to Cameroon
but that didn’t make sense because it
was also already too late. As a teenager growing
up, I had understood one thing from
life: that in every situation, be it positive or
negative, one should try to make the best
out of it. Anyway, life had to continue.
In this total confusion my brother and I
had to decide what to do. As a Cameroonian
I was already bilingual in English and
French and I was interested in learning a
third international language. So the Federal
Republic of Germany (BRD) was the most
favourable option for me. At that time
Cameroonians were allowed to travel to
West Germany for three months without a
visa. So I took advantage of this situation
and to Germany I went. Remember, the
German Democratic Republic (DDR) was
still existing as an independent state. Even
though I had a substantial amount of
money with me, I had to do everything to
cut costs because the new programme was
very demanding and expensive. My brother
escorted me by train to my new destination
in Bonn, travelling through Poland and the
former German Democratic Republic. The
journey took two days to Bonn. My brother
spent less than twelve hours with me there,
since he had to catch the night train back
that same day in order to respect some
important rendezvous he had in Moscow.
The last word I got from him as the train
took off was “Courage!” That was exactly
what I needed. This was a real adventure
and the beginning of a new chapter in my
life. […]
When I arrived in Germany, I hadn’t yet
mastered how to ride a bicycle. One Wednesday
morning I hurriedly left my house
to go to school on my bicycle. It was winter,
and snow was falling heavily. Behind the
main train station in Bonn, a man had just
parked his Mercedes car and was about to
see his wife off, probably to catch the next
train. Little did I know that the rails of the
tramcar are very dangerous for people
riding bicycles. Due to the slippery nature
of the road, the front wheel of my bike entered
in between the tram rails. I went
through the air and landed on the ground
like a log of wood. My bike rolled until stopped
by the bumper of the parked Mercedes
car. The biggest shock I had, however, was
that this lady from the Mercedes car, who
had almost entered the train station, saw
this dramatic accident from a distance and
the first and only question she asked her
husband was “Has anything happened to
the Mercedes”? Her husband said, “No”.
She then said, “Thanks be to God!” and disappeared
into the train station. I got up
very depressed and managed to push my
bike away. The question that came to my
mind was, did this lady behave like this
because I was a black man or it was just her
character? I have never understood the fact
that this woman considered her car more
valuable than my life. I am still thankful to
God today that my head didn’t scatter, as a
result of the accident.
That was a week of shocks for me. Two
days after the accident with the bicycle, I
left my hostel, this time on foot, and was
going shopping. I met with a man at the
traffic lights and with my Cameroonian
mentality, I said in a friendly way to this
man: “Good day!” His response was, “No, I
have no time”. The weather was bright but
this response brought down my spirits,
because I didn’t see the connection between
his answer and my wishing him a good day.
I was disturbed. The next day in class, I
gathered courage and narrated my sad
experience of the previous day. It was my
teacher who gave a possible explanation of
this man’s attitude. He said the man probably
thought I needed his assistance and since
he was unwilling to pay any attention to
me, he categorically refused my greetings.
We continued sharing experiences while
feasting. We really had a lot of fun that evening.
My birthday is on 1st of January. At midnight
the New Year 1988 was greeted with
some bottles of Champagne and also to
celebrate my birthday. The atmosphere was
splendid. I felt at home and since that time
we have remained good friends. In the early
evening of 1st January 1988, Christel, the
wife of Mr. Ferdinand Hammann, filled my
bag with all the little things a student normally
carries when he or she comes home.
I remember she put in part of the cake,
which remained after the feast, and it was
very nice. This visit did not only give me
the chance to practise my German but it
also gave me some new energy, which I needed
back in Bonn. A few days afterwards,
we resumed classes. At least I had one good
experience to share, namely New Year’s Eve
at the Hammann’s. Some of my classmates
started wondering, seeing that I was very
new in Germany, how I already had a German
family. Some asked if I had known
them while still in Cameroon? Meanwhile
the weather still remained very unfriendly
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