Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My SkinShambhala Publications, 8 août 2000 - 280 pages When the Peace Corps sends Susana Herrera to teach English in northern Cameroon, she yearns to embrace her adopted village and its people, to drink deep from the spirit of Mother Africa—and to forget a bitter childhood and painful past. To the villagers, however, she’s a rich American tourist, a nasara (white person) who has never known pain or want. They stare at her in silence. The children giggle and run away. At first her only confidant is a miraculously communicative lizard. Susana fights back with every ounce of heart and humor she possesses, and slowly begins to make a difference. She ventures out to the village well and learns to carry water on her head. In a classroom crowded to suffocation she finds a way to discipline her students without resorting to the beatings they are used to. She makes ice cream in the scorching heat, and learns how to plant millet and kill chickens. She laughs with the villagers, cries with them, works and prays with them, heals and is helped by them. Village life is hard but magical. Poverty is rampant—yet people sing and share what little they have. The termites that chew up her bed like morning cereal are fried and eaten in their turn ("bite-sized and crunchy like Doritos"). Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring, but even the morning greetings impart a purer sense of being in the moment. Gradually, Susana and the village become part of each other. They will never be the same again. |
Table des matières
Am Being | |
Me Eedee | |
Infectious Bliss and | |
Dear Mom June 1993 | |
A Little | |
Lizard Speaks | |
Fire | |
Dada | |
The Hospital | |
Asha | |
Dear Mom September 1992 | |
Lizard Speaks | |
Discipline | |
Suffering | |
Balance | |
An American Bicycle | |
Aïssatou | |
Lizard Speaks | |
Valentines Children | |
News | |
19 | |
Wonderful | |
Whats Up Doc? | |
Elephants and Sorcerers | |
Lizard Speaks | |
Mango Elephants in the | |
Choose | |
Egré and François | |
Fabric of My Family | |
Un Serpent | |
Dear Mom March 1993 | |
African Skies | |
Guavas | |
Emergency | |
Soul Family | |
Lizard Speaks | |
Baptism | |
One | |
Chunky Monkey | |
Dear Mom December 1993 | |
Visiting | |
Kaele or Bust | |
Freedom | |
Dear Mom January 1994 | |
Heart and Soul | |
Lizard Speaks | |
African Eyes | |
Lighting the | |
Weekends of Hope | |
Malaria Dreams | |
The Medicine River Dream | |
Waking | |
Café in the Clouds | |
Oh Say Ko Jour | |
Acknowledgments Email SignUp | |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me be in My Skin Susana Herrera Affichage d'extraits - 1999 |
Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be in My Skin Susana Herrera Aucun aperçu disponible - 2000 |
Expressions et termes fréquents
Abbo Abbo and Egré Africa Ahmadou Aïssatou arms Ben and Jerry bike boys breath bucket bush taxi calabashes Calixte Cameroon Cameroonian can’t chicken Clap Clotilde Clotilde says compound Dada desert didn’t Doc says Doc’s doesn’t door dreams drink Egré says elephants feel Foulbe front Fulfulde girls guavas Guidiguis Gumbo hand he’s head hear heart hold I’ve inside Kaele Lamedoh laugh LeoPaul live lizard look Lydie says Maroua mayor Mfoumba millet Miss mother motorcycle move never Peace Corps peanuts pulls Saidou Sali sand sarong say goodbye screaming shake she’s shoulder shouts singing skin sleep smiles snake someone stand stare stop Suzanne Suzannedee Tapouri teacher tears tell termites thank there’s they’re turn Vann asks Vann says village wait walk watch what’s woman women wonder yells you’re Yves