First workshop presentation

About an hour or so before the presentation, there was a torrential downpour. It is the rainy season here, but I haven't seen rain since I've been here--until today. Martin and the CITEC staff were afraid that the rain would discourage participation. It rained heavily until about 15 minutes before the start of the presentation. When I arrived I was surprised that their was a decent number of people who showed up. I wanted to start with just those people. But Martin and Stella insisted I wait because it's hard for some of them to travel in the rain. So I reluctantly waited for 30 minutes and they were right to have me to start late. By then the room was filled. A lot of the participants came because they saw the TV show and wanted to see the American Tikar who is finding her roots. It's amazing how powerful the media is. I am now known throughout that entire country. It's kinda creepy and exciting at the same time. Some other attendees were there from the ministry and the universities, as well as some current CITEC students.

As I said last night about the TV appearance, it's good I don't know anyone in Cameroon. Everyone from the school was impressed by the dignitaries. But to me they were just participants in the workshop.
So I felt completely uninhibited and conducted my lecture the way I do in my classes at SFSU. One ministry official gave me intimidating stares that seemed to say "let's see what this lame American girl can offer to a high dignitary like me". Again, since I didn't know him I just did my thing. At the end of the evening, he was very complimentary to me and was asking for my opinions about things.
Just goes to show that if you're confident and competent, you can survive all kinds intimidating experiences. It took me many, MANY, years to get that truth.

They were really impressed. And I have to admit I think I did a good job. But I believe anyone with good public speaking skills could have pulled this off.

I think I just stand out because I'm a long,lost relative from the US, who's been fortunate enough to work in some major corporations and
provide a level of information they'd rarely get a chance to learn.

It was gratifying to see how they grasped the knowledge. Cameroonians REALLY APPRECIATE education and they absorb any knowledge they can. They make teaching the rewarding endeavor
it is supposed to be. Their focus is on community development projects. During our breakout session, they developed projects like building bridges, improving hospital,
and so on. No one seemed to be interested in software development or IT projects, which is where I placed my emphasis. I will change my focus accordingly for the remainder
of the workshop.

Since the first presentation went smoothly, I won't bore you with posts about the remaining three unless something "belindadelic" happens, and hey one never knows with me. :-)