I came to Cameroon almost 17 months ago to the day. It’s funny now to think about my expectations on that day. I was just coming out of University, excited, nervous and anxious about living in Africa. I’d traveled before and my learned experience was to travel with as few assumptions as possible since they’ll undoubtedly be turned upside down. Still, we all have an image of Africa. The media shows us the famine, the desolation, the war, and a mental image is made.

Villages, huts, guns,...