Nasom

The Cameroon trip (or at least the first one of the year) is over and its time to say nasom (thanks in the local Douala language) for a great trip that has meant an awful lot to me. Having lived here (and I mean lived rather than visited, or come on holiday) for over a month I feel more at home than I ever have in Cameroon before and I've learned a lot. The chance to be with Dad has been fantastic and we have worked well together, having made progress on several fronts: the web-site, the ongoing management of the Global Health Dialogue foundation and conference centre and the future of the family property in Cameroon.  There is more to do in all these areas between now and when I return in the new year.

At Bisi's flat in Douala

I've also been able to spend some time with Bisi, my elder sister who I only met for the first time five years ago, and we have also got on really well. Over the last few weeks I've seen all my seven remaining brothers and sisters except one, seen many more relatives while visiting the family village and had the chance to catch up with friends in Douala, including those in the PwC office who took me out and gave me some good tax advice.

Zaks takes a short pause from work

Everyone has made me very welcome but I would like to say nasom especially to Grace (Dad's wife) for looking after me for most of my time here, Bisi for putting me up in Douala and Mr Zaks who works here at the house in Buea doing a variety of jobs and who is always smiling. He also has an uncanny ability to predict the rather volatile weather of Mount Cameroon.  For example, if it is sunny at dawn and it is either a Tuesday or Saturday it will rain later.

Nasom too, of course, to my colleagues at PwC London for supporting me in coming here and to Suzanne for agreeing to do without me for all this time. In 23 years together we have never before been apart for more than a week and even then only twice. I've missed her enormously but we have spoken once or twice a day by phone or skype. Indeed the ability to see each other on a skype video call has caused great excitement and now everyone here is learning to use it. A real highlight of the trip was seeing my 12 year old nephew Carl, who lives here, manage to get through to his mother in the USA by video call. I will never forget the look on her face - it was a beautiful moment.

But time to go home. The end of trip has also featured a terrible emotional low with the sad news last sunday of the sudden death from a stroke of one of our friends, Rob. We are all so shocked to lose such a great guy so early in life and our thoughts are with Kate and their three young children. We will always remember Rob especially for making us laugh - from his impression of the Sphinx on the floor of an Indian restaurant on my stag night and the Braveheart performance at Eugene's wedding, to his poetry and the blow-up crocodile races in our pool in Spain. So nasom to Rob for all those memories.

When I decided to come away for the year it was because I believed that you don't get too many second chances in life. For all the reasons above I'm so glad I did it.

Nasom.