We have officially entered the cold season here in Chad. I have put on a sweater at least 3 times this week. I’m not sure how cold it gets in the evening but I do know that with no hot water heater the shower takes your breath away. You don’t have to worry about anyone taking a long shower- just maybe showering at all. Yes, I shower everyday. I have also gone from sleeping under a sheet to a sheet and a blanket and I close all the windows.
I’m not sure how many of you remember learning the English language but I have learned in the last two weeks that it is ridiculous. Much credit to grade 1 teachers everywhere! Eroni is really learning to read well sometimes English just tricks you. Ou doesn’t always make an ow sound you know and why use a c when you could use a k or s? Is the letter c really necessary? That is what I questioned this week. I also realized that I am once again very grateful for taking a Science degree and not an English one although it would’ve helped me teach Isaac predicate nouns this week. Does anyone really care what a predicate noun is?
Anyways, I’m sure none of that interests anyone. I would love your prayers this week as I try to be creative in teaching some of the extra courses I’m doing with the kids like Music and French. I am also going to take up a sort of “survival Arabic course.” It will be very useful as I interact with locals. Of course my French is still coming along so maybe I should take it one language at a time!
Your prayers and encouragement through email and snail mail (my first letter arrived from Canada this week) have truly been a blessing. God bless you all.
Bombers biggest African fan!
Vanessa
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
living in the lap of luxury
Ahhh, what a life. I don't think I've informed you all of my lifestyle here. For starters, I have yet to do my laundry or wash the floor. We have a house helper for that. For the first time in my life I have a chauffeur who picks me up every morning on time. And, one of my favourites is my 4 poster bed with canopy- it even keeps the mosquitoes out!
Really, life isn't too hard here. I wouldn't trade my motorcycle chauffeur in for a camel though! My ...derriere...is still recovering but it was fun. I got some great pictures. It's basically a tall, bumpy, horse ride on a beast that is quite stubborn. When it decides to eat, it wants to eat and when it wants to sit down- it sit's down. Going up and down is the difficult thing as they lift one end up and then the other. Who needs an amusement park when you have a camel!
I also enjoyed my first week of teaching. It included paper airplanes (as I told them to make), drums, crayon throwing, jumping jacks, and many pages of booklets. Never a dull moment with my 2 boys.
I was also able to use a bit more French this week as we did registration for our English classes (mine starts in December) and talked with more local people who actually knew French. Not bilingual yet though!
I've appreciated your emails and have worked out a system that will give me more time to write them (I think- it may change quickly, you never know around here). Look forward to hear about the Bombers winning today;)
Agodu aafe and au revoir!
(go well)
Really, life isn't too hard here. I wouldn't trade my motorcycle chauffeur in for a camel though! My ...derriere...is still recovering but it was fun. I got some great pictures. It's basically a tall, bumpy, horse ride on a beast that is quite stubborn. When it decides to eat, it wants to eat and when it wants to sit down- it sit's down. Going up and down is the difficult thing as they lift one end up and then the other. Who needs an amusement park when you have a camel!
I also enjoyed my first week of teaching. It included paper airplanes (as I told them to make), drums, crayon throwing, jumping jacks, and many pages of booklets. Never a dull moment with my 2 boys.
I was also able to use a bit more French this week as we did registration for our English classes (mine starts in December) and talked with more local people who actually knew French. Not bilingual yet though!
I've appreciated your emails and have worked out a system that will give me more time to write them (I think- it may change quickly, you never know around here). Look forward to hear about the Bombers winning today;)
Agodu aafe and au revoir!
(go well)
Monday, November 12, 2007
normal life has begun
So, I finally started teaching today. It's been a month since I left and I just started what I came to do. Conference ended well with our missionary kids (all 8 of them) presenting a musical on Friday afternoon on Dr. Luke. They did very well! I am excited to be teaching. Eroni is learning to read and Isaac is plugging along through grade 5.
I was very excited to hear (well read) about the Bombers win! Yeah!
Yesterday my Swiss roomie and I attended a choir concert at our church. It's a large church made up of Southerners who are what one might often associate with African churches. The concert was packed with about 700 people in a building that holds probably 400 to us. The choir was great! We ended up leaving early when the crowd became louder than the choir. It was a good experience though.
I will register my students tomorrow for the English class I will start teachng in December and Thursday afternoon brings my first camel ride. Looking forward to it! An update on that to come.
Where the dust and the lizards never die. Vanessa
I was very excited to hear (well read) about the Bombers win! Yeah!
Yesterday my Swiss roomie and I attended a choir concert at our church. It's a large church made up of Southerners who are what one might often associate with African churches. The concert was packed with about 700 people in a building that holds probably 400 to us. The choir was great! We ended up leaving early when the crowd became louder than the choir. It was a good experience though.
I will register my students tomorrow for the English class I will start teachng in December and Thursday afternoon brings my first camel ride. Looking forward to it! An update on that to come.
Where the dust and the lizards never die. Vanessa
Sunday, November 4, 2007
conference, a chadian diet, and a visitor
Asalama Leckum (peace be to you all, typical Arabic greeting)!
So, I have had a wonderful week. In fact I think I'd pass as an African already, ha ha!! We've had a wonderful time at Conference. It's been great getting to know the team and learning about missions and my relationship with the Lord. I have also had the chance to play piano which I didn't think I'd get to do.
I have also had the opportunity to have some real Chadian food this week. Boule, French for ball, is a millet bread sort of mush that you pull parts off of and dip in a sauce. This is all done with your hands, actually hand as you can only use your right hand to eat. One's left hand is used for dirty tasks such as blowing your nose or wiping... We do regularly wash our hands though! We eat on mats and everyone eats off the same tray. So there are much fewer dishes to do here.
We had a visitor in our house this week. His first name was preying and his last name was mantus. Julie, one of the ladies I live with, and I let him loose after he looked up at us with his big beady eyes. The other ladies wanted us to have mercy on him for some reason or another. The lizards don't usually make it inside, but there are a lot of them! The cat's stomach keeps growing also as a result of his lizard diet.
You may have also seen the now famous city of Abeche on the news as a result of the French organization who tried to remove children from the country for trafficking purposes. I'm sure you can find more information about it online. The local people are pretty upset with this group and rightfully so! Most people are!
That's all for this week. I'm enjoying the emails I've received from many of you. Remember to use my gmail address, vhthiessen@gmail.com. It's great to hear what's going on in the outside world even if it is that the Bombers aren't doing so well.
So, I have had a wonderful week. In fact I think I'd pass as an African already, ha ha!! We've had a wonderful time at Conference. It's been great getting to know the team and learning about missions and my relationship with the Lord. I have also had the chance to play piano which I didn't think I'd get to do.
I have also had the opportunity to have some real Chadian food this week. Boule, French for ball, is a millet bread sort of mush that you pull parts off of and dip in a sauce. This is all done with your hands, actually hand as you can only use your right hand to eat. One's left hand is used for dirty tasks such as blowing your nose or wiping... We do regularly wash our hands though! We eat on mats and everyone eats off the same tray. So there are much fewer dishes to do here.
We had a visitor in our house this week. His first name was preying and his last name was mantus. Julie, one of the ladies I live with, and I let him loose after he looked up at us with his big beady eyes. The other ladies wanted us to have mercy on him for some reason or another. The lizards don't usually make it inside, but there are a lot of them! The cat's stomach keeps growing also as a result of his lizard diet.
You may have also seen the now famous city of Abeche on the news as a result of the French organization who tried to remove children from the country for trafficking purposes. I'm sure you can find more information about it online. The local people are pretty upset with this group and rightfully so! Most people are!
That's all for this week. I'm enjoying the emails I've received from many of you. Remember to use my gmail address, vhthiessen@gmail.com. It's great to hear what's going on in the outside world even if it is that the Bombers aren't doing so well.
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