wata barid bilhen

(It's sooo cold)

So, I’ve heard that home (Manitoba, Canada for my international readers) has entered the ridiculous cold season well we’re following right behind here in Chad. I sit here writing in my sweats, long sleeve shirt, and a sweater. It’s around 20 degrees now maybe a little less and we experienced a miracle in the last two days here in Chad. It rained! Like streams in the desert. We’re calling it Miracles 2008 as we’ve seen fireworks, street lights have appeared in the city for the first time, the road from here to the capital is starting to be paved, and we had rain in the dry season. Admittedly, the rain came and went within minutes but what a blessing it was. It has sort of scared the local population though and made them stay at home. People don’t have clothing to deal with cold conditions, as not cold as it is. If it was plus 35 and you never saw a cloud outside of the rainy season you might be a little concerned too. A man answered my “How are you” today by “a little” when I asked why he said it’s so cold (sounds better in French). I’m hoping for more miracles in this country this year.

The reason this blog is so late is because I was able to spend the weekend at the house of the sisters who work for the boy’s mom. I guess it was really only a little over 24 hours but it was interesting. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not mute and even had some choppy Arabic conversations. Don’t get your hopes up yet, my Arabic skills are yet to really be discovered. I did have some time to speak French as well with the ladies’ sister who is well educated. She is working on her nursing degree and it was nice to hear a woman say, “I’m going to wait and get married when I’m done my education.” In a place where women don’t often have that option it was a breath of fresh air.

I also had the chance to try my hand at pounding millet. I will leave that to these ladies though! Zanuba quickly showed me how she can pound and clap in between. I was impressed as she wanted me to be. I also had to say “adjab (amazing)” as I watched their elderly mother sort millet, wheat, and coffee to sell. I drank chai (strong, very sweet tea), coffee (ridiculously strong and sweet), and madide (hot, thick, millet milk). All of these containing strong ginger. I had recently had a pretty poor experience with madide, gagging a few times but managed to keep it down, and so you can imagine my excitement when it came my way especially when I was given seconds. Of course this is a delicacy to them and they couldn’t believe that we don’t have it or esh in Canada. I guess taste is nurture not nature! Other highlights were of course the squatty potty out in the sun and a night in a mud brick house. The door was closed on that little brick house at first and it was so hot. Luckily they too were hot and opened the air so that the wonderful sounds of the city could make their way in. This was, of course, slightly prior to Jack Frost making his appearance.

I think I sound somewhat cynical and sarcastic but it was really nice to sit and watch them. To talk with them and experience their life which as a whole is so normal. The 3 sisters reminded me of my sisters and I. They laughed at each other and told each other off when they needed :) (love you girls!). Although they don’t have as much as we do they live an ordinary life, it was a nice thing for me to see as so often our Western view of Africa is a World Vision commercial, no offense intended.

I write this to you slightly past the half way point. Is it going by quickly? No, not really but it’s not going by slow either. I guess 6 months is what it is. Hope you are all surviving the cold. Excuse my tardiness, the length of this, and my overuse of parenthesis. Looking forward to seeing you all in a few short months.

From the land of miracles,
Vanessa

da chenu?

“Da chenu? Da chenu?” I asked my clando driver on Friday. What’s that? is how that translates. I was pointing to a hyena which was running around the large compound across from ours. The goats were anxiously watching it and keeping their distance. Unfortunately my driver didn’t actually tell me what it was, rather he said, “Namchu, Namchu (let’s go)” but I watched it long enough and asked others to reliably say that I did indeed see a hyena. Apparently goats are often eaten up by hyenas in there.

Many of you have asked about the weather. Yes it’s hot here but really not that bad. We are in the cold season after all. We had about 2 weeks where it was honestly chilly in the evenings (about 15 degress) and we closed up our windows, put on our sweaters, and pulled out the wool blankets. At this point I pull out the wool blanket around 4 in the morning but I’m alright. It’s about 30-35 degrees during the day. We heat our bath water outside in the sun during the day and it’s nice and warm still at 9 in the evening. I have only had one sort of sun burn, it was on Christmas day when I spent the day sitting outside on the mat in a half shaded place. It is getting drier as the trees are starting to lose their leaves and sometimes the winds are pretty strong, especially at night, bringing in the dust of the desert.

I have been much healthier for the last week but as I watched a worm crawl in the food I was offered today I realized it’s the reality of living here. Sickness isn’t a random happening, it’s life. I’m just thankful for the times I’m healthy now.

I now teach English twice a week so I am keeping quite busy. I continue to play volleyball once or twice a week too and also regularly visit local people with other missionaries. My Arabic is slowly coming along now, we’ll see how much I can accomplish in the rest of my time here.

Until next time.

ants in my pants

This was a funny situation I found myself in last week…
I was preparing supper one night when all of a sudden I felt something pricking my thigh. It quickly moved from my thigh to...higher and I realized that it was not something just pricking me but biting me. I ran to the bathroom to discover an ant which had bit me about 5 or 6 times in…different…locations. This led to the jumping around you can imagine if one indeed has “ants in their pants.” The burn of the sting wasn’t going away and so my housemate who has been here some years suggested using a little electric shocker on each bite to remove the sting. It’s quite a funny situation with me in the bathroom electrocuting myself to rid myself of the sting. I finally used some other product she had called, “Grandpa’s Salve.” It smelled like a grandpa, not that grandpa’s smell bad. It helped a little. I eventually sat down and ate and tried to pretend it didn’t sting and focus on eating. Then on New Year’s Eve we were having a wonderful time with a bonfire and singing when I thought a thorn had come through the mat we were sitting on. Sure enough I had been bit again by those pesky “angarasas,” as they are called by the locals.

Life seems to remain interesting around here. On New Year’s Eve, after the ants got to me, just past midnight fireworks went off. This is definitely a first for Abeche. The President was in town which is why they had such a special occasion. Unfortunately for those who have never seen or heard fireworks before and those asleep in their beds this meant fear! With a growing military presence around town the boom of the fireworks made some sure that a war had broken out in the city. A good friend of ours didn’t sleep most of the rest of the night.

I also had the…opportunity to attend a Kalawada, funeral, last weekend. At 7 o’clock in the morning the goat had already been slaughtered and cooked and we ate amarada, a mixture of the body parts cut up, esh and wecki, which you’ve heard about many times, and of course fungaso (see last week’s blog). Anyways, it was a breakfast of champions that’s for sure!

I’m back into teaching now. I only accomplished a small amount of what I hoped to last week, surprise surprise. Although I may get a few extra days off now as I’m being treated for malaria. It sounds worse than it is- really! I may not actually have it but around here you treat for malaria right away. Yes I am taking my pills to prevent this but as I’ve learned from many who have had it before you haven’t really become a missionary until you get malaria!

Happy New Year everyone!

I wrote this on January 2, but I have learned that since the malaria pills didn’t work, so I must have had something else. I’m drinking, eating, and taking a few different things now to kill parasites or bacteria or whatever is keeping me down. I think I’m on the way up now though, Praise God! Prayer for health would be great. I don’t think I’ve ever been sick so often in my life. Blog should be back to the regular schedule now, happy reading!