Chad!

I made it! Dan and I landed in N’Djamena, Chad on Monday August 24th, 2009. We arrived at about 1.30am Chad time, and then made our way very slowly through airport security with the help of a local pastor with connections to MCC. After loading up the truck with our luggage (yes it all made it!), we drove to a house where an MCC family will be staying for a 3 year term. We had a quick tour by candlelight and then fell asleep in real beds for the first time since Friday night.

In the morning, after taking my Malaria medicine, we went for a tour of the village and saw “Chad in action.” The crowded streets, the people selling food from their heads, the lizards crawling on the walls, the sounds of horns honking along the road … everything I imagined and much more! It was a hot day with no electricity to run a fan or fridge, and we felt like we were camping in a house.

In the evening, the 3-year term MCC family arrived via Air France and Dan and I were no longer the Chadian newbies. Unfortunately once we got back home to the gate, we realized we were locked out and had to seek help from a neighbour to help us into the courtyard at 11pm. Finally we made it inside, and luckily for our new friends from Manitoba, the electricity switched on and they got the luxury of moving in with lights and fans.

After spending a couple days with the family and meeting local Chadians connected with MCC, it was finally time for us (Dan and I) to head to Moundou where we will be staying for the upcoming year. We climbed aboard a bus for our 5.5 hour bus ride south on the only paved road between N’Djamena and Moundou. At about 5.30pm that evening, we were sitting in the living room of my new home drinking cold drinks for the first time since Akron over a week ago. We had a tour of the house and then a wonderful feast of chicken, potatoes, beans, carrots, bread, and rice with a sauce. Dan’s “parents” then came for a visit and picked him up to bring him back to his new house in Moundou.

The next couple days were packed full of meeting new people, touring Moundou, buying necessary items from the market, and spending time getting to know my new “family.” On Sunday we went to church at EET #8 (Église Évangélique du Tchad) which was a very different experience than church back home. There were about 1000 people in the congregation, 2 choirs, and of course, very hard and very uncomfortable wooden benches to sit on. I also started learning a bit of the local language, Ngambaye, which sounds more like singing when people speak because the pitch at which a word is said changes its meaning.

On Monday August 31st, all of the professors at CENTRAM (the school where Dan and I will be teaching English) got together to plan the courses we will be teaching. I was assigned to teach High Intermediate I and II, as well as run the lab for Beginner I and II. On Saturday mornings, I will also be working alongside other professors to help with the English Club.

Anyways, I think I’ve written more than enough since words can’t even begin to describe the experiences that I am having here (and pictures would never upload with the speed of the internet connection!). I will try and update my blog as often as possible; however, internet here is very limited.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers, keep them coming =)