Lapia! (Hello)
Well it’s been a really long time since I’ve updated my blog. This is not because nothing has happened, but instead because so much has happened that I haven’t had time to write about it all! I think the easiest thing for me to do right now is just to make a list of all the awesome stuff that I’ve done and then you will just have to ask me about it when I come home (or of course, you could call me!).
Awesome stuff that I’ve done:
-learned how to play mandolin (clearly an essential life-skill)
-grilled peanuts and bagged them to sell for 25 F CFA (or about 10 cents)
-shucked corn using my bare hands (which resulted in 5 blisters)
-squeezed enough lemons by hand to fill a 5 litre bottle with lemon juice (this was done while I had the blisters … not fun!)
-learned how to cook pretty much everything that we eat here (I still need more practice in the goat department)
-became cool enough to do a Chadian handshake with friends (you do this super sweet snapping thing that I’ll have to teach you all when I get back home)
-I was given my very own “Chants de Victoire” book (the hymnal used by Chadians … words only, no music is ever written – songs can get interesting!)
-learned how to pee in the bush (sorry if this is TMI but it was a huge accomplishment for me!)
-have turned down 287 marriage proposals… and counting (one of Dan’s goals is to marry 3 Tchadienne women)
-finished teaching classes and gave exams to my students
-entertained visitors from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and the United States
-learned how to speak a bit of Ngambaye since papa’s older sister and a friend came from the village to stay for us for a couple days and didn’t speak any French
-gave a piano lesson (which is really difficult because music is read Do, Re, Mi etc instead of A, B, C)
-ate cow tongue at Dan’s house
-had cake for my birthday (which was a total surprise! Mama brought out the papaya tray but underneath the lid we found a huge cake shaped in a heart … thank you mama!!)
-Dan taught my students how to sing Happy Birthday in English (and an enormous picture of me was waved around the room by one of my students)
-walked to church with my brother and Dan (Mama and Papa go to church for 8am, but we made it for 9.15am after making a couple stops – it was wonderful to only have to sit in church for 2.5 hours!)
-went to N’Djamena to visit friends (which involved an eventful bus ride … a man somehow managed to smuggle a live chicken on the bus and we had to listen to 6 hours of squawking … we saw camels … there was a lady who was in a huge hurry and wanted the bus driver to get us to N’Djamena in 4 hours instead of 6 which naturally meant that we drove even slower to annoy her and made random stops etc.)
-watched Muslims celebrate Tabaski (in other words we watched sheep being driven around on motorcycles)
-ate delicious food in N’Djamena (think brownies and ice cream, cake, spring rolls, roast beef, hot cross buns, pancakes, cinnamon buns, French fries, chicken wings, pasta, fruit salad, pizza … the list goes on!)
-went horseback riding at a golf course in the capital city (you only need a sand wedge if you want to play!)
-watched the baptism of about 400 people by about 60 pastors in the river (it was long!)
-had a movie night and watched Shrek the Halls, Chicken Run, and Kung Fu Panda
-went tree-slaloming at top speeds through the forest in a truck (this was a TON of fun!)
-learned how to play a card game called “8 Americains” which is apparently the game of thieves (and one that I’m quite good at … not sure if this is a good thing!)
-watched our dog, Juliette, give birth to 6 puppies
-helped translate my brother’s rap songs from French to English (he is extremely talented)
-learned how to repair and change a popped inner tube on a bike
-rode to school on my brother’s bicycle (Chadians can ride with up to 4 people on a bike!)
-had a water fight with Dan, my brother, and another friend
-watched “Remember the Titans” with my English class
-pounded cassava and millet with my sister (think trying to pound a rock into dust … result = 6 blisters)
-walked to the market when our friends from N’Djamena came to visit
-visited with a friend and had a tour of his compound and he explained about all the fruit trees he’s planted and showed us his huge garden
-made a friend from Nigeria who loves to practice her English
-ate banana bread for papa’s birthday
-walked to the river and met a man who was making bricks (it’s so much hard work … and it’s HOT!)
Anyways, I think that was a pretty thorough update of my life! I’ll try and write again soon but it will probably have to wait until January because my family is coming to visit me and then I’m leaving to go to Burkina Faso for a retreat/vacation with other MCC SALTers/workers! Keep praying for me =)
Your Tchadienne sister,
Nodji (This is the name I was given in Ngambaye … it means “one who loves others”)
