Some Pictures

In an effort to avoid the typical American tourist image I haven't had the chance to take too many pictures. I do have a few though...and I might as well share what I got.

My mosquito netted bed












The other side of my room...with the ever important water filter!










Eglise Evangelique au Tchad numero 8!










Speaking in church












My new mode of transportation












Getting my hair did












Looking African in my new outfit
















Sitting with my host Mom and two year old Bonte in the house

Sinks

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about sinks. I really miss sinks. They are very practical…they are nice to wash your hands in, or your face, or to brush your teeth, and water is always neatly collected in the basin and drain. I’m perfectly happy, not lacking in anything, and do not need sinks to be happy…but I will definitely appreciate them more when I get back to the states.

It’s amazing how quickly and completely the human mind is capable of adapting to a new concept of normalcy for everyday life. It’s normal to wear a skirt and cover my head when I leave the house. There is nothing strange about dirt roads and the necessity to seek out the most compact, firm looking mud when navigating said dirt (mud) road after it has rained…and I seem to be developing a sixth sense to know when a moto or bicycle is coming fast behind me to pass through on the same narrow strip of passable road that I am walking on. I have learned to bike following the rules of the road Chadian style: if you are bigger and faster, you have the right of way. I bike around the women carrying peanuts or tomatoes on their heads to market, I bike around the boys pushing large wheel barrow type things down the road, I bike around the slow bikes….save for these reasons, I stay as close to the edge of the road as possible. I yield to let the motos pass and we all move aside to let a vehicle or truck pass through. If there are two cars at once going opposite directions sometimes we even stop. I have replaced traffic lanes, stop sign and stop lights with one general rule: if something bigger and faster is coming at me…move…..fast. Yet, this now seems very normal. It is normal to shake everyone’s hand when I enter a room. It is normal to leave for an event when it is time to be there. It is normal for the power to be out more often than it is on. It is normal to sweat.

I find myself thinking about things in the “developed” world almost as if they were dreams…and never reality. From time to time pictures of things like interstates and sidewalks pop into my head. I consider them like a child considers an imaginary world…they seem very foreign now because I have a new normal. While I may miss sinks, it’s only because I still encounter them on occasion here. There is a sink at Rose’s house. Until I used it I didn’t think about sinks. Similarly, I hadn’t thought about how my appearance might have changed to fit my new normal…until I saw my picture on my MCC prayer card. I looked at it, then showed it to Rose. We were both shocked at how clean I looked…not that I’m not clean here…maybe polished is a better word. I’m already so removed from the normalcy of my US life it is interesting to consider what I will feel like in ten months when I am heading back to the states.

All this to say, Chad is quickly becoming my home. There are things here that could be helped…like the lack of sewers, and lack of any type of public sanitation, but there are also things that are simply a new normal. I might miss sinks when I am reminded of them…but I don’t need them. I think we in the “developed” world look at a place like Chad and see a disaster. It’s not a disaster. It’s just a place with some problems, some differences, and a lot of incredible people living their lives in the normalcy that they know….and now, the normalcy that I know.

Some new things…

*I acted as a human food processor and helped my sisters pound meat, some kind of grain/flour, and vegetables together in a life-sized mortar pestle type thing

*I started teaching English Classes. I am teaching two classes: Beginner 2 and Intermediate Low 1. It’s exhausting…but going well so far.

*I had an outfit made…and I think it’s pretty legit :)

*I successfully biked home, in a skirt, after a three-hour-long rainstorm…I wasn’t even that muddy when I got there

Love you all.

La Chorale

Rose and I joined the church choir. It kind of happened by accident…not that I didn’t want to…I’d been planning on joining sooner rather than later. But I was sitting in the yard one day and heard my mom and sister talking about going to church later that evening. I’ve figured out over the past few weeks that I usually will not be told about things that are happening…until right before they happen. The week before I had missed out on attending a Saturday evening church service with my family because I was in my room for a few minutes and they didn’t want to disturb me…needless to say I’ve learned to ask. So, when I heard my mom and sister talking about going to church I made a point to find out what was going on….Mama informed me…

«C’est la préparation pour la Culte…et Annie va a la chorale. Est-ce que tu veux aller a la chorale avec Annie? »

La Chorale!! Yes of course I want to go to choir practice with Annie! So naturally I called up Rose, told her that we were going to choir practice, and at seize heure Rose and I hopped on the back of Motos with my host mom and sister Annie to go to choir.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to sing right away. We had to be visitors first…but in the process of visiting we got all the details from Annie about the choir and she presented Rose and I, told them we wanted to sing, and told them that in order to sing we needed les notes musique (I had made a comment to her about how none of the hymnals have music in them.) The next Tuesday we showed up at rehearsal, were quickly welcomed, and provided with a hymnal with actual written music in it…not just words…the first one I’d seen since I’ve been in Chad. The following Sunday we sang in church.

Some things about la Chorale…

1. Traditional Chadian singing does not have harmony. There is one melody and everyone kind of sings around it…or whatever they want…especially the older women. The choir we joined is made up of mainly young adults and sings in four parts. We are never on key. At least the “belt it out” strategy covers up my mispronounced French words.

2. One of our choir directors looks a whole lot like Barak Obama. One day we’ll have to tell him. It would probably be a huge compliment since everyone in Chad is obsessed with Barak…as evidenced by the fact that there are always at least three or four girls at church every Sunday wearing Obama Girl tee-shirts

3. The songs we practice at choir practice are not the only songs we will be singing at church on Sunday. I found this out while standing in front of the church, blindsided by a song that I had never heard before that we were leading the congregation in singing…and dancing. First things first: we already stick out…enough said. Second: it is difficult in any circumstance to mouth the words and pretend to sing a song you don’t know. Third: it’s even harder in a foreign language. Fourth: Add dancing to the mix and it is a recipe for disaster. Somehow I kept my cool and I don’t think anyone really noticed that I had no idea what I was doing

4. I immediately regretted the decision to join the choir when I realized that long sleeved choir robes are hot. Church is hot to begin with…pack enough people into a building in Chad and it is going to be stifling. On the plus side, the choir has its own supply of small plastic fans for each member…but I don’t think plastic fans will suffice in March and April when it’s 120 degrees and we’re wearing hot robes. Maybe we’ll have to take “heat days” from choir.

5. The robes may be hot…but they’re legit…and have a sweet looking graduation style cap to match, complete with tassle.

Life.

Hello all!

I had written a nice long blog entry about my life here in Chad...and then the internet cut when I was posting it. Thats how it goes I guess :) Instead I will post a few random updates...

I have freckles. It seems that the hot Chadian sun is causing my skin to freak out. All of a sudden I have LOTS of freckles on my arms. I mean I've had some in the past but not like this. They keep multiplying.

Some things that are supposed to make life easier make it harder...we got bikes today. They are hard to pedal and I ended up really muddy and sweaty. Haha...I will learn, and maybe get my bike adjusted a bit!

We joined the church choir. That's right BRH...I replaced you :)

I'm hoping to get some pics up soon. Love you all and miss you!

Learning to sit…

Two weeks have gone by since I have been living here in Moundou with my host family. It truly has been an incredible experience so far, but I am quickly discovering how much of a task based, fast paced North American I am. Life here moves at a different pace. For those of you who have studied African culture or have visited here yourself, you probably have an idea of what I am talking about. In fact I had an idea about what I am talking about…but it is different now that I am truly living it.

After we arrived in Moundou on Wednesday, Pastor Sem, the supervisor of CENTRAM told us that we would have Thursday to settle in, Friday he would come to take us to see the school, and Saturday we would begin language lessons. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday came and went with no word from Sem. We found out later that someone from the church had died and everyone was busy with the funeral. Death here is common. Since I have been here two people that my host family knew well have passed away.

The rain and infrequency of electricity are also factors to contend with. We are in the midst of the rainy season…which, much to my surprise, has allowed for a few cool mornings. I even wore long sleeves two mornings this week! The rain also makes leaving the house very difficult. There is one paved road in Moundou. The rest are dirt/sand and sometimes impassable because of the water and mud. Two days of language lessons have been cancelled because of the rain.

I can’t remember the last time we had electricity. Haha. Actually I can…it was Thursday, the day after I got here, but that was two weeks ago. The whole of Moundou has been in the dark since then…save for the use of small generators and an hour here and there when the lights come on and tease us. Luckily my family uses a generator for a few hours every night. It’s a nice luxury to have. From what I understand, my host mom works as some kind of secretary. She has left for work all week only to return a little bit later having been sent home. For her, there is no work to do without the power.

There is no doubt that these factors contribute to the pace of life here…but they do not make it. People make the pace of life. Over the past two weeks I have been learning how to sit with people. I sit with people on the veranda, I sit with people in the yard, I sit with people in the kitchen. This is something, as North Americans, we are not very good at. We always need a task. And sitting with people for the sake of sitting with people is rare. We always make it awkward. I amazed at the number of people who have come to visit my family since I have been here. They are various friends and family who usually show up unannounced for no particular reason but to visit. We share water, tea, peanuts, and conversation. I am learning to love this slower pace of life and all that comes with it. Being with people shouldn’t require tasks or distractions. People are valuable and interesting enough on their own.

This past week Rose and I started language lessons. We are learning Ngambai…the local language here in Moundou. Right now, it’s very slow going…especially since we are working from French to Ngambai. Learning an African tonal language is hard enough, but learning said language by way of another foreign and still difficult language is another thing entirely. I’m loving it though. It’s a good challenge! I am anxiously awaiting the start of English classes which begin the first week of October. I think I will enjoy teaching…and having a tangible task to focus on! :)

That’s all for now. Thanks to all who are praying. I miss and love you all!

Peace.

Send me mail at:
Amy Roberson
c/o Pastor Sem Beasnael
Universite Evangelique (ISETAER)
BP 59
Moundou, Chad AFRICA

Life in Chad!

No worries…I made it! First of all, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update. This is the first chance I've had to use the internet...but that should get better now that I am more established here!

After a several months of anticipation I have finally made it to Moundou! While it has only been a little over two weeks since I left for orientation, so much has happened. I guess I’ll begin at the beginning…

On August 12th I said my final goodbyes, finished the interesting and difficult process of packing for a year in one suitcase, and got in the car for the short trip to Akron, PA for a week of orientation. I was only missing one thing…my visa. The trouble began when I first mailed my application and passport to the Chadian embassy in DC back in mid July, only to have it returned to me a week later marked as “undeliverable as addressed” After some investigation, I found a new address on the embassy’s website. Apparently they had moved last September and neglected to update the information. I remailed the application that same day, crisis averted…or so I thought. It was an interesting and scary thing to leave home for a year and not know if I would actually be able to leave. Lacking the one thing that was required before leaving the country, I was in limbo. I tried contacting the embassy multiple times to no avail, and finally on the 16th, three days before I was scheduled to leave, I called one more time. “Chad” said the voice on the other end of the line. Finally someone answered! And what was the problem? The embassy would not accept the type of check I sent…so nothing had been processed. With only three days left before my flight there was only one thing I could do. I sent my dad to the embassy in DC the next day, he picked up my passport with a newly inserted Chadian visa and hand-delivered it to me in Akron!!! Following so much uncertainty and nervousness I must admit I was a little emotional. I might have even teared up a bit. I know, crazy right? I was just excited that I would actually get to go :)

After a week of orientation with around 60 other SALTers heading to countries all around the world, around 30 IVEPers coming from countries all around the world for a year-long service term in the US or Canada, and 7 YAMENers coming from several different countries and heading out on service assignments elsewhere, I was a little sad when it came time to leave my newly made friends. (MCC really likes their acronyms if you haven’t noticed!)

We left for the airport at 2:00am on the 19th. Rose, Arienne and I were the first three to leave Akron to catch our flights in Philly. We flew from Philly to DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a tech stop in Rome (unfortunately we didn’t even get off the plane). Once in Addis, Rose and I bid farewell to Arienne who is spending the year in Burkina Faso, walked around for a bit, then passed through security to board our plane to N’jdamena. It would be an understatement to say we stuck out. Our flight was full of mostly men, dressed in suits or the typical Islamic dress, and our efforts to fit in by wearing skirts and headscarves probably made us stand out even more.

We arrived safely in N’djamena and made it through the airport without a problem. Pastor Sem (who we will be working with at CENTRAM), Levy (the MCC country rep), and Doug and Naomi Enns (MCC service workers in N’djamena) met us in the airport. We spent the next four days in N’djamena with the Enns recovering from jet-lag, learning about Chadian culture, adjusting to the heat, and adjusting to the infrequency of electricity :)

N’djamena is an interesting city. It is the capital city of Chad but has very little infrastructure…less than any city I’ve visited anywhere in the world. Next time I head north I will try to take some pictures...which could apparently get me in trouble with the police! Pictures aren’t supposed to be taken in the capital, but I’ll make sure the coast is clear before I attempt to take any!

Pastor Sem picked us up Wednesday afternoon for the trip to Moundou. It is not too far—about five hours, but the heat, bumpy roads and lack of any restrooms along the way made it seem far. Once we arrived in Moundou we stopped first at Pastor Sem’s house for dinner, headed next to my host home…and ate another dinner, then I said goodbye to Rose as she headed to her host home for a third dinner!

Since Wednesday I have been settling in here in Moundou. It is much cooler than N’djamena, and less desert like. I LOVE my host family. They are wonderful, welcoming, and patient with me and my broken French.

Sorry for the novel…but a lot has happened since I left home. I love you all and I will leave you with a few fun things that I have done/seen…

*communicated only in French
*ate three chicken gizzards (Giving the gizzard is the Chadian way of welcoming guests)
*ate pigeon
*swept a dirt courtyard
*saw a man riding a moto (motorcycle) with a live sheep strapped on
*rode on the back of my host mom’s moto…in a long skirt…without showing my knees
*sifted sand out of flour
*was followed by children chanting “Nassarra” everytime I left my house (Nassara is a Ngambaye word for white person)
*figured out how to change google and blogspot out of arabic so that I could actually sign in to my blog!
*LIVED IN CHAD FOR TEN DAYS!!

Countdown.

In less than two weeks I will be on my way to a week of orientation with my fellow SALTers, all preparing for a year long life changing experience somewhere in the world. I guess I'm finally starting to feel a little nervous...but I know the reality of living in Chad for a year will not hit me until about three months in. That's just how it goes I guess.

I've been spending my summer soaking up time with friends and family and of course preparing for this trip. What have I done so far?

* unsuccessfully looked for ANY job that was willing to hire me for only 2
months. I even took a literacy test. I didn't get the job.

* Visited the Eye Doctor, Dentist, and Family Doctor all to attest to the fact
that I am in good health and able to spend a year in Africa.

* Visited the travel clinic for my yellow fever, typhoid fever, and meningitis vaccines. Yay!

* Picked up my 370 Doxycycline from the pharmacy...at which point, after looking at my overloaded bag of pills, the pharmacist asked, "where are you going and for how long!?!?" BRING IT MALARIA.

* Cut 12 inches off of my hair and donated it to locks of love...it's too hot in Chad for long hair.

* Submitted my visa application...only to have it returned a week later reading "undeliverable as addressed." Apparently the Chadian embassy moved back in 2009 and decided not to tell anybody. They didn't even update their address on the bottom of their CURRENT visa application form.

* Re-mailed my visa application form.

* Fundraised $2,310 of the $4,450 I need.

What do I still need to do?

* Receive a Chadian visa before I leave for Akron on August 12th.

* Fill out the rest of my stacks of paperwork for MCC...including forms concerning what to do in the event of my death. Comforting.

* Fundraise at least $1000 more. After that I can make up the rest. It's not too late to donate! ;)

* Call Brigid Hogue to get some tips on living in Africa :)

* Say goodbye to friends

* Pack

Naturally (and not surprisingly)I haven't started packing yet. Actually I have a lot of years-supply-of shopping to do beforehand for things that can't be purchased in Chad. I hope my bottles of contact lense solution and DEET don't take up too much weight in my ONE 50lbs suitcase I am allowed :)

Thanks so much to everyone who has been so supportive and encouraging during this process. To those of you who donated financially, I am so incredibly grateful and blessed by your support. And to everyone who I know is praying for this transition and this coming year, THANK YOU!

Peace.