Dance Party!

One day this past week when I came home from my work at Centram (teaching English to adults), I decided to go sit for a while on a mat outside at our neighbours (we own both compounds and rent out the neighbouring compound to a number of families.) I arrived home around 6pm and it is dark by 6:30pm.

Suddenly music was started on someone’s cell phone radio and I was summoned to begin dancing. We began with me feebly trying to dance as Chadians do (shoulders bouncing, arms moving out front, feet stepping forward and back) but soon Ornella (my 10 year old host sister) and Vivianna (a 14 year old girl who lives next door) were asking me to show them some dance moves that I know. Now I’ll admit, that I like to dance, but I am not the best dancer in the world. However, there I was showing them the sprinkler, the shopping cart, the funky chicken. By this point the children (ages 1-6) had surrounded us, and were also following my every move. We continued dancing with moves like the can-can, hands on your knees, underwater, but still they wanted more. So eventually I started twirling and doing leaps like ballerinas! Fun was had by all.

Other stories about some of the children who live with me/the neighbours:

Name: Gloire

He is about 4 years old and plays a lot with Junior. A few times now I have seen him carrying a stick around chanting Alleluia, Alleluia.

Name: Ma Joie

I have played peak-a-boo with this 3 year old some and it has been fun.

Name: Aline

Aline is 4 and she was the first of the children to warm up to me. I walked 45 minutes to the market with her and she held my hand. We did this ‘game’ where we would put our heads together, growl and then laugh. She was always laughing. (This is in the past tense because she left about a week ago to go back to N’Djamena with her mother. She was only visiting our home, but I was sad to see her go.)

Name: Junior

Junior is Maman’s youngest child and he is a little trouble maker. At 5 years old, he loves playing games with the others and loves testing boundaries. He is starting to speak French and he tries to communicate with me some in French/Ngambai mix (Remember that none of the other children speak French because they start learning French at school). Junior knows that I’m not a fan of dead mice, because he picked one up and was chasing Ma Joie around with it. I hid in my room. Sometimes he will now pretends his fingers are a mouse on my neck!

Name: Ornella

She is the next youngest daughter of Maman (10 years old) She has really helped me and has answered my questions. I brought out cards the other day and taught her war, and go fish.

Here is a picture of the dancers!

Celebrity Nasara

Nasara is the word for white person. It is not used negatively, but as a way to greet you (as a white person- almost like hello).

When I first arrived in Chad, I was told about the word ‘Nasara’. And I was afraid of it. This was a word that meant ‘white person’ - making me stand out and feel noticed, overly important and even slightly offended. I’m not used to being noticed, looked at, and stared at by total strangers. In fact, in Canada, I’m used to being invisible in the streets, with no one even taking a second glance.

I learned that when walking down the street, everybody that you meet (Side note: the Arthur theme song just came into my head because of this.) that says hello, you should greet. In fact if someone greets you it is very rude to not reply. They may say Bonjour, Hello, Laphia (hello in Ngambai) or even just say Nasara. At the beginning, I was nervous that I would be greeted with ‘Nasara’ and not realize it and then offend someone. During our first visit to the market, I was very aware of what was said and tried to listen for that ‘Nasara’ phrase which had almost become a new name.

Now in Moundou, when I walk to Maddie or Gene’s house (each about 5-10 minutes away from mine), I am slowed down mostly by children shouting ‘Nasara’ with big smiles on their faces. They wave at me, and sometimes we shake hands. Generally, it is fun and I do like interacting with children, however at times I feel a little bit like a celebrity in Chad- every child wants to greet me, and shake my hand. While this is great, I really am no one special. Yet I am in the spot light and am beginning to understand both the joys and the struggles this brings (For example sometimes I almost fall in a puddle- when I look up there is almost always someone watching me and we laugh.

I must admit the word ‘Nasara’ has lost its scariness. I now will respond to it without fear, and that even though at times I get tired of all the attention and stares, I do enjoy waving at excited children.

Farming 101

Gene works for Baobab an organization that works in a variety of communities providing agricultural training and support to farming groups. Right now they are in the process of travelling to each of the communities to provide two trainings, one on raising goats/sheep and one on raising chickens. They generally take place on back to back days and depending on distance the two leaders may spend the night in the village. Just for you to get a sense of road conditions, our closest village is about a 25 minute drive away while our farther is 85 km away (which by North American standards is close however during the rainy season it is inaccessible).

On Thursday September 11, I had the opportunity of accompanying Konayal (the coordinator) and Jules (guest speaking veterinarian). My role was to translate for Gene (who is an MCC service worker who works for Baobab). Gene is very knowledgeable in agriculture however his French is limited. I had the task of translating from French to English so that he could understand what was being taught.

Koutou was the closest village and at only 25 minutes away it was mostly on paved roads. It is also the most prosperous of the villages that Baobab works with because of its close proximity to Moundou (meaning it can sell in the Moundou market). Also the area receives and keeps more water and therefore it is a better environment for things to grow.

Jules began his presentation with a review of proper management of group. You need elected members (not named) who are motivated and trustworthy to work. You should have a council- president vice-president, secretary, treasury, vice-treasury and two counsellors.

Next we began information on how to raise sheep/goats. In Chad, animals tend to be left to their own devices, to find their own food, water, shelter etc. This means that they do not produce much/any milk, they are often sick/die and if they are killed to be eaten they do not provide much meat. The goal of the presentation was to provide some basic farming information on how to raise sheep/goats. I decided that I would try to take some notes as well. Most of it I thought was common sense but it is still interesting to hear.

1) Lodging- you need it to protect animals from the heat, rain and cold. By having a home for your animals it allows you to use their manure, which will help the soils immensely. Make sure there is good aeration and a place nearby for sick and pregnant animals to graze.

2) Food- Grass is their main food, however it is very important that tan/dry out grass for your animals to eat in the hot season. Also it’s important to provide animals with clean drinking water (2-6 L per day). If animals are drinking in puddles/dirty water, they are likely to pick up parasites.

3) Reproduction- Make sure you are choosing healthy animals that are resistant to illnesses, and without any problems. This way their young will be healthier.

4) Sanitation- Unfortunately, we left at lunch time and so we did not stay to hear him talk about sanitation.

I am hopeful to be able to help out at Baobab as a translator for Gene from time to time. It is good practice for me and it allows for Gene to communicate with Baobab staff and for the staff to communicate with him. Overall it was a great day!

Petit à petit

Petit à Petit l’oiseau fait son nid.

Little by little the bird makes its nest (an English equivalent: Slow and Steady wins the race)

I was first introduced to this proverb at orientation by Mbaidiro (a Chadian who came to work in the US). It is also an expression that many Chadians have said to me since I have arrived. You will do/learn things little by little. This encouragement has really helped me as I slowly adjust to my life in Chad. Each day if I learn a little I feel as though I have had a good day. Here are some of things that I am learning to do little by little.

1) Learn Ngambai-(pronounced Gum- bye) This is definitely the biggest challenge so far as my host family speaks almost completely in Ngambai unless addressing me. The little children only speak Ngambai and learn French once they begin to go to school. Little by little I am picking up phrases and things to say. So far I can say: Hello, How are you?, I’m good., It’s hot out., My name is Ruth, What’s your name?, Good bye, Come, I drink water, Thank you.

It’s a start, and each day I learn a little more, however I’ve got an awfully long way to go if I want to have regular conversations in Ngambai. I’m hoping to get a tutor for a few weeks to help me with some basic Ngambai learning.

2) Cooking- So far I have peeled a few potatoes, ground grain with a mortar and pestle, and used a strainer to sift the fine flour from the not so fine flour. So little by little I’m beginning to help out with the cooking. By the end of my time, I hope to be able to cook many of the dishes that I eat.

3) Eating- My host family has been very kind and has cooked me very great meals. They are slowly easing me into eating boule (which is flour and water). I have had it 2-3 times but Chadians really like it and eat it every day. It is a very filling food, but without much nutrients. So little by little I’m eating more boule.

4) Turning the lamp- In Chad electricity is not consistent. At times it is on, and at other times it is not. My family has a generator that they use on occasion if the electricity is not working. But at other times we use flashlights and lamps when it gets dark. (In Chad it gets dark at 6:30pm.) One evening I brought out my solar lamp (given to me by my MCC reps) into the living room. Unfortunately I had not charged it much that day, and after about half an hour it died. My solar lamp has the ability to charge by turning a knob round and round. My host sister, Ornella, as well as a few cousins would take turns turning the knob little by little, then we would have light for a few minutes. We would do this again. I am learning to be very grateful for electricity.

As I learn little by little, remember that my time in Chad is only one story and one view of Chad. While I hope to provide you information to broaden your view of Chad, I am also aware of the danger of a single story, and perspective. Please feel free to check out the blogs of my fellow SALTers to learn about how they

Maddie Ruth maddieinchad.blogspot.ca

Mark Tymm peacepaixshalomsalaam.wordpress.com 

Laura Marcus http://unlikelycorners.weebly.com/blog

In their blogs:

Maddie's ‘I Spy’ gives a good sense of what happened during our drive in N’Djamena

Mark's ‘Maman and Papa Chad’ gives a very good overview of the work happening in Chad with MCC
Laura's 'Baby Steps' has some pictures of us and explains what we did during our in-country orientation.

Arrival and Family

The trip from N’Djamena took about 8 hours in an air-conditioned coach bus. We stopped two times for about 15-20 minutes for people to pick up food and go to the bathroom. I was very nervous when I left that I would feel carsick so I took a carsick pill and that helped me to sleep for the first 4 hours of the journey. There were parts of the road that were in great condition and we would drive very fast. At other times we would go very slowly to avoid big puddles and potholes from the rain. We are in the middle of rainy season now and so many of the roads are a bit difficult to navigate for vehicles and people alike. We were greeted in Moundou by Gene (a 3 year MCC service worker) and Sem (a respected elder of the community and my boss at CENTRAM).

We went to Sem’s house where I met my host mother Nénodji Mbaïgoto as well as Salomé a cousin who is 20 years old. Salomé has helped me out a lot these past few days. We have gone to the local market, a prayer time, and she has shown me how to get to Maddie and Gene’s house. She is also always around to answer my questions.

Ornella is my host sister. She is 10 years old. She wanted to braid my hair. We got about half way through my head. It was her first time and apparently the braids were not very tight, but they still hurt my head!  Here is a picture of Ornella with two others fixing a few braids. (This picture took about 15 minutes to load so I will only be able to post pictures every once in a while.)

 Right now there are many people in my coumpound as it is vacation so people are visiting. There are also some that come to work in the rice fields near by. I am still trying to figure out who people are, their relationship and if they are visiting or if they live permanently in the compound.

I call it a compound because it is a gated area with a large open space for lounging and preparing meals. There are then a number of different buildings with a couple rooms in each. My room is attached to the kitchen. There is a living room with a couple rooms for Maman and her children. There is another building for others to sleep with a room to keep dried goods. The final building has a latrine and a place to shower.

In the coming months I hope to provide more information about my host family, as well as my life in Chad. Stay tuned!

 

Part 2- Our Second market trip

The following day (Saturday) we were told that we were going to go to the market by ourselves to pick up items to make our lunch. We decided to make a peanut butter vegetable stew so we made a list and we left the house excited and nervous for the trip.

We made it on a taxi bus after waiting for about 5 minutes. Then once at the market our ‘mission’ began. We bought carrots, tomatoes, hot peppers, potatoes, onions, peanut butter, and okra. With each vendor we began with “Combien, Combien”, the vendor would give us a price and then we would bargain with them to try to bring down the price (Thankfully we had asked Angela what a typical price would be so we were able to lower the price to about what she suggested).

Once we had completed our purchases, we went back to the street to get a taxi bus back. I was a bit nervous to get back to the right area because it soon became apparent that our landmark ‘Hotel Shanghai’ was not super well known (Everyone knows how to get to the main market, but Hotel Shanghai is not known by all). After asking one taxi bus if they knew Hotel Shanghai (they said no), we had a number of full taxi buses. I was starting to get discouraged. Then the same taxi driver and assistant that brought us to the market earlier in the day drove up beside us (and recognized us). Their taxi bus was almost empty and let us in. I was so happy because they also knew the approximate location that we were picked up. We were dropped off and made it back to the Austin home.

Together, we worked to make fried okra and peanut butter stew for lunch. Both were delicious and overall it was a great experience and a lovely way to work together with my fellow SALTers. (Take a look at the picture of the four of us with the fresh produce we just bought).

Tomorrow I head with Maddie on a 6-hour bus ride to Moundou, Chad. I am excited to meet my host family and begin my work helping out at CENTRAM as an English Language Instructor.

Planes, Markets and a Home away from Home

My trip from Akron, PA began at an early 3:30 am on August 27^th when we left the MCC Welcoming Place to drive to Harrisburg for our first flight. We finished our journey 3 planes later, arriving at 12:15pm on August 28^th.  By the time we (Laura, Maddie, Mark and I) arrived we were so tired but we were very glad to see that our luggage had made it safely to N’Djamena.

We were picked up by our MCC reps (Jonathon and Angela Austin) and brought to their home where we were warmly greeted by their four children. It has been great to slowly get over jet lag, set up a local phone, and learn more about Chad and MCC’s work in Chad. I have really appreciated the hospitality of Angela and Jonathon and all the work they have put into making my first few days in Chad a positive experience.

Going to the market for the first time in N’Djamena was an experience that will be hard to forget. The 4 SALT workers left the house with Jeanne (a local Chadian who helps the Austin family). We walked down a red, dirt road for the first 10 minutes until we arrived at a paved road where there was a lot of traffic. We took a taxi bus to the market.

As soon as we exited the taxi, we were greeted by the smells, sounds, and people of the market. Many children selling plastic bags (which you would put your groceries in) came up to us and as we began walking through the market we were approached by people selling a variety of things- from limes, to scarfs, to watches, to bubble gum. We walked through the market past fruits and vegetables into a covered part that sold fish, beef, and goat. It was much more crowded in this area and I felt a little like a duckling trying to keep up with the mother hen (Jeanne) who would turn around to make sure we were keeping up from time to time.

Jeanne bought beef that the vendors ground for her with a machine on a table behind the stand. I have never seen meat ground before so that was interesting to see. We walked around the market for a bit longer and saw that there were stands selling almost everything- electronics, pasta, dishtowels, pots, etc. Once we had toured around, we returned by taxi bus to the Austin home.