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.