This is Life

     This is going to be a hodgepodge blog. For once I do not need to fill you in on a holiday, so I am going to give you a little peek into my everyday life. Hold onto your hats.

     As a farmer’s daughter, I know to discuss the weather first.

     It is actually the cold, dry season right now. It feels like Fall in the mornings, Summer in the afternoons, and Spring in the evenings. I love it. The air is crisp in the mornings so the jackets and coats have come out of storage. The Africans really bundle up but it is probably in the lower 60s. By the time the sun is at full power it gets pretty toasty. Then it starts to set and the temperature turns to mellow, glowing warmth.

It is incredibly dry so red dust is constantly coating your skin, getting in your eyes, and creating a carpet over every exposed surface. Clando drivers on their motos sport dust masks and a thick layer of dust on their hair and eyelashes. Sometimes trucks spray water in particularly dry places. I don’t know where they are getting the water because our family has been forced to leave the compound to find enough water for 6 people. The wells are low, and probably will be for a while. This isn’t dire, just inconvenient. Dry is normal for Chad. Chapstick has become my new best friend.

     My mornings usually start a little before 7am when the house help arrives and the kids in my family leave for school. It is impossible to sleep through morning noise because my windows are just screens (luxury!) and shutters. I drink very sweet tea and eat bread for breakfast. Most days I hop on the back of my host father’s moto and take a 15 – 20 minute ride to Altonodji. If I am not teaching, I am speaking poor French or English with the other teachers, preparing lessons, or shaking hands with fascinated kindergarteners. The school day ends around one, and I head for home around 2.

     Lunch is sometimes as late as 4:00, though we all eat at different times and in different places. I usually eat with my host father (known to the community as Papa Joe) in the house. This meal is always boule with some sort of sauce that I eat with my hands. Then the rest of the afternoon is for naps, homework, and socializing. I made friends with a Danish nurse at the hospital across town and we like to get together for smoothies or internet time at the cyber café. There are also volleyball games twice a week at the church that I try to wiggle my way into.

     It starts to get dark around 5:30 or 6:00 so I have to find my shower water before then. If the tanks at our house are full the water will be warm from sitting in the sun. Right now, that is a good thing because the evenings are cool. After a bucket shower I can prop up at flash light in my room and try to work, but most evenings I sit on my carpet and listen to books on my ipod. (A huge thank you to my brother for that foresight.) Sometimes I will perch on the edge of the kitchen and watch my host sister prepare supper, but the mosquitoes are a problem. We eat by lamplight at 7:30 or 8:00 (usually something other than boule, which is nice), and then finish the evening by praying and singing together at 9:00. By that time it has been dark for over three hours and I am ready to pass out.

     So that is a day in the life of Kelsey. Of course every day has its own unique moments. For example, I have malaria again so that has thrown a little wrench into my schedule. Thankfully, it is just a light case so I am still functioning. And this last week on was on the Chadian radio doing some advertising for the English speaking classes at CENTRAM. Didn't expect that.

I realize that people at home enjoy hearing actual stories so I will leave you with a highlight of my week.

       The first and last teacher of the day prays with his or her class. I finish of my Saturdays with a short English prayer in my younger class. This last week I finally wrote out my prayer and I noticed that some kids copied it down. I always ask the students if they want to pray but they always turn me down. But on Saturday one girl, my best and most quiet student, raised her hand, stood up, and prayed a flawless English prayer. I can’t tell you how surprised and proud I was. Busting my buttons, you might say. So even when it feels like I am completely useless over here, there are moments of absolute accomplishment.

     

Here is your picture, Mom! This is Dadi and me in my classroom. The photo was taken by a very talented MCC photographer.

  Wishing you all the best!