SO i'm here, i'm not going to correct my spelling and will leave my i's all lowercase just due to the finicky nature of the internet. things here are amazing.
i will first describe the flight and travel process (31 hrs). Ethiopian air happens to be the nicest airline i've ever been on. so many movies and leg room i could write a song. the 14 hr flight was a dream. the airport terminal was a little confusing, paper signs reading now boarding and general waiting rooms can be a bit alarming. BUT we caught our flight from Adis Ababa into N'djamena without any problems.
we(one other salter by the name of Elizabeth(SO glad she's here, an incredibly interesting person with a great sense of humor)) have spent the last few days with our in country repesentatives Doug and Naomi Enns along with their daughter Hannah. They are an amazing group filled with love and knowledge(they also speak english)
My french, for those wondering, is starting to come along in baby steps, i start classes on friday to help with the transition.
SO Chad is incredible. the weather has been uncharacteristically cool which has afforded me with a nice period to adjust. i sweat constantly in the coldest weather of the year. so far so good. The food is different, they eat twice a day which is the only really different thing, i'll come around soon. The rain leaves fresh water puddles everywhere making transport pretty difficult on the less traveled roads. any time your feet get wet, you have to bleach them to ward off cholera. we bleach all of our food. So one starts to get the idea that you really have to love Chad to survive it.(a few mosquito bits so i'm holding my breath for the 11 day incubation period of malaria ;))
we had a chuch service that was AMAZING. there is so much energy joy here, you can't help but wonder why people at home are so unhappy all the time.
I have met my host family and am so excited that i can't really explain it on a blog fairly. The mother is so smiley and laughs with such an honest laugh, i think she will really bring me out of my dark places. the father is so gentle and easy to be comfortable around. he smiles and waits for me to scramble some french together with grace and appreciation for my effort. i have also met my siblings, i have not had much time to speak with them, but from what i can tell so far, i should be very encouraged. (they are a very handsome and educated family)
I will blog again but right now i must run, internet is not cheap
I LOVE you mom, and anyone else who is reading this
Monday 22 August 2011
Thursday 11 August 2011
A hop, skip, and a...
So I am now sitting in Akron PA in one of the most interesting and wonderful environments I have ever been in. We are at the MCC offices, who are currently hosting all of the SALTers as well as all of the IVEPers(a cross cultural exchange program).
I have said all the goodbyes. I am going to say that I'm just glad they're done. I would not have cried if my departure party simply hugged me goodbye and ran out of the door. Instead they opted to stalk me along the customs line. The line crept behind the other baggage claims which provided me with periodic shelter from crying eyes. These eyes ultimately won, affording me the honor of being "the guy" standing in the customs line with a case of the sniffles trying to pretend he's not crying.
As rough as that may have been, the rest of the trip has been a dream. I had planned on sleeping, but as fate should have it, a very concerned father sat down beside me. After a brief head nod, which I planned on following up with a little turn of the head with a 2 hour sleep to finish. BUT before I could turn my head I was launched head first into a conversation about what purpose leasing a room off residence has for a second year daughter.
I landed and, for the first time, was beaten by my bags to the baggage claim. WAY TO BE PA!! My excitement was brief, as my brief survey of the arrival pick ups found nobody from MCC. I then jumped into a very calm panic and simply walked around the terminal at least 4 times. Just as I decided to take more aggressive action, I was greeted by another SALTer, who had very much enjoyed my thinly veiled fear.
After all of the SALTers had been corralled we began our incredibly scenic drive through some very Amish and Mennonite towns. Their lifestyle makes more sense to me know than it did when I first read about them in high school.
After some icebreaker games, we played some ultimate frisbee. I am reasonably confident with a disc and was happy to play. I was much less happy when we changed to soccer. I have no skills... None. There are some IVEPers from Brazil who were so good I fully stopped playing to stand back and watch.
AND that is my first day away from home.
so far so great! ( I am not proofing these, so comment if you notice any grammatical or spelling errors that I should correct)
I have said all the goodbyes. I am going to say that I'm just glad they're done. I would not have cried if my departure party simply hugged me goodbye and ran out of the door. Instead they opted to stalk me along the customs line. The line crept behind the other baggage claims which provided me with periodic shelter from crying eyes. These eyes ultimately won, affording me the honor of being "the guy" standing in the customs line with a case of the sniffles trying to pretend he's not crying.
As rough as that may have been, the rest of the trip has been a dream. I had planned on sleeping, but as fate should have it, a very concerned father sat down beside me. After a brief head nod, which I planned on following up with a little turn of the head with a 2 hour sleep to finish. BUT before I could turn my head I was launched head first into a conversation about what purpose leasing a room off residence has for a second year daughter.
I landed and, for the first time, was beaten by my bags to the baggage claim. WAY TO BE PA!! My excitement was brief, as my brief survey of the arrival pick ups found nobody from MCC. I then jumped into a very calm panic and simply walked around the terminal at least 4 times. Just as I decided to take more aggressive action, I was greeted by another SALTer, who had very much enjoyed my thinly veiled fear.
After all of the SALTers had been corralled we began our incredibly scenic drive through some very Amish and Mennonite towns. Their lifestyle makes more sense to me know than it did when I first read about them in high school.
After some icebreaker games, we played some ultimate frisbee. I am reasonably confident with a disc and was happy to play. I was much less happy when we changed to soccer. I have no skills... None. There are some IVEPers from Brazil who were so good I fully stopped playing to stand back and watch.
AND that is my first day away from home.
so far so great! ( I am not proofing these, so comment if you notice any grammatical or spelling errors that I should correct)
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