ca-va

SO I would like to apologize for the gap between posts, but would also like to say that I’m thinking this is about as frequently as I will be able to post. (Do you REALLY want to read more anyhow? The more frequently I write the less interesting the posts will be( nothing really crazy has happened these last two weeks, can you imagine this post stretched into TWO posts?))
First thing to talk about it the teaching I guess, it is what I’m here to do right? The class room is very different. I think that the teacher is much more respected and revered by students here. But I think I’ve missed my moment to establish fear. The class sizes average around 50 so trying to keep them all on task is proving difficult. I was really struggling with talking in class and a general disinterest in what I was teaching initially. But believe I am starting to make some progress. I have leaned pretty heavily on grammar so far. I think it’s easy to feel like we’ve made progress but also requires little creativity. Sad but honest confession…
I can’t say my social network has really expanded much. This is of course my fault. I come home at the end of the day and do some prep for the following classes, and by the time the day is done I just want to read a book and implode. I’ve never been an introverted person before, but I find myself retreating to solitude far too often. Perhaps a subject for prayer and encouragement. Funny stories are limited this week. I’m writing this in my bed which means several things, the bug net keeps all of the incredibly large grasshoppers out, we have power (my family tries very hard but we do spend the odd night without power due to difficulties with the generator. They bought a new one shortly after I arrived and it’s been a lot of effort for them (I have no small engine skills, no skills concerning any size of engine… I am man)). YUP bug story, spiders of death!! (Do I have your attention?) ps I’m totally exaggerating, I don’t think they’re lethal. They’re huge and the local teachers have told me that a bit will really hurt and flare up, but I think most people survive (like all). Trying to find the particular type. Look up golden orb spider and you’ll see a bunch of different types, there’s one kind I keep seeing that is TERRIFYING to look at. He hangs out at the school a lot and I’m hoping they all just die when the rain stops. Think I found the name “golden orb spider” or “Yellow Argiope”. It’s my closest effort. So my limited research would imply that they float like a monster but sting like a bee…
My audio jack has stopped working, so now if I want to watch a movie or listen to a show everyone can hear. My window is metal slabs and there are aaalways people out and about, and I feel guilty when I try to watch a show alone, it’s a way to recharge for me, but now I have to broadcast my entertainment. Probably will curb it a bit.
I’m thinking I’m going to get baptized here, there’s a three month course that I’ve heard is REALLY intense that I will have to work my way through. The people here really connect with the Old Testament; I think he lifestyle here really provides a better understanding of old testament and the motivations, and significance of events.So I think I’ll have my OT knowledge tested pretty savagely. But yah at the end of it they have this massive baptism with thousands of people in the river. Pretty excited about it!
More news to come. My power is almost gone and so is my internet so I’ll wrap this up by saying that I miss you all at home and if you want to send me any pics via mail or email that you think would make me smile I’d appreciate that. I tried cruising facebook to grab some pics but the internet is SOOOOO slow, I’ve given up on skype and trying to be more intentional about what I want to accomplish with my time online.
Thanks for reading and sending encouragment.MUCH love... Stay classy

a day in the life... perhaps more eventful than most

SOOOO I have alot of other things to say, a few things that I want to reflect on, teaching and such (it's going well, i know that's not a satisfactory update but i promise to elaborate in my next post. But lets just talk about today.I'll mention a family after i figure out what I should say about them. (Speak to some people about my blogging etiquette But don't worry, today was eventful enough to keep slightly entertained. The morning started off with hopes to visit a Chadian hospital. I have mode some fantastic friends at the weekly volley ball game i attend on Sundays at a bible translation complex. Some of these friends are doctors and pharmacist assistants. They were kind enough to invite me out promising that i could be useful at any time i could get out there.( It's a pretty far cab and i'd have to go in the early am so i'm thinking a bike is my best solution) But due to several factors we were unable to go into the hospital today and ended up going into the grand market for some supplies. Side tangent. I live in the sticks, in the country where the driving is easy and the population is sparse. I can walk (side side tangent, i'm writing this at night in the dark with the little battery i have left on my laptop. it is the only source of light and there is a bug in the room with SIGNIFIGANT mass flying around. but i'm totally fine and maintaining composure, i'll let you know if the situation develops) down (bug update. it's the largest grasshopper i've ever seen= not dangerous and kindda cool) my incredibly long road (20km, probably a bit less) without seeing another person. So i don't do well in tight situations, rubbing shoulders makes me cringe and the grand market is a chaotic ocean of bodies moving ins a seemingly random dance that one has to stop thinking about. you just have to start moving and go with it. (major bug development. grass hopper to the face) So i'm am in the market testing out me totally partial but kind of awesome french skills talking to people in the market about really trivial things, like where can i but a metal pole (gunna make my own weights using powdered (breaking bug news, i'm not making this up, this is a write it in one run and just ramble blog, grasshopper landed on my head. still super cool about it. it's not like the dark gets to me...) milk cans and cement).We (my medically inclined friends and I) started to make our way into the makret and saw a little ally shooting one sides(the market is outlined by a massive square building (like a castle wall) filled with vendors. (think this is my last bug update, he's really active and it sort of ruins the flow, but he landed on my hand and i have him my best beyonce shouldda put a ring on it evasive maneuver). we went into this dark alley only to find that it is where they do alot of the actual butchering. the ally was probably about 100 yards in length. The amount of walking space down the middle was limited, maybe 5 feet. and on either side where these 10 by 10 butcher cubicles, all identical, all with a section of some animal, beef goat and lamb is what i'm thinking. there were meat hooks and crazy looking knives, people shouting at us to look at their meat, and a ton of people all squeezing through. I saw cuts of meat that i honestly don't know where in the body they could have come from. some looked like different types of a coral reef or something. we emerged only to find that we had walked into the fish section. so of course we investigated, same idea, but filled with fish, some super large, most normal looking. there were none that seemed incredibly abnormal. thus concludes my description of the fish market. after we found the food we were looking for we started to make our way out, and then it happened. I saw him from about 5 feet away. crash collision course. this happens every few feet in the market so i side stepped to avoid, but he kindda side stepped with me rendering contact inevitable.It was heavy and high up, his shoulder to my collar.BOOM (me slowing down time) I feel alarmed and confused, the impact was avoidable... intentional i realize. and then i feel him reaching into my pocket. with all the skills a yellow belt in karate can teach an 11 year old (yo i'm a weapon) i swatted his hand away and yelled at him really loud. he didn't run like i kind of wanted but he made a sharp 90 and walked away pretty quick. I was so stoked, first thought: bloggable!! quick times wrap up for the market today, no metal pipe.Oh i also walked there, about an hour walk, fantastic experience. the homes and people and everything are so interesting when you take the time to really look at them. After a jog at the school (on the field next to some crazy talented students playing soccer, i mean crazy talent. like i should be charged admission) i received a phone call from Samson. he goes to my church, speaks english like any friend you'd find in Canada, and just so happens to be really nice. He has told me in the past that he's working on some movie. So he's inviting me to be a small part in the film( the film is about prostitution and the risk that is poses to both parties involved). could i say no. so no dinner, back out the door, meet Samson a short walk from the house. (walking at night, different experience) The production of this hole thing is WAY more than expected. they've got a ton of equipment, lights and everything powered by a generator kept in the back of a van. it's pitch black out (7PM is DARK yo) we're on the side of a major road, like as major as a road can get in rural Chad. and i would say that half the bikes that rode by stopped to see what was going on. the crowd got crazy big, and then i felt really anxious about my cameo( this is also my frist interacion with the police, they stopped by because they thought we were actually trying to sell the girls, not the only people. pretty sure at least 2 early passerby's made a move on our actresses) . lights are on, bugs burning on them. leaving a constant tail of smoke. crowd has assembled and is waiting expectantly. Samson walks over and explains that i'm going to go over and attempt to purchase a prositute, (SIDE NOOOOTE fully saw a "night market" where a guy was selling girls while we waited for some crew to show up to help make movie about how "night markets" are horrible) She doesnt' speak English and I don't speak french. I offer her 15 thousand franks for a night's rental, she wants 5 but thins i'm offering 3, insists on 5 i hear 50 and leave. that was the extent of my explanation, I think it went well, the crowd didn't boo me so i'm thinking if the teaching here doesn't work out, maybe there's some need for a white man in chadian day time television. It was done quick and i walked home. I then sat in a very buddy room with the only source of light and stayed up way past my bed time. GOOD night