Tchad: 9 June
It’s me again. We are still alive and well. This is in fact a fascinating place to live for a few years IF you are prepared to be adaptable and open minded. Don’t get me wrong …. I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life here but…
I’ve discovered that the reason people walk or cycle across the road without looking is because there is this belief that if you can’t see a car close enough to run you over, then there isn’t one there. But if you do look first, you may see a car and then your chances of getting run over are much greater. It’s like the one about the tree falling in the forest and making no sound unless there is someone there to hear it.
I did actually start driving while Paul was in SA … the company chauffeur lost his job for a variety of reasons. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders!! And it was fun dodging the traffic, puddles, goats, dogs, children etc etc. It forced me to find my way around … I have a better idea of where things are now. I also met most of the English speaking people who live in N’Djamena … took about two days to do so ( that should give you some idea of how few of us there are) The company has now employed 2 drivers, one of whom is specifically for “Madame Herrmann’s” use. At least he gets me where I need to go on time. He also speaks no English which is, in fact, a good thing .. it forces me to communicate in French and, so far I’m not doing too badly!!
It is official, I will be working at the American school as of August 21st!! Never thought that I would end up teaching junior school children. It will be a challenge! Both Guy & Lauren will be at the school so it really will be a family affair (fortunately, I shan’t be teaching either of them.) I also have to think of an after-school activity which I can offer as there is a great demand for organized activities for the children (English speaking) in this town. There is nothing for them to do after school. In fact, during the “summer holiday” (July & August) most people leave Tchad for their holidays. I am dreading this as there will be no-one for Lauren & Guy to play with. There is a possibility that Paul may have a MD’s meeting in SA in July and so he may downgrade his business class flight to an economy one so that we can use the money to all fly back to SA for a few weeks!! Seems such a long way to go but, if the opportunity arises , well …
12 June.
Is it cold where you are ??? …. We are roasting! ….The house next door is no longer empty and instead of this being a good thing, what it actually means is that we have to share the generator with another family when the electricity goes down ( it is down at the moment) So, when we are using the generator, there is not enough power for the air-conditioners to function properly and they only operate on “fan”. This is not good when it is 45 degrees outside and there is no insulation in the roof!
Our family has increased in size yet again …. We thought that we might actually be able to make it through two or three years without pets but that was not to be! You see, there were these two kittens who desperately needed a home …. Real Tchaddian cats … tiny faces and huge ears …. And so they now belong to us! (Cats are easy to transport in an aeroplane!!) But that’s not all. We had Paul’s “local partner” around for a “braai” last night and they arrived with two very small tortoises!! (about 5cm across their shells, head to tail) Their parents are apparently 60 – 70 cm across. Now I will have to buy lettuce regularly … at about R10.00 a time, they could be as expensive as the cats to feed. Lauren decided that she was going to dream about names for all of these creatures whilst she was sleeping last night but she woke up this morning, not having had any success!! Anyone have any bright ideas??
I have a chap here at the moment building a new hut for the pool filter … the last one landed in the pool during one particularly violent storm. He is trying to use a welding machine to cut some poles to size so, every three minutes I have to rush to the electricity box to throw the switch again … the Mains keeps tripping out. The electricity supply to this house is amazing .. there are wires everywhere …. I hope (but am doubtful) that everything is actually safe. Talking of electricity …. Our electricity bill is higher than the rent for this house … and we are very careful not be excessive with the air cons (however, I drew the line when both Guy & I developed a permanent heat rash) Fortunately, the company pays these costs but they are a little frightening!!
Yes, we have had some rain which has thankfully dropped the temperature slightly (38 degrees instead of 46!) Tchad has Zimbabwean / highveld thunderstorms. The air gets heavy about an hour before the rain starts then the wind gets up and suddenly all hell breaks loose. We have already had a large part of a very pretty tree fall down on our new pool fence (that’s another story altogether) The rain hammers down for about 20 minutes and then suddenly stops and the sun comes out apologetically. But it doesn’t end there …. The soil here has a very high clay content and, thanks to the Chari River, the water table is very high. The water sits on the roads (very few are tarred) for weeks! Driving becomes a bit like the “Camel Challenge”. Suddenly I am glad that I don’t have to drive! The cows, at least, are very happy. Grass has suddenly begun to grow everywhere so there is food for the animals ( I haven’t a clue what they eat in the dry season) The goats are really fat and make the cows look as if they have been living in Ethiopia for the last few months!
We are not badly off; the local houses are constructed from unbaked bricks made from mud and dung. They do not survive well in the rain. I went with one of my ‘newly met’ friends to a village not far from N’Djamena where they make pots (we eventually found the village after we made our own road across the muddy plain) We walked through some of the houses in our search for pots to buy …. These people are really poor .. they have so little: no furniture to speak of, a few pots and a mat to sleep on and to top it all, half of the houses had partly fallen down in the recent rains. Such is life in Tchad!
I had better end this news letter now … I have to rescue Justine from the kids so that she can go home. (Justine looks after Guy in the mornings and both kids some afternoons so that I can get some work done.) Ah … Murphy’s law …. Just as I am finishing this with perspiration dripping from my nose the electricity supply has been re-connected and the air con in my office has started working! Oh, I never mentioned that we will be moving in the next few months to a bigger / better house near to the Prime Ministers residence. (The significance of this location is that, if we are on the same electricity circuit, then we should “never” suffer from power cuts!!) Paul has had to find another house for his Financial Director (he has to find one of those too) and when this house came up we decided that it was infinitely more suitable for the MD!! We will be getting a house full of brand new goods (sent from SA) so I guess we will have to stay here forever as we will never be able to live this well again.
Yours in perspiration
Paul, Fiona, Lauren, Guy
