is some information.
I live in a small room on the end of a mud house. In Chad, most
families have compounds. Most compounds including mine contain a well,
hopefully a tree, clotheslines, a place to cook, a place to dump trash,
and maybe another house. The houses are mostly constructed out of mud
bricks. Most compounds also have a multitude of ducks, chickens, dogs,
and goats always scratching and running around.
My compound is about 15-20 minutes walk from the hospital. I walk down
a narrow packed earth path that winds through other compounds, corn
fields, cows, pigs, children, and trash. Once I enter my coumpound,
there is a lovely mango tree on the left. to the right is the 3 room
family's house (hut) with a metal roof and adjoining that at a 90 degree
angle is my room. I have a metal roof and metal doors and it is usually
15-20 degrees hotter inside and my glasses fog up when I enter. they
did however, give me the best room (i recently found this out) because
there's doesn't have cement floors and they have rats. (hence the
reason we are moving soon)) there is a kitchen outside in front of the
house opposite my room and there are woven mats held upright by sticks
that shelter the kitchen area.
there are these woven metal basket things that they fill with coal and
cook on. or 3 rocks placed at angles with sticks underneath and a pot
on top. I cooked soup once and it took me 2 hours and i was so
exhausted at the end. but they still magicaly always have hot food for
me no matter when i get home.
the family eats boule (spelling incorrect i'm sure) which is made of
rice and millet and it is like a thick cuttable pudding consistency.
when its fresh it is actually really good. they wash their hands and
just dip into it with the fingers of your right hand and then dip in
into a communal pot of sauce. the sauce is usually fish or goat meat or
chicken or tomoto or made of a green leaf called legume?? i actually
like boule but since i'm vegetarian they have decided to cook macaroni.
For almost every meal. the macaroni is exactly what you would imagine
macaroni to be and it is seasoned with tomatoe powder and copious
copious amounts of oil. I try to eat it but its getting difficult.
for breakfast...breakfast is my favorite. I usually get beans and rice
(beans = blackeyed peas) (also drenched in oil) or a starchy sweat
potato boiled and served with tomato sauce. Sometimes I get rice also
with scrambled eyes on top.
I am definately not starving but entirely grateful for the multivitamins
I brought. they also serve me heaping heaping portions of everything.
literally enough to feed a family of 4. so i usually eat for 2 and
leave 2 in the bowel. i try very hard. they said because i am big my
stomach is also so i need more food than everyone else. when i say our
stomach is the same size they laugh as if its the funniest thing they
have ever heard. so, so much for coming back from Chad skinny and
wonderful looking......
there are 6 kids in the family, ranging from 2 to 12, a 14 year old
niece that lives with us. 2 grandmothers, Bikaou, the mother, is a
midwife or "sage femme" in French. Teskrio works in
"urgence" the tchadian emergency room. they are lovely and intelligent
people and i am so glad to live with them. there is also the neighbor
that lives next to the grandmothers with 3 kids also.
i'm tired of writing about my surroundings but perhaps will add more
later.......
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