Day 1

Day One- This was the big day. The day when I would be embarking upon a new adventure. I told many that I was going to Chad, but it still seemed like a dream, even slightly a nightmare. I wasn't sure if I was ready to move to another country to live with people that I knew nothing about. Was I ready to put into practice all that I had learned? Was I ready to put myself into a position that would require a lot of faith, confidence, and work? The day of my departure I woke up after getting only a few hours of sleep because I was trying to figure out how I was going to get my four bags onto train, bus, taxi, or shuttle. The shuttle picked me up after 6 am, which would give me barely anytime to get to the airport in Virginia, which is over an hour away from where I was in MD. The guy who took me to the airport is from Nigeria, which I felt was quite appropriate for me to meet him. He told me about life in Nigeria, the issues that need to be fixed, etc.. We also talked about SDA’s compared to other religions and our individual church attendance. He ended up saying that he didn't go to church as much as he wanted because of work, but it wasn't a good excuse. I told him that many times we become slaves to our work and such and then church gets forgotten. While on the ride I felt like that it was not an accident that I rode with him, but the ride was good for the both of us. I hope that God was able to use my words to show him that church should be attended more. The ride was good for me because I was able to learn more about Africa and the talk made me happy that I was going on the trip. I did get to the airport a little late, but all things worked out. The plan ride from Virginia to Addis Abbada, Ethiopia took 12 hours. We had to wait three hours for our next flight to N’Djamena, which was another 4 hour flight. We left Virginia airport 10:15am Friday and landed in N’Djamena 12pm on Saturday. Flying over Chad was suprising to me because the landscape was very green, which is the opposite of how I imagined it. While I am here I want to show Chad in a different light than what is usually presented on the Internet. We were able to get all of our bags from the airport, which is a blessing because people usually don't get all of them. We left the small airport and were greeted by the Parkers couple who came to pick us up. They took Marci, Zach and I to a Christian compound in the city. The compound has a few houses that are used by people when they are passing through the capital and need a nice cheap place to stay. That evening they took us to a nice French inspired restaurant. This is the place where Marci said that she would come to when she wanted to get away and have familiar good food. When you go into the restaurant its like your in another place, rather than in Chad. When you walk in there are different types of ice cream, sherbet, and desserts behind glass counters. I was like a kid in a candy store because of the delightful looking desserts. The restaurant is small yet very quant. This will surely be the place that I run to whenever I am in the big city, so that I can have some ice cream, pizza, or other familiar foods. After eating a panni and coconut ice cream with cookies we went back to our lodging. That night I went to bed early knowing that this trip was going to be better than I ever expected.I felt more at peace because things were going better than I expected. The city was different than any place I have been to thus far, the people are different, but the people that I would be working with seemed to be people that would make the trip bearable. The next few days were full of surprises and more excitement in them (police station, market, and almost being illegal in Chad). Stay tuned to hear more about my adventures in Chad the foreign land that I am becoming to know.

Bon Jour!

Hello! Bon Jour!

This blog was made to tell anyone that wants to know about my travels abroad. I plan on going to new places in the future, so I can not make it all about one country. This blog will tell about the many adventures that I experience, customs of the natives, food I eat, and how I adjust to the new place that I am. This blog is here to allow people to experience my travels as though they were there themselves. Also as a way of connecting people from all around the world.

I am starting this blog to talk about my adventures in Tchad aka Chad. I will be here for one year away from all that I know and emerging into I culture that I know nothing about. I arrived here yesterday at 12pm after going from Fl, DC, Addis Abada, and then N'Djamena. I will be in the capital N'Djamena till tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow we will head down to Be're, first by bus and then by motorcycle. I have never been the continent of Africa, so this totally a new experience for me, but I am excited to see what happens.

Come with me on my journey in Tchad!