Lately I have been looking at the calendar a lot. I count the months, then the days... as Naomi says " time waits for no-one." I left in April for a small vacation...that was four months ago. On September 12th I arrived in N'djamena, that was almost a year ago. Before I came here, honestly I was afraid. I was afraid of time. Tick tock tick tock. I thought time was going to go by so slow and I wouldn't know what to do with it. I was afraid that I would not like it here, therefore I would be counting down the months and days till my departure. It's almost a year from when I landed and I feels like less than that.
Since coming here I got really into my job. I am always learning and there is always something new.We always have to think of the future, so there isn't much time to waste. My job is flexible, unique, and open to many directions, so things are always shifting. There are always new places to see or time to revisit places. We started to do lectures out in the nearby villages. They are much smaller than were I live and face more health issues. This has given us another view of living not as close to the hospital and having limited education. We went to N'Djamena last month for a small vacation. After being here in a small village, the capital looked big and full of life. I could tell the difference from the people here, village, and big city. You also the differences in what people value, have, and characteristics. These places help open my eyes, rather then keeping my sight small with my own ideas.
There is always time to meet someone new. Here each day I meet someone new that I pass on the road or spend time talking with. You will always meet someone who will make you want to smile or shed a tear. There are always kids that grin ear to ear, while extending their hand to say "lapia" , which means hello in the local language. Some little ones stare in amazement, while others run away in total fear like your going to kill them. Then you meet those mother's that walked for 23 kilometers to seek help for their malnourished or dying child. You see how much they will do for their kids.
There are always times to learn something new. I live in a region where people speak French, Nangerie, or local Arabic. This means that there are a mixture of new words to learn always. On top of this you learn a lot from the people about their customs. Here, after a woman has a baby you are to make her bouille, which is rice porridge. You also bring them a bar soap. Another thing I have learned from working with the women, is that there are many who believe the first breast milk (colostrum) is bad for the baby. They think it's bad because of the yellowish tint. Therefore they express it all out and give the hind milk only. One thing I tell the moms is that it's actually the best thing for the baby to have, they should think of it as gold for the baby.
There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. A few weeks ago I found out two babies that were in the baby milk program died. One of the babies grandmother and I became like friends. Whenever we would see one another we would greet with a lot of Lapeias, hellos, to one another. She would make some joke and we would laugh. The mother of the baby died so she was all he had. She told us one time that she fell into the fire while trying to cook for him. She is probably in her 60's or 70's. She walks with a slight arch to her back, uses a stick for walking, and straps him on her back by tying a cloth around her. The week before he died she came to visit just to say hi to us all. The boy had the same demeanor of being scared of everyone, but this time he could walk away. One can see why my heart was not happy after hearing about his death. Laughter for us comes daily from dancing with the kids, tickling a random kid on the street, or laughing at someone's jokes.
There is also a time for life. Tonight I was able to witness the birth of Tchoeka and Valerie's baby boy. I rushed to the hospital when Naomi told me he was ready to come out. In less than an hour the baby was coming out screaming with his strong lungs. To see a life that was developing inside of a woman is so precious and a miracle.
Throughout my time here so far I have learned time passes fast, but you have to seize the moments and learn all you can. My journey here continues with a new adventure daily. I am almost to my year mark with no regrets of hoping on the plane to come here. I only regret not doing more things. While the clock continues to tick, I will continue to enjoy the time I have left....
~ Time will never wait for you, so enjoy each moment rather than living with regrets time wasted ~
