High Frequency radio squelch is my lovely Christmas music this morning as I sit inside our little Ops room in our compound. When one cannot have Bing Crosby singing holiday classics, the next most logical choice is alien/robotic C-3PO sounding noises belching from a small desk mounted unit. I wish I could tell everyone that I'm feeling the holiday spirit and that I'm presently making paper snowflakes to assuage my pent up festive creativity, but...ummm....well its a bit hard when it is 100 degrees everyday, lizards scamper about, automatic weapon fire resounds every few nights, there is a war going on outside your cement walls, and your monkey refuses to brush your leg hair anymore because she's moody. So, no. No paper snow flakes. Je suis desole.
I decided, at some point last evening (I believe after my 4th drink at the French base) I'd get into the Christmas spirit if, and only if, I woke up this morning to a white, fluffy blanket of fresh snow. What? Stranger things have happened. George Bush was elected to a second term, wasn't he? So I went to bed and prayed for snow. And guess, what? Morning came too quickly, especially because .J'ai beaucoup bu la nuit dernière , et Je me sens malade. But suddenly out on the (sand) lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang (slowly) from bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a bunch of angry Muslim men, a tiny dog and a cat that's queer! Yep, there was no snow. What there was though besides the items listed above, was the smell of human feces wafting in from our overflowing cesspool directly below my window. It didn't exactly inspire me to shout a la tiny Timmy, ''God bless us, every one!" All well, there's always next year.
Christmas Dinner with the $70 turkey Darcy donated...
That all being said, with the help of the great team we have here in Chad, especially Darcy, I am going to be coming home...December 30th, and words can't describe how excited I am. There are many reasons for my returning, but one, family reasons aside, that I hope will be resolved at least slightly, is my increasing level of cynicism. While I do believe that to grow, learn and open your eyes to the world around inevitably leads to a certain amount of cynicism, and emotional fatigue, I feel that its quantity should, and can be mitigated. I think if not curbed, it spreads with such speed and scope, in exponential terms, into all realms of your life. So go home I must, and try and to put my head back on straight again, hopefully recharging me for another six months of African mayhem, ridiculous UN political games, barking cats, blazing heat, and wafting sewerage. Its amazing what a little of Grandma's cooking will do for you.
The part of Africa I love...
The past few weeks have been quite interesting though. We received our new pilot, Lauren, from Alaska and both Myriam and I have been busy showing her the ropes of Abeche existence. "Don't drive here. Don't take pictures of this, this, this, this and that. Don't slow down when you pass here. Don't make eye contact with these guys. Don't rear end the truck packed with explosives. Don't kick the live bullets on the tarmac. And don't stand behind a donkey." have been some of the finer points. She seems very down to earth, has a great sense of humor and will make a great addition to the team. BUT....now I'm part of Team Femme Chad. Yeah. I am now, besides our engineer (who is leaving in a week) and some animals, the only male expat here. (Strange, I was saying that like the animals are ex-patriots.) Count down to soap opera...5, 4, 3... Naw, I can't say that, and I hope it will never materialize into any drama. I am just drawing unfair parallels with other situations when I lived amongst an all female population that I was not in any way romantically involved with.
We are running out of people to fly now, as we have evacuated most everybody out of the field. Therefore UNHCR is finding creative ways to utilize our time and Jet fuel. "Can you go check out this airstrip, that airstrip and the other one? Can you run these loaves of bread to Bahai? Would you please take this can of Coke to Billy in Goz Beida...he says he really needs it. Could you go fly around aimlessly in circles for our viewing entertainment? Yipee."
A Recent Runway Incursion in Koukou. Patience is key...
So nothing too much to report from here, just the usual chaos of conflict. I hope to be able to fill many of you in on the happenings, politics, and melodrama of Chad, in person, in Rhode Island soon. Merry Christmas!
A sophisticated refueling procedure in Goz Beida...something we didn't do to often on the CRJ in Chicago O'hare...
Peace for all animals, big and small...
1 comment:
Happy New Year Jesse!! I am sure your family will love to have you back. God Bless you and may you find the right place for your head to rest. Job well done and I am sure efforts were not in vain. I will miss the monkey pics.
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