Arrival

Hello there!

I am, at this moment, sitting in my mosquito net in N’Djamena and sweating and sweating and sweating. The past 3 (?) days have been such a whirlwind. I don’t really know how many hours I’ve been up or what day it is.

The layover in Paris wasn’t too awful. It gave us a lot of time to play cards. The flight from Paris to N’Djamena wasn’t bad either. I slept a lot on the way down here. Just before I got off the plan in N’dj, I realized that I didn’t know where my PC passport was. I had just been using my personal one all day. When we climbed off the plane, there were about 10 military police guys standing around and I though “I’m screwed.” But I found it on the way to the main terminal (a small concrete building with no AC – lots of bugs) and my heartrate returned to normal.

It is humid but not too hot, with a strong wind blowing. The sand was blowing across the road on the way to the PC compound (we rode in Land Rovers) and it looked like snow in Iowa. The Chadians I’ve seen are so tall. They’re lanky and tall tall tall. There were so many women in beautifully colored scarves and skirts and headdresses. Most of the men are wearing long white robes with the white cap on their heads. I got up to go the bathroom on the plane and there was a guy in the aisle praying towards Mecca! Most of the other people on the plane were UN doctors. They are going to develop a plan for what to do if cholera hits the refugee camps.

So, hope all is well at home. Sorry this is short and a little disjointed. I miss you and I love you. I’m safe and doing great. Hope I hear from you soon!

Love,
Kate