So this is culture shock...

We arrived in Chad on Thursday morning after a delay in Ethiopia and a bumpy landing at N'Djamena international airport. The heat and humidity hit us like a wall as we got off the plane. In my light sweatshirt, I was sweating before I even made it to the tarmac. Inside the airport we made it through customs and ventured on into luggage collection. The room holding the luggage roundabout was crowded and chaotic. Men in airport uniforms were competing for our attention, hoping to make a few hundred Francs to carry our bags. I did a lot of looking around in bewilderment until two men approached us carrying our flight itinerary, clearly sent by MCC to help us through the chaos. On the other side we were met by Angela, one of our country reps. We've spent the last couple days staying in her home and slowly easing ourselves into the Chadian way of life. We've met some of MCC's Chadian partners, including Victor who will be my supervisor at Ethics, Peace and Justice. The biggest adventure by far has been exploring the Central Market.

For the first market trip we went with Jeanne, Angela's housekeeper, as our guide. Jeanne is a gentle and caring woman with a great deal of patience for my less-than-fluent french. I and the other women covered our hair and we all left the gate of John and Angela's walled compound to explore the rest of the city. We walked down dirt streets, full of deep holes from the rainy season, past many low rise concrete buildings and groups of people sitting outside on the curbs, staring at us like the foreigners we are. Traffic has no rules – at least none I recognize. Motos (motorcycles) and cars drive together in a nebulous space of unclear lanes, and intersections seem to operate on a “watch out – everyone for themselves” sort of system. Into this traffic environment Jeanne waved down a bus (a 15ish seat van). We paid a thousand Francs (~ $0.50 each) and piled into the back seats through the trunk. Once in the market we navigated the crowds by sticking to Jeanne like a brood of goslings – literally, we formed a single file line and wandered around like poor lost geese! There was a lot take in: rows upon rows of vegetables on the ground, raw meat being prepared before our eyes with large machetes, beads, bags, clothing, people hanging out in every available corner, vendors trying to get our attention in Arabic and French, navigating rough ground dotted with potholes and mud-puddles, cars and motos plowing through the crowded alleys, horns honking, people bartering, and all the while hearing “Nasara, Nasara” at our backs wherever we went - “white person, white person...”


The next day we went back to the market but this time without a guide. Slightly apprehensive but eager to make our way we set out – three young Nasara's – trying to mimic everything Jeanne had done the day before. We made our way down sandy roads, dodged motos and cars, found a bus, confirmed it was indeed headed for the market, got off at the right place, made it past the clothing and beads and meat to the vegetable alley and bartered our produce to a reasonable price! Feeling fully victorious at the success of our adventure we headed back to the main road to get the return bus, finding one in just the same place as the day before. A simple conversation with the driver informed us that his rout was different than we needed so we turned back to wait for another bus. All of a sudden we hear voices calling us back - “we'll change our route” the driver told us in French. “Do you know Hotel Shanghai?” we asked about the landmark nearest Angela's home. He replied that he knew it well and would take us there for the usual fare. So we hopped in. From the first turn I knew we were not headed back the way we came. My attempts to communicate this were ignored, so we decided to roll with it for a little and see if they new another way... T.I.A. after all. It soon became clear that these people had no idea where to find Hotel Shanhai. Not a clue. And we had no idea where in the city we were. Lost in N'Djamena on day two! Our driver asked a passing taxi for directions; he asked other passengers; one passenger even called a friend (first going through the whole Chadian ritual of “how are you? How are your children? How are your children's children?” and still didn't find out where to find Hotel Shanghai). Eventually the bus stopped and out the window I saw some Chinese script on the adjacent building, but I had no idea where we were. He'd taken us to the other Chinese hotel in town. It was time to enact the emergency plan B. We looked around – United Nations office on one corner with guards out front, major European hotel chain on another – and decided this was likely a relatively safe area of town to hop out of the bus and wait to be rescued. We called Angela who knew the place and came and picked us up.



I wish I had some great insight about Chadian culture to glean from this experience, but I think for now I'll let the story speak for itself. Leaning to find my way in this new place will be a process, but for now I'm thankful for the chances to get out there and explore, and for excellent country reps who swoop in and save the day when we get lost!

Listen First

My adventure began as so many do, with an early morning, the anxiety of “surely I am forgetting something…” the tetris game of loading a van full of bags, and a long drive. At the other end we were greeted by warm and friendly MCC staff, wearing names around their necks that I recognized from many emails and phone calls.

The first activity of the evening was supper and I quickly discovered why mealtimes would be a highlight of orientation (and not only for the joy of eating delicious food). While SALT is a program that sends young adults from North America to volunteer in countries around the world, we are also sharing this orientation experience with incoming IVEP participants (International Volunteer Exchange Program), a program in which volunteers come from all over the world to help out in the US and Canada. The resulting cross-cultural experience is rich and engaging, and the sharing often comes most naturally while sharing meals together. We've connected with participants from the opposite program who come from the places closest to our own destinations, sharing stories and cultural tips with one another. Conversations begin to occur in many different languages whenever possible – French, Spanish, Indonesian, Lao, Korean, and Tonga (to name a few). Warmth, interest, courtesy, laughter, respect, openness, and did I mention laughter? These are simply some of the characteristics of this exceptional group. In just a few short days, I have seen people reach out to one another across cultural and language barriers, embracing the lives and stories of strangers and extending care and friendship.

One thing I've heard over and over again during these orientation presentations is that the key to cross-cultural relationships is to listen, listen, and listen again. In this respect, I brought a surprise secret weapon with me to orientation. I woke up the day before my departure with laryngitis... While certainly not ideal (I’m sure those who met me on Wednesday evening believed that I have a shy, reserved and quiet nature), the seemingly unfortunate loss of my voice actually turned out to be incredibly valuable as I prepare to jump into Chadian culture. What better way to force me to practice listening than by physically removing my capacity for speech!? By holding my tongue a little more than usual this week, I’ve become a more attentive participant in this temporary community of travelers. Now as my voice returns, I’m trying to remember this lesson. I’ll practice being curious, and patient. I’ll practice asking questions first and pausing to consider my contributions more carefully than I might have before. Stay tuned to see how well I remember this lesson in the future!

Orientation has given me a fabulous community of support that will soon be scattered all over the world. I will be keeping each traveler in my heart as I board my own flight, and wish well for everyone, whether they end up in Philadelphia, Vancouver, Durban, or Beirut. Travel well, my friends!

About this blog

From August, 2013 until July 2014 I am working as a Peace and Justice Assistant for Mennonite Central Committee, in N'Djamena Chad. During the application process, many people asked me "Why Chad?" and the best way I could find to answer them was by telling this story:

In 2009 I found myself in South Africa, staying in the home of a Coloured family near Cape Town. Every night we would sit at their kitchen table before bed, drinking Rooibos tea and talking about Apartheid, peace, development, and life in Africa. They shared from a lifetime of experience. I shared my modest reflections from a 3 month journey. One night my host said to me: "Michelle, it's great that you came to South Africa to learn about life here; but this is the Europe of Africa. Until you travel further north, you still do not understand Africa." Those were sharp words for a curious soul, and they stayed with me.

In many ways, my privilege prevents me from truly understanding the Africa of my host family, but my hope was that in signing up for a year of peace and development work in another African country, I would get a little closer. I knew almost nothing about Chad when the placement came up, and perhaps that was my first clue that N'Djamena was the perfect choice. My hope is that through sharing stories and reflections from my time in Chad, we may come one step closer to understanding the vision of Africa held by my friend from the Cape.