Teaching...

I think the two crowd favorites, out of all the public health lectures we have done so far, were the personal hygiene skit and the gatteux skit.  The personal hygiene skit was aimed to portray how germs spread. It was about a family that didn't wash their hands and all became very sick.  The best part was when Zach, who was the father, got explosive diarrhea and ran to the squat pot. (A squat pot is a pit toilet...it's basically a hole in the ground. Nasaras don't usually use them). 

The gatteux skit was for the family planning lecture. We wanted to emphasis that it is best to space out your children. They need to wait at least two years between each child so they can better prepare and provide for each little kid that joins the family. In this skit there was a family with a hard working mother.  The first part of the skit the mother didn't space out her children and they all got sick.  She had to use the little money she made on medicine. With the money she had left after getting medicine, she could only buy two gatteux. (Gatteux are like little donuts). Tchadian custom is to serve the husband first.  He greedily ate one whole gatteux. We had on of the Bere boys play the role of the father and he had to stuff the whole gatteux in his mouth.  The crowd loved it. Then we showed how malnutrition and other health issues affected the family. Of course we ended on a happy note, showing how spacing and family planning can help prevent some of these problems.  

Another aspect of the family planning lecture was the use of contraceptives. We talked about all the options we provided for free at the hospital, followed by a special activity.  We had them practice the proper way of using a condom. (The bananas aren't big enough here, so we used an American style cucumber. We weren't able to eat cucumbers for a week after this lecture).

I was in charge of preparing the props and prizes for the lecture.  While I was running around the hospital collecting what was needed, Benzaki, the head public health worker in the hospital, stopped me. He handed me a box full of condoms and said to pass them out during the lecture.  If I was done running around the hospital, this wouldn't have been a problem. Too bad I wasn't though.  For the next hour I walked around the hospital with an open box of condoms (it didn't have a lid!).  I was already getting looks for being a nasara, but it got worse with the box. All the Tchadian men were trying to look in the box. Once they realized what I was holding it spread like wildfire. The men who knew a little English tried to talk to me and were a little too friendly. I was so embarrassed! I just told them to come to my lecture and they would find out why I had so many condoms. Back at the demonstration, the Tchadian men loved showing how much they knew about condoms. They were cracking jokes left and right during the condom activity. I'm glad they actually learned a lot from the lecture too.

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Teaching English has been a lot of fun. Well, it was fun for the first two weeks.  By week two it was time for me to teach the sixth graders for the first time. I started with the basics to assess what they knew and what they needed to learn. Like the classes before, I started simply with the alphabet. The class knew almost all of the letters, so I decided to move on for the day.  The teacher stopped me from erasing the letters off of the board.  I was confused. He started to speak to me in French asking me to do something with the alphabet.  After a while, I realized he was asking me to write the phonics under each letter. He wanted the kids to write them down so they can study it later.  

I tried to tell him I didn't know French phonics, but he wouldn't listen. He kept saying that it was the same as English phonics. I gave up and wrote the English phonics. (Let's be real. I wrote random letters down). The teacher told me that I was wrong and erased it. Once again I told the teacher I didn't know and tried handing him the chalk. He wouldn't take it! I tried writing the phonics three other times, and was told each time that they were all wrong. Finally, the teacher took the chalk and showed me how to write the phonic for the letter A. (He wanted all the accents and stuff that we don't use in English). Based on his example I was able to guess B, C, and D.

While I was writing the phonics for those letters the teacher left! I didn't know what to do. I looked at the kids, looked at the board, then looked outside. The kids had so much fun laughing at me. I didn't know what to do. I looked at the board, then looked at the students once again. I handed one of the kids the chalk and said the letter he needed to write the phonic for. That at least kept their attention. Now every child wanted the chance to write on the board and now it took us half an hour to agree on the phonetics for each letter. We stayed each letter until everyone agreed it was right, only then moving on to the next one. 

Once we finished the alphabet I tried review numbers with them, but the children were too rowdy. They were confident they knew all the numbers just like the alphabet.  Turns out they were solid on numbers one through twenty, but had to be reminded of the rest.  To try and grasp their attention again I started writing larger numbers.  They were stumped.  They know tens, hundreds and thousands, but if I wrote 395 on the board they didn't know the answer. I don't know what to teach them next time, and I don't really want to teach them again.  But you've got to do what you've got to do.

Other Changes I Have Noticed...

Besides the big life changers, there have been other changes I've noticed as well. I never thought these changes would ever take place. I don't feel like writing in paragraph format so here is a short list of all the things I have noticed-- so far:

- My nails are growing faster. 

- My hair is growing slower, however, it is coming out faster.

- My teeth feel like they are quickly rotting out of my mouth although I have almost tripled my usual dental hygiene. 

- There is a triple serving of oil and a double serving of sugar in every meal. Surprisingly, my face is pretty clear even though I am eating so much oil. (That is probably why my teeth are so bad).

-  I sleep around 9 hours every night but still feel exhausted the next day. I always wonder if it is either malaria or just pure exhaustion. You never know here. I've been tested twice thus far just to be told I was only exhausted. 

- Every medical problem is caused by malaria . . . even if it isn't a symptom of malaria. Like sneezing continuously due to allergies. It's not allergies; "you have malaria".

- Everyone has become more open about EVERYTHING that goes on in their body. Almost daily you have to talk about how "regular" your bowel movements are.  And if you had diarrhea you get to explain the flow, the color, the size (pretty much everything) in detail to EVERYONE.

Lastly, I have mastered the Tchadian stare. (I have to write a little paragraph about this because it needs a more in-depth explanation). Tchadians stare at anything and everything that interests them. So, nasaras are always getting stared at. The day Josh, Daniel and I realized we mastered this Tchadian stare was . . . funny, to say the least. We were working on the hospital grounds and a particular pair of people caught our eye. They weren't Tchadian! We stared at them long and hard. We even walked a bit closer to get a better look. It turned out they were Chinese oil workers who had stopped by the hospital because one of them had malaria. I pray I won't stare at everyone when I get back to America. I am a little scared that the waves of diverse races and ethnicities will suck me in and cause me to maintain my new habit.  I would be mesmerized for days. I guess I'll just have to find out when I get back.

My Birthday

I just want to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes. It was a great day.  My birthday fell on Wednesday-- dental day-- so for my birthday I was able to be more active than usual. I was able to pull a tooth all by myself.

During the dental lecture the guys had the audience sing happy birthday to me.  They failed big time, but it still succeeded in being very embarrassing. Not only did the Tchadians not know the "Happy Birthday" song, most don't even celebrate birthdays. Chad is ranked the 4th highest in child mortality so many Tchadian women don't bond with their child until they turn two years old because they fear the child will die.  The child grows up without a name for the first two years of their life, and will never know their birthday. Most of the Bere boys don't know their birthdays.  Parents aren't worried about those things. I was told that only the educated families know how old their children are.  

The Bere boys were given birthdays when they were "adopted" into the Bere family. That means, they each get to have an awesome birthday party like I had.  It was small, but a lot of fun. There was a ton of chocolate, including the cake, and other finger foods. I didn't realize how much I missed listening to music out loud until my birthday party. I listen to my iPod all the time, but the music seems to have a different effect when played out loud.  There were also games that we played late into the night. Actually, only until 8pm, which is late for Chad.  

It was funny while they were trying to plan the party though. They didn't want to tell me the details of the party, but no one knew me well enough to plan effectively.  I would overhear them ask Josh or Daniel what foods I liked. I chuckled to myself every time I heard them reply, "We don't know. We just met her a month ago."  You feel like you have known someone for a long time here. However, instances like this remind you how little you know each other. 

Plans are Changing!

When I decided I wanted to take a year off to SM I had distinct plans. They weren't too specific, but they were plans nonetheless.  I wanted to know, without a shadow of doubt, that I wanted to dedicate my whole life to be a missionary. I knew I would continue to go on mission trips regardless. However, I wanted to make sure I was on the right career path to reach my goals.  

My second plan for the trip was doing something medical related.  Most of the calls for SMs were to teach English. I didn't want to teach english. I could never see myself teaching, especially English. My English skills are not up to par.  I felt like I would be cheating the kids if I were to teach them English.  

Lastly, I wanted to learn more about myself and God. I am a planner. I try to make broad plans to leave room for change. However, they are always more specific than need be. For example, I want to be a missionary doctor and start my own lifestyle center/hospital. My plans should have stopped there, but they didn't. My plans became so complex I realize that I wouldn't have room for a family of my own, or even a husband. Honestly, I didn't mind the thought. I already had other reasons for not wanting to get married, so I incorporated that aspect into my plans. I would firmly declared I didn't want to get married as if God Himself had told me so. 

Those were my goals/rules. I have accomplished some and failed at others, but all have worked out for the best.  I now know I can be a missionary for the rest of my life, if God should allow. Mission accomplished.

In regards to the medical guidelines, it is still a work in progress.  I have blogged a little about my lack of medical exposure. I accepted it and moved on. At least I was doing public health work and could observe surgeries from time to time. Teaching public health has actually been a lot of fun.  There have been many funny moments, which I plan to blog about later.

 

Remeber how I stated I really didn't want to teach English? Well, I was asked to teach English and I said yes. Both Josh and I are teaching first through sixth grade. Some days we teach together and other days we have to split up. Teaching has been a lot of fun too.

Basically God has been shaping and leading me.  I am a major planner. I make plans and ask God to bless them for me. I leave little room for God's plans.  I have realized this major flaw a while ago. I have tried really hard not to plan, but it is difficult. I found that the best solution is to pray for God to slam the door in my face. Then I will get the message loud and clear.  Otherwise, I will continue to fight in every way possible trying make my plans work. 

That is what God has been doing. That is how I decided to come to Tchad, and how all my plan seem to be changing.  I already knew this trip would be a life changing experience, but I didn't realize to what extent.  I am analyzing and reanalyzing every aspect of my life. (Even the marriage part). I have edited and deleted many things already. God has me rewriting some stuff too. Only God knows where I will be and what will happen next.  I am excited to find out what his plans are for my life.  

My Beloved Mosquito Net

I have been in Tchad for over a month now. I have become accustomed to many different things, one of them being bugs. I still have a few minor freak outs, however, most times insects don't faze me. I have seen, and killed, many bugs and as a result am now pretty confident of my insect-killing capabilities. 

Maybe I got a little too comfortable, or cocky. Whatever you want to call it. But, I began reading outside of my net. In the past, I would dive straight under my mosquito net, where I knew there were no bugs. However, if you aren't lying down, my cot can be very uncomfortable.  I hate reading laying down. This means that as soon as I enter my hut, I go to sleep. (I was going to sleep at 8pm every night!!) While under the net, I would try to read, or do something else, only to give up in frustration. That is why I was very happy to have acquired insect-killing techniques, making me no longer scared. Sitting outside of my mosquito net was glorious! It was so spacious and comfortable-- I could do anything I wanted now. (Within reason of course). 

One fateful night, I was sitting outside of my mosquito net reading. I turned to grab some paper and saw a centipede sitting not even a foot away. (That is the poisonous one right? Whichever one is the poisonous, scary looking one, THAT was what was sitting next to me). Thank God I have learned to stifle my screams. I quickly got up and looked for something to kill it with. All I had was my 100% deet insect repellent that doesn't work as well as I thought it would. (I don't even wear insect repellent anymore because the bugs here are on another level). I prayed that the insect repellent would be useful now, even if only for this.

It may not repel insects as well as I would like, but it sure does kill them quickly. I doused the centipede with the insect repellent, prepared to run if it tried to attack me.  It helplessly jumped and wiggled around and finally died in a stiff, circumflex position. I gave a sigh of relief and tried to get comfortable once again. But a frog came bounding in my direction. I jumped as high as the frog did. I still don't understand why I was so afraid of the frog. (I am still afraid of these frogs. Just a small side note...The guys and I had another incident that reflected the cockroach incident from the "Nasaras and Bugs" post. Except, I wasn't the hero this time, one of the Bere boys was). I was so riled up that I climbed back into my mosquito net. There was no way of getting rid of the frog. 

All in all, I had an epiphany about my mosquito net. My mosquito net is very essential for this trip.  Of course it does the obvious things, like keep the malaria infested mosquitoes out. (Well, all the mosquitoes out). Even people in America understand that beauty of that concept. However, this trip has rocked my world.  Things as simple as a mosquito net are seen in a new light. I have obtained a more full and meaningful understanding of things that matter even more than my simple mosquito net.

The mosquito net has become my protector. Every morning, when I wake up, there is a ring of insect corpses around my cot, and mouse poop above my head. Although I slept peacefully in my cot, there was a war taking place outside my mosquito net. Sometimes I will wake up and see (or hear) the battles, but I am always comforted by my net.  It always keeps the bad things out. Without fail, my mosquito net always wins the fight. 

To be honest, every once in a while a cricket or two gets inside my net. Yeah, it sucks. It can be very difficult, but they are small compared to the dead bugs I find outside of my net. Like God, my mosquito net helps me through those struggles. 

That's just it. God does so much in our lives. Some things are seen (or heard), but most things aren't. We get so caught up with the crickets -- the small trials and struggles in life -- we forget that God is carrying us through the storm. He meets us in our suffering, wrapping His loving arms around us.

"Not everything we got through has a purpose, but we can be purposeful in everything we go through. Not everything has a reason, but there is a reason to get through everything." (I forget where I found this quote. I think it's from Ellen G. White). James 1:2-4 says that we should be happy for the trials in life. Suffering produces endurance (or patience, like it says in the Bible), and endurance gives shape to your character.  When life becomes more than we can handle, we can rest in God. He can handle what we can't, helping us through our stuggles. When we emerge from the storm clouds, we will be changed people. People who reflect the character of Christ more and more each day.  

***Thanks Taleah for making me reexamine scripture. Loved the article by the way.  

Update on Everyone's Health

Sorry I never gave an update on my health.  I am doing much better. I hae 4 swollen lymph node because of a scalp infection. The infection is still present but has significantly decreased.  Now, I only have two swollen lymph nodes and they seem to be decreasing in size. The itching is subsided with the lymph nodes as well. 

In regards to the hives, it turns out I was having an allergic reaction to malarone (my malaria medicine). I decided to stop taking the medicine and try taking a natural remedy in its place. All you have to do is boil the leaves of a neem tree and drink it.  It is disgustingly bitter, but I don't want malaria.  I already stopped using insect repellent and stopped wearing long sleeves at night. (It's too hot for sleeves)! I need some form of defense against malaria in addition to my mosquito net.  

I've already had a malaria scare. We were having a meeting in the SM hut and I was very cold. The ceiling fan was up pretty high. However, the fan only cools the room to the point you don't want to kill yourself anymore. I tried to tell myself I get cold easily, there is nothing wrong with me.  But, I saw Zach dripping sweat, while I had goose bumps.  Finally, I told everyone my symptoms, and left to speak with Dr. Bland. Dr. Bland sent me to get tested for malaria and typhoid because everything seemed to be going wrong with my health.  

Praise God the test came back negative. I was already close to a major break down with the possibility of having malaria. I wasn't sure how I would handle actually having malaria.  It turns out Zach was the one with malaria. He was sweating perfusely because he had a temperature of 100.5 F. His test results reveiled he had 0.25 of malaria.  Most people only have 0.05 when they get tested.  

They started Zach on intense treatment. He was out for a week; malaria wiped him out. I actually was able to help him by selling him some of my malarone pills. Malarone is gold in Tchad.  It is very hard to come by and very expensive.  I was able to get over 200 tablets of malarone for a decent price. Of course, I had to haggle with my medical insurance to cover the charges first. (I'm like a drug dealer now).

If I didn't have the malarone for Zach, he would have had to take quinine. Quinine is the strongest malaria medication at the hospital. If it weren't for the horrific side effects everyone would gladly take it.  This is how the side effects were explained to me: "You feel nauseous and practically go deaf. You have headaches with quinine and lose your appetite. Dr. Bland lost 25 pounds the first time he had malaria. You have to be babied and cooed into eating. You eat anything and everything you want to eat, but the trick is keeping it down. Basically, you rather have malaria than take quinine.  The side effects of the medication are far worse than the illness itself."

Malarone is the next strongest medicine and there aren't as many side effects. Let's be real, I rather have a severe allergic reaction, while trying to treat my malaria with malarone, then take quinine.  I'm glad I am able to save people from the torture of quinine. 

Currently, Zach is doing much better.  He has significantly improve. There are no symptoms of malaria present, and Zach is back to his usual self. Josh was just diagnosed with malaria, but he only had 0.05. He is still able to play basketball and keep up with everyone else.  The symptoms of malaria hit him in waves, and being sick makes him miss home (especially his mom). All in all, he should be back in the game in no time. 

Just a small side note.  I totally won the bet! Josh, Daniel and I bet on who would get malaria first.  My prize is a meal in Paris on our trip back.  It is super expensive there! I don't know what meal I want, but I have 6 more months to figure it out.

Continue to keep the health of everyone in your prayers.  In total, 7 people got sick with malaria (the count includes the doctor - yes we only have one doctor right now - the dentist, SMs and bere boys) and 1 person got typhoid in the past week.  Malaria is really bad this year.  Project 21 is hoping we can get a grant for DDT to eradicate malaria, but we are still working on writing it up. DDT got approved in Tchad this year (maybe a month ago). Pray that everyone is able to keep good health, and we can get the grant we want. 

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My mother has told me that a few people have asked how they can contact me.  You can email me at Shannicebaker@gmail.com. My internet is very spotty. I can only access my email and post blogs off of an iPad app. That means no facebook or anything else.  I am still testing the waters to see what else I can acess. 

Nasaras and bugs...

I just felt the need to tell you about my funny night. Like most nights Josh, Daniel, and I were hanging out in the SM hut.  There is a shower attached to the side of the SM hut, so one by one we take showers before going home.

This particular night, Josh and I had already taken our showers. When Daniel went in for his shower, we heard him yell, "Guys, there is a bat in the shower!" We both knew there was a bat that slept in the shower every night. As soon as you turn on the lights the bat flights out. We told Daniel to turn the lights on and it worked.

Maybe two seconds later we heard him scream even louder, "There's a cockroach in the shower! Somebody kill it!!" Josh grabbed the broom and went to kill the cockroach and I continued reading. I knew it was bad when Josh began screaming. (Daniel is the one who is scared of most things...I don't know how he has lasted this long in Tchad). Both of the guys ran back into the SM hut and begged me to kill the cockroach. I laughed so hard! It was ironic how these boys wanted the girl to kill the cockroach. They didn't care and there wasn't the slightest hint of shame when they handed me the broom.

I confidently got up, ready to kill the cockroach. (I really hate cockroaches, but someone had to kill it). It was huge!! It was one of those Samsung Galaxy cell-phone sized cockroaches. Let's be real, as soon as I saw it, I screamed and ran out of the shower too.  Our security guard and the people at the hospital had a good laugh at us as we were huddled in a group outside of the shower arguing over who should kill it.   

We came up with multiple ways for the cockroach to die, but no one wanted to put the plans into action. Josh and I would both inch close to the cockroach then chicken out and run away. We didn't want it to fly into our faces. Finally, I mustered up enough courage and grabbed the broom again.  

The cockroach was strategically sitting on the inside of the door frame.  You had to slide past it to achieve a good smashing angle. I carefully ran past it, praying my presence wouldn't disturb the cockroach. 

Although I was able to slide past the cockroach, there were no fail-proof smashing angles available.  I couldn't decide the best way to hit the bug and finally just swung the broom as hard as I could and prayed that it would die.  The guys screamed loudly as they hugged each other and jumped around. Why? The cockroach wasn't dead.  

It had dodged my first attempt, and was still in a bit of a daze. My screams almost harmonized with the guys as I swung the broom like a sledgehammer again. Honestly, the cockroach died after the first swing, but I pulverized the mess out of it.  I wanted to be sure it was completely dead.  

Our screams turned to laughs once the cockroach was dead.  We looked so ridiculous, even for American standards.  Daniel was finally able to take his shower in peace. Too bad Josh and I had a little more screaming to do. 

Papa had come to see what all the commotion was about. He got a good laugh out of the situation. A big bug flew past Josh and I as soon as we entered the hut. Our reaction was a little over the top because we were still on edge from the cockroach. Papa reacted quickly and grabbed the bug. It was a grasshopper...

Normally, I wouldn't be afraid of a grasshopper; they don't bother me, and I don't bother them.  However, this grasshopper was enormous. (You have to remember everything is bigger in Tchad). The grasshopper's legs alone were the length of my index finger. Papa started waving the grasshopper in our faces asking who wanted to eat it.  After a few seconds of that "fun", Josh and I finally (and frantically) yelled for him to kill it.  

It didn't help that the grasshopper had now gotten loose. It had jumped on the counter and almost gotten away, trying to run from Papa with one big leap it abruptly hit the ceiling fan.  Josh and I almost ran through the screen door because the grasshopper had been slingshot-ted  in our direction...well at least half of it was.  

Haha. Long story short my nerves were on edge the whole night.  My heart hurt and I almost lost my voice. (I may be slightly exaggerating). Once I got to my hut I found yet another cockroach!! It definitely wasn't my night. I was able to stifle my scream this time around. However, the presence of the cockroach destroyed the safe-haven illusion I had of my little hut.

When I first arrived in Tchad I distinctly remember saying, "I'd rather have a rat in my hut then a cockroach..." Well, now I have both living with me.

Pictures!!

This is the audience from the first day of lectures. There were about 60 people there.

Dental lecture!! The peole sitting down were waiting to get their teeth pulled.  Everyone else was enjoying our lecture. (The woman in the orange head wrap is holding a severely malnourished baby).

Josh is on the back left. Daniel is on the back right, and Ferdinand is below. 

Everything is bigger in Tchad!! It's a dung beetle.

 

This is the group in Bendele (the bush). From left to right it's: Me, Charis, Papa (Bere boy), Zach, Josh, and Daniel.

Josh, Allah (another Bere boy), and I teaching sabbath school.

First Official Week of Teaching

Other then my physical discomfort this past week has been good.  Our official schedule seems to be coming together.  Mondays are dedicated to public health lectures, and Tuesdays are lessons on nutritional cooking. We are trying to show them how to have a balance diet using their traditional foods. (Diabetes is a big problem here). Wednesdays are dental days.  We give multiple dental lectures and pull teeth all morning long.  Thursdays are the miscellaneous days. We can chose to do whatever productive project for the day. Currently, we are working on a hospital directory and badges for all the staff. Fridays we meet the traditional birth attendants and community health workers. These meetings are continuing education meetings.  We continue to build on the information they already know. 

This past monday our translator didn't come so we weren't able to do much.  We decided to give our public health lecture on Tuesday instead. We went to urgence (it is the emergency pavillion) and gave public health lectures to the waiting patients. The lecture was on personal hyigene.  

It was a lot of fun.  We performed an interactive skit about a family that didn't wash their hands. We showed how the germs spread around and how you could get sick from them.  The laughter and other various reactions of the patients drew a crowd.  We had other demostrations and engaging activities.  Everyone had a great time.  In the end there were approximately 60 in the audience. 

We made a new friend, who became our arabic translator (for free!!), during our lecture.  His name was Ferdinand.  He was very talkative. He told us how he was a public health student doing his residency in  the hospital. He was super excited about Project 21 (this is the public health project I am working under) and promised to help us for the rest of his residency. He also promised to help us learn French.  

It wasn't until the next day that I found out he was the one who yearned for an American wife. Nevertheless, I was already being careful when I spoke with him.  I judged whether he was flirting with me (or not) based on how he treated the guys.  He treated them the same way!! I don't understand, but whatever...I guess he is super friendly.

I wasn't able to pull teeth on dental day. I signed people in, taking down thier contact information and blood pressure. Next time I get to pull teeth though. 

Sabbath school was great! There were about 45 kids there.  We taught them how to sing "Making Melodies," and the kids taught us songs in French.  We had a blast! We hear the children singing the songs every now and then.  They are such a blessing.