Finally, after being here for over two months I swam in the river. The first time was on Sabbath, after we taught branch Sabbath school. I didn't bring my bathing suit (I wasn't told we were going swimming this time...well they didn't tell me in advance), so I planned to watch the Bere boys enjoy the river. I guess that wasn't a good enough excuse because Allah (one of the Bere boys) pushed me in. The most surprising moment of that trip was when Tony (another Bere boy) pushed Josh in the river. Tony is EXTREMELY quiet and shy. I wasn't surprised when Allah pushed me in, but Tony?! That was unexpected for sure.
The next river trip was a Project 21 trip. The trip was suppose to be a bonding time for Zach, Charis, Josh, Daniel, and I. Charis got sick the day before, so she didn't want to go. Therefore, it was just me and the boys.
The trail leading to the river is very sandy. I was riding the moto with Josh and we almost fell because of the sand. After we regained balance the bike broke down. We had to push it all the way back to Bere. In the end I decided to stay, while the guys rode to the river. That meant 3 guys on a small little moto. (We only have two motos). It was a sight to see.
Four hours later they come back carrying the break from the moto. Apparently, the sand wasn't what got the best of them. It was a cart being pulled by cows. The wagon took up the whole path and there was no way around it. Zach, who was the driver, tried to pull to the side of the rode but revved the engine by mistake. The bike took off and they crashed into a tree. It wasn't until later that they realized the break was missing.
In total they fell four times and crashed once. They were determined to make it to the river. They rode to the river, swam, and rode back without a break. Thank God the only injuries acquired on the trip were one wounded toe and a small Tchadian tattoo (a burn from the exhaust pipe).
In other news, I was finally able to get into the hospital. Well, I was always in the hospital, but I was able to watch a delivery. The woman in labor had already had four children and was trying to bring the fifth into the world. It was pretty cool to watch. We broke her water, waited, waited some more, and then waited a bit more. The baby was supposed to be in a little distress because there was poop in the amniotic fluid, but things didn't get hectic. We waited 45 minutes AFTER she was fully dilated, then she quickly pushed out a baby girl. After aspirating the infant and beating it a bit the baby started crying.
I also got to play doctor with a TBA (traditional birth attendant) and a CHWs (community health worker) in Project 21. Two different people approached me with different problems. The CHW was practicing taking blood pressure on his mother and found out that she had extremely high blood pressure. He brought her to me to double check his work. The TBA had a large mass in her left breast. Although you can easily spot the mass from a mile away she made me palpate her breast. She wanted to ensure I fully understood what was going on. Honestly, all I could do was check her vitals and send them to the hospital. I'm not a doctor. (The TBA ended up having breast cancer).
The teaching aspect of my trip has been going well too. I have been teaching my host family English while they teach me French. They are learning so fast. First, we review, then color two pages in the coloring book and name all the animals on the pages. They love it. Between that and gymnastics, I do something with them every night.
The students at school are wonderful too. Every time they see me they shout my name or sing one of the songs I taught them. They are always bragging to their friends because they have a nasara teaching them English.
Wow. After writing all of this I realize there is still a lot to write about! There is always something new and fun happening. However, these occurrences don't seem as drastic or surprising as they used too.
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