Part 3: Je ne comprends pas!!!

Of all the activities that the last two and half months held, it was no secret that my 3 week intensive French course at Les Cedres was the one that I was dreading the most. However, fired up from 5 days in Mali and having an opportunity to begin to drudge up some of my basic French phrases, I arrived in Paris surprisingly upbeat and positive. Oh, what a mistake!! This just meant that the inevitable fall and realisation just how bad my French actually was, was just that bit more crushing and painful!! For those of you that know me well, also know that I don’t mind a little exaggeration and drama every so often, but in all seriousness, the first few days at Les Cedres were awful! Because the only permissible language in Les Cedres is French, whether that be in the class, or over meal times, I was somewhat stuck for words- for once I was quiet. This couldn’t last long however, and after just 2 days and a little pep talk to myself, I took a deep breath and went for it: yes the conjugations were to pot, the phrases inelegant and when necessary the odd English word with a fake French accent was used (which I actually got away with on occasions!), but somehow I managed to communicate enough to make it bearable and enjoyed my time in Paris with some fun people.

Celebrating Bastille Day

Front seat at the Tour de France

Sight seeing with course mates

My 3 weeks finished with an exam which predictably was not the biggest barrel of laughs, but, oh how much more did I enjoy my holiday after that?!!? I’ve had a lovely couple of weeks with various friends who joined me in Paris and a week with my parents in the south of France; a preferable way to absorb a language I feel.

Four weeks today and my language learning is going to be at a whole new level, where once in Chad I’ll have no choice; its French or Arabic or any one of the other 120 tribal languages spoken there, but certainly no English! Hmm, maybe French isn’t so bad after all!!

Part 2: Change Makers

The day after I finished at Liverpool I flew to Bamako, Mali to help with a children’s programme during the BMS West Africa Retreat, for which ‘Change Makers’ was the theme. The mornings were spent with Ruth, Rebecca, Raphael, Beatrice and Rosemary and the time flew by with storytelling, crafts, dramas, singing, jewellery making and more. But I am pleased to announce to all those children’s workers reading this- not 1 paper plate was used!

One afternoon, the usual routine of swimming and chatting was supplemented by a boat trip along the River Niger. This was only a little delayed while the substantial puddle in the bottom of the boat was bailed out (!!!), but once we got going I enjoyed the glimpse into more of Malian life.    

Spending time with the Hotchkin family, who will be my future colleagues (and neighbours and family and friends), was invaluable to me for getting to know them better and hearing more of life in Chad. It was great to be back on African soil and I left Mali with an even greater peace, anticipation and eagerness to get to Chad- I was even excited about starting my French course 3 days later in Paris!

Part 1: Snails, Snakes and Scousers

In all the busyness of the last few weeks, I’ve not been very good at keeping my Blog up to date, sorry about that. I’m currently in the middle of my language training so don’t have time to write a long account (you’ll be pleased to hear!) but thought I could break down my next few entries into parts. So here it goes- Part One: Snails, Snakes and Scousers!

Snails

Looking very knowledgeable, I know!

For much of July I was in Liverpool attending a course in Tropical Nursing, which, should I pass (exam successfully completed, assignment still being worked on), will give me a Diploma. The course was fantastic and I spent much of the time squirming in anticipation of Chad: Squirming with an excitement to get there and start nursing again and squirming at just some of the horrid, unpleasant and just plain wrong diseases/ conditions/ parasites I can expect to encounter, hopefully not too many of them personally! Hence, ‘Snails’ who are hosts for parasites causing schistosomiasis/ bilharzia.

Snakes

Extracting the venom

One of the most memorable days was spent with Dr Rob Harrison, otherwise known as ‘The Snake Man’, who is involved in researching and creating more effective anti-venoms. He introduced us to 3 rooms full of snakes and then demonstrated how they extract the venom. He reassured me that plenty of the snakes in the rooms I will find in Chad, I just laughed that comment off but was slightly disturbed when he went on to ask me which anti venom I was planning on taking with me???!!??! Err…

Catching the "Merry cross the Fersey" with Lisa and Anya

Scousers

Ok, so there were not any Scousers on the course, but I did enjoy spending time translating scouse for some of my American or Scandinavian course mates! Between all the of studying I managed to see some of the sights of Liverpool which I thoroughly enjoyed and met some great people who are similarly nursing, or planning to nurse overseas, and with whom I enjoyed comparing notes, swapping contact details and generally seeing who has the most hard core job! 

The Calm Before The Storm…

Being Commissioned at the Assembly

While I refer to it as the “calm”, the past few weeks since finishing at IMC have been action packed, starting off in sunny Blackpool with the official BMS ‘Commissioning’ ceremony. This is basically when people say “Ok, you’ve been trained up, now get on with it, get overseas and lets see what’s going to happen”- a very exciting, poignant, if a little terrifying moment!

Following Blackpool I’ve been ferrying between the South to see family, catch up with supporters, and the North to see friends both in Leeds and away in various pretty locations where I have been making the most of the beautiful green, lush, English country side!

A weekend in Ingelton

But all this busy ‘resting’ is about to come to an end. In a bid to keep people up dated on my movements, my itinerary for the next 4 months is listed below:

13^th June- 1^st July. Liverpool to complete a Diploma in Tropical Nursing (this is very exciting although while completing my Pre Course Workbook and reading up on parasites this week I frequently found myself doing so through half closed eyes while squealing and wringing my hands!!)

2^nd- 6^th July. Mali. BMS run frequent retreats for their overseas workers to offer them a time of rest and refreshment. I am joining the West Africa Retreat to have fun with the children while the adults have various sessions (I think I have the good end of the deal!).

6^th-9^th July. Massey, Paris. I have a couple of days to get into the Parisian way of life prior to….

10^th- 29^th July. Les Cedres Language School, Massey, Paris. Yes, that’s right people, the dreaded language training commences!!!!

29^th July- Mid August. Various locations around France. I take a well earned rest and enjoy the delights of France… I mean, I continue my cultural and language training by fully immersing myself into French society.

15^th September. I FLY TO CHAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There’s no ignoring it now, the flights are booked.

Mystery, Emotion and Moving On

HopeLovegood, IvoraKeys, AnneTique

A strange thing happened at IMC last Thursday evening. My usual fellow Mission Trainees and our lecturers vanished, and were temporarily replaced by the suspicious parishioners of Bosthorpe Evangelical Church, who spent the evening in the murky world of (fictitious) crime… who had murdered Don Ritting??!!! The usually very glamorous Charmaine was replaced by the greyed, deaf and suspiciously dark upper lipped Anne Tique who was commonly spotted napping throughout proceedings, the normally creative Sarah disappeared behind a peach nylon explosion, complete with a hearing trumpet and thick Jamaican accent- “Whad dat did you say?” And our learned lecturer Nicky was finally able to relax and happily sit in oblivion to what was going on around her as Al Zeihmers, and reminisce to her hearts content about the Good Old Days on the Mission Field! While I suddenly became obsessed with celebrities, shopping and became weighed down by an unusual amount of bling. Yes, a Murder Mystery was our chosen final activity at IMC to celebrate our 8 months and take a last opportunity to dress up and laugh at each other.

Ben Da Truth                Al Zeihmers              Rev Al Ation I             Alta Cleff
          Rev Al Ation II                                               Dan Widdit

The Arrest of Stew Ard by Detective Stan De Sing

From hilarity and ridiculousness, to a significant and emotional Commissioning Service on the Friday morning, a time when, following our training, we were ‘Sent Out’ to go and get on with it. Amongst the words of encouragement, affirmation, thanks and shared fond memories, there was a deep sense of solidarity and significance amongst us. However, tears and the regular chorus of nose blowing prevented the event from becoming overly dignified and stuffy- that’s not IMC’s style!

And so now, it is time to sort, throw, store, pack up my bags and move on to the next step. IMC, Step One. Done.

Lists of Lists!

Being flexible and ready for anything are some of those qualities that are useful when working overseas and with this knowledge I try to remain open minded about what could happen. However I was still caught off guard when my team leader phoned me last week to announce that a different language school has been found for me to study at… in Chad. This means that following 3 weeks summer school in Paris for intensive language training, I will not be staying on for another term as originally planned, but instead will be going to Chad earlier than expected. Mid-September is now my due date for departure! Suddenly the stark reality of my lack of language has struck, as has the enormity of all that is required to organise- the need for writing lists has taken over!!

I feel really excited at the prospect of going to Chad sooner than planned and this presents me with the opportunity to get stuck into the culture and begin to make friends before getting too involved in hospital life. But as for here and now, there’s plenty for me to do…

A Terribly English Affair And A Dream Come True!

Last Tuesday IMC was the location for a celebration of all things English in honour of the impending departure of our American friends. For the last 6 weeks a group of American drama students have been studying Shakespeare and the sound of old English verse, or the cries of battle have been frequently heard in the corridors and rooms of IMC.

But yesterday, this was interrupted with a fine English Cream Tea served during coffee break. The somewhat passionate arguments of Clotted Cream before Jam on your scone, or vice versa, ensured there was no danger of the event becoming too genteel. 

Following a freshly mowed lawn, during which I achieved one of my life long goals; to drive a Sit- On mower (!!!!!!), the afternoon saw a friendly game of cricket, enjoyed under the beautiful spring time sun! I even bowled someone out on my first throw! A proud moment, unfortunately, this truly was beginners luck and the quality of my cricketing after this was somewhat lacking! But overall, a thoroughly enjoyable day.