The Comedy and Confusion of Language Learning

Learning another language is confusing enough, but to do so in another culture, along with students who are learning from an Arabic speaking background, takes the confusion to a whole new level! With excited shouts of word- for- word repetition, or challenging and correcting fellow students (correctly or otherwise) at the tops of their voices, there is no doubt that my fellow class mates are eager to learn. This cacophony of noise was enough to bring a smile to my face within minutes of my first lesson, but having acclimatised I’ve found myself joining in!

Further bemusement and entertained is provided by the teacher, a gentleman with an impressive moustache who will regularly leave the classroom either to spit in the court yard or to greet people who happen to be walking by, who, judging by the enthusiastic welcome, it can only be presumed are long lost friends. 

Meanwhile, mobile phones are being answered and various phones are plugged into and unplugged from the much coveted single electrical output in the room in order that as many people as possible are able to take advantage of the rare source of power.

These classes seem to be as much a lesson in culture as it is in language. For example, when trying to describe to the class what the word ‘revelation’ means (easy from an English background, less so from an Arabic one), rather than use the example within the text we were reading about discovering a scandalous top secret job offer, our teacher began to describe that a revelation is what Mohammed received which led to the Qur’an. Cue a mass class debate on who God is and who has received true revelation! Where some of basic literacy skills are lacking, there is no doubting that my class mates are streets ahead in speaking French, and I am frequently left feeling slightly confused, but also very amused!

Things I have learnt in my first 2 weeks in Chad

1)  How to balance five 23kg suitcases onto one trolley which has such poor steering it could give a Tesco shopping trolley a run for its money, and then negotiate a busy, overcrowded and chaotic arrivals lounge in N’Djamena.

View outside the hospital

2) Chad has plants! Yes, I’ve arrived in the rainy season which means it’s not so dusty, bleak and barren as I’d feared. At least, not for now anyway. This does mean however that it is very humid, which leads me onto my next lesson…

My first Chadian Baby!

3) SWEAT!!! Oh my goodness I don’t think I’ve ever sweated this much. Not nice, but true! A constant sheen covers my body which either changes to rivers, or momentarily disappears for the first minute of getting out of the shower. This ever present reality has also been a fast lesson in the art of how to sit with 4 people in the back of a car in the sweltering heat and how to position yourself so as to avoid exchanging sweat and to aid air circulation- the answer? Get over it!

4) Hopital de Guinebor II is doing amazing work in such difficult conditions. I knew this before coming but being here and actually seeing it is so exciting. If a little daunting.

5) How to kill a chicken! Yes, I did it! One of my life’s aims completed. It was awful. Even resisting the temptation to name them didn’t help that much and the guilt took away the enjoyment of the final dish. Oh well, won’t be doing that again in a hurry.

On the way home from church

6) If the sticky stinky mud of the tracks surrounding the hospital and neighbouring areas is enough to stop a 4x4, my size 4 flip flop will be no problem- grip tight!

Picking legs and wings off Grasshoppers pre toasting

7)  Grasshoppers get everywhere, and I mean everywhere (one of the downfalls of wearing long skirts!!!). However, when they invade, there’s always an opportunity for retribution- a Chadian delicacy!

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.