9/25/2004

Today I saw my first true taste of poverty– I don't mean poverty American-style, where you still have cable TV and one car, but true Third-world poverty.

People living in rusted out cars, trash burning in the middle of the pothole-filled dirt road, with stray goats eating whatever wasn't on fire– welcome to N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Tinny motor scooters putted along next to us, struggling to navigate the potholes, while small boys and girls played in the street.

In the midst of such desperate poverty, it's possible to see small islands of wealth. We were passing along a series of what I suppose would be called 'everyday' looking slums, when we came across a gigantic yellow and white mansion that wouldn't have looked out of place in West Palm Beach or even Beverly Hills, for that matter. Past that, the slum continued.

We rarely realize just how good we have it in the States... Paved roads, 24-hour grocery stores , abundant and clean food and water, educational opportunities. It takes about 10 minutes in the streets of N'Djamena to realize just how lucky we are.

On a more positive note, today was the first time we visited the Grand Marché (Grand Market), in the center of N'Djamena. It was exactly how I'd pictured it– for those of you who have been in the Old City of Jerusalem, it was surprisingly similar. Merchants are crowded into tiny stalls, hocking everything from boiled peanuts to crimson and gold fabric, and cheap plastic radios in a package with vintage 1980's cassettes. They literally try to pull you into the stall, offering anything and everything. I eventually bought two shirts, and with the help of our escort, Moussa, managed to haggle down to 1500 CFA & 2000 CFA (Central African Francs) respectively, about $3 & $4 US.

All right, I should sign off now... My roommate at the training center is about to go to bed, & I should too. We head to the village of Darda tomorrow, about 60km away, to begin the next phase of training... I'll write again from there.

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