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Photo Gallery #72-
The Beginning of the End, Part I
The April 2006 In-Service Training was supposed to be a brief,week-long conference, a chance to reconnect for the first year PCV's, and an opportunity take a quick break from our sites for my group. Nobody knew that it would be our last week in Chad...
Part
II
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Everything began just like any other IST- arrive in N'Djamena at the Peace Corps' office, exhausted from the trip, and pile into the Land Cruisers for the one-hour trip up to Dougia.
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On the way, we stopped for 'refreshments,' and somehow ended up with a bad whiskey/gatorade concoction so foul that only Josh and a few brave souls would dare swallow it.
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The ride up has always been a time to catch up, have fun, play with cameras, and generally enjoy being together. |
Settling in at 'luxurious' Dougia, with its double rooms, functional cold showers, and even occasional air-conditioning is always a treat.
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And, naturally, it wouldn't be a Peace Corps Chad IST without bizarre Greger faces. |
The pool, one of the highlights of a trip to Dougia in the middle of the Chadian hot season. |
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In addition to the conference sessions the make up the actual training, the chance to kick back and jump out of the 24/7 fishbowl of life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. |
Michael organized a special treat in honor of Leah's birthday for all us, chartering Dougia's canoe for an excursion to an island just down the river from the 'resort.' |
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Josh, ready in all his island-hopping glory. |
| Piling into the boat with Mai, Kate, Greger, Darren, Aaron Holmes- interesting the difference in how happy we were getting into the boat then, and how different we'd feel doing the same thing just two days later. |
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Michael, Lea, and our 'captain,' who'd play an instrumental role in the evacuation. |
| For the moment though, we had no idea what was coming, and simply enjoyed the cruise. |
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James & Lea. |
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| Monica, clearly mid-question... |
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Would it be too stupid to call this the Chadian version of waterfront property? The non-mud pieces, like the gate, are almost certainly remnants from the colonial era. |
| Our guide assured us that the 'island' was lush and full of trees. Technically there were trees, although they were at least 1km away, and the 'island' turned out to not actually be an island, but more of a beach. In any case, it was a fun place to sit on the banks of the Chari. |
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Part II
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