chadventures

this is possibly the first post in literally years that will not focus on a car melt-down - but everything else is pretty much melting down, or simply melting.

I have arrived in chad almost a week ago. nine years after my first visit to this country; and my first ever setting foot on african soil. it was then that I fell in love, forever and always with africa. even though the experience then was overwhelming and in many ways upsetting it was also amazing, and unforgettable. it made me want to go to africa - to live and work on this continent of which I still know so little.

after two and a half years in rwanda I have to admit I am getting ready to leave that country; have even been considering moving back to europe because I feel I have reached saturation point - for now.

when I was offered a consultancy in chad I accepted, excitedly so. once again I was going to go back to a country I had already visited nearly 1o years ago; my first african country. the place where my love story with this continent started for real.

I borded the plane out of rwanda without looking back - a thing I've gotten good at by now (and since I'm going back there it was neither a very sad affair). upon arrival in addis the feeling of a churning stomach and fluttering nerves - not unlike the feeling of being in love started to slowly grab a hold of me.

I had a window seat from addis to n'djamena and was looking forward to watching the landscape change as we got closer and closer to our destination. I love looking out the window trying to guess where we might be - looking at the landscape and imagining what it must be like to be walking down there, what it might look like standing on that hill, or walking through this valley, what kinds of plants there are, what animals might roam the areas, what the air feels like on the skin? the closer we got to n'djamena the more yellow the landscape became; I started imagining the heat down there, the dryness, the wind, the dust - and the heat. I tried to remember what it felt like all those years ago - and surprisingly my memory, particularly of the city, is very vague. I only seemed to remember the heat. and the dust. and the heat.

finally, the plane touched down at n'djamena international airport, which was still as I remembered it. small and not like the typical international airport one is used to. I made my way towards the plane door and upon taking the step across the threshold and onto the stairs leading down to the ground it was like walking through a wall and into a different universe. a wall of heat that is so total it is hard to describe it. first it hits you on the front of your body, your face, your ears, your hair, but also the arms, the chest, the legs, even the toes. and immediately it closes in around you and covers every single fibre of your body. it is not an evil sort of heat, but it is total. that is the best word I can find to describe it.

after taking the bus for the remaining 100 metres from the plane to the immigration 'hall' I stood in line with my letter requesting to grant me entry into the country. when it was my turn I was sent to the police post. a small room on the side of the immigration hall. there I had to help the officer look into his file and fish out my approved authorisation. filling in a form followed, a bit more waiting and finally he handed me the paper which would allow me to enter the country. the passport had to stay behind.

I stood by the luggage belt and waited for my suitcase, somewhat sceptical if it would arrive. it did. then you have to put it through a scanner before you are allowed to exit. there was no order; people just shoving themselves to the belt which would transport your bag through the machine. lots of chinese people with hundreds of cardboard boxes and a few stunned europeans who are used to queuing the english way... well - welcome to africa! unless you push and shove yourself, you will get left behind. I managed to get my suitcase through the machine, grabbed it on the other side and made for the exit where I was met by a driver who deposited me in my hotel.

the first thing I did was open the window to let in the fresh air - which is not actually that fresh as it is laden with heat - and drank a sparkling cold perrier and just smiled stupidly, euphoric about being back chad.