DENOUDSTEN DIARIES

Saturday March 3^rd, 2012

How we are used to the internet! For almost two days nobody was able to get hooked up to the internet and it is at that point one realises how used we are to that ‘instant’ communication. Finally realizing that our service provider in Eastern Europe had changed ‘our’ IP address code it still took half a day and four experts of different organizations to get switched over, although still at a much slower speed.

So, everyone: thank you for your kind birthday wishes. We went out for dinner at the Cosmos – a small guesthouse that also serves food - to celebrate Margreet’s new milestone. A good meal and fun company! Margreet did wake up the next morning with an upset stomach.  She was planning to help proofread text but that had to be canceled. She had made banana cake in two large baking pans and they were enjoyed by everyone. Henk had taken a platter full to the participants of the Media workshop. 

They are here for almost a week representing eight languages to learn how to use their laptop computers to record Bible stories in their language to be duplicated on cassette and other media or even to be broadcast on regional radio stations.

The last of the coolers is up and running, hopefully no more trips to one of the attics. Good for the leg muscles but still tiring and hot trying to move around up there.  

We woke to a slightly cooler morning as another harmatan has started to blow, but the visibility is still better than last week. With the six of us we set off to the Patisserie (a bakery/coffee shop): one of the few nice places downtown NDjamena to sit and enjoy breakfast. While the ladies went off shopping Henk stayed behind with his coffee and a book. On the way back we did have to take a totally different route as quite a few of the main streets were blocked off in preparation for the President of Chad to be transported to the airport. 

After arriving back at the center Margreet didn’t feel too well again and Henk went for a short walk to the nearest ‘corner store’ to buy a bottle of Coke to settle her stomach.  Coca Cola seems to do “the trick”…..