A few weekends ago, I couldn’t get the voice of one of my french professors out of my head. Like clockwork, everyday as I’m trying to finish my coffee and dessert from lunch, Silvi would round the cafeteria bellowing, “Evacuation! Evacuation!” Anyone who has spent time at L’institut de Français knows exactly what I mean by this.
Her voice was the voice I heard as I lugged around mattresses, cleared out houses, and moved valuables into storage the weekend of September 12/13, 2015.
Evacuation.
Its such harsh word. It usually involves a permanent disruption of environment. Growing up in the Northern Sierras of California, we had evacuation bags packed in preparation because of forest fires a couple of summers. I guess you could say that after a decade of anticipation my evacuation release finally happened!
But I am not ready to be done in CHAD!
Now, I actually was not evacuated though I am under “evacuation order.” Due to this small terrorist group called Boko Haram and some strongly worded recommendations from the US State Department, Adventist Health International and the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists decided it would be best to evacuated us volunteers and other expatriate employees. I just say everyone didn’t want to stay in Chad without me since I had already planned to take my vacation at this time.
Its odd because no other organisations left nor did any other embassies send out a travel warning as strongly worded as good ol’ Uncle Sam. So I don’t know what the threat is or when it could be resolved. In a country with 120 distinctly different languages, I guess miscommunication is common. Now its the waiting game…
Well, so far I haven’t heard if I’m going back. But I have successfully gained 5 lb a week! haha! If all goes as planned, I should know if I’m going back this upcoming week.
But really, I hope that this is resolved shortly! Or else I’ll end up on the Biggest Loser!
Zachary Gately
zchgtly
zgately.com
+235 91122492+1 (530) 927-7970
L’Hopital Adventiste de Béré
ATTN: Zachary Gately
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Kelo, Tchad
Africa
Adventures in the Making! 
Hay….traveling boy! We were glad to see you even if for several hours? Lots of questions here and I tell people to check out your blogs or “Adventures in the making.” Yes, the nuts are in and a few left behind for family and friends plus my on personal cooking Todays a work day so I had better get on with it!
I start back to teaching the first Friday at FRAS, SDA school here in Gridley. Lot’s of potential there and they need help. I do enjoy it and I would love to have my own classroom there which I do if for only 5 hours on a Friday. They now have a new teacher from Chico, a 60% teacher who works from 8 to 1.
I have found a few things I wrote a while back and want to share them with you a bit at a time. Time what does that mean.
Gotta go, love grandma Gately.