Flew to Abeche today. Because of the political situation in Chad, there is no regular airline that you can fly within Chad. So, if you work for the government or for an aid agency, you get to fly with the UN-World Food Program. The planes are little. The kind with only about 30 seats, and propellers. When flying on such planes you are only allowed to carry 15kg - about 33lbs. This 15kg includes not only your checked bags, but also your carry ons. My checked bag weighed 15.5kg, while my carry-on weighed 5.5kg. So, they accepted my checked bag and then told me to "Attend un peu." Wait a little. This is the kind of answer that makes me nervous. I went and told my driver what was happening. "Ca va aller," he said, "attend un peu." It will be okay. Wait a little. So, I waited a little. Then, with no external clues that I saw, my driver got up and said, "cristin! cristin! il faut mettre ton sac sur le balance." You must put your bag on the scale. So, I did. And, the guy behind the desk gave me the little sticker I needed, and sent me off to get on the airplane. I have absolutely no idea what happened, or why they decided that it was okay for me to have 5.5 extra kilograms. But, I got on the plane.

It was a short ride - only about an hour and a half - but the landscape changed dramatically. The land was very populated in the first half hour, and then, slowly, the villages and towns began to peter off. The last 45 minutes, I didn't see anything out the window other than dried up river beds and scrubby sand. We arrived at the airport - which, really, is a generous term. An airport might normally suggest a few buildings, maybe a desk or two. Not this airport. This airport was made up of a single small building, with a snack window. We got off the plane and collected our bags from off the cart they were loaded onto when they came off the plane (even this description sounds more sophisticated that it was). I met my driver and off we went. (The picture shows the airport parking lot, with the control tower in the background.)

Abeche is actually quite a big city. It boasts many, many NGOs as well as a Libyan Embassy and two Chinese restaurants. I will only be here the weekend, so won't have time to explore, and for security reasons, am not allowed to walk about anyways. Regardless, the food is still good and there is still AC. So, for the moment, though a bit isolated (only one other person staying at the guest house right now, and she has many, many friends in town already who are not me), I am happy.