11/20/05
Hello everyone:
This blog might be out of sequence, since I sent some other entries through our sat modem to Rachel to post, and now I have a chance at the local internet cafe.
Today is Sunday, a day of rest in Chad. The streets are quiet and empty, for the most part, although you can always find, or they find you, young men selling phone cards. There are probably about 20 in a short one block section of town.
The day started really great, with our friend B waking us up with our satellite phone in hand. B works for Dr. F, and he is well on his way to becoming one of the most popular guys in town, number two right after Dr. (and I’m only talking about civilians here, ok). He is a young Indian man with a great smile and a friendly way of carrying himself. He has only been here a few months, but he knows who he needs to know. I’ll describe more about him later.
Tonight we’ll be trying to upload our first video feed, and it’s great to have the phone, so we can have Yuen-Lin, our tech guru, walk us through it.
OK, I have to leave. Again, thanks for all the comments. I read all of them again. Cynthia, it was great hearing from you, and from all the rest also! A big hug to all. Pali High, you are the greatest! And, of course, Mt. Saint Mary’s.
Paz
14 replies on “A Quiet Day”
Mi Chavo,
Me da mucho gusto que ya tengas los telefonos. Estamos anciosos de ver las imagines de Africa y tambien de ti.
Hoy te mande el primer mensaje atravez de satelite ojala lo recibas.
Muchos saludos de todos.
Zahara, Mimi, Gabo & Irais
Hi guys,
Well tomorrow is the big day. I hope all the tech stuff works out smoothly. Can’t wait to see the images.
Yes, we all need to YELL at the top of our lungs.
Peace
Gab:
You are in our thoughts always.
One thought came to me at 3am. What one man can do? ALOT!
It started with cognizance; a thought; a belief or an idea; a strategy; and now a mission. You and your family and team’s effort, have brought great clarity. Clarity is Power. Power is Action.
In response to your uneasiness, I understand your thoughts and feelings in retrospect and I would like to say, even though it has been said, “in order to learn and grow or be successful, one must get out of their own “comfort zone.” With this in mind, please consider your safety and your mission back home.
gina
hey. sounds like everything is going well so far.
~myra (redondo high)
I’m looking foward to seeing your videos and I will be following them I hope your videos will aware all the people here and help out all the people in Darfur
ANDRE TUROLDO
north high school
Gabriel!
Glad to hear that you’re staying safe, despite the overall atmosphere in the city. I mentioned I-Act to my activist friend at Regis College in Boston and she went “Oh yeah! The video feed thing! I heard that’s supposed to be really cool.” So there you have it. Keep up the good work! Reading your messages about the culture over there is one of the highlights of my day!
Sarah
Mount St. Mary’s College
Sorry I couldn’t write to you sooner, my internet was down. I an a student in Ms. Pereyra’s class at Palisades Charter High School. She told us all what you were doing so I had to post a comment. I also read the article in the Palisadian Post. I just wanted to wish you good luck and I can’t wait to see what you have done.
Grabriel, I am so happy to know that you are doing well. I just watched the video and I was surpriced at the view because it almost reminds me of the little towns in Mexico and it makes me think that this tragedy could be happening to people that I do know. Thanks for your hard work, you became a role model to me since the first time you came to visit our college. Thanks for bringing reality to our lives.
Aida
Mount St. Mary’s College
(paz)
Dear Gabriel and Chris,
I saw the video and I believe that it’s the perfect set-up for what is to come. When people see Day 1, they’ll be able to understand why you are there. As Aida, I was also surprised with the town. Interesting to see one of the few paved roads in the area. Take care on your journey. I imagine you’ve reached the Chad/Darfur border.
Rachel
Yay! Sarah and I just finished watching the first video! Gabriel TV! We’re still both amazed that you’re really there. How exciting! We thought the video actually looked really cleanly cut together. I guess we expected the editing from the field to be a little more rough and tumble. Anyhow, looks great. Can’t wait for an update!
Hi Gabriel!! This is Lidia and Cindy and Marco.Cindy and Marco are new members of the student task force at Pali! We’re really glad you made it safe to Chad and we loved your video! Take Care and hope to here from you soon!!
Today i saw the first video from sudan.I’m glad to see that you got there safe. We were all amazed by the long process that you must go through to get the veideos online, but it was a great video and i’m very thankful to have seen it. I will make it a commitment to see them everyday….EVEN DURING THANKSGIVING!!….hehe…well yeah….Best wishes and my blessings and prayers go to you…stay safe.
Stephanie Valladares(Pali S.T.F)
Hi. Gabriel
I was excited to see the i act up,it seems like your having a good time so far. Stay safe and ill keep looking for new i acts.
p.s.
stay safe and god bless
Dana
Hi everyone,
Hi I am Bertha a student from Pali. Well I hope that every thing is going well over their and well I hope that the kids likeed what was sent to them caude i thought it was cool. Wish you the best over their and please say hi to all the little cute kids for me well got 2 go bye!