NDJ OMW

It seems pretty official that my first assignment will be N'Djamena Chad! The project is a new embassy, which we expect to take about 2.5 years to complete. Here are some basic stats on N'Djamena and Chad:

• Population = ~1,000,000
• Altitude = ~980 feet (298 m)
• Primary languages = French and Arabic
• Major industries = cotton, cattle, and fishing
• Annual average rainfall = 22 inches (559 mm)
• Average maximum temp = 106 deg F (41 deg C) in April
• Average minimum temp = 58 deg F (14 deg C) in January
• Chad's ranking on the Failed States Index = 5th worst in the world (obviously a list you want to avoid, like ESPN's Bottom 10)
• Chad seems to be a destination for regional refugees from Central African Republic, Sudan, and Nigeria
• N'Djamena is frequently ranked among the top 10 most expensive cities in the world

From CIA Factbook

We're scheduled to arrive this month, which is between the February-May hottest time of year and the July-September rainy season. We're in the middle of our preparations to leave, which have required an incredible amount of planning so we've been extremely busy in the past month. My wife's been amazing dealing with all the details - I'm stunned thinking about singles and people with kids trying to manage this, it's unreal. It's exciting to be getting out into the field!

(This post written while listening to Rockwell Somebody's Watching Me.)