Swing of Things

WHAT a week. I started using public transportation on my own. That has been exciting. I have yet to have a mundane bus ride, to say the least. Also started Arabic classes, so I am thinking I will be fluent in a week or so. Ha! I wish. Arabic is no joke, so I am doing my best but all things like this take time. Have been to the boys centre now a couple of times. It is obviously difficult to get to know them when we don’t speak the same language, but I am trying! Another girl and I made play-doh for them this week. After we explained to these lovely young men that it was not food (because some did try to eat it, no joke), they had a lot of fun. Some sculpted some really great stuff. And then, in perfect boy fashion, after a little while they ended up throwing it at each other. Some things are the same everywhere. J

A few interesting tidbits I learned this week.

-A number of beggar kids like to hang out at the ice cream shop. They will shamelessly put their hand out and ask for your ice cream when they have a large cup of it already in their other hand.

-Almost all of the clothes/scarves/toys/such in the suuk (market) are made in China.

-Ladies, especially single ladies, should not ever go out with wet hair. This is because in sharia law women are required to bathe after married-people activities. So, leaving the house with wet hair gives the wrongggg idea to people.

-There are totally two overdressed guards that stand outside of the doors of the palace. (Which, interestingly enough, is mere feet from a busy road). If you wave to them they will bang their guns and salute you.

-“Rush hour,” or at least the busiest the roads are seems to be around 2-3. Right around Sudanese lunchtime and about the right time it seems that many people go home and take a nap. Then maybe go back to work. However they are feeling that day.

-When you a stray dog or two coming out of the room when you get there, later when you are sitting on the floor getting schooled at Connect 4 by one of the boys you should not be surprised when you look down to see TICKS crawling ALL over the floor. Omg.

-All of the dry goods you buy from the market should be put in the freezer for at least a day after you buy them. Otherwise your bag of dried chickpeas will quite literally come to life with all kinds of little critters inside.

-Culture stress combined with the crazy heat is serious business. It will wear a sista’ out.

-Geckos that run across my wall make me happy. Upcoming scorpion season, not so much.

Today on the docket I am going to the bus station (a mass of 200+ buses and throngs of people) to meet a friend (which will not be as easy as it sounds) to travel over to the boys centre, to hang out with them for a few hours and stumble over the few Arabic phrases I do know. Should be an interesting afternoon.

Over·con·fi·dent

over·con·fi·dent (ō′vər kän′fə dənt)

adjective

-confident without adequate reason; too confident

-excessively confident; presumptuous.

 

Also...one who thinks that after only one day of taking the bus in Sudan they can get off at a different stop to go to the store and can walk back to where they live with no problems. 

 

Whoops.

A Life Well Lived

The last two months the song "Little is Much" by Downhere has been rolling around in my brain has been an encouragement to me.

The first line has esspecially made me ponder..."What is the measure of a life well lived?"

Well, what is? I have a few ideas of my own, but I would like to know what you think. Thoughts?

What I have Heard, Smelled, Tasted, Seen, and Touched

Just a few little things so far in this first week.

Heard:
-That the Sudanese are very friendly and helpful, and like visitors. This seems to be the case. Which is great. This particular visitor will be needing a lot of help, thank you very much.
-Right now, the mosque blaring some singing for the evening prayers. Sometimes some angry sounding yelling. Everyday a call to prayer that is tooooo early.
-At the house guys on donkey-pulled carts announcing their produce and prices as they go up and down the street.
-Mosquitos buzzing in my ears every night when I leave the window open for too long for some cool air.

Smelled:
-Spices like cumin being freshly ground in the market. Mmm.
-How stinky it is to make bricks the good old fashioned way. With clay, mud, and manure out in the hot, hot sun.
-Ok, really not a whole lot because the dry air has made my sinuses stuffy.

Tasted:
-The biggest, sweetest, best grapefruits of my life.
-A lot of tamir. Basically a falafel. Eaten with chili sauce, on bread, with salad, or by themselves.
-A drink, I don't remember what it's called, but a strong tea type thing made out of hibiscus flowers.
-More meat in this week than I ate all of last year. You can't refuse the food people make or buy for you!

Seen:
-Some crazyyy driving. Usually see at least 1 accident while I am out. Will be putting off driving in Africa for as many years as I possibly can.
-Lots of exciting things at the market. All kinds of grains, spices, legumes. I can't wait to start playing with all these new healthfoodstuffs!
-A lot of dusty streets that all look the same. Of which, very few are marked. Super.
-Men holding hands. And in long white caftans (dresses...? jk, jk!) with cute little hats. Perfectly masculine and normal and acceptable. PS Way unacceptable for a man and woman to hold hands.
-A baby literally on the brink of death from malnutrition be revived by rubbing some sugar on the inside of her mouth, which was followed by some other treatment. This was at the clinic I went to one morning where they treat some of the poorest of the poor. I went to see the conditions of the kids there, that will be very similar to some of the boys from the streets. I can now identify a certain type of ringworm that will only infect children.

Touched:
-My headscarf quite frequently while I am out. It falls, and is blown down, and I adjust it to keep it from being too hot/tight/loose and sometimes end up with it tangled or choking myself. It is not a faux pas really when it falls and such, and is not a necessity as a Westerner. I don't have to wear it all the time everywhere. Just most places and esspecially when I am in public. Still getting the hang of it.
-The Nile River! Put my feet in the sand, then the thick clayish mud. Will probably go swimming next time, though have to that fully clothed. No joke.
-The hands of the boys at the centre's where I will be working(!!!) who have been rescued from life on the streets. It is so nice to be in the place will I will be spending at least my next 2 years! :)

Here

I am having a hard time believing that I am really in Sudan. Sometimes when I have been in the house for a few hours or wake up in the morning I remember and it makes me smile.

I never, ever thought I would be living in a Muslim country; that I would be learning Arabic of all languages, that I would be in a place where I wear a headscarf most of the time so that I am not looked at as a woman of inpropriety, that I would be in a place where I am awakened (early) every morning by the call to prayer being blared by the nearby mosque every morning. And I chose a darn interesting time in history to be here too. With the South seceding this summer, the poltical situation here and in surrounding countries, talk of sharia law...it is an interesting time indeed. One in which no one can really guess what is going to happen.

Of all times in my life, this would be a good one to start freaking out a little bit. I am in a brand new, very unfamiliar (and seemingly impossible?) city to figure out. A public transportation system involving hand signals that I need to learn, no friends yet, and in a culture that is by leaps and bounds very, very different from my own. I am living next to a desert, in the most dusty place I can imagine, with no backyard...and really not much of anything else that I could call familiar.

But I have this...I don't know what to call it. It feels like a quiet confidence almost, that all is most well, that this is where God ordained my steps, that I am here for something. I can't explain it, and I almost can't believe it. If you saw the place maybe you would understand. It is a landscape that is harsh, dry, and kind of intimidating. I know I am only starting to scratch the surface of all of this. I know that many things are going to work against me while I am here. I know that there are many tough roads ahead--many involving discomfort, feeling dumb, and uncomfortable, and awkward, and getting things wrong. Lord knows what else. But I am happy to feel at peace, though not settled...yet. But this is home for awhile and I am happy. I am sure it will take all of the next 2 years to feel like I have any sort of idea about how to do anything, but I am looking forward to that point.

First impressions and such to come. To be honest my head is kind of swimming in the newness of everything and the mental exhaustion is kind of taking a physical toll as well. Stepping out a little more into the deep everyday instead of diving in headfirst...that seems the way to go.

Love Note?

Dear Africa,

I don't mean to be mean. We haven't gotten off to a rough start exactly. Safari was great and I have crossed paths with some lovely people.

The robbery, while not my fav, could have been much worse. Getting really sick the next day though just seemed a bit like adding insult to injury. I did feel well enough for my flight to Sudan, yes. But last nights super-sick-all-night-fell-asleep-next-to-the-toilet-then-literally-had-to-crawl-back-into-bed-because-I-couldn't-walk-thats-how-sick-I-was was kind of the worst. Like the sickest I have been since I got food poisoning 6 years ago.

It's not that I don't think we aren't meant to be anymore. I think we totally are. But for whatever reason I have been sicker the last 6 weeks here than I have in the last 6 years of my life. Maybe this could change? Because it is kind of putting a damper on things.

I know we can work this out. So if you could, just get rid of the amoeba/germs/parasite/whatever's thats are taking up residence in my tummy that would be great. We have a bright future together, Africa. Let's get on with it, shall we? Thanks. Much love.

Beth

My Headlamp, Really?!

I have written about 6 starter sentences and erased all of them and I am not sure how to start this. So lets just dive in, shall we?

Upon arriving back at the flat after church we (Chris, the lady with whom I am staying and I) were having a lot of trouble getting the key to work in the door. She fiddled with it, I fiddled with it and we were getting nowhere. So she sent for some help and I was finally able to push the door in with a small amount of force and get it to open. I walk in and everything looks normal. I turn the corner to my room...um...Chris...my computer is gone! She goes down to her room...mine too! And my money!All of our drawers and cabinets were open and had been rifled through.

We were robbed today while we were out. So we get the guards, the neighbors start coming, after awhile it was clear that the guards had not contacted the police. So Chris drove to the station which is nearby and they came after a little while. Asked questions, dusted for prints. The landlady came. Some friends of Chris's came by. Not the best afternoon of my life. Continued to go a littleeee bit downhill. Was trying to print my visa form and it was not and still is not working. During that time I burned the granola I was making (I needed a cooking project to occupy myself). A little while later Chris and I were singing and praising God and thanking him for life and safety and His goodness.Wouldn't you know it, the power goes out. I immediately just start laughing. We go outside to the balcony as there was still a bit of sunlight and kept singing.

The building locksmith guy finally came, he had been out of town and just got back, and performed some emergency first aid on the door so that it at least closes and locks for the night, and is putting a new lock on tomorrow. Afterwards Chris and I went around to each room and prayed in and over it. It is unsettling to be in a place where strangers have been going through and taking your things. Also, all signs kind of point to the fact that it was someone who lives in these flats. They had to have known we were gone because they used considerable force to get in. They also had to have known that the people that stay in the flat across from us were gone as well, as they would have heard them otherwise. Also the, trustworthy, guard said that there had been no visitors for a long time. Not a great feeling. Also, you can access the surrounding flats from the roof, just climb over and go down the stairs. So really no one on the ground could have seen them at all. They knew what they were doing. Jerks.

All things considered, I am so thankful. That we were not here, that we are alive, that the whole place was not torn apart, that mostly they did not take anything that cannot be replaced. Both of our laptops were stolen. I had a few hundred dollars taken, Chris had a significant amount of money taken, as well as her camera, computer bag, and a gold necklace that meant a great deal to her. I THOUGHT that my passport had been taken, as I had kept it with my money. For whatever reason, and I don't even remember doing it, I guess I had moved it onto the spare bed under a pile of papers. So thankfully I have that. They left my credit card that was sitting on my desk, as well as my Kindle and mp3 player, Chris's Ipod, and a few other things. BUT I noticed a few hours later that my headlamp was missing. It had been sitting on my bed table for use when the power goes out. Chris checked, as hers had been out too, and hers had been taken as well. So random! Really, our headlamps?! Really?!

Long day, and a lot of errands and fixing of things to do tomorrow. Thanks for all the sweet emails, prayers, and words of support. I appreciate it so much.