Imagine

It's a pretty breezing day here in Kampala. Trees are bending in the wind.

Of course, that means that there are millions of tiny dust particles moving along as well.

But, it feels good.

In reading up on last week's attack, I learned that in all the decades of war in this country, Khartoum was never attacked.

That is why the people here in Khartoum are so disturbed.

During the times of conflict, all of it took place south and west. Khartoum's citizens went about their daily lives not affected at all.

Imagine how easy it would be then to forget that there are people loosing their lives each day, and you are going to the grocery store, school, dances, church.

Imagine.

Imagine then how easy it would be to conduct a war apart from your soil.

Imagine that you were indifferent about it ending.

Displaced people that you never saw.

Starvation that you never witnessed.

Can you imagine?

Isn't it real now?

Isn't it?

Lesson's of the Day

Dateline Khartoum – Tuesday May 13, 2008

This was a really weird day.

I learned that my neighbor/cook's name is not Marta but Gratziela. This is not a life's lesson, merely an editorial correction.

However, I learned that she has no running water next door. Wether that is by choice, since they have a sattelite dish, or that of the two, the dish is cheaper, I do not know.

I determined that I did not care, and filled her huge vats with water.

My mind drifts to a wedding in Caanan and turning it into wine. That would have been really nice.

I woke with some anxiety, but could not determine the cause. In this weather, it makes no difference if you are anxious or not, you must eat. The heat will sap your strength if you do not.

A new AC man arrived, a friend of my neighbor's that used to live in this neighborhood. Rascal, it appears, has several personalities.

One is nice puppy.

The other is Atila the Hun.

He charged this man, thnkfully, before he came through the gate. Rascal was confined to indoors.
He adjusted the belt and voila, I know have air. (Though this AM, it is back to squealing.)

Several friends suggested options of coping without AC, specifiallly sleeping without AC: large floor fans, lots of ceiling fans, water spritzing and rum and cola. I thank you for caring for me.

Ok, here is the thing. The house is already wired, and contains one plug for each room. Therefore, plug already used for one fan. Additional not opptional. I like the idea of open doors, but I hate flys landing all over me when I am trying to work or sleep.

An oscillating fan would be nice, as well as a floor fan, but Target or Kmart are not just around the corner.

Water sprtizing would be great, but it would dry in mid air.

Rum and coke. Ah, not my drink, but not anyones drink in Khartourm. The is sharia law and no alcohol is anywhere.

Now that the AC was fixed, I could go into work.

Nope. They had decided that it was still a little iffy, not really, and tomorrow/today would be fine.

The garbagemen finally showed up.

Here, all trash is taken to a certain place in front of each house. So, all the trash that Joanna did not have picked up, plus mine, had to be hauled outside. Yuck.

And, of course, Rascal charged and growled and barked at them as well.

That done, I hosed down the front courtyard. I wanted to watch the soccer game sitting down rather than stare over the fence like Elroy.

Brought a chair to the front, but in doing so started to slip on the nud and I felt my hamstring snap. Ouch. Spent some time trying to stretch it out weating a long skirt. Not an easily accomplished task mnd you.

Game time: Sit in the shade watching the game. My grandfather would have been drinking Knickerbocker beer and watching the game. Water tastes better.

Anna, little girl down the street, came by. I put Rascal in the other courtyard and she came inside. What a delight, but no substitution for Kathryn. But, so much like Kathryn.

Playing dressup in my sun visor and sunglasses. Sassaying around. Showing Sami next door.

Rubbing my arm trying to see if the white comes off.

Drinks water. Then drinks and spits and laughs. Sits in my lap, whispers in my ear, in arabic of course.

Climbs the fence, yells at the team.

Then nightmare.

Rascal gets out, charges me and Anna. Lots of screaming and me holding Anna high in the air. Trying to get Rascal to stop, holding Anna higher. She is lifted over the fence by two tall young men. Rascal calms down as I yell. Into the other courtyard.

Through one of the young men, wearing a Yankee baseball cap, I learn that she is not bitten, but that she was frightened and her heart is beating very fast. Likewise.

She goes home. Comments made between the three of us about Rascal's agressiveness.

I go back inside and cry.

This neighborhood is my world now. How to deal with this? What are they thinking as they watched this? What about Anna's parents?

After several phone calls to Joanna's friends here in Khartoum, I learn that Rascal was a wild puppy when Joanna rescued him. Something about pack living is still ingrained in him. The weak are to be attacked. Hold your turf.

I call Sami. He meets me at the front, I tell him the story, and ask if I should go see the parents.
Yes. We will go right away. First, get jacket to cover shoulders.

Sami, in his role as translator, tells them why I am there. They invite us in. We sit, father brings two waters and two little candies. Anna arrives, smiling. While Sami is telling the story, very animatedly, Anna gets a little brown stool for my water.

Everything ends well. They invite me back for longer conversations about why I am here, etc.

This ought to be very interesting.

I am going to have to pay Sami to interpret. Or the conversation is going to take a very long time.

Two months maybe.

Starry, Starry Night - Part Two

Well, I may have romanticized sleeping under the stars a bit.

In fact, sitting, or standing, or reading, or emailing, or lying under the stars would be more appropriate.

At 4:15 AM I moved in doors.

That is the time the Iman's start their first call to prayer. Of course, I did not know this. I am usually asleep.

That was the last straw.

At the beginning, an African Drum Group played until 11 PM.

During the night, I heard each plane landing and lifting off.

And Rascal, who felt the need to protect me from every sound he heard, barked loudly.
Then of course, running to the bed for a pat on the head reward.

And the nighttime feral cats, who move from roof top to roof top, aided by Rascal barking and leaping off the walls. One time, running onto the bed and over my stomach.

And the stars. I did not want to take my glasses off in case a shooting star went by.

In case you are wondering, the Imans are still praying. It has been ½ hour.

So today, my Birthday, I will most likely resemble that Cranky Old Lady on the Hallmark cards.
If it were Christmas, I would be Bah Humbuging.

Tonight, indoors, even if it is the Hilton.

Starry, Starry Night

Star Light, Star Bright, Grant the wish I wish tonight.

Dancing with the Stars.

Starlight Express.

Stardust.

Under the stars.

That is where I am sleeping. Under the stars.

I have decided that since the AC is not working, and it is cooler outside, this is where I shall sleep.

Around 8PM I pulled the bed outside to the courtyard.

Sprayed the bricks with water to cool everything down.

Set up the laptop.

Took a shower. Got ready to blog.

No web access to Google, Comcast, BBC, nothing for the past hour.

So, I am reclining on the bed looking up into the black sky. The moon is at half and growing each night. The stars are beautiful.

I have not done this since camping as a Girl Scout, a long, long, time ago.

It is hard to see the sky at night in Delaware. Here it is easy.

Too bad that I do not know the names of the constellations that I am seeing. I could see the Big and Little Dippers in every constellation if I tried hard enough.

So, if I am looking at the stars, how is this being typed?

Well, I just received a phone call from L. Stanley. She is, hopefully, arriving in Khartoum this Friday, from Renk, on her way to Virginia this Sunday. I hope to meet her prior to her leaving.

So I tried the internet again. No luck. Rather than wait. I type in word and will transmit when I can get back on line.

Now, back to the stars.

My Love Affair with the BBC

I have come to really appreciate the role of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).


When the only access to what is going on around you is the internet, then this website is invaluable.


Today, they have more historical and current information about Sudan than I have seen elsewhere.


And, it is without a US perspective.


Here is the link.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/


It is fascinating stuff.


Enjoy

Neighbors

Surprises keep coming.

No church at all today

While there may be services, the 6PM English service I cannot attend.

I have asked Robin about going and he recommends that I stay put, due to the fact that the service would let out in the dark and the roads are to be kept clear.

I learn a little more of what happened yesterday from Robin. The city north of Khartoum had it's electric tower hit so they have lost electricity and water.

Two of the ECS workers live there. One made it home and witnessed the fighting right outside his compound. The other, with his family, is waiting to see if they would be opening the bridge to traffic. If so, they were heading home. If not, staying the night with Robin.

I have discovered that keeping the main roads clear is like saying keep I95 clear. Everyone takes to the back roads. It is the same here.

The back roads in this case go through the soccer field in the front of the house. Lots of traffic.

So what to do with my energy.

I take to cleaning out the front patio area. The bush branches snap and therefore do not need clippers. When I am done, I can see the front door from the street.

Next the garbage is taken away from all the bushes and put in front so that people remember it is there. I cannot figure out what people do with all this trash.

I sweep up old leaves and lots of sand/dirt. Out the front.

Then water which I used to water the new tree in front of the house. More to water down the leaves and dirt I have swept into the street. More to clean the broom, more for my hot feet, hands.

I am definitely sweaty. What I cannot figure out is why I am not sunburned.

This puzzles me.

Today, I speak with Marta and determine that I am older than her by 4 months. This she cannot believe. She thought I was in my forties. Ah. She swears I am not telling the truth.

Her son Sami has never married because he has no house, no steady job, a mother to support, etc. Sad.

After showering, checking the BBC and email, I don the skirt, shirt and walk to the corner market, two doors down.

I only have a 50lb note.

They give me credit I owe them 6 lbs.

I am part of the neighborhood and it has only been 6 days.

Dateline Khartoum May 10, 2008

Here's my dilema.



Do I write about yesterday, my experience, knowing that this will automatically be sent to my sister and daughter?



Or do I not and write about a sleepless night without AC?



Or both?



Yesterday, Saturday, is a work day in Khartoum. They have no weekends if you are Christian. You have off Friday and Sunday.



Tito and I worked a very long and productive day. Nicholas was still out recovering from a bout of Malaria.



At 2:30 PM, we left work. (No editorial comments here. You try working 8 hours in this heat with no AC.)



Since the car was again being worked on, we walked one street over to a supermarket. Tito wanted to show me how close it was to work. And, they exchanged dollars.



I found out that the closest postoffice for stamps to US is at the airport.



Then we took my first Rickshaw ride. So much fun. Rounding corners a little to fast. Missing turns and turning around mid-stream in traffic. Like the Keystone cops.



Car was not ready. So we headed to my house. I actually recognized the correct intersection from the opposite direction. (See K, all my nosiness pays off.)



Housekeeper was here, as well as cook, they made me eat. Food is very good but heavy so I am eating a little at a time. It frustrates them.



They leave, I walk to the little store at the corner for bread for Rascal and water for me.



I get an invitation from the owner to sit and have dinner with him.



I just cannot get my head around eatting dinner on someone's bed while he wears a long white caftan/robe. Besides, I have no idea what he is eatting. So I thank him, but no, I am just back from work and need to rest a little.



People here are always making sure that I rest. That is so not me. Where's the next garden to plant?



Tito has promised to return and look at the new belt on the AC. It is not working correctly.



I turn on the computer and stream Countdown with my earset on.



I hear prayers and booming. Like a big party, like the 1812 Overture performed on July 4th.



I think lots of time has gone by and where is Tito?



Finally, I change out of this blessed skirt and put in the Big Chill to watch.



I am listening to Heard it throught the Grapevine and singing along when the phone rings.



It is Enoch Tombe. I pause the movie and remove one plug.



Surprise.



Judith, this is Enoch. I want to tell you that there is a curfew tonight from 5 PM to 6 AM. I can walk to the little store, but I wil not be driving anywhere. Why? Because of the attack on a part of Khartoum from terrorists from Darfur.



Do not worry, this is far away, but Tito got trapped away from home and he will be spending the night in the closest church. He lives where the fighting is.



WHAT?



OK. How to process this.



On his advice he tells me to turn on the TV. No TV. The Radio, cannot locate a radio. Then the internet to BBC.



Praise be to God for the BBC.



I call my neighbor Sami to make sure that he knows. He tells me he will be right over, be at the gate now, and hangs up. I meet him at the gate in my long sleeping shirt.



The cell phones have not been working for the past two hours. He has been calling here to make sure that I am home.



Love this man and mom.



He also tells me that he has been knocking on the gate, but of course I have been watching Countdown's Worst Persons in the World and laughing.



So, now I know what the booming was and why Tito did not return. I say a prayer for Tito.



Sami returns to work on the AC and I add pants. He gets it running and I am invited to come over and watch TV.



They have satillite.



We watch pictures from the other side of Khartoum. The "rebels" came from Chad. They were tracking them as they approached.



Do not ask why they were not stopped. Everyone is asking the same question.



Curfew is not extended to 10 AM.



Shucks no 8:15 AM service for me.



I end up watching TV outdoors on a bed, sipping hot tea and watching Oprah. The show where the pregnant man is being interview.



I keep saying, this is not America.



Then Dr. Phil. Geez.



Then Dance Fever. Shoot me please.



Then the movie that starred Brad Pitt and Tony Soprano. Shooting, sex etc.



This is Sudan?



No, this comes from Syria. And it is in English with Arabic subtitles.



All is well in the world.



I leave at 11:30.



AC is working.



But I awake at 12:30 to the belt squealing. So I turn off the AC and open the doors. I can sleep in this "warmth".



Sure, finally at 5:30 AM. But then I turn back on the AC. It is not squealing and I slept until 9:30 AM.



So, I am a little bit more understanding about how lives continue in the midst of chaos.



But, it does. And it does so safely.



Which I am.



Thanks be to God.