Sudan: the first week

Right, so Sudan. I want to tell you about what strikes me, before it fades away into being normal. It's a large, sprawling flat city, not many buildings are over 4 stories (mine is actually 3 stories not 4) the main roads are sealed, but the smaller roads in between are dirt. Only a few of the larger roads through and around the city have street lights. My street does. Sitting out on the balcony Mick heard a strange shuffling noise and the sound of flip-flops. Looking down onto the street we saw about 20 men in orange suits sweeping the road with stiff house brooms. They looked like prisoners but were not under armed supervision... so must just be the street sweeping team.

There are a lot of armed men in uniform here. Myriad different uniforms too. In Egypt it was easier: the young guys who are on National service are popped into white uniforms, those who can speak English (no matter how minimal) are tourist police, those that are left are traffic police. Here there seems to be a uniform for every possible different field of authority. But I don't know how much authority they have. The school uniform for many of the boys high school is cammo combats (one school looks a bit more like pajamas than fatigues) and I did see a couple of 'desert storm' uniforms (the one of the only two different types of cammo I reconise, the other is the funky pixalisation low-resolution cammo of the Canadians). So, camouflage is the Sudanese black.



I stick to the old black (which is not grey, it's black). This is a foolish colour to wearing in stinking, sweltering, dry, suppressive, draining, life-sucking heat. I'm told too that it is fortunate that I came in the winter, summer gets really hot. It is about 38 degrees in the shade. It hits over night lows in the 40s in summer. So slowly I'm going to have to change my waldrobe to lighter colours (and also my underwear to prevent show-though... I'm not allowed a body remember).

Food here is much like India, bowls of luke-warm and cold mush. Very tasty, eaten with bread. I cook at home, I have a fabulous kitchen. And while Mick is staying with me I get treated to meals out. Last night we had Nile perch... On the Nile.

Mick should be getting his bike parts at the end of the week InshAllah (God willing, or just the way you end sentences here). Then he'll need to get going fast to avoid the rains in Kenya. The two Nick's flew through Sudan, we a blinked and missed them. Last writing on their blog they had made it to Ethiopia and sealed roads and beer, so they are happy.

A couple of days ago there was a sheep in my backyard (the back yard is beside the house, it is dirt ground, a garage made from posts and a corrugated iron roof, a few piles of ceramic basins and the neibours cars all behind a metal gate). It was tied to one of the posts of the garage, an hour later it had been decapitated and was slowly being cut up for dinner. It's just these little things that are not good or bad, they are just different. You simply don't see people kill their own mutton for dinner where I'm from.

The busses are mini vans where 20 people huddle in, as each person gets off at their stop everyone shuffles back so only the seats near the door a vacant (very intelligent) . To stop the bus you click your fingers, the young bus conductor makes a hissing sound and the driver stops. It is a quiet, tranquil experience.

I have regular teaching hours. I still don't enjoy teaching. Just not my cup of tea. It may be better when I get to know the classes more. Also when I have a better idea of what topics to cover. I may have a job at a local English newspaper, starting the week after this. One night a week proof reading. Yeah I know, I suck at that. But, they don't know that yet and I might get better. I have read the Sudan Tribune a couple of times and spotted mistake, so might be able to do a better job than the person they have already. It's extra money, It's not private teaching, and it is in a field I am interested in.

I don't have much internet access, but I have found a cheaper place. This year two people have most annoyingly put my email address into the web without asking first. As a result I am back to getting 15 spam emails a day. This annoys me so much. People should know better... Would you give away your friends snail mail address to 'readers digest' without asking first? No. Why would you sign them up for a message service, friends reunited or WAYN without asking? Anyway this annoying and I may have to give jup the single email account I have kept for over 10 years. If I do get around to it I'll let you know. I vainly don't want to be y0ung -cr0ne_234 @wherever .com .

I like Sudan. It is a challenge.