Restaurants

We went out to a restaurant the other day. Which in this month of ramadan is already challenging to find a restaurant that is open. We wanted pizza originally, however their oven was broken so we could not have pizza. Or calzone, or pasta. So then we decided that we were going to have Chicken sandwiches. Well they were also out of chicken. We finally decided on just a simple sandwich. It is just another one of those simple reminders that we are not in America and one of the joys of living here! You always have to choose about 3 choices at the least before ordering in this case it was more like 6 :)

Grocery Shopping

We are getting more brave this year and we also no longer have access to a car. So today we went down to the vegetable guy on the street and flirted a little to let him know we would be back often. So he would give us a good deal. Then moved on to the fruit guy flirting again. Hey gotta use it for something in this country. Then you jump on the closest bus and hope that it is going in the right direction to where you are going. Get off at the doucan (store) closest to your house and pick up a few other things. Oh wait we are not done yet we still do not have any meat. That is coming another day though cause for that we have to go to the butcher. So much for one stop shops like in Fred Meyers or Walmart. Oh and still have to go to the bakery. So when you are walking around your grocery stores and go to each department think instead of getting on a bus or taking another transportation to each area. Then ordering what you would like in another language. Oh how I love the adventures that life is when you are living here :) However we have most of our needs as far as food goes now! I have never been to a butcher, last year we went to the American grocery store so it should be exciting and another adventure. Hopefully we will not get sick.

My adventure across the world.

From This...

I left my house around 4:30 am on Monday morning of last week to head to the airport. I had slept about 2-3 hours, because I was getting thingstogether to leave. I get to the airport and my brother got lost trying to find his way to where Iwas after parking the car. Then we took and checked in all 9 bags with not a problem at all! Huge praise! The lady was a little surprised, but when none of them were over weight she was happy to help. Then as I am heading in to get my last starbucks for a long time to come. I started speaking with a pilot and asking him where he is going. I told him I was going to Africa and he was pretty interested. Before I knew it he bought me breakfast then just left. He said I reminded him of his own daughter! How awesome! I headed down to my gate hoping that all my flights would go as planned for the first time in over a year and then they decide to move us to another gate. This turned out great, I met a girl that has the same job as me in South Africa and she knows a lot of the same people I know. Small world!

On the plane to New York I met a superintendent and a science t

eacher. The superintendent wanted me to go and work at his school. I explained that I already have a job, but would be willing to do pen pals with a class at his school.

So we head to New York where, seriously that is the worst laid out airpor

t in the world in my opinion. It was fun though and I got m

y last McDonalds. Headed through security and walked right onto the plane and got to start speaking some Arabic which helped since I was kinda late to get on the plane, but hey I was going to Africa where everything is late. Then we sat on the runway for 2 hours waiting to take off.

10 hours of flying later and I was in Egypt my last airport before heading home. I was not there for long so I headed down to my gate and got dressed appropriately for the country that I call my home. I met some amazing people in the airport that ended up sitting next to me on the plane. I highly encourage people to talk to others when traveling you meet the most amazing people! Once we got on the plane the lady told me that I looked "drowsy" well I was thinking I have been traveling for over 24hrs at this point, "yes I am

drowsy!" Yet she kept waking me up for food and other things when I fell asleep... really? How I love this culture!

Arrived in my home airport and it was so welcoming

to know where I was going. I let the men help me, which I never do. However when you have 9 bags you do a lot of things you do not usually do. So excited to see people I knew that helped me out to the car where we loaded it down and paid the two men that were the ones that started helping us not the 10 that there were when

we finished. Then I was home and headed to my house! 27 hours after leaving the USA.

To This...

Math problem....

How do you fit 7 pieces of luggage into a car to get them to the airport... if you know please help let me know! I have to figure out how to get that many pieces of luggage to the airport in about 3 weeks.

You don't have to leave the country for culture shock.

I spent a couple of weeks in Springfield and now I am in Louisiana. I have learned that you do not have to leave the country to get culture shock. Just being on the Bible belt is enough. It is funny that we forget sometimes. How even though we are all part of the same country we have such different expectations. Such as in the North if you say "sir" or "maam" it is disrespectful where in the South it is expected. Who would have thought that you could experience a different culture when going such a short distance. That said I am counting down and have about 4 and a half weeks along with a miracle from God before going back to Africa!

Adjusting to the USA

It is funny, I have been back in the states for almost a month. However even though I grew up here I find it very odd when very "American" things happen. I have to think twice when I walk up to a gentleman even one I might have known for a very long time. In Africa, I would shake their hand no matter how well I know them. Here in the states I might give them a hug. So in my mind I find myself arguing with myself "what am I supposed to do?" Other things such as the number of choices of things in stores seems outrageous! One thing that I still do not completely understand is the fact that meetings here can last only a half hour and everybody be happy with what has gone on. In Africa the meetings last for 2 hours for a short visit and you know you are ready to leave when people offer you tea. Another thing that I hope to adjust to, however I doubt I will is it is COLD everywhere I go. You would think that I have spent more of my life in Africa then in the US. It is funny how quickly you can fall in love with a place you have lived in for such a short amount of time. I am enjoying time with friends and family and getting some extra time to spend with God which is always so revitalizing. I am also learning how much I have changed as I interact with people I have known for most of my life. The most valuable thing that I believe I learned this year is that JESUS is my PRICELESS TREASURE and I am HIS!!!!

Elections and Voting *borrowed from a friend*

It's one of those days when there's just not a whole lot to report. I thought there would be. You see, it's election week here in Sudan. Something of a rarity...(like 24 years, I hear). In countries like this, one can never be too sure about how the political system will progress or er...escalate. Many of the Sudanese living in Khartoum left the city and went to smaller villages until the event was over. Some of them encouraged us to do the same. However, it's best for us to stay put. So we did. While the election itself has caused world-wide controversy, things locally seem to remain quiet. We continue in our work, remain prayerful and do what we can, while we are able in this dry, dusty place so desperately in need of a unified vote for Jesus.

Local voting station in Sudan (*Photo from Sudan Tribune)

Defining Hot???

I was laying the the living room at a friend's house the other day. When my friend asked if I was hot? Well my first thought was no, but then I thought about it and realized I was sweating. However I think here to be "hot" is when you have sweat dripping all down your leggs, and you jump in the shower with all your clothes on as soon as you get home. Just sweating no longer defines what it means to be hot. I have a feeling many sweatshirts will be needed when I get back to the states. For now I am happy that God has allowed me to not let the weather distract me too much :)

Transportation

We have many choices for transportation here. Busses, Amjads (like a van that works like a taxi), or rickshaws (small like a three wheeler, for shorter distances). Most of the time I take rick shaws to get around, they are great you can work on Arabic and very reasonably priced. Most people start to just get in and they know what the price should be so you pay it when you get to your destination. Today I had a slightly less awesome moment when a rick shaw driver decided to charge me over four times what the ride should have been and when I refused he threw them money at me. When I walked away he grabbed my arm and told me that I was not a good person. Luckily the neighbor was around and since he is a man he was able to help us and made the man finally go away. Just another day in this awesome country!

To the middle of nowhere and back...

Often times people say that they live in the "middle of nowhere" well I have news for you the middle of nowhere really does exist, but it is no where to be found in the US. This past week I had the amazing priveledge to travel through the desert to see many areas of this wonderful country I am living in. I saw about five different cities and many different tribes. I now have a stronger understanding of what this country is really made up of. However back to the middle of nowhere, so we would stop for lunch and gas in one town and then our leader would say "Ok about 240 clicks to the next stop. This did not just mean the next place, but it also meant there was NOTHING in the time between one stop and another. As far as you can see there was just desert, no people, no tents, nothing! Then after about an hour or so there might be a few tents and at one point we were driving down one road and we had some people we were giving a ride to in the back of our truck and another guy appeared out of the desert, no idea where he came from.

During our travels we got to go to the Red Sea and go scuba diving in one of the best places in the world! We also got to go snorkeling while staying on a boat for a couple of days! Then we traveled to a town that was deserted in the 80's yet still has a old hotel and about 4,000 people that live there, we went and found fuul (a type of bean food) where we had breakfast. Then we traveled on to a town up north where we got to go and enjoy some of the night life and a few surprises of people that are demon possessed. The next morning we woke up early and went to climb a mountain. Since the town is a very conservative town the bottom part of the mountain we had to wear our abayas (like a long dress) then later on we took them off and wrapped them around our waists. We made it to the top in a faster manner than I would have wanted, but we had time restraints. Some people said I was not choosing the best route since I walked up bascially a wall, but I got to the top and Chacos are amazing! Then we headed back down where we ran into some baboons that we had to scare away by throwing rocks at them. The best part was when I stepped off the mountain our leader had a coke for me nice and cold. :) Then as if that was not enough we went to the market to buy lots of amazing fruit that is grown in this farming town and headed out of town. Our leader noticed a tent out in the desert that had women and men in it so we pulled out into the desert to have tea with this nomadic tribe. The women were nervous at first, but they warmed up to us and were so generous! We had a difficult time communicating because they speak a different dialect of Arabic and our leader speaks the best Arabic, but he is a man and only women speak to women and men to men. It was an amazing experience being able to see a people group that is untouched by the outside world for the last 160 some years! Then if that was not enough we got to go to a couple more towns one for lunch and another we just drove past. By far my favorite was having tea in the village where the women squirted us with her perfume which I am sure was one of her most treasured possessions. She is very sick she said, so it would be great if you could all lift her up. Also it was great to watch the amazing kids that we had with us they are total rockstars! Plus encouraging conversations and chances to get to know people when you are driving 11 hours in a day and eating foods that might or might not make you sick made for an amazing adventure!

The light we carry!

I realized that I have not shared a lot about what life is really like here. I was reading another friend's blog and she made this country more real through her writing, so I am going to attempt to do the same for you.

There are days when you are walking down the street and there is nothing you could imagine more than the donkeys, the roosters, the sheep, hanging carcass’s of meat, people walking carrying large loads on their heads, dressed with their turbans and jalabiya and women in their taubs. Beggar’s at your door, on the street and at your vehicle windows trying their hardest (and loudest) to sell you their goods regardless of where you step. The Nile River and in another area further out, there are camels and pyramids. Oh, and let’s not forget the dust, lots and lots of dust. New buildings, old buildings, falling apart buildings, contrasts of wealth and poverty like any third world country has, and yet unlike any other. Someone else wrote most of this paragraph, but it really exemplifies this country so well.

The hardest part is that this country is dark, it is very dark all the time. Sometimes so dark that it is hard to see the light. Then their is our "family" that is here and their light shines so brightly that all the sudden you see the hope and the need of so many of people. You remember that their is a reason that we are all here and their is a plan for us to be here at this specific time. So no matter what the smell is of the day or how many buckets of sweat you feel like you have lost in the last hour. It will all be worth it when you look around and see the light in some children's eyes and the hope of the children and the questions of the other children that have yet to see the light. Wouldn't you want to be a part of sharing that light?

Thank you because you are a part of it every day!

Cross Cultural Teaching

This week in language arts we are reading a story about a street and how an unusual story comes out of nothing. To build background on the story, the students were asked to as a class put together a list of city sights, city sounds, and city smells. The example in the book and what our class came up with were completly different such as who thinks of a donkey as a city sight? When we were doing the list of smells I kept having to remind the students to say positive smells to start with. How often would you get the call to prayer as one of the city sounds when asking a class. Daily I am amazed at these kids and this culture!

KENYA!!!

We just got back from Kenya many many pictures to come. We got to go on a safari and see the most amazing green green green. I do not know if I would think the same if I was coming from America, but it was beautiful! It was a great and relaxing time to really get out and have some time to relax and refresh. I am so thankful for the time that we had. We also go to go to a conference with people that work all over this area of the world. It was so amazing to see all the generations represented. I can not believe that I have such an amazing job! Thank you for all of your support and encouragement! Happy New Year to all I hope this is that 2010 is the best year for all of you!