Eating Out....

Two of the nurses just asked me if I want to come and watch a baby being born. But I've decided to pass so I can update my blog. Since I last wrote I've made it back to my Sudanese home, Doro, and have been joined by five of my compatriots, who are here on a short term mission trip.

The journey here from Malakal took us in the region of 12 hours, and I think I'd lost all semblance of a sense of humour by the time we arrived. Which is obviously saying something. We now have a car at Doro, which has made trips to the market to watch World Cup matches posisble. Here is me preparing to leave Malakal:


On the road we encountered plenty of potholes, around 10 blissful miles of tarmac and some nomads:


One of whome was a boy riding a camel...you don't see that every day, even in Sudan:


After arriving in Doro we made the trip to the local petrol station to fill up:


This guy was an expert at syphoning with his mouth...

It is very nice to be back, I got a heartwarming welcome from my Sudanese friends (which has been followed up with plenty of hand holding...I'm dealing with it as best I can) and there is now tonnes of work to do on the building project. The scottish team have well and truly got stuck in to Sudanese life (one of them even spent 2 days on a drip...) and all is well.

This evening I went round to my friend John's house. This is him with his family and neighbours.


We sat and drank coffee (as is the norm here...just like at home) and chatted as best we could (John has pretty much no english). I was planning on leaving when food arrived, along with all the people from the surrounding houses. These people really do know what it means to live in community together...

In Sudan, food is normally served on one big plate and everyone just tucks in with their hands and this arrangement is not without its issues. For a start Asida (a kind of thick paste made from sorgum) is served very hot...So hot that I scalded my fingers. Secondly if, like me, you are a slow eater then all the food is finished before you've had your share. This may be the reason I've lost weight since I came to Sudan.

Anyway, we were all sitting there eating when all of a sudden torrential rain swept in from the east. Everyone scarpered in various directions leaving me standing there not knowing who to follow until eventually John led me to a grass hut, under which we sheltered along with a few goats, chickens and several dogs while we finished eating round a fire in the dark. It was an incredibly surreal experience, one of those moments you feel like you should savour because it's so rare. Unfortunately I never even brought my camera...