Wednesday

Here is a not uncommon anecdote for you. The other day Andrew and I were out in the Market here in Malakal hunting for some building materials. At one shop, the guy didn't have exactly what we were looking for, but he took us to show us someone who might.

Then, once we got there he invited us back to his shop for breakfast (which they eat at half 10/11am here, and my Arabic is getting so good that even I understood what he said - either that or I just commited a big cultural faux pas) where we were treated to a meal of beans, omelette, some tasty yogurty thing and bread. People here are unbelievably generous and hospitable, given that they don't have a lot. This has happened to me several times. And I don't think it's just because I'm white. Here's a snapshot of the market, so you can picture it:


Another interesting thing about being here, it certainly gives you a different perspective when you read the Bible. Jesus' parables about farming seem more relevant, as do the accounts in acts of the gospel being spread, and many many other things. It's good stuff.

In other news, I will shortly be heading to my final destination to start work on the building project, I'm hoping to make that journey (~150 miles on gravel roads) by road to see a bit of the country, but don't worry I wont attempt it on a motorbike, don't think my skills are sufficiently honed yet, and the dust would be something else.

Also, I feel you should be kept informed of any misfortunes that befall me. Yesterday, my Ipod stopped working. completely. To make matters worse I think it may be because I was messing around with it, so I now feel like an idiot. Happy days.

Monkey

Today something happened that was so interesting I counted it worthy of a post all on it's own. Just after I got up I spotted this guy, sitting on top of my tent:


Then, we gave him some food (a piece of stale bread - generous missionaries that we are), which he ate keenly, before throwing away the crusts, who would have thought a monkey could be fussy.





Then, some time later, as I was sitting down to do a bit of reading, he reappeared looking for more food. Not satisfied when I indicated that I had none he boldy walked into my tent to look for himself. I followed him to make it clear that this was not ok and when I took this photo, just as he was about to dissappear under my bed things got a bit ugly:


He really didn't like the flash and came at me with bared teeth, so I had to make like I was going to kick him before he scarperred over the roof. He hasn't been seen since...

Firsts...

Three weeks ago today I arrived in Nairobi, so to mark the occassion I thought I'd update my blog. I'm going to attempt to update this on a weekly basis from now on, provided I can think of interesting things to write. Last thing I would want to do is bore you...

Today has been a day of firsts for me. For the first time ever in my life I washed clothes by hand. It was an eye-opening, if not actually outright enjoyable experience. How are you supposed to know when things are clean! and how long are you supposed to clean them for? I suspect for longer than the 20 seconds I gave each item, as they dont look or smell much better than they did when I started, in some cases they may be worse. You live and learn...

Secondly, for the first time in a long long time (since I was maybe 13) I rode a motorbike...all on my own. Andrew agreed to give me a lesson as I should have free use of a motorbike once I get to Doro, and it's probably best to have a shot here whilst there's someone who actually know's what they're doing to keep me right. By and large, it was a success, although I managed to stall about 8 times before I finally got moving. Luckily there were only some Sudanese woman walking past, and I dont think they were all that interested in some white guy struggling to get a bike going thus keeping embarrassment to a minimum.

Other than that, my time in Malakal has been a mixture of Arabic lessons, attempts to memorize vocabulary, and trips to the market to practice. And some leisure time, to chill out. We have a hammock here, in the shade, so it's not all bad. I think I preiviously reported that it wasnt overly hot here. Well, it is now. The last few days have hit around 40°C and I'm told it's going to get warmer...happy days.

And finally, in a rather random aside. I've found myself missing a lot of things in my time in Africa. Friends, family, coffee from the shop across the road, KFC, fast internet, but perhaps the most surprising addition to that list is my old car, the black clio, that I sold in the summer:



did not expect that...

Malakal...

Yesterday I arrived in Malakal, Sudan where I will be staying for the next few weeks as I attempt to learn Arabic. But before that I enjoyed a flying visit to the Rift Valley (Which I had heard of before last week, but I'm ashamed to say I could not have told you what continent it was on)...This is me, there:

Friday and Saturday was the journey from Nairobi to Malakal, during which I took some photos, such as this one of the town of Malakal from the air. The river there is the Nile if you're interested (come to think of it, it's the Nile whether you're interested or not):


And this one was supposed to be the moment we hit the ground, but it didnt really work:


And these, show you my accommodation for the next three and a half weeks, a tent with it's own power supply, and wireless internet (at certain times of day):




And that, my friends, is all I've got for now. Over and out...

Sunshine...

Probably my favourite conversation of my trip thus far:

Was out with a couple of Ethiopian friends earlier today and one of them said to me, "Peter (Matheson) says that in your country sometimes you have days where you don't see the sun. Is this true?!?"

Such a thing was inconcievable to him. When I told him we mostly had days where you dont see the sun he was astounded. Welcome to Africa.

The other day we had a visitor wander on to our compound from the Korean restaurant next door:


Don't think I'd ever seen one of them before. So that was exciting, or at least interesting. Other than that there's been a bit of getting organised and a lot of time to do mundane admin tasks, which has also been helpful. It's pretty hot here (pushing 30°C) but it's even hotter in Sudan, approaching the hottest time of the year. That will take a bit of getting used to!!

And that, my friends, is just about all I have of interest to say. In three days I head into Sudan. Cant wait

Nairobi...

I am now safely in Nairobi, and have been for the last three days. It's pretty hot here, not far off 30 degrees during the day. For some reason I never expected it to be. I was met off the plane by Peter and a couple of girls from the SIM Sudan team which was class. It was really good to see a familiar face at the other end of a long journey, if also a little surreal.

Things are pretty chilled out here, I dont have a whole lot to do between now and heading into Sudan next Friday except for a little more orientation and buying of food (a task that I find incredibly daunting, how are you supposed to know what you want to eat for the next 2 months?!?) Tonight we're having a guys night out to an all you can eat meat restaurant on the other side of town. I'm sure it'll be fun, although all you can eat is kind of wasted on me.

Pretty much all of the SIM Sudan team have been out for the month of January and so it's been great to get the chance to hang out with them as most of them won't be on the same base as me. I've already been asked to use my engineering skills to price a new building for one of the other compounds, which is probably the most useful thing I've done since I got here. Although to be honest, it's not really up against much competition. I think I've spent more time sleeping in the last three days than in the three weeks before that. Turns out getting ready to leave, saying goodbye and long haul flights are really quite tiring.

I'm really looking forward to getting into Sudan, although I'm slightly less enamoured with the prospect of trying to learn arabic for the first few weeks. I havent tried to learn a language since standard grade french. It will be well worth it in the long run though.

Think that's it for now, I cant really think of anything interesting to say. And if it's not interesting to me then goodness knows how boring it'll be for you. I wrote a whole post in Dubai airport but it was so boring my computer wouldnt upload it....

Speak to you soon. Next time I might put in some photos

Goodbye...

So, I've left Glasgow, after 9 years, 4 months and am en-route to Sudan ( I probably wont get there for another ten days). I'm writing from Dubai Airport where I have a ten hour stop over. Unfortunately I dont have very much else of interest to say, the woman next to me was playing her ipod so loud that I could hear it over mine, it cost $8 for a whopper meal at Burger King and airports are boring. But I'm sure you knew that already. And I made friends with a Malaysian guy who gave me chocolate and kept me company for a while.

My last weekend in Glasgow was fun, apart from the hectic packing up - which would have been a lot more hectic if it wasn't for servant hearted friends. Went go-karting on Saturday evening then had a party at my flat which was a good chance to say my emotional goodbyes...Then on Sunday evening I got a prayerful send off from my church. I've been overwhelmed by the support I've been given from pretty much everyone I know, it's class to know people will be thinking of, and praying for me regularly while I'm away.