Blogs from Sudan, Africa - page 15

I've been here 2 and a half weeks now and every week has a new experience. Last weekend we were originally going to see the whirling dervishes (poeple who go into a trace while whirling in circles) but after Racheal (other teacher at the school) met Ahmed, he convinced us that he could take us to some pyramids close by Khartoum. This was the plan for about a day. Then, we realised it would be too expensive and we didnt have the right type of transport. Ahmed then suggested that he could take us to a beuatiful waterfall by the nile. sounds good. But, its ok, we can go to the pyramids again, huzar. Unfortunately a day later, oh no we cant go to the pyramids, lets go to the waterfall instead. (Inshah'allah, if god wills) ... read more

Well this is my test run of using this 'travelblog' thing. I will write a disclaimer now for all typos and spelling/grammar mistakes to come in te use of these blogs. I am not actually in Sudan yet, but I will be by friday (hopefully). I figured as a self-proclaimed computer illiterate, I should try to figure out how to use computers and travelblogs before I travel. I am excited (slash terrified!) about going to Khartoum. All i have to say now, adventure.....*said in a weak high pitched voice with knees knocking together and teeth chattering* Disclaimer: No responsibilty will be taken for the appaulingly bad jokes in these travelblogs or the lack of laughter to the forementioned jokes. ........................... But wait theres MORE ......... No responsibility will be taken for grammar, spelling mistakes or typos. ... read more

Its about 5:30am here (probably 6pm-ish for you east coast folks), and among the many things that I have done/prepared for tonight so far, the blog thing hasnt been one of them. Wednesday took us into two once-villages in southern Darfur, and that is about the only description I can really offer. It now happens to be Thursday here, which is the magic day...in the sense that I can finally leave. It'll be nice to be home, to say the least. I'll be getting a job at FinCEN (a contracting company's division in the Dept. of Treasury). I got hooked up by my uncle with the job, so its good pay, good people, and lunches with the head of the Dept. of Treasury (his roommate in college and best friend), so it should be pretty cool, ... read more

Well, its probably around 9 pm for you east coast folks, but its around 6am for me here. I was extremely suprised this morning when I was blasted out of bed by the local mosque's minaret-mounted imam with a loudspeaker....I also heard the sounds of rain. It is raining, and it is raining very hard at that! For most that sounds quite trivial, and its not like the Sudan is totally arid (as it is partially within the Sahel region as oppossed to being totally Sahara-bound), but it is the first time it has rained since I have been here, and the pita-guy outside on the covered sidewalk of sorts said its the first time that its rained in a few months. It'll be nice for it to be a little bit cooler, but then it'll ... read more

Well, true to his word, Prof. Taha (Minister of the Interior) got me a lunch and long sitdown with the man himself, Omar al-Bashir, the President of the Sudan!! He is a very imposing man, its not that he is huge and physically intimidating, he just had this imposing air about him, but one that I suspect that all dictators (admitted or otherwise) probably have. He (like Prof. Taha) suprised me, and he was incredibly intelligent, expounding about how the world and UN has the wrong perception on what is going on in the Sudan. I would beg to differ from what I have seen already, but I was more than smart enough to not let my own thoughts be known. The funny thing was, we actually didnt talk about domestic and world affairs for all ... read more