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The new office...
I think they should make an Office Space sequel about the UN... it would be great. No shit. Saturday, June 9, 2007 - Torit, Sudan
3 days into my time in the Torit team site, and I have already served as duty officer, given a lecture on the interim government structure as agreed to in the CPA, and been nominated to be the Welfare officer for the cap.
Good times... good times. I knew to expect that a heavy balance of responsibility and various duties would likely fall on my shoulders, being a "Western" English speaking officer. But three days in, it seems like there will be more expected than I had first imagined.
It rained here again today. Harder and more fierce than anything I had ever seen in Canada; but that is how the rainy-season works here I guess.... one day warm, one day hot, one day with a 1-2 minute torrential downpour, then repeat. It's like clockwork apparently.
The camp has a local pet dog, named Torit, go figure. He is crafty, and will slip into any office that has its door left open for anything more than an instant. He came sneaking into my office when the door was open for the cleaners to sweep out the room, and there was no way I could get him to leave. After all, he's a Sudanese dog, and I'm speaking English... duh.
I know he is just a stray, and it was recommended to not have pets present due to the risk of diseases that they may carry, but I tried to push him out the door with my boot, and he was having none of it. He had all four brakes locked, and was leaning into the wall as hard as he could... it was truly a pathetic sight, as he wanted to stay inside the air-conditioned offices. So I let him stay for a few hours, and then shoveled him out with my boot in the afternoon when there was some more shade available.
It looks like I may be able to go on a long range patrol East to NARUS next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed as this will allow me to see the country and gain some valuable experience and insight into how the South works.
Two nights ago, just after the last rain, I heard what sounded like rain drops on the roof as I was getting ready to head to the office in the evening. So I pulled on my rain jacket and headed out the door to a storm... of termites.
There were literally thousands of termites clustering around the light outside my room, and the ground was covered with their wings, which they drop once they land. It looked some kind of moving blanket of snow... it was kind of creepy, but termites are harmless, and my container is made of metal.... phew.
The next morning, on my walk to the shower, I found hundreds of thousands of them beneath the big flood lights that illuminate the camp at night. I later learned that they only live for a manner of hours, lay eggs, and die. 3 of my fellow UNMO's from Africa and one from Thailand all commented that they were a good, AND TASTY, source of protein when roasted/fried.... yummy. Maybe I will give it a go the next termite storm I see...
Cheers!
Don
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Chris
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Don, it's been great to be able to read how everything's going. Nice room and nice office. We're going to miss you when we're in BC next week. Chris