Day One

Africa » Sudan » North » Khartoum
June 20th 2006

Published: June 20th 2006

So...I finally managed to get Lars (a Dutch cameraman/resident tech expert who is with us) to get my laptop connected to the internet somehow, so I guess this whole thing can start.

My planeride over to Sudan was so great, we flew out of DeGaulle in Paris, and meeting everybody was so awesome. There are Dutch cameramen (Lars, Ulrich, Mikael, and Lindersst), a British BBC guy named Nigel, a Greek named Danielo, 3 Russians who are pretty reclusive, 7 American Security Contractors who are with us, as well as another Brazilian Sec. guy named Paulos. Everybody seems really cool, especially Paulos and Nigel. On the long ride over, we all exchanged stories, pictures, etc...and I handed the pictures that I brought of Shirlina (my wonderful girlfriend)...and everyone said that she was beautiful, which is a sentiment that I tend to echo...haha. Ulrich said some rather uncouth things in reference to Shirlina's ever apparent beauty, but unbeknownst to him, I understood every word in Dutch that he spoke, so I let him know that I appreciate the fact that he thinks my girlfriend is beautiful...but that the smut was totally not needed. He had this priceless look on his face, I guess it is one of those moments where you just had to be there to understand the utter shock that he was in.

Upon getting off the airplane(Khartoum), I realized that I should have perhaps thought about this decision more before coming over here. We had our bags searched, which I expected, but the guy who was looking through my bag seemed a bit off and particularly spiteful. I asked him to be careful with my Digital Camera and Laptop, so he responded by saying (in French) that I was an insolent American "piss hound", and threw my digital camera onto the ground, putting it in pieces. One of the American sec. guys came over to me and made sure that the guy didnt screw with me anymore. I still have my regular camera with normal film, but that is a lot less convenient, and I have limited film..and cannot get my pics online until I get my hands on a new camera...which I'll have the privelege of buying at a hugely exhorbitant price over here. Whatever though, its only a camera I guess, and the main thing that I need to do is research and interviews.

We had to walk 2 blocks to our hotel because of a huge car pileup (think South American traffic laws with even less traffic control interface), and on the way there (just 2 blocks) I saw so much abject suffering. WOmen erect these shacks that house them and their many children on the sidewalk, and then do nothing but sell themselves because they have no other way to support their children. Kids are begging everywhere, and I want nothing more than to help them all, but the Sec. guys keep them away b/c of the sad fact that many of these poor kids are thieves. Its not like other countries where the Church can do a whole lot to help, as they are beset on all sides by those who need help, and can only help a small fraction of all those that need it. I find it really hard to witness all the suffering and know that I can do nothing to change it or really help these people.

When we were walking into the Hotel where all the Europeans and journalists stay (which is actually pretty nice, a veritable daimond in the rough actually), this French girl came up and introduced herself to me, because she knew I was American (as she initially even admitted to). It had been since last summer since I have been to Europe, and I forgot how forward some people can be, haha. She (who is 25) invited me to join her at the bar later that night, but I politely told her that I had a girlfriend. She didnt quite get the message and continued with her banter, so I just told her plainly that she didnt even slightly compare to Shirlina in any way shape or form, and she left me alone after that. Nigel said I was really mean, but I think that stuff like that is necessary once it gets to the point where people are still disregarding stuff like that. I think that either Ulrich or Lars will probably fulfill their proclamations of joining her at the bar, but that is their choice I guess. That whole incident made me want to drop my bags and call Shirlina and tell her that I miss her so much and that I love her, but I had yet to unpack everything, which included my Satellite phone, so I couldnt then.

After I unpacked everything, I was finally able to talk to Shirlina. She is in Ecaudor for the summer teaching little children, so we are less able to communicate...I miss hearing her voice everyday, its something that I totally took for granted I think. Right before I called her, I heard a distant explosion followed by a brief stacatto of gunfire (probably AK-47's, as you see those more than shoes, it almost seems). Stuff like that really makes me wonder if I am doing the right thing by coming here as oppossed to doing research stateside. But being able to talk to her about my day (as well as stuff back home, haha) made things infinitely better. Well, for those who dont know me all too well, I spare you from anymore musings on my significant other...if you feel compelled to see more though, check out something like my myspace or something funky like that, haha.

Well, I am listening to my IPOD (thank god for my laptops USB drive), and the Deftones make me feel about as at home as humanly possible here. It is just weird though, because while I am sitting in my bed with my laptop and looking at a picture of Shirlina and I...enjoying all the trappings of life that I have become accustomed to, I cant help but think about the fact that there are people outside who would probably give their life up just for one night in this hotel and the food that we ate (probably more than some of them eat in over a week). It is hard for me to understand the way things are here, and how men were allowed to shape this place into the earthen purgatory that it seems to be for these people. It is so radically different than anything I have ever seen before, and for all the faults that people cite about life and politics in America....I think that they;d soil their pants if they came over here. After writing all this, I find it crazy that I can write/glean so much from most of one day here...something that bodes well for this trip I think...I just hope everything goes close to plan and everything ends out alright and that we manage to stay safe, which is why I am grateful for the Sec. guys we have with us. There is one sec. guy in particular that really struck me...his name is Juan Marcillo, he is from L.A, and he set up a miniature shrine to the Virgin Mary in his room (next to his gear and guns, ironically) and I talked with him for a good half an hour about God and His place here (in addition to his quick witted but fruitless effort to convert me to Catholicism, haha). It is good to see that people can still keep their faith here (thereby shoring up mine) after seeing these things.

Well, I will make my best effort to try and get a digital camera sometime soon, so as to put some pics here soon.

Stay Safe and until next time,

-David

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