Settling In

One of the bonuses of living in Omdurman is that to get into Khartoum we have to get a bus.  Well I say bonuses!  Getting a bus in Sudan is quite entertaining and can be a bit of an adventure.  For a start the buses are in keeping with the Sudanese taxis - they have all clearly seen better days and probably not in my lifetime.  There are also different sizes of bus with different prices, and there are also "Amjads" and "Rickshaws" to take you from A to B.  Although they have some bus stops in Sudan, apparently nobody bothers with them, so to hail a bus you simply stand by the roadside and make an appropriate hand gesture.  Appropriate meaning the correct hand signal for the destination that you want to go to!  Quite often a bus going elsewhere will stop just to check where you're heading and often it seems like they are laughing and waving at you as they sail past!

The bus station at Jackson, in Khartoum is a crazily busy place.  There are always crowds of people, loads of market stalls and a fair selection of beggars and juice bars.  The Sunday after we arrived we were standing in the bus station at what we thought was the front of the queue waiting patiently for a bus to take us home.  As the bus pulled into the bay everyone started running towards it, people were throwing themselves through the open windows and others were barging each other out of the way in their haste to get on the bus.  We stood and watched this spectacle twice, wondering how on earth we were going to get home, when we struck up a conversation with a Sudanese student called "Carlos."  He told us not to worry he would help us.  When the next bus pulled up he thrust his bag at Billie and dived on the bus and promptly lay across three seats.  We then joined the malaise pushing and shoving our way onto the bus worried that if we didn't make it Carlos would never see his bag again!  Once on the bus, we chatted to Carlos who turned out to be a student of some of our fellow SVP Volunteers, and when we arrived at our destination he insisted on paying our bus fare in true Sudanese style.  We thanked him profusely as he'd also saved us the humiliation of not being able to get off the bus in the right place due to our combined inability to click our fingers loud enough! The essential skills required to travel by bus are a range of hand gestures, the ability to throw yourself through an open window and be able to click your fingers loud enough for the driver to stop when you arrive at your chosen destination (unless it is the bus station or the end of the line where they'll just tell you to get off anyway!)

Jackson Bus Station, Khartoum

The whole SVP experience at this stage is like "Big Brother" meets "The Apprentice."  The heat is exhausting , and the best way to deal with it is to sleep it off until you get used to it.  So we spend loads of time lazing around, chatting, sleeping etc just like they do on Big Brother, then suddenly the phone will ring and we'll be told to meet Paul at the SVP flat.  Then we have to get ready and jump on a bus (sadly no limos for us!) to complete our latest task.  Thankfully so far no one has been evicted or fired!

It takes time to get all the necessary paperwork to stay and work in the country, so we have to hang loose in  Khartoum until it's all completed.  To help kill the time we have been doing a little bit of sight seeing and venturing out and about in the evenings looking for food.

 A view across the Nile from Tuti Island

Khartoum from the Nile

Some of our adventures using the various methods of transport have proved to be quite entertaining!  One night we decided to give up on the bus and take an Amjad into Khartoum as we were running late.  Not only did we not get dropped off where we had requested but the driver then charged us 30 Sudanese Pounds.  Unfortunately at the time we had no idea of how much it should be, but only realised we'd been ripped off when the driver shared the joke with some friends at the roadside who laughed at the stupid "khawajas" as we walked away.  On another occasion we took a Rickshaw to the Souk up the road from where we live, as we had not said exactly where in the Souk we wanted dropping, the driver just kept on driving all round and into the Souk, down the narrow alley ways.  When it got to the point where he was having to kick cardboard boxes out of his way to get past we realised our mistake and made our apologies and got out!

To help us get a flavour of what to expect Tom and some of the other existing volunteers have invited us to join them at their English Clubs.  It was great to finally get the opportunity to meet some students and chat with them.  The most common question they ask (often in near perfect English) is "how can I perfect my English?" or "What do I need to do to become an expert English speaker?"  As someone who is appalling at learning languages I am often impressed by how well other nationalities speak our language, but here it is the overwhelming enthusiasm and passion for English that continues to amaze me.  Before I arrived in Sudan I'd had a conversation with one of my daughter's friends about my plan to teach English here, to which he responded "Oh, so you're going there to teach them to speak English so they can come over and take our jobs."  To which I'd replied that I hadn't really thought about it like that.  Well even if I had, nothing could be further from the truth.  If we think our post graduate unemployment situation is bad, it's nothing compared to Sudan's.  During my short time here I have met people with Masters Degrees driving Amjads and many post graduates working in shops or doing what ever they can to make ends meet.  Even graduating top of your class does not guarantee future employment.  To get one of the coveted jobs with a major company or government department, excellent English is a necessity.  A good command of the English language also increases job prospects in neighbouring African and Arab countries.

My most humbling experience so far was visiting the Evangelical School in Omdurman.  We were invited to their Open Day and when we arrived there were a few people milling about around a small outdoor arena.  By the time we were guided to our seats and had got settled at least 200 people had assembled and surrounded us.  Tom introduced himself and explained who we were and we took turns to step into the centre and introduce ourselves and invite the students to ask us questions.  Everyone who spoke thanked us profusely for honouring them with our presence.   After the question and answer session various students made contributions ranging from speeches and poems to raps and drama sketches.  At the end of the session it was almost impossible to get away as everyone wanted to introduce themselves, shake your hand and talk to you.  For a brief moment I felt I knew what it was like to be a celebrity!

The students are so warm and welcoming I now feel confident that I'm going to thoroughly enjoy my time teaching here.

First Impressions

Sitting on the plane at terminal 3 Heathrow at take off, I think to myself  "Well that's it now! No going back, bridges fully burned!"  I'd given up a well paid job, rented out my house and said goodbye to all my friends and family to go off and teach English in Sudan for an academic year as a volunteer.  Some may say now my mid-life crisis is finally complete, although if my friends and family thought that, they sure hadn't said as much to me.  I've been completely bowled over by all their warm wishes and support.  At least if it all goes horribly wrong I have come at it from a safe, secured place where I am loved and will be able to count on everyone's support.  I feel so lucky yet humbled by the thought.

I meet up with Billie, another SVP volunteer at Cairo Airport, where we have a 4 hour delay.  On our descent into Khartoum the small child next to me vomits all down my right side! Welcome to Sudan!  As if  it's not humiliating enough arriving in a new country smelling of toddler puke, customs then decide to search one of my cases.  I wrack my brains to think what I have in that particular case and hope to god they don't bring out anything too embarrassing!

Then By the time we finally make it out of the airport Bob and Omar have been waiting in the heat of the midday sun for several hours.  They escort us to our Taxi, and I want to laugh out loud - The taxi would not have looked out of place in your average English breaker's yard - the doors barely close, the seats are all ripped and my two suitcases are flung onto the roof rack and not secured.  Still at least this helped prepare me for Khartoum itself and the luxury of the SVP flat.  Many of the streets of Khartoum are nothing more than dirt roads, buildings are pretty ramshackle in the main and rubbish is everywhere.  We pull up outside a building in a bustling side street, and climb three stories up to the flat.  I am mortified at this point as Bob and Omar insist on carrying my extensive and very heavy luggage all the way.  Little do I know at this point that in a couple of days time they would be insisting on carrying it all down again when we relocate to Momin's house!

The flat is pretty basic and the furniture is a little worn, if Kim and Aggie were to turn up they'd be a little horrified about some areas, but on the plus side there is air conditioning in the sitting room and the beds are clean and very comfortable.  We later discover that the flat is donated by a local business who sponsor SVP. SVP relies on it's sponsors, friends and supporters to keep the operation afloat as it is a very modest charity with few assets and what money it has is ploughed in to attracting  volunteers and financing the programme.

Once inside the flat we are greeted by Paul, our coordinator, who fills us in with some background and essential information.  Exhausted by the combination of the trip and the extreme heat, Billie and I go for a lie down.

When we wake up refreshed later on, Paul takes us across the road for a traditional Sudanese meal of "Fuul", which is essentially a bean stew, with egg and cheese added to it.  This is my first opportunity to try out my "eating with my right hand" which I had been stressing about before I arrived, desperate not to cause offence.

The next day we are introduced to Shafaq, a lovely Sudanese girl, who works with SVP helping to orientate volunteers on arrival.  She takes us out on a shopping trip for essential items like local SIM cards, phones, dongles and most of all - petticoats!  My mum had asked me before I left if I had any - so Mum you'll be pleased to know no ones' looking through my skirts out here now!  During this shopping trip out in the midday sun, we take a bus to Omdurman Souk.  It's only our first day we have had quite an adventure already!

The trip proves to be a little too much too soon, so Billie and I retire to bed with headaches.  After a nap I feel refreshed again and awake to new voices in the flat - Andy, the next of the volunteers has arrived.  Later on Paul, Andy and myself venture out to a nice restaurant where I have a delicious meal of Nile Perch.  Unfortunately Billie is suffering with a touch of sunstroke and is not up to joining us.

The heat is stifling as we lay in bed attempting sleep.  Eventually I manage to drop off and am awoken in the early hours to the sound of  a new voice in the flat.  I am too exhausted to bother investigating so it is some hours later that I meet Jess, the latest volunteer to arrive.  After Billie and I are up and showered we all pop out to get some breakfast.  We then spend the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon vegging around the flat until Bob and Abu Bakr arrive to take us to Momin's house where we are going to be staying from now on.  They have quite a struggle getting all our combined luggage into the boot of the car and at one point in the journey the boot pops open and Abu Bakr gets out at the traffic lights and slams it shut again!  When we arrive we are greeted by a very cheery Sudanese man who welcomes us to his home and shows us our new accommodation.  Here we have a pleasant bedroom which opens onto a courtyard off of which there is a small kitchen and another room with a fridge and some seats in.  Before leaving us for the evening Shafaq shows us the shop next door, which we later christen "Tesco Express," and Egyptian House.  Once we've settled in we head off to Egyptian House in search of food.  Luckily there is a lovely Ethiopian chap who speaks good English, who sorts us out with a large Pizza to share and a coke each.  As we come through our new front door a man follows us and cheerily asks if he can come and live with us.  I don't want to be rude to him so I just laugh and say no, but he is most persistant, "please just for an hour," he pleads.  I'm about to shut the door in his face when he laughs and introduces himself as Momin, our host.  The cheerful chap we'd met earlier turned out to be his brother Fadili!