A question I'm often asked is "How do you find Sudan?" The flippant answer of course is "go to Egypt and keep heading south!" It is so difficult to put into words exactly how I find Sudan. To begin with I found it incredibly hot and just so different to anything I'd experienced before. The people here are exceptionally warm and welcoming, even after 2 months in El Obeid, perfect strangers still call out to me in the street and want to shake my hand and welcome me to their country. It is unlike other countries where people want to know you because they are eager to get you to part with your money - quite the opposite - I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've paid for a meal, bus or taxi fare since I've been here. "Murrer ja" they tell me - "Next time" but next time never seems to come! When you visit friends in their homes you are constantly being told to eat, drink or take your rest. So as you can imagine life is pretty tough! All that eating and resting - I've never felt so relaxed!
Life in Sudan is very different to life back home in England - in so many ways. I still can't make up my mind which is easiest or preferable as there are advantages and disadvantages to living in both countries.
Here people live together in extended families, often several people share one bedroom. Despite this I'm still asked to go and stay with students and friends and treat their home as my home - which of course involves eating a lot and taking plenty of rest! It's not uncommon when you visit people here to see a guest asleep or sprawled out on a bed! There are always plenty of beds in every house - many people don't bother with sofa's or armchairs - they have 2 or 3 beautifully made beds which people sit or lie on depending on how tired they feel! Could you imagine going over a friends house in England and stretching out and promptly falling asleep? They would probably think you were most rude! Here in Sudan they would be delighted that you had made yourself at home!
Eating is a whole new experience in Sudan, firstly it is rare to see any cutlery and secondly, meals are "shared plate" where everyone literally digs in with their hands. Someone gave me a tip about eating when I first arrived - never eat until you are full and then stop, as once you say you are full you will always be asked to have more, so you need to pace yourself! Another thing to watch out for is when everyone else stops eating before you and insists that YOU finish the plate! I am always being told to "akli, akli!" which means "eat, eat!" as they tell me I eat slowly, which I do - as I worry that I'll appear too greedy and I like to give everyone else sharing the plate a chance! Although I think eating quickly is a skill you quickly develop growing up in Sudan in a large family - either that or go hungry!
Marriage is a major obsession here, not just amongst the young! My students never tire of talking about it - I'm sure the Sudanese are the most romantic race on the planet - even the boys are very open about feelings and not afraid to show them or talk about them. I'm constantly being asked if I would marry a Sudanese man or being told I must find myself a nice man and get married. Telling them that I tried it once and it didn't work out for me, is futile - with family being central to everything here, they just can't understand why anyone would want to be single and live alone - so I am every bit the eccentric English woman in their eyes!
A couple of weeks ago I developed a burning pain in my right abdomen, which I tried ignoring and hoping it would go away. Then after a particularly painful and restless night when I convinced myself I was dying and they would have to get some bolt cutters to break into my apartment and discover my corpse, I figured I should get it checked out. So later that evening my friend Hassan came and collected me and took me off to the doctors, where despite a fairly packed waiting room I did not have to wait very long before seeing the doctor. As well as friend and mentor, Hassan was there in capacity as linguistic expert who could translate Arabic to English and vice versa. I needn't have worried - the doctor spoke clear and perfect English! He asked about my drinking habits (Now, Now - he meant WATER!!) He then said he'd like me to have a scan, at which point I thought we'd be leaving to go home and wait the 6 weeks or more for an appointment letter. Not all all! I was shown to another room to wait a couple of minutes and my ultra sound was performed there and then, within about 10 minutes I was back with the doctor discussing the results! Everything was fine - I probably had a bit of inflammation due to changes in water, the water here is quite salty which can cause kidney problems. Within an hour or so I was home, with the tablets the doctor had prescribed for a total cost of just under £30, which the University refunded me for later. Of course, I don't know what it's like for the average Sudanese person who gets sick and needs treatment that maybe they can ill afford (no pun intended!)
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Alliance Francias D'El Obeid, where they were receiving guest's from the French Embassy in Khartoum. The Alliance is just a short walk from my apartment so I said that I would make my own way there. Knowing the Sudanese approach to time keeping I was a little unsure of what time to get there, especially as I'd never been there before. The event was to start around 530pm, so I figured if I left my house around that time I wouldn't be too late and maybe some people I know may have arrived by then.
Over the last week or so I had rediscovered the brain cell that was storing my knowledge of the French language; quite by accident; when trying to communicate with a group of students studying French, who's English was about the same level as my Arabic - to my surprise we were able to carry out a reasonable conversation in French. Spurred on by this discovery I was a little less daunted by the prospect of being amongst total strangers. When I arrived I was greeted warmly and promptly forgot all Arabic and French as well as the good manners to attempt to introduce my self - I just shook hands and smiled a lot! I was shown to a very comfy seat right on the front row. There was no sign of Professor Haider or anyone else I vaguely recognised. Still I had a nice comfy seat and refreshments were in front of me so I was quite happy. After a short while a bus arrived with students from the university, some of whom sat behind me and chatted to me in a mixture of 3 languages. As the people from the Alliance waited eagerly to greet their guests I suddenly had a panic - What if they think that I'm one of the French delegation, how embarrassing would that be?
I was distracted from this thought, by activity on the stage in front of me. It would appear that the festivities were about to start, and the delegation had not arrived yet! The stage filled with men and women wearing African costumes who started performing a very lively and vigorous dance to the drum music that was being played. It was the most "African" sight I'd seen since arriving in Sudan, and I didn't have my camera to capture the moment as I'd lent it to a friend! The students behind me told me it was traditional Sudanese dancing. The dancers had what looked like small pyramids made of tin cans tied to their calves, which sounded as if they were full of sand or beans, making an amazing sound as they danced frenetically. Some of the men were dressed like witch doctors and were jumping around chanting. It was quite a spectacle to behold! And still the delegation had not arrived!
Eventually, much to my relief my colleague and the delegation from the French Embassy arrived and were duly introduced to myself and other people. After a short time there was a repeat of the dancing, much to my relief - I would have hated to think they'd missed out!
The evening was rounded off by the Alliance "house band" (two guys on keyboards, a drummer and a singer) playing some music after which the delegation left and I found myself talking to a charming local teacher, who told me I was welcome at the Alliance any time as they have something happening most evenings.
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