Party eggs

The end of the year is approaching and therefore it is a common topic of conversation these days. Apparently, new year's eve is generally not celebrated as elaborately as the religion celebration days, like Eid. But according to a friend of mine, some people here at least tend to do 'something' to celebrate this special night and the start of the new year. Somehow, the word 'something' had triggered me and I asked her what this 'something' was. "Well", she said, "they just throw eggs at each other." She said it in such a way that it was the most common thing to do, but I couldn't help bursting into laughter. "They do what? Throwing eggs?", I replied. "Yes, I don't know how this has become a tradition, but some people just do it like that." I pictured myself walking happily on the street during new years and suddenly being attacked by flying eggs from all different corners. I smiled and said that it's maybe for the best that Frank and I will be spending new years eve back in The Netherlands. Fireworks and bonfires are one thing, but I assured her that I had never heard of people throwing eggs at each other to officiate the beginning of a new year. She started smiling and admitted that this throwing egg activity does have it downsides: "The egg battle can be fun, but once you reach your home you are just soooo smelly!"

Bye bye!

Last night we were surprised by a lovely farewell party organized by one of the communities nearby Kosti. As local customs required, it was a combination of speeches, dances, songs, hugs and a so-called 'certificate ceremony'. Golden-framed certificates are very popular here in Kosti and usually used to thank or honour someone. The handing-over of the certificates doesn't 'just' happen, but has the tendency to be a formal moment in the party gathering. During yesterday's ceremony  Frank and I received a colourful certificate in a shiny frame with lots of sweet words to thank us. I quote: "We want to say thank you for the good people for more things they are help us more and more. We are say non.forget you and remember you still alifes." Although English is very difficult for most of the community members, we felt that their message came from their heart. After all dances, songs and cups of sweet tea we eventually headed home with a complete  content and thankful feeling. Indeed an unexpected very special Christmas Eve in Kosti for saying "Bye bye"!

Outing food

The local staff had already shown us before that they really know how to enjoy team outings. But somehow they did surprise us again yesterday, when we went for our last team outing of the year. One thing that has become clear is the importance of food during an outing, especially the meat. Without meat, no outing! Instead of ready-made food, everything was being prepared freshly on the spot. And the amount of meat, vegetables and fruit was really no joke! To be sure that everyone would have full bellies during the whole day, there were enough ingredients for both breakfast (sheep) and lunch (chicken). In practise, this meant that the majority of the time people were cutting, stirring or supervising the cooking process. In the meantime people enjoyed themselves with card games, dancing, chatting and sleeping. Recreation at a maximum level, I would say! After having eaten all the food (-according to many people, the highlight of the day were Frank's freshly baked chips from the charcoal fire! -), it was time to say goodbye. We will surely miss these outings with the friendly staff, when leaving Kosti. But this was definitely a memorable concluding one, to be remembered by both our minds and our bellies!

Christmas spirit

Although it is the 22nd of December, it is hard to imagine that Christmas is actually approaching. Here in Kosti there are no signs that come close to providing a Christmas atmosphere. The market stalls and small supermarkets offer their regular products; no Christmas songs are heard on the street or radio; people are not busy spending money on Christmas presents, and people are far from worried what to wear these coming days. Since Christmas is not celebrated here, all people will actually consider the 26th and 25th as 'normal working days'. The owner of one of the small supermarkets told me he had seen a Christmas film once and he said it had made him wonder how people in Holland celebrate this annual festival. After I had given him a brief impression, he looked at me and smiled. "So it is all about food, clothes and presents?" I couldn't fully deny it, but I replied that the actual idea behind it is the underlying Christmas spirit of lucidity and solidarity. He nodded to show he understood. While I left his friendly, modest shop he waved at me and concluded: "There might not be any Christmas things for you here in Kosti, but we at least have plenty of this spirit!"

Look-a-like

The number of 'khawagas' (white foreigners) living in the Kosti region is not very high: 2 people in total, which includes Frank and myself. It is therefore not always possible to move around Kosti town and the surrounding communities without being noticed. Both children and adults are always happy to come and greet you with a gentle handshake and some questions about our well-being. "Kef? Tamam? Mia-mia?" - "How are you? Fine? Everything 100%?" Simultaneously, my skin, eyes and hair always seem to undergo a thorough observation, from a distance or close-by. Yesterday, I  was able to drop by one of the First Aid courses in a nearby community and again I was very warmly welcomed by the children, teachers and community workers. After I had entered the small reed-made building where the course had taken place some the participants started giggling,  especially when I shook hands with one of the community leaders. This friendly albino man had the same colour hair and skin as I did, due to a lack of pigment in his body. Everyone present seemed to be very excited to see us together and said that now he was not the only 'khawaga' in the village any more. "You two are look-a-likes!" someone said, while clapping his hands. "One village khawaga and one Holland khawaga!", someone else added. Unlike many other African communities, there clearly seemed to be a general positive, non-discriminatory attitude towards this different looking man. Indeed, they were very proud and happy to present their beloved community member as my brand new relative. As far as I am concerned, he is very welcome to be part of it. Meet my new Sudanese twin brother!

Donkey races

Each community has its own way of entertaining its children. One of the communities Frank and his team work with, had invited us to attend their so called 'donkey races' . The name already speaks for itself: the children race with their donkeys and the fastest one wins. When we arrived, many children from the area had already gathered and were very excited to see the donkeys and their riders. After the first whistle the animals were supposed to ran off towards the school building, then turn around, and continue their way back to the starting point. At least, that was the plan. In reality, many of the donkeys and riders went in different directions and even the big audience didn't know where to look or where to stand or sit. In the midst of all the chaos, it was clear though that all children were really enjoying themselves and were happy with some entertainment in their dusty community. I do hope the donkeys also enjoyed it the same way...

Sport moves

"What sports do you like?", I asked one of the guards last night while we were watching Frank play volleyball with the students from he nearby hostel. We had been observing the volleyball game for a few minutes, but somehow I couldn't figure out whether he actually liked it or not. The guard started smiling after I had asked him my curious question. "When I was young", he said, "I used to do a special sport with my friends". This answer had somehow made me more curious, especially by the way his eyes had started shining. He asked me to guess, and I tried with 'football', 'netball', 'tennis' and 'basketball'. But by the way he kept shaking his head, I knew that I wasn't even close. Eventually he revealed his special sport: "I used to do.....Kung-Fu!". While articulating the words, he gave me a short preview of some apparent Kung-Fu moves. To be quite honest, this was the last thing I was expecting from him and this Sudanese context. "Me and my friends saw a movie once about Kung-Fu fighting and then we decided to practice it ourselves under the tree in our village", he explained. I pictured him and his friends trying out some of the breathtaking moves and sounds in the shade of a big village tree, while the rest of the village gathered to watch this special demonstration. Must have been quite an interesting and risky show! By the way his face was glowing, I could tell that our conversation had clearly brought back some good memories to this 45-year old guard. I eventually asked him why he doesn't do these kinds of sports activities any more, since he likes it so much.Then he sighed, sat down and lit a new cigarette: "Now I am very, very, very old."

Dance, dance, dance!

Yesterday, the very first 'Traditional Dance Festival for children'  took place in Kosti. Children from eleven surrounding communities had the chance to proudly present their traditional tribal songs and dances. And they did! I found it amazing to see that these different communities all had very different moves, clothes, accessories, hair styles and songs. This variety find its cause in the fact that many people from different parts of the country had to flee from war to find a safer place to live. Therefore, many of the people living in this region, are originally from other parts of the country. This great diversity clearly came together in the very special event last night. The audience counted over 1500 people, who had all been very eager to be part of this first time happening in Kosti. Frank and his team had been busy with the organization for many weeks, and it was obvious that it had definitely been worth it. After the members of the jury had announced the winner of the night, there was only one thing left to do for everyone: dance, dance, dance!

                                               

Sweet box

Hand-made box (with sweets!)

Visiting someone's home here in Sudan literally always comes with a sweet surprise. Before you even have the chance to sit down, a 'special box' with popcorn, peanuts,dates and sweets will be offered to you. This offer is mostly accompanied with a warm smile of the woman or girl who's holding the box right in front of you. Altogether it makes it an offer you can't refuse. Especially when you know that the box is hand-made or designed especially for the occasion. So, I somehow always end up chewing another dry date or extremely sugary candy whether I want it or not.   Last week, we were invited to join in with the celebrations in one of the nearby communities. I couldn't go, but when Frank came back home after a few hours he proudly handed over a present from the community to me: an original hand-made sweet box. Although, the design doesn't really match the rest of our interior, I have given it a prominent place on our side table, as Sudanese customs require. And it has had the intended effect: the staff and friends who have visited us over the past few days were all extremely delighted to see us sustaining their Sudanese tradition! And,..they simply couldn't resist these specially presented sweets! "Fancy a sweet?"

Winter

The river Nile in winter time

It's winter in Sudan. Compared to the current cold weather conditions in most parts of Europe, the Sudanese weathers are still quite hot. The temperature during the day is approximately 35°C, while the night temperature here is around 23°C . The impact of this winter period in Sudan is significant though. I spoke to Mohamed, one of Frank's colleagues, yesterday and he sighed that he was worried about his four-year-old son. He explained that he had been to hospital with him, because he had been coughing and sneezing a lot. The doctor had prescribed some medicines and a clear advice: "Your son must wear a coat when he is playing outside!". This sounded like a good advice, but after having bought a small coat, it seemed to be extremely difficult to make the little boy wear it. Mohamed looked at me and explained that he actually understood his son resistance: "How can a child play freely when he has to wear a coat? It is too heavy and uncomfortable to wear!" I started smiling and I told him that most children in Holland have to wear a coat throughout the year, sometimes even with two or three layers of clothes underneath it. He frowned his eyebrows and said he felt sorry for these children.. After a short pause he eventually saw one positive side of it: "If the child falls, then at least he won't feel it!"

Roles and rules

A portrait of a Sudanese woman

Last weekend, the wife of one of the guards dropped by to say hello. It was an unexpected visit, but nevertheless a welcoming one. Although she doesn't speak English and my Arabic language skills are not sufficient enough for an in-depth conversation, we somehow manage to understand each other. Since the first time I saw her, I have realized that she is actually one of the many Sudanese women with a lot of potential. Because of many external reasons, she never seem to have had the chance though to fulfil her ambitions. The conversations I have had with her husband have been interesting, and it has surely given me an insight in the roles and rules in their household. When I explained him, while trying not to sound too moralistic, that women have the same rights as men, he shook his head: "Women should be in the house with the children and only do cooking, sleeping and not talk too much". I am sure his wife could understand what he was saying to me, despite the fact that she doesn't speak English. Without waiting for my reaction he continued: "I will give you some money so you can buy me another wife in Holland!" By the way he started laughing I knew, or at least I hoped, that this was no serious proposition. I think this man would have a very hard time with a Dutch emancipated woman in his house. But I can imagine his wife wouldn't mind some extra support..

Let the band play!

In a place like Kosti it is important that you somehow organize entertainment yourself, since there are no theatres, cinemas, or other venues to spend your free time and relax. Fortunately, weddings are being celebrated here every other day, so in a way there is always a place to go to when you feel like having a good time outside of the house.  Unlike most weddings in Holland, there is no guest list, table setting or formal day schedule for the weddings here. Whether you know the bride and groom or not, everyone here is always welcome to share a little dance and or to chat with the other guests. Most of the weddings take place in a large tent in the middle of the sandy road, which by itself is already a welcoming gesture I think. But the special music band definitely always plays the biggest role in creating a positive, festive mood for everyone! Good musicians in Kosti are scarce though, so the chance is high that you will find the same band providing musical entertainment for 7 weddings in one week. Last week we went to a wedding and I have to say that I was really impressed by the band and the unexpected instruments they were playing (-from saxophone to bongo drums-). On our way back home I told Frank about my positive impression of this band and that I would like to hear them again one day. I didn’t have to wait too long, because the next day I recognized the singer’s voice and the high pinched saxophone through our kitchen window.  Apparently they were playing at another wedding close-by. And two days later, I heard them again while I was outside in the garden! Now, one week later I have heard them so often that I can join in with some of the songs and I have started to recognize the saxophone solos. I think I might go for another wedding soon, if it was just for enjoying more of these musical sounds. Let the band play!

Tailoring tricks

Where to go when your trousers are too long? Who would be able to renew the zip of your skirt? What to do when your new shirt has been torn? Exactly, the local tailor will surely help you out! Because the collection of clothing stores is rather small here in Kosti, and many people cannot afford to buy new clothes all the time, the tailor is one of the most often visited people in town. Apparently, these tailors really fulfil a very essential task in the local society. So, when Frank's favourite shirt had been torn, leaving a big obvious hole on the front, he didn't hesitate to send his shirt for mending. All tailors here have a 'ready on the same day' policy, so after Frank had brought his beloved garment in the morning, he couldn't wait for the end of the day to come and wear his 'new' shirt again. It's interesting though that sometimes the result you have in mind, doesn't always match with the real-life result when you are faced with it. So, it happened that Frank's shirt was returned in a different state than expected; the place where the hole used to be, had been treated with an arsenal of needles and different coloured threats. A heap of 'stitches' stared at him, perhaps even more distinct that the previous hole. The tailor must have thought "As long as it's seamed and closed!" And, whether we like it or not, we can't deny that he succeeded in doing so.

Fake bottoms

Some women are never satisfied with their body. Yesterday one of Frank's colleagues revealed the 'fake bottom'  phenomenon that has landed in Sudan. Women who have not been blessed with a natural big bottom, but would desperately like to have one, can buy special underwear with a new, fake bottom. This sounds very straight-forward, but the consequences of wearing such a fake bottom can be quite devastating it seems. You can imagine the faces and thoughts of people when your bottom changes size every other day. Frank's colleague told me a story of her cousin in Khartoum who had gone to a wedding, wearing a nice, colourful Sudanese dress and...a new pair of these special underpants. She had only been able to buy the cheap version of this special garment; the one with air-filled buttocks. But the result seemed to be the same, and she really enjoyed her new round shapes. Her brother though had become a bit suspicious and when he heard about his sister's new fake bottoms he clearly found it a bit over-the-top.  So, he made a cunning plan. He discretely approached his sister to the 'dance floor' and, while trying to hold his laughter, he pinched one of his sister's fake buttocks with a sharp needle. The buttock deflated instantly, leaving the poor girl with one big and one slim buttock in the middle of the dance floor. You can imagine the painful, embarrassing situation that followed. I don't know if this girl has ever worn fake bottoms again, but I can imagine it has made her think twice about it.

Occupy

Many of the houses here are being built in phases; whenever you have money, you build, but whenever there is no money left, you stop the building process for a while. So it happens that some people were only  able to construct a strong foundation and some pillars for the future walls, but nothing else. The half house will then remain like that for a couple of months, years or maybe forever. The collection of houses in Kosti is thus very assorted and includes many of these half built structures. From our balcony we can see at least 4 them, and one in particular always gets our attention. While empty houses in Holland are mostly being occupied by human squatters, this particular house has been taken over by some unexpected guests: animals! Especially the goats seem to have a soft spot for this place. In the evening they gather on the rooftop for a nice view and an evening chat. The people who live on the ground floor of the next building don’t really seem to appreciate this company on the first floor and the children always try to chase them away with sticks and stones. But the animals don’t seem to be bothered by that. “Such a waste not to use these empty buildings and beautiful rooftop”, they must be thinking. "Let's make the best of it, while it is still empty!". I guess I couldn’t agree more with this clever, unexpected group of occupiers.  Maybe, if they behave, they will be able to rent a room in the future.

The puppet show!

One of the handmade puppets

If you really want to see excited faces and extremely enthusiastic children, then come and see a the puppet show in one of the communities here! Although the materials are very basic, the crowd of children always seems to get so excited that they almost want to become a puppet themselves. The local puppet players really know how to engage the children (-and I have to say that they do a great job with engaging the adults as well! ;) and create story lines that contain both a great fun factor and a moral. Yesterday, the puppet show was about 'eating healthy food'. I can imagine you would think that the emphasis would be on 'eating fruit instead of  junk food', but the reality in these communities is a different one. The word 'healthy' here refers to only eating food that has been covered (to keep the flies and insects away) and food that has not been standing in the sun for too long. Besides that, 'healthy' also means not eating too many chillies on an empty stomach, because it could give you stomach ache. This awareness raising element seems to have a great impact on both the children and their families. Once again, it shows that you only need a bit of creativity, a curtain and some puppets to create both a highly entertaining and educational event.

Perfumed intimacy

Burning incense ('bakhoor') inside the house is a very common thing to do here in Sudan. The small pottery where the incense and charcoals are usually burned on are locally made and designed with nice yellow or red designs. On his way to the field, Frank came across a market stall where a large lady was selling the bakhoor and the nice accessory pottery, so he decided to stop by. The saleswoman was very convincing and she was happy to explain about this local custom with her hands and feet. At some point she decided to take it a step further and while smiling mysteriously she opened a special bucket which had safely been put away. She opened it and showed it to Frank like it was something very precious. What Frank saw inside the bucket came across as the paste we use to make Indonesian-style peanut sauce, but by the way the saleswoman was presenting it, he assumed it must be something completely different. The driver who had accompanied him tried to explain something in English about 'married women' and 'nice smell'. Frank must have still had a question mark on his face, when the lady decided to offer a bit of this special paste as a present. So, it happened that a few minutes later, Frank arrived back in the office, proudly holding his new pottery, bakhoor and the special paste in his hand. The moment he stepped in, showing his new purchase, the atmosphere in the office changed completely. The women started to blush and giggle, while the men got a new glow on their face and clearly gave their approval for Frank to bring in these special smelling items. I was standing in the doorway, when one of the blushing ladies came up to me and whispered: "This is only for married women and it is especially for the bedroom!" It had become clear that this special paste, in combination with the bakhoor, is a local aphrodisiac! Married women are supposed to burn the perfumed incense and rub the paste on their body so their skin will have a nice, lingering, seductive smell for their husbands. The fact that Frank had entered the office with these 'intimate products' so openly exposed had clearly given everyone something to smile and talk about for the rest of the day. And I can imagine they will closely keep an eye (and nose) on my odour the next coming days ;)

Tears

This weekend was a tearful one and it has shown me again that there is a thing line between life and death. The weekend started with an impressive visit to the village where one of the female staff members had just given birth to a baby-boy. While I was looking at this young strong lady (-just turned 25-) who had just given birth to her fourth child I got tears in my eyes. Like many women here she had given birth in her small home, with no light, no running water or electricity. The only woman who had been present during the birth was an elderly woman from the village who, I assume. is their traditional midwife. Baring in mind the many complications that occur during deliveries here (- especially since most of the women have undergone circumcision when they were young-), I was happy to be able to see both the mother and the baby in good health. The following day however, the sad news reached us that the dear grandmother of one of the other staff members had passed away. As the customs here require, we all went there straight away to express our sympathy. When we arrived, I found both the garden and house packed with women supporting and comforting each other. The sadness of this loss was very clear and the tears ran down the cheeks of the approximately 70 women present. One of my friends explained that whenever someone passes away, the women have the 'task' to cry with each other to show respect and support. It was touching to see how they fulfilled this task with such gentleness and care. One of the older women who sat next to me on the sofa stated a wise comment that basically summarised all my weekend tears. "Life is all about crying for new life and crying when the life has finished".

Where to study?

Studying on the volleyball court

Students here in Kosti often have to, in many ways, be very flexible to be able to perform well in their studies at the university. The hostels they live in are shared with dozens of other students. Doing homework or studying for exams is something that really asks for some logistical preparations in order to have some time and place for yourself. The facilities at the universities are in most cases not sufficient to offer decent study rooms for all students. Fortunately, many of the students of the nearby hostel for male students are inventive enough to make up for this lack: they always seem to find a quiet study place for themselves. One of the boys always sits in the shade next to the sandy road, another one sits under the tree where the goats and sheep are gazing, and another student always settles down with his study books on the balcony. This early morning however we noticed one student who surprised us with his very special study place: the volleyball court! He looked very focussed and at ease to have this whole court to himself. I hope it will give him some extra inspiration and competitive (sports-) mentality to score well during his exam..

Living with your grandmother

'If you save something, you have something' is one of the Dutch sayings that illustrates the thrifty, economical mindset some of the people in Holland (used to) have. Here in Kosti, whenever a special item or product is needed, many people seem to come to our door because they know that we tend to collect things instead of throwing them away. Especially Frank always seems to magically come up with all different handy, unexpected items from his bag, drawer or cabinet. Yesterday, Mohamed, one of the staff members came upstairs while we were having lunch and he asked if Frank perhaps had an air-valve for the football pump. Frank disappeared for a minute and came back with a perfectly fitted valve for the hand pump. Mohamed started smiling and said: "You always have everything!" while happily connecting the pump to the ball. "In Sudan we have a special statement for people who tend to save things very well in their houses", he continued. We had become curious what this could be so we asked him what it was."Frank, in Sudan we believe that people like you live with their grandmothers; they must have taught you how to save so well!"

No water, no trees

Fetching water with donkey carts

In many of the surrounding communities it is hard to find any trees or greenery. The roads are sandy and dusty, and so are most of the compounds of the mud-built houses. One of the local staff members explained, while driving through one of these communities, that the problem is really the water shortage. Because there is no running water system, people have to rely on the so called 'water donkey carts' that fetch water from the river Nile and offer it for sale in the villages. It surely makes sense that individuals therefore prefer to use this precious water for their own living instead of watering the plants or trees in their garden. Recently, there have been some community-based initiatives though to plant and maintain trees in some of these villages. The starting point of these initiatives is that there is a shared responsibility to make the communities greener. I can't wait (-and really hope!-) to see the same villages in a few years time; hopefully with a nice cool glass of water in my hand, seated in the shade of one of the plentiful lovely trees.

Luxury salad

As I explained in my earlier blog messages, the options to go out for dinner in a restaurant in our 'home town' Kosti are very limited. So you can imagine our eagerness for a nice night out during our weekend in Khartoum. We were lucky to be in town for the European Film Festival and we gathered some of Franks colleagues to join us to see the Dutch film 'Kauwboy'. After this really impressive and moving film we proceeded to one of the restaurants that was supposed to be very good and tasty. The menu did look impressive; both  meat and vegetarian options were plentiful. My eye fell on the 'luxury salad' which was even printed in capital letters with an added 'recommendation!' sign. Me and one of the colleagues decided to share one of these highly recommended luxury salads, since the menu stated that it would be a combination of 5 different salads. Frank ordered a chicken dish, but we somehow were so focused and looking forward to this luxury salad, that this chicken dish sounded so 'basic' and dull. Not long after we had ordered, the friendly waiter came back with a plate of some (-as we thought-) appetizers and sauces. We dipped our bread into the sauces, but we very careful not to eat to much in order to keep space for our luxury salad. Frank, in the meanwhile, had been served his chicken meal which really smelled delicious! While we were patiently waiting for our luxury salad to come I stared at the plate of sauces in front of us and suddenly realized something; maybe our highly recommended luxury salad was already standing in front of us? To our great surprise the friendly waiter confirmed this, when we asked him about our desired luxury salad. We looked at each other and started smiling. Somehow we both really had a different image of our selected special dish! Frank couldn't hide his amusement, really enjoying his lovely chicken dish. We learnt our lesson: always ask for some clarification of a luxury menu beforehand! ;)