Yesterday's leaving party of one of Frank's staff members took place in a small open air venue in Kosti. I sat at the table with a couple of Sudanese colleagues and we were chatting and drinking some local coffee. It was not that busy yet; only two other tables were occupied. Two men, sitting at one of the tables, were apparently discussing some important issues. I find it difficult to sometimes to distinguish the difference between an energetic talk or a true strong discussion, when I am observing people's body language here. But the conversation these two men were having definitely looked more like a strong discussion. At some point I saw one of the men removing his slipper and putting it up-side-down on the sandy floor next to him. The people sitting with me at the table explained to me that putting your slipper up-side-down means that you are not ready not stop the conversation yet and that you want to deepen the discussion. Once you put your slipper in the right position again, it shows that you have agreed with the other person or that your want to end the discussion. I was happy to hear about these kinds of local non-verbal conversation rules. From now on, I will definitely try to keep an eye both above
and under the table; be aware of 'up-side-down-slippers'!
