 |
| 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?"
