Changing rhythm

Sunset in Kosti

Ramadan started last Friday which means a coming month of fasting for the Muslim population here in Sudan. Besides the religious meaning of Ramadan there is also the inevitable practical change of daily routine; food and drinks are only taken before sunrise and after sunset. This fasting ritual is embedded in the whole Sudanese society and most restaurants, shops and offices have therefore adapted their working hours. Frank noticed that life in Kosti is somehow standing still during the day: people are taking their rest and seem to be slightly withdrawn. But,..as soon as the sun has set, life starts again. People go shopping and meet and chat with other people on the street. The typical communal breakfast after sunset seems to be unique here in Sudan; after the Imam has given the sign, people gather together and have 'breakfast' outside on the streets. Everyone who passes by is invited to come and join in. Apparently sometimes people from village communities put rocks on the roads to make sure that people who are passing by, will definitely stop and have some of their food. It's clear that even in this changing daily rhythm, the Sudanese hospitality knows no borders!

Small world

Although Sudan is one of the largest countries of the continent, it seems quite common to bump into the same people over and over again. Earlier this week it became clear that I needed to fetch my new visa from the Sudanese Embassy in The Hague. So yesterday night, I drove to the airport to start my journey back to The Netherlands. Once I had arrived at Khartoum airport, one of the rickshaw drivers who had given me a lift a few weeks ago, recognised me and started waving. I proceeded to the KLM check-in desk and while I was queuing up I immediately recognised two couples I had met on one of the Euro football evenings at the German Embassy. At the passport control I met up with one of the colleagues of my friend's husband. The greatest surprise came when I entered the plane and discovered I was seated right next to a Sudanese woman I had met in the waiting room at the Sudanese Embassy in The Netherlands two months ago (while waiting for our visa). She reacted like I was her long-lost sister and she was obviously very curious to hear more about my experiences in Sudan. Eventually she fell asleep; her head comfortably touching my shoulder. While she happily snored the time away, I concluded that (- though it's a worn-out saying) it is indeed a small world.

Learning how to drive..

There is a small sandy football pitch close to the guest house where we were staying. From Saturday until Thursday the boys and men from the neighbourhood gather there in the evening and play very fanatic football (-which I think is quite a challenge in this climate!). This fact that the pitch is unfortunately covered with glass and rubbish doesn't seem to stand in the way of a good game of bare-foot football. I found out that this particular pitch is also being used for something totally different: driving lessons. In the morning the driving instructors arrive and carefully place various bricks on the pitch to create some kind of 'race-course'. The driving students can practice their driving skills through different exercises: slalom, driving backwards, driving in circles etc.... It looks quite nice to see the orange-coloured cars performing an interesting choreography in between the two goals. Perhaps a game of car-football could be a next instructive challenge?

Chatting stool

Last night the weather allowed us to have dinner in our favourite lovely green garden. Since we are officially addicted now ;) we also drank some Ethiopian coffee to celebrate the closure of the day. The coffee lady who prepared the traditional coffee for us apparently felt like talking to someone; as soon as the coffee was ready she poured three cups full and took place right next to us. The stool she took place on was obviously a 'chatting stool' ('praat stoel' in Dutch), since she happily started to chat the time away. She told us about her life and her future plans. Interestingly, she was trained as a metal and wood crafts(wo-)man in her home country Eritrea. She had recently come to Sudan to work and apply for a visa to stay with her mum in Sweden. Although she told us she has been planning to go there for the past 2 years, she seemed to be a bit unsure where it was situated exactly: "Sweden is next to Spain, right? Or France?" Two cups of coffee (-and a lot of chatting-) later, she ensured us that we are always welcome to visit her in Sweden for some nice traditional food, coffee and of course a nice chat. We hope she will find her way.. Inshallah!

Sabalooqa

The name ‘Sabalooqa’ sounds so musical and mysterious that it already triggered our senses without ever having been there.  We were determined to find out more about this place and so yesterday we went on adventure. It took us some necessary paperwork beforehand, an early morning wake-up call (- we left the house at 6.30 AM-) and a bit of a bumpy ride through the desert, but as soon as we arrived there it felt like the mysterious Sabalooqa name hadn’t let us down. The so-called Sabalooqa Falls form the 6^th cataract (water rapids) of the river Nile and it definitely was an interesting experience to feel the small boat balancing on the waves of this water rapid. But the simple local reed huts, twined local beds to sit on and the relaxing atmosphere made this visit complete and something to remember.  Frank’s Sudanese colleague Omar had brought 2 friends with him and we spent the whole afternoon playing games, chatting, eating fresh fish from the river and exploring the surroundings (Frank ->birds!).  In the afternoon more and more locals arrived: large families and a few goats (- their lunch), a newly-wed couple (still wearing their wedding outfits), young men from the neighboring villages and a singer who was invited to provide some musical entertainment.  It was a shame that the generator blew up a couple of times while she was singing, but the enthusiastic men (-no women) kept dancing anyway. On our way back to Khartoum we happily concluded that our visit to Sabalooqa had indeed been a refreshing immersion in Sudan’s nature and culture! I found out later that our magical word ‘sabalooqa’ actually means ordinary ‘drainpipe’ in English, but that can't take away this memorable experience..

Back and forth

"Van het kastje naar de muur gestuurd worden" is a Dutch proverb which basically means that you are being send from one place to the other. Yesterday, it struck me that his particular proverb could have well been invented here in Sudan. An intended quick visit to the local take- away restaurant across the street always turns out to be more complicated than expected. First of all you need to get your order-receipt at the special order-receipt-counter. With your receipts you have to go to the different inside counters for 1) burgers 2) fish 3) samosa or 4) crispy chicken. If you want to have pizza, juice or ice-cream you have to go to one of the counters outside the building. And for your information, the self-service salad bar is found inside next to the order-receipt-counter. You can imagine that you have to plan your schedule for ordering well in advance, depending on the amount of people waiting for each counter. And take into account that you have to get a new receipt if you want or have to change your order at some point in the process. It maybe sounds like a frustrating process, but the opposite is true! Because of the amount of walking around you have to do, you really have the opportunity to meet and talk to people. They even ask you where you have been, if you haven't shown your face there for a day or two. A friendly way to arrange social control, I would say. Apparently this back-and-forth running has multiple purposes after all!

Celebrations with coffee

How to celebrate your birthday in Sudan? Out of the dozen options Frank chose to invite all his colleagues in Khartoum for a nice and tasty Sudanese BBQ.  The venue was a cosy open-air restaurant with a lovely green garden with exotic plants and flowers. This beautiful place was one of those ‘hidden treasures’ that even none of the local staff members knew about, while it is literally just around the corner from the office.  Everyone, including the children of the staff members, really seemed to enjoy the spacious garden, the freshly made juices, grilled meat and the salads. As a traditional closure of the party gathering , a few of us moved to the special ‘coffee corner’ of the garden: a characteristic umbrella-covered space with low leather ‘chairs’, bright red small tables and (last but not least) our very own Ethiopian coffee lady! She showed us how this famous typical coffee is being made, using the traditional colourful coffee pots and charcoal. Frank and I never drink coffee, but the smile of the coffee lady, the tempting smell of the spiced coffee and the fact that it after all was Frank’s birthday, made us taste it. It turned out to be a delicious mile stone to celebrate the beginning of the new life (after 40…). Happy birthday, Frank!