Sudan Blues

Despite the constant entretainment of living in a country where absolutely everything is ludicrous, I do have my down days. Today was one them. I woke up feeling a little less than ok. In any other country I would have called a friend and had a bit of a winge about the state of affairs, but phones dont really work here. In fact, I live right next to a signal tower for a shiny new network, and yet every time I try to call I get a 'no signal' message! One can, most of the time, get throught to someone else within Juba, but getting in touch with anyone outside Juba? No.

So here I was, feeling shitty, unable to call anyone. The friends I have here are good friends, but more the sort that you hang out with and have fun, not the ones you can sit and have a good bitch about life with.

I decided to immerse myself in work instead. Luckily I had a very busy day. Part of which involved meetings with various important personages in various important parts of the Government. I cant really be more specific (damn that non-disclosure contract) so I will leave it at that. But I noticed something unusual about every one of them. They offered me their phone numbers. And no, I am not talking about 'my people can call your people' kind of phone numbers (mainly cause these people dont have 'people'), I mean their actual personal phone numbers. Can you imagine if everyone who happened to meet with the mayor of London (for example, and I can use this example because, as far as I know, they dont have a mayor here) was given his personal phone number? There would be havoc. However, the process here to see someone important, is this:
Go to the office (or prefab, or container or whatever he is currently using as an office) and knock on the door.
Yes, its that simple. There is inevitably someone sitting outside the door holding his AK47, but most often his hands are crossed over the muzzle with the butt wedged on the floor, and his head is on his hands and he is asleep. God knows what would happen if he jerked in his sleep and accidentally pulled the trigger. However, walk past the death wishing 'security' and you get to sit with Mr Important, and start discussing some important new proposal or something, and everyone else has the same idea. They knock on the door and walk in. Does Mr Important get annoyed? No. He talks to them too. So there you are sitting with your proposal that may as well have TOP SECRET written accross the front, and random people keep walking in and having discussions, while covertly looking over your shoulder at the paperwork that has been splayed across the table. This is fairly standard behaviour across the board of important people. Would anyone like to hazzard a guess at why the rebels were able to get into Darfur at exactly the time when they were least expected last month? I have a few theories....

Anyway, meetings done, I headed home. Sorry, I meant office. Did I say home? Ooops. Freud. So I spent a productive afternoon playing with my phone trying to contact the security guards who are on standbye, only to discover that they dont actually have a phone at all, but rather gave me their fathers sisters husbands uncles phone number (cause they all live in the same house) and that they arent home. I gave up and headed home.

And then it started to rain.

In Sudan, it doesnt just rain. You know how in Egypt the Nile floods every year? Its because it rains in Sudan. And, dear God, can it rain. I have a whole new understanding of the possible reality of the biblical plagues. It rains and rains and rains, the whole place floods, and then the frogs come out. In thousands. You cant walk down a sodden path without standing on one. You kinda have to slide your feet, so you dont squash them. And then there are the bugs. I am not going to go into the bugs. It will take too long.

I eventually got back to my tent, plugged my laptop in, and it STARTED! No freezer neccessary! Wohoo! And for some reason that simple little thing lifted my spirits. Who needs friends on call when you have a computer that starts without a freezer? All is right with the world again. For today. Tomorrow it might cut out the middle man and just rain frogs. You never know.