you beach!

I don't want to bore you all with amazing beach photos. But do trust that they exist.

Our dear friends

Several weeks ago, several NGO's were forced to shut down operations and services, leaving Sudan. Caught in the crossfire were our good friends Ben and Jenny. (She's the one whose leaving has given me the joy of teaching 6th grade language arts.) Now in Nairobi, they have had a rough bit of time, first in being forced to leave Sudan, and second in being tied up and robbed in the middle of the night at the organization's guest house. It had been a rough few weeks!
THANKFULLY they had already booked their vacation for Zanzibar! And how great it was to see them! As you can see, Zanzibar brings out the smile in everyone- even after all that they've been through!

It is such a small island that we were able to meet up several times, first in Stone Town and then on the beach. Who knows where we'll run into them next!

The Dhow (no Jones)

These are some pretty amazing boats, used up and down the East African coast. (more info here!) Near our hotel in Nungwi, in the north, there was a place where they made dhows on the beach. Thirty men were working at various stages of the boat-building process. With a friendly, "Jambo!", they welcomed us to take photos and observe their work. Later, we would take a dhow snorkeling. And while they are certainly excellent means of transportation, they are also quite photogenic!

The Slave Trade

Zanzibar was quite the hub for much of East Africa's slave trade. It was home to the world's last legal slave market, and still has quite a bit of the relics to show... Very powerful.
We visited the site of the last slave market, now home to a cathedral. Oddly enough, the cathedral was built with the alter where the whipping post once stood. The red tiles stand for the blood (in the photo below you can see the round tile- where the post once stood. And the box to the right is where the auction block stood).I don't really understand. I get why you would want something to commemorate it. But it seems a bit odd to me to see an altar and the pews all looking up to the place where the auction block once stood. Interesting, none the less. There is a powerful sculpture in the yard, of which the above photo is a piece.
Below is one of the two remaining 'holding cells', where slaves were often held for the last few days prior to being sold. In this one, they would keep up to 75 women and children.
It was an odd tour, as our guide was a bit off. While we are struggling to fathom the reality of this room 120 years ago, he was saying to us, "You know, my friend, is like the Beastie Boys. You know the Beastie Boy? 'Where is the love...?' " It distracted. Just a bit.

Africa House

This was a classy holiday by all standards. At the Africa House, we had drinks overlooking the water as the sun set. Below, the evening street food market was setting up as we enjoyed our drinks, so afterward we wandered through the stalls and bargained some DELICIOUS dinner. It was mostly fresh seafood. YUM! spicy lobster, tandoori octopus and squid, king fish... all on skewers. They were all delicious- and cooked while you waited! They also had pretty amazing sugarcane juice with lime and ginger. And spiced tea. And coconut bread. And.... Well, we ate until we could eat no more. Delicious!

The Islands off Stone Town

We chartered a boat to explore the reefs and islands off Stone Town- A nice guy and his dad took us out in their boat. We snorkeled with some amazing coral (and pretty cool fish) and then took off to explore Prison Island. (Em was super excited to see that I remembered to bring a waterproof disposable camera from the states... Oh the fun we had!)On the island, they have a colony of tortoises given to the government of Zanzibar by the Seychelles in the 1800s. They are the second-largest in the world (second only to the Galapagos, Fuzz!) Very cool. Also on the island is a renovated prison that has served time as a yellow fever quarantine and a prison for slaves on their way to market in Stone Town. It's now a fancy hotel, but still offers some amazing views.

Stone Town

Oh, Zanzibar... I don't think I can put the sights, sounds and flavors into words. It really proved to be verything we wanted and more.
Stonetown is a UNESCO World Heritage sight, and with good reason. AMAZING architecture, with beautiful buildings tucked between crazy, windy streets. They all hold so much history- the spice trade, the slave trade. What a beautiful city to explore for a few days! We spent a couple days getting lost in the streets, enjoying the curries (more on that later), and, of course, it's always exciting to get out of Khartoum and find shopping opportunities!

Sports Day

I've learned a lesson- that when the student council 'plans' an activity, I'M the one that makes it happen. And maybe its very clear to me now that I need to work on delegating.

But for now, they planned a field day. And I made it happen.
It went really well- 5 sports, 10 teams... an organized rotation. It went really, really well. And we sent everyone off for the MUCH needed holiday!
Good job, Rach!

Now we're packing for Zanzibar. finally. See you in a week!

Finally, its happened to me...

It was another long, hard day at work. I left our after-school faculty meeting feeling pretty negative, and pretty wiped out. And then- it happened! They told me the car was ready to drive!

Of course, it wasn't really. I had to wait another 30 minutes waiting for the right guy to show up with the keys. But then it really was mine to take home.

And there I was- at school, alone. Em had called in sick, and she was meant to be the driver.
Did I have it in me? Could I get our beautiful baby home alone?

I certainly didn't think about it much- because as soon as I got that AC cranked, I was outta those gates!
It was a pretty uneventful ride- I even tackled some U-turns! No problems.

We'll drive it to school for these next two days, and it will be waiting for us when we come back from Zanzibar! How exciting! Its a whole new world out there!

Our new car, in its spot inside our gate. (view from our kitchen balcony)

approaching insanity

This has been the longest quarter of my life. 11 weeks. No break. Unless you could the ICC day, which we were anticipating for months. And really, it caused us much more headaches and fear than relief.

Its been a long, stressful quarter. And its STILL not over yet.

We also STILL don't have our car, despite it resting in the school parking lot. Its currently just a really expensive way to keep dirt in place.

We're frustrated, annoyed, psycho-busy, and REALLY in need of this break.

Only four more days until the beach. I have never needed a holiday as badly as I need this one.

Is it summer yet?

Nuthin new

We're keeping a low profile.
That means we're a little boring. There are no pictures to post, no good stories to tell.

This place is really emotionally draining right now. Work is hard. And saying goodbye to friends is harder.
I've even forgotten several times this week that its now only 6 days until we go to Zanzibar!
How crazy is it when I forget about ZANZIBAR?!

Back at it

I borrowed this photo from the local news- the president has been making appearances at all kinds of rallies and protests since the warrant was issued. Here he is in traditional Southern Sudanese attire. (It's similar to that worn by the dancers below, no?)

We are back in school today.
It's a little crazy, as one of our teachers was forced to leave this weekend because her husband works for Oxfam. We are also going to be losing several of our students because their parents work for the NGOs that have been kicked out of Darfur. Saying goodbye is difficult, especially as people are forced to pack up their lives and abandon really important work. Work that has been saving lives.

In losing a teacher, we are all having to come together to find ways to cover her classes. I am going to be taking on grade 6 language arts. Its a really, really great class. And it will certainly be a lot of fun. And challenging. I'll keep you posted.

Dry, active yeast

Another relaxing day. In addition to more scrabble and reading,
we brought into the world the following:
a batch of chocolate chip cookies, zucchini bread, monkey bread,
and bacon/pineapple pizza pockets. (all from scratch!)

Don't worry!

We're all staying in for the weekend.
Nothing is going on in our neighborhood. Things are quiet. But we're staying inside all the same.

We're taking care of each other. It seems that in-house we have a former 'activities director' for a nursing home.

And our day today looked eerily like one that she would have planned while working there.

Breakfast
TV
Scrabble and snacks
Reading and lemonade on the roof.
Nap
Dinner
Sheesha and juice on the roof. (entertainment- juggling poi balls)

Can't wait to see what we have on the schedule for tomorrow!

Sudanese Wedding

The final piece of the Sudan Days puzzle- a Sudanese wedding!
Emily played emcee as they presented a wedding party, played by students.

DANCE DANCE, no revolution...

Sudan Days dance troupe presentation- showing us regional dances from all over Sudan. The Southern Sudanese dances reminded me of the dances we saw in Uganda. The Northern music and dances were in Arabic, definitely more familiar to us living in Khartoum.
We celebrated Sudanese culture before shooing the kids out the door, getting everyone home safe before the ICC announcement.

ICC "SNOW DAYS"

More on Sudan Days to follow...
For now, I encourage you to do some pleasure reading...

Arrest Warrant Issued

For now, we're just watching movies. Doing laundry. Enjoying the long weekend. And occasionally checking in with the local news.

Sudan Days

Its been a crazy week here at KAS, as we've been leading up to today's ICC announcement with SUDAN DAYS- a chance for the entire school to celebrate the culture of Sudan. We bring in henna, donkey carts, Sudanese food, a tea lady and a souk! The kids spend a couple periods each day running around enjoying all of the activities. Later today, we are all enjoying a performance by a Sudanese dance troupe. (And then clearing the school so that we are all home by the 4 o'clock press conference at The Hague.)

Bits of news

The results of my inquiries today:

* The announcement will come at 4 pm, Khartoum time, on Wednesday.
We will dismiss a bit early on Wednesday to make sure everyone has time to get home.
And then there will be no school on Thursday.
Instead of teaching, we're going to make kettle corn and continue our adventures through CSI season four.
As New York celebrates a very rare snow day, we are taking our own 'snow day'.
Its much needed. And much deserved. We've had nine weeks without a single day off!
Things will surely settle over the weekend, and we'll be back to school on Sunday.

* It seems we have a car, but will be waiting until next week to finalize things.

* And finally, Its Sudan Days at school- a three day festival celebrating the culture of Sudan with food, crafts, henna, and donkey cart rides! More photos to follow.

sob.

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I really raised some hopes with that lil gold number. Especially my own!

We're not getting the gold car. (long, slow sigh) We're now working on a white one. White, just like every other car in this country! I suppose it's meant to be...