Our buddy from upstairs, Melissa, joined us for coffee this morning. Since we were cooking breakfast at the time, we dragged two chairs into the kitchen. (Silly me, I thought Emily was making me breakfast and I would get to sit and chat.) Well, before I got the chance to sit, it became clear who the chair was really for. Here's Toab and Melissa, enjoying coffee and some trip planning.
We're not sure what to make of the new developments on Africa Road. It looks like the government is installing a series of pieces dedicated to traditional culture here. This seems to be the first one finished- the jebana or traditional coffee pot. There are more in the works. (Right now they're just concrete, not yet painted up all fancy.) We'll try to snap the whole series before we leave here.
To celebrate the start of spring break, eight of us went to try a popular local restaurant. Despite being told repeatedly how good it was, none of us had ever gone. And boy, are we sorry we waited so long! It was a no-nonsense kind of place- plastic wrap on the tables and huge piles of fish, lamb, chicken- whatever you wanted. And it was delicious. We all agreed it was probably the best fried chicken we've ever had. Anywhere. Sorry mom and dad for not knowing to take you there!
We leave tomorrow night for 9 days in Northern Tanzania, including 5 days on safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This will be our last tour in East Africa- and we're excited! Happy Easter to everyone! Hopefully we'll have great photos to share when we get back!
We survived karaoke! The kids were all so, so excited- dressed up all sharp and fancy. We had arranged soda, popcorn, and a karaoke list of about 80 songs. And I had worked with the tech guys to set up a whole karaoke system with my computer, speakers, microphone and projector. And it all worked!
I've attached some photos. The videos are pretty awesome too. Those will come later. I feel really good about the night. For some of these kids, it was a really big deal.
I certainly kept looking around for a surprise bride! I hope below video works- Sudanese wedding-style party in action! And if you're lucky you can spot Emily in the mix, dancing!
A little excitement in our house- Last Wednesday, the business manager at school found us to say that there had been an 'accident' in our kitchen. It seems the maid and her son (see above photo) were in our apartment and realized that the fan in our refrigerator had caught on fire! She ran to get the guards, who busted in and expertly doused the fire (and the rest of our kitchen) with the fire extinguisher. They got a hold of the maintenance supervisor, who came to check it out. It was quite the mess! He brought 5 workers from school to clean up the mess, washing every individual item that was salvageable from our fridge.
One of our favorite things here- Labne. Its almost a thick, thick yogurt. It's sorta like a soft cream cheese. Whatever you call it, with a little olive oil and spice, it truly is delicious. We always order it alongside our hommos and other mezzes. We even buy it by the quarter kilo at the deli. AND we've found that its going to be super easy to make at home! See the device to the left? Look at the product HERE. I'm pretty excited to get one this summer to try making my own labneh!
Here's an awesome sign I found in Khartoum. I don't know what the Arabic says. Oh, well...
And I swam across the Blue Nile! And then back! (you can see my accomplishment in the background of above photo.)
My friend Marissa and I went with some friends and friends of friends to a secluded beach in North Khartoum. We had no idea what we were getting into. To kick it off, we had several cars and trucks get stuck in the sand trying to reach the beach. Even the 4x4s were having a rough time. More photos to follow.
