The Khartoum Triathlon

So today, after bemoaning that there is only one treadmill for USG staff here, and that my intake of carbs has increased 10fold, my friend Tiare and I decided to run home from the office. This is estimated to be somewhere 6 kilometers. We sent off, much to the delight of our drivers at about 10 past six. I soon realized that Khartoum, in its own way, has presented me with a triathlon experience.

As most of you know, I enjoy participating in triathlons. I don't "race" them but I do "complete" them. They involved swimming, biking and running--in that order--and in various distances depending on the race.

The Khartoum triathlon experience is something like this:

Event 1: Extreme Focus:

Avoiding or tuning out all of the comments and beeps you get from the novelty of two white women running (and not being chased by a pack of dogs, or anyone else). I successfully completed this way in approximately 10-15 minutes.

Event 2: Traffic Dodging:

To get home we have to cross several smaller streets and two large streets. After practicing our traffic dodging skills on some of the smaller streets, we darted through traffic fairly easily on the larger streets...though as with anything, practice makes perfect and our timing on the second larger street was much better. No one was even close to us! This event was woven throughout the run home much like water breaks in a normal race.

Event 3: Combatofpollutionanddust-ism:

After about 10 minutes we were hot and sweaty. It was after all roughly 105 degrees. But the real problem was sucking in awful exhaust from all of the cars, trucks and tuk-tuks. Then you have the dust--always pervasive but more noticeable when you're sucking in air for all you're worth. About half way through I was really jonesing for some water. By the time we finished, I couldn't even make it to the third floor (where I live) without stopping for water on the first floor.

But the event was completed, and though there was no medal for me at the "finish line" we did got out for Indian food. Yum!!

Even though I'm sore right now, I'll definitely do this again. It's a good way to get rid of the stress of the office--and these days there is definitely stress. And it means that when I get home and collapse on the couch, I don't have to feel guilty about it! Note to self: next time take a small bottle of water and ipod.

Hope your exercise regiment is going better than mine!!!

Love,
Jane

Oye

Well, it's been 5 days since my last entry. And in those five days....well...lets just say all is not well in Darfur. So things have been busy. And of course events began to unfold last Friday night and into Saturday--our weekend here. So, after a hectic week we come to another weekend. I can only hope that tomorrow we don't have any more surprises.

My plans you ask?? A good swim at the rec site since Sudan is the anti-Atkins and I basically only eat carbs and sugar here. Then maybe a pedicure for my new sandals (which I love dearly) combined with open toe shoes and tevas make for some nasty feet. Then it's off to make Halloween decorations for the party next weekend. And finally, we have happy hour. Which isn't so much happy hour as hours. Then Saturday, it's off to get my sandals!! Yippee!!

So that's about this from this end.....feel free to drop a comment. So far I think only three people have read this (thanks Kelly, Stefanie and Mom!!)

Talk to you all soon!
Love,
Jane

(oh--and Grey's Anatomy still rocks!! Watching via iTunes downloads....what did we do before satellites, internet, apple???)

The littlest things....

So exciting news! I found, courtesy of the French, a great leather shop where I can get any sandal made I want for $15!! I've already bought one cool pair and then ordered another!! And they have purses, ec. They'll make you anything! The only drawback---you can smell the tanning....ew. Even if I wasn't a vegetarian it would be nasty. Anyway--if my family is reading this--don't be surprised when you get sandals for xmas!!!

But, trying to go to the pool later was a example of how the simplest thing can just be difficult. We had only two drivers today--for many, many people (exact number unknown). So to get to the rec site to swim today (ok--I acknowledge that I'm lucky) I had to call three people---the dispatcher, a driver, and one of my friends--who was supposed to have a car. After I found a car, we had to take another driver to get his car but on route we had to pick up two people. So getting there took 50 minutes instead of 15. Granted, my French friends had the same issue--waiting 40 minutes for a driver--so it's not just us. But still. Though I would be terrified of driving here, it would be lovely to go where I want, when I want.

I also discovered, from my UNICEF friend, a lovely Egyptian woman who will come to the house and do manicures/pedicures, facials, threading (eyebrows), waxing with this stuff that's sugar, honey and lemon--weird--but less painful than waxing in the States. Anyway--good stuff and a nice treat.

So that's about it from here. Work will be crazy this week as things are not going well in Darfur. Lots going on and I'm sure you're reading about it in the papers. We're a bit worried. I'm more glass half-empty for Darfur.....que tristeza!!!

Talk to you soon!!!
Jane

The Temples of Naga

After our visit to the Pyramids of Meroe (see previous blog entry) we headed to the Temples of Naga.

These are the Meroitic temples and are said to be some of the best preserved Kushite sites in the country. The photo below is the Temple of Amun and was built in the 1st century AD by King Natakamani.


To get to the inner temple shown above you have to go through a series of rams....here's the USAID crew posing by one rams.





If I understand right--the photo above depicts the queen Amanitore holding prisoners by the hair.


I don't really have a description, but these are pretty cool. There were five on the other three walls (excluding the front entry way)./


This is apparently a depiction of Apedemak represented by the body of a snake coming out of a lotus flower--you can just make that out in the photo if you look closely.


This may or may not be the "Kiosk" in front of the Lion Temple.



I have no idea-but it's cool!!!

I have many more pictures (about 200) so if I post them on shutterfly or some other site I'll let you know....

Talk to you soon!
Jane

Finally--a trip out of Khartoum to the Pyramids and Temples!

Hi all,

This weekend a group of us went to the Pyramids of Meroe and the Temples of Naga. The drive is 3 hours north of Khartoum and takes you through some beautiful country. First I'll detail the trip and then the pictures.

We left on Saturday a.m. We had five cars--between 25 and 30 people. The drive took longer than usual--mostly because of concerns about fuel consumption and a flat tire. But we made it. The first stop was the Pyramids of Meroe. After visiting that site for about one and a half to two hours, and a little camel ride (just for the tourists!), we headed to our camp site. Several of us were staying in an Italian run permanent site while others chose to camp out without the amenities. The only problem on day one was the heat. At the pyramids, it must have been between 115 and 120. Brutal. Though there was a bit of a breeze.

Sunday we went to the Ancient City of Meroe--not nearly as visually impressive but with some interesting buildings, and then heading back towards Kharotum and a stop at the Temples of Naga (or Nagaa). The temples were amazing but may soon be covered in water due to the planned construction of a dam. We're vague on the details but if it happens, it will be a loss.

In today's blog I'll cover the pyramids of Meroe. Tomorrow I'll post some photos and info about the Temples of Naga.





It's hot so you grab what shade you can.














I'm learning to ride my camel...much to the delight of my camel's owner's--Suliman.











The Italian camp

The view from my tent--the pyramids are in the background there.

The pyramids are beautiful...both from the ground, and if you climb to the top!



Taking a rest from our walk around, Tiare, Andrea and I rest at the base of one of the pyramids.








We drew a bit of a crowd and the lesser visited of the two pyramid sites.










A bit about the pyramids:
Meroe is the old Kushite capital and the pyramids of Meroe--the cemetery--dates back to approx. the 8th century BC. Kings and queens were buried here until the fall of the Kushite rule in the 4th century AD. Kushite culture was heavily influenced by Egypt due to centuries of interaction and the main gods of Egypt are represented in the Kushite pantheon.

The pyramids, while similar to those in Egypt are much smaller. If the largest was still intact, it would be almost 30m high. Though there used to be 160 pyramids, now there are about 30. Most have had the tops cut off by an Italian treasure hunter in 1834.

Happy Times are here again!

Today is Friday and Ramadan, and 30 days of fasting, is officially over. this is the first day of Eid and everything is closed today. It's a bit like Christmas here. People were out late last night buying food, sweets, clothes, jewelry and more. In celebration, the government takes about a week off. We have off Sunday and Monday so it's a nice four day weekend!!! Lots of people have taken off to go on R&R--rest--in any number of places, Kenya, Tanzania Europe, Egypt, etc. So it's quiet here.

Anyway, some of you have asked for some general photos of Khartoum. So here are some general shots that I've taken.

This is the point where the White Nile and the Blue Niles come together before heading towards Eqypt. The White Nile is the lighter color in the foreground and the Blue Nile is the darker color in the background!!!

The Nile on my birthday (9/14). It was flooding--still is though it's down significantly now. We took a boat around Tutti island (seen here).

The goat/sheep market in Khartoum. There are several, but this is one of the main ones on the outskirts of town.

A camel for sale at the camel market.

Spices, beans, hibicus for sale.

Caroline and I peruse the options.

Caroline, Bob and Jane after a dip in the pool with the Nile in the
background.

Greek food and a doggie tackle

So last night my friend/colleague Andrea made terrific Greek food (and vegetarian to boot!) for a group of women. It was surprisingly "normal" for the Khartoum scene. After stuffing myself I went home to a very hyper pooch. So I decided to take Cooper to the rec site this morning so that he could get some good exercise of leash and my arms would remain in their sockets. Cooper did run around smelling everything but it gets so hot so quickly he wasn't quite as active as I thought he would be.

He did get one of those random spurts of energy and started running around. When he calmed down I tried to get him back to running and started running around as well. Resulting in a "from the behind" sneak attack and a little nip on the shoulder. We told John, the dogs owner, that my hospital stay is short but expensive. Hehe.

Anyway--a few more days and I'll be back "home" to the land of tv and internet. What luxuries!! I'll have a lot to post on Friday with some scenes around town here, and some on Monday of a weekend trip.

Later,
Jane

Very international!

Ni hao! Last night I went to dinner at Panda's Chinese Restaurant. I was the only American with one Australian, one Scot, and three Brits. Two of the Brits ordered the table's dinner in Chinese. Ah, the international flavor of expat living!!! And I had tofu to boot!! :-)

Ah--the joy of a long weekend

Star date 10.08.2007

So as a US citizen I was gleeful for the upcoming Columbus day holiday. (Who doesn't get really excited about this holiday?!?!) Since we work Sunday through Thursday we had Sunday off.

As mentioned below, I agreed to stay and a new-comers apartment while he is in South Sudan. After a long, boring Friday with no internet or tv I decided I had to get out. So on Saturday I went swimming (shocker I know--do you see a pattern here??). By the time I got to the rec site it was about 11 a.m. and after swimming for 1 1/2 hours I was parched! (Don't worry Mom--plenty of sunscreen so I didn't burn at all--barely a shade darker in fact). Since I forgot my water bottle my friend said I should use the distiller in the kitchen. So I bad in, swimming cap and all, grab a glass of luke warm water. As I finish, I notice the security guard grab one of the big 5-gal plastic water jugs, fill it up with tap water and dump it in the distiller. Now, I may not know much about the distiller's inner workers, but I've never seen one filled that way. So I'm counting my blessings that the stabbing pains in my stomach Saturday night went away and I haven't been sick!

Anyway, to continue to fill the hours of my weekend I decided to take my friend up on his invite to watch the rugby quarter finals on Saturday. It was France versus New Zealand for those who aren't closely following this!! France was the underdog--and the house was full of French (and Irish) who were eager. Apparently France had beaten NZ in a stunning upset in the early rounds. The first half didn't look good. The Kiwis (the team is called the "all blacks") started off with their pre-game war chant (impressive) and proved to be agile against the French kicking game leading 13-0 at half time. (Ironically--the kicking game strategy also failed as they missed their three penalty kicks) But the French roared back and made a ridiculous amount of tackles in the 2nd half holding off the All Blacks and beating them 20-18. Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic.

So arriving home around 12:30 a.m., I tried my key. Nothing. I push, banged, etc. Nothing. So I went down to get the guards help. More pounding and banging later, nothing. Frustrated, sweating in the wretched heat of the 3rd floor stairway, and with a moaning dog on the other side I gave up. The guard called someone, who called someone who called me back. The conversation when something like this;
"Who are you?"
--I explain
"And you have the key?"
--"Yes"
"And you have the right key for the right door?"
--"Yes--it's not the key/lock, it's the other part (the little tongue that sticks in). The metal is broken."
"Ok--I'll call someone"

I give up and take my stuff downstairs where at least it's cooler.

1 a.m. my phone rings.
"Hi. This is XX. I'm the Asst. GSO (comment: I don't really understand what the GSO is in charge of but it seems to include all of the buildings). Can you explain what's going on because it's not clear."
--I explain who I am and that I'm locked out etc. And that there's a dog.
"well, I'm glad that you actually have a key. You'd be amazed at how often that's the problem. And I do have an extra set but it doesn't seem like that's going to help you in this case."
--I agreed.
So she called the carpenter to come break me in.

1:30 a.m., the carpenter arrives Banging and hammering ensue. He points to the deadbolt.
"where's the key"
--"I don't have it. No one has it. We only use the bottom lock."
"well, it's the bolt."
More banging and hammer and I watch as he breaks in to the door by ripping out the deadbolt. It was actually harder than I thought--comforting to know!

The dog, Cooper, was cowering in the corner when I finally got in around 2 a.m. he's big, but turns out he's a big chicken. A bigger chicken than Lily.

So between the microwave fire, the lack of internet and tv, and the lock situation...I'm starting to loose faith.

Sunday I napped (since Cooper woke me up at 6:30 to go outside) and watched tv I have downloaded from iTunes and movies. Thank goodness you can get Grey's Anatomy on iTunes people!!

So now I'm happy starting my workweek. Yeah. Work. I know--right? Did you think you'd hear me say that??

More soon,
Bye from "the 'toum"
Jane

Beware of walking your dog

So I decided to help out a fellow USAID employee and stay at his place to watch his dog Cooper, a Rhodesian ridgeback, while he's in south Sudan for a week. This idea was agreed to at 12:15 a.m. on our way home from happy hour and not one of my best thought out plans, but does give me the opportunity to leave the "Real World Khartoum" and be by myself for a bit.

John has just moved up here from Nairobi and hasn't really settled in to his place because he'll be moving from the third floor to the first floor. So it's been a bit of a challenge. Like cooking the risotto I got from Stefanie (yum!) meant I had to unpack a pot, measuring cup, utensils, etc. Of course, this was much better than my snack attempt where I thought I would heat up some microwave popcorn and the microwave caught fire. Seriously. I don't make this stuff up. There's no need!!!

After dinner I decided to take Cooper for a walk. He's having a hard time in the heat so once the sun is down, it's much easier.

Now for those of you who know Lily, you know that even though she's packing 90 pounds, she's easy to control, obedient, fairly uninterested in other dogs, etc. Cooper is big, muscle-y and when provoked by the pack of dogs that live near his house, likes to snarl and lunge. So I'm getting a fair upper body workout. The problem is, at night, I can't really see anything. So we'll just be walking along and all of a sudden there's mass chaos!! Needless to say I'll think twice about this before agreeing again!!

But sleeping in a true queen size bed with new sheets instead of my two twins pushed together with annoying springs that get you every once in a while is very nice.

There's no TV or internet so my communication is a bit more limited....but I'll still be around.

This week I also got a photo of my pooch Lily from Kasey-my friend from USAID who's watching her. Kasey and her husband and two kids already had Thunder the German Shepherd. Now they've also got Lily. And they just adopted Lightening the yellow lab!! But from all accounts (and photos) it looks like Lily et al are just fine!

Ugh...it's so hot here. Everyone swears it will cool off, but it's just hot. Too hot.

Swimming with Kites....

....Not kites that kids play with, but the birds.

Today I was swimming after work--now that I have swim fins here in Khartoum I'm trying to get back in to my swim workouts. Our pool is outside and it's usually nice to do laps and take glances at things while I'm breathing. Today there must have been good wind funnel or something because all of a sudden there were literally about 100 birds flying pretty close. Some of them look at you like you're a big, fat, albino fish that they'd love to take a bite out of. Fortunately they keep a safe enough distance...but I keep an eye out!!

Other news...well there's not much. I was trying to get to an office today for a meeting and was pondering how it could possibly be income-generating to stand in the median and sell stuff. People frequently sell food (grapes and oranges are popular right now) but also sell kleenex, coat racks, cattle whips, serving trays, and all manner of objects. Really--have you ever just been driving along and thought--oh--I could really use a purple inflatable child's chair?? I just don't get it. And at $0.75 for a box of kleenex---well I hope he sells a lot of kleenex.

The sellers are a nice distraction from how bad the driving is here. I think traffic lights and lane lines (where they exist) are considered more of a general guideline than hard and fast rules. So if you're at the light and you feel like going through--you do. If you want to drive across the lane lines, you can. My favorite is when the people are driving in two lanes very slowly and when you beep, they move over and flag you by--as if giving permission. Good grief. Anyway--I'm glad I don't have to drive here. I'd go mad!!

Well--that's about all of my rantings for tonight.