the yak

the options to fly between khartoum and juba are limited and the flights leave early in the morning in order to complete a round trip each day. this time i am flying on sun air.  i arrive at the airport around 5:15 and proceed to throw my bag through the fake x-ray machine and as i attempt to enter through the door, they tell me that the sun air flight is ready for check in yet.  the flight leaves at 7 so i stand outside for a while with the driver.  then the driver says he needs to go pray, so he walks off to the mosque as the morning prayer reverberates through the crisp quiet air.  people are strolling around, some in their jollabias others in jeans and shirts.  i hear the airport loud speaker start jibbering something in arabic and i can capture "sun air" and "juba" which for any semi conscious person, that probably means they are ready to go. well, now my bags are in the trunk of the car and the driver is off praying.  so i wait.  and wait.  then people start coming out of the mosque and the driver bounces towards me.  i told him what i deducted from the loud speaker and off we go again.  bags through the fake xray machine and me, attempt to go through the door.  but the id checker at the door stops me and looks at a list and says, "no sun air flight on the list".  i try to explain to the driver that i heard something on the loudspeaker. so he goes to investigate.  eventually we are standing outside again, he tells me the flight is canceled (canceled or never planned to fly can be the same thing). he's scratching his head trying to think of what to do and the time is fast approaching 7 when all flights leave for juba.  so i ask if i can get on another plane.  after inquiring the cost will be $120 cash and yes, there is a seat on tarco airlines.  i had seen their logo somewhere in town, i think it is a new airline trying to break into the sudan airline scene but i didn't think twice now, yes, i'll take it, i have a meeting at 2 this afternoon. 
he takes the $120 and runs outside to find a money exchanger, of course the rate is pretty bad at the airport, but he finally returns with a ticket and now i can enter through the door. the advantage of getting the last seat on a plane is there is no line at the check in counter.  with boarding pass in hand, i enter the waiting area to see a group of people crowded by a door and suspected that was for tarco flight.  after inquiring those waiting in the crowd (not a line) i confirm this is the right crowd to push through.  of course, i also do a confirmation with the flight attendant to ensure the plane is heading where i need to go.  this tarco plane is a yak52 or something like that.  nothing fancy, just an old russian plane that is now the workhorse of the african skies.  as it is free for all seating, i find a seat that looks comfortable.  the yak takes a long time for the wheels to leave the ground.  it is the way the plane is designed, but the take offs are always a bit nerve racking...if you let it get to you.  for starters, it accelerates really slowly, but at a constant rates.  and it is relatively quiet and the plane rolls down the airstrip.  after a bit you start thinking, we should be leaving the ground by now.  but it keeps bouncing and rolling and accelerating. then when lift kicks in, it slowly and gradually starts to climb. this take off is no different and we are soon climbing in to the sudan sky, rising above khartoum and veering towards the south. leaving behind the sauna heat in exchange for a humid suffocation in southern sudan. leaving the congested paved roads and high rise buildings, restaurants and a life that is similar to many large african capitals for a mixture of new roads and pot hole ridden dirt patches intersecting an over grown village swelling with people.

 

American - Saudi relationship is strong.

globalization.
interesting article on china's control of 97% of the global rare metals, elements that are used in a significant number of gadgets and  electronic equipment.  without this, the industry would be brought to its knees. similar to the oil industry, rare minerals are vital to the global economy. helps to put into perspective decisions and actions made by government. we live in a global economy where  no one can be self reliant but instead needs to be part of the global game. the same story from BBC.

until it sleeps

this is an interesting article that contributes the fall in religious affiliation to the rise of politics in church: walking away from church. 

and now for my two cents (some might call it rambling)...

the outspoken religious leaders who think it's their bold calling to caste judgment on fellow human beings and draw political lines in the sand obviously back fired. to point their holier than thou fingers at a few issues, making them the paramount deciding factors on where you stand, where your allegiance lies. what may have seemed to them as well intentions fueled by blind ambition and religious fervor, leads to a divide and conquer mentality that just keep repeating over the centuries, in-bedded in all nations, religions.  Unquestioned, unwavering. a stuck record that desires power and control, lead by a sense that they are God's chosen spokesperson, free to manipulate, free to direct, free to threaten. can we see beyond the smoke and mirrors?

Intertwined in culture and heritage, woven together with the essence of personal existence. Since first breath, wrapped up as part of everyday life; practice, ritual, habit. Black and white shades in an otherwise colorful world, lens of insecurity desperately grasping identity. The horizon is vast and doesn't have to be seen through tunnel vision. Do we really live in a check-list world where one needs to conform to the political and religious brainwashing in order to confirm their belief and faith?  Belief and faith should be real and not brought on by fear or guilt. We must protect our minds from those who have ulterior motives.

the tension is increasing in the middle of the country where the great reserves of oil lay buried under the parched dry land.  with the looming referendum, scheduled for January 9, the fate of this resource rich area (Abyei) remains up in the air.  The January 9 referendum will decide the fate of the country and whether it will be one country or two; you get to vote for Unity or Separation. Additionally, the Abyei region will have a second vote to decide if they want to be part of the North or South. As a very critical moment in history, the South stands at the brink of become a new African nation. As a whole, the country is standing on the brink of returning to conflict. Of which there are several motivations, National interests of the North and National identity of the South to name a couple.

What will the landscape and environment look like after the votes are counted and the results announced is anyone's guess. 

tea and coffee

went back to el fasher for a few days to introduce our site engineer to the project location and introduce to some people there. i found it a bit strange for me, the kawaja, to be introducing a sudanese to el fasher.
we arrived wednesday afternoon after the one and half hour flight from khartoum on sun air. as in most cased when i've arrived, it suddenly feels like it's saturday as everything operates at a slow laid back pace. the heat allows one to go slow and unassuming. the heat radiated from the black tarmac as we walked from the plane to a waiting bus. the tarmac is lined with a few UN planes and helicopters, a large cargo plane is being loaded with arms, our luggage is loaded onto a cart and trucked to the terminal. once again, out of the blue i'm approached by two men who ask for copies of my travel permit...i never leave without several copies. we finally pile into our small car and drive off towards our accommodation.

fasher has been around for centuries, a hub for trade routes across the Sahara and surprisingly a place that produces a significant quantity of crops. a green house was going up in one of the fields we drove past.


a lot of time on this trip was spent drinking tea or coffee, as is customary for the host when visiting, even in an office or work atmosphere. i also had some real good sudanese food, grill meat, sorghum mash with meat stew, egg plant, goat feta cheese, fuol (bean mash which is probably the most common) - all of this is finger food eaten with flat bread that essentially acts as the fork/spoon.

the nights in fasher cool down significantly, a very pleasant change from khartoum.Having coffee break during the afternoon.

mystery meat on the street

the street is a paved two lane with a wide sandy shoulder on either side. billboards, garbage, parked cars, half built buildings and shops occupy the sides of the street. it is dark by now, the evening has set in and it has cooled significantly due to the passing storm. most nights the temperature remains in the sweltering digits, but because of the storm, a cool front had blown in. no street lights are along this street, but the glow from a major grocery store and other buildings shed some light to help navigate the garbage, open sewer and other toe stubbing hazards. in search of dinner, i was on my way to one of my regular spots when i caught scent of grilling meat.

looking across the street is a small store, tucked in a wall between a couple nondescript building, a red star is blinking, similar to the type one would use to decorate a house during christmas. a grill in front of the store was producing a steady stream of meat scented smoke. looking both ways and dodging an on coming tuk-tuk, i crossed the street and walked up to the store. a man had order and was waiting for his sandwich of grilled meat. when my turn came to order, a combination of hand motions and pointing communicated that i wanted a similar sandwich. at least this time i didn't have to cackle like a chicken as i did in some country while trying to order a chicken meal, for added measure and to ensure the message was clearly conveyed, i even threw in the folded arms and flapped them like chicken wings.

as two men worked on fixing the florescent light bulb, the cook fried up some chunks of meat mixed with green pepper. one guy was standing on a ladder and shoving a screw driver into the light casing, twisting and turning every which way. i watched waiting for him to get a jolt and go flying across the street. the only other customer tried to teach me the arabic word for what he was eating. i pronounced it several times to make him happy, knowing full well i wasn't going to remember next time i needed to use it. later on, after eating my one dollar sandwich, i think it was liver mixed with beef, but can't guarantee the type of animal that it came from. as long as i'm not puking my insides out tomorrow, i plan to go back and try the burger...or what the cook called 'hamburger'; he game we a tour of the fridge with all the meat awaiting the grill.

the storm passed without much of a drenching. this is the first rainfall i've experienced in khartoum, so i guess it does rain here. earlier i was out running along the river nile and the first drops hit. there was a short downpour but nothing that really deserves to be blogged about.