I arrived in South Sudan on Wednesday - so this is my fourth full day here. Everyone says a lot of different things about Juba, but I'm not going to compare with what everyone else says (I try to never do that), I'm just going to give you the facts from my perspective.
#1 hot, hot, hot. I've never been anywhere this hot. It's 10 a.m. right now, and probably 90 degrees (I'm still learning celsius). We had one night of rain last week, that cooled things down... it was only 70 by 10 a.m., but then the afternoon was just as hot as before. I'm pretty sure the only way to avoid the heat is to jump in the pool. I tried running one morning last week - definitely, that has to happen before 8 a.m.
#2 paved roads! I've counted 5 so far. It's very exciting, but the rest of the roads are that red dirt, as usual... so the dust is really strong. Makes my nose and throat all congested. But that's fine, because I barely notice the smell. Remember the smell from when I first started coming to Africa 4 years ago? I don't smell it any more. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
#3 they really don't speak kiswahili here... it's Juba Arabic, which is not like regular Arabic (or so I'm told). The sounds are much more gutteral and tonal than I'm used to - maybe after a few months I'll have some phrases down. Right now all I can remember is something that sounds like "quacha" which means white person. classic. maybe I should start working in South America where all languages lead to Spanish.
#4 it's cool to be badass. Every time I meet a new person, it's the same 3 questions, what are you doing here? how long have you been here? and have you been out of Juba? the more badass your answers, the more street cred you get. Obviously, I'm going to be headed out of Juba as fast as possible.
#5 it's not for families - In Zimbabwe or Kenya, you normally see families - but it's obvious that this is not a family post (as we call it in USAID lingo) - I've only seen one white kid, and he's the exception. Most people where I'm staying are older British folks. I talked to one gal last week who said I was the first American she's run into while here.
#6 location, location, location. I'm at a small "hotel" outside of Juba town... big mistake. The closer you are to the nightlife, the better - this is because you won't get stopped at a police checkpoint on your way home, and have your evening ruined. Need to figure out a solution to this.
#7 war, what war? The first day after I arrived, Sudan declared war on South Sudan. However, everyone I've spoken with remains blissfully unconcerned about this - "yes, it's bad," they say. Or, "we knew this was coming," but not one person out of my 6 friends (hey, 6 friends in 4 days - that's pretty good!) actually thinks that the war will move to Juba. That sound is not a helicopter or a bomb - it's a lawnmower.
I think 7 things is enough for now. If I get it together, I'll send some pictures - although, it's illegal to do photography here, so maybe I won't. I'm off to church!
#1 hot, hot, hot. I've never been anywhere this hot. It's 10 a.m. right now, and probably 90 degrees (I'm still learning celsius). We had one night of rain last week, that cooled things down... it was only 70 by 10 a.m., but then the afternoon was just as hot as before. I'm pretty sure the only way to avoid the heat is to jump in the pool. I tried running one morning last week - definitely, that has to happen before 8 a.m.
#2 paved roads! I've counted 5 so far. It's very exciting, but the rest of the roads are that red dirt, as usual... so the dust is really strong. Makes my nose and throat all congested. But that's fine, because I barely notice the smell. Remember the smell from when I first started coming to Africa 4 years ago? I don't smell it any more. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
#3 they really don't speak kiswahili here... it's Juba Arabic, which is not like regular Arabic (or so I'm told). The sounds are much more gutteral and tonal than I'm used to - maybe after a few months I'll have some phrases down. Right now all I can remember is something that sounds like "quacha" which means white person. classic. maybe I should start working in South America where all languages lead to Spanish.
#4 it's cool to be badass. Every time I meet a new person, it's the same 3 questions, what are you doing here? how long have you been here? and have you been out of Juba? the more badass your answers, the more street cred you get. Obviously, I'm going to be headed out of Juba as fast as possible.
#5 it's not for families - In Zimbabwe or Kenya, you normally see families - but it's obvious that this is not a family post (as we call it in USAID lingo) - I've only seen one white kid, and he's the exception. Most people where I'm staying are older British folks. I talked to one gal last week who said I was the first American she's run into while here.
#6 location, location, location. I'm at a small "hotel" outside of Juba town... big mistake. The closer you are to the nightlife, the better - this is because you won't get stopped at a police checkpoint on your way home, and have your evening ruined. Need to figure out a solution to this.
#7 war, what war? The first day after I arrived, Sudan declared war on South Sudan. However, everyone I've spoken with remains blissfully unconcerned about this - "yes, it's bad," they say. Or, "we knew this was coming," but not one person out of my 6 friends (hey, 6 friends in 4 days - that's pretty good!) actually thinks that the war will move to Juba. That sound is not a helicopter or a bomb - it's a lawnmower.
I think 7 things is enough for now. If I get it together, I'll send some pictures - although, it's illegal to do photography here, so maybe I won't. I'm off to church!
No comments:
Post a Comment