The days after!
I left South Sudan about a week ago and I am slowly getting used to a very different way of life. It is strange to see people who are obviously overweight and are shockingly obese. After working and living among people who weighed less than me (even after losing almost 6 kg) even though they were much taller than me, seeing people who have even one ounce of extra fat on me still takes some getting used to.
Walking into supermarkets with twenty varieties of ketchup and fifty brands of washing up liquids is enough to make one dizzy. The market offerings of the markets in the refugee camps offer only one brand of sugar and salt. The clothes on sale are usually generically the same, the slippers on sale differ only by color. 'Bun' (coffee) and 'Shai' (tea) shops give the markets a homely feel which Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts cannot replicate.
I spent one day in a hospital with my niece who needed to have surgery and it was a far cry from the hospital I worked in a few weeks ago. My niece had the good fortune of being admitted on her birthday and she received two stuffed toys from the nurses, a blanket and pillowcase, a High school musical set not to mention the state of the art equipment used to monitor her and the hospital room that looked more like a hotel suite at the Ritz Carlton! In contrast our one stuffed toy hung in the middle of the ward where all the kids took turns admiring it. The floors of the ward where upgraded from plastic sheeting to cement and we had real hospital beds. But you could say the dedication of the staff made up for the lack of the glitz and glamour.
On the other hand, I have gorged myself continuously. After living on a diet of rice and goat meat for days on end, suddenly being plunged into an environment where the choice of food is a difficult decision to make has my stomach juices churning in delight. One caveat for me is not to stretch my stomach and thus fall into the overweight category that currently astounds me.
Other delights are being able to fall asleep without thinking that a snake has snuck into my dome tent and is waiting for me to fall asleep before it wakes me up by biting me. I no longer have to employ my scorpion killing abilities nor do I have to search the dark corners to make sure none lies in wait to sting me. Halleluyah! No more pit toilets, no more waiting in line for showers, no more......
The truth is I miss the country, the people, the language, I miss gabbing in my garbled Arabic to the patients who walk in to seek medical care, I miss my colleagues and I miss the awesome sunsets and sunrises! I miss the beating of the wedding drums, the croaking of the frogs, the friendly greetings, the sights and the sounds of the newest country on the earth.
Happy Independence SS!
Walking into supermarkets with twenty varieties of ketchup and fifty brands of washing up liquids is enough to make one dizzy. The market offerings of the markets in the refugee camps offer only one brand of sugar and salt. The clothes on sale are usually generically the same, the slippers on sale differ only by color. 'Bun' (coffee) and 'Shai' (tea) shops give the markets a homely feel which Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts cannot replicate.
I spent one day in a hospital with my niece who needed to have surgery and it was a far cry from the hospital I worked in a few weeks ago. My niece had the good fortune of being admitted on her birthday and she received two stuffed toys from the nurses, a blanket and pillowcase, a High school musical set not to mention the state of the art equipment used to monitor her and the hospital room that looked more like a hotel suite at the Ritz Carlton! In contrast our one stuffed toy hung in the middle of the ward where all the kids took turns admiring it. The floors of the ward where upgraded from plastic sheeting to cement and we had real hospital beds. But you could say the dedication of the staff made up for the lack of the glitz and glamour.
On the other hand, I have gorged myself continuously. After living on a diet of rice and goat meat for days on end, suddenly being plunged into an environment where the choice of food is a difficult decision to make has my stomach juices churning in delight. One caveat for me is not to stretch my stomach and thus fall into the overweight category that currently astounds me.
Other delights are being able to fall asleep without thinking that a snake has snuck into my dome tent and is waiting for me to fall asleep before it wakes me up by biting me. I no longer have to employ my scorpion killing abilities nor do I have to search the dark corners to make sure none lies in wait to sting me. Halleluyah! No more pit toilets, no more waiting in line for showers, no more......
The truth is I miss the country, the people, the language, I miss gabbing in my garbled Arabic to the patients who walk in to seek medical care, I miss my colleagues and I miss the awesome sunsets and sunrises! I miss the beating of the wedding drums, the croaking of the frogs, the friendly greetings, the sights and the sounds of the newest country on the earth.
Happy Independence SS!
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