Going Back
I am not sure if my feet ever actually touched the ground over the past month. In the last 31 days I have flown to Khartoum, Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, back to Chicago, London, and soon back to Khartoum. I have been drenched in warm hugs from friends and family, eaten more food then I thought possible, had my fair share of G&T…and beer…and wine…basically anything that wasn’t Suko, and simply enjoyed a much needed break. But like all “coming home” experiences there where certain things that struck me as particularly curious or funny upon arrival, and as a service to those who might go through a similar situation I thought it best that I share some of these things with you.
Good:
-Being amazed at how consistently electricity can run when not powered by a plastic Chinese generator and a couple of old Sudanese men with sticks.
-Eating food without sand in it.
-Figuring out that if you tell wonderful Dutch people that you just got back from Sudan that they will by you a pint!
Bad:
-Realizing that the smoking habit you picked up in Darfur is gross and must be stopped.
-That G&T does not make you a better out fielder in wiffle ball!
-Finding out that you still answer work emails even when you no longer work for the organization.
Odd:
-That I now sleep with a quilt on even when its 92 degrees outside.
-While driving I keep looking for the next checkpoint I need to stop at.
-Going to clubs and thinking about how they are not nearly as cool as OCHA parties that play “Sex Bomb” over and over again.
So with all that said I am going back. I should be arriving in Darfur in a few short weeks, of course this is all dependent on travel passes and what not, so who really knows. The scary thing I recently realized is that after this next year in Darfur I will have spent more time there then anywhere else I lived since high school…I’m not sure if that’s prize worthy or just depressing. Never the less I do look forward to my return (ask me about that statement in a few months and it might be a bit different) and at the very least there will never be a dull moment…well except of the Eid Holiday when everything shuts down, that’s boring (right Coy and Aaron!). So, if anyone is still reading this thing I will once again be blogging more regularly so please keep reading. Enjoy.
Good:
-Being amazed at how consistently electricity can run when not powered by a plastic Chinese generator and a couple of old Sudanese men with sticks.
-Eating food without sand in it.
-Figuring out that if you tell wonderful Dutch people that you just got back from Sudan that they will by you a pint!
Bad:
-Realizing that the smoking habit you picked up in Darfur is gross and must be stopped.
-That G&T does not make you a better out fielder in wiffle ball!
-Finding out that you still answer work emails even when you no longer work for the organization.
Odd:
-That I now sleep with a quilt on even when its 92 degrees outside.
-While driving I keep looking for the next checkpoint I need to stop at.
-Going to clubs and thinking about how they are not nearly as cool as OCHA parties that play “Sex Bomb” over and over again.
So with all that said I am going back. I should be arriving in Darfur in a few short weeks, of course this is all dependent on travel passes and what not, so who really knows. The scary thing I recently realized is that after this next year in Darfur I will have spent more time there then anywhere else I lived since high school…I’m not sure if that’s prize worthy or just depressing. Never the less I do look forward to my return (ask me about that statement in a few months and it might be a bit different) and at the very least there will never be a dull moment…well except of the Eid Holiday when everything shuts down, that’s boring (right Coy and Aaron!). So, if anyone is still reading this thing I will once again be blogging more regularly so please keep reading. Enjoy.
posted by Scott at 9:26 AM
3 Comments:
You missed one more observation: You have become incredibly soft and unable to bear slightly cold water that may or may not have been fed by glaciers.
Until the next Brdngerr. Take care, man (and we need instructions for the banana suco please).
Quick introduction - I'm Joel Bruerd's brother - Love your blog, and missed your entries of late. Brilliant, succinct, cynical, optimistic... yeah. Love your perspective. I use to be an 'implementer' and now I work for a donor organization and travel to Africa and get my butt kissed. Life is ironic.
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