. . . and Part of My Fall, or "Hey I'm still alive and I have some photos to share". It's a long-winded post, but considering how long it's been since I've written, I think my average blog-words/day ratio is still pretty low.
My previous post is now six months old and collecting dust. In addition to the fact that I have never been a prolific blogger by any stretch of the imagination, MSF asks us to be careful about what we post. I took this as a good reason to ignore the blog for a while. Having returned to the U.S. a month and a half ago, I figured it was time to catch up a bit.
My time in South Sudan was amazing. I learned a lot about cars (mostly Toyota Land Cruisers), about how MSF operates, about managing people, and about myself. I worked a lot and tried to play as much as possible. It was fun, and challenging, and frustrating, and too long, and too short, and too hot. Not quite Texas summer hot, but not far from it. Of course, I was there at the coolest time of year. Come February, they often see temperatures approaching 50 degrees centigrade (120+ degrees fahrenheit!).
A lot of people ask about the living conditions and food. Most of the time I was in a really nice guest house in Juba. I had my own room. Yes, there was electricity. Each room even had its own AC unit, but we were discouraged from using them because the generator couldn't handle the load. Yes, there was running water. No hot running water, but who needs that when it's broiling outside? On one field visit I stayed in a large tent for a few nights, but otherwise I was always in a permanent structure of some kind.
As previously noted, meals were prepared for us most of the time. A lot of rice and beans. A lot of chicken. Some beef and fish and goat. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage were common, and sometimes there was some corn mixed in for variety. The most consistent vegetable was some kind of leafy green, shredded and boiled into a mush. One day at lunch, the cook kindly prepared fried termites. I couldn't NOT try them, and can honestly say the flavor is not conducive to my making them a regular part of my diet. On the weekends we frequented a few restaurants, usually Indian or Thai food. Overall the food really was quite good and there was plenty of it. Though I was never hungry for extended periods, I still managed to lose a few pounds. They're creeping back, so I think that rules out an intestinal parasite as the cause of the weight loss.
Originally, my mission was expected to be about three months total. It was extended a bit to account for the actual arrival date of my replacement, and then extended again so I could visit some field sites on behalf of the workshop. In the end, it was five months from when I left NYC to when I returned. I spent most of October travelling to four different projects around South Sudan. This was great because it allowed me to see how field projects really operate while also letting me see very different parts of the country. I visited the Jamam refugee camp in the northeast, Wau and Raja in the west, Agok in the central north, and Yambio in the south. While much of the geography I saw was scrubby grassland, Yambio was exceptional in that it is much rainforesty and the climate is significantly cooler. They have HUGE trees there. I did not get a picture of one, but I found one on Flickr here.
In general, we were discouraged from taking pictures too freely in public, and never around government buildings. At two field sites, I was told photos were simply forbidden outside the MSF compounds. Nevertheless, I managed to snap several hundred photos during my 4.5 months in the country. I narrowed these down to 165 "favorites", which you can view here.
After leaving South Sudan, I had to pass through Geneva for debriefing. Not wanting to waste a trip to Europe, I spent a few days in Switzerland visiting my friends Martin and Hanna, a couple of days in Milan visiting an MSF friend, and a couple of days in London at Mollie and James' flat.
When I finally made it back to the U.S., I visited friends in New York and Connecticut for several days before driving to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with family in Black Mountain (outside of Asheville). I then drove back to Dallas in time for Joe Paradise's 2nd birthday, and a week later went to an ice sculpture exhibit with my sister and her fam. Otherwise I've been laying low in Big D, visiting with friends and family, going to yoga or fitting in a run or bike ride, catching up on sleep and TV, and trying to keep myself busy when I feel up for it.
I already heard from MSF that they may have another mission in the works for me, but I won't know any more until after the holidays have passed. I have no idea when or where I will go, but I am looking forward to another adventure!
