Time Flies By

I can’t believe that it’s already been a week since I went to Shendi. I visited some friends in Shendi last Friday. It’s about a 2.5  hour drive from Khartoum. It’s beautiful in parts. There is a stretch that is particularly green because the crops and trees get irrigation from the Nile River. It provided a stark contrast to the mostly rocky, brown landscape that we drove through most of the way. A series of what I imagine once were mountain ranges that have been ravaged by the wind and sun follow the road on both sides. There are arge potholes and huge speedbumps in some parts of the road; you arrive on them suddenly, without warning. I was riding in a 4WD but it still jolted when we went too quickly over some of them. The effect of the trucks carrying goods and pulling containers from Port Sudan is clear; the side of the road leading to Khartoum is markedly worst with cracks and tears in it.

An Eventful Week

16-10-08 Driving into the Sunset

Sunday started off with a visit by Ismail Ismail (800 m silver medal winner in Beijing) and Abubaker Kaki Khamis (World Junior 800m ) Ismail spoke enough English that he was able to field questions from the students. He was charismatic, smiling often as he answered questions posed by the students. He emphasized the importance of practice and training with the statement “train hard, win easy”. Both Ismail and Kaki wished the students success in their studies and told them that with practice, they can realize their dreams. They spent several hours at the school, taking the opportunity to race the students, to demonstrate running form (which they did with grace and elegance), to sign autographs and talk to students and staff. Their visit to the school was a wonderful experience for all. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2008/07/23/VI2008072301964.html and http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/contenders/story/2008/07/21/f-olympics-cont-athletics-m800m.html for related stories.

Ismail Ismail (800 m silver medal winner, Beijing)

Abubaker Kaki Kumis (800 m World Champion)

Monday night was a late night. I had some problems with my wordpress mu install at work and only got three hours of sleep that night. I was tempted to go out with some of the staff on Tuesday night but heeded my body’s needs and was in bed by 10. Plus I had Wednesday night, and our visit to Burj al-Fateh, to look forward to.

By Wednesday night, I’d caught up on some of my missed sleep and was in excellent form for ladies’ night out. We went for dinner at Burj al-Fateh, a new five star hotel near the Nile. I ordered hot chocolate and nachos. Although I wasn’t thrilled by the food, the guacamole was a nice treat (avocadoes are rare and expensive here). Next time, I’m having a ceasar salad. A friend ordered that and it was made with real iceberg lettuce, almost a full head. I think it’s well worth the $12 splurge (since I love ceasar salad). We explored the hotel after dinner. It was too dark to see the confluence of the Niles. I’d previously been to Burj al-Fateh in the daytime when you can see both Niles and their confluence. I didn’t have my camera then but I’m sure there will be other opportunities for a photo.

hot chocolate at Burj al-Fateh, the egg

Night out, Burj al-Fateh

M, in the elevator on our getaway from the top floor

On Friday, a couple of friends came over and we made bagels. They didn’t look beautiful but they smelt like bagels and tasted like bagels. We enjoyed them with pesto, good cheddar cheese (thanks Renee), and tomato slices. Desert was bagel with melted chocolate chunks. A successful day!

Art "Crawl"

A few friends and I went on an Art Crawl in Khartoum this evening. Ok, I use the term crawl loosely, since we only went to two art spots.

We first went to an Art Show featuring relief work, sculpting and painting by Sudanese artists. There were many interesting pieces. The best part of the experience however was chatting with the manager for the place. She told us about some workshops that she’s done with both Sudanese artists and children. The current ten day exhibition features the work of artist who were involved in an art workshop before Eid. The exhibition runs for 10 days, and the pieces are changed daily so that each work is displayed for at least one day. Opening night was last night. She expressed pleasure in the attendance last night, saying the gallery provides an opportunity for art appreciation that is too rarely provided in the Sudan. Even though she has sold few pieces, she considers the exhibition a success because it makes art accessible to others and provides an opportunity for families and children to come to a place where they can see art.

I’m looking forward to other exhibitions at this gallery. The manager seems to be involved in some great work with artists in general, as well as female artists in particular. She was the director of a women’s artist association for several years. I look forward to finding ways to support her work.

It seemed too early to end the night so we then went to Dabanga, a coffee shop and gift shop in Amarat. There are some beautiful pieces there, items from all over Africa that I have not seen in any other shops. The prices are above my budget, so I did a stroll through to appreciate some of the art and crafts from different parts of Africa.

We hadn’t spent any money on art so we were able to afford dinner. We went to Solitaire and had a great dinner and coffee before heading home. A great night out in Khartoum. We need to create more of these … Next week, english bookstore crawl in Khartoum.