Two weeks in Africa has already come and gone!
It seems like only last weekend we were visiting the Sphinx and Giza pyramids in Egypt. We feared our 22 hour layover would be spent in the airport to avoid any interaction with protests. We were really lucky to come across an agency thst appeared to be legit in order for us to do some exploring. The South Sudan volunteers, myself, Theresa, Pat and Mike and Taylor (Pat's beloved guitar) and a woman from Canada who was backpacking Africa all shared a private car and guide to show us around. The drive to the pyramids took us over the Nile and through the city of Cairo. 22 hours was definitely not long enough for us to really appreciate the beauty and culture of Egypt but it was a great preview.
My highlight of the night after our day out was hummus, a cold beer (Sakara) and a hot shower. That was my last hot shower but thanks to Nile Special malt it won'tbe my last brew! Phew! Another flight brought us to the capital of South Sudan, Juba. We spent a night there with current volunteer Tom. The next morning we embarked on our journey to Maridi. The trip was only 180 miles but would take 9 hours. Rest stations, right of way, lanes or paved roads for that matter are non existent here. The difficulty of the of the trip is attributed to crater-like holes in the middle of the road every hundred feet which are accented by smaller holes throughout. When we were warned about how difficult the trip was I underestimated the reality of what that meant. I was assuming the local people felt that we were feeble American women who could not handle a little dirt and a few bumps. I do not know if it was that or truly rough terrain but arriving at our compound was a feeling of relief I have never felt before.
We were welcomed to Maridi by Grace and Cait, the current volunteers, with open arms and smiles. Throughout the past two weeks they have been invaluable in showing us the ropes and helping us to understand and adjust the new culture we will be living in. They are truly amazing in all their success and knowledge in this place. Last year they were in our position without any previous volunteers to show them the way. They forged their own path and have made a lasting impression on the people here. I can only hope to have half of the impact that they have had on the people here when I leave next December. We have begun to build an amazing mission family together. The foundation has been made from laughter, love and MUD!!! The days since arriving have been packed with new experiences and adjustments. Most notably different is having no internet in my room and no washing machines and wearing skirts everyday. The cold water we use to shower, clean and drink must be pumped into a huge holding tank regularly or we will be without running water which I discovered only when I was preparing to shower and had no water. Doing laundry is not a 2 hour process in which you throw your clothes in the machine and wait. It is a process of soaking, scrubbing, rinsing and repeating all by hand followed by hanging on a line. What I have found and what has made me immensely proud of myself is that every aspect of my life is different but only certain ones are a struggle. At home I have all the modern convinces and American excess items I could ask for and here I am doing without 95% of them and doing well at that. I wore make up only once, which I sweat off immediately, and I never do my hair. There is no air conditioning, tons of bugs and no diversity in my diet, which are all stark contrasts to my reality in America. What I have learned more than patience in the past two weeks is how much more I have than I need. The children here have two sets of clothes, their uniforms and their play clothes. They have no concept of walking into a closet full of clothes and announcing that they have nothing to wear out that night. They do not have a cafeteria with food to scoff at during lunch or a subway down the street to replace the mystery "chicken" patties. The children plant, tend and harvest their own corn and beans so they can have lunch; putting them at two meals a day rather than one.
The idea of appreciation and hard work is embedded in these children and people because they do not have a Walgreens or Walmart down the street to fulfill their needs and unnecessary whims. These children do not drag themselves to school everyday to placate their parents they do it to give themselves a better option in life. They do so even though some have to walk an hour just to get here. In just two weeks I have been inspired by these children and people and can already tell that I will learn more from them in the next year than they could ever learn from me. Everyday since arriving has been a learning experience and I think that everyday coming forward will continue to be so. In the first week I learned more than anything that patience is not only a virtue but a necessity to surviving Africa. This patience is with others, with the systems around me and most of all with myself. Patience is mandatory when faced with washing all your mud caked clothes by hand and then hanging them to dry on a clothes line only to have the daily storm of the rainy season soak them again. Learning how school works when many of the students do not understand English and learning who the students are when there are 500 of them requires self discipline along with patience. 