That was the question my Southern Sudanese colleague asked me the other day over coffee. When I explained to her that in my culture, this is not necessary, her jaw dropped! "This is not right!" she said.
She told me that if I got married here, to a man from a Dinka tribe, I'd be worth about 250 cows due to my height. Taller women are expensive! The short ones "cost" about 100 cows.
The "Dowry system" here works in the way that the family of the man pays to the family of the wife. With cows, goats etc.
It is very interesting to be hearing these sort of things from the Sudanese culture. My colleague is as shocked as I am about this dowry/no dowry issue :)
What a world!!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Grabbing Boy
The other day I had the weirdest thing happen to me since I arrived here in Khartoum. This cute little kid, who was not older than three, came and latched on me for like 5 minutes and only let go when my colleague gave him money. It was a very strange way to beg and a very uncomfortable situation for me. I could see a woman, whom I assumed was the mother, giving him instructions from the side of the street and that made me a little upset. She mumbled words and made gestures to him. Neither one looked at my face. I felt really like a log! :)
As I tried to walk, with him attached to my leg like a little dog, I felt very bad for him and upset with the woman. It was hot; the little boy was dirty and stinky. He didn’t even try to speak with me, nor did he put out his hand or made a sad face as most street beggars do here. He simply grabbed my back pocket and then my leg until he got one pound.
So odd!
As I tried to walk, with him attached to my leg like a little dog, I felt very bad for him and upset with the woman. It was hot; the little boy was dirty and stinky. He didn’t even try to speak with me, nor did he put out his hand or made a sad face as most street beggars do here. He simply grabbed my back pocket and then my leg until he got one pound.
So odd!
Monday, May 11, 2009
La vie en dustland...
This weekend, I witnessed my first real sandstorm, aka Haboub. It was really difficult to stay and see outside. There were sand and trash flying all around! Inside the apartment, I also could smell the dust because it found its way in... It was crazy! The following day, my place looked like it was under construction.
The “Hahoub” ended within a few hours, but the dust is still in the air. I heard it will only go away when it rains. But it almost never rains here! One positive side of all this dust is that it blocks the sun. So it’s cool and dusty :)
Anyway, I also had a nice market experience on Saturday. I went to a local place with my friend and had lots of fun. I felt a lot like an outsider, but also felt welcomed and confortable in the area. 
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
A hot massage...
Since I had a terrible experience in a massage place in East Timor, I was hesitating to go to such places here in Khartoum. I am not a big fun of paying to be tortured. But I really felt like a massage this week so I asked my best friend to take me to this place that she had been going for a while for a Thai massage. I took a chance and didn’t get lucky :)
As soon as I get in the place, they ask for money (advance payment always, here!) and then I am told to go to room #4 and wait. The tone in the receptionist’s voice wasn’t so pleasant, but Sudanese in general are not very client oriented. I didn’t mind that so much and did as told. I get in the room, change into some extremely large pants and sit on the mattress on the floor -(the only thing in the room). A nice lady comes in a little bit later and as soon as she begins the massage, the lights go off. I immediately ask if they have a generator in that “spa” and shaking her head she says: “it’s broken Madame.” I thought to myself: “just my luck!”
What could have been a quite good experience (because the girl was actually from Thailand and a professional) turned out to be 30mins of a sweaty and “mosquitoey” session. I don’t think I have to repeat myself about the heat in Khartoum so I leave up to your imagination to picture the scene! I had paid for 1h, but I could only tolerate 30mins of it. I left a little annoyed, not surprised though. I came to a mission area, a place where hardship allowance is paid to us, so “pampering” is a luxury I shouldn’t have expected. :)
As soon as I get in the place, they ask for money (advance payment always, here!) and then I am told to go to room #4 and wait. The tone in the receptionist’s voice wasn’t so pleasant, but Sudanese in general are not very client oriented. I didn’t mind that so much and did as told. I get in the room, change into some extremely large pants and sit on the mattress on the floor -(the only thing in the room). A nice lady comes in a little bit later and as soon as she begins the massage, the lights go off. I immediately ask if they have a generator in that “spa” and shaking her head she says: “it’s broken Madame.” I thought to myself: “just my luck!”
What could have been a quite good experience (because the girl was actually from Thailand and a professional) turned out to be 30mins of a sweaty and “mosquitoey” session. I don’t think I have to repeat myself about the heat in Khartoum so I leave up to your imagination to picture the scene! I had paid for 1h, but I could only tolerate 30mins of it. I left a little annoyed, not surprised though. I came to a mission area, a place where hardship allowance is paid to us, so “pampering” is a luxury I shouldn’t have expected. :)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The Nubian region of Sudan...
This weekend, I went on my first excursion out of Khartoum. I joined a colleague who works at the Brazilian embassy and we took the “Bin Laden road” (BL fund the contruction of this road during the time he lived here in the 90s) to an area called “Mussawarat es-sufra”. It’s an area with ruins, temples and some pyramids. It was a 2 ½ hour drive north of Khartoum.
The pyramids here in Sudan are the “poor cousins” of the ones in Gyza, but I enjoyed seeing them. The heat was extreme in that area. The temperature must have been around 55C. The sand was getting inside my sandals and burning my feet, but I refused to ride the camel. It just isn't my kind of thing :) . My friend jokingly said that here in Sudan, there isn’t “one sun”, but “one sun for each person”. It’s really indescribable!
The pyramids here in Sudan are the “poor cousins” of the ones in Gyza, but I enjoyed seeing them. The heat was extreme in that area. The temperature must have been around 55C. The sand was getting inside my sandals and burning my feet, but I refused to ride the camel. It just isn't my kind of thing :) . My friend jokingly said that here in Sudan, there isn’t “one sun”, but “one sun for each person”. It’s really indescribable!
Anyway, the road was good for most of the time, but at some point we had to make a turn into the sandy area. It was like going on a safari, only with very limited types of animals to see. We just saw camels, donkeys and goats. It was a bumpy ride and the car got stuck in the sand, but it was just a scary minute. We managed to get it out.
We met a few people who lived in the communities around the temples and it amazed me that they were there. It’s hard to imagine that one can survive in such dry conditions…
Hope you enjoy the
pictures.
We met a few people who lived in the communities around the temples and it amazed me that they were there. It’s hard to imagine that one can survive in such dry conditions…
Hope you enjoy the
pictures. Thursday, April 9, 2009
My Birthday
It’s really true, time flies! Yesterday I turned 31. And I never thought I’d celebrate it in Africa! Wow! I am looking forward to the rest of my life! :)
Yesterday was a quite usual day for me. Not many people in the office knew it was my birthday and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Only a few colleagues wished me well. But I received plenty of messages and phone calls from my friends abroad to make up for it!
The sun was shining really strongly in Khartoum as usual. At 7:45am the temperature was about 105F and by noon it was already 115F, so I spent most of my day inside the office (with a/c). I had lunch with one of my Brazilian colleagues and at the end of the day, I went to the gym.
Afterwards, I had a very nice dinner at the Rotana with two other friends. I had the “Om Ali” dessert that I like so much, plus many many others! :)
Yesterday was a quite usual day for me. Not many people in the office knew it was my birthday and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Only a few colleagues wished me well. But I received plenty of messages and phone calls from my friends abroad to make up for it!
The sun was shining really strongly in Khartoum as usual. At 7:45am the temperature was about 105F and by noon it was already 115F, so I spent most of my day inside the office (with a/c). I had lunch with one of my Brazilian colleagues and at the end of the day, I went to the gym.
Afterwards, I had a very nice dinner at the Rotana with two other friends. I had the “Om Ali” dessert that I like so much, plus many many others! :)
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