last weeks in k-town

The last month of living in Khartoum were clearly busy because I never had a chance to post anything. It was bitter sweet leaving and I hope to return in a few years to visit the many wonderful friends I made there.
Here are some pics of my final month. A last trip to the souk, a trip to dubai for the day and goodbyes to my sudanese
MaSalaama!

video of cool plant

so this is the plant that closes up when you touch it. check it out! (this was also on Tutti Island)

Tutti Island Pics

Here are pictures of us among the mango tree forest and farms.

Look what I found

So it has been busy the past month. I was on spring break and now I'm busy interviewing for a job next year.
It's the final 4 weeks of school and for all the teacher's out there you can understand what that means! Crazy busy crazy!
I'm feeling bitter/sweet about leaving Khartoum. It's been my home for the past 2 years and I know it will be culture shock when I return to the U.S. I have made wonderful friends here and I enjoy the pace of things here. People are very kind and when it isn't insanely hot its a fun place to explore.
I walked around campus the other day to take some photos and also find the banana tree I heard was growing on campus. I couldn't believe over the last couple years I have walked by the tree and never realized it was there. And it has bananas!

A few weeks before spring break I went to the 'beach' on the nile. It was a more secluded area along the nile and a group of us when to hang out, swim, smoke sheesha and have a good time. I had a blast. I swam in the nile and it felt like a beach day.

A week before I had gone to Tutti Island for a morning walk with some of my colleagues. Tutti island is mostly farms and it feels like the countryside even though Khartoum is just across the Nile. We walked through Mango tree forests and lemon/lime tree farms. It was so peaceful. We also stopped at a local restaurant and had some coffee/tea and sheesha. Tutti island used to be only accessible by boat but they recently finished a bridge which will sadly change the landscape to be more commercial. They plan to build resort type buildings so folks can enjoy the nile from the opposite side of Khartoum and in a few years who knows if the farms will still exist. For a place with not a lot of green space that is a real loss.

Merowe Pyramids!!

This was the weekend. We drove 4 hours north to see the pyramids of Merowe. It was so amazing. We camped among the ruins and walked over to the pyramids to take pictures and enjoy the sights. The camping trip was fun and about 30 faculty members came on the trip. We had a campfire, guitars and sing alongs and sheesha pipes. There was also a dust storm in the middle of the night so my original plan to sleep outside didn't work for long. The night started out clear with out a moon so you could see so many stars. Then the wind started to pick up and soon I could constantly feel the sand grit in my teeth. So I went back to my tent which actually had started to blow away. We had to turn the tent so the door faced the wind that way it wouldn't get blown over. Those were some strong winds! The dust storm made it so that in the morning the sun was not as intense...since dust was still hanging low in the air. It was a great trip and here are some fun pictures from the weekend.

desert camping

So last week we tried to go to Meroe to see the pyramids. I went with a small group (Connelly's and Jon) and we drove up north a couple hours. When we got to a checkpoint and gave them our passports we were denied entry. No matter the negotiations they wouldn't let us pass. Somehow we didn't have the right permits even though we checked with our security liason before leaving. So after an hour of that we drove 1/2 way back to Khartoum and camped near the cool rock mountains.

It was sooooo wonderful to get out of the city. I forget how much I love to just be in nature, in the quiet away from noise and buildings and lots of people. It was a full moon so the night was bright and there were cool rocks everywhere for us to climb. We had fun with the slow shutter speed camera, a tripod and flashlights. Check out the pictures!

We will try for Meroe again, in 2 weeks. This time with the correct permits!
As we say here in Khartoum...you never have an adventure unless you leave he house! How true it is~

Nuba Wrestlers!

A couple weeks ago we had Nuba Wrestlers at our school for Sudan Days. The object is to get your opponent off of thier feet. If you knees or any part of your body above your knees touch the ground you lose!
It was exciting to watch the cheering/singing/dancing squad that accompanied the wrestlers as well. In between matches there was song and dance which was equally entertaining.

Check out the pictures and videos attatched. (In the video Rowan appears at the end and we get to see him doing his favorite pastime...drinking water from my water bottle!)

More Thailand Pics

Thailand and 2010

So its been a minute since I last blogged. Between the end of the semester and traveling over the Holidays I have been very busy.

So I was in Thailand for a job fair at the beginning of January. The job fair was a stressful and very informative event. I met some interesting schools had some interviews but not with a job at a school I really wanted to go to. So I'm still undecided about where I will end up next year. Could be Khartoum for another year...could be another country...or back home in Philly!

But Thailand was amazing and I definitely want to go back to visit...just to visit! People were genuinely friendly and happy. It was green! The city of Bangkok was busy with many buildings and traffic but the landscaping the city has done is amazing. There were flowers and vines and trees all over I didn't mind that it was a bustling city.
And the street food. OMG! Delicious and inexpensive and doesn't make you sick. One morning I went out and had tiny hardboiled eggs and coconut pancakes. I think I could live there just based on the fact that they have coconut everything and I LOVE coconut!

I saw a few temples and rode the sky train and went to Jim Thompon's house (who collected much Thai art and supported and preserved the silk making factories). Ill post pictures so you can get a sense of the sights and sounds of Bangkok.