From Khartoum

Hey there!

We have been in Khartoum going on three weeks -- sorry for not updating sooner. We have been quite busy with everything that moving to a foreign country implies. We've also had to jump right into our new jobs. We have several large evaluations and deadlines coming up in the next couple of weeks, so I had to get moving on those. I am going to travel to the field locations as soon as all the appropriate paper work comes through (we need a stay/permanent visa and an internal travel permit). My first trip will be in the Nuba mountains, about 8 hours drive south of Khartoum. Second on the list is Renk, where there is a project that assists IDPs returning to the south. I will also be going to the IDP camps around Khartoum in the next little while. A trip to Darfur is tentatively scheduled early in the new year.

Mark Simmons (FAR country director) had found a home for us before we arrived, so it was nice to be able to settle right in. We actually arrived at 2 AM, so we were quite disoriented. When the call to morning prayer rang out at 5:30 AM from the nearby mosque, I woke up completely disoriented and wondered what that eerie singing was.... Our place is a very nice house in Riyad (a region of Khartoum. Riyad means garden in Arabic. I wouldn't exactly call it that), within a 5 minute walk of the FAR office. We actually have quite a bit of room in our place because an expat (Melanie Murphy, from a previous IPMP year) who is based in Renk has a room that she will use when she comes to Khartoum for R&R.

We have started to adjust to the heat. Apparently this time of year isn't too bad. So I'm told, but I didn't quite believe it on those few days that we were up to the mid 40s. Right now, it mostly hovers around high 30s during the days and down to low 30s at night. The hottest it has been so far is 46C. I have had more trouble adjusting to the dust. My nose has been constantly plugged up, and I don't like being able to only wear shirts once before they need to be cleaned again.

Both Emily and I are starting to get our bearings with our work at FAR. Emily is working in Communications (and a bit of HR) -- a position that is new to FAR, but they are really trying to work on Marketing and public image, so they have brought her on to help with that. I am working on M&E -- something that hasn't really been done in a long time. Mostly the monitoring that has happened here is ensuring the completion of activities. For the most part, no one is following higher levels of objectives (outputs and outcomes) to ensure that we are having a positive effect at those levels. That's what I will be doing....

We've started driving, which has been interesting. People here drive as though there were (a) no rules, (b) they are the only ones on the road. I'm sure other people's experience has been similar. It is very different driving -- I can see myself picking up some terrible driving habits...

I've been very surprised at how expensive living in Khartoum is. Most things are imported, and with heavy import duties, restrictions, etc they become quite expensive (coffee is extremely expensive, which is surprising. I really like to drink coffee, but will have to cut back on my consumption). Beer and other booze, unfortunately, is priceless. The British embassy has occassional pub nights. We went last week, because my boss, being a Brit and a good networker, gets invited to these events. Networking pays off for more than just finding employment.

Emily and I are planning on spending Christmas in Ethiopia (pending being able to find a flight at this late date). It will be nice to get together with Jordan, to get a break from the heat, and to be able to buy some beer and coffee. We are thinking of going from Addis to Djibouti for a few days to hit the beach there...

Over all, I have been happy so far (pun intended). Mark, along with his family, and Chuck (finance director, a Canadian) have done a good job of welcoming, orienting, and helping us get settled (at home and at work).

I'll be posting pictures of our place on my facebook page -- check it out (I'm too lazy to post them on facebook and here. And the internet is too slow to post them on both places)....

Tim.