Christmas and on and on and on and on....

Dear Friends,
Greetings! I had a very lovely Christmas Day. I worshipped at the Pentecostal service first and then spent the day and evening with a fellow teacher from the college, his family and another family from the compound where they live. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. I so enjoyed talking with four other adults about all sorts of topics, staying at the table after an awesome banquet and relaxing.

People do seem to have trouble imagining what to cook for me as I am a vegetarian. Magda made me macaroni and cheese. Little did she know that this is one of my most favorite dishes in the whole world! She was worried about how it would turn out but it was absolutely wonderful! And the vegetable dish was raw tomatoes, cucumbers, onions mixed with oil, lemon juice and salt. It is very interesting not to have cooked vegetables as a dish -- and I just realized that is a lovely contrast to the vegetables in China which were always cooked. Even salads.

The family had gone all out for special treats for Christmas. We were treated to beautifully colored and frosted cookies and sweets that I cannot describe adequately because they are not like we have in the United States. They had a tree up and the house was very cozy in spite of the weather outside not being cold.

The conversation was quite interesting to me. I have now found out that when I ask an African or an Arab where they are from they will tell me about their ancestral home. Unlike in the United States when I am asked where I am from I will say Seattle and not England, Scotland and Ireland. Or sometimes people will say they were born in Portland, Oregon but grew up in Seattle. It seems to be that in the US we think of where I am from as the same thing as where I live. This is not so in African cultures. So I learned that there is a distinct difference between "where I live" and "where I am from".

Other things which came up and which I am still sorting through trying to reach a semblance of understanding is that of refugee status. It seems to me that in the states people do not remain refugees. They seem to become citizens. Here in Sudan there are people who were born here but are still considered citizens of another country because that is where their parents came from. I believe that this is also the case in Palestinian refugee camps in places like Jordan. In that case I believe that the refugees will not give up their refugee status because they do not want to abdicate their right of return to Palestine. In Sudan it is somewhat a different situation. There seem to be some countries where people do not become citizens. It appears that a Sudanese is someone whose family has always been here. People that come here from the outside are not Sudanese. I may have an incorrect understanding of this, if I found out that I do, I will be sure to update you, my readers!

There are people here with refugee status who have never left Sudan in their lives because to do that they could not return unless they become citizens of another country (like the US) and came back under the protection of that country. Then they are no longer refugees but that might affect their own right of return to their original ancestral lands. I need to check further into this...

Yesterday I rested. I was so worn out from Christmas that it took a day to recover! The woman who cleans the flat every couple of weeks showed up at last and cleaned it. Very nice to have the floors swept. I had to explain to her that if she is unable to come on a day that I am expecting her I need her to call and let me know. Otherwise I am stuck at home all day waiting for her. And if that happens more than twice I will need to find someone else to clean the house!

I have discovered an interesting and very nice thing here. When someone comes to the house/apartment and I ask for a ride to town (really about two long blocks away to shopping), people always want to take me around for the shopping and then bring me back to the apartment. It is so interesting! In the states I would ask for a ride somewhere and then be dropped off and that of course was what I expected here. But not so!

So this morning someone came by and I asked for a ride to the shopping. He ended up taking me to all the places and bringing me back, very nice. I am growing accustomed now to buying ful, the bean dish. It is very cheap and very good and I think very healthy. I bought ful and falafel so I will have plenty to eat for today and maybe tomorrow too. I also finally went into a sweet shop near a grocer where I can get yogurt. I found a lovely pastry with a date filling and bought half a kilo of those (I have absolutely no idea what a half a kilo actually is) and they are utterly delicious! After all the treats on Christmas I couldn't just go cold turkey!

I am currently reading a book called African Women: Three Generations about a granny, a mom and a daughter in South Africa during apartheid. It is grim. These are true stories about the family of the author. It helps me in understanding about African culture more and that is important for me right now.
Blessings,
Debbie