March 7, 2012

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Addis Ababa!

My time here is running short. Tomorrow is my last full day and then Friday I head to the airport in the morning and back to South Sudan. Prayerfully I will make it to Malakal on Friday as there are possible visa challenges and/or flight challenges facing me once I make it to Juba. Actually, the first challenge will be at the airport when I find out if the visa that was obtained for me in Malakal before I began my journey at the end of February will be sufficient to get me back into South Sudan in the first place. This is a good time to remember to eat breakfast, have a cuppa joe, and stay calm. I also need to remember to pack my scissors in the check in bag and not accidentally leave them in my carry on this time! I’ve lost a good metal nail file and a good pair of small scissors in the last few months by forgetting to pack them in the right place.

Tomorrow is my last day in Addis until June when I plan to pass through here on my way back to the states for about three months. I’ll only be in Addis for maybe two days, long enough to be sure that I won’t have problems with connecting flights and to pick up extra luggage that is packed and ready to go back to Seattle from Addis.

I plan to return to South Sudan in early September and may not be returning to Addis until December for Christmas. So tomorrow will be a day of good byes and packing. I am allowed 30 kilos going on Ethiopian Airlines from Addis to Malakal. I really do hope that the flight through to Malakal is still happening. If I have to take a local South Sudanese carrier such as Kush from Juba to Malakal I have a feeling that I won’t be allowed 30 kilos and then I am going to have to figure out how to approach that challenge. It may be that I’ll be knocking on the gate at the Mission Aviation Fellowship in Juba asking them to deliver my 30 kilo suitcase to Malakal on the next flight that they take there!

So, packing, good byes and last minute eating of things-that-I-cannot-eat-in Malkal are first and foremost on my list for tomorrow. We are enjoying a pan of Giralldi (probably the wrong spelling) brownies here since yesterday. Oh my gosh are they good! I think I am going to bring some back with me in September because I am pretty sure I can cook them in the solar cooker I plan to bring back with me.

This has been a good R & R and I feel more ready to begin life in my new house in Malakal now. This will be the first time I will be facing a full three month stretch there and in the midst of it the rainy season will begin. As I am gaining experience in living in a town that is so different from anyplace I’ve ever lived before my confidence is increasing in terms of handling the different situations that arise. I’ve had some practice now with using a charcoal stove so I know that I can make that flame again that will light the charcoal and I should be able to get it hot enough to get water boiled. The more the successes with everyday life the less dramatic the failures are. I still cannot envision life without a sink and yet that life is coming in about two days!
Blessings,
Debbie