Also, thought I'd post some more random pictures of Sudan. Enjoy!
The guesthouse where I live
A view of Juba from the Jebel (big hill)
Little to no infrastructure
Road between project sites
And my favorite, a road in Juba during the rainy season
Sunday, February 10, 2008
pictures and a white onion
Two highlights of my week: live music by a Congolese band (including 4 ladies dancing in pink sparkly spandex outfits), and finding white onions in the market. This may not seem like a big deal, but usually there are only small, red onions that are very strong. But a white onion, oh boy! To celebrate I made green bean salad with a vinigarette. Yummy. This week was quite busy. A few 16 hour days, and I worked both days this weekend. I can't WAIT until we hire additional staff. I have an R&R coming up in the beginning of March and need to figure out where to go. Mozambique? Paris? Zanzibar? Madagascar? What's your vote?
A view of Juba from the Jebel (big hill)Little to no infrastructureRoad between project sitesAnd my favorite, a road in Juba during the rainy season
A view of Juba from the Jebel (big hill)
Little to no infrastructureRoad between project sitesAnd my favorite, a road in Juba during the rainy season
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Petunia is back in Paradise
Hello everyone, there's been a bit of a lapse since the last posting, but never fear, Petunia is back in Paradise. I have spent lots of time on planes and in airports during the past month, and instead of doing something productive, for my own amusement I decided to tally up the number of countries I've visited each year over the past few years. Had to consult the passport for a few of them. So here's the list, not including the US:
2003: 7
2004: 9
2005: 6
2006: 6
2007: 5
and for this year, 2008, I've been to 4 so far, and it's only been 1 month!!! Don't even start asking how many hours I've spent traveling.
It's strange, Juba actually feels like home now - I felt like I was coming back to my life. Actually having someone to come back to also helps, but I missed my friends, my clothes (was wearing my Mom's clothes for most of my vacation), and the now-familiar sights and sounds. There's also a ton of work to be done, and thankfully I have the energy to push out a lot of the planning necessary for the beginning of the year's activities, of which there are millions.
Juba is no longer the "lush" and "green" place I described in my first post. The dry season has arrived in all its dusty glory and everything is covered with a fine coat of reddish silt. To examine the contents of this substance is not something I'm prepared to do, as it's probably a nasty mixture of dirt, maram, sand, sediment from burning garbage, ash from burning the grasses by the side of the road, and a good measure of feces that I will have to pretend I'm not breathing in for the next few months until the rainy season returns (May? June? we'll see). To drive around Juba is like driving through a dust storm, and it gets particularly tricky at night when it's like driving through fog there's so much dust in the air. Luckily, the tarmac road which connects the ministries is halfway done. So the MPs can race around and everyone in town who doesn't actually know how to drive or deal with vehicles moving faster than 30 kph just gets into accidents. Joy. Maybe someone should look into installing speed bumps...
Much love and here's to a happy AND HEALTHY 2008!
2003: 7
2004: 9
2005: 6
2006: 6
2007: 5
and for this year, 2008, I've been to 4 so far, and it's only been 1 month!!! Don't even start asking how many hours I've spent traveling.
It's strange, Juba actually feels like home now - I felt like I was coming back to my life. Actually having someone to come back to also helps, but I missed my friends, my clothes (was wearing my Mom's clothes for most of my vacation), and the now-familiar sights and sounds. There's also a ton of work to be done, and thankfully I have the energy to push out a lot of the planning necessary for the beginning of the year's activities, of which there are millions.
Juba is no longer the "lush" and "green" place I described in my first post. The dry season has arrived in all its dusty glory and everything is covered with a fine coat of reddish silt. To examine the contents of this substance is not something I'm prepared to do, as it's probably a nasty mixture of dirt, maram, sand, sediment from burning garbage, ash from burning the grasses by the side of the road, and a good measure of feces that I will have to pretend I'm not breathing in for the next few months until the rainy season returns (May? June? we'll see). To drive around Juba is like driving through a dust storm, and it gets particularly tricky at night when it's like driving through fog there's so much dust in the air. Luckily, the tarmac road which connects the ministries is halfway done. So the MPs can race around and everyone in town who doesn't actually know how to drive or deal with vehicles moving faster than 30 kph just gets into accidents. Joy. Maybe someone should look into installing speed bumps...
Much love and here's to a happy AND HEALTHY 2008!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Race vs. Gender in US Politics
This Op-Ed column in the New York Times today by Gloria Steinem is particularly poignant and good for deepening the healthy debate going on in the US right now about gender and race. At least someone in the media finally said it.
Also, I want to state for the record that I haven't made up my mind about the Democratic Party candidates. However, since I'm registered to vote in New York as independent, I can't vote in the primaries. Which bothers me this time around, but at this point it's too late and I would have to vote absentee anyway.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
January 8, 2008
New York Times
Op-Ed Contributor
Women Are Never Front-Runners
By GLORIA STEINEM
THE woman in question became a lawyer after some years as a community organizer, married a corporate lawyer and is the mother of two little girls, ages 9 and 6. Herself the daughter of a white American mother and a black African father — in this race-conscious country, she is considered black — she served as a state legislator for eight years, and became an inspirational voice for national unity. Be honest: Do you think this is the biography of someone who could be elected to the United States Senate? After less than one term there, do you believe she could be a viable candidate to head the most powerful nation on earth? If you answered no to either question, you're not alone. Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House. This country is way down the list of countries electing women and, according to one study, it polarizes gender roles more than the average democracy. That's why the Iowa primary was following our historical pattern of making change. Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women (with the possible exception of obedient family members in the latter). If the lawyer described above had been just as charismatic but named, say, Achola Obama instead of Barack Obama, her goose would have been cooked long ago. Indeed, neither she nor Hillary Clinton could have used Mr. Obama's public style — or Bill Clinton's either — without being considered too emotional by Washington pundits. So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects "only" the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more "masculine" for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren't too many of them); and because there is still no "right" way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what. I'm not advocating a competition for who has it toughest. The caste systems of sex and race are interdependent and can only be uprooted together. That's why Senators Clinton and Obama have to be careful not to let a healthy debate turn into the kind of hostility that the news media love. Both will need a coalition of outsiders to win a general election. The abolition and suffrage movements progressed when united and were damaged by division; we should remember that. I'm supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country's talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule. I'm not opposing Mr. Obama; if he's the nominee, I'll volunteer. Indeed, if you look at votes during their two-year overlap in the Senate, they were the same more than 90 percent of the time. Besides, to clean up the mess left by President Bush, we may need two terms of President Clinton and two of President Obama. But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex. What worries me is that she is accused of "playing the gender card" when citing the old boys' club, while he is seen as unifying by citing civil rights confrontations. What worries me is that male Iowa voters were seen as gender-free when supporting their own, while female voters were seen as biased if they did and disloyal if they didn't. What worries me is that reporters ignore Mr. Obama's dependence on the old — for instance, the frequent campaign comparisons to John F. Kennedy, though Senator Edward Kennedy is supporting Senator Clinton — while not challenging the slander that her progressive policies are part of the Washington status quo. What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age. This country can no longer afford to choose our leaders from a talent pool limited by sex, race, money, powerful fathers and paper degrees. It's time to take equal pride in breaking all the barriers. We have to be able to say: "I'm supporting her because she'll be a great president and because she's a woman." Gloria Steinem is a co-founder of the Women's Media Center.
Also, I want to state for the record that I haven't made up my mind about the Democratic Party candidates. However, since I'm registered to vote in New York as independent, I can't vote in the primaries. Which bothers me this time around, but at this point it's too late and I would have to vote absentee anyway.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08steinem.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
January 8, 2008
New York Times
Op-Ed Contributor
Women Are Never Front-Runners
By GLORIA STEINEM
THE woman in question became a lawyer after some years as a community organizer, married a corporate lawyer and is the mother of two little girls, ages 9 and 6. Herself the daughter of a white American mother and a black African father — in this race-conscious country, she is considered black — she served as a state legislator for eight years, and became an inspirational voice for national unity. Be honest: Do you think this is the biography of someone who could be elected to the United States Senate? After less than one term there, do you believe she could be a viable candidate to head the most powerful nation on earth? If you answered no to either question, you're not alone. Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House. This country is way down the list of countries electing women and, according to one study, it polarizes gender roles more than the average democracy. That's why the Iowa primary was following our historical pattern of making change. Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot, and generally have ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women (with the possible exception of obedient family members in the latter). If the lawyer described above had been just as charismatic but named, say, Achola Obama instead of Barack Obama, her goose would have been cooked long ago. Indeed, neither she nor Hillary Clinton could have used Mr. Obama's public style — or Bill Clinton's either — without being considered too emotional by Washington pundits. So why is the sex barrier not taken as seriously as the racial one? The reasons are as pervasive as the air we breathe: because sexism is still confused with nature as racism once was; because anything that affects males is seen as more serious than anything that affects "only" the female half of the human race; because children are still raised mostly by women (to put it mildly) so men especially tend to feel they are regressing to childhood when dealing with a powerful woman; because racism stereotyped black men as more "masculine" for so long that some white men find their presence to be masculinity-affirming (as long as there aren't too many of them); and because there is still no "right" way to be a woman in public power without being considered a you-know-what. I'm not advocating a competition for who has it toughest. The caste systems of sex and race are interdependent and can only be uprooted together. That's why Senators Clinton and Obama have to be careful not to let a healthy debate turn into the kind of hostility that the news media love. Both will need a coalition of outsiders to win a general election. The abolition and suffrage movements progressed when united and were damaged by division; we should remember that. I'm supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country's talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule. I'm not opposing Mr. Obama; if he's the nominee, I'll volunteer. Indeed, if you look at votes during their two-year overlap in the Senate, they were the same more than 90 percent of the time. Besides, to clean up the mess left by President Bush, we may need two terms of President Clinton and two of President Obama. But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex. What worries me is that she is accused of "playing the gender card" when citing the old boys' club, while he is seen as unifying by citing civil rights confrontations. What worries me is that male Iowa voters were seen as gender-free when supporting their own, while female voters were seen as biased if they did and disloyal if they didn't. What worries me is that reporters ignore Mr. Obama's dependence on the old — for instance, the frequent campaign comparisons to John F. Kennedy, though Senator Edward Kennedy is supporting Senator Clinton — while not challenging the slander that her progressive policies are part of the Washington status quo. What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age. This country can no longer afford to choose our leaders from a talent pool limited by sex, race, money, powerful fathers and paper degrees. It's time to take equal pride in breaking all the barriers. We have to be able to say: "I'm supporting her because she'll be a great president and because she's a woman." Gloria Steinem is a co-founder of the Women's Media Center.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Travel and Iodized Salt consumption
Today the first ever Sudan Household Health Survey report was officially launched - this is the first research study of its kind encompasing all of Sudan since 1983. While the statistics were staggeringly horrible (the only health indicator that is stronger in the South than in the North is iodized salt consumption), the launch event itself was absolutely hilarious. Keep in mind that this was a high-level, Ministry of Health/Government event which was attended by the Vice President of Southern Sudan, Ministries, consulates, UN officials, NGOs, etc.
In the echoey main hall of the Beijing Juba Hotel, the dissemination started with a reception where printouts of graphs showing the indicators by state with labels hand-drawn in red marker were taped to the walls . Local artist John Junub lip-synched songs he had written with themes drawn from the health indicators being presented while 5 men in work attire plus one kid in a torn t-shirt danced on the stage next to him.
The ceremony started with a procession by all the VIPs. The opening remarks were all "Your Excellency" this, and "Your Excellency" that, and then the MC asked all the VIPs, who up until this point were all sitting at a panelist table facing the audience, to move chairs into the audience so they could see the Power Point Presentation that was prepared. At which time 2 chinese men hastily hoised up a white bedsheet with lengths of blue wire, which then hung lopsidedly between two pillars. A Power Point Presentation graced with cheezy clip art projected on the sheet which awkwardly billowed from the air of the ceiling fans. Awesome.
But in all seriousness, it is fabulous that this report is out, because now we can base our program design on solid reseach and hopefully measure progress, i.e. whether or not the work we are doing is effective compared to the data in this baseline.
The normal questions that you get asked every day by every expat you meet here in Juba have recently changed! The famous list of 3, which you cannot have a conversation without either asking or being asked,
1. Where are you from?
2. Who do you work for?
3. How long are you going to be in Juba?
has been replaced with simply "When are you leaving for the holidays?"
And when am I leaving for the holdiays? TOMORROW!!!!! Booyah. Nairobi tomorrow where I get to see the boy (he's from Nairobi originally), flight to London Thursday, and back in NY on Friday. Where I will go almost immediately to see Stefan, the hairdresser extroardinaire (my Mom has been getting her hair done there since I was 10. It's a family legacy at this point). Can you tell that I'm excited?
For those of you who care, here is my schedule for the next few weeks so you can make your holiday plans. Because the world does revolve around me, after all (j/k!):
12/21-22: NYC
12/22-23: Reading, PA (holiday party with 80 of my closest relatives)
12/24-12/30: Pawling NY & NYC
12/30-1/1: Washington, DC
1/1-1/8: Santiago, Chile (for Katina and Renzo's wedding - can't wait!!!)
1/9-1/10: Nairobi
1/10: Juba
And with that, I will say bon voyage and leave you with some pictures. And the jealousy of realizing how many frequent flyer miles I will accumulate over the next 3 weeks.
1. Normal road conditions in Juba
2. Road between Juba and Torit Junction (notice the rusty vehicle on the right - landmine casualty)
3. SPLA Soldier stationed in Juba
4. Barracks (village) where SPLA soldiers are stationed at Torit Junction.
2. Road between Juba and Torit Junction (notice the rusty vehicle on the right - landmine casualty)3. SPLA Soldier stationed in Juba4. Barracks (village) where SPLA soldiers are stationed at Torit Junction.
5. Nuer man at Torit Junction
Peace
Petunia
Thursday, December 13, 2007
mushroom farming
How mushrooms are farmed in Kisumu, Kenya was explained to me yesterday and I thought it was pretty darn cool:
1. Lay an empty pint-size whiskey bottle on its side. Cut a piece off of a mushroom, and rub it on or place it on a piece of agar (the substance that's inside petri dishes). Place the mushroom spore agar inside the bottle. After awhile, you will begin to see spores growing on the agar.
2. Once the spores cover the piece of agar, scoop it out of the bottle and mix several pieces of the mushroom-agar into a 5-kilo bag of millet that has been soaked in water. The spores will feed even more off of the millet, and you'll see them multiplying like crazy.
3. Take a 4-foot piece of plastic sheeting and roll it together, making a tube. Fill the bottom with banana leaves, cassava leaves, dirt, etc - basically compost or detritus. Pour several bags of the mushroom spore millet into the tube. Take a large sterilized knife and make cuts all over the plastic tube.
4. Mushrooms will begin growing out the sides of the tube where you made the cuts. Harvest and enjoy!
1. Lay an empty pint-size whiskey bottle on its side. Cut a piece off of a mushroom, and rub it on or place it on a piece of agar (the substance that's inside petri dishes). Place the mushroom spore agar inside the bottle. After awhile, you will begin to see spores growing on the agar.
2. Once the spores cover the piece of agar, scoop it out of the bottle and mix several pieces of the mushroom-agar into a 5-kilo bag of millet that has been soaked in water. The spores will feed even more off of the millet, and you'll see them multiplying like crazy.
3. Take a 4-foot piece of plastic sheeting and roll it together, making a tube. Fill the bottom with banana leaves, cassava leaves, dirt, etc - basically compost or detritus. Pour several bags of the mushroom spore millet into the tube. Take a large sterilized knife and make cuts all over the plastic tube.
4. Mushrooms will begin growing out the sides of the tube where you made the cuts. Harvest and enjoy!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
typhoid schmyphoid
So I flew to Nairobi on Saturday because I had been sick for a few days and it wasn't getting better with Amoxicilin.
I have been dating someone, and he took fabulous care of me while I was sick. Brought me food, brought me back to the clinic, stayed with me until my fever broke, drove me to the airport. There are good guys in the world after all!
Oh yeah, and I tested positive for typhoid on a rapid test kit. Whoopsies! But no worries, I went to a hospital here in Nairobi, they did tests on my blood and other bodily fluids which I will not mention here, and the typhoid was not enough for them to diagnose me, but it was a pretty nasty viral infection. So I'm souped up on Cipro and feeling fine now. And the moral of the story? Go to the clinic the FIRST time I get sick (remember, back in October?) instead of self-diagnosing and self-medicating and having the same thing come back a month later. Duh.
So I'm in Nairobi for the next week, until I fly back to the states on the 20th. I'm staying with a colleague of mine that works in our Nairobi office, and I have to say it was really nice to recuperate in a place with a down comforter and a bathtub.
OH and remember the guy twirling the 6-foot baton up the road in Juba from a couple weeks ago? I forgot to mention that I saw him again twirling his baton on World AIDS Day. Turns out he is the leader of a brass marching band that played that day. I almost fell over when I saw that. Sometimes there is order to the universe and things do make sense - they're just not revealed to us initially.
I have been dating someone, and he took fabulous care of me while I was sick. Brought me food, brought me back to the clinic, stayed with me until my fever broke, drove me to the airport. There are good guys in the world after all!
Oh yeah, and I tested positive for typhoid on a rapid test kit. Whoopsies! But no worries, I went to a hospital here in Nairobi, they did tests on my blood and other bodily fluids which I will not mention here, and the typhoid was not enough for them to diagnose me, but it was a pretty nasty viral infection. So I'm souped up on Cipro and feeling fine now. And the moral of the story? Go to the clinic the FIRST time I get sick (remember, back in October?) instead of self-diagnosing and self-medicating and having the same thing come back a month later. Duh.
So I'm in Nairobi for the next week, until I fly back to the states on the 20th. I'm staying with a colleague of mine that works in our Nairobi office, and I have to say it was really nice to recuperate in a place with a down comforter and a bathtub.
OH and remember the guy twirling the 6-foot baton up the road in Juba from a couple weeks ago? I forgot to mention that I saw him again twirling his baton on World AIDS Day. Turns out he is the leader of a brass marching band that played that day. I almost fell over when I saw that. Sometimes there is order to the universe and things do make sense - they're just not revealed to us initially.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
What are you going to name your teddy bear?
Personally, I prefer the name Petunia.
My favorite quote from the teacher's muslim colleague on naming a class teady bear Mohammed, a name chosen by the students: "I know Gillian and she would never have meant it as an insult. I was just impressed that she got them to vote."
In other news, for the past several weeks I have been working with the coordinating AIDS body to organize the World AIDS Day event in Juba, and it finally happened this past Saturday. Here's a couple pictures I took at the event - the man at the podium is Salva Kiir, the president of Southern Sudan, and to his right is Riek Machar, the Vice President of "Emma's War" fame.
Despite all the stress of event planning, the day went fine. Not as many people were there as we had hoped, but that was mostly due to the fact that security guards at the entrance to the stadium had closed the doors and were not letting anyone in or out because the president was there. They let me through because I'm a Kawaja, but even our own staff had problems getting in. So unless they came at the very beginning, members of the community, who the event was really for, were kept away. Gotta love Sudan.
Also, in commemoration of World AIDS Day, we had a special Hash on Saturday. For those of you who don't know, the Hash House Harriers is a drinking club with a running problem where you join the pack of hounds (runners) to chase down the trail set by the hares (other runners), then gather together for refreshment, humor, and song. If it sounds like a fraternity, it sometimes leans in that direction. But it's all good. Great fun and exercise too! So I helped set the trail this past week (which by the way was lovely - started in Juba Town, ran by the WFP compound through the field next to the airport and then looped around back through UNMIS) and then conducted a condom demonstration for the group afterwards. Expats need to know how to use condoms correctly too! It was a hit - funny, and people kept coming up to me all weekend long saying "I heard about your show and tell".
NB: we have all our wooden penis models made by woodworkers in the local market. It's all about supporting the local businesses baby.
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