Sorry Betty, I’m going to borrow from the email I sent you.
First a few pictures. My darling daughter Natalie who works for Tim Hortons sent me sent some Tim Hortons cups and the intrepid traveler Heba who went to Dongola with me brought me a humongous can of Tim Hortons coffee, so Jas and I had a cup one morning just like at home. Thanks to you, Nat, and Heba, for a little piece of Canada when I was feeling homesick and missing you all.
The second picture is my boss Tony, the former LAPD officer and Jas and I pretending to eat donuts. I haven’t seen a donut since getting to Sudan unfortunately (or fortunately maybe!) so we had to pretend to eat them with our Tim Horton’s.
Some of you mentioned my weight loss. I've lost at least 20 pounds, but I'm not alarmed, in fact I feel great. I don't have that much of an appetite; life doesn't revolve around food here. Very little junk food, much smaller portions, only a beer or two a day which won't kill me, lots of nice red wines in the PX but that's no big deal either, I only finished my first bottle on Sunday night and I had to share it with two others to do so. I came over here in the 190s in weight which is too heavy for me, but I knew I'd be losing weight so I overate a bit before leaving. I was 185 in Depot but most of my life I've been 175, this is my ideal weight. I feel great, did I mention that, I have so much more energy now, a spring in my step when I walk. I get out more, and am more active.
The third picture is a police vehicle stuck in the mud. When it rains here the ground gets really soft and the tires sink in pretty deep. I couldn’t get this one out with the four wheel drive but one of the Filipinos just jumped into it and drove it out no problem. Damn Filipinos. It was embarrassing.
The fourth picture is from a party Saturday night. Charles was in town for some medical attention and so we went to the container of a fellow Canadian Bill Kelly who is in charge of UN Security here (and in whose container Jas and I stayed for the first couple of weeks). Bill got this big Moosehead beer banner when he was home in Halifax and he plans to get all of us in front of it for a picture and send the picture to Moosehead beer and get two free cases of Moosehead beer at Christmas time….The detailed explanation of this idea doesn’t make any more sense believe me.
The last one was Jas, Charles and I, celebrating two months, can you believe it, two months in Sudan already. I don’t know how the other guys are feeling but the time is flying by for me.
I mentioned being homesick. It’s funny the things that make me homesick all of a sudden, out of nowhere. The other night I was looking through boxes and bags for something and found one of the girls’ hair elastics. It took me right home better than any time warp or wormhole, because at home I was always picking up discarded hair elastics off the floor, off, under, on behind and in front of the couches, in the bathtubs, the front entranceway dresser, out of the car, on the back deck etc. etc. etc. and throwing them on bathroom counters for the girls to reuse (do you reuse hair elastics??). Every so often I’ll think of something, hear something (not a tv thank god but maybe a cat, there are tons of cats around here) that gives me a real intense pang of loneliness and regret. Not often thank god.
Mind you, it would help if I could get a permanent container to live in. Jas and I are moving back together, the people whose containers we were using have come back from holidays so we’ve packed all our stuff up and moved it into one container again. We’ll be sleeping standing up this time!
Otherwise I’m really liking Juba, hot during the day but cool evenings and mornings, nice gentle breezes, a refreshing rain every once in a while. Lots of greenery, relatively quiet in the evenings except for the bugs and birds. Most of the people here are really nice, interesting, world-traveled, positive outlooks on life. It’s like being in a colony of kindred spirits. And everybody thinks highly of Canada, everybody has a relative there or wants to move there or visit. Even the Americans grudgingly admit they like our country and our people, and that we have a much better image in the world.
In case I gave the wrong impression in my last blog, despite my mock exasperation, I'm very proud of Melanie; she really turned her life around and did it largely on her own. And she marches to own drummer. That's what I like about her the most; she's such a free spirit. An annoying, frustrating free spirit at times but a lovable one nonetheless. I love you very much Melanie and couldn’t be more proud of you. And you too Natalie and Stephanie and Adam.
First a few pictures. My darling daughter Natalie who works for Tim Hortons sent me sent some Tim Hortons cups and the intrepid traveler Heba who went to Dongola with me brought me a humongous can of Tim Hortons coffee, so Jas and I had a cup one morning just like at home. Thanks to you, Nat, and Heba, for a little piece of Canada when I was feeling homesick and missing you all.
The second picture is my boss Tony, the former LAPD officer and Jas and I pretending to eat donuts. I haven’t seen a donut since getting to Sudan unfortunately (or fortunately maybe!) so we had to pretend to eat them with our Tim Horton’s.
Some of you mentioned my weight loss. I've lost at least 20 pounds, but I'm not alarmed, in fact I feel great. I don't have that much of an appetite; life doesn't revolve around food here. Very little junk food, much smaller portions, only a beer or two a day which won't kill me, lots of nice red wines in the PX but that's no big deal either, I only finished my first bottle on Sunday night and I had to share it with two others to do so. I came over here in the 190s in weight which is too heavy for me, but I knew I'd be losing weight so I overate a bit before leaving. I was 185 in Depot but most of my life I've been 175, this is my ideal weight. I feel great, did I mention that, I have so much more energy now, a spring in my step when I walk. I get out more, and am more active.
The third picture is a police vehicle stuck in the mud. When it rains here the ground gets really soft and the tires sink in pretty deep. I couldn’t get this one out with the four wheel drive but one of the Filipinos just jumped into it and drove it out no problem. Damn Filipinos. It was embarrassing.
The fourth picture is from a party Saturday night. Charles was in town for some medical attention and so we went to the container of a fellow Canadian Bill Kelly who is in charge of UN Security here (and in whose container Jas and I stayed for the first couple of weeks). Bill got this big Moosehead beer banner when he was home in Halifax and he plans to get all of us in front of it for a picture and send the picture to Moosehead beer and get two free cases of Moosehead beer at Christmas time….The detailed explanation of this idea doesn’t make any more sense believe me.
The last one was Jas, Charles and I, celebrating two months, can you believe it, two months in Sudan already. I don’t know how the other guys are feeling but the time is flying by for me.
I mentioned being homesick. It’s funny the things that make me homesick all of a sudden, out of nowhere. The other night I was looking through boxes and bags for something and found one of the girls’ hair elastics. It took me right home better than any time warp or wormhole, because at home I was always picking up discarded hair elastics off the floor, off, under, on behind and in front of the couches, in the bathtubs, the front entranceway dresser, out of the car, on the back deck etc. etc. etc. and throwing them on bathroom counters for the girls to reuse (do you reuse hair elastics??). Every so often I’ll think of something, hear something (not a tv thank god but maybe a cat, there are tons of cats around here) that gives me a real intense pang of loneliness and regret. Not often thank god.
Mind you, it would help if I could get a permanent container to live in. Jas and I are moving back together, the people whose containers we were using have come back from holidays so we’ve packed all our stuff up and moved it into one container again. We’ll be sleeping standing up this time!
Otherwise I’m really liking Juba, hot during the day but cool evenings and mornings, nice gentle breezes, a refreshing rain every once in a while. Lots of greenery, relatively quiet in the evenings except for the bugs and birds. Most of the people here are really nice, interesting, world-traveled, positive outlooks on life. It’s like being in a colony of kindred spirits. And everybody thinks highly of Canada, everybody has a relative there or wants to move there or visit. Even the Americans grudgingly admit they like our country and our people, and that we have a much better image in the world.
In case I gave the wrong impression in my last blog, despite my mock exasperation, I'm very proud of Melanie; she really turned her life around and did it largely on her own. And she marches to own drummer. That's what I like about her the most; she's such a free spirit. An annoying, frustrating free spirit at times but a lovable one nonetheless. I love you very much Melanie and couldn’t be more proud of you. And you too Natalie and Stephanie and Adam.
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