Juba...the land of fancy toilets.

The travels are finished...mostly. I made it from Nairobi, Kenya to Entebbe, Uganda in 14 hours by bus. Along the way we could see some zebras which was sweet. In Entebbe I rested for 1 day and then left again for another 14 hour trip to Juba, Sudan.

Do you know those days when you were a kid and you were sitting at the back of the bus and the driver goes over a speed bump and you bounce off the seat? Those were the days eh? Ha, except it is a little less awesome when those speed bumps come for 75% of the ride. Okay, I exaggerate a little, but seriously, the bus ride to Juba left at 1 a.m. I thought I could get some sleep during this trip...which is a little hard when your head keeps bouncing into painful objects. Anyways, all that to say, I wouldn’t recommend the bus ride to many people, but hey...it was cheap right?

But now I’m in Juba! Hooray :) It feels great and the people are awesome. I am amazed at how undeveloped this city is for being a capital city of a new country (as of this coming July). At my house there is no running water and the power has been out for at least half of the time I have been here.

We went to start the registration process of the organization today and things worked out well so far. We are hoping that all will go smoothly with the ministries. The first important guy ended up going with us to a cafe where I was able to buy him lunch...that's how you get off to a good start, ya'know?

Other than that, I am sweaty all the time. It is crazy dusty here which sticks to you. And I use a squatty potty for all my business...not as bad as people make it out to be. But can I just say again, I am finally in Sudan!! So these things are little things that I am learning to smile about. In saying that though, when you sit on your golden thrown in Canada (or wherever you might be), please just say a little prayer of thanks for your running water--because that is a beautiful thing.

Oh and also Lexson is kinda famous here. We were waiting for a bus this morning and a guy drove by, and pulled over and picked us up because they have a history. That guy called him uncle because they had a good relationship from 20 years ago. Then we go to get internet, and the guy here is a guy that also calls him uncle and keeps telling me how good of a man Lexson is. Then as we are talking with him like 2 more people come by with very excited expressions and leap into his arms and they talk for hours. Wow. Oh and the guys at the ministries that we are registering the NGO with, are all people he has a history with. He knows everyone which has been beneficial to say the least!

Okay well that is that. I have my cell phone now...once again the number is 011-249-955-701-807 but I have heard that google phones may not be working to call even though I told many of you to use it. If not skype works but it is a bit more money. So you can always email. That is cool too. Peace out team.

Some Updates

Okay so I just wanted to update everyone with what is going on real quick.

First of all, if by any chance you tried to call my phone, it probably didn't work. I found out that using that number makes it so I was roaming so my credit ran out quickly. haha I should've known but I am new to the world of SIM cards. But when I get to Sudan it should work.

I got my Southern Sudan Permit to travel today. What an exciting thing! A year ago, God told me to go. Now I am going. So good.

On that note, I am leaving Nairobi tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. and driving through the day to Kampala, Uganda. It will be sweet in the day...hoping to see some wicked-cool wildlife and stuff. Then we should be there til about Saturday morning or evening when we will leave to go to Juba. We decided that the all-at-once bus ride from here to Juba was a little too long for both Lexson and I. Let's take it easy. So that is the game plan. Should be in Juba, Sudan around Saturday evening or Sunday morning.

Okay see ya later.

P.S. This is a shout out to my friend Matthew who is 6 and hangs out with me in Sunday School. I miss ya buddy.

Some lessons

I have been staying at Lexson’s sister-in-law Selina’s place. It is about a 500 square foot apartment where there is 2 kids, 2 adults, a grandma and now Lexson and I. We have been given a bunkbed which is pretty sweet. The mattresses are even memory foam. So much so that the bed still knows exactly where you slept from the night before :)

Anyways, life has been good but I have learned some important lessons. First of all, my stomach is small. There is this daily dilemma I face when I eat here at Selina’s. I wonder, do I just keep eating this ridiculous amount of not-all-that-appetizing type of food that keeps ending up in front of me and be polite but get sick, OR do I feel better about myself but feel like a jerk? Hmm. At first, I appeased. Now I have elected to try to explain that Canadian bellies like mine have much less appetites. This explanation seems to work alright at this point.

I also learned to be persistent when you think you are right. I went to the hospital on Friday because I was still sick. They took my info and said they would call me in. I waited. And waited. Until people after me were called in. So I went and asked:

Did you call me yet?

No, you will be called soon.

Oh okay great. I waited again. Until I decided I should check again. Nope, they said there were no rooms for me to go into. Okay, so I went back to the waiting room. (Luckily there were some sweet soccer highlights on the T.V. during this time for all you Collide soccer junkies that are reading this). Then I went back one more time and said:

Okay I think you forgot about me.

Wait, what number are you again?

861.

Oh, hmm, I wonder where you’re file went. Okay go in that room.

So you guessed it. They lost my file. Lexson laughed and said “This is Africa!”

Go figure, that is what Leonardo says in “Blood Diamond”. T.I.A. mate.

Anyways, that is all good. The other more beautiful thing that I find every time I enter a country is that kids are kids all over the world when given the chance. Yesterday I went to another relative’s of Lexson’s house. She has a bunch of kids and grandkids in a neighbourhood area. I got to play with a few of these kids. Mostly they were playing with a tire they found. But they decided that piggybacks from a Mazungu (sp?) are much better. So we played, ran, jumped, waddled, and giggled (well actually they giggled...grown manly men like myself would never giggle...right guys?) But it was sweet. My favourite moment here yet. At the end when I had to go, a little girl told me she wanted to come with me. Aw shucks, way to make that manly man melt and giggle there kiddo.

That’s it, we will be leaving for Juba probably on Wednesday by bus. We will go through Uganda and it should be about 24 hours long. Woot woot. But the good news is, it’s super cheap compared to flying and I hope to see some landscape and wildlife along the way. Oh and also my phone may or may not be able to receive your calls if you want. Still not sure how well it works from Kenya because it’s a Sudanese number but if you want to shout out then here it is: 011 249 955 701 807

First African Experience

So I arrived safely in Nairobi last night and so did our bags which is always sweet.  I got a fever on the way here somewhere in the travels and this morning I passed out and hit my face on the doorhandle (or the wall...still not sure) in the washroom.  But it's all good because I get special treatment now from some very nice African people :)  Seriously spending your days sick in Africa is where it's at.  They hook you up big time.  And yes mom, don't worry I am getting better.  haha

Other than that, I am feeling in awe of how sweet the landscape looks here.  Definitely excited for tomorrow when I should be feeling well enough to explore.

Amsterdam

On the first leg of my trip I have learned that Dutch accents sound kinda funny. Now I know I have my fair share of Dutch friends but have you ever listened to your relatives speak? Pretty wild man.

I will be leaving for Nairobi in 5 more hours after the longest feeling lay-over of all time. Okay that’s a little dramatic for a 20 hour lay-over but long nonetheless.

The Beginnings

So I am going to Africa...Sudan to be more specific, Southern Sudan to be more specific to a little region called Mundri. Here is a super brief overview of what I know I am doing...

I am going with a 56 year old Sudanese-Canadian refugee named Lexson to be work at the grassroots stages of an orphanage style project of some kind. Not sure what all this will include but I do know that it will probably entail battles with lions with my bare hands and lassoing a giraffe.

Everyone asks me: "Are you STOKED?!"

In response I would say, "Well if you were going to a place in a continent you have never been to, to where you don't know anyone from your culture, and where we need to pack a generator to have light and electricity for charging things...how would you feel?" Ya I am stoked, nervous, anxious, apprehensive, you name it, I have probably felt it.

During this time when I am away, I plan to blog about every time I have diarrhea, vomit, or have any other cool bodily function that I will have to learn to embrace. So get ready! That is a joke....well mostly :)

But for real, I do plan on telling some stories and random thoughts probably. Feel free to comment and prayers are highly encouraged too. I will miss ya and would appreciate the odd email from you too. Ya, I'm talking about you. I would love to hear about life back home from your side...so find a few min...shout out yo.

Keep it realzies.