2016 in Review

34,146 miles. 26 flights. 17 airports (11 new). 10 countries (6 new). 1 year. Oh, and I moved to Sudan. And adopted a dog. Yeah, I'd call this a busy year. But as busy as this year was, it was also one of the ones I've enjoyed the most as I feel as if I've grown as a person and am actually "adulting." I've managed to cross off two of the places I wanted to visit (Andorra and Cape Town, replaced by Lalibela and Muscat). Outside of travel, I got back into the habit of writing snail-mail letters (39 mailed out since I arrived in Khartoum). I also started going to weekly yoga classes which has helped me relax and clear my mind regularly. I'm going to guess that 2017 will be another big year with a lot of travel and personal development, and I'm looking forward to it!

In the meantime, enjoy this video and my recap of 2016.

January. It snowed A LOT in January, and the big storm at the end of the month left 28 inches around my house. It took me days to dig my way out of there. But the highlight from January was a weekend trip to Toronto. To this day, people tell me I was crazy for going at one of the coldest times of the year. Yes, it was definitely very cold, but I told myself at the time that I was building up the cold because I knew I'd be moving to such a warm environment in just a few months' time. My 14-mile circle around Toronto brought me to some amazing locations, from the top of the CN Tower to Casa Loma, Canada's very own castle. I apparently didn't remember how tired walking that far makes me since I had done that in November 2015 in the Baltics. And just proving that I don't learn lessons, I did the same thing on the Iberian Peninsula in October of this year.

February. Somehow this ended up being a slow-ish month and consisted of a bunch of random, small things that kept my busy throughout.

March. In March I started to really mentally prepare for the fact that I was going to be moving to Khartoum. I made a massive effort to reach out to friends who I knew I wouldn't see when I went abroad, and I started reflecting on the aspects of the US that I didn't know if they would transfer to overseas life. I evaluated my TV watching (and squeezed in as many shows until May, but since then have mostly been TV-less except for news and movies) and admitted that I have an addiction to Sporcle. The latter definitely hasn't gone away, and now that Sporcle lets you actually communicate with other users, I feel as if I have nerdy friends who love weird things like NJ municipalities as much as I do.

April. April turned from mental preparations for the move to physical ones. I spent nearly $1000 at Costco getting supplies that I would need overseas (and would be difficult to ship), followed by $500 at Target and $400 at Safeway. I also spent a lot of time categorizing all my things and making difficult choices as to what items would come with me to Khartoum, which ones could be shipped and take a few weeks, and which ones would be put in storage until I got back. With my family visiting in April, I ran all my ideas for this past them to make sure I wasn't crazy, because a move overseas alone can be a daunting task when you're relying solely on yourself to get the logistics done. Separately, I also realized just how much I'd miss Virginia and the DC area, which after 6 years really felt like home. I may be Jersey born and raised, but I am a Virginian at heart now, and that's what matters.

May. May is when it all happened and I took the plunge into overseas living. Midway through the month I traveled to the city at the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile and began an adventure that I am incredibly glad I took. The first few weeks were obviously stressful, especially since I forced myself to follow the unofficial rule that "you don't say no your first month at Post." So I didn't. I went to pretty much every event I was invited to (and this extended into June), which helped me find a good group of people early in my tour that I now consider my core group of friends. It's a theme that has carried through since I arrived in May, but I feel incredibly lucky to work and live with such a great group of supportive people who I know will always have my back.

June. I really began to get into a groove in June, when that core group I wrote about for May really came into being. I embraced the unique aspects of living overseas, especially in a country as unique as Sudan. Sudan is both Arab and African, but is neither Arab nor African. There are US sanctions on Sudan that make many common things--like checking a bank account--a bit more difficult. Sudan is a conservative country, so music and movies are censored a little more heavily than they are in the US (and definitely moreso than in Europe). June was a big month for adjustments, but it was a good month all the same.

July. July started with the oh-so-fun activity of a week off of work for local holidays. Eid al Fitr happened to fall right around the 4th of July, but not right on it. As Sudan is a Sunday to Thursday country, all US holidays that fall on Mondays revert to Sundays. Thus, the 4th of July was celebrated on the 3rd, a Sunday, and Eid al Fitr, a five-day holiday, started on the 5th, a Tuesday. If you're reading between the lines, it means that I had the odd occasion of ONLY working on 4 July during that week, because all the others were off for holidays. By the end of the month, with two straight months in Khartoum, I knew I needed to take a little time away, so I went on a camping trip to Meroe. The pyramids of Meroe were fantastic, and with so few visitors, it definitely felt incredibly special to be able to see them, walk in them, and touch them. We pitched tents in the desert, I tried not to let my tent collapse on me, and had a sleepless night. But it was absolutely awesome and I can't wait for more camping trips in the desert.

August. This month was dominated by the Olympics, and I stayed up until 8am to watch the opening ceremony live-ish. Besides the Olympics, it rained in Khartoum and Sudanese drivers in the rain are worse than DC drivers in the snow. I also really perfected the art of ordering off of Amazon, because receiving mail (and especially packages) in a foreign country is absolutely amazing. It's one of the things I look forward to. And since I don't receive enough mail otherwise, ordering things online (that I mostly need/can use, like knives) means that I have a more steady stream of things arriving for me. Win-win, in my book!

September. September turned out to be a very odd month because of the second Eid holiday. Eid al Adha is also a five-day holiday, and this year it just so happened to fall from a Sunday to Thursday. Add in that my regular weekend is Friday/Saturday, and I ended up with an oh-so-difficult nine-day weekend. So I did what any normal person would do. I booked a last minute flight to Cape Town and decided I was going to enjoy the cooler air, not-brown sights, and get in some outdoor activities. I hiked Table Mountain--which was everything I was hoping it would be and more--toured the Cape Town Stadium, visited the Cape of Good Hope, and walked around the city doing whatever I wanted to do because I had so many more freedoms there than I usually do in Khartoum. I was incredibly sore after my four days in Cape Town, but it was so much fun to cross a place I've always wanted to visit off my list!

October. After just two weeks back in Khartoum I took off again, this time for a three week vacation to the Iberian Peninsula. Most of the time was spent in Spain, and time was spent in Madrid, Malaga, Granada, and Barcelona, as well as Tangier, Morocco; Gibraltar; Lisbon, Portugal; and Andorra. Not bad for three weeks! One of the great things about this trip was that I got to see my family, who up until that point I had only talked to over FaceTime and Skype. Being able to see them in-person was really nice. But I also spent a significant portion of this trip traveling alone, and Andorra was by far one of my favorite places. Even though it was a bit chilly--especially compared to what I'm used to--the hiking in Andorra was absolutely fantastic. It was easy to get lost in the nature and the old bridges, some of which date back to the 1300s. I got back to Khartoum from this adventure a dog owner. A few local teachers found the puppy I named Xeno, and even though I've only had him for two months, it's amazing to see how much he's grown!

November. It was back into the groove of things in November, which was fine after the excitement of September and October. Plus, I had to contend with having a dog that needs to be house-trained (still working on that). This was my first Thanksgiving in 20+ years that I didn't spend with family in NJ, and it was a little hard. But remember that core group of friends I talked about? Yeah, they provided a nice family for the holiday. Thanksgiving in Khartoum was everything I imagined and hoped an overseas Thanksgiving would be.

December. And then I somehow finally made it to December. At times the year seemed to drag on, but there was definitely a lot of excitement in 2016, even ignoring the obvious (Brexit, Trump's election). I capped off 2016 with a week of holiday parties in the middle of the month, and a quick weekend jaunt to London over Christmas to see my parents. It was actually my first time ever in London, and it was a nice city. The fact that there is a Chiptole in London also doesn't hurt its standing in my book (hey, it's been 7 months since I had it, so the craving was there)! In addition to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we saw the Globe Theater, a few markets, Millennium Bridge, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Trafalgar Square. The touristy downtown part was smaller than I expected, but that made it good because it allowed me and my parents to walk it! I also got to see Platform 9 and 3/4, which just proves that Harry Potter will probably always remain a part of my life.

So that was my 2016. I'm actively planning some 2017 travel that will probably put me higher in mileage and flights, and maybe countries, than 2016. I guess it all remains to be seen!

*For a comparison of 2015 and 2016:
Miles: 40,814 / 34,496
Flights: 24 / 28
Airports: 19 / 17
Countries: 10 / 10
"Want To See" Locations: 2 / 2

2016 Countries:
Andorra, Canada, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States

2016 Airports:
ADD, AGP, BCN, CAI, CPT, FRA, IAD, IST, JED, JFK, JNB, KRT, LHR, LIS, MAD, YTZ, YYZ

Reflections on Six Months in Khartoum

Today is my six-month anniversary in Khartoum. It has been an absolute whirlwind and I am now very happy that I made the decision to come out here. Between the people, sense of community, and just general life environment, I feel like I've been able to become a better version of myself. At the core I'm still the same person I was in Virginia, but life in Khartoum has helped me develop some parts of myself--such as the social part--that were severely lacking back in the States.

I'm still an introvert, but when I arrived in Sudan, I decided that if there was ever a time for me to come out of my shell, this would be it. Plus, it doesn't hurt that there's an unofficial rule I've heard that you say "yes" for your first month at any new post. So that's what I did. I said "yes" to every party, "yes" to every dinner, and "yes" to every casual get-together. And that made me meet people, find my group, and quickly feel a part of the community here, both Americans and non-Americans. I think I really noticed it during my R&R in October. By the end of my three weeks away I was starting to miss Khartoum. Maybe not Khartoum itself, but the people in Khartoum. Spending time with my friends in Khartoum. And the rhythm of life in Khartoum. Khartoum is home, and that realization has made my time here all that much better.

In addition to all the events I go to now, I've obviously also adopted a street puppy who has way more energy than me. For instance, while I was writing this post, he ran around and around and around my couch and tables. Endlessly. It tires me to watch him do that. But the best part about having a puppy is that he gives me something to come home to after work every day. Obviously he's a lot of work, but it's work I'm willing to put in, as long as he will eventually get to a point where he won't need me to wake up at 3am every morning to take him out to pee. I've had him for just about a month now--and he's about 3 months old--and I'm really enjoying that he's starting to be trained, as in he now listens when I tell him to go into his crate at night. Now I just need to work on all the other parts of training a dog!

One of the negative parts of living overseas is missing things. For instance, I've missed two weddings I really wanted to go to. I don't get to see my family as often, although Skype, FaceTime, and other forms of technology really help here. But I can't pick up my nephew or try to feed him an Oreo. Instead, I can show him the clocks in my house to hear him go "tick tock" or show him my puppy and hear him call out to "Rggy's Doggy."

I knew there would be these tradeoffs, but I still think the positives outweigh the negatives, so back to the positives, because I'm a positive person now (ha!!!). In addition to just being a happy, relatively social person out here (wasn't sure I was capable of being a social butterfly, to be honest), here's a quick rundown of a few other (not-so-important) things I've noticed in the past six months:

1. I'm not that bad at Candy Crush Soda Saga. I started playing it three days before I left for Sudan. I'm now on Level 577.

2. Amazon is absolutely amazing. And Amazon Pantry is the best part of Amazon. Yes, mail is slow, but I'm willing to wait the 3ish weeks for things because whenever I need something, I know I can "find it on Amazon."

3. Speaking of mail...mail day at the Embassy is always the best day of the week. And I do enjoy sending mail out too--up to 32 letters out over the last 6 months, with a few more I plan on writing this long weekend.

4. You can take the boy out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the boy. Even though I've been out of New Jersey for 10 years. put a good dance song on and the fist pump comes out. It's a legitimate dance move.

5. Journey's Don't Stop Believing is really an American thing. Many American parties end with it, and the non-Americans don't seem to get as excited for it as the Americans do.

So 6 months down, at least 18 months to go. I'm excited to see what the coming weeks and months bring. Hopefully more trips to other parts of Sudan (I've only made it up to Meroe, site of Sudan's pyramids, so far), more trips outside of Sudan, and more fun times with the group of friends and family I've made in Khartoum!

This post's happy video is a song I've been hearing a lot on the radio recently, and it just seems to fit. It's about living in the moment, making the most of where you're at. Plus, it's John Legend. So enjoy!

I Am Not Ashamed. I Will Not Apologize. I Believe in the United States.

I am not ashamed to be an American. I will not apologize to anyone for the election of Donald Trump. I believe in the United States and believe that the country will continue to move forward and prosper in the years to come.

American Flag, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

When I joined the Federal Government in 2010, I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America, and I still believe in that oath today. I swore to uphold the rights of all Americans, to serve the interests and needs of all Americans, and to be an ambassador for the American people abroad. That's why I'm disgusted by people who are threatening to move to Canada over Trump's election (and yes, I was just as mad in 2008 when people threatened to leave over Obama's election). Leaving the United States because of an election is a cowardly move that indicates the person doesn't believe in all the things that makes the United States great. That the person has no faith in their family, friends, acquaintances, or the almost 320 million fellow Americans to be good, upstanding people. There are about 2.8 million federal employees, and I can guarantee you that almost all of us will continue to faithfully serve our country--not just the individual leading the country--because we believe in what we do and the people we serve. The election of Donald Trump does not change who Americans are; we are still the fundamentally the same people we were yesterday.

I'm neither happy nor sad about the electino results. Truly. As happened back in June, though, with the negative things said about those in the "Leave" campaign for Brexit, I'm thoroughly disappointed in the casting of all 59 million Donald Trump voters as racist, xenophobic, homophobic, white supremacists. Because that's not who they are. Many Trump supporters are people who felt like they were being left behind. If you felt that way, wouldn't you also seek to change your condition by voting for the candidate that you thought heard you and your concerns? I didn't see it often, but every now and then this sentiment popped up on my Facebook feed, and it helped me understand the anger emanating from so many parts of the country. People didn't vote for Trump because they agreed with his extremely inappropriate comments, they voted for Trump because he made people feel heard, wanted, and included in a United States they thought they no longer recognized.

The problem, as I'm sure the after-action reports will eventually say, is that Trump's election went against "conventional wisdom." Well, so did Brexit. And the Colombian Peace Referendum. Perhaps "conventional wisdom" only works among political wonks and pundits who have lost touch with who the people actually casting ballots are. Rather than dismissing these people's concerns, it would help if we all tried to listen to one another more to understand other perspectives.

And that is why I am not ashamed to be an American tonight and will not apologize for Donald Trump's election. Because I don't have to conform to "conventional wisdom." And because it is not my right to be ashamed of the feelings of more than 59 million Donald Trump supporters, many of whom have legitimate issues with their conditions and the prospects for improvement. These Americans' voices deserve to be heard just as much as any other person's. But most importantly, I continue to believe in this country that has given me so much and for which I see my service as repaying. As Hillary Clinton said in her concession speech, we need to give Donald Trump a chance. And his supporters a chance, too. I know I will, because my oath to the American constitution applies to all those living under it, including Trump's 59 million voters and Clinton's 59 million voters.

The United States is a great country, and while things may seem rocky to so many people right now, we are a country that always pulls through. I look forward to serving the American people and the American constitution under a President Trump and however many other presidents will follow him in the years to come.

I Will Never...

It's a phrase I use a lot, and I think it's because it gives me some certainty in this increasingly uncertain world. Saying I will never do something comes with a full stop. Period. No negotiations. The problem with it, though, is that I oftentimes find myself doing what I said I would never do. I'm proud of myself for that, because it means I'm open to new ideas and am willing to change. Two weeks ago I broke my latest "I will never" when I found myself unable to say no to this little face.

Xeno, 3 November 2016

Meet Xeno, my new puppy. Xeno was probably born in late August and is a Sudanese street puppy, although I'm happy that he doesn't have the typical "desert dog" look common among street dogs. He and another dog we are assuming/calling his brother were wandering around a trash heap here in Khartoum and were found by two international teachers. They rescued him and knew that I had a soft spot for "the right dog" (my way of saying "I will never get a dog") and reached out to me. Well, they found the right dog. And now he is mine.

Xeno, 24 October 2016

As the pictures show, he's mostly black with tan legs, a tan face, and white paws and tail tip. He has a long tail that he's very good at catching and eating. His paws are pretty big and he has long legs that just keep getting longer. The vet is pretty sure he's going to be a big dog, so I'm in for a wild ride!

Xeno's been in my house for about two weeks now and is slowly getting adjusted to my rhythm, getting regular meals, having other dogs to play with (not just fight with for things), and the like. His personality is starting to show. He's a relatively mellow dog for being only a few weeks old, but loves to chew on power cords and step on anything that resembles a button. On the plus side with that, he's not a fan of eating shoes? Xeno is terrible at stairs (he's fallen down stairs three times already, each time hurting one of his paws and limping around my house for a few hours), clearly understands the word "no" but then does it anyway when he thinks I'm not looking, and thoroughly enjoys playing with his two chew ties, which are a rope giraffe and a felt zebra.

Xeno, 23 October 2016

So where does the name Xeno come from? Well, there are two parts. The first is from Harry Potter. Xenophilius Lovegood is a believer of wild conspiracy theories and seemingly nonexistent creatures. However, while many consider him crazy, he is a true believer and is willing to help anyone in their quest to find the answers and proof of the things he knows exist but maybe can't prove. In Harry's case, those are the Deathly Hallows. So Xeno is named after Xenophilius Lovegood because I admire his dedication to the causes and things he believes in, even when others tell him he's crazy.

The other part of his name is that "xeno-" is a prefix meaning "foreign." While most associate the prefix with the negative (xenophobia), I'm thinking of it as part of a positive (xenophilia). Thus, Xeno is also short for xenophilia, a love of foreign things. Seemed fitting given that he's a dog I adopted while living and serving overseas.

So there it is, I adopted a Sudanese street dog and named him Xeno. He's been a lot of work, but I'm excited to have a very energetic and happy dog to come home to every night after work. He seems to be adjusting well to life in a house, and I'm looking forward to many years with him!

Every now and then I find a YouTube channel to obsess over (you can wipe that shocked look off your face!), and one of my favorites is Kevin, Karla, y La Banda, a brother-sister duo from Chile. They take songs originally in English and translate/interpret them into Spanish, and they're amazing. Here's one of my favorites to end this happy post with a happy video:

Signs of Magic in the Iberian Peninsula

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the lights.

--Albus Dumbledore

Likewise, you can find signs of magic in the most muggle of places, if only you remember to look. Traveling across the Iberian Peninsula these past few weeks, I kept seeing signs of the magical universe that captivated my--and tens of millions of others'--attention for so many years. Maybe my mind was looking for these symbols because it's been over nine years since I sat, captivated, reading about the Battle of Hogwarts. Or five years since David Yates brought that to life in the eighth film. Yes, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them are keeping the universe alive, but Scorpius's and Albus's adventures, and Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, will never compete with Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Neville, Ginny, and Luna too, let's be honest, because they're the awesome part of the crew too).

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He had done it.

--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Every time I take a train I like to imagine I'm on the Hogwarts Express. Nerdy, I know, but it is something I do and think that most other Harry Potter fans do too. On this trip, I took the train from Madrid to Malaga. Every person with a luggage cart, every person pulling a suitcase, was a potential person searching for the scarlet steam engine, coyly looking around to make sure no one was watching as he slipped through the barrier and onto the right platform. I was very tempted to lean against a few barriers in the waiting area to see if I could trigger my push through, but given that it was early October and not September 1, which, everyone knows, is the day the train to Hogwarts (and other wizard schools) leaves.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze.

--Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

We did a day trip to Granada to see the Alhambra. While there were a lot of different parts of it that were interesting from an historical perspective, I was enamored by the plant life. This shouldn't be a huge shock to anyone who's seen the myriad of pictures I have taken and have hanging in my house. After all, half of them are of pretty flowers I've seen over time. What struck me about this part of the Alhambra--walking between the gardens and the palaces--were these tall hedges lining the path. It felt like there could be anything around the curve at the end of the path, like I was walking into my own Third Task maze.

An eerie sight met their eyes: They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Harry could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling was too out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake.

--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We also did a day trip to Gibraltar, one of my favorite historical quirks. Micronations and microterritories are always very odd because they seem to withstand the test of time better than a place that seemingly has just a great strategic location but no other obvious source of wealth should. So there Gibraltar stands, a rock as a peninsula, a British territory on the edge of Spain. And high on that rock is St. Michael's Cave, a vast cave that is now used for concerts. Even though there wasn't a lake in the middle like in Harry Potter, the different color lights that kept changing added a fantastic aura to the place that made you feel like you could find something special, something very unique, in any of the cave's many crevices.

Whatever Mrs. Figg said to the contrary, it sounded to him as though the most she had ever seen was a picture of a dementor, and a picture could never convey the truth of what these beings were like: the eerie way they moved, hovering inches over the ground, or the rotting smell of them, or that terrible, rattling noise they make as they sucked on the surrounding air...

--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Barcelona along the beach there was a kite-flying demonstration and at first I thought one of the kites, which I assume was supposed to be an octopus, looked exactly like the dementors (except in red and black) as portrayed in the films. It also didn't hurt that there was a wispy white kite ahead of it that looked like a baby dementor (if dementors can have babies?). I obviously realized what they were, but walking along the coastline, it was a bit unnerving to see that up ahead!

Dumbledore flicked his own wand. The force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Harry, though shielded by his stone guard, felt his hair stand on end as it passed, and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it.

--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Andorra la Vella, I saw this statue and, to be honest, I still don't know what it's about. However, it really looks like a wizard, on the left, shooting a spell at a wizard. And the water to me were reminiscent of sparks. So I like to believe that Andorra erected a statue of the Battle of the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore vs. Voldemort, at the entrance to one of its main highways. I really don't know what other interpretation there could be for this statue!

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.

--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating under brightly colored umbrellas outside cafes, where his fellow diners were showing one another their purchases.

--Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

That was me on my first day in Andorra la Vella. In some ways, the city--and it's suburb, Escaldes-Engordany--are like one big airport terminal/duty-free shop. Andorra is, after all, a tax haven and so it does have that reputation. But unlike airports, many of the buildings were made out of stone and looked like they were still from an older era. It was actually really charming. I spent a good 3 hours wandering the back alleyways of Andorra la Vella (and Escaldes-Engordany, since the only thing really separating them is a sign telling you you're entering from one into the other), looking at the little shops, seeing the restaurants setting up their outdoor seating, and people-watching. I definitely felt like I was in Diagon Alley.

They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were sill spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.

--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

They walked on for what seemed a long time, until they were once again so deep into the forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all the light. Harry had the feeling he had had before in the forest, one of being watched by unseen eyes.

--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Andorra's most amazing feature is its topography. In the winter, it is a skiing haven, and in the summer, it is known for its hiking. Thankfully the snows hadn't yet come and the weather was still warm enough to make hiking across Andorra possible. Along the way, I found some of the most serene locations I have ever seen. Quiet, peaceful, with lots of green and echoes of the Riu Valira permeating the trees. I hiked up, down, and sideways across the country, and each time I could imagine I was in the Forbidden Forest (just not with the evil creatures that wanted to kill me).

And so those were just some of the times on my journey across Spain and its neighbors where I felt like I might have slipped into the wizarding world. Sadly, all good things have to come to an end, so I'm back to my muggle life in Khartoum. I'm sure there are signs of magic here too, if I just wanted to dig a bit and find them!

As for being happy, here's one of my favorite songs from the movies.

A Raw, Gritty City: Impressions of Lisbon

A few years ago, I was hanging out with some fellow post-colonial Africa historians (yes, we exist*), and one told a joke she had once heard:

As African countries began gaining their independence with uncertain futures ahead, Liberia looked at the group and said, "We've been at this for a century and are doing pretty OK. Plus, if anything were ever to go seriously wrong, we know the US will be there for us."

Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad, and the other former French colonies said, "France hasn't always been the greatest to us, but we know they'll look out for our physical and economic security in the future."

Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, and the other former British colonies said, "We're doing well and don't need the UK, but it's nice to know she'll be there when we need her."

By the time Portugal finally relinquished control of its "overseas provinces" in 1974/75, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe looked at each other and said, "That's not fair! You guys have prosperous benefactors, and we have Portugal!"

Portugal may not be the sick man of Western Europe anymore (Greece probably takes that prize), but in my few days in Lisbon I noticed that there was a rawness--a grittiness, a power-through mentality--that I didn't necessarily feel in any other European country I've been to. I'll admit, my knowledge of Portugal was pretty limited before this trip, mostly based on (1) my research of Mozambique and Angola in college, (2) my fascination that Portugal is one of only two (maybe three, depending on how you look at it) countries in the world which has a former capital no longer in its territory**, and (3) perhaps the best storyline from Love Actually (see happy video below). This is not to say that my three days in Lisbon makes me an expert on Portugal, rather that my knowledge and appreciation for Portugal is now expanded and, by extension, I now better understand my fellow historian's joke.

So back to Portugal. In my days walking around the streets and neighborhoods of Lisbon, I discovered that remnants of a once-great empire are still visible. Some of the buildings have breathtaking facades with exquisite detail carved into them. Proud statues showcase each of Portugal's great kings, the ones that led Portugal to explore and conquer so much of the world. (Note: Yes, I recognize the many problems of Europeans conquering foreign lands, but you can hate colonialism and the "Age of Exploration" while still acknowledging the impressive feats of that era.) And the sidewalks have intricate designs befitting a country sparing no expense in showcasing its best side. But as nice as these features are, they are also dated, stuck in an era where tiled displays on the sides of building are a status symbol.

While traversing Lisbon, I had a weird series of interactions with guys trying to sell me all sorts of drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. One guy came near me while I was at an ATM and asked me why I would be taking out cash if I didn't intend to use it to buy drugs. Not only did I find the question odd, I found his hawking of drugs so near police and others a gutsy move, and it contributed to this grittiness I felt Portugal exude. It was as if the underground economy was coming above ground. In addition to those experiences, I was shocked by the lack of smiles I saw on people walking down the street (I'm currently reading Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss, so this caught my eye). I know smiling is not necessarily an adequate representation of a country's mood, but there was a stoic-ness in people's faces, postures, and auras.

All together, it felt like Portugal was just biding its time, obviously no longer what it used to be (both the positives and the negatives), but slowly working its way back to a position of prominence. Portugal didn't seem to be hiding its flaws, and as long as things didn't decline, they were improving. In some ways, it was a refreshing feeling. I enjoyed sensing reality on my walks and journeys, and I'd be really interested in returning some day to see how, if at all, Lisbon and Portugal have changed!

As alluded to earlier, Love Actually's storyline featuring Jamie (Colin Firth) and Aurelia (Lúcia Moniz) is my favorite. And while I recognize that this scene takes place in a Portuguese-dominated neighborhood near Marseilles and not in Lisbon, it's still a great scene and is relevant to this post about Portugal. I am also posting it here just in cases you have never seen it. :-)

*My credentials for this category is my degree in International History with a focus on Poverty and Development, specifically in post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa. I also did intensive research and wrote an undergraduate thesis on the use of food as a tool of war in Mozambique.

**Portugal joins Oman with this distinction, and maybe Taiwan, although Taiwan is a weird case. For Portugal, in 1808, Dona Maria I of Portugal moved the royal court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, where it remained until 1822. For Oman, in 1840, Said bin Sultan moved his capital from Muscat to Stone Town, Zanzibar, where it remained until 1856 when his sons couldn't decide who would succeed him, so they ended up dividing the country into the Sultanate of Oman and the Sultanate of Zanzibar. And finally, for Taiwan, the capital was in Nanjing until the government fled the mainland in 1949 and set up shop in Taipei.

When You Set You the Bar Low...

It wasn't even two weeks between returning from Cape Town and me jetting off again. In my defense, this trip was planned for the past year (and finalized two months ago). When planning the trip, I had two serious options for how to get to my first destination, Madrid. Option 1 was to go through Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, which I wanted to do but then there was the attack at the airport and the attempted coup and so Turkey didn't necessarily feel like a great place to travel through, too many unknowns for my liking. So I instead went with Option 2, flying EgyptAir through Cairo. Almost immediately after booking my tickets, people expressed concern. "Cairo International Airport isn't that nice, and you won't want to spend four hours there," they said. Or, "You don't trust Istanbul/Turkey, but you're willing to trust Cairo/Egypt?" I granted them the second point, but the first one got me concerned and I therefore read online reviews of the airport, which panned it for a whole host of problems. Skytrax gives it a 3/10, and comments range from "chaotic and not clean" to "one of the worst travel experiences I've ever encountered" to "so much quality is missing." Seems like people's worry for me was well-founded.

Until I actually got to the airport. My first thought was, "Wow, this is a super nice airport!" I guess when Khartoum International Airport is the comparison (it has a 2/10 on Skytrax), anything looks good. But still. I was expecting a slightly nicer version of KRT, not the beauty that I saw. Not only were there lots of eating options (including a Burger King and a Haagen-Dazs), but the seats were very comfortable and numerous, and I was able to take quick cat naps on them during my four-hour layover. The gates were logically arranged (Side Note: can't say the same for Madrid, which looks like someone said "OK, where's Gate 30?" and then a guy closed his eyes and randomly pointed at a map, and that became Gate 30. And then they repeated the process for Gate 31, and so on.) and the announcements were clear, if a little numerous. I don't speak Arabic, but even I could understand many of the words in the Arabic one, and the English announcements sounded like English. This was completely different from Khartoum, or even Addis Ababa, where the English announcements oftentimes sound like someone who doesn't speak the language is trying his or her best to sound out the words over the PA system.

I'm sure Cairo International Airport has its downsides, and if I flew through it regularly, I wouldn't be so enamored by it. But Khartoum sets the bar low, and I was impressed by how over and above Cairo was of it.

Given that I'm on an Iberian Peninsula adventure, I share the below clip that I am absolutely obsessed with by Fernando Daniel, a contestant on the current season of The Voice Portugal. This was his Blind Audition, or Provas Cegas.

Hiking Table Mountain, and Other Cape Town Activities

After my misadventure in departing Khartoum, I was ready for a week in Cape Town. It was both an amazing time and a terrible time, but all for the same reason. I was getting comfortable in Khartoum, accepting that I can't go to a bar to have a drink, driving down the street requires swerving around tuk-tuks and potholes, and being OK that I don't understand what half the signs in the grocery store say. Khartoum is, therefore, the opposite of Cape Town. So on the positive side, Cape Town was awesome because it let me do things I love to do, and I was on vacation. On the negative side, Cape Town was terrible because it showed me everything I don't have in Khartoum and made me finally understand some of the things I gave up to come to Sudan.

But I powered through, because that's what I do. On Tuesday, the day I arrived, I walked around center city, along the waterfront, and did a tour of Robben Island, which is most famous for being where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. The tour, which lasted about 4 hours total, including the boat rides to and from the island, provided a good overview of apartheid South Africa, but the setup of the tour--requiring to stay on a bus and therefore no room for self-exploration--left some to be desired. I can understand why they do it that way, with most of the main sites spread out, but it was still disappointing to feel like we were just being shuttled from highlight to highlight. The most impactful part of the tour was the ending portion, where a former prisoner on the island told us his story, from the reason he was imprisoned to his work on the island to what he did after he was released. It helped to put a human face on the conditions in the prison.

That was a pretty full day for my first day in-country, so I rested well that night, in large part because I knew I would need to wake up at 5:30am the next day to hike up Table Mountain. Table Mountain is perhaps the image of Cape Town everyone knows. Rising more than 3,500 feet above sea level, it has a nice flat top (hence, "Table") and some relatively steep cliffs to get there. There are no roads to the top, just a cable car and paths. Being of the adventurous type, I hiked it (don't worry, I paid to go with a guide). The 4 hour hike was amazing. Spectacular views and vantage points that kept changing as we went past different cliffs, around new formations, etc. Especially coming on the heels of a full day of walking around Cape Town, my legs and feet were feeling the effort, but it was an incredible experience that I'm glad I had. My group had six others and two guides, so we were a happy group of 9 trekking up the mountain. And the best part was that we were all relatively equal in terms of capabilities, which meant that no one got left behind and no one ended up too far in front. I also discovered that I love scrambling up rocks--with the steep cliffs, occasionally there is no path, so climbing up some rocks is the only way--and I hope to find other opportunities to do that moving forward. But as much fun as the climb was, getting to the top was even better. The views of Cape Town and the surrounding countryside, especially to the south, was well-earned. After a brief walk around the top of the mountain, we went back down, although this time by cable car (we're not stupid!).

This reminded me of Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls!

The most unique house, which is saying a lot for Bo-Kaap!

I made it back to my hotel around noon, which was great because it meant I still had a lot of time to do things, but also problematic in that it meant I still had a full day in front of me but no energy. After a brief rest, I set out again for the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood (which translates to "Upper Cape"). Bo-Kaap is where the Cape Malays--people from Southeast Asia brought by the Dutch to the Cape Town area--predominantly live. As such, it is a heavily Muslim neighborhood, and I even heard a call to prayer. But what Bo-Kaap is most famous for is the colorful houses on the very hilly streets. There isn't a real reason for the colors. The story goes that residents at some point began painting their houses in the vivid colors rather than the stale white in preparation for Eid, and neighbors conferred with one another on the shades they were using to make sure their houses didn't clash. That tradition has continued, and now it is a very distinct neighborhood!

After wandering the streets of Bo-Kaap for awhile, I eventually ended up at Sea Point, a posh neighborhood. It was in Sea Point that I found Hudson's a burger restaurant. I took a seat at a bar stool around the edge of their outdoor area, overlooking the street (and in the very far distance, the water). As it was a Wednesday night, people were coming in and chatting with their friends, sitting around having appetizers and beers and being social in a happy hour setting. That's when the odd Khartoum life really struck me. I know that in the US I didn't do happy hours with friends all that often, but at least I could do it. Just like in Cape Town, I could. However, in Khartoum, I can't.

With my feet failing me, I called it a night. I woke up late the next day and meandered my way through breakfast. There was one thing left in Cape Town on my "must do" list, so I figured I'd slowly meander my way to it. After a nice saunter along the waterfront, I arrived at Cape Town Stadium. Opened in 2009 in time for the 2010 World Cup, then stadium sits prominently along the waterfront. I opted to pay the fee for an official tour, and as luck would have it, I was the only one on the tour. My private tour of Cape Town Stadium was amazing--I was like a kid in a candy store. We went through the regular seating areas, the VIP areas, the stadium jail, the locker rooms, and eventually walked out the tunnel where players come from and onto the pitch. Well, just shy of the grass (we're not allowed on it). It. Was. Awesome.

For my final day in Cape Town, I rented a car and decided to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope (which I just learned actually isn't the southernmost point in Africa, but I would still like to pretend that it is). The weather cooperated with me for several days, but Friday was not one of them. Temperatures hovered in the upper 40s and low 50s, the wind was howling at 30+ mph, and there was a pelting rain all day. But I don't know the next time I'll get to the area, so I set out anyway. I drove the scenic route to the Cape and made it all the way to the funicular to the lighthouse. I intended on walking up to the lighthouse, but given the weather conditions, decided better of it. I took the funicular up, which still leaves you a few minutes from the lighthouse itself, and then me and about a dozen other tourists just stood there looking, as if all of us were daring the others to go out first. Remember how I said I don't know when I'll be there again?  With that mentality, I took a deep breath and just started going. I walked along all the paths to see where I'd be able to see through the rain and fog to the cliffs below.

I eventually came across a relatively clear-ish view, took the necessary pictures, and then headed back to the funicular and my rental car. While I would have liked to have spent more time there, the weather made it a bad decision, so I drove off and headed back to the airport for my flight home, albeit it with a few detours. The first was to Simon's Town, which is most famous for its boulders and colony of African penguins (I saw some at Robben Island too). Then as I was getting close to the airport, I realized I still was super early, so I drove out into South African wine country, through Stellenbosch, just to see the picturesque scenery (through the clouds and fog), and then made my way to Somerset West, which is also known for its vineyards and looks like a big resort town. Having completed my loop through Cape Town's eastern suburbs, I returned the car at the airport and waited for my not-as-painfully-delayed flight back to Khartoum.

It was a great trip and one of the 10 places I have listed as a Dream Location (the pin in my map has now moved to Lalibela, which was my original destination for this trip before I switched it to Cape Town). I'm glad I was able to pack so much into my four days, although I'm not sure how wise it was for me to take such a culture shock after nearly 4 months straight in Sudan. In any case, I'm happily back in Khartoum and getting readjusted, ready for my next trip out of the country (in just a few days...always planning my next escape!).

In honor of me going to South Africa, here's a video of Trevor Noah I know I've posted before, but it just feels right here!

Misadventures in Leaving Khartoum

113 days. That's how long I survived in Khartoum before finding a deep need to leave. Among expats here, the general rule of thumb is that you need to take at least a weekend trip out of the country every 90 days. At the 108 day mark, the Government of Sudan declared that the Eid al-Adha holiday would last from Sunday to Thursday, creating a 9-day weekend. That was the only signal I needed to book a last-minute trip to Cape Town. For being so last-minute the trip was reasonably well-planned. I had one connection for two hours, I found a relatively cheap hotel, I was able to schedule my "must-dos" across my few days.... However, Khartoum made a valiant effort to thwart this vacation.

I arrived at the airport around 2:30 AM for a 4:30 flight. At 4:00, we boarded the bus to the plane and the bus inched forward before stopping. For 30 minutes. The airport staff then ordered us off the bus and back into the terminal while "mechanical issues" were being fixed. Not to worry, they assured us, it's not that hard and we'll all make our connections in Addis Ababa. 4:30 turned to 5:00 turned to 5:30, and we're instructed to leave the gate area and to go back to the holding room. 6:00 rolled around and they told us that we can have free food and drinks from the airport's very sad-looking cafe. As time went on, I started becoming friends with an American teacher and her Colombian husband who only recently arrived in Khartoum. We reached 7:00 and it became obvious that no one was going to make his or her connection. Impatience among the passengers became more visible and audible as the airport staff sent us to Ethiopian Airlines staff for assistance, but they retreated into a closed office. By 8:00, we were told that a manager from Ethiopian Airlines' Khartoum office was on his way in.

The manager arrived at 8:30 and told us that there is a part they need from Addis Ababa, but once they have it, it will only take 15 minutes to put it in and then we'll be on our way. The next flight from Ethiopia was scheduled to arrive at 11:30, so overall, not long after that. Given the delay, the airline (the airport?) opted to send us to a hotel to relax, get breakfast, etc. The story seemed plausible until the "go to the hotel" part because it seemed like a big expense and a lengthy endeavor for something that would be fixed quickly. Mayhem ensued as people started yelling in Arabic, and this is when we met a young girl from Sudan also on our flight. As she spoke fluent Arabic and English, she was very helpful in figuring out what was going on. At 9:00, we were ushered out near the immigration counters.

If you think this story is starting to fall in-line, you're very wrong. See, Sudanese immigration officials didn't want to let us back into the country, meaning we were officially stuck. As explained to us, a deal was struck whereby we'd be allowed to leave the airport, and judging from the extra stamps in my passport, it looks like they effectively cancelled our exit stamps. Oddly, when we eventually did leave later in the day, the afternoon immigration officials appeared puzzled by what the morning ones did. You'd think someone would've told them....

As 10:00 approached, everyone on the flight had a cancelled exit stamp and we were sent back to the check-in area to wait for a bus to take us to the hotel. And we waited and waited, as the bus could only hold so many people and was making trips back and forth to the hotel. I got on the last bus, but I think we might have almost missed it because we were instructed to wait inside, and at some point, it was just me and my 3 new friends inside. With luck on our side (for once), we arrived at the hotel just after 10:45. Realizing that Ethiopian Airlines kept us in the dark so much, we asked the hotel manager if he was told how long we'd stay. Hearts sank when he said he was informed that we might be there overnight. He quickly amended that to "worst case scenario," but the damage was done. Seeing our faces, he suggested we go have breakfast at their buffet, which was about to close but which the hotel was nice enough to keep open--and restock--for us. After several hours in the airport, the open air and flaky croissants were heavenly.

At 12:30, I asked the front desk if they had any more information. The woman said she didn't but she would call all the rooms if there was any good news. Knowing that the adrenaline that powered me since 2:00 wouldn't last, I decided to take a nap. It was a rather restless nap, however, because I became paranoid that I would miss the phone call or the knock on the door and then I'd be stranded in Khartoum (never mind that I could, you know, go home if this dragged on endlessly). I woke up violently at 2:00 (PM this time) and called the front desk. Ta-da! The bus was downstairs and ready to take us back to the airport. I quickly repacked my things and went back to the airport for try number 2.

Things went relatively smoothly at this point, all things considered. We re-boarded the bus at 4:00 PM and took off just over 12 hours delayed. Thankfully Ethiopian Airlines has two flights per day to South Africa (one Cape Town to Johannesburg, the other the reverse), so I was able to catch the second one the long-way around after another long delay in Addis Ababa. But given the circumstances, I'm surprised I arrived at my destination only 18 hours late. It did mean my planned 12-hour journey took 30 hours, but given that I slept VERY well on my flight, I was well-rested and ready to start my day in Cape Town when I arrived at 7:15 AM.

Following my leaving Khartoum misadventure, I'm of mixed mind on the "leave every 90 days" mantra. On the one hand, it's experiences like these that make me go crazy and yearn for Western "normalcy." However, while people said the magnitude of this delay was abnormal, the general experience was quite common, and I don't know if I'd have the energy to go through it again. I have another trip in two weeks, so I hope it goes more smoothly!

UPDATE: This was written (but not posted) before I returned, and my bad luck continued on my journey home. On the flight out of Cape Town, we were delayed 90 minutes because the plane didn't have enough power to start the engine. On the positive side, I still made my connection back to Khartoum and arrived about 20 minutes early, in fact.

The delay would've have been nicer if we were treated with some entertainment like this! Why don't these things ever happen when I'm around???

Rio 2016 Recap

Now that the Rio 2016 games are over, it's time for a little recap. Can't wait until Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020, and Beijing 2022! :)

1.     88 countries won Olympic medals, and only 1* is non-independent (Puerto Rico, and then there are Kuwait's medals which count for Independent Olympic Athletes).

2.     69 countries won at least one bronze medal. 63 countries won at least one silver medal. 59 countries won at least one gold medal.

3.     The US won the most medals overall, at 121, followed by China (69), Great Britain (67), Russia (56), and Germany (42).

4.     The US won the most gold medals, at 46, followed by Great Britain (27), China (25), Russia (19), and Germany (17).

5.     The US won the most silver medals, at 37, followed by Great Britain (23), and China, France, and Russia (18 each).

6.     The US also won the most bronze medals, at 38, followed by China (26), Japan (21), Russia (19), and Great Britain (17).

7.     There were 306 medal ceremonies, giving out 306 golds, 306 silvers, and 359 bronzes. If you disaggregate the medals (i.e., multiple medals for teams/groups), 663 gold medals, 655 silver medals, and 702 bronze medals were handed out.

8.     1,853 athletes (about 100 less than 2012) received some sort of medal during the games, or 16.28% of all athletes who went to the games.

9.     Medals were handed to US athletes 262 times. Second was Germany, with 162, Great Britain (145), Russia (115), and China (113).

10. 138 gold medals were handed out to the US, followed by Great Britain (64), Russia (52), Germany (50), and China (46).

11. 55 silver medals were out to Great Britain, followed by the US (54), France (51), Germany (45), and Italy (40).

12. 70 bronze medals were handed out to the US, followed by Germany (67), Canada (60), China (37), and Japan (35).

13. The US had the most athletes walk home with at least one medal, at 209. Following the US was Germany (154), Great Britain (130), Russia (103), and China (100).

14. But not every country had a lot of athletes. So in terms of percentage of athletes who got medals, 52.43% of Serbian athletes won medals, followed by Jamaica (40.68%), Russia (38.01%), the US (37.73%), and Germany (36.32%).

15. Of countries that won medals, the worst percentages were Portugal (1.09%, or 1 of 92 athletes), Algeria (1.56%, or 1 of 64 athletes), India (1.61%, or 2 of 124 athletes), Finland (1.82%, or 1 of 55 athletes), and Morocco (2.04%, or 1 of 49 athletes).

16. None of Serbia's 54 medalists won more than one medal. Same goes for Croatia (24), Belgium (21), Argentina (20), and Norway (19).

17. In a note of futility, none of Chile's 42 athletes won a medal. Other countries with more than 30 athletes but no medals include Ecuador (38), Hong Kong (38), Latvia (34), Montenegro (34), and Zimbabwe (31).

18. Mexico's 5 medals are the most without a gold (3 silver, 2 bronze). Norway's 4 medals are the most without a silver (all bronze), and Argentina's (3 gold, 1 silver), Slovakia's (2 gold, 2 silver), and Armenia's (1 gold, 3 silver) 4 medals each are the most without a bronze.

19. Six countries--Fiji, Jordan, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Tajikistan--won 1 gold medal and nothing else.

20. Two countries--Ireland, Algeria--won 2 silver medals and nothing else. Five countries--Burundi, Grenada, Niger, Philippines, Qatar--won 1 silver medal and nothing else.

21. One country--Norway--won four bronze medals and nothing else. Two countries--Egypt, Tunisia--won three bronze medals and nothing else. Eleven countries--Austria, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates--won 1 bronze medal and nothing else.

22. Belgium and Thailand each won 2 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals.

23. Latvia and Turkmenistan are the only former Soviet Republics not to win a medal.

24. On average, each Nigerian medal was for 18 athletes (Nigeria's only medal was for its 18-member Men's Football team). Similarly, each Fijian medal went to 13 athletes. The highest number of athletes on average otherwise are Serbia (6.75 athletes/medaling event), Argentina (5.00 athletes/medaling event), and Norway (4.75 athletes/medaling event). The US was 24th, averaging 2.17 athletes per medaling event.

25. Eleven delegations of less than 20 athletes won medals. The smallest were Grenada and Niger (6 athletes entered), followed by Tajikistan (7), Jordan (8), Kosovo (8), Burundi (9), Independent Olympic Athletes (Kuwait) (9), Cote d'Ivoire (12), Philippines (13), United Arab Emirates (13), and Kyrgyzstan (19).

Also, NBC's coverage of the Olympics was ridiculous. And if you need proof, watch John Oliver's take on it.