Back to the Suburbs

I made my first journey to the African continent in 2008. I distinctly remember on my flight from Zurich to Dar es Salaam looking down at the great expanse of desert in Libya and Sudan and thinking, "It's a shame I'm never going to be able to go to these places." Eight years later, I got the opportunity of a lifetime, and as I stood in Addis Ababa waiting to board my flight to Khartoum, I knew I was going to a place I never thought I would go. After traversing southern and eastern Africa, I made it to Sudan, and things that once seemed impossible became possible. I remember being overwhelmed by Tanzania in 2008, but now, after six different trips to the continent (of varying lengths) and experiences in 14 of the 49 sub-Saharan African countries, traveling to the continent feels like coming home and I constantly look for ways to get back. That's probably one of the reasons I was so excited to move to Khartoum.

Sudan wasn't the first place I've ridden a camel, but
riding a camel by a bunch of pyramids is surreal.

Then, once I got to Khartoum, I felt like I became a better version of myself. Everything I wrote about in my six-month reflection still holds. I am more social. I am more assertive when necessary. I practice yoga. And I feel like a better person. What more could I ask for? When I came ot that realization, I knew that I had found the right tour for me. And as much as my colleagues thought I was weird for how much I truly began to LOVE Khartoum, it was the reasons--and the great community--that drew me in.

Sadly, however, life takes unexpected turns and the best-made plans get shattered. Life sees comfort and it jolts you out. As you can probably surmise based on this blog post's title, I have returned to the suburbs of Virginia. It wasn't what I planned, and I would have loved to finish my tour in Khartoum, but it just wasn't in the cards. I don't yet know what's next for me, but I look forward to finding out and seeing how whatever it is helps me continue to grow as a person and as a friend.

My 7.5-months in Khartoum were better than I could have ever imagined. I believe in fate and that everything happens for a reason, so for me to leave early, I need to believe that something good is just around the corner. And I had to be back in the US to see it. With that in mind, I plan on being ready to take advantage of whatever next comes my way!

I have sunset on Sudan....

While not the happiest post, here's a video that cheers me up. Multilanguage videos of Disney songs are awesome, and this is such a great and inspirational song.

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: