Week IV - Day 1

No Real Story

It looks like I’ve gotten my days mixed up; a reoccurring pattern as of late. Amazing how getting up to go and work every day grounds one in routine but, the day there is no job to get up and go to, one is at a total loss of time and space: all this to say that the final achievement of receiving South Sudanese citizenship for Michael actually happened between days one and three of the fourth week and not the third.

So here I am stuck with trying to share something interesting about Week IV – Day 1 and I’m coming up with nothing.

I could share information about the fuel shortage and how it took our driver a very long time to come get us because he’d been in line for fuel for hours but, that story is not so interesting especially since it was told in Dinka and then translated to me so, I’d be leaving out quite a few juicy details.

I could also tell you about the woman in the Capt’s office. She was middle-aged and didn’t say much. Every person who walked into the office pretty much ignored her as they went around the room greeting with the mandatory handshake and “salam”.  One man did not greet her and simply sat down and began his conversation with the Captain. After some time of chit-chat, the man finally realized he’d overlooked the woman. The Captain mentioned her name and the man jumped to his feet to greet her, shake her hand, and make a strained effort at showing more respect.

Turns out that the woman was “Dr. Somebody” and he’d been very nonchalant toward her until her name was uttered. Dr. Somebody continued to sit in silence (that thing I’m learning to do more of) and keep to herself. She flashed a quick smile my way in a show of what I’d like to think of as sisterly solidarity. Dr. Somebody saw me sitting quietly and not understanding anything that was going on around me: her courtesy boosted my spirits that day.

I also believe that sitting in the office that day and shaking all those sweaty hands and the extremely creaky AC blowing dust and mold may have been the beginning of my first health incident.