I received an email from a friend today, and amongst other things, he asked me why there are no longer any pictures with my blog. So I thought I'd put one in. There. On the left. That's it. Honestly, that is , actually, just about it. It's not that there aren't things to take pictures of - there are, in abundance. A few days ago I was out for a walk, a real, actual walk (more of that in a minute), and we saw a moped wobbling down the mud, hazardously hole strewn, "road". On the back of this moped was the biggest fish I have ever seen (well, when out of the water, anyway). This is not a fisherman's tale, I really am not exaggerating when I say that nose to tail, this fish was at least 8 feet long, and about 4 feet wide. It had a huge , open, mouth, and was obviously some bottom feeder type thing, which had been dredged up, god knows how, from the bed of the Nile. It was hanging over the back of the moped like a pillion passenger with no body, and a fish for legs. As the driver wobbled away, if only I had had my camera to capture it. The thing is, I DO have my camera, safely tucked away in my cupboard, in my room. The fact is, I'm not allowed to use it. There is no photography allowed, anywhere outside the compound (unless you are at a private function, and even then the local dignitaries are not that keen, in case they end up on Facebook). Officially, it is because you may inadvertently take a photograph of a sensitive building/landmark/army chap/cow. I say cow, as one of the South African de-miners was encarcerated for several hours after taking a picture of a cow, until someone bailed him out. There are stories of cameras being confiscated from diplomats, money exchanging hands to assure the officials that the pictures have been deleted....it is just not possible to photograph anything in Juba town. So I am going to have to content myself, (and my friend) with a picture a week of anything that doesn't get me arrested. And that's it, up there, on the left......
So - back to my walk. The Guerilla Researcher took Andrew and me for a stroll around town a few days ago. This may not seem like a big deal, but it actually the first time we've been anywhere not in a car. We pottered around a market selling hundreds of second hand shoes, shirts and dresses, past stalls with one lit light bulb to show that they had a generator and could charge your phone, past goats, children yelling "GOOD MORNING !!!" in unison, and for pretty much the first time since I got here, I felt that I was actually in Africa. After eating breakfast from a stall on the side of the road - fresh Japati rolled up with a freshly made omelette inside - mmm, we ended up sitting in the shade of a tree drinking spiced coffee made from freshly roasted and crushed coffee beans, out of little glasses, sitting on plastic chairs, goats nibbling at our feet. It was far from idyllic, there are piles of rubbish everywhere, empty plastic water bottles strewn recklessly about, and the children are in rags, but it was Africa. In my little compound it is most definitely an alternate universe, or a worm hole into another dimension. Oh dear, I'm getting carried away, I think I may be getting the beginnings of cabin fever........
Just to end, for anyone who has been reading regularly, the poor Dutch girl I looked after in my first few weeks, came in today. She was a different person. She had been home to Holland, eaten well and slept, and had been looked after by her Mum.So even if I do go crazy here, I know I can rely on my friends and family to put me back together again so I can do it all over again....
Great pic ;-)
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