day 30 :: the last of the [retroactive] posts

I intended to keep adding to this list and then… didn’t. Regardless, it’s the end of the (postable) Sudan writings.

Things Sudan taught me:

1. In a Cessna Caravan, sit as far forward as possible. Preferably the seat right behind the pilots and directly under the wing. It’s better, but even there, it will feel like the plane is being torn apart every time turbulence bumps you around.
2. Bloglines takes less internet bandwidth than any other website. You can read blogs on it when the rest of the internet isn’t strong enough to work.
3. It’s an amoeba, idiot.
4. The difference between a cake and a coffeecake is the oil and the margarine. One you can get in Sudan. One you can’t. Get used to it. The difference between bread and cake is the yeast and the baking powder. One you can get in Sudan. One you can’t. Get used to it. In other words, you can only bake bread, and not if it requires butter.
5. Fans use a lot of electricity. So does the V-Sat. A television uses less, and lights use the least. You will still have light after you’ve exhausted the power needed to watch television or cool yourself with a fan.
6. One gunshot – or even two, or three, or four – is nothing. Carry on. As long as there is not an exchange of gunfire, it’s probably just someone drunk and shooting into the air, which happens ‘most every night. (If the fire is returned, turn off the lights and get down.)