Voted Best in Sudan

Tonight I watched the podcast from yesterday's Countdown episode. The two-faced kitten made me ill and the political jokes surrounding it were tasteless. Of course, the story on the Paris Hilton Ad more than made up for it.

Of course, two of the features I wait for each night, the Best and Worst Person's in the World.

With only 17 days to go until I start home, I have been giving some thought as to what things I really love about Khartoum and which things I do not. Tonight will be my favorites.

My first Best is the rickshaw. Check this one out.

Believe it or not, these vehicles are popular in India. Watch any Bollywood movie and you will see these everywhere. Of course, in Khartoum, they are the cause of numerous accidents since their drivers seem to believe they can create new traffic lanes, go where motorcycles go, turn on a dime without signaling, and of course, traveling in the opposite direction of traffic.

In addition, they are color coded. In Khartoum, Amarat and Diem they are black. In Omdurman, they are green, and in places in between, they are red. I have even seen a yellow one. Some owners have added a light inside, in order to get the proper change, plastic hearts hang everywhere. I even saw one with big white letters "FBI" on one side and Mickey Mouse on the other. They borrow everything and nothing is sacred.

Would I give them up. Nope.

My second Best are the beautiful front doors. Here are some of my favorites. I plan on putting together a 2009 calendar and using it as a fundraisor All Saint's Cathedral Khartoum Youth Ministries.

I have discovered that you cannot tell what is behind these doors, unless you are invited in.

And, oh how I wished I were staying longer and getting more invitations.

My third Best is the children, all ages,sexes and religions. Here is Anoyya who lives next door to me and is 5. Here is her pretty in pink picture. One evening, she painted the fingernails on one hand copper and the other gold. Kathryn get out the picture of you and your Granny.

And JoJo, the daughter of one of the assisting priests at the Cathedral who lives on the grounds. This was taken

the second day she saw me. The first day, she would have nothing to do with me. Since then, she and I play whenever she is around, which is often. She is a born leader and smart as a whip.

And or course, Rascal's playmates, the boys on the block. I have suceeded in getting the plastic bottles out of the street and into my house for the trash. The boys discovered that Rascal likes to chase the bottles like soccer balls. So they keep throwing them over the outside fence. Rascal chases, they laugh, I throw away. Win, Win, Win.

Finally, my last Best are the goats. I love these animals. They wander everywhere as families. They eat everything but they look cute while doing it. Here they are outside my gate looking in at Rascal and me.

Non-plussed all of them.Of course, it goes without saying that there will be a post with pictures of all my friends in Sudan at a later date.