...the loud whistle of the law….

June 20, 2008

So…..I really don’t know how to preface this…..so here was today.

It was a good day. After events from last Sunday, and an EXTREMELY busy day yesterday….to the point we had to tell the guard to simply not let any more people come to the clinic….20 minutes before it closed since we still had about ten out there waiting…..especially crying babies. There were quite a few of those yesterday too.

Today the clinic was closed so we could take Nunace to the hospital for physical therapy. She broke her leg about 3 ½ weeks ago and the cast came off a few days ago.

Now…..when you think of physical therapy at home….images of plush offices might come to mind, with autographed pictures of sports stars, nice artwork, perhaps pleasant receptionist answering phones, and Michael Bolton playing over the intercom. Don’t worry, Michael Bolton will come back around for this story…..but not during physical therapy, and especially not in the office that represents the complete opposite of what you might have in your head.

The actual therapist is a man named Benjamin, who is a very nice person. He does….what I feel….is a very good job. Every now and then he likes to give us some grief, but I also imagine he, like others, grows weary of kawaja’s coming in and telling him what to do. So, we do our best not to do this, but at times when he wants some of the kids to come in for physical therapy during school hours for a week, we do object. Remember that image you might have of the office? Did it have fancy equipment? Well, please keep in mind we had to purchase the supplies for the cast from an outside store before they would make the cast, and that goes for everyone. The physical therapy is basic flexion and extension with the only resistance to build strength being gravity. So we are able to do this at the orphanage and keep our kids in school.

We then walk around with one of the mama’s from the village for a good period of time trying to schedule surgery for her, since we were told that Friday is the day to do that. We find the surgeon, again a very nice man, but unless we can supply with some sutures, they are unable to perform the surgery, and we must come back either Monday or Thursday to schedule surgeries, not on Fridays. So, we are looking for extra sutures here, and if we do I get to watch the surgery too….and I’m pretty excited about that.

As a treat for myself, Emily, Nunace, and the mama we go to the only coffee shop in town; and our timing is perfect since it is only 10:45. At 11 am power is shut off in town until 2 pm, something with the electrical grid, I really don’t know. The mama, who looks to be in her 60’s enjoys her VERY FIRST COKE, and likes it. Nunace a Fanta, and Emily and I enjoy Sudanese macchiato…..weak regular coffee with steamed milk.

Now, if you have been anticipating the Michael Bolton portion of this story…..you may now relax, because Sudan does have some version of music video channel, and it is on in the coffee shop. First up….you guessed it….Michael Bolton with “How Am I Supposed to Live without You”. It was like karaoke, without the bar, because Emily joined right in. I just sat back and enjoyed…them...both...and my coffee. Following that was “We are the World” and a debate about the reason behind this song and “Don’t They Even Know It’s Christmas”….as it turned out, Emily won that one…..while Nunace and the mama really didn’t contribute much. Once Mariah Carey came on, it was our cue to leave.

Our intention was to drop off Nunace, drive the mama to her tukel, and turn right back around to get some stool sample results from the lab at the hospital. There are two traffic circles in town, and they are quite small, yet quite confusing. I had never approached this one from the direction we were going, and it showed. I remember asking Emily…..”turn left, or go around the circle”, because we were already left of the circle. Well, we both didn’t know and my choice of turning left was the wrong one. An advantage of all dirt roads is, it’s obvious where people drove earlier and I didn’t see any tracks when I turned left.

The noise of a police man’s whistle was an obvious one. I pulled over to him, twice since the first time I did not pull over adequately. I get out of the car and just say “I’m sorry, I didn’t know, but I see now that I did that wrong”, but then was given grief about wearing flip flops while driving…..hmmmm…..this might take a while. I leave my driver’s license and Emily to watch over the license (her call not mine), drive Nunace and the mama back to the compound, get all of my money, change into my running shoes, and let Nancy know why I’m leaving again and Emily is not with me.

When I get back the few officers that were there start to talk all about how much money this is going to cost me…..hundreds of US dollars, and is not even including the cost of the ticket for driving with flip flops. I explain about observing other drivers, and apologize for not understanding that law; but they continue on and on about how much money this will cost. Since Emily was there for about 15 minutes while I left, she had already been through a little of this and mentioned smelling alcohol on those not in uniform but hanging around also getting in on what this will cost me. Good call on her part, if we have to pay the fine then we do it at the police station. Off we go, the supervising officer on the back of a boda (motorcycle taxi) and the original officer in the back of the land cruiser.

Once there we run into a young man who used to be in the orphanage many years ago. He tries to help out since he does speak the language but does not manage to do so. Funny thing….the officer did not bring up the “flip flop offense” at the police station. So, 120 Sudanese Pounds, or $60, later I have a receipt and a new experience to write about, and yes I am much the wiser to the driving laws in Yei.

Well, by now it is lunch time and we decide to dine out. Well, there are many spots to choose from, but only a few that foreigners go to. Of all the things we do back home…..guess which one hit the restaurant scene here……..BUFFETT. I’m still not too sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but today at 1:00 PM GMT+3, it was a good thing. Rice and oddly enough no beans, pasta, plantains, wasaka (or something that sounds like that), “greens” (which is like spinach, but not, and looks like lawn clippings, but isn’t), and various meat products in curry.

…I know that I write most things with a great deal of sarcasm with a dash of pessimism, but please believe me when I comment that it really was good…

Ah, so we chat with a fellow from….I have no idea where, about the billions that have been donated to pave 3 of the main roads in Southern Sudan that lead into Juba (the capital of Southern Sudan, and yes there is still only 1 Sudan so…..feel free to read between the lines of that peace agreement).

A few more malaria tests to do once back at the compound, it’s Friday and that means it is “D…V…D” or “vi-d-eee-oh” night according to the kids.

So, it was a long day, but a really good one. Best of all, it was topped off with another favorite activity. As most of the really young kids fall asleep on the floor of the cafeteria during the movie, I do enjoy carrying them off to their dorms two by two, one on each arm and one head resting on each shoulder. Usually six or more trips will do it.

Thank you all so much for the many e-mails of encouragement. This last week has been taxing, but God is AMAZING and it is showing in each and every one of you.