Mornings in Mundri

I have been living in Mundri for a full two weeks now. From the first day I landed in Mundri and for the first full week, I felt sick most of the day. Now that I have learned a little bit about everyday life in Mundri, I will give you a picture of what an average day is like for me. I get up around 6 AM and write in my journal or read for a while. By 7 or 7:30 I venture out of our tent to take a shower, which is outside next to the pit latrine, and get ready for the day.

It was pretty hot my first week, but it is has cooled down quite a bit as rainy season is starting. We have had a few rains already, but as of now they are short bursts of relatively moderate rain. Mundri is lush and green with new plants. The area is relatively flat and the soil is great for agriculture. Many people in the community are involved in planting crops and gardens now, including Larissa who is planting all sorts of things in our yard.

In the morning everyone gets breakfast in the house on their own schedule. Karen starts school with the kids and some of the everyday chores get done in the morning. It is very dusty here, so sweeping is a daily task. The trash goes out to the compost, burn pit, or non-burn trash pit. The water filter is refilled as necessary, and someone may make yogurt or cook some granola in the sun oven. If we need food for dinner, someone will go to the market to get meat from the butcher, tomatoes, cabbage, eggs, sugar, flour, mangoes, onions, garlic, hibiscus for tea, milk powder, tomato paste, rice, lentils, beans, pasta, bread or pita, and many other basic food items. Occasionally we can also get pineapple, bananas, citrus or other fresh fruits and vegetables. It seems that every time we go to the market, there are more things available.

During the days I have been meeting with people from the community, working on small projects around the compound, observing work being done by other NGOs and local water technicians, or just learning about the local culture and community.

I haven't started structured language learning yet, but I am planning on dedicating one day a week to learning Moru and some basic Arabic so that I can communicate with the people who are using the hand pumps, gathering the water, serving as the pump caretakers, selling goods at the market, and living as our neighbors. I am praying that I would build relationships with some Sudanese women, but a relationship cannot function on the three phrases I know. Everyone is so excited and encouraging when I say the few phrases that I have already learned.