This is Juba, not Syracuse, right?

I am getting this blog going a little bit late as I'm already about 2 weeks into this new job and new experience living in post-conflict Sudan.

I'm not going to try to go back and catch you all up on the last two weeks because really, there hasn't been all that much to account. It's just been a succession of the typical adjustments one has to make related to environmental conditions and lifestyle.

Blessed be we who hail from and live in the land of the grocery store, mega mall, movie theater and freeway. Truly, I say that not in jest.

Things requiring adjusting to:

1. heat - oppressive, only to get worse apparently
2. dust - choking red dust that probably has a bit more unpleasantness mixed in
   
3. stench - burning trash, rotting trash, sewage, ageing cars and trucks spewing forth noxiousness
   
4. astronomical prices - $15 for a case of Fanta
5. horrible roads - Mass Highway Department and NYDOT tolls really do pay for something that you can't quite appreciate until you've spent 30 minutes going 4.5km
6. boredom - no velodrome, no books to buy, nowhere to go except to eat, no newstand, no people you love, no nothing. Well, there is South African Satellite TV. I watched WWE for the first time ever last night out of desperation
7. Food - this one is particularly maddening. There simply doesn't at this stage appear to be much of it to buy that would allow you to cook on your own. See point 4 as to why it is nice to be able to have food available to cook with from time to time
   

So there you have it. Those who haven't been to Syracuse are probably wondering what the this post has to do with Syracuse, even those who've been are probably thinking right now that I am being a little overly critical of lovely Syracuse. They're right, Syracuse isn't Juba bad by any means. And not only do they have a mega mall, but they have Wegman's, Price Chopper, Peter's and Sam's Club to name just a few gloriously stuffed to the gills grocery stores.

The reference to Syracuse and the nice aerial shot of the Bristol Myers Squibb factory have to do with the fact that after awaking for the second time this morning, I watched the sun rise then went back to sleep for 2 hours, the compound smelled like Syracuse. Syracuse has a persistent sulpher smell curtesy of the pharmaceutical giant. Juba this morning smells just like Syracuse on any given day. It's a bit more disconcerting to smell that here, because god only knows the source. Chemical Weapons wafting down from the SPLA barracks? Electrical work struggling and about to alight in the compound? Something else entirely? Who knows, but I will keep a nose on it, don't you worry.

It's time to eat leftover pizza for lunch. I froze it last night so it would keep through the night when the generator went off.

My legs are looking rather pale. Maybe I will tan today. What else is there to do?