As I have written before, the Sudanese are generally very generous and hospitable to foreigners. While this is certainly the case in Khartoum, the people of Mashu and the surrounding villages took this sense of hospitality to a new level. While Dongola is one of the tourist destinations in Sudan, I don’t think too many foreigners make their way to Mashu and I kind of felt like a celebrity. When we first arrived in Mashu, Amar told me that I would be treated like a king, and he was right. It almost became a competition amongst the villagers and everyone wanted me to come to their home for tea or a meal. As I wrote in the previous entry, each meal during the Eid was at a different house and after every meal the host would shake my hand with a big smile and say, “Thank you so much for coming to my home.” It would often be in broken English or through Amar but the sentiment was quite clear. On the last day of Eid, we went to the house of one of Amar’s good friends for breakfast. When we arrived, he greeted me with a big hug and said, through Amar, “Jeremy! We have been waiting all morning for you to get here!” He seemed so proud to show me his house, simple though it may have been. Unfortunately we had to turn down several invitations because there were more invites than there were meals. One day, we were walking through another village to a house for lunch. There was a group of men sitting on the side of the road and when they saw me coming, they called me over and insisted I had a cup of coffee. One of the men then brought out his whole family to meet me and basically begged me to stay for lunch. Keep in mind this was a total stranger, even to Amar and his cousins. It took them some time to convince the man that we had to go to another house for lunch. Although he was disappointed that we couldn’t stay, he thanked me for drinking his coffee and I was just shocked by this man’s generosity. As we walked away and I marveled to Amar about the kindness of the people, he beamed with pride.
There were also many times where I was surrounded by people, usually kids or teenagers, who just wanted to hear me talk. It was obvious that my general appearance and language were hilarious to them because there were several times that they would say things in Arabic and then burst out laughing. It didn’t bother me because I have no idea what they were saying and laughter is always a good thing, even if they were laughing at me. It really made me wish that I knew Arabic because everyone wanted to speak to me but their English was rudimentary at best. However, there were a few locals who spoke English and I had several very interesting conversations. They always wanted to know my thoughts about Sudan and how my experiences contrasted with what we hear about Sudan in the western media. The Sudanese are very aware that their country isn’t painted in the best light in the west and I was happy to tell them how appreciative I was of the Sudanese hospitality and generosity. Many people that I met live in different parts of Sudan and I now have several standing offers to visit different cities and towns around the country.
As you might imagine, life is very simple in these small villages. Agriculture is the primary industry in the area and the Nile River definitely sustains the entire region. The main crops are wheat, beans, and greens that they feed the animals. Dongola is famous throughout Sudan for its dates and there are date palms everywhere. Whenever we walked around, we would throw rocks in the trees to knock down some dates, clean them, and eat them on the spot. Every house had huge sacks filled with dates. The dates were so tasty and I brought two big bags back with me to Khartoum. Many people live a rather primitive lifestyle. There is no indoor plumbing so the bathrooms are basically four walls built around a hole in the ground. They don’t have toilet paper, just a jug of water, so I’ll let you use your imagination to figure out how you clean yourself. Let’s just say there’s a reason why you only eat with your right hand. The “shower” is just an enclosed area with a bucket of water and a bar of soap. The area only got electricity about a year ago when a large dam was built nearby on the Nile. Even without all the so-called modern comforts, the people there have a joy for life. I have had similar experiences in other developing countries that I have visited and it never ceases to amaze me. It just proves that happiness does not come from our material possessions, but rather from human interaction with friends and family. The bonds between the people I met were very strong and everyone seemed to truly care for one another.
Even after only a few days, I honestly felt like part of the community. Everyone I met was so incredibly friendly; they seemed genuinely honored to welcome a foreigner into their village. Everywhere I went, people were telling me that I had to come back and visit them again. I will close with another story that really made me smile. One night after dinner in a nearby village, we were riding back to our house on a donkey cart (a pretty cool experience in itself). A truck drove by and the driver slowed down to say hello. As they drove by, I heard someone in the passenger seat say, “It’s Jeremy!” I have no idea who it was but it just typifies how welcoming the people were throughout my stay. I will never forget the incredible people of Mashu.
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