Day 17: Sudanese are super peaceful and welcoming people

We’ve had a very relaxing yet also somewhat adventurous rest day in Dongola. The day started with one clear mission—food, and so a bunch of us followed Ed into the market street. “The market starts around 10am,” Allam, our Sudanese TDA support staff, had advised him, “and around 11am, they’ll all be eating chicken and fish.”

While yesterday was quiet when we arrived (Saturday being their Sunday), today was bustling with activity. Half starved, we walked into the first restaurant where we saw grilled chicken outside. Making our order and watch them prepare our food was an adventure by itself. But in the end we all got what we wanted and enjoyed a delicious brunch—grilled chicken and fried fish it was! I also had lots of fresh salad, and—by the next morning—my stomach is still feeling fine 🙂

The people in the streets are very friendly and welcoming, yet not in an overwhelming way like we had in Egypt. It’s totally safe, including for women. We’ve had lots of pleasant experiences, for example:

• The shop and stall owners all welcomed us to take photos of them.
• When buying things, they always would return the appropriate change (no need to hassle and bargain), and sometimes even give us more goods on top. E.g., I bought peanuts from an old lady. It was 5 pounds (about USD0.33). She was so happy that I bought from her that she gave me another small bag of peanuts for free! Unfortunately, though, I ate it all in one go 😉
• Julian had lost his GoPro in a tuktuk. How frustrating! But guess what—the tuktuk driver found it and handed it back in at our camp!!!

Of course, the locals also try to chat us up, but not in a bothersome way. “What’s your name? Where are you from? What are you doing in Sudan? What do you do for work?” A friendly chap chatted to me while walking back to the hotel. “Is she married?” he finally wanted to know.—”Yes, I am.” (Sorry, usually I’m an honest person.)—”Thank you,” he said—I assume for the English lesson, “byebye,” and off he went.