The Sudan national census started today. It was supposed to start last week, but the South delayed because there are still tons of Southerners living elsewhere as refugees. So then the international community urged it to go ahead, and so ahead it goes. Though the South has since said they’re not going to be bound by the results. So people are supposed to stay at home to be counted. The thing is, well, there’s a few things. First of all, the purpose (from the little I know) is to see who gets how much of the incentives agreed upon when the North and South signed the peace in 2005. So both sides will undoubtedly inflate their numbers. Plus it’s ridiculous because there’s no way they’re going to get to every house in every village. No way. Though the census driver in Ayod did drive super fast. But I wasn’t thinking – man, he’s gonna get a whole lot of people counted, I thought – Jesus, he’s gonna run over a child.
Meanwhile, I’m in Juba steadily editing video and rockin tunes. The fan is on, and I’ve had many cups of coffee. I’m calling two of the videos done and done, but all this means is now it’s time to export huge files and work to wait, then wait to work again, while my Final Cut software uses most of my computer’s brain capacity, then I’ll trade things back and forth from my external drive so I can get the vids onto DVD and really be done with them. Oh, except for getting the files on Steve’s PC, but I’ll figure that out later…
In two weeks I plan to be spending the rest of my Kenyan shillings in the Nairobi airport, waiting to fly to Amsterdam, where I will wait to fly to Seattle. Two weeks is the time frame that usually gets me really excited that something’s actually happening, but time is different here. Lots can happen here in two weeks. But I like it as a time frame.
Listening to Professor Jay which is Swahili hip-hop, and riding it back into the work…
