Dating in Sudan

How does one take his wife out on a date in Sudan? Here is what it looked like for us...Tuesday is market day so I thought it would be a good day to take Bethany into town and "cruise the streets". So, I lined up the baby sitters, a couple short-term girls. Put the boys down for their nap at 1 pm and slipped out the door. We walked maybe 300 feet, enjoying our first date alone when suddenly several students from the school joined us for a romantic walk into town. We aren't allowed to show public affection, but I was allowed to link arms with Bethany as we crossed the river. The river was especially high so it was expected that Bethany would hold pretty tight to me as we crossed. Pretty smooth of us, eh?

We arrived into town and we hoped the boys had only joined us for the walk, which was true for they wanted to check out any new items in the market. We are only a few miles from the Ethiopian border so every week that the peace holds in Sudan, the more items come into the market.

Right, so I needed to take Bethany out to eat, right? I took her to the only restaurant, "The W Hotel". The hostess must have had the day off so we seated ourselves. We literally had to find our seats, clean off the table and sit down. Not bad. The owner asked us something we didn't quite understand and soon the whole restaurant was interested in helping us out, shouting questions and answers sometimes in English, sometimes in Arabic. What soon arrived was a small bowl of boiled goat and two pieces of bread, each. Perfect. Exactly what we had ordered. And, just because I love my wife so much, I had some Pepsis shipped in by donkey from Ethiopia. An exquisite meal.

After lunch, I took Bethany for some tea, which is 1/3 sugar, 1/3 boiled tea grounds, and 1/3 boiling water. Absolutely fantastic stuff. Brightens any day. After tea we strolled the market, marveling at the matches, flashlights, unroasted coffee beans, and fried bread. We bought some juice powder and crackers as they are essentials for life (man cannot live on bread and water alone).

The daily afternoon rain loomed large, quickly moving in from Ethiopia, meaning the river would be even higher as we went home. It was time to go. We walked the mile and a half back home in the slightly less romantic format of man in front, woman three paces behind. And that is how you have a date in Sudan.