flexibility

From my travels, I've learned that probably one of the most important qualities you can have when traveling is flexibility. It's good to have a plan or general idea, of course, but you need to be okay when (not if) the plan changes. Here, we are on "African time," so things happen in their own good time. The worship service "begins" at 7:30am, but people don't start showing up until about 8, some even later. Meals are later. On the first night, Addy and I came back to our room after our bath, got into our pajamas, and prepared for bed. All of a sudden we heard a knock on the door; someone had come to take us to dinner--at 9pm! But you get used to it, or adapt for your own needs. I have to have breakfast before starting the day or I'll not feel well, so I just eat a granola bar to hold me over until we are served a meal. Flexibility.

Yesterday afternoon we went to visit a clinic some miles away. We all piled into a truck, including some people we picked up from the village. I asked to sit in the back. They tried to convince me to sit inside, but I insisted on sitting in the back. It was such a rush! I was reminded of my travels in Myanmar, riding through the mountains on the back of a truck. I loved feeling the wind on my face (which is a good preventative measure against car sickness, by the way). The view here is incredible: it's so flat (even flatter than in Nebraska!) and you feel like you can see forever. We saw the sun catching on the grass, turning it into golden spiderwebs. Here and there were huts and trees, and we regularly saw goats and birds. And then there were the cattle. Sometimes it seemed like the cattle stretched on for miles! At one point, on our way back, we had to stop because a line of hundreds of cattle was crossing the road. Incredible! This place is simply amazing.

Picture of South Sudanese cattle found here.