Morning eventually came and I was reunited with the boys.
I asked myself why I was so moved by the experience, but struggled to distinguish the different emotions on the brew. I have found myself in a man’s world. I have chosen this. I have chosen to be here without feminine comforts and support. This is something I can deal with. But sometimes I am thrown a step further into a foreign world, more male dominated than the contrived one of this trip. It takes it out of me, leaving me emotionally drained. Women giggle at me, men stare at me, and I cannot share these observations with anyone who can identify with me. I want to learn from these experiences. I want to sap them up and take them for what they are – cultural insights and not personal affronts. These are experiences unlikely to be matched in my lifetime.
The world I saw was one that had all appearances of being culturally true. Bar the occasional cellular phone, I felt that I had stumbled into almost biblical times where men and women existed in separate worlds. The women didn’t appear lesser, but almost sacred - Individuals to be hidden and covered and rear children. I am fairly ignorant of women’s liberation, and have been raised in an environment where I have never really felt less competent than a man. I find it difficult to comprehend the lives that these women leave and it left me with endless questions over whether their ways are better or worse than ours, whether these women need “liberation” or this is choice, and most disturbingly, why I felt no anger for their position.
We reached the town of Wad Medani 110 km later. It is a beautiful little town on the banks of the Blue Nile. From here our route leaves the safety of the Nile and heads east to Ethiopia.
I am extremely excited for Ethiopia – I look forward to leaving the Arabic North African world behind and entering a world one step closer to my own. I also look forward to throwing long pants away and donning a pair of shorts. Legs! You will tan!
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