Sudan Elections

Want to read party profiles and know  more about the elections in Sudan? Interested in reading about the Debated issues?

Follow the elections @ http://www.electionnaire.org/index2.php?q=4&a=-1

Thanks to the Peace Research Institute @ the University of Khartoum (U of K) , Media in Cooperation and  FES sudan, you have a unique website with a lot of resources. 

Meeting the King of Cool or the King of People of Color (his emphasis!)

It was about 1 pm when Brooke called me. My friend was sleeping over and I was making her breakfast. Yes, we slept in, guiltlessly. The conversation was short and to the point.

"Samuel L Jackson is here for the Cairo international film festival, he is giving a lecture at Sofitel Sheraton at 4, I have a press pass, you can come with me if you want. Can you?"

I was flabbergasted. I've yet to meet any hollywood celebrities. I was a building away from George Clooney when he came to Cairo! Yeah.... I did say hi to John Prendergast ( he is not part of Hollywood, but he is a celebrity and he is good friends with Don Cheadle, so it counts!) .

Me:- Brooke, I will get back to you in less than 10 minutes.

I DID!

"Yes, I can make it, I will be there at 3:30, we can meet in the lobby!"

So I dress up, formal, but not too formal. Funky formal. Jeans (the new ones from Mango), formal white shirt from Bhs, brown boots and my long-champ, the medium-sized one. 

I took money from  my emergency wallet ( in case he agrees to have coffee with us , I'm sure we are gonna go somewhere expensive! ( always be prepared if you want my advice!).

Then, I started panicking. What am I gonna do with my hair? It was  oily as hell  and thanks to this new oil I'm using (it really works with my Sudanese hair:d), it smells funny.

So, I had to think fast. Damage control 101! If I washed it, it's gonna be all over the place in exactly an hour. 

Despite the oil and  "funky" smell, I loved the curls!

So, I compromised. I let it down and used loads of perfume (Channel No.5, to add some class), I'm meeting Samuel L Jackson after all.

4:00 pm

We are inside the hall, the sheraton room, and it looks like he is gonna be late. I run into a few people I know. Cairo is a big city with loads of familiar faces!

Waiting.

4:40 pm 

He enters the room, completely ignoring the photographers swarming around him like bees. He looks cool, no wonder he is called the king of cool..... He is so collected and confident. Standing at 6'3, it's hard to miss him. 

He  sat down between this other guy and Ezzat Abu-Ouf (Egypt's Harrison Ford). 

Hemade a few jokes, we laughed. 

I smiled at him. 

I was sitting in the third row, but I was right in front of him. We made sure we sit in the exact middle! We made great eye-contact a few times and I kept nodding at him for no apparent reason. 

He seemed nice, not as star-struck and arrogant.

Question 4:-  what do you think about Egypt and do you feel safe here?

King of Cool:- I feel safe anywhere if there are people of color.

.................................

Awkward silence followed the awkward reply. 

Awkward.

More awkwardness.

First of all- Egyptians don't think of themselves as people of color. This is a very American term and concept.

Second of all-Do you or do you not feel safe in Uncle Sam, Sam?

Third of all- That was just inappropriate and confusing to the audience.

It sure was a miss!

Then, an Algerian film-maker asked him if he would like to be in one of her movie( she is a film-maker). He said yes, write me a cheque for $ 2 M and we will talk.

(No independent movie for you Mr.cool :)

I have to admit, he was funny and he gave me a sweet smile:)

PS:- can you give me $2 M before I do anything because I'm me?:D

The art of job-hunting

Wholeheartedly Sudaniya is a graduate! 

After 3.5 years of writing papers, pretending to study, taking notes, interning, volunteering and attending lectures given by Jimmy Carter, the Queen of Swaziland (no I don't mean Switzerland) and Jerry Leach (he is such a sweetheart!), she is done. No more papers and waking up at 5 in the morning to register for classes and no more student discounts (I just realized how useful being a student is a month ago when I finally decided to get fit and join the gym!). 

After a summer of pretending to be working and doing important things...wait:- why do people ask you about your plans a week after you graduate? are you expected to get a job the day you graduate?

I wanted to chill the whole summer,but I did end up working as a research assistant twice and doing some volunteering ( I was a lazy volunteer!) , but I did think about getting an actual full-time job. Not the 9-5 crap because once you start doing it, you are sucked in. You are in it "till death do you part".

Finally, after Ramadan...

I started job-hunting.  I looked at the usual :- relief-web, alert-net, Irin news etc... Anything to do with communications in an NGO or other humanitarian vacancies. Then I had to write cover letters, now this is the difficult part, I hate writing cover letters...why? I lack the qualifications to "bull-shit". I can't convince you of something to save my life....

So after a number of cover letters..... I got lucky. 

 I never got any full-time job, but I did get lucky. A freelance opportunity here, an editing stint there, I managed to keep myself busy and satisifed. The hard part is when people ask me what I do. I mean, come on, working from home or in your pj's is not considered "real work" in the minds of older people ( the emphasis is mine!). I'm expected to find something proper, wear trousers , a shirt and carry a formal (black or brown) bag , wake up at 7:30, drink my cup of coffee and rush out the door. 

For now, I'm gonna continue doing random things, sleeping in and reading my favorite magazines and books.

Maybe I will get a "normal" job someday, but for now, I feel very blessed:)

Pretty in Uggs!:)

Who said you need to live in a cold country where it snows a lot to wear uggs:)

It was in  the cold( warm compared to other countries) winter of 2006 in Cairo that I was first introduced to the wonderful Ugg boots  by my best friend Sarah. We used to work with refugee children an hour away from where we lived, waking up at 7 o'clock in the  coldest winter ever was not my favorite experience!

 

Sarah is so in-love with the Chest-nut Uggs (see picture)

For a great ugg-boot brand, check out Ugg boots. They offer very warm and comfortable ugg boots at great prices!

PS:- If you decide to buy whooga ugg boots, mention my blog and get a $20 discount!:)

Ugg boots

Poetry

I'm loving Kenyan poet and artist, Shailja Patel.

Check her out @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8bxP2AP5xQ&feature=player_embedded#at=177

Since when is wearing trousers against the law?

Most of you don't know me in person, but anyways, I love Jeans...a lot. I wear jeans all the time, everywhere, even in Sudan. So when Lubna and a bunch of other women were arrested for wearing pants, I was shocked.
This is how I see it, Lubna is a journalist (so she is targeted by the government) and not only that, she writes a controversial column and being the brave woman she is, she is not afraid to write about anything an anyone. So the whole thing was probably targeted at her.

she was arrested with other women at a cafe in Khartoum for "indecent dress" (sounds vague?). This doesn't really happen in Sudan, you just don't get arrested for wearing pants!
A Sudanese official said she was actually arrested for smoking shisha. Again, you don't get arrested for smoking shisha.
So why was Lubna arrested?

Someone is not telling us the truth.

Jamie Oliver and the Sudanese in him

The Insider is spreading the word and it seems to be true. His great uncle told him a family secret before his death, he is 1/6 Sudanese.

Maybe the Naked Chef should consider visiting K-town:) 

PS:- Jamie, I totally love how we see you go shopping for all the food you are planning to cook:)