We visited another IDP camp. This one was worse off than the last one, because there are no NGOs there to help.

Here are some photos from Souq Omderman, a photo of the Khartoum University Library, and one of Reem and Nuha at their graduation ceremony.

I went to a big football (soccer) match between Hillel (a local team) and a team from Nigeria. Most games cost 500 Dinars, so I only brought 1000 Dinars. This game cost 2000 Dinars, because it was a big match. I walked up a ramp leading to the expensive seats (the ramp is taller than the stadium wall) and watched the beginning of the game from there. The view was not very good, though, so I went across the street where many people were watching from a rooftop. The view was a little better, but you could only see one goal. At half time I decided to invoke Hawaja Privilege (taking advantage of the fact that white people are rare and well respected) and got in for free. Inside the stadium, I met some Sudanese fans who spoke decent English and watched the game with them.

The place was absolutely packed. It was the deciding game for entrance into the African League Semi-Finals. Sudan lost 3-0 in Nigeria, so they had to win by more than 4 points. No one thought it could be done. Hillel scored one goal after another. Each time, the fans lit newspapers on fire, shot off Roman Candles (fireworks) and danced around hugging each other. It came down to an exciting sudden-death shootout and Hillel won! I the whole city of Omderman (and probably the rest of the country) celebrated for hours.

At the police station where I teach, they serve a huge breakfast everyday at 10:00. Meat, ful, chicken, taimia, cheese, salad, dessert and three or four types of drinks. Today they slaughtered a goat (probably the one that was tied up in front of the building yesterday), which is pretty common for a big meal here in Sudan. They don't waste a thing. The head is a delicacy. The stomach and intestines are cooked in a special sauce. The liver is eaten raw. The rest of the meat is served with a spicy sauce. I tried everything except the head, but could not enjoy it because I had met the goat yesterday.

We all went to the Khartoum University graduation celebration today. I had trouble getting there, because I thought it was in Buri at the Police Home, but it was actually in Khartoum Two at the Police Club. The party was not like any stuffy graduation celebration in the US. It was held at a large amphitheater. A live band played Sudanese music on stage and everyone danced (which is usually not allowed in this overly modest, religious society). The wealthy families had tables full of food, which they generously shared.

By the time I got there, I was starving. I have to leave at 7:30am to teach the police officers. I got to the party 14 hours later and had not eaten since breakfast. Yes, even in Sudan you sometimes get too busy to eat. The party ended at 11:00, as all parties do, because amplified music is not allowed after that time.

I went to Souq Omderman to take photos, but I forgot to bring my photo-permit. You need a permit for everything here. Most people were excited about getting their photo taken. Often a small crowd would gather and each person would wait their turn to be photographed. I always asked before taking a picture, but some people got upset about me even asking. The real problem didn't start until I took a picture of a homeless family. I was approached by an undercover police officer and questioned. "Why are you taking pictures of these people," he said. I replied, "It is to show my friends and family the people of Sudan." "Why show them this?" he said, "it is illegal to photograph negative aspects of the country."

The conversation went on like this for a while. I tried to leave, but he kept me there while he called his office. Eventually he let me go, but said that I should bring my permit next time.

Ok Todd, you want it, you got it. Here are directions to Khartoum University (The police station was too hard):

Start at Tuti Island (the crescent shaped island between Khartoum and Omderman). This time look for the South East corner of the island (it is gray). The tip of the island points East, along the Blue Nile river. Zoom as much as you can and follow the river East. Just South East of the tip of the island, you will see a white boat. South of the boat is the Presidential Palace. Keep following the shoreline to the East and you will see the Sailing Club (where I often go). Look for the road which runs East-West; it is just South of the sailing club. Follow that road East for a couple blocks. You will see a large dirt field (South of the road) with a shape that looks like an electric guitar in the upper right corner. You are now on the campus of Khartoum University. Look for the bright white building in the center of campus. That is where tests are held. North of that building is the Library, built by General Gordon. The buildings East of the library are where I hold class.

Emily and I visited an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp outside of Khartoum. We went with Al Adeen, who runs a NGO to help the camp. It was much different than I expected. The camp has been around for 20 years, helping people from the war torn South and now from Darfur. It houses 40,000 people and has been built up like a small city. The houses are all made of mud and they are in great need of repair. Most had crumbling walls and no ceiling. We visited one family's homes within the camp. Thirteen people lived there, but it was little more than some crumbling walls, which use to delineate rooms. There was a piece of cloth over two rooms, where the ceiling should have been, to provide some shade. Al Adeen brought a bag of clothing to hand out and the house was soon full of neighboring children and parents. They fought desperately for the clothing. I was amazed at the sheer size of the camp. With 40,000 people, it was like a small city.

I found our house on maps.google.com - here's how you can find it too:

Start by searching for Khartoum, Sudan. Zoom in until everything looks brown and dusty. Look for the crescent shaped island between Khartoum and Omderman. That is Tuti Island. On the left side of the island, near the top of the curve and just across the river, you will see a bridge that goes between Khartoum and Omderman (it crosses another small island). Follow that bridge to the left (Omderman side) and curve right when the road splits. The road should now be following the Nile. Take a left at the next split. There will be a football field on the right and a large empty field just past the football field. The road seems to end at the top left corner of the larger field. The small silver dome to the right of the large field is the Mahdi's tomb. This is where it gets tricky. Head north on the street between the dome and the large field and turn left at the big intersection. You will now be going north west. The road ends next to a large mosque (which will be on your right). Look for the street that sticks out on the eastern corner of the mosque (you are now north of the street you were just on). At the first intersection there will be a building with a green roof. At the second intersection are some houses with white roofs. That is next to our house. The building on the north east corner of the intersection (south of the white roofs) is ours! Good luck!

Emily, some friends and I went to an art opening at the restored site of an old bar in Khartoum. The building was very nice, bohemian looking with a mosaic floor and a large outdoor seating area. The bar was still there, but it only served soda and juice now. Outside there were well groomed trees old columns, relief paintings and a live band. Inside were three rooms, each one displaying the paintings of a different artist. It reminded me of what a beautiful city Khartoum had been before it was overtaken by religious fundamentalists.

My police officer class took me to the zoo. The conditions were pretty appalling, but the animals were beautiful. Many of the cages were falling apart and held closed by chicken-wire. They gave me unrestricted access to the cages, because I was with the police. Instead of staying a few feet away from the lion's cage, I was able to go right up to it and sit face to face with the lion (from 6" away). The female police officers acted like they had never been to the zoo before. While they were looking nervously at the lion, I jumped toward them and roared. They ran away screaming. There was also a chimp who spoke Arabic. They would give her a few different objects, then ask for one; the monkey knew which one to bring.

I was helping my friend Mohamed (yes, they are all named Mohamed, but this is the ex-SVP one) translate some interviews about beauty from college aged women. Their idea of beauty is very different from the Western view. For example, fat is beautiful. Many of the women complained about not being able to gain wait and some admitted to taking medicine to help them accomplish their goal. Additionally, while Western woman go to the tanning salon to darken their skin, Sudanese women use creams to lighten thiers.

I went to a football game (soccer) with Peter, Matt, Neetha, Mongo, John and Mohamed. We got there two hours before the game started and the stadium quickly began to fill up. The Sudanese were surprised and excited to see so many foreigners at their stadium, so they bought us hats and vests with the team name. When we put on our new gear, many people croweded around us and took photos with their cell phones. Before the game started I had some juice from a questionable source. I was soon overcome with the urge to use the bathroom. The problem was that the stadium did not have any bathrooms. I hurried out and across the street to a neighborhood. I noticed the front door of someone's house open and a bathroom just inside the door. No one was around, so I slid through the door and into their bathroom. When I was done, I snuck out without anyone noticing. The game was exciting, but Marich (the team we were rooting for) lost. The opposing team's supporters started a fire in the stadium before chanting and paradeing around the stadium. Outside, the police were armed with long sticks and electric shock shields. When the fans got outside, the police knocked one over the head with his stick. As the man laid on the ground clutching his head, the crowd threw rocks at the police. They threatened the fans with tear gas, before charging the crowd. Everyone ran and the police stopped chasing when we got to the main road.

I got a job at an English language newspaper here in Khartoum; I am the copy editor. The job pays well, but it's very difficult. The articles by these Sudanese "journalists" don't make any sense! They couldn't write a correct sentence in English if they were about to be beheaded (which one recently was). My job is to make sense out of their long, incoherent rants. I say "rants" because they wouldn't know objective journalism if it slapped them in the face. The newspaper is one big opinion page. It's like Fox news - in print form.

We went on a boat party with many of our friends and fellow volunteers. The boat was managed and paid for by some rich Sudanese people who like hanging out with hawajas. It sounds fancy, but was actually pretty ghetto (like everything here). The boat consisted of two pontoon boats tied together with rope. One had a motor, the other didn't. They brought some large speakers on the boat and a lot of food. We went up and down the Nile, stopping briefly at a small island where we got stuck. Well, we weren't really stuck, but that's what they told us. People waved and danced to our music from the shores of the river. The ride lasted six hours, which I though would be way too long, but ended up being nice.

I started a new class with just the Police Chiefs. There is only four people in the class, and their English is already quite good (which makes my job much easier). The Major General is referred to as "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness".

Yesterday I was talking to them about careers and asked what they would do if they did not become Police Officers. One of them gazed far into the distance and said that he always dreamed of being an actor. He went on to recount his days as an amateur theater actor and singer. His eyes started to tear up as he sung, in a deep baritone, a song from the theater.

I asked my female students about thier feelings toward the headscarves. They were surprised that most Westerners view it as oppressive. They insisted that they wear the headscarf by choice, not because it is forced. Their religion tells them to cover all parts of their body except their face and hands. Not an easy feat in this weather. But they take the religion seriously and willingly adapt this style of dress. I also asked them about how they would feel if thier daughter wanted to either not wear the headscarf or to wear a full Burka (which covers everything except a thin slit for the eyes). The women were opposed to their daughters wearing either. They said that not wearing the headscarf would be immodest and disrespectful toward their religion, but wearing a Burka would be taking it too far. In most cases they said that they would not stop their daughter from wearing either; they would let them make thier own decision.

We went to a party at the German Embassy yesterday. It was strange, because the place was filled with hawajas (white people). I didn't know that many white people lived in Khartoum! Most of them work for NGOs, so they don't ride the buses or hang out on our side of town. It was even stranger, because everyone was drinking alcohol (prohibited under Sharia Law, but allowed on foreign soil). We had a good time after we got over the initial shock.

The Sudanese people ingest a tremendous amount of sugar. I am just starting to get use to the ultra-sweet drinks and the abundance of sweet snacks. My dad will be happy to hear, though, that they diligently brush their teeth.

The personal hygiene in this country continues to amaze me. Except for the complete lack of toilet paper, they take great pride in their appearance. I don't know how they keep their clothes so clean and nicely pressed in this treacherous environment.

Emily, Neetha, Matt, Nick, Peter and I took a trip to Tuti Island yesterday. The island is located at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. People have been living there for a very long time and enjoy keeping the island as their own private haven. There is no bridge to the island (yet), so there are few cars and a quiet and relaxed environment not found in Khartoum. The island has a residential section, a small shop lined street and an abundance of farm land. I saw more plants on the island than I've seen the entire time I've been in Sudan!

We arrived to the island as early as possible, which wasn't too early because no one wanted to miss Rachel's pancake breakfast. Spent a few hours wandering around the island and sitting in the shade. It was a very relaxing Friday and a good break from the commotion of the city.

Here is another photo of our friendly neighborhood trash dump (aka the public restroom) and a photo I shot out the window during a sand storm.

My discussion group today at Khartoum University focused on women's role in society. It was very interesting to hear about the traditional way women lived. For example, most women married their cousins. The men and the women are always separate at family gatherings, so before the marriage they would have had almost no contact with their spouse. After the marriage, the woman would not speak until the first child was born. It was considered rude for her to speak. Even after the first child, the husband and wife would rarely talk and they would never speak each other's names. They address each other as "the Mother / Father of Mohamed" or whatever the first child is named.

Now women are not expected to marry their cousins (although some still do) and they are allowed to speak to and get to know their future husband. However, men are allowed to marry up to four wives, so I am often asked if Emily is my only wife.

Today, instead of the usual sail boat race, we took a long trip to Crocodile Island. The journey took through were the Blue Nile meets the White Nile, which was very interesting to see. The island had a very nice beach, covered with trees. We sat around in the shade waiting for the big meal to be served. Finally they brought out an entire lamb on a bed of rice. No part of the animal was spared. The men immediately began ripping it apart (with their bare hands, of course). The head and tail went first, but the entire lamb was devoured in five minutes!

I can't get use to the hospitality and friendliness of the Sudanese people. I met a Sudanese guy who is my age on the bus. We were talking about our jobs and he mentioned that he works at Omderman Hospital (very close to my house). He invited me to come visit him there, so yesterday I went. He kept saying things like:

"It is a dream come true to have you come here."

"I pray to God that our friendship will last the rest of our lives."

"I pray that your wife will become pregant and have many children."

"I have always loved the White Man."

Despite the weird phrases, he was incredibly friendly and I enjoyed spending some time at the hospital (for once in my life).

I have been eatin' good for the last couple days. There was a big SVP party last night, in honor of David Walton's visit. He is the SVP organizer from London. All of the volunteers who are teaching in Khartoum were there, as well as many of the SVP board members.

Today I went to Grizelda's home for lunch. She has been in Sudan for 40 years and was married to one of Sudan's most famous authors. Anna and her husband came with me. Lunch was delicious. Unfortunately, Emily couldn't come because she was busy teaching. Next time we will visit Grizelda's farm outside of the city.

Today was the first time it really seemed hot. I went sailing on the Nile (like I do every week) and spent some time looking for food in the Khartoum Sook. It was hard to find because everything is closed on Friday. The digital thermometer said 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit). It wasn't unbearable like the Florida heat though. It felt much cooler than it was, which is not saying much.

My Zoology class was canceled yesterday. Although none of the students had my phone number to inform me. When I showed up, they invited me to dissect mosquitoes with them in the lab. I happily accepted the invitation.

The mosquitoes were held in a bucket with a piece of mesh across the top. The students had to remove the mosquitoes one at a time, to check their gender and dissect them. They extracted each mosquito by putting one end of a clear glass tube in their mouth and the other end in the cage. They then used the end of the tube to suck up a mosquito and inspect it.
The dissection was done under a microscope (very carefully). When they were done, they showed me all of the different organs.

For dinner we went to George and Xena's house. Xena is a masterful chef; she cooked a feast! We haven't eaten like that for months. They also have satellite TV, which was a luxury we rarely have in Sudan.

I had a very typical conversation with one of the women in my Police Officer class. She asked me what I though of Sudan. "The people are so friendly and generous," I said. "What do you think of Americans?"
"They're the enemy."
"So, am I the enemy?"
"No, Bush is."

I had an incredibly rewarding experience today. I've been studying Arabic on and off since I got here and picking up words from flatmates and people on the street. Today, for the first time, I was able to read some Arabic script in my book. Then I went to the market and had a conversation (almost) entirely in Arabic!

Things are already starting to seem normal here. It's weird. Just a month ago it was all so foreign: the noise, the people, the language, the culture, the food, the dirt. It is not new or different anymore. It's amazing how quickly we can adapt to a new environment.

My classes at Khartoum University and at the police station are going well. I was talking to the highest ranking police officer in my class the other day. Asking him about the most difficult parts of his job. He said that when he kicks down the door and storms someones house with his automatic rifle and 30 of his closest friends, it is quite scary. He also had a hard time when they shipped him off to Darfur to fight the rebels. I asked if I could come to the rifle range with him, but he said that we would both be arrested (they would think I was a spy). Oh well. Malesh.

Emily came to my classes today at Khartoum University. We were teaching the Zoology students in on of thier lab rooms. There were mice and rats in the back of the room and chickens under the tables. In the middle of class, Emily started screaming and pointing outside. There was a monkey climbing the bars on the window! Apparently the Zoology department use to have many monkeys, but a few of them escaped. Now the campus has a problem. The students said that they have to watch their food closely, or the monkeys will steal it.

The weather was actually quite nice today, because there was an enormous sand storm blocking out the sun. It wasn't sandy at ground level. Guess it was just all up in the atmosphere. It made the temperature very pleasant.

My class of police officers is off to a slow start. Some of them have a fairly good knowledge of English, but most of them don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I have to get the ones who understand me to explain the activities to those who don't. They seem to be enjoying the class, regardless.

I started teaching at my main placement today. I thought that I would be teaching members of the Wildlife Federation, but again things were not as I expected. My students were actually police officers! They were quite shy at first. They had all studied English before, but were not confident with the language or able to hold a conversation. I tried to get them to describe things in their house, but ended up teaching the difference between the words is and are. Regardless, they had a great time and seemed eager to practice the language.

Here are some random photos, including some from our latest sailing trip.

We are both starting to get very busy with our teaching jobs. My first class at the Wildlife Center is tomorrow. It takes an hour and a half on the bus to get there. We attended a party at our friend Rosa's house last night. The attendees were the usual mix of volunteers, NGO workers and English speaking Sudanese. Rosa's downstairs neighbor brought up a few pitchers of her home brewed beer. It was delicious and gone very quickly. Stupid Sharia Law has everyone thirsting for a good pint. On the way home, we were hassled by the bus driver, who tried to collect more money than he was owed. The people here think all foreigners are rich, so they constantly try to rip us off. It gets old very quickly.

So many people, so few limbs.

Here is how you ride the bus in Sudan:

There are two types of busses, large and small. The large busses are slower, stop frequently and cost 50 Dinar (25 cents). The small busses are faster, stop less frequently and cost 100 Dinar (50 cents). There are two people who work on the bus, the Driver and the Money Collector. Soon after the bus leaves, the Money Collector snaps his fingers; this means it's time to pay. Everyone sends their money forward and waits for change. When you want to stop, you snap at the Money Collector and he, in turn, hisses at the driver. After you get off, the Money Collector will again hiss at the driver, signaling him to go.

I got my placement! It isn't at the Koranic University, like I though. I will be teaching at the Wildlife Federation. They are in charge of a large wildlife preserve in the Blue Nile State. I will even be able to visit, camp at the preserve and see the wild animals. The students are not very advanced and they are shy about speaking English.

I also had my first class at the Khartoum University today. My students are all studying Zoology and seem to have a strong grasp of the English language. The class will probably end up being just a discussion group. The first day went well. I had them introduce themselves and tell me about their interests. They could speak and understand much more than I expected. Rachel, another SVP volunteer who has taught this class before, said that she usually just gives them a topic and lets them discuss.

Emily and I spent the evening shopping at the largest market in Sudan. It is located about 1/2 a kilometer (don't give me crap, they use the metric system here) behind our house, but we rarely go. Apparently foreigners don't get good deals like the locals do. Our friend Muja (who is Sudanese) came with us to help bargain. It was great. She argued in Arabic like a champion. I got some very nice, sturdy leather shoes for $15 and we got small book bags for $5 each.

A couple quick antidotes about the bureaucratic incompetence of the Sudanese Government:

I was talking about the fires in the trenches with one of the SVP organizers. He is from a well to do family (and their house is apparently not made of mud). One day his house caught fire. They called the police and waited for someone to help them put out the fire. It took an hour for the fire department to show up, and they forgot the water!

The government here (like most governments) can't seem to contain it's growth. There is a ministry for everything. Today, while I was on the bus to town, we passed the Ministry of Ministries!

Our University placements are slowly coming together. If all goes according to plan, Emily's main placement will be at the Omderman Islamic University and mine will be at the University of the holy Quran and Islamic studies. Should be interesting. I will also be teaching at the Univeristy of Khartoum for a couple hours each week.

The money situation here is very confusing. They have recently switched from the Pound to the Dinar and finally to the Sudanese Pound. There is no difference, besides the number of zeros. It becomes difficult though, because most people still talk in terms of the original Pound and the new Sudanese Pound is not really in circulation yet. What ends up happening is that when someone says that something costs 1000 Dinars, they actually mean 100 (the equivalent of 50 Cents).

A friend of mine is teaching English to a group of soldiers who come from both the Rebel groups and the Government forces. It is part of the peace agreement, which allows the opposing factions to interact with eachother and hopefully facilitate the peace process. The problem is that they all bring thier guns to school. My friend didn't know that this was a common practice, so on the first day of class he freaked out when the opposing soldiers walked into the room with Rocket Launchers and AK47s!

Today Emily and I visited the Mahdi's tomb and the museum at the Khalifa's house. It was very interesting to see some of the artifacts from when the Sudanese were fighting the British. I especially liked posing with one of the machine guns used by General Gordon's Army in the battle!

The last photo is of a fire in the trench next to our house. These crazy trenches are always on fire because they are full of trash and people toss in thier cigarettes. No one seemed to care that it was on fire though. Everything here is made of bricks and mud, so the buildings don't burn down.

I woke up early this morning and made my way into town. Friday is the weekend here, so downtown Khartoum was abnormally quiet. Before I left, I asked my friend for directions to the Blue Nile Sailing Club. His directions were, "from the SVP office go back and to the left". So I walked in that direction and eventually ended up beside the Republican Palace. The guards didn't understand English (and I don't speak much Arabic), so I drew a picture of a sailboat on my hand. They pointed me in the right direction. I walked around the Palace, back to the Nile and kept going until I hit the Sailing Club.

Not many people were there when I showed up, but before long the place was crawling with Hawaja's (the Sudanese term for foreigner or white person). Each Hawaja went out with an experienced Sudanese sailor on a small, two person boat. We raced around buoys up and down the Nile. Mohamed and I came in third. Not bad, but he said that I needed more practice.

After the race, a huge bowl of Ful was served. We were all hungry. Emily and Nick (a friend from SVP) showed up a little while later. We sat around chatting in the shade beside the Nile enjoying the cool breeze. For lunch, one of the Hawaja's called his driver (apparently you are treated very well when you work for a NGO) and we went out to eat. Many of the people we were with came to Sudan with SVP, but got jobs with NGOs after their teaching stint. They took us to the nice part of town (a far cry from where we live) and we ate at a Turkish restaurant.

Made it back home sometime in the afternoon. I called the SVP coordinator and found out that we should have placements with local Universities by sometime next week. We'll see what happens.

Here is a quick video of the market / bus station near our house. Emily and I are here just about every day to catch a bus into the main part of town.

We're back from Al Obied. It turned out to be a total disaster. I knew we should have sent an SVP person to check out the accommodations ahead of time. Too bad Momen fired everyone last week.

Took the bus to Al Obied last Thursday. We didn't do much on the day we got in. We were picked up by a guy claiming to be the head of the English Department at Kordafon University. He turned out to be an asshole, not to be the department head. They put us up in a small "guest house", like a hotel with shared bathrooms. Friday is the weekend here. It is the Muslim day of prayer as well as the only day they have off work. We were taken by this jerk to the home of the town's deputy mayor. There we met the mayor and all of the other authorities in town. They treated me kindly, but they were very sexist toward Emily. They insisted that she pour tea for everyone (because she is a woman) and encouraged me to get a second wife. If she wasn't already offended enough, the guy told Emily that she is fat and lazy for sleeping 8 hours a night.

Soon many other officials showed up and what must have been every high ranking military officer in Kordofan. We were driven to a small field, which was filled with just about everyone in the entire city. They had us sit up front, behind the stage. It turns out that one of the Army Generals from the town was retiring. The entire town showed up to celebrate. Various military brigades reenacted battles and showed their skills by fighting one another.

Saturday they showed us where we would be living, while we taught at the university. It was a small, half built room in the middle of the desert, at least 30 minutes from anything! The students also lived here. So we would basically be stuck in the middle of nowhere with all of the students, who would no doubt harass us daily. This is besides the fact that the house was not built yet, did not have a bathroom and did not have a kitchen. We told them that it was not going to work, so they showed us a place in town. This one was finished being built, but again did not have a bathroom or kitchen. They told us that it would be constructed just outside. Riiiiiiight.

It was obvious that they were not prepared for our arrival. Momen did not believe us at first and he seemed annoyed that we would be coming back to Khartoum. Too bad. We were not going to live in their half built room in the middle of the desert. Now we are back in Khartoum. It almost feels like being home again.

Haven't gotten a chance to write for the last few days because I have been laid up in bed with some kind of mighty African viral infection. Emily got it too. It was horrible. The only time I got out of bed was to got to the hospital.

Let me just tell you, African hospitals are not like American hospitals. They didn't bother checking our temperature, but they did test us for Malaria. The test was actually quite interesting. The doctor pricked our fingers to draw blood, then sucked the blood through a straw with his mouth. He then spit the blood into a vile for testing. The test came back negative, but he said that it isn't very accurate. So if we still felt sick in a few days, we could come back for the other (more accurate) Malaria test. He also gave us antibiotics, which have made us feel much better. We're still not up for traveling yet.