old home VS new home

The first picture was of our apartment in Riyadh area, Khartoum. Our house was on the ground floor. There were 9 families in that building, and we had 4 vans ferrying us (schoolchildrens, madams to the souq, childrens to extra-classes, madams to shopping, etc). It was not grand, but it was nice. DOn't be tricked by what you see from the outside. I'd like to think that the inside of our homes were comfortable enough, good enough, and catered to all of our needs.

The second picture, is of course, the new P3tronas Sudan Complx. It houses the office buildings and also the apartments for the staffs and their families. Alaaa..macam kuarters polis la tu..

The inside is a bit modern (note the "bit"), makes you feel like you are in Malaysia.

It has 2 blocks (for the apartments), A & B. Block B was completed first, and we moved in on 26th July 2008. The unit is smaller than our old house, but then, it feels spacious enough for our family. Apart from the book shelves that we brought from Malaysia, everything else was provided.(wardrobes, mattresses, dining table, 2+1 sofas, fridge, plasma TV,etc).

The complex also has a playground (can be seen from our living room), and a field. Things were a bit clumsy at first, but Alhamdulillah, after a few weeks, things havebecome more organized, and we have started calling this new place "our homes"..

i'll have to move

somehow, i think my blog is no longer stable. thanks to my tunjuk-pandai-belek-belek-ubah-sana-sini-mode, this morning. I have got a few warning message saying that there were some errors, and i have also lost some of the links, posts, photos, ect form my original blog template.

though i have not been a good blogger(did not update regularly, did not even check on my blogs for a few months soemtimes- dah tau no updates, kan!), still it means a lot to me. I have poured some of my heart contents (cheh!), to my SIL, what i felt towards her, my little eforts on putting my appreciation onto words. This blog has also been my 'friend'when i need someone to talk to, the foreign -land where i go to, when i felt lonely, and sad, since my husband was away in Sudan, and i was with the kids in Malaysia. I guess, i kind of abandon it, once i stepped my feet in Sudan, once the loveds ones are all together again. I feel there's no need for me to have it (visited, regularly, or even updated), since i'm no longer lonely, and BTW, i 'feel' busy , too!

But i was wrong; for this blog still means a lot to me, and if not, i wouldn't have cared to change the templates, linked it to my facebook, tell people that i have one, think of what to write for my next post, of what picures will look nice in it,or of whether people would care enough to read it, etc, etc..

I just hoped whatever is left will still be there, no more missing stuffs the next time i visit this blog. ( if the next time i opened my blog, and found it empty, gone, crashed- i will definitely go crazy huuhuhuhu..).

okay, enough of that. I'll pen-off, and I'll come back!

salam

In the background is the White Nile River. From L-R: Lutfil didukung,
Hafiz, Umar & Asif ( a neighbour's son)

Salam,

Akhirnya...dapat jugak 1 entry dari Khart0um hehe heh
Kita sampai sini on the 1st Nov 2007(Thursday). It wasn't very hot, just suam-suam gitu. The first few days, kitorang pengsan habis. Lutfil tidur dari pukul 3pm sampai 10am esok harinya.
We went to the souq (Souq markazi) , hunting for meat, veggies and fruits 2 days later.
Okay jugak souq diaorang ni. Until now, the veggies i usually buy from the souq are carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, jirjir (sedap buat ulam ni), cabbage, lettuce, french beans, also onions, garlic and birds' eye chillies. kekadang nampak jugak ocra, tapi tak pernah beli lagi, sebab BERBULU sangat..nanti gatal pulak anak tekak ni..Tanya orang yang dah lama kat sini pun, depa tak pernah try..kecik dan berbulu..
Biasa orang sini guna ocra untuk campur dalam masakan dia. Ocra tu grounded, pastu masuk dalam kuah, so dia jadi pekat, jelly-like gravy. Yang nampak pintu on the right is our house (ground floor)

Kitorang sampai airport tu dalam pukul 6.15pm, and there were 3 vans waiting for us. We reached our new home at around 7pm, dah agak gelap. When I got out of the van, I couldn't figure out what the building in front of me was. I thought it was some old building where we would wait for another van ke, bus ke, limousine ke (hehe..). My husband got inside the building first, i followed and immediately i smelt something yang masyam-masyam. I looked around, banyak nya sofa lama yang berhabuk & i pun macam bingung-bingung sikit..
After a few steps, my husband stopped infront of a door, unlocking it and said "Ni lah rumah kita". Oh! Okay..
I remember a friend who has been here for 3 years said that the first time she saw the building, she cried and felt like going back. I would say that the outside may look a bit 'dull', and masyam-masyam, and dusty (in fact, very!!), but in the inside IS my home, our home. At least I have been here for almost 5 months ,and never ever feel like going back. Alhamdulillah, things are great, and I'm adjusting and loving every minute i spend here with my husband and children.

I would encourage whoever has the chance to come here, whether it's a job offer, or to accompany a husband or a wife, do give yourself (and Suedan) a chance, and InsyaAllah, you'll be glad you did.
The masyam-masyam smell? Alaaa..yang tu dah lama biasa lah. Kita counter attack dengan bau belacan, ikan kering, cencaluk apa semua..should be fine ..hehe..