I spotted it on my initial flight into Juba. A rocky mountain dotted with green trees and high grass. In trips in and around the city, I caught glimpses of its boulder size rocks and various rock quarries. I researched the mountain and discovered that it had a hiking path to the top and very popular among the expat crowd. After two months of planning and plotting, I finally got my… Read More

  Last week, my colleagues and I headed out of the city for a walking safari in Nimule National Park. Leaving Juba is not always an easy proposition. There is only one paved highway in the entire country of South Sudan. So traveling around the country is quite the task. But the beauty of Nimule National Park is that it is located on the paved road that runs from Juba to Uganda…. Read More

It happened in the most unlikely of places. I knew this day would come but I was hoping that I would be further into my stay in South Sudan. It happened once before, as I was traveling in Africa on my first trip to the continent and I was reminded by friends who have spent time in Africa that eventually this movement would arrive again…and arrive it did! And sadly, the three… Read More

After recently writing about the fire at one of Juba’s hotels, today, we experienced a fire on the Nile River. As I was working at my desk today, I noticed smoke rising above the trees just outside my window. I didn’t think much about the smoke as people are always burning trash in Juba and the smoke was rising up outside the compound. However, about 45 minutes later, my colleagues noticed that… Read More

  With all the talk of government shutdown, threats to democracy and governing by crisis in the United States, it has made me reflect on life in South Sudan. South Sudan is a fragile state. This can be seen in everyday life in the world’s newest country. Just this week, I was in a meeting with a leader of a political party in the capital city of Juba. In the course of… Read More