Finally on our way to Bor

After a few eventful days in Juba, we were ready to make the 200-km, 7 hour long trip to Bor Town on May 26. However, we were told that the police commissioner would not allow travel and that the roads would be blocked. Apparently, we had the good fortune of being in town for SPLA Day. While SPLA Day (SS Independence Day) actually falls on May 16, the celebrations are staggered across cities in SS to allow the president to be present for all the festivities. I thought it was strange that the capital of SS should have its SPLA Day ten days after the real thing, but whatever.

So on May 26, we pushed back our plans to travel and decided to celebrate the national holiday by going to the festivities. We saw some lively performances by men and women, singing and dancing in circles with colorful costumes and noisemakers of every kind. Older women sang about their days as female soldiers during the wars, and others marched and danced in rows, celebrating freedom. SPLA soldiers lined the field, their guns inexplicably pointed at the crowds. It was definitely a sight to see. Afterward, we got ourselves out of the blazing sun and ate lunch at a cute British sandwich shop (Juba is a place of utter social contradiction) where we saw some of the prime missionary/aid glitterati (Lebanese, American, Anglo, Japanese, Arab, you name it). Then, we drove home to Samaritan's Purse, rested until the sun let up, and went for a gorgeous hike in the mountains with Lori. Great way to spend a national holiday, Juba or not!

The next morning, we set out for Bor. We were traveling with police escort to ensure our safety, so we had to wait six extremely frustrating hours for our entire entourage to assemble itself. We had 21 armed soldiers with us. It was a bit ridiculous.

By nightfall, we were in Bor, which is more of a shanty than a town, despite being the capital of Jonglei State. We were taken to the Freedom Hotel, where Mach and many others had suggested we stay for our short trip (two days). My mom was horrified at the thought of sleeping in tents and found the communal bathrooms and showers equally horrendous, but with Sushant and I leaning heavily toward setting up camp as soon as possible, we decided to make Freedom our new base. It was a good decision, I think, and by the second night, we hardly noticed all the bugs in our tent!