Susan Foni: Day One

I watched as the wheels on the small jeep picked up mixtures of dirt and dust and pushed the particles to block the setting sun. I arrived in Susan's camp at about 7:00pm...

The vehicle pulled up to a circular gathering of about twenty huts and straw houses. I was greeted by Susan with a sweet peck on the check and the reassuring words, "shukran." She then led me to her dilapidated home and introduced me to spare bedding on the ground. She'd known that I was jet-lagged and needed time and rest to acclimate.

  A few hours later I woke to the sound of clinking pots. I arose from my "bed" and noticed Susan preparing her cart of tea and coffee. I offered to assist her by stirring the hot water and mixing it with hand picked herbs. Meanwhile, Susan instructed me on how to make her favorite cinnamon tea. She communicated how the process worked by guiding my hands through the various steps of smashing cinnamon sticks and grinding delicate flowers. She let me experiment and invent my very own tea, "which could be a hit in my village!" Susan had exclaimed. I used all the basic ingredients but added a rare flower seed only found in her village that reminded me of a certain smell at home.

 With Susan's experience, I learned how Sudanese tea and coffee is made carefully by the hands of a dedicated worker. Since the last hours of sunlight were approaching, we finished the mixture and let the tea brew over night and anticipated the result of our hard work.