Independence Day in KRT

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Those hallowed words were shouted proudly by all those attending last 31st August. And I was one of them!

This was our second Merdeka celebration with the Malaysian community in Khartoum and it was as meriah as last year, more so this year as it is the 50th anniversary of our independence. It was also an extra honor for us, as our Block J was 'selected' to help out in organising the event with the Country Office and the trainers from Giatmara. Ckn was already involved as she was on F&B detail with Petronita; I got the easy job of ushering at the main gate (not so easy as I was the only one there!) which was a great way for me to get reintroduced to the bulk our our fellow countrymen.

Our event started with Negaraku, followed by raising the Jalur Gemilang, and speeches from Petronas' rep, Hj Jabbar, and the Malaysian Ambassador to Sudan, Hj Zainal. While everyone else was seated, I took on my regular role of 'roving photog' - there were several of us, and we even had a pro from KL cover the event. The one benefit of this was that I could just stand infront of everyone and looking important taking snaps ...secondly, I didn't need to get all sweaty joining in the senamrobik we always do on Merdeka Day!



Then the fun started! Since it was Oil week in Sudan, we brought in our Performing Arts troupe for some shows in Khartoum. Naturally, they also joined in the festivities and handled the senamrobik event and even surprised us with an impromptu zapin performance. The MC later got them to perform one more time; the twist being that their partners would now be from the audience! Somehow one of the dances coerced Ckn to join in - she was game for it, and I was just happy snapping pics!

Well from the pic above you can see that my wife can really hold her own when it comes to dancing! later she told me that it was so tiring - it didn't look like it was, but she was panting and begging to sit down and rest!



The whole day had a festival feel to it, especially in the next few events where we all had a chance to make a fool of ourselves in the fun games. I entered the 'Mens-Single-Eating a Granny Smith on a Lidi' game (Open category). How well do you think I fared?

Incidentally, I was the only grown-up (and kid for that matter!) who had shorts on...and worse; a T-shirt with 'AUSTRALIA' written on the front...malu! luckily I had my wife's gadget bag slung over my chest...



Ckn then entered the 'Ladies-Fishing the Bottle' contest. The game looked totally hilarious - and it was, as she had to get the nail at the end of the string into the bottle and somehow pick up said bottle and transport it to the finish line...no she didn't fare any better than I did. But it was fun all the same!



I'm sure you're wondering if Ehsan enjoyed the event as much as we did...well we decided not to bring the kids this year; they would have had to wake up very early and we didn't want them to be left unattended while we were busy with our tasks. It was a fun day, and since it was a Friday, the event ended earlier than normal, at 11.45am.

A week later, on the 9th, we were invited to the Malaysian Embassy Merdeka reception at the GHV. It was nice to have the night out and it was also our first official diplomatic do! so only the best batik had to come out for this! haha!



There were quite a few of our colleagues in attendance. My friend, Izwan, was the roving photog for this event as he had just gotten a new Canon 400d camera and was itching to try it out! We also made some new friends - among others : Ms Machiko, the medical attache to the Japanese Embassy, Mr Hua You, a diplomat from the Chinese Embassy who served in Turkey for 5 years (hmmm... coincidence to our future holiday perhaps??) and we even met Wendy, a Malaysian working for UNCHR, whom we first met in Cairo during our holiday there last December!

Funny thing was Dr Machiko just loved Ismail's songket and couldn't stop touching it!! Sadly, he recently left Sudan to return to Malaysia - he'll be missed!



So, by the end of the week, we had celebrated 50 years of our nation's independence in Sudan and in the process made a lot of new friends and got reacquainted with old ones. I honestly believe I wouldn't have celebrated Merdeka this way back home. Oh, and as a bonus, I also turned 32 on the 8th! heh