Purpose

I am interested in food, clearly, but am no foodie, and would like to underscore my purpose here. I'm not writing a restaurant guide to Juba, though 'reviews' of sorts will find their way into the writing. Nor am I writing a cookbook, though many recipes will follow.

Food is the connective tissue that pervades every level of life. As such I write to recognize the power I wield as an omnivore, and the power food itself has as prism. Each aspect speaks of the whole, so, since I'm not a political scientist, an expert on Sudan, or sage diplomat, I have chosen food as a medium to understand, as best I can in the short time I am here, the culture and context of southern Sudan.

There's no way I could grasp even a sliver of what's happening here by eating out at international restaurants every night. So I plan to cook at home with food from the PX

and local greenmarkets, look into culinary traditions of southern Sudan with the help of hosts and guides, and maybe even scratch the surface of some of the bigger questions, like how have decades of food aid affected the country, and why is nearly all of southern Sudan's food imported?

I depend on readers to help me answer these questions, and to raise others that illuminate the fullness and complexity of life here. Please write with your ideas, I am grateful for your involvement.