Everywhere I go the children clamor to greet me, to shake my hand, to say, "How are you?" That's the phrase that EVERYONE here knows. 
They may not know what you are saying when you answer that question and they may not know how to respond if you ask them, but people have heard westerners greet them with this phrase for so long it's simply what you say when you see a "khwaja" (white person) on the street. 
Anyway, please keep my friends from Sudan in your prayers. The political situation is calm now but there is possibly another civil war on the way. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government of Sudan, in the north, and the governing force of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), in the south, is set to expire in 2010. 
Also, please remember the women of the country who raise these gems. They themselves are shaping the future of their nation.
