Every Day, but not Some. A book by Leoma Gilley about life in Sudan.

Every Day, but not Some
by Leoma Gilley

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Overview:
My book, Every Day, but not Some, is a description of how a foreigner enters the culture of the Sudan and learns to appreciate it. At the beginning, everything is new and different and interesting. As the years pass, however, there is a deepening understanding, not just of the way things are done, but coming to terms with the world views, expectations and perceptions of the many ethnic groups resident in Sudan. Gaining an appreciation of how they see the world and how that view impacts their behavior makes all the difference in whether a person loves or hates their time in this challenging and varied country.

Life in the Sudan is anything but predictable. Timetables and schedules are controlled more by relationships than by appointments. Thus, if a family member dies, the first obligation is to go to the funeral rather than to the meeting that has been scheduled for several months. If a visitor shows up at the house, the first obligation is to make the visitor feel welcome and any other previously scheduled activity takes second place. The result of this very different mindset is most keenly felt by western visitors and workers who expect appointments to be kept, work to be completed on time and life to proceed with some regularity. For those people, Sudan can be a frustrating and irritating experience.

Learning to look past the inconveniences and understanding the people, their mindset and cultural values, will demonstrate to individualists in the west the value of the Sudanese view of life as a community. This book seeks to introduce the untold side of the individual people and cultures of this land.

Leoma has a Ph.D. from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies and has written a book on the phonology (sound system) of the Shilluk language. In addition, she has edited two books of Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages and has published a variety of linguistic articles in professional journals and books. This is her first book of stories.

Having inherited her father�s gift for telling stories, Leoma has entertained listeners for years as a storyteller. Many have asked her to write down her stories, so Leoma has at last committed herself to offering her stories to a wider audience through the written word in this volume Every Day, but not Some: Glimpses into the everyday lives of Sudanese.

Comments from Sudanese about the book:

For the book you want to produce, I read through all the things you mentioned about us. Every thing is correct. You can please go ahead with publication. We are glad that we are in the book for something good we had done. (Rev. Peter Obwönyo)

I am very interested to see the final work of this nice book. It�s the first time I am going to read about my simple life. (Mrs. Rihab Yahia)

INDEED IT IS A GOOD-TO-THE-BONE PIECE. I LIKED IT PLENTY! (Mrs. Henrietta Romman)

Thanks for saying such good things about us. (Dr. as-Sadiq, University of Khartoum)

This is fantastic indeed. Now I am more eager than anybody else to see the book out. (Prof. al-Amin, University of Khartoum)

Leoma Gilley worked as a linguist for 22 years in Sudan, Africa. Having spent so much time in the country, she has had many opportunities to experience the culture and to study both the people and their languages. This is her chance to present the human face, the personal stories of her Sudanese friends, to show the strengths and struggles that are faced there.