Life in a Tumble Dryer: Living and Working in Khartoum. the World’s Hottest Capital

How Did Janice and I Survive and Thrive for Seven Years in the World’s Hottest Capital?

In 1989, linguist Leoma Gilley and her colleague Janice moved to Khartoum - the world’s hottest capital - to improve the Shilluk writing system. Linguists have struggled since 1912 to develop an adequate writing system for the Shilluk people of southern Sudan. This language issue contributed to a 21-year civil war, driving many Shilluks to seek refuge in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.

Moving on from her first adventure in Launching into the Unknown, Leoma continues her journey in Sudan’s capital, where each day brings a new challenge or celebration, including:

• Bureaucratic red tape
• Successful workshops
• Cultural misunderstandings
• Enjoying unexpected friendships over plates of fuul
• Swirling dust storms
• Finding humor in the challenge of keeping electronics sand-free
• Blistering heat

Will they convince the Shilluk people to embrace a new spelling system? Can they overcome government restrictions to continue their vital work?

Join Leoma on this captivating journey as she discovers that home truly is a state of mind, even when life feels like a tumble dryer. Her story is a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the power of language to bridge divides.

As Leoma says, ＂Sudan is fuller, richer, more changeable, unpredictable, and fascinating than I expected.＂

Leoma was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN, as an only child. Her father was a gifted storyteller, and she inherited that gift and continues to develop it. She obtained her BS in speech and language pathology from the University of Tennessee and worked for several years as a speech therapist. She then studied for her MA in the same field and worked in a speech and hearing clinic in Macon, GA. In 1988, she earned a PhD in Linguistics from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. Linguistics fascinated Leoma, and in 1979 she felt called to join Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. This affiliation led her to more adventure than she had expected and she lived most of her adult life in Africa, about twenty years of that in the Sudan. She has traveled widely and enjoyed discovering the languages and cultures of the places she visited. After thirty-seven years, she retired and settled in Knoxville, TN.