Squash Soup and Sad Truths

Around the Table. From Left to Right by Country.

United States, Kenya, Ethiopia, England, United States, Lebanon, Australia, United States. Around an oval table we sit in silence. My eyes are focused on a bowl of squash soup from which I take small sips.
The silence breaks between slurps,
"Where in Kenya are you from?", one of the Americans asks.
I look up at the beautiful Kenyan woman's face. She takes another sip of soup, sitting perfectly straight in her chair. I think for a moment that she has not heard the American.
More uncomfortable slurps. She doesn't look up from her spoon but finally, to my relief replies,
"Why do you ask?"
"We want to see if you're from the same place as Obama, " says another American whom seems quite humored by his response.
The Kenyan smiles politely and replies, "My family is from a small place in Kenya where some sugar plants are."
The American who inquired didn't know the place but seems to feel responsible for making conversation at the table and, truthfully, I am grateful for it.
"How long have you lived in Sudan?"
I can feel the others at the table relax as the Kenyan woman begins to explain. I grab a piece of chicken and sit deeper in my chair as she speaks.
"I have been in Sudan for 3 years and almost 4 months. My husband works for Tear Fund here in Khartoum, so that is how I came to be here."
"How do you like Sudan?"
Once again there is a long pause. I think again that maybe she hasn't heard. I look up and see that she is still sitting very straight, but her head is bowed lower, though she is no longer sipping soup. In fact she is smiling. When she looks up her smile seems to beg an apology.
"Sudan is a hard place. The people are... well, it's very hot here. You need to be very patient in Sudan. Sudan is a very hard place."
I look at her. She has been honest, though her small smile indicates she is sorry for it.
From there, this international crowd goes on to tell jokes of military screenings where men and women are tested in Sudan to see if they were really strong enough to endure the worst of the worst. There is much laughter but for some reason I want to cry.
So I look down and return to my bowl of soup and leg of chicken.