my pet sheep

it doesn't get cooler than this

only a goat...

no, i did not stick my hand into a socket...

...it's just that the water in somalia is/was shite. all these years in the field have taught me one invaluable lesson that i will carry with me always: it doesn't matter the price or the quality of the products you use on your hair if the water you are using is shite. 

case in point:

heard on the phone

in south sudan: 'yes yes, i'll talk to him, then i'll feed you back.' 

in somalia: 'speak up, you're breaking down!' that would, of course, be in lieu of 'breaking up'.

hello, can you hear me?

one cold night in somalia, i had a conversation with my project manager that went a little something like this:

me: i think we should get heaters!

project manager: what?

me: (loudly) heaters!!

project manager: mosquitoes?

i don't quite know how you go from heaters to mosquitoes, but it sure was a good laugh!

a spot more trouble

got in a  car accident in somalia once, when a truck carrying goats literally ran us over after hitting 3 cars before the car i was in. despite the totaling of 3 cars and 1 kiosk, nobody was hurt.

the truck that ran us over

the car it was trying to pass

the first car it ran over

the second car it ran over - our security car

our car, which was hit,
then dragged for about 5 feet, which hit...

this kiosk

life defined

in 2006, as i was unpacking from a trip to thailand trip and packing for somalia, it occurred to me that i spent much of my life packing and unpacking. back then, at 26, i had no home, no bank account, no serious possessions (everything i owned fit into a suitcase & 2 boxes), and nothing to hold me anywhere. at 26, it was the most amazing feeling - holding down a first job in a country of my choice, and yet not really having any ties, truly feeling like the world is my oyster and i could pick up and go anywhere.

in 2010, now 30, as i was unpacking from a trip to los angeles and packing for sudan, it occurred to me that despite the fact that i now have a home, a bank account and despite the fact that my possessions no longer fit into a suitcase and 2 boxes (i proudly count amongst these possessions an antique desk that i adore, which obviously does not fit into either a suitcase or a box), i still spend much of my life packing and unpacking, i still live in one country and work in another, i still feel like the world is my oyster and that i could pick up and go anywhere (even though it'll probably take longer than an hour to pack now :)).

i guess this then defines my life - from one suitcase to another. 

(note: another epiphany to follow in 2014, after cheering ghana on in brazil. :))

ghetto livin'

really gotta love his shirt 
(picture was taken in Midisho, the greenest village
in the Sanaag Region of Puntland/Somaliland)

programme expenses?

one day, in somalia (this was in 2006), we had a guesthouse meeting, and we were having a serious discussion about whether DSTV (cable) could be filed under programme expenses, and thus charged to the donor.

the joys of development work...
--
an e-mail sent to friends on 09.03.06

ocean view

somalia has, at 3,025 km, the longest coastline in east africa, and the 3rd longest in the continent. long, dazzling, a breathless gorgeous blue green blue, empty (except for the crabs), untouched, delicious. see for yourself, even though the pictures cannot do it justice (and i decided not to attempt to do it justice with words). i did think though, throughout the 3 or 4 hour journey traversing the gulf of aden from las qoray to bosaso (one of my last road trips in somalia, and definitely the most memorable and the most beautiful) about the enormous amounts of money that is being lost to somalia, with the coastline unused and undeveloped, with illegal fishing, and rumours of toxic waste dumping. i'm just afraid this amazing resource, one of the few somalia has, will soon be lost.

not alone anymore

i heard a while back that somali pirates had pirated yet another ship. but this one was different. this one contained 13 burmese workers. my first thought? 'hey!! i'm no longer the only burmese in town!!'

i wonder- did these pirates see the hand written passports and think, 'oh fuck...' because you know, somalia, with it's fragmented state of being and having no central government, actually has digital passports. you know, the ones with holograms. and little arrows that allow the immigration people to scan stuff. and is typewritten. and shiny. 

imagine that!!

--

posted on 26.03.09

well, i've parked MY plane just down the road, where's yours?

'i found a plane for you! i found a plane for you!!', our admin guy one day, when i was evacuated but unsure about when or even whether a plane would be available. (yes, dear friends, he just 'found' a plane for me - and not just any plane, but one that the mayor had just landed in, one privately owned by a very rich man from UAE).

security men, AKs and internet cafes

this blogger is amused by the fact that wanting to go to the internet cafe warranted 3 security men jumping into the car with her with their AKs, and even more amused by the fact that they are now waiting outside the door, AKs in tow of course, just waiting for her to finish. this blogger is also aware of the fact that talking in the third person is a bit strange...damn you facebook updates!!

--

posted on 29.06.08, after this blogger was evacuated from the town she was living and working in, to another town.

somali english

a sad world

well, you know you live in a sad world when your project manager tells you they have a gift for you, and the first thought that pops into your head is, 'we got toilet paper!!!'
--
an e-mail sent to friends on 26.09.06

very wormly indeed, from the beast

a welcome e-mail from an old timer to a new timer:

Dear ______

On behalf of field office team.

I would like to welcome you wormly to the team

Beast regards

recognition

passing through a tiny village of perhaps 15 houses in the middle of nowhere and having the villagers know me by name

starting to recognize trees, rocks, bushes, blades of grass...when travelling from one destination to another

making cake

it's amazing the shenanigans that you can get into when left to your own devices for entertainment. for example, one trip to somalia, i randomly decided that bringing instant cake (the ones where you add just eggs and water and bake) would be a great idea. this, despite having no oven, no baking dishes, no mixers, and eggs the size of coins. i think i had some random thought that i could just eat the dough (hello salmonella & typhoid!!). so yeah, there i was one day with a box of instant cake, a free afternoon, a friend as bored as i was and this was the result:

the beginning - 
dough made with tiny eggs 
(put in 5 when the instructions said 3)

this is the 'stove'

the dough was put into a pot

which was then covered

and topped off with hot charcoal

and then weighted down
with the top part of the 'stove',
also filled with hot charcoal

resulting in rather burned,

crumbly,

cake

the end result -
crumbly sweet cake which looks 
more like rice than cake,
but we ate it anyways! hey!
beggars can't be choosers!!

on the road