So, is this the end?

As many of you know, I am no longer in Djibouti nor am I planning to return. I'm currently in the Great Northwest teaching ESL at a community college. I started this blog to write about Djibouti and my experiences there. Mission accomplished..

Thanks for reading

au revoir

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane

Actually I'm traveling this afternoon but those are the words to the song. Yes folks, this is my last day in Djibouti until September. Hopefully the ash from the volcano  wont effect my flight and I'll be able to leave. I'm changing airlines in Dubai so if I get stranded here I'm going to be SOL with my British Airways flight.

Djibouti Dan is about to become America Dan for the summer. 

strange beverage

trip to Arta

So this evening, we took a little trip to the beautiful city of Arta. However, right outside of Djibouti city we ran into a small problem. With a bit of help from our Djiboutian friends we were on our way after a brief pit stop.

ants in my pants

I'm currently staying at a friends's house and almost everything about it is great. Almost everything. The only bad thing is/are the ants.(What is the correct verb form there? I'm an English teacher and I don't know)  There are ants everywhere. they are on the floor, on the table, in the bathroom, and in the kitchen. When I sit on the couch, like I'm doing now, they crawl on me. I've become a serial ant killer during my stay here at Casa de Chan.

In Djibouti news, the BBC has a story about the US involvement in Djibouti. Its not all smiles & butterflies.

6 more days till I leave. I check in everyday to see if I can start correcting exams but no. It appears that someone else will have to grade them since I'm leaving in 6 days. Oh well. Its not like I didn't tell them or haven't been to the university every single day to see if they're ready yet. Such is life in Djibouti. 

adventures in driving

So I have the use of a car while my friends are gone. Today was a crazy time. I ended up in a roundabout that was blocked off halfway through so there was traffic going both ways in the roundabout. That was awesome. Then to escape the roundabout I headed down a street but it was blocked by a giant hole, so I had to turn around. I never realized how important road construction signs really are.

Later I was driving and saw a guy crossing the road in front of me. He went about halfway across and instead of just pausing in the middle of the road to wait for the traffic like most people, he decided to suddenly leap back into my lane. I slammed on the brakes and thankfully did not hit him. I can not comprehend what that guy was thinking. Learning to look both ways is hammered into children in my country. We are taught to always be aware of traffic because it can kill you. This young man was a split second from death with his reckless behavior.

Don't worry Chans & Jones, the car is fine. 

Moustache Man

In my opinion the era of moustaches ended sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. Now, moustaches are reserved only for Tom Selleck and cops.

But I digress, prepare for your wildest dream to come true. I present myself, with a moustache.

Sadly, the moustache died a horrific death mere minutes after this photo was taken.