September 13, 2010

Warm Djibouti

Hey guys

I'm in Djibouti now and starting to settle in and acclimate to the heat here. I spent the first few nights at a guesthouse and then moved into my apartment yesterday. My apartment is about 100 yards from the sea so thats kinda cool though I can't see it from my window. Across the street is a mosque built by the Saudis so I get to hear the call to prayer up close and personal 5 times a day.


Now to the heat. You can't imagine it. I've heard that Djibouti is the hottest country in the world and I believe it. Yesterday it was 46 degrees celsius which is about 115 farenheit and thats not taking into account the humidity. Any kind of physical exertion causes sweat. I was unpacking yesteday in the "cool" of the night and after about 10 minutes had rivers of sweat dripping everywher. When its the time of sweating, like right now 1:30 pm, I just stream sweat.

Classes at the University are supposed to start on the 18th though I still don't know what classes I'm teaching. Tomorrow there is a meeting but I don't have high hopes that i will know anything new after it. My liason with the school, Tom, who recruited me and is American shared with me that the classes consist of a name and that virtually everything else is filled in by the professor. Should be an interesting experience.

On the bright side Djibout is a very small city and I can easily walk about anywher I need to go in the downtown. As it is now the heat of the day I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon attempting to remain in air conditioning.

this is getting long so I'm cutting it off. leave a comment or email me

5 comments:

  1. Y'know, I used to live in the sweltering tropics, but I don't think I can stand the heat now. The humidity.

    I hope people there shield themselves from the noonday sun with umbrellas.

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  2. Wow! Sounds exciting already! ;) WE MISS YOU!

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  3. Sounds crazy! What an adventure. You'll do great, I'm sure. Glad to hear you have air con. I wasn't aware that, on top of the severe heat, there would also be HUMIDITY! Oh the torture! Stay alive, Dan.

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  4. I can only imagine Dan. Read the esquire article on Khat, fascinating, hilarious, pathetic and disgusting all at once. Stay clear of it my son. Glad you are keeping your sanity and wits about you.

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