October 18, 2010

just another day in djibouti

Yesterday, I decided to walk over to Djibouti Telecom try and purchase a new phone and maybe see about getting internet installed at my house. When I arrived it was closed. I read the sign and it appeared to say that it was open for business at the time I was there. I guess they decided not to work that day.

I wandered into town and saw several Naval officers so I knew there must be a ship in town. I went to Nougaprix, which I guess is like the Target or K-Mart of Djibouti, to pick up some things and saw maybe 20 Russian sailors milling about.

The next grocery store I went to had 50 or more Russians crowding the place looking for alcohol, snacks, and sweets. As I was standing in line some of the Russians ahead of me were paying the cashier using American $50's which the cashier took with some hesitation. The best was yet to come though.

Going outside I observed maybe 40 or 50 Russians standing in the street drinking beer. Djibouti is a Muslim country and alcohol is usually only found in establishments for foreigners drinking in public is not something that occurs.
On my way home a man at a kisok yelled at me "Russe, Russe!" I quickly responded that I was American.

Today I went to the same kiosk and the owner was laughing about the the man calling me a Russian, he said "Russians and Americans are very different." Very true and on a side note why does the man at the kiosk speak better English than some university employees with much more education? Another mystery of Djibouti

4 comments:

  1. Got to love those Russian Sailors.

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  2. Sounds like a funky day. What are the stores like?

    -Susan

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  3. The international language commonly used besides his own may be English when selling and purchasing goods at a port area. As a salesman, he needs to communicate to prospective buyers in that language and is motivated to learn. He has the oportunity to practice that language every time he speaks with a prospective foreign customer... Perhaps he even sells English newspapers and reads them when business is slow? ...On another note, I disliked my French phonetics class in college and thought it a complete waste of time. Weekly quizzes were the only thing that motivated me to learn the material. Now if we had only done some creative assignments/projects - like splitting into groups and making a group poster or get-well-cards or directions to a certain place or directions for making a simple dessert or directions for changing a tire, etc. etc. - all in phonetic symbols, we would have all been entirely motivated and would have learned much more than phonetics a la francais. Aunt Grace

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