fun in the dark

One of the pleasures of living in Djibouti are the intermittent power outages. Last night I was lucky enough to have the power out from 845-1145, 230-4, and then 630-8. Not ideal sleeping conditions when it's "warm." There are lots of hard things about Djibouti but having the power go out when it's really hot has to be #1.

strange happenings

Today while walking to the internet cafe. I saw an old white man with long hair and a beard. If I was in the US, I would have assumed he was homeless. He was leading a group of 3 or 4 Djiboutians in a chant of U-S-A, U-S-A! while thrusting his hips in my direction. I looked over at this group and they stopped and one Djibouitian yelled "bonjour monsieur!"

Then I went to the internet cafe and wrote this. 

Djibouti Jones: Why do You Live Where You Live?

Djibouti Jones: More Lessons from Lucy: Why Do You Live Where You Live?

A Proposition

Many things have I experienced in here in Djibouti. Many things indeed. Something that has not happened to me until today was an interaction with a full on pimp. I have been propositioned by prostitutes, night club workers, and men selling "massages," but not pimps, until now.

I was about 3 blocks from the university and 1 block from the Ministry of Health when a man approached me and started speaking to me. I had headphones on so I took them off and said "eh?" At that point he switched to English and asked me if I wanted a girl, a pretty girl and he pointed to a building directly across the street from the Ministry of Health. I politely thanked him and went on my way.

Number of Times I've been propositioned in America: 0
Number of Times I've been propositioned in Djibouti: more than I can count

Blogging in Africa

There's an interesting website I follow called "Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like" and while I myself am not an aid worker I am an expat and I do have a blog.

So check out their post on Blogging for the Folks Back Home

in the internet cafe

About 15 minutes there was some kind of intense argument between a middle aged Djiboutian and another guy that I couldn't see. They argued for a few minutes and the older guy was physically restrained by some other guys and eventually they went outside and continued arguing. That continued until about a minute ago when the older guy marched back in here this time with a policeman, they continued arguing with someone else and then eventually left.

Why am I telling you this? I just want to note that this happens probably once a week in this internet cafe. Djiboutians seem to relish an intense arguement and this cafe never disappoints.

fat somali women?

One of the interesting bits of information I can see with my blog are search terms that bring people to my blog. My favorite one is "photos of fat somali women" apparently if you search for that my blog will be one of the results. I like that.

Djibouti Jeopardy

My grandparentals have informed me that Djibouti was a category on Jeopardy the other day. So in honor of that, I invite you to test your knowledge of Djibouti with Djibouti Jeopardy!

http://jeopardylabs.com/play/djibouti

a gift I received

A friend from Ethiopia living here in Djibouti painted this for me and gave it to me last night. If you click on the photo and look at the big version keep your eye out for lots of little "extras" hidden throughout the picture.

Election Season!

Right now Djibouti is gripped with election fever. Speculation runs rampant as to who will win the upcoming presidential election on April 7th. There are elections posters and billboards blanketing the city and trucks driving around with people yelling slogans through PA systems. Lots of people are wearing shirts or hats with their preferred candidate on them and attendance is high at political rallies. I can tell you that the entire country is eagerly awaiting the results of this close election.

one day late...