Its raining in Djibouti!!!! Its cloudy and raining. This is the best day we have had in a while! I have my window open so I can listen to it.
May 18, 2011
May 15, 2011
Lights of the Day
Highlight of the Day: The electricity only went off for 1h35 minutes instead of the normal 2h25 tonight.
Midlight of the Day: An SUV with a flat tire blocking ALL traffic on my side of the road as I rode in a taxi to a friends house. It appeared that the vehicle had gotten a flat and then was abandoned. No one was trying to fix it or move it when I went by. Nice.
Lowlights of the Day:
1. The total number of exams I must correct for this session is 471.
2. Liverpool lost 0-2 to Tottenham.
Midlight of the Day: An SUV with a flat tire blocking ALL traffic on my side of the road as I rode in a taxi to a friends house. It appeared that the vehicle had gotten a flat and then was abandoned. No one was trying to fix it or move it when I went by. Nice.
Lowlights of the Day:
1. The total number of exams I must correct for this session is 471.
2. Liverpool lost 0-2 to Tottenham.
May 14, 2011
blah blah
I'm moving out of my house at the end of this month and flying back to the US June 19. It is now officially super hot here and the power has been going off a lot. That really doesn't help me focus on what I need to do before I leave. When its midnight and I can't sleep because I'm sweating on my bed, I'm not thinking about all the important things I still have to do before I go back to the US for the summer. I'm thinking to myself "why am I in this #^$&%*@ place."
But I still have to correct around 500 final exams. Then administer and correct retakes for students who failed the first semester finals. Then do the same for the 2nd semester. I also registered to take a French certification exam. The written test is May 29 and the oral is June 5th. I'm also gonna take the exam to get into the State Dep't June 4th. Plus I need to pack up all my crap in the next 2 weeks and move to friends house for about 3 weeks.
blah
Here's something to brighten your day. French pop music
But I still have to correct around 500 final exams. Then administer and correct retakes for students who failed the first semester finals. Then do the same for the 2nd semester. I also registered to take a French certification exam. The written test is May 29 and the oral is June 5th. I'm also gonna take the exam to get into the State Dep't June 4th. Plus I need to pack up all my crap in the next 2 weeks and move to friends house for about 3 weeks.
blah
Here's something to brighten your day. French pop music
May 12, 2011
night sounds
It is 11 pm and the power is off. Fortunately, I had the AC CRANKED before the power went out so its
bearable. I was attempting to sleep but there is one problem.
The security guards are listening to men moaning in unison on the radio. Or at least thats what passes for music here.
One guy moaning a few things and then a whole chorus of moaners join in. It seems to just drone on and on with no stop. They listen to this every single night and I get to "enjoy" it when the power is off.
bearable. I was attempting to sleep but there is one problem.
The security guards are listening to men moaning in unison on the radio. Or at least thats what passes for music here.
One guy moaning a few things and then a whole chorus of moaners join in. It seems to just drone on and on with no stop. They listen to this every single night and I get to "enjoy" it when the power is off.
May 11, 2011
The Bell of Life
When I was dropped off at home today around 4, I heard a bell ringing. Like Pavlov's dogs, this bell triggers a response with me. One of relief and joy. The ringing of the bell means the electricity is coming back on. I have no idea why or where this bell is, I just know that when it starts ringing the electricity will be on in a matter of seconds.
If you ever attended public school and heard a bell for recess,lunch, or the best one, the end of school, you know what this sounds like. Then imagine if, when you heard this bell, your life would instantly be transformed from suffocating heat and mistery to air conditioned bliss in a matter of minutes. From the Stone Age to 2011 heralded by the ringing of the bell.
If you ever attended public school and heard a bell for recess,lunch, or the best one, the end of school, you know what this sounds like. Then imagine if, when you heard this bell, your life would instantly be transformed from suffocating heat and mistery to air conditioned bliss in a matter of minutes. From the Stone Age to 2011 heralded by the ringing of the bell.
May 6, 2011
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
Tonight was an eventful evening. It started out in the front of the Palace of the People near my house. There were several Asian men wandering around who were probably Chinese since there is Chinese company working there. Some Arab Djiboutians were attempting to make conversation with them in English but they were either being ignored or the Chinese guys didn't speak English. I sort of laughed at this attempt so they turned their attention to me. It turned out that one of them had been a student in Libya and asked if I had ever heard of it. I replied that I had since Libya is very famous or infamous at the moment. We had a nice little exchange and I carried on.
A block away I passed a young Djiboutian woman who was maybe around 20. As I passed her she punched me in the chest. Surprised, I turned to look at her as she passed and then she spit at me. I kept walking a little shocked by this and saw a group of men who saw this exchange. They sort of smiled at me and I smiled back and kept walking.
The night continues 10 minutes later. I was standing on a street corner waiting to meet a friend for dinner when I saw a peculiar sight. A white man dressed in a long Arab robe and wearing local style sandals approached with 2 women. I wasn't 100% sure that he was white but after he walked by a young guy turned to me and said "white man" and laughed.
All of these events transpired in 15 minutes.
A block away I passed a young Djiboutian woman who was maybe around 20. As I passed her she punched me in the chest. Surprised, I turned to look at her as she passed and then she spit at me. I kept walking a little shocked by this and saw a group of men who saw this exchange. They sort of smiled at me and I smiled back and kept walking.
The night continues 10 minutes later. I was standing on a street corner waiting to meet a friend for dinner when I saw a peculiar sight. A white man dressed in a long Arab robe and wearing local style sandals approached with 2 women. I wasn't 100% sure that he was white but after he walked by a young guy turned to me and said "white man" and laughed.
All of these events transpired in 15 minutes.
May 5, 2011
Nice Weather
Just for fun I looked up the temperature in Djibouti. At 5 pm local time the temperature was reported at 90 F with a humidity level of 75%. Keep in mind that temperature is recorded in the shade. Factoring in the heat index that works out to 109 F...at 5 pm. You can check the heat index or temperature yourself if you're so inclined.
In other news, Djibouti now has wireless 3g internet. I am the proud new owner of a 3g usb key that is enabling meto write this blog post from the comfort of my air conditioned and, at the moment, fully powered apartment.
ps. tomorrows high it projected to be 95 F. If the humidity level remains the same at 75%, 95 F will feel like 130 F. It's not even summer yet.
In other news, Djibouti now has wireless 3g internet. I am the proud new owner of a 3g usb key that is enabling meto write this blog post from the comfort of my air conditioned and, at the moment, fully powered apartment.
ps. tomorrows high it projected to be 95 F. If the humidity level remains the same at 75%, 95 F will feel like 130 F. It's not even summer yet.
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