In the Camp

Although I've now been living in Libya for the past week, I haven't been able to see much except for my surroundings which consists of a compound and office surrounded by high white walls and barbed wire....better described by Michelle as surrounded by the Berlin Wall in East Germany (I'll explain why East Germany later)....

I am living in Ghaser Ben Ghasir, which is literally a small town built around 2 or 3 company compounds in the middle of the desert. The compound is only 22Kms out of Tripoli.... almost like going from one side of Malta to the other....

The camp consists of symmetrically lined wooden boxes, furnished with Ikea and Electrolux. Sort of like a little Playmobile village.....It actually feels strange living in a wooden box, but nothing I cannot get used to..... to avoid boredom, the Camp also hosts a nice swimming pool, a gym, a squash court, a tennis court, a badminton court, a canteen, a 'clubhouse' and a library containing both books and videos..... you could literally manage to live there without leaving for a month or so - with the right companionship.

My Street...

Work is nice....though this week has been super busy and hectic.... as one of the managers described it... Pandora's Box has opened into my office.... and I now have to turn the devils into angels and put them back into the box. I am (till now) getting along pretty well with the people I work with..... and the environment is a pretty international one..... filipinos, moroccans, jordanians, yugoslavs, swedes, egyptians and libyans....

Everyone I meet has been to Malta more than once and love talking to me about their time there, though most have been there during the Embargo period as traveling to Malta was the only way out of Libya....

My own personal Box... B2

I've also got to speak to 3 Maltese people since I've been here, one was for business...... it turned out that a company I was calling for some services was a Maltese company.... and the guy I had the meeting with was the Maltese Branch Manager...... another one was when I called the Maltese embassy to register..... and finally, a phone call from a friend of my father's, whom my father made call me to take care of me!!!!

Tomorrow should be an interesting day... one of my colleagues nicely offered to take me around Tripoli for the day.....