Left my mark in Ethiopia...

A couple of weeks ago I got this mail from Jens, a German guy I used to hang out with in Ethiopia.......

"Anyway, what amazed me and what I wanted to write you about: You seem to have left quite an impression here in Ethiopia. One Canadian girl which I didn't know until you left (her name is Laura) told me last weekend that she went to Merkato, and that she was asked by some guys if she was Maltese!!! What do you think about that? She doesn't really look much like you, maybe she has the same skin color and hair color, but thats about it."

What are the odds of a girl being asked if she was Maltese (out of all the other big countries in the world) in the biggest market in East Africa.... My mission is complete - I have left my mark - from now on every tall girl with fair skin and brown hair is Maltese!!!!!!

Ahh I miss my dear Ethiopia and all that comes with it.... the injera and Doro Wat, Dashen beer, kids shouting out 'ferenji, ferenji money money', the friendly people who want to talk to you just to learn about life out of Ethiopia, songs of Teddy Afro and Jonny Raga continuously playing on the buses and taxis, coffee and Kaldi's, Jen's house and Elsa's cooking........

Thea, where are you now?....

....This was the most common question addressed to me yesterday by friends I haven't seen in exactly one year - and some even more...... one of the coolest thing about all the travelling is that you get to go home and tell your friends and family all about it!!!

The best thing about going home for Xmas, apart from the big Xmas lunch (my father's lasagne and stuffed turkey) and entertaining my grandparents with a glimpse of the world through my photos of Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya, is that rather than meeting my friends one by one, I get to meet them all at once at these Xmas gatherings....

My Grandma and Grandpa enjoying the stuffed turkey..

So yesterday was Steve's surprise birthday party, which Maria, Nadine and I headed off to - we were quite a sight... the 3 of us are out of Malta and the 3 of us were a bit nervous to turn up alone and see everyone again.....

However the evening turned out great..... I met up with old university friends, reminisced old days and laughed at all the stupid things we used to do in Uni......

Everyone is now leading his/her own separate lives.... some getting married, some just came back from voluntary work trips in India, others studying abroad, others about to embark on an international adventure that their company is sending them on... and others just enjoying life in Malta.

I spent the night catching up, answering the question 'Where are you now?' and the question 'What next?'..... it was actually a nice feeling speaking about adventures in Ethiopia and what Africa is like...... as most have never even dreamt of going anywhere there!!!!! I also enjoyed speaking to people, seeing what they are up to and seeing that they are also having a good time, such as Simon's MBA in sports in Milan, and Heidi's PHD in brain imaging Edinburgh, Kevin's first adventure with PWC in Luxemburg, Barbara's adventures around India, Tania's new job with Vodafone, Karen and Bernie's adventures in Libya when they went down for work and many many more!!!

After a nice lunch of my mother's ricotta Ravioli... and a big out on parma ham, brie cheese, gbejniet (maltese goat cheese) and salami (I'm making the most of parma ham, pork sausages, brie cheese and wine, once I still can.... I attempted brie cheese in Ethiopia which was packaged in a can.... never again will I eat cheese in a can!!!!), I'm off to watch the Xmas Pantomime with my parents.... I only missed one Pantomime in all the Xmases I've been in Malta..... can't wait to have a good laugh with my mummy and daddy.....

Tomorrow is a day full of more pampering at the beautician and hairdresser.... and more catching up with other long lost friends.....

Whiskey my doggy.... although it didn't recognise me at first (it growled at me!!!) I still love running around the house with it!!!

Just Great...

One of the best things of being back in Malta during Xmas is to reunite with all those friends who have also dispersed somewhere in the world... Many I people I know, both friends and just acquaintances are working /studying abroad and have come back to Malta for the Xmas break....

Yesterday I got to reunite with a person who is very dear to me, someone I haven't seen in a year, though have communicated with through e-mails, phone calls and blogs.....and someone who I think I can say I've known for almost all my life - Maria!!!!

Maria and Anita both came to my house for a christmas drink and a small chat with my parents!!!

Anita is also a long lost good university friends, she's also living in Brussels and I haven't seen her in years!!!!......

Maria me and Anita at my house...

The three of us hadn't been to Malta in quite a while...... so the three of us were totally oblivious to the Maltese nightlife..... until Geraldine came to our rescue.....

Can't wait for more Cisk Export (Maltese beer), laughter and friends tonight as we do our traditional Xmas eve bar hopping!!!

25yrs already over?

"..... this time XXyrs ago was the happiest day of my life.... my first baby girl was born..." this is what I get every 19th of December 1st thing in the morning from my mother..... whether I was in Malta, Belgium, Egypt... and now Libya. The one-way conversation then goes on about how blessed I am and lucky I am to be in the world..... the the story goes on about how my mother was told that having children is risky cause of her back problems........ prayed to St Joseph on the 19th of March (the feast of St Joseph and the patron saint of my mother and father), conceived me on that day and 9months later, 19th of December I was born...... yes I get this year after year for the past 25yrs......

25 is somehow your target age when you are a child.... what will I look like at 25? how rich will I be by 25? what would my husband look like? would my kid be a girl or a boy? what job would I have etc etc....

15yrs ago, I somehow always imagined that by 25, I'd be married (very important that the husband was rich and loving), with a kid, a nice house by the sea..... and a job a primary school teacher (at that age I figured its the best job you could ever have, cause you get to have paid summer holidays and work from 8 to 2!!!!). I seem to have shattered my childhood dream, as I haven't managed to achieve any of the above..... no husband let alone children....... not enough money saved to buy all the windows a big house required, let alone buy the whole house........ and finally there is no way I'd be a primary school teacher.... can you imagine me dealing with the same kids for a year?? You'd find them flying out of the school window.....

However, In these past 25 years I've managed

- to finish the planned life of primary school, secondary school, sixth form and finally graduate from University. I can still remember the tears my mother shed when she drove me to the university to get my application papers.......... At the age of 10 your primary goal is to get to university and get a degree and wear the gown and throw your hat in the air, when that happens you are stuck with the question - 'And now what???' - I somehow omitted that phase between the 'And now what?' and the living happily every after with a kid and big house..... so.... more tears for my mother, and at the age of 21 I decided to wonder off and see what else the world has to offer....

- so that is how I ended up in Belgium.... I loved my time in Belgium. It not only gave me the chance to discover myself, to grow, to prove to myself that I can do it on my own, but it also gave me the chance to meet amazing people.... from whom I've learnt a great lot and discovered who I really am....... Living in that house in Scharbeek has opened my eyes to the world and its people..... One year in Belgium turned out to be two years.... Living in the middle of Europe also gives you the added value of being within a stone throw's away from all the major cities in Europe, which I totally took advantage of...

- next year I went to Egypt.... to discover another part of the world.... another childhood dream crossed off the list..... WOW!!! I had always wanted to go to the land of the Pharaohs.... but my God, Egypt has was more to offer than Pyramids, Mummies and Temples..... Egypt is a massive fountain of marvels!!!! The weekends in the Red Sea or relaxing and marvelling at multicoloured fish, the days in the desert overcoming my hate of sand and feeling one with yourself, felucca rides on the nile with the guitar playing the background, sheesha and strawberry juice in the men's Ahwa.... and much more..... also adding the wonderful friendly Egyptians..... and the memorable times with Tom. Egypt is also a massive fountain of knowledge..... there I learnt about the world, about Islam, about life, society and culture. I learnt how to understand, tolerate, accept and how to respect...... and finally how to fight for what I really want!!!

- then I got to chance to discovered the undiscovered!!!!! - Ethiopia - at 10yrs I knew Ethiopia existed cause my mother always made me eat my food 'cause the children in Ethiopia are dying of Hunger' (it later became after for my sister... but anyway) - so who'd imagine that I'd be spending 5 months in that country..... Ethiopia was another eye opener.... a glimpse of what the rest of the 3rd world is passing through, what many of the countries in the African continent were experiencing. I saw in Ethiopia things I'd have never dreamt of seeing in person..... and heard things I'd never dreamt of hearing from the actual people......

- finally my 25yr mark is here in Libya.... what did I think of Libya when I was 10.... I don't think I'd want to share it here, as I think I'd be very ashamed to say it right now......

25 is a weird age..... You feel too old to hang out with people 21 down, and too young to hangout with people 30 above, however you feel psychologically torn between wanting to be young again and thus act 21 down and be old an mature and act 30 above..... when you're 25 you have a sort of double personality..... or rather that is how I'm feeling at this point in time.... I want to hang out with my work colleagues, join in the high profile intelligent conversations and enjoy drinks such as rum, brandy and whisky and on the other hand I also want to be able to go to pubs stuff myself with pints of beer, dance like I'm alone and perform acts of drunken foolishness ......

So now the first quarter of the century is over, heading into the 26th year and 2nd quarter..... what's in store for me???..... definitely no money to buy a house..... but surely money to see more of the world..... more of the middle east and Africa, definitely India, Pakistan and Nepal and possibly east Asia..... and learn more.... no husbands as yet..... but still open for romances ; )...... definitely no kids unless they can be switched on and off, packed into suitcases and don't require attention and money.........

Although I'm here in Libya, celebrating a slightly miserable birthday.... no parties, beers, pubs or close friends (the people I hang out with already left to spend Xmas at home) and where the highlight of the day was driving up to Tripoli overcoming the crazy driving and buying cookies for the people at work..... I feel rich with all the friends I have all over the world, all the birthday wishes, phone calls, SMSs, and E-mails from people I had thought forgot about me!!!!! and happy with the inner wealth my experiences have enriched me with......

So now I'll cuddle up with all my riches and enjoy my nice Libyan sweets....

Another week gone by

Yeap, another week passed, and only one more to go to be home.... I know that I've been home only less than a month ago, but it wasn't a real going home, as it was only 3 days and most of it was spent fixing my driving license, getting injections, shopping, sorting out stuff to take to Libya, drinking my last pints of beer, sorting out passport etc....

This week has been bizarre....

Cairo

The coolest thing is that I got to go to Egypt for 2 days..... I caught up on the Cairo Xmas spirit (not much to be desired), friends, wine drinking, commercialism, colleagues, cinema, Fast Food and Egyptian Falafel.....

However.... I was suffering from a terrible cold and somehow my terrible absent mindedness decided to come out of its box and I forgot my super cool brand new in the Cinema...... I somehow only realised 4 days later in my dreams..... hopefully the security was nice enough to keep it for me....

Friday is a Sunday

It is now official.... here in Libya Friday is really a Sunday..... In Egypt although Friday is the praying day it doesn't really feel like a Sunday. Granted its a weekend and all companies are closed, however shops are still open, people are still do their business in the street, old men still smoke sheesha and play Tabula and the women still meet to gossip on their doorstep......

Here in Libya its dead!!!!! Last Sunday Mark and I ventured out to the International School for a Xmas bazaar..... boredom struck and we decided to seek adventure in the city.....He he easier said than done..... we drove up and down what are supposed to be the busiest streets in Tripoli.... hoping to find a place to get a nice coffee...... after 2hrs of driving we decided to retry these streets and maybe find somewhere to eat as it was about 1pm.... alas.... not a soul open..... starved.... we decided to resort to the usual places we go to.... the Libyan, Turkish, Italian and Lebanese restaurant were all closed..... at about 2.30pm we desperately sat outside the Lebanese restaurant and had a cigarette racking our brains thinking of other food places that might be open..... but hurray!!!! The Lebanese restaurant decided to open its doors...... and we ran in hoping that they would make us something to eat.... being frequent customers, the cook probably pitied us and made us food..... almost nothing on the menu was available..... never mind..... we still got some sort of food!!!!

So now I know that Friday is the day I should stay home..... do nothing......watch movies and sleep..... Saturday is a normal Saturday....

Too many Maltese

Libya is probably the country where I've met the most Maltese in my life.... (obviously apart from Malta). I headed off to a Maltese Embassy party last Wednesday where a friend of my Fathers' a respected figure in the Embassy helped me get acquainted with the key people.... that's ok..... you always meet loads of people from your country at such events, most of them work with the embassy anyway....

I've also had many business meetings with many maltese running a branch of a maltese company here in Libya..... medical insurance companies, security companies, catering companies....

However last Thursday I was invited to a Christmas party organised by the people on the compound...... I expected a little get together with some turkey and a few chats..... This party not only turned out to be a wild one with loads of people and dancing..... but i've also discovered the community of wine, rum, beer and gin making!!!!!!!!! And surprise surprise..... I also met a guy who was at the embassy party who turned up with another 10 Maltese who were not at the party..... and coincidentally I knew one of them as I used to play basketball with him when I was young....

Isn't the world a small place....

Last Friday while despirately looking for food, I got a surprise phone call...... Andre... a teenage friend of mine called...... I not only surprise to hear it was him but even more surprised to see that it was a Libyan number he was calling from!!!! He was in Malta a couple of months ago and somehow met Karen, a friend of mine who somehow told him that I was in Libya (I have no idea how Karen knew that I knew Andre) anyway..... Karen didn't have my contacts so could not give them to him....... Andre goes back to Libya and meets up with his Libyan friends.... one of which turned out to be one of the guys I interviewed last week..... he tells him that he met a Maltese in Ericsson..... but the guy somehow had lost my contacts.... in that discussion there was another Maltese guy (Andre's partner) who I met at the Maltese Embassy.... and surprise surprise he had my card..... so this led to the surprise phone call from Andre on Friday..... He opened his company in Libya a couple of months ago and will be in Tripoli for a while.... can't wait to meet up....

The weather

I'm freezing my ass off here in Tripoli..... Living in the middle of nowhere, practically the desert doesn't help with regards to cold...... to top it all up its raining like hell and hasn't stopped since Monday night... Tripoli's drain system is non-existent and thus the flood and 5hr traffics to get to Tripoli!!!... living in houses with tin roofs doesn't help with the sleeping..... thank god the houses are built by Swedes.... at least they know the meaning of central heating......

another blogger's views of the tripoli weather.....

The week is finally over.... no plans for the weekend as yet.... guess this will be one of those do nothing weekend.....getting ready for the do everything 10days coming up next week!!

A trip to Leptis Magna

After a much needed doing nothing Friday, on Saturday, Mounir ( a Moroccan Colleague) and I headed to the famous Roman City of Leptis Magna about 120Km east of Tripoli.

The arch of Septimus Severus

Leptis Magna is one of the finest Roman cities in the Mediterranean and one of the few sites where one can vividly picture a living city. It is also known for being the greatest Roman city in Africa. Leptis was constructed of sturdy limestone that left it more resistant to earthquakes and the ravages of time. This city is a testament to extravagance with abundant examples of lavish decoration, grand buildings of monumental stature, indulgent bath complexes and forums of entertainment at the center or public life. It must have been a great place to live.

Mounir and I posing by the Arch

The arch of Septimus Severus built in 203AD to commemorate the visit of the Emperor and his family. The core of this arch is built in limestone, and covered in beautifully sculptured marble.

The first place we visited were the Hadrianic Baths. In front of the baths one can find the 'palestra' - translated into English meaning gym.... an open air swimming pool, cold baths, warm baths and hot baths.

The most uncomfortable toilets I've ever seen

One can also find the still whole latrines..... can you imagine a massive room with men sitting on these things one next to the other and having a chat about this and that, or reading their newspaper?!? Can you imagine sitting on marble in the middle of winter while relieving yourself... ah torture!

Empress Thea addressing the people...

We then headed off to the Severan Forum. The open-air Severan Forum measured 100m by60m and its floor was covered with marble. Ancient remnants of former glories are still strewn around the courtyard. It's easy to picture the forum in its heyday.

Marbles heads of sea nymphs... note the heart-shaped eyes, the necklaces of serpents and eyebrows of fish fins....

Finally we headed off to the Amphitheatre. I could have sat there for ever. It is majestic, with its large marble pillars and view of the Mediterranean on the horizon... a good book and nobody would have been able to tempt me into moving me from there.

This place once held 16,000 people and was hollowed out of a hill. The entertainment on offer in Roman amphitheatres was nothing like the Shakespeare plays or a Lloyd Webber Musical we'd see in modern day theatres.... a typical program consisted of people hunting rabbits and small rodents in the arena in the morning, followed by shackled criminals being left to the mercies of the lions.

The People's Council

This is something I've actually experience for the first time in a country I've lived in and which I find quite interesting. Libya is currently at a total standstill every day between 4pm and 8pm. This has been going for
the past 3 weeks and is likely to go on till the end of the year. All shops are closed and barely any cars are on the street..... What is happening?

Muammar Al Qadhafi has come up with a so called 'Green Book' which is actually divided into three parts....

Part 1 - The Solution of the Problem of Democracy

Part 2 - The Solution of the Economic Problem

Part 3 - The Social Basis of the Thrid Universal Theory

The one I am currently interested in is Part 1 'The Authority of the People'. Qadhafi specifically states that:

Popular Conferences are the only means to achieve popular democracy. Any system of government contrary to this method, the method of Popular Conferences, is undemocratic. All the prevailing systems of government in the world today will remain undemocratic, unless they adopt this method.

Although the above statement may create a few sparks, his reasoning, though too idealistic brings a smile on to your face making you thing how people actually come up with these things.......

THE GREEN BOOK guides the masses to an unprecedented practical system of direct democracy. No two intelligent people can dispute the fact that direct democracy is the ideal, but until now no practical method for its implementation has been devised. The Third Universal Theory , however, now provides us with a practical approach to direct democracy. The problem of democracy in the world will finally be solved. All that is left before the masses now is the struggle to eliminate all prevailing forms of dictatorial governments, be they parliament, sect, tribe, class, one-party system, two-party system or multi-party system, which falsely
call themselves democracies.

Isn't this ironic??

There can be no democracy without Popular Conferences and Committees everywhere.

So this is what he does......

First, the people are divided into Basic Popular Conferences. Each Basic Popular Conference chooses its secretariat. The secretariats of all Popular Conferences together form Non-Basic Popular Conferences. Subsequently, the masses of the Basic Popular Conferences select administrative People's Committees to replace government administration. All public institutions are run by People's Committees which will be accountable to the Basic Popular Conferences which dictate the policy and supervise its execution. Thus, both the administration and the supervision become the people's and the outdated definition of democracy - democracy is the supervision of the government by the people - becomes obsolete. It will be replaced by the true definition: Democracy is the supervision of the people by the people.

Thus, the problem of the instrument of government is naturally solved, and all dictatorial instruments disappear. The people become the instrument of government, and the dilemma of democracy in the
world is conclusively solved.

Its as simple as ABC!!!! So why does the world still suffer from dictatorships?

So now, all the people should attend this little meetings held all around the cities. They are divided into 'Shaabia' or Municipalities all across Libya and discuss how the country should be run, what laws should be implemented etc etc. Supposedly everyone should stop working at 2pm and start getting ready for the meeting. If any shop is found open it is fined. However very few people attend such meetings, and others use the excuse to go home and sleep or leave work early.

Ironically enough the Green Book also says the following:

After the successful establishment of the age of the republics and the beginning of the era of the masses, it is
unthinkable that democracy should mean the electing of only a few representatives to act on behalf of great masses. This is an obsolete structure. Authority must be in the hands of all of the people.

The most tyrannical dictatorships the world has known have existed under the aegis of parliaments.

Hmmm.....I don't know if I would 100% agree with this.....

The party is a contemporary form of dictatorship. It is the modern instrument of dictatorial government. The party is the rule of a part over the whole. As a party is not an individual, it creates a superficial democracy by establishing assemblies, committees, and propaganda through its members. The party is not a democratic instrument because it is composed only of those people who have common interests, a common perception or a shared culture; or those who belong to the same region or share the same belief.

He has a point.....but then if the majority of the people agree with this party doesn't it make it a democracy??

The Green Book goes on and on in this way speaking about the ideal, what is happening in today's so called 'democracies', what is wrong with them and what in theory is the right way, but in practice doesn't work...... I guess doesn't work in Libya either....... will read and study it in more detail and see what else he has to say!!! Beleive me... in this Green Book which sits in the Green Library next to Green Square.... Mr Moammar Al Qatdafi has an answer to everything.