Two weeks into work and we’re starting to settle into it. I’m still feeling a bit new but it’s getting better. We both start at eight and work very close to each other in Ministry of Education buildings. It takes about 20 minutes to walk. Half an hour’s break at ten and two hours at twelve. Long enough to walk home and relax. We both finish at six. Dinner is usually vegetables in some form, haven’t got round to buying meat yet, often have it if we eat out. Butchers shops are quite off-putting, rows of carcases hanging up and I’m not sure if I’ve got enough language to buy it yet.
Traditional food is “injera. The real traditional is everyone at the table sharing from a huge plate in the middle of but in restaurants you usually have your own or a half injera. It is eaten regularly, not just for special occasions, had a workshop yesterday and that was lunch. There’s also a variety of burgers, pizzas and pasta and some good fish.
We’ve been living in pretty bare rooms for the last couple of weeks but have just got some furniture from the landlord which makes the place feel a bit more homely. It had been shut up in the garage and it’s just taken all morning to clean it up and get rid of many years accummulatio n of dirt and dead insects, lovely. We’ve a spare bed so we’re now officially open for visitors, I don’t think there is a best time to come, I keep being given different views by people, there are a couple of rainy seasons in May and July/August but like most rainy seasons it doesn’t rain all day, just a few hours and then the sun comes out. The only thing is that the summer is too hot for the lowlands, Massawa which is a big port and the nearest thing to a beach resort gets up to the mid 40’s and isn’t really recommended then. We’re going to try and get there for a weekend before the end of March.
Biggest talking point amongst volunteers at the moment is the absence of beer, the beer factory has closed down due to lack of something (hops?) and most bars have none or will only let you buy one bottle. Only the local wine left.
C
Sunday 24 February 2008
Picnic Eritrean Style
Last Saturday was the day of a picnic which I was invited to, along with another VSO colleague, at quite short notice.
The destination was the Filfil camp ground situated in Eritrea's small area of rainforest halfway up the great rift valley escarpment at the top of which Asmara sits.
The large cooking pots being loaded onto the bus together with gas cylinder and burner offered a clue that this was going to be a picnic with a difference, the stop at the livestock market just before leaving Asmara provided confirmation.
The ride to the camp ground was initially across the high plains along the Keren road followed by the hairpins on the descent of the escarpment, through a layer of cloud, towards the Eritrean lowlands. The road itself is quite amazing, very well maintained with crash barriers in strategic places, and little used - but still providing many kilometres of fear and excitement.
At the camp ground I was quite surprised to find six other buses and several other picnics in full swing (meaning loud Eritrean music blasting out from music systems) not quite an idyll but interesting nonetheless.
So now we come to the preparation of the main ingredient and, in writing this, I am very aware that I am looking through the eyes of someone whose meat is usually pre-cut, sanitised and shrink-wrapped and that, to my Eritrean, colleagues, it is just the normal way things are done.
It turned out that we had brought two goats with us and that they weren't going to be invited to join in the dancing later ... pretty much all the guys participated in the steps involved in the killing, stringing up, skinning and butchering of lunch (apart from me although I was invited to observe closely and to take photographs with the assurance that I would be wielding a knife next time).
The meal was, of course, delicious consisting of various stews served with injera (flat sourdough bread, a local staple) and it was later shared with a number of people who just seemed to appear from the woods, it was accompanied by beer and wine and followed by an Eritrean coffee ceremony and dancing in a circle Eritrean style (lots of shoulder movement), which continued in the bus on the way home round the hairpin bends!
So it was a day of firsts for me – I'd never seen an animal killed before, I'd never been at a picnic quite like it ... oh, and I'd never seen a baby camel before (from the bus while travelling through the lowlands).
The destination was the Filfil camp ground situated in Eritrea's small area of rainforest halfway up the great rift valley escarpment at the top of which Asmara sits.
The large cooking pots being loaded onto the bus together with gas cylinder and burner offered a clue that this was going to be a picnic with a difference, the stop at the livestock market just before leaving Asmara provided confirmation.
The ride to the camp ground was initially across the high plains along the Keren road followed by the hairpins on the descent of the escarpment, through a layer of cloud, towards the Eritrean lowlands. The road itself is quite amazing, very well maintained with crash barriers in strategic places, and little used - but still providing many kilometres of fear and excitement.
At the camp ground I was quite surprised to find six other buses and several other picnics in full swing (meaning loud Eritrean music blasting out from music systems) not quite an idyll but interesting nonetheless.
So now we come to the preparation of the main ingredient and, in writing this, I am very aware that I am looking through the eyes of someone whose meat is usually pre-cut, sanitised and shrink-wrapped and that, to my Eritrean, colleagues, it is just the normal way things are done.
It turned out that we had brought two goats with us and that they weren't going to be invited to join in the dancing later ... pretty much all the guys participated in the steps involved in the killing, stringing up, skinning and butchering of lunch (apart from me although I was invited to observe closely and to take photographs with the assurance that I would be wielding a knife next time).
The meal was, of course, delicious consisting of various stews served with injera (flat sourdough bread, a local staple) and it was later shared with a number of people who just seemed to appear from the woods, it was accompanied by beer and wine and followed by an Eritrean coffee ceremony and dancing in a circle Eritrean style (lots of shoulder movement), which continued in the bus on the way home round the hairpin bends!
So it was a day of firsts for me – I'd never seen an animal killed before, I'd never been at a picnic quite like it ... oh, and I'd never seen a baby camel before (from the bus while travelling through the lowlands).
Sunday 17 February 2008
Living
We’ve both been at work for a week now and our time here is starting to seem less like a holiday and more like real life. Living here is a strange combination of being different and yet being the same as everyone else. We obviously look different and aren’t aware of the finer points of the culture and yet because we are being paid on a local pay scale we’re living in the same way as everyone else. We don’t receive any pay for three months but VSO have given us an equipment grant for household items and are willing to give an advance on our wages if we need it, at the moment we’re trying to do without it but we’ll see. Tomatos, oranges ,bananas and sometimes apples are our main fruit. We eat meat if we eat out but haven’t braved a butcher yet to cook it at home. Water is in short supply at the moment as the mains supply is very erratic.
We’re living in an older style house (could date back to when the Italians were here – not sure), the owner lives in Italy and her brother is our landlord. Bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen (and a few cockroaches but I’m trying to persuade them to leave). There’s a sun deck of sorts around the house for those of you who are planning to visit and sit in the sun (I mention no names Rog).No furniture apart from a stove (we were very lucky to get a calor gas stove but as the gas is in short supply we may not be using it for long, most people cook on kerosene) and a bed. I tried to buy some furniture in the market yesterday but even the most rickety table and chairs were too expensive. I’ll try again next weekend.
Actually had a very nice Saturday yesterday. Phil was away for the day on a works picnic (I’ll leave him to describe it –it certainly didn’t have anything to do with cheese sandwiches) and I spent the day in town with a friend wandering round the market, drinking cappuchinos and out for a pizza in the evening. Asmara is so uncrowded and beautiful with faded Italian architecture and palm trees, it was a pleasure. It’s still winter here, t-shirt weather during the day but very chill at night.
My work’s ok, I’m still finding my feet, I’m a bit hampered by the fact that I haven’t worked in a school here but it’s coming together. The gov. is very committed to education and the text books completed so far are very good. The main problem seems to be in the level of teacher education and expertise which is where VSO concentrates a lot of its efforts. Children study at school until grade 11 and then grade 12 is actually a year of military service after which they take their final exams. This results in girls being married early as they then don’t have to do this final year. The trouble is they then don’t have their final exams and so have no qualifications with which to find work. Those who do take the final exam are then allocated to jobs anywhere in the country.
We’ve both got mobiles, paid for by VSO in case they need to contact us quickly. If you want the number drop us an email.
Read about the UN on BBC yesterday. They’re still driving around Asmara. Everything’s continuing the same.
C
We’re living in an older style house (could date back to when the Italians were here – not sure), the owner lives in Italy and her brother is our landlord. Bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen (and a few cockroaches but I’m trying to persuade them to leave). There’s a sun deck of sorts around the house for those of you who are planning to visit and sit in the sun (I mention no names Rog).No furniture apart from a stove (we were very lucky to get a calor gas stove but as the gas is in short supply we may not be using it for long, most people cook on kerosene) and a bed. I tried to buy some furniture in the market yesterday but even the most rickety table and chairs were too expensive. I’ll try again next weekend.
Actually had a very nice Saturday yesterday. Phil was away for the day on a works picnic (I’ll leave him to describe it –it certainly didn’t have anything to do with cheese sandwiches) and I spent the day in town with a friend wandering round the market, drinking cappuchinos and out for a pizza in the evening. Asmara is so uncrowded and beautiful with faded Italian architecture and palm trees, it was a pleasure. It’s still winter here, t-shirt weather during the day but very chill at night.
My work’s ok, I’m still finding my feet, I’m a bit hampered by the fact that I haven’t worked in a school here but it’s coming together. The gov. is very committed to education and the text books completed so far are very good. The main problem seems to be in the level of teacher education and expertise which is where VSO concentrates a lot of its efforts. Children study at school until grade 11 and then grade 12 is actually a year of military service after which they take their final exams. This results in girls being married early as they then don’t have to do this final year. The trouble is they then don’t have their final exams and so have no qualifications with which to find work. Those who do take the final exam are then allocated to jobs anywhere in the country.
We’ve both got mobiles, paid for by VSO in case they need to contact us quickly. If you want the number drop us an email.
Read about the UN on BBC yesterday. They’re still driving around Asmara. Everything’s continuing the same.
C
Sunday 10 February 2008
Work Starts Soon
So we have arrived at the end of "In Country Training" and we start our placements next week. We have also had some Tigrinya language training (it's not going to be easy you should hear the word for egg ... and there is a 200-character script to learn) but given time who knows?
Life in Asmara is going to be interesting and probably very busy - in my case there are already a number of IT tasks earmarked for me on top of the training and it looks as if I may be travelling in the rest of the country some of the time.
Asmara itself continues to amaze. The combination of a great climate - still gotta be a bit careful of the sun at this altitude and latitude - and the city itself with it's landmark buildings, bustling market and mixture of old and modern styles of dress is a winning one.
We've also seen inside our house which is a little bigger than we were led to believe so if anyone wants to come and stay ... and no - the palm trees are too far apart to sling a hammock but the tiled outside area for taking the evening sun more that makes up for this.
Watch this space for photos - we're working on it!
P
Life in Asmara is going to be interesting and probably very busy - in my case there are already a number of IT tasks earmarked for me on top of the training and it looks as if I may be travelling in the rest of the country some of the time.
Asmara itself continues to amaze. The combination of a great climate - still gotta be a bit careful of the sun at this altitude and latitude - and the city itself with it's landmark buildings, bustling market and mixture of old and modern styles of dress is a winning one.
We've also seen inside our house which is a little bigger than we were led to believe so if anyone wants to come and stay ... and no - the palm trees are too far apart to sling a hammock but the tiled outside area for taking the evening sun more that makes up for this.
Watch this space for photos - we're working on it!
P
Sunday 3 February 2008
More from Asmara
Sunday 3rd February
Apologies to those of you who may have been waiting avidly for the next posting (if any). I think we've got too used to instant Internet access and emailing in the UK. It can be very intermittent here, in fact non-existent sometimes. Hopefully we can sort out something more reliable when we move into our house which we're hoping to do in a week's time. On the subject of accommodation:
The standard varies tremendously. It's obviously better in Asmara as generally the standard of living and availability is better but VSO do make sure that the volunteers working in the villages (who are the majority) have have a good basic standard of accommodation - a bedroom and either their own or shared toilet and kitchen. The toilet can be a flush or a pit latrine. Water can be on tap or delivered daily by anything from a tanker to a mule. We've just had an overnight stay in a village with a volunteer as part of the in-country training, which was was really interesting and enjoyable. Kaska is a methodology trainer and lives and works in a village about 20 k outside Asmara. She has a large bedroom and her own kitchen and toilet in a compound which she shares with a family of 7 and a shopkeeper. We learnt how to maintain and use a kerosene stone and we cooked a meal on it! The family has 5 kids who were great and their mother set up a coffee ceremony for us - the coffee beans are first roasted, then ground and the coffee made, this is repeated twice, it's considered very bad form to stop before the third cup. Strangely enough the coffee is always accompanied by popcorn. It suits me, I love popcorn. We were shown round the village to cries of "Kaska" from all the local kids. Kaska's worked their for 3 years and seems to be adored by all the people living there. Her job involves working inside and outside the classroom training local teachers in more communicative methods, although she's based in the one village she also travels out to other outlying schools. It's a basic but very rewarding style of living.
We're going to be living and working in Asmara. VSO have found us a house which is being cleaned up and painted and they will provide us with the basic necessities. All I can tell you about it is that it's got 2 palm trees in the front garden which is good to going on with. We've tried peering through the undergrowth around the front gate but can't make out much more so more later on that one.
We're just about to start the 2nd week of in-country training which seems to be more work orientated than the first week, we'll be going out to our places of work and meeting co-workers.
We've taken lots of photos but haven't yet sorted out the best way to link them into this blog or even if we can , bearing in mind how slow the upload speeds are but watch this space.
Time to try and post this. Before I do, one thing:
My personal email is @mac.com but this is proving very difficult to use. Gmail is much easier, problem is we both have are email address books on mac and can't access them. So we'd appreciate it if everyone would send us an email at carholden@gmail .com (for Phil or me) so we can build up a new address book (and also because it would be nice to hear from you as well).
C
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