of dust and chairs

There’s dust everywhere. My attempts to sweep up a room yesterday resulted in big piles which just dispersed back into the air when I tried to brush it into the dustpan. The small rains are due soon. I’m looking forward to them, damp down the dust and bring out the flowers I say.

We bought two blue plastic chairs yesterday. We can now sit at a table to eat. Things are looking up. We were walking home through the streets of Asmara with them and passed a shop Saskia and I wanted to go in so we left Phil sitting outside on a pile of blue chairs. Michelle (another volunteer, it’s impossible to walk very far in Asmara without bumping into someone you know) walked past, had a quick conversation and walked on, not a word about why he was sitting there. Everything starts to seem normal after a while.

I’ve finished writing my first unit at work (student book and teachers’ guide). Another milestone passed.

An update for anyone thinking of visiting, I’ve changed my thinking on it. Weather-wise the
best time is probably now or January to March next year.

There are nine ethnic groups with different religions, dress, hair-styles living in this country. It’s amazing in a country this size. There seems to be no friction at all between them. The uniting factor is to be Eritrean. More of this later.

C