The African Adventure - Settling in....

So I finally was disgusted enough with the whole work scene and decided to put myself and my loved ones first. I’ve quit my job and lazed around for a whole month (not nearly enough to make up for all the frenetic days but still it’s a start). Now I’m ready to go visit my partner in Africa!

The last few days of cleaning up and vacating the flat were fun because they were interspersed with drinks and meals and catching-ups. So I am finally here in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The flights were mercifully short & the transits too but I was so keyed up it was no joke.

Africa is something else. But as long as you are out for adventure (like I am!) you should have fun. My luggage got here a day later & the suitcase is in pieces & when I asked someone at the airport if the airlines would take care of it I was informed calmly that "this is Africa". My partner says I should shed “work mode” and learn to chill out and not stress about stuff and that's exactly what I propose to do!

So I'm all unpacked and now fully settled in to the ridiculously & unnecessarily large house (named Gorgor to mean Eagle). We share the house with with my partner’s colleague and another guy from the development world. They are both good fun and so far we've had awesome fun taking walks (we saw Dikdik - tiny deer like creatures which are smaller than dogs - a tortoise, a desert snake, goats and assorted birds and insects) watching movies, soccer, having dinner at the local Fish & Steak house and generally having a great time.
When I arrived I was told that one of our housemate’s friends (also from the development world) had been kidnapped by rebels but thankfully they were released the following day. Apparently this is a fairly regular occurrence with people being kidnapped and held for ransom. (Apparently) the hostages are treated well and there is nothing to fear(!)

The flight into Somaliland from Ethiopia was spectacular. The landscape is a mosaic of ridged and ruled greens and browns with diamante-glints of tins roofs. The city itself looks like it is laid out in a large dish and the view from our rooftop is beautiful.

The people are extremely friendly and easy going. Traffic is no different from any under-developed country you’ve been to but what’s great here is that people shout out in a friendly manner, smile and shake their heads and go on their way – which is very refreshing. You get greeted (with the Somali Navat!) whenever you take a walk and we always look like the Piped Piper with a string of kids following.

The terrain is slightly hilly and its cold in the shade (we don’t have/need fans/ac in the house) and in the evenings it gets pretty chilly while outside in the day the sun is scorching. The women are tall and strikingly beautiful in their colorful long dresses and flowing veils (like our maid Xaraqiya – pronounced Haraqiya - who could be a super model in different circumstances).

The women look amazingly serene despite the hard work and heat and carry their babies in slings across their backs. The little ones get to ride under their mother’s veils if the wind/sun gets too harsh. The men are quite noisy and sometimes I think there’s a fight breaking out but it only turns out to be friendly banter. Our office assistant Abdi (Abdul Rahman) and driver Ahmed are very friendly and helpful and since the office is set up downstairs always stop by to say hi and check on how I’m doing.

We have a visitor staying over for a few days and hope to host our first party tomorrow (Thursdays being half days and Fridays being the day off) I’m now silently cursing myself for bringing only one bottle of wine but our guest has brought us a small gift and between the guys I’m sure they will be able to conjure up something. Anyways the company promises to be good so its going to be camel/goat barbecue tomorrow!!

I’m still in the lazing-around-phase and crave for little tasks like seeing that the internet guy gets the work done and writing out grocery lists and planning where to put up pics. Between yoga, meals and lots of movies (yep we’ve got cable!) I can see I’m getting thoroughly spoiled and look forward to meeting some people at the party tomorrow to check out work opportunities. At present BBC Food is my favourite channel and my partner is my unsuspecting guinea pig (he doesn’t like the term lab rat). Meanwhile I’m also seriously considering learning the language.

Prep work on the proposed vegetable patch is being meticulously carried out by our watchmen (Daud and Mohomed) but I think we will have to build some cover first or the plants will never survive the wind (which I can hear even now at 10.33am howling outside)

I’m still a bit hesitant about carrying my camera around and appearing all “touristy” so pictures are yet to come.