Moving Houses

So one truckload and three taxis later I have finally moved houses. I had quite the collection of things to move, as my room-mates have both left the country and luckily left behnind a lot of things. As of today, I have now officially left 'The Palace', which was situated in a very rich community known here as Space. Now I live close to my work in the community of Gazabunda.Being close to my work, I can say goodbye to BUS #16, which was always overcrowded, as now I will mostly get around on foot, as the house is centrally located. The new house is also 1/3 the price of 'The Palace', and about 1/3 the size. It's an old Italian home, with a lot of character. My old room-mate and fellow Canadian, Lindsey, described it as sort of like a museum and we both agreed in Canada a house like it would probaly be an historical site. All the furniture is very old, and would be classified as antique.

One added bonus in the house is that there is presently running water, and there is a gas heater for warm water if I want to take a warm shower for a change, this is a big treat after having to use buckets everyday at the old place and where I would heat up the kettle in order to have semi-warm sponge baths. One problem, however, is the toliet as its not all that functional,we may end up using the squatter toliet out back with the neighbours behind the house. But all in all, besides the toliet I think it will be a good place for me and Vadim to live in for the next few months.

For those of you who prefer snail mail, you can write me at the following address:
Laura Roberts
National Union of Eritrean Women
P.O. Box 239
Asmara, Eritrea
East Africa

Merry Christmas

So there is no snow, its 20 degrees and its Christmas Eve, as a Canadian from Edmonton this seems strange and far from the regular Christmas feeling. In any case, I am sending you this warm beautiful photo of a woman from the village I visited yesterday just outside Asmara. She is participating in NUEW's micro-credit program and is so proud of the eggs she sells, after buying some hens with the small loan she was given.The small loan this women recieved has greatly impacted her life and the life of her family, and her community in general. This Christmas I encourage us all to think of this example and realize how little it takes to improve the lives of others. I think we can all afford to share a little of our wealth with others less fortunate, and make a difference in the world and in the lives of others!

Through the desert and back!

Last Saturday I got the opportunity to travel to Assab with my new German friend- Martin(a photographer here temporarily for work). The trip we did was an incredible ride, we traveled in total 1500km, through the region of Dankalia, which according to the Lonely Planet –is one of the most desolate places on earth and known as well for being one of the hottest places on earth, as Dankalia is for the most part completely desert, but borders along the beautiful Red Sea. Luckily for us, December is the coolest time of the year for this area, but it was still super hot (about 40 degrees). The ride was pretty slow, as the road is about 90% unpaved, and in some places hardly driveable, but Keedan, our trusty driver, did a good job and we managed to get to Assab in 2 days time. Along the way we stopped in many small villages, for tea, coffee, lunch, supper, or for the night. The "hotels" in these villages were very simple, offering simply a cot under the stars, and a bucket of water to wash yourself with. In the morning at dusk (5am) we woke up to sounds of chickens, goats, and donkeys - which really gave you an amazing feeling- that life in some parts of the world is still this simple.

The first village we slept in was Galieo, which probably had around 70 or so families. On a Sat. night in Galieo the thing to do was watch the community TV, which was placed outside. People sat on coke case boxes, or in the sand and watched ERI TV the one local channel Eritrea has. I did not partake in much of the TV watching, but did however tune in at 9:30pm for the 15min English newscast that is on every night. (a far stretch from the National back home, or Jon Stewart's Daily Show- which I really miss!)

Assab, was a pretty run-down city which by its appearance had at one time been a booming port city, however, nowadays it looks a little like a ghost town. We didn’t do much in Assab, but visit the NUEW office, and go swimming at the beautiful beach in front of our hotel, and drink a couple ZIBIB at a cute little reggae bar downtown.

All in all, it was an amazing adventure to actually drive through the desert, swim in the red sea, and see tons of camels, a couple ostriches, some foxes & gorillas. But most of all the time spent with the people in the villages was an amazing experience, most of the people along the road from Massawa and Assab are from the Afar ethnic group, and they are incredibly hospitable and friendly- leaving us with great memories.

Letencia - the tea lady at work

Eritrean Culture

So its been almost one month since I've been here in Eritrea, and I feel that I am becoming quite familiar with Eritrean culture and ways of doing things. For instance, I have become accustomed to the heaps of tea and coffee- coffee mainly at people’s houses for coffee ceremonies(usually every weekend I am invited for coffee at someone's house) and tea in the office- at work. In Eritrea most offices,ours included, have on staff a tea lady, of which their sole job is to provide and serve tea to the office employees throughout the day. Our tea lady, Leticia, is a very kind woman and is determined to teach me Tigrinya as she speaks very little English.

Also in my short time here I am also getting used to the fuel and water shortages. Since I have arrived there have been major fuel shortages, so much so that fuel has become rationed by the govt. Really its only UN agencies, large NGOs,embassy staff, and government departments that have access to the country’s limited supply of fuel. This fuel shortage seems quite ironic given Eritrea's geographical position so close to the world’s supply of fuel, just across the sea from Saudi Arabia.

As for water, our water supply has been constantly “touch and go” where sometimes you have it and sometimes you don’t, and really most of the time I have expected not to have it. So we usually have to haul water in with buckets from out back in order to bathe and flush the toilets.

Apart from this, I have also become used to Asmara’s public transportation system. I generally have been taking the bus to work every morning, as otherwise it’s a 45 minute walk, and besides this the bus is quite economical, only 1 nakfa (10 cents Canadian) each way, however, the bus also tends to be quite full due to the fuel shortages, as many Eritreans who own cars are unable to drive them as they do not have access to fuel. In order to deal with this situation(over-packed buses where we are packed in like sardines) I have developed a strategy in taking the bus, I go out early and wait until a bus comes by that isn’t totally full and then hop on.

I have become quite used being told I am a little over-weight, it seems to be very Eritrean to tell it like it is, so interestingly I have been told that I am fat, on several occasions. In Canada, I seem to fit right in, however, over here most people are under-weight, rather than the opposite, so apart from also being white I really tend to stick out. Anyways, I decided I'd take action on this front and I have started an aerobics class, at a fitness centre near my home. The classes are great, and the instructor is super fun, and apart from the exercise it seems to be a good place to make some Eritrean friends.

Finally, I am learning how to make friends in Eritrean Culture, I have already made some friends at work, where everyone at work has been wonderful. I can already see how it will be hard to leave them after my 6 months are over. Likewise, the international community here is also great. The last two weekends have been a lot of fun, been hanging out mostly with my fellow Canadian room-mate, Lindsey, and the Dutch girls. Last weekend was Lindsey's 25th b-day, so we celebrated all weekend long and even went out dancing!

'Pay as you go'

So over the past week I have gotten a variety of illnesses and have had to visit the hospital here, where I witnessed how a 'pay as you go' health care system works! Please keep up the fight against the privatization of health services! (On a side note: I am glad in Alberta, the election went relatively well, as at least,we have a few more progressive voices speaking up against this form of privatization.

So anyways, last week I had a case of Delhi Belly, after a couple meals of local food, which of course was great fun, then I got a really bad cough, which worsened after going out dancing Sat nite with my international friends. Then I got a really bad backache after aerobics and riding my new bike all around town- and driving on all the not so flat roads in Asmara. In any case, work this week was nearly impossible as I could not sit for longer than half an hour without my back bothering me, so my work-mates insisted on taking me to the hospital. Belanyesh, one of my co-workers, was going anyways so I accompanied her but in the end decided not to go as to check in cost $30US and I thought my back really wasnt feeling all that bad. Nevertheless, I stayed with Belanesh and checked out the hospital and saw how their 'public' system works, where after paying to check in ($30 for foreigners and $5 for locals), you must pay additionally more $$ to be seen by a doctor and/or to recieve any types of services, such as a blood test, x-ray, lab test, etc. You must first visit the cashier, pay,and then when you show your receipt you will be treated. An x-ray, for instance, cost my co-worker 80NFA= $8US. Which is nuts, when you consider that she only makes about 1200 NFA/month= $100US.

Anyways, yesterday my back was much worse, I could barely move and I was feeling intense pain in my back and so I decided to bite the bullet and get it checked out. My co-workers picked me up, and took me. After we paid and checked in, we sat in the waiting room, amoung 100 or so other people. Little did I know while we were waiting one of my co-workers( a nurse and former fighter) was telling everyone I came from Canada to work with the women(NUEW) and that I was also a fighter for women's rights, etc. And then low and hehold they all let me jump the cue- which I really hadnt known until we were driving home and my co-worker explained that to me, otherwise I would have thanked them for their kindness.

To fight off the pain the Dr. presrcibed some strong pain killers , and when I went to get my precription filled, I was surprised to be handed three syringes with which i was supposed to inject myself with when needed, yikes!Seeing how I had a hard time getting my vaccinations filled back home before I left, I dont think I will be injecting myself with any sort of pain killers any time soon.

The Dr. also insisted I get an x-ray, so I went to get it done and then to my surprise the women doing the x-rays said there was no water so I was unable to get an x-ray done. Imagine a hospital without water.

Water is definetly a hot commodity here, since I have been here there have been most likely a total of 5 days when we have had running water. Most of the time we need to head out back and haul water in with buckets.

Long story short, I went home from the hospital, and Nedyat our awesome little maid took good care of me and today I am feeling 110% better.I didnt take any of super strong medications the Dr. prescribed, just a lot of rest, and a little TLC.

More Photos

Coffee Ceremony in Keren


My present home

Some Photos from Eritrea

SAINT MARY HOLIDAY

So its funny, I was not sure if Tuesday was a holiday or not, but I sure found out soon enough that it wasn’t a typical working day and in fact a holiday, as when I went to catch the bus in the morning around 7:45am every single bus was completely packed, I waited at the stop for nearly an hour, when two other women at the stop told me to follow them and they took me to another bus stop, they said because of the holiday all the buses were full, as everyone was going to the main cathedral downtown to celebrate and pay tribute to Saint Mary. They told me they didnt think I would have work today, however, I thought I should still get to the office and check just in case. So I took the bus downtown, got off near the market and started heading toward my office, when all of sudden I found myself in a sea of traditionally dressed Tigrinyan women dressed all in white, chanting something in Tigrinya altogether, marching in the direction of the cathedral. It was really something special so I decided to follow along, even though I totally stuck out in my black suit. Really there must have been over a couple thousand women marching toward the church it was really quite phenomenal, and I wish I would have known as I would have brought my camera.
In any case, after I made it to my office, to find nobody there but one of the main administrators taking some decorations down after the celebration. She told me there was no work today and so we went for tea. After I was invited for lunch at another work collegue's home and got directions from her how to get there. It was really neat, as I met all his extended family and they were all extremely hospitable and welcoming in their tiny one room home near the central market. They offered me some homemade brew, ingera, and the typical veggie and spicy chili meat dishes. After the meal I was offered a shot of “ZIBIB” a very strong liquor similar to samboca, and then naturally that was followed by a coffee ceremony, where I drank several shots of expresso, while I sipped my shot of ZIBIB in between the rounds of coffee . Then much to my surprise after visiting for sometime with his family, I was to repeat this whole ritual at another work collegue’s home. After two lunches, lots of coffee and a couple shots of Zibib, I was homeward bound, with no need to make supper that evening.