Ok, so... I worked a lot in Djibouti. Like a LOT. so... I'm sorry for the post-dated updates, but want to make them before I forget all about the trip.
But the days were sunny early (like 6am and sunlight was streaming through my window). But at 4:30 it was already getting dark. But it didn't matter too much because it just made the air cooler. If I could live in early November Djiboutian weather constantly - that would be great. It was dry and warm and and great. I had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to get to the dining hall and I tried to do that as often as I could. I also got my fair share of good Starbucks Cinnamon Dulce coffee (perks of being on a US base!).
The people there were great. It was a camaraderie, although I would struggle a whole lot with being gone for long periods of time.
Let's talk about the two times I got off base.
The first time was random. It was unexpected. I was literally blindsided and told we were going on a drive. I had nothing (not even my cell phone for pictures). We went through all the security to get out into the country. We turned left out of the main gate, and down the main stretch out of the city. There is trash lined up all over each side of the road, and cars whiz by on your left or on your right. There are no speed limits and there are no traffic laws. It's pretty much your own risk if you chose to drive in Djibouti. And the ongoing joke is that a cab ride in Djibouti would be the ride of your life... probably even the last one.
The trash started appearing farther from the road and I got to see the village of Dooba, Grand Dooba, and Little Dooba. The villages were made of hundreds and thousands of shanties made from sheets and sticks. Just past the Dooba villages was a booth and three men with guns. We stopped, the guys looked in our car, and waived us through. Ross then told me we went through Somalian checkpoint #1. We drove a little further and saw a major fire on a hill on the left with a fire on it. Apparently it was the Djiboutian landfill. I am still not sure where all the trash came from, but it COVERED the mountain. We continued driving and passed another booth - Somalian checkpoint #2. I was then told that the next Somalian checkpoint would be entering into Somalia, and that was NOT going to happen since I was an American woman. Eeeesh! But before the third checkpoint there was a golf course on the right side of the road. And when I say golf course, I hope you are not picturing rolling green hills and man made lakes and a country club. This was a 9 hold golf course with holes dug into the tough dry dirt for the balls.
On the left hand side just past the golf course was the Cheetah and Wildlife refuge. Ross took me there and we went in to see everything. Out front there was a camel and an ostrich in pen's (like metal wire fences about 10 feet high that you might keep a dog in). We went in and saw baboons, a male and female lion, and cheetahs. (all behind the same type of fence mentioned above). We then went into this walking section, and got to walk with other types of animals. I got to walk along an ostrich (I would say it was probably about 7 feet tall!), a Wildabeast (yes, like from the lion king!), and a zebra (which I got to pet). It was REALLY cool. I was surprised by how small cheetahs and zebras actually are. There was also a hyena there - and maaaaaaaaaaaan are they ugly!!
And since it's late, I will have to wait for the 2nd outing. Sorry!
Chronicles of a Fake Grown-Up
Showing posts with label djibouti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label djibouti. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Friday - Djibouti
Friday was my first full day in Djibouti. Unfortunately, Friday is the day off for my team, so I had to put off meeting most of them until Saturday. (I arrived too late on Thursday.) I woke up early and multiple times, still trying to fight my way through the jet lag. But it was also good that I didn't have a full day with my team, because I had almost two full work-days to catch up on emails that needed some attention.
Djibouti is hot and dry. I have had my hair straight most of the time here, and it has stayed that way. I met the HR team here on the ground, and am quite in love with them. There is one American woman who is a true traveler of the heart. That part of me really gets her and understand her, while the rooted part of me wonders how she does what she does. She is fun and friendly, and hooked me up with Starbucks instant cinnamon dolce coffee, so clearly we get along great. Then there is Amy and Patricia. They are both my age, both from different areas of Africa, and so sweet, and very smart! I love talking to them, and you can see how much they love their jobs. There is my new Indian friend who is a yogi master (I think that's what he said, I keep thinking yogi berry, mhmmm... frozen yogurt!) and is going to teach me some yoga before I leave. I tried to reassure him it has already been done unsucessfully, and that I have accepted the fact that I am a contact sports-explosive athlete, rather than a soft, gentle, flexible, fluid athlete. He seems to think he can teach me cool stuff, so far my wrist just hurts. He keeps saying "No! Slow! More slowly! Go slow!" I think that may have something to do with my wrist issue. The head hancho is HR comes back this week, and I am excited to meet him, because I have worked with him and spoken to him multiple times.
The managers are great out here. They love their employees. I think that is one of the things I love so much about the fact that my employees all live and work together. They are more of a family than a work team, which has both it's positives and negatives, but the positives are great! The dining hall is about a mile from the office, and the rooms are right next to the office, but on the opposite side. So basically, I have to walk a mile for any meal I want, unless the admins give me a ride. It's sweet, they see me as DC, someone they want to treat well, but I would almost prefer walking to the dining hall with the employees and chatting about the work environment and who they are on the way. I also am completely in love with the weather here. If I walk to the far end of the base, I can see the sea, and it's about 90-95 degrees every day. It seriously is like Vegas with a beach (and a whole lot less fanfare, money, ok so it's really almost nothing like Vegas). But the weather is great.
There is a bar here that many of my employees go to, called 11 Degrees North. They do Karaoke there on Friday nights but apparently the music is very outdated. I was given my beer card in case I wanted to go. You need a beer card even just to get in, and you are limited to three beers a night on the beer card and only one beer card a week. Clearly I am just saving up for Tues and Wednesday night and I'm gonna go crazy drinking three whole beers each night. You can say it, I know what you are thinking: PAR-TAY ANNIMAL!! Obviously I'm kidding, but I was going to go until work caught up with me. So I guess you can say that I'm not living the crazy life here in Djibouti yet, but give me a break, it was only my first day! I still had almost a week.
Djibouti is hot and dry. I have had my hair straight most of the time here, and it has stayed that way. I met the HR team here on the ground, and am quite in love with them. There is one American woman who is a true traveler of the heart. That part of me really gets her and understand her, while the rooted part of me wonders how she does what she does. She is fun and friendly, and hooked me up with Starbucks instant cinnamon dolce coffee, so clearly we get along great. Then there is Amy and Patricia. They are both my age, both from different areas of Africa, and so sweet, and very smart! I love talking to them, and you can see how much they love their jobs. There is my new Indian friend who is a yogi master (I think that's what he said, I keep thinking yogi berry, mhmmm... frozen yogurt!) and is going to teach me some yoga before I leave. I tried to reassure him it has already been done unsucessfully, and that I have accepted the fact that I am a contact sports-explosive athlete, rather than a soft, gentle, flexible, fluid athlete. He seems to think he can teach me cool stuff, so far my wrist just hurts. He keeps saying "No! Slow! More slowly! Go slow!" I think that may have something to do with my wrist issue. The head hancho is HR comes back this week, and I am excited to meet him, because I have worked with him and spoken to him multiple times.
The managers are great out here. They love their employees. I think that is one of the things I love so much about the fact that my employees all live and work together. They are more of a family than a work team, which has both it's positives and negatives, but the positives are great! The dining hall is about a mile from the office, and the rooms are right next to the office, but on the opposite side. So basically, I have to walk a mile for any meal I want, unless the admins give me a ride. It's sweet, they see me as DC, someone they want to treat well, but I would almost prefer walking to the dining hall with the employees and chatting about the work environment and who they are on the way. I also am completely in love with the weather here. If I walk to the far end of the base, I can see the sea, and it's about 90-95 degrees every day. It seriously is like Vegas with a beach (and a whole lot less fanfare, money, ok so it's really almost nothing like Vegas). But the weather is great.
There is a bar here that many of my employees go to, called 11 Degrees North. They do Karaoke there on Friday nights but apparently the music is very outdated. I was given my beer card in case I wanted to go. You need a beer card even just to get in, and you are limited to three beers a night on the beer card and only one beer card a week. Clearly I am just saving up for Tues and Wednesday night and I'm gonna go crazy drinking three whole beers each night. You can say it, I know what you are thinking: PAR-TAY ANNIMAL!! Obviously I'm kidding, but I was going to go until work caught up with me. So I guess you can say that I'm not living the crazy life here in Djibouti yet, but give me a break, it was only my first day! I still had almost a week.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Dubai > Ja Booty
Sorry for the lack of posting. Even throwing me out in the middle of the dessert can't keep my social life from interfereing with blogging. I still have not taken many pictures, and I am going to start bringing my camera around. I feel kinda weird being the random person on base taking pictures. The team is telling me we will go out into the city of Djibouti at least once, and probably to the French Beach or Lake Assul which will lead to some good pictures for sure. More on that later.
Day 2 of my trip:
I woke up early so that I could use the gym and get to the airport with plenty of time left. The hotel was attached to an underground shopping mall with a grocery store in it. I threw on my gym clothes (read: conservative and not sloppy. No shorts, no sweatpants, just yoga pants and a t-shirt. Apparently I was a bit underdressed in my t-shirt). I got to the gym, and even the gym looked nice and extravant. I will admit, this was a nice hotel, but seriously - gold decor on a treadmill? Marble gym-section-separators? Dubai people even work out with class!
After the gym, I headed to the grocery store in the mall to grab some snacks for the flight/next week. Again, everything looked extravagant. It was beautiful with intricate designs and more gold and marble. (Seriously, everything is fancy in Duabi, if I find time during my layover home I will try to get out of the airport and take pictures). I tried to find some good sustaining snacks (read: protein or granola bars), but trying to find my way through the grocery store proved to be more difficult than I could manage, and all the American snacks were very expensive, and I was trying to be conservative with my spending (I only had so many Dirhams and still needed a cab back to the airport!). So I ended up passing on the snacks. I recieved breakfast at the hotel and ended up eating in the Exec Lounge where my friend Chris from the night before invited me to eat with him and Jim. We flew in on the same flight, and they were heading to Kabul for some government work. They were nice guys, and they told me stories about some of their world travels. They had great stories about some areas they have been to, some of which I can't even post about on here, and probably shouldn't share with too many people.
After breakfast, I checked out and got a cab to the airport. Since I still had some extra time before I needed to be there, I had the cab driver take me the long way to the airport. His name was Jeffrey and he was from Afghanistan. (I think it's funny that people feel the need to Americanize their names when talking to Americans, but I'll admit it is easier than saying or spelling Alman-Amit, which is probably wrong anyway). Again, he is a nice guy, working and living in Dubai and sending all his money home to his family with an 8 month old son and a four year old daughter. We did not get to go out to the island or up to Burj Khalifa, but did get to drive into the downtown area, down the main road in Dubai (which I now forget). The buildings were very tall, and then we got into skyscraper zone. It was unbelievable how tall these buildings were, and I didn't even get very close to the tallest one on Earth! Unfortunately my time was cut short and I had to get to the airport, so I didn't get to explore Dubai the way I truly intended. I can say though, for the beauty that the city had, (and the lack of litter), you could also not see more than a few blocks away from you because of all the smog. I have never seen anything like it, but was amazed by how pollution there was.
The dubai airport was nothing like it was when I left it (I arrived a different terminal than I was departing from). The airport was clean, but my terminal airport was a hot mess of activity. People were in lines with huge (yet super cheap) TVs, and luggage that was literally a bag tied or taped up with rope and their junk in it. There were lines all over the place, and instead of asking an attendent for help, I got in one line that seemed to be moving. I waited for a half hour and then got up to the counter to be told I was in the wrong line. Of course I was. It wasn't like there was a sign up or anything. Urgh. So I went to get in the line she pointed me to. I waited another 45 minutes before getting up to the gate. When I did, I was pointed to yet another line. Instead of 20+ people, the line I was supposed to be in had about 2. Wonderful over an hour of wasted time. Needless to say I got checked in, checked my baggage, and headed through customs. I made it through the second checkpoint, and waited in line in the second checkpoint. It took me about 2 hours, which left me just enough time to power up the iPhone and respond to 1 email before boarding. Let's talk about a close call!
The flight was not much to brag about. Instead of boarding a flight, we boarded separate busses (think DC Metro interior without the chairs), and took a bus out to our plane. It was fun to walk on the tarmac to board the plane, I had never done that before! (How archeaic, or so I thought...) On the flight, there was a baby screaming the entire time (three WHOLE hours). The saving grace was that I had a whole row to myself and a Toblerone bar, so I won't complain anymore about it. Plus the baby started sounding like the ambulances in Scranton - after a short enough time, you don't even hear them anymore.
Landing in Djibouti was an experience all it's own. When we landed we exited the plane (again on a tarmac) and walked into a building that could have been no bigger than a high school gym. The doors were open, there was people crammed into this entry port, and I was asked to fill out my form to enter. And then I showed them my passport and was stamped. Clearly their national security is concerned about people entering.... And then I got my luggage on the only conveyor belt there was. Meanwhile, the sticky heat was hitting, and flies were starting to land on my arms. I could feel myself getting more and more ready to get out of the crowded airport. I stepped outside, and found about 10 very kind gentlemen trying to get my bag and take me to a cab. I had no idea what my pick up person looked like, but after refusing 10 kind cab drivers and walking in and out of the airport three times, a woman finally came up to me and introduced herself to me. We immediately headed toward the camp, seeing very little of Djibouti in between. I learned that most of Djibouti just became a dumpground for HOARDS of trash, and that traffic rules do not exist in Djibouti. It's pretty much ride wherever you want to that your wheels will stay on your car.
I got set up in my room and met my team, and pretty much that was my evening. I don't have many stories yet, and I still have yet to take any pictures, but also I am now working a lot. That being said, I do have things to update you on, including my tour, the bar, Somalian check points, my trip into Douba, and the wilderness animal refuge I went to! Those stories are coming, but now I need to get some sleep. I promise to liven up this blog a bit for you! I will update on Day 3 (and maybe Day 4 tomorrow - so far they are getting more and more exciting). Want to know what I get to do Day 5 (tomorrow - Sunday 11/6?) I will be heading into Djibouti Proper to really see life in Djibouti. Whoop whoop!
Day 2 of my trip:
I woke up early so that I could use the gym and get to the airport with plenty of time left. The hotel was attached to an underground shopping mall with a grocery store in it. I threw on my gym clothes (read: conservative and not sloppy. No shorts, no sweatpants, just yoga pants and a t-shirt. Apparently I was a bit underdressed in my t-shirt). I got to the gym, and even the gym looked nice and extravant. I will admit, this was a nice hotel, but seriously - gold decor on a treadmill? Marble gym-section-separators? Dubai people even work out with class!
After the gym, I headed to the grocery store in the mall to grab some snacks for the flight/next week. Again, everything looked extravagant. It was beautiful with intricate designs and more gold and marble. (Seriously, everything is fancy in Duabi, if I find time during my layover home I will try to get out of the airport and take pictures). I tried to find some good sustaining snacks (read: protein or granola bars), but trying to find my way through the grocery store proved to be more difficult than I could manage, and all the American snacks were very expensive, and I was trying to be conservative with my spending (I only had so many Dirhams and still needed a cab back to the airport!). So I ended up passing on the snacks. I recieved breakfast at the hotel and ended up eating in the Exec Lounge where my friend Chris from the night before invited me to eat with him and Jim. We flew in on the same flight, and they were heading to Kabul for some government work. They were nice guys, and they told me stories about some of their world travels. They had great stories about some areas they have been to, some of which I can't even post about on here, and probably shouldn't share with too many people.
After breakfast, I checked out and got a cab to the airport. Since I still had some extra time before I needed to be there, I had the cab driver take me the long way to the airport. His name was Jeffrey and he was from Afghanistan. (I think it's funny that people feel the need to Americanize their names when talking to Americans, but I'll admit it is easier than saying or spelling Alman-Amit, which is probably wrong anyway). Again, he is a nice guy, working and living in Dubai and sending all his money home to his family with an 8 month old son and a four year old daughter. We did not get to go out to the island or up to Burj Khalifa, but did get to drive into the downtown area, down the main road in Dubai (which I now forget). The buildings were very tall, and then we got into skyscraper zone. It was unbelievable how tall these buildings were, and I didn't even get very close to the tallest one on Earth! Unfortunately my time was cut short and I had to get to the airport, so I didn't get to explore Dubai the way I truly intended. I can say though, for the beauty that the city had, (and the lack of litter), you could also not see more than a few blocks away from you because of all the smog. I have never seen anything like it, but was amazed by how pollution there was.
The dubai airport was nothing like it was when I left it (I arrived a different terminal than I was departing from). The airport was clean, but my terminal airport was a hot mess of activity. People were in lines with huge (yet super cheap) TVs, and luggage that was literally a bag tied or taped up with rope and their junk in it. There were lines all over the place, and instead of asking an attendent for help, I got in one line that seemed to be moving. I waited for a half hour and then got up to the counter to be told I was in the wrong line. Of course I was. It wasn't like there was a sign up or anything. Urgh. So I went to get in the line she pointed me to. I waited another 45 minutes before getting up to the gate. When I did, I was pointed to yet another line. Instead of 20+ people, the line I was supposed to be in had about 2. Wonderful over an hour of wasted time. Needless to say I got checked in, checked my baggage, and headed through customs. I made it through the second checkpoint, and waited in line in the second checkpoint. It took me about 2 hours, which left me just enough time to power up the iPhone and respond to 1 email before boarding. Let's talk about a close call!
The flight was not much to brag about. Instead of boarding a flight, we boarded separate busses (think DC Metro interior without the chairs), and took a bus out to our plane. It was fun to walk on the tarmac to board the plane, I had never done that before! (How archeaic, or so I thought...) On the flight, there was a baby screaming the entire time (three WHOLE hours). The saving grace was that I had a whole row to myself and a Toblerone bar, so I won't complain anymore about it. Plus the baby started sounding like the ambulances in Scranton - after a short enough time, you don't even hear them anymore.
Landing in Djibouti was an experience all it's own. When we landed we exited the plane (again on a tarmac) and walked into a building that could have been no bigger than a high school gym. The doors were open, there was people crammed into this entry port, and I was asked to fill out my form to enter. And then I showed them my passport and was stamped. Clearly their national security is concerned about people entering.... And then I got my luggage on the only conveyor belt there was. Meanwhile, the sticky heat was hitting, and flies were starting to land on my arms. I could feel myself getting more and more ready to get out of the crowded airport. I stepped outside, and found about 10 very kind gentlemen trying to get my bag and take me to a cab. I had no idea what my pick up person looked like, but after refusing 10 kind cab drivers and walking in and out of the airport three times, a woman finally came up to me and introduced herself to me. We immediately headed toward the camp, seeing very little of Djibouti in between. I learned that most of Djibouti just became a dumpground for HOARDS of trash, and that traffic rules do not exist in Djibouti. It's pretty much ride wherever you want to that your wheels will stay on your car.
I got set up in my room and met my team, and pretty much that was my evening. I don't have many stories yet, and I still have yet to take any pictures, but also I am now working a lot. That being said, I do have things to update you on, including my tour, the bar, Somalian check points, my trip into Douba, and the wilderness animal refuge I went to! Those stories are coming, but now I need to get some sleep. I promise to liven up this blog a bit for you! I will update on Day 3 (and maybe Day 4 tomorrow - so far they are getting more and more exciting). Want to know what I get to do Day 5 (tomorrow - Sunday 11/6?) I will be heading into Djibouti Proper to really see life in Djibouti. Whoop whoop!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)