KhadijaTeri

Bad Weather & Good News

2012-02-07T10:09:00.000+02:00

We're having unusually cold weather this week. Yesterday we had gale force winds, rain, hail, sleet and in some areas there was even snow. I got up in the morning and sent my husband and kids off into the world, only to have my husband and Jenna return home a while later. Jenna's school was closed because of flooding and bad weather. There was ice (or maybe snow) on the ground nearby too.

Jenna in Suk Juma looking really cold!

The electricity in my area shut down in the morning and was off all day, so we huddled under blankets and I read a book. Our poor dogs were freezing outside. We had to fortify their shelters as best as we could against the wind and gave them some old carpets and blankets to burrow under. I tried to get Rita and her puppy into the laundry room but she would have none of that - she insisted on being on the front porch, where she had full view of the gate and the main entrance to the house.

Today the weather is better. The winds have died down and the sky is blue but it's still bitter cold outside. We have electricity today - but it's so weak that the heaters aren't heating and the microwave oven isn't microwaving. I'm wearing a sweater over my pajamas and thick socks with my Crocs. I look hideous, but warm. It's supposed to be cold for the next few days.

Good news: In my last post I reported about my daughter's friend and her neighbour who had gone missing - kidnapped without a trace. Finally, after nearly two weeks the girls were able to call home. They've been recovered and were returned home the day before yesterday. I still don't know all the details, but from what I understand, the crime was politically/tribally motivated. What kind of sick people would do such a thing? Barbaric! Thank God the girls are safe and well. I hope and pray nothing like this ever happens again.

Going through stages

2012-01-29T08:10:00.000+02:00

The euphoria stage is pretty much over in Libya. There are still lots of flags to be seen all over, and people are still proudly displaying red, black and green, the colors of independence. In the weeks following the liberation there was a rush to hold bazaars where they charged an entrance fee and sold crafts, plants, home baked goods, clothing, and offered games for the children while in the background, music inspired by the revolution was blasting. In those early days there were charity events of all kinds, anything to raise the spirit and make money for those in need. Actually, I heard that the number of new charity organizations soared to over 700 but I'm not sure what the official figures were and if there are still that many.

There were huge drives to collect old clothes. I don't know what they intended to do with them, because I know very few Libyans wear used clothing. One woman told me that many charities sent much of the donated clothing to recyclers and then later sold the bales of shredded fabric to various manufacturers. Throughout Tripoli, people stood on street corners with collection boxes and most gas stations and many supermarkets had boxes where people could toss in their spare change.

The bazaar phase has died down now, possibly because so many people wondered where all the collected funds were going and the lack of any monitoring surely meant that much of the money may have landed in peoples' pockets. But the bazaars served another purpose - citizens got the chance to publicly show support for their newly liberated country, and for those who had been supporters of the former regime found that organizing and attending bazaars gave them a very public venue to show that they'd switched sides - a way to try to wipe their slates clean.

Nowadays Libya is going through the lecture series stage. NGO's have popped up everywhere offering lectures and workshops for all sorts of things; civic awareness and women's issues seem to be near the top of the lists. There are many seminars for doctors and the medical community too. You don't even have to leave home as Libyan satellite television channels are awash with talk shows with the lecture series flare.

In spite of all the good works that are going on, the crime rate is rising. We've heard of many houses and farms being burgled, and it's hit very close to home recently with my brother-in-law's farm right next to ours being burgled. We were awoken about 4am when our dogs started barking. My husband opened the window and called out to quiet them and we went back to sleep. In the morning my brother-in-law discovered all of his sheep were missing. My husband had inadvertently helped the thieves by quieting our dogs! But in hindsight, it wouldn't have been safe to go outside as the burglars were most likely armed - and dangerous.

Another incident happened a few nights ago, at about 3:30am, my daughter Sara heard the sound of our gate being opened. She ran in to our bedroom to wake us and my husband ran out of the house so quickly to investigate that he took his pillow with him. Our gate was wide open but he found no one there and nothing was missing. But the event has left us feeling very vulnerable. But we laugh when we recall my husband and his trusty pillow - maybe he could use it to smother the thieves!

This past week we've also noticed an increase in check-points because of the problems in Beni Walid. One evening I had to pass through twelve checkpoints on my way home from work (normally there is only one or two). We've also heard reports that in the past week there have been gun battles in areas around Tripoli, and even a firefight taking place inside the emergency room of Central Hospital. Gunfire can still be heard periodically throughout the day.

Even worse than the rise in theft and the sound of guns is the news of girls and children being abducted. Last week one of my daughter's friends disappeared. She was on her way home from university and had boarded a bus with her neighbor. She called her mother to say she was on the bus and would be home soon - they'd planned to go out together as soon as she got home. But the girls never made it home. Their mobile phones were switched off and they've disappeared without a trace. If I didn't know the family personally I'd have dismissed the story as a rumor - but it's true. I cannot even begin to imagine what the family is going through. The girls check in with the missing girl's sister at regular intervals to see if there is any news. Lots of tears are being shed in our house as we wait and pray for her to return home safely. It's just so upsetting.

If something like this happened in a western country there would be alerts all over the media, but here it's kept quiet in the hopes of protecting the girl and her family's honor. One wonders who is behind such crimes. Is this the work of Kaddafi supporters? Or some criminal or psychopath that's escaped (or been let loose) from the prison? Or just a random crime? Only God knows. We hope and pray for the girl's safe return.

We know that it will take time for Libya to get back on its feet again. Soon it will be the anniversary of the uprising. Has it really been a year? So much has happened, so many changes. I'm trying so hard to be optimistic, but sometimes it's hard, so very hard.

At a standstill

2012-01-13T15:49:00.003+02:00

It's been an interesting week. My kids are still sorting out their schedules for school and we're trying to transfer Jenna to a different school. Yusef still has to be registered, somewhere... how to deal with five kids in five different places? On top of that, one day we dropped Nora off at university only to have to go back to pick her up about an hour later because there were no classes. Students were demonstrating - they want reforms, a clean facility, a change of lecturers, and some feeling of security, among other things.

On our way one day we got stuck in a huge traffic jam. One lane soon became six as you can see in the picture below.

For forty-five minutes everything came to a complete standstill as drivers did their best to push their way through. Lots of shouting and then some stupid idiots took out their guns and started shooting. Was this all necessary? Someone could have been killed for God's sake! After that day I decided to skirt this particular traffic junction by taking back roads through the country - rough, bumpy dirt roads that were mostly thick mud from all the recent rains. How many times do I have to tell my husband I need a four-wheel drive? Maybe I should just insist on an armored tank (it would protect me from all the gunfire).

My husband came home with an interesting story. It seems his friend's wife needed some kind of surgery (since he didn't say what it was surely female related stuff). They decided to go to Jordan. When they arrived at the airport they were met by some kind of Libyan diplomatic committee that asked them why they had come to Jordan and when they said it was for medical treatment the guy said 'Come right this way!' They were taken to a five-star hotel, given cash for spending money and ushered to a hospital where the woman had her surgery for free! Yippee! They met a bunch of people there that were getting all expenses paid medical care too. Apparently there's some kind of racket going on with doctors and others taking a cut of all the money that's been earmarked for the wounded Libyan veterans. Money's been flowing into Jordan and landing in people's pockets.... sigh... crooks...

Hopefully we'll have all the kids enrolled in school by next week. And hopefully all the puddles will be dry too.

School Daze in Libya

2012-01-11T09:50:00.001+02:00

I've got my first cold of the new year. Cough, cough, cough. I'm self medicating; nighttime cough syrup, hot tea and ibsisa with honey. Ibsisa is a Libyan concoction of ground roasted barley and spices mixed with a bit of oil and toasted nuts and honey. God alone knows how many calories are in there, but it's supposed to be good for you. So far my cough hasn't got any better, but it's not got worse either.

This week was back to school week in Libya (Finally!). So far there are no books and no curriculum but the kids are out of the house and mothers all over Libya are finally getting a break, myself included.

I visited a school this week to see how things were going. The principal showed me around. Some of the kids were out in the schoolyard kicking a ball around while their teacher disinterestedly looked on from a bench on the sidelines. Inside the school the noise was deafening. We looked in on one classroom that had kids running around, jumping on the desks with their teacher right in the middle jumping with them. Candy wrappers and empty juice boxes littered the floor. Out came the stick... the principal shouted as she waved her stick about, banging on the desks. 'Who has a mobile phone! Anyone that has one better put it on the desk right now! If I search you and find one I will throw it on the floor and smash it!' No one admitted to having a phone.

In the next class tiny little first graders sat timidly in rows in their desks while the teacher stood next to a completely clean whiteboard. The principal asked the teacher why her pupils were just sitting there. 'Make them take their notebooks out. You don't need a schoolbook to teach them the alphabet! Where are their pencils?' The teacher looked as though she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing. Across the hall a teacher was leading some kind of chant. The kids were all jumping up and down, all trying to out chant each other. The teacher was jumping up and down too. I'm not quite sure what they were chanting because it was too loud to hear any of the words. It was an interesting visit. It was only one school but I bet that the rest of the schools are pretty much the same.

Later, when my kids came home I asked 'What did you do at school today?' No surprise when they replied 'Nothing'. At least they are out of the house, and I have a few hours of peace everyday. And for this week I'm happy to take some nighttime cough syrup and crawl back under my blanket.

2011 : Recapping My Year

2011-12-30T04:23:00.000+02:00

It's that time of the year again... time to recap my year's events. I really feel as though I have lost a year! But looking back it was not a lost year, but a different one than I had ever expected. The war in Libya has changed everything. Now it's 'Before the war .... ' and 'Since the end of the war....' It has become one of life's markers - a point in time used to measure events. So we'll start with before the war........

January

I didn't post much in January. It was what I didn't post that was interesting! The revolution in Tunisia and Egypt had begun and I suspected that the revolution fever would spread eventually to Libya. But of course I couldn't write much about it which was very frustrating! I reminisced a bit about time I spent in Tunisia in the past, wishing that I could write more. Instead I spent time stockpiling in case something happened in Libya (and I prayed something would happen!). I bought cases of toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and deodorant, as well as food. I figured we'd use it regardless what happened but I wanted to be prepared for just in case. On my blog I wrote only three posts - which only vaguely touched on revolution and unrest - although it was very much on my mind.

February

By February my posts were mentioning the unrest in Egypt and as the month progressed my posts became a bit bolder as I reported on things happening around me. We were glued to the television while we watched events unfold. On the sixteenth I posted about the 'pro-Leader' demonstrations I witnessed on the way home from work (using the name Kadaffi was taboo!). I didn't know it at the time but it was my last day of work for a very long time. We mostly stayed at home where it was safe, while in the distance we heard gunfire, and rumours and news found it's way to us from family, neighbours and friends. Phone and internet service started to become intermittent and I worried about friends and colleagues that were stranded in Benghazi. I was relieved when all of my colleagues finally made it safely out of Libya. In the meantime I was still here, watching the news and Kadaffi's ridiculous speeches - Zinga Zinga! Outside the safety of my house, Tripoli and the rest of Libya were erupting, helicopters were flying overhead, gunshots and unrest... Libya was in - the Arab spring continued.

March : HERE and HERE

The third of March marked the end of internet in Tripoli. The day before the internet service came to a halt I posted about a 'normal' day in Tripoli (which was far from normal). After that I began to write a daily journal that I kept on an external hard drive that was kept stored away, hidden in a safe place, in case our house was ever raided. While the unrest in Libya continued I did my best to try to keep our lives as normal as possible. We got haircuts, I did laundry and gardening, and we watched the store shelves empty of goods. We worried about how long our stockpiles of food and other supplies would last and we prayed for the UN to impose a no-fly zone (which finally happened). On the 19th we witnessed the first NATO bombing in Tripoli - we thought it would all be over quickly but it was just the beginning. As the month progressed we settled into a routine of being bombed, watching the news and getting on with survival.

April

The war continued, and we wondered whether we should evacuate. Food supplies continued to dwindle and some subsidized foods began to appear at neighbourhood cooperatives. I got together with a friend to try to establish a packing up service for those ex-pats who had left their belongings behind when they fled. It proved to be unsuccessful and we scrapped the idea because without internet it was impossible to coordinate with those living outside Libya and by this time most places where ex-pats lived had been looted by Libyans - It was heartbreaking and I was so disappointed in the behaviour of those Libyans who believed that whatever was left behind was fair game. Meanwhile, I spent time cooking, reading, gardening and getting on with life. The TV news was on 24/7. The challenge to get gasoline had begun as people waiting for hours in long lines. And the war and bombing continued....

May

The war dragged on, NATO bombings became a regular event. There was a constant worry about supplies and gasoline. A friend and I found ourselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation at the gas station - one of the scariest events of my life. Spring was ending, summer was beginning. The kids found interesting things to do on the farm (that involved scorpions and snakes!) and I did some major spring cleaning, sorting out papers and books. One good thing happened - I finally managed to get my salary. We settled into a routine of nearly nightly air raids and lots of missed sleep.

June

There was a lot of bombing this month as the weather got hotter and hotter. We also started to suffer from power cuts which meant no air conditioning. On the 15th we were treated with the total eclipse of the full moon. We watched in awe as the full moon slowly disappeared and then reappeared. I spent a lot of time worrying about my mother who was in hospital in America. It was so frustrating being so far away and without internet. There was lots of TV news, reading, gardening and cooking as we wondered how much longer it would continue - and we planned for Ramadan.

July

The kids had final exams and we wondered how they would manage as they hadn't been to school for the lessons - just going for the exams. We also wondered whether we'd have enough petrol to get them there. With the heat and nightly bombing the kids found it very difficult to study. At one point NATO dropped leaflets on the military camp next to Sara's school asking that the area be evacuated. The leaflets were collected and destroyed and no one was told to evacuate. School continued as usual. The best thing about the whole month was that we had a house-guest who kept us busy. It was fun to have a visitor to spend time with. Power cuts were a constant problem, we switched on the news as soon as the electricity came on to find out what was happening. We geared up to face Ramadan.

August : HERE and HERE

Ramadan began on the first day of August. It would be a Ramadan like no other. We spent whole days without electricity. Cooking gas was getting scarce and gasoline was almost impossible to get except at very high prices on the black market. We did our best to cope with the situation while NATO continued their bombing raids. The most terrifying night of my life was spent when NATO bombed a nearby military camp that was being used as munitions storage facility. The deafening noise of explosions could be heard the whole night long and into the afternoon the following day - rockets and debris spiraling overhead. I feared that we would not survive. When we had power we were glued to the TV news, we watched the rebels' progress and worried about what would happen in Tripoli. We prayed to be saved from a bloodbath and our prayers were answered when Tripoli was freed. Not long afterwards the internet was reconnected and we were finally able to communicate with the world. Ramadan ended and we celebrated Eid and freedom, but although Tripoli was free the war still waged on in other parts of the country.

September

On the first of the month I posted the daily journal that I had written during the months without internet. We attended celebrations in Martyr's Square and my son Yusef toured Bab Al Azizia. I finally went back to work and was thrilled to witness my students exploring the freedom of expression; finally being able to speak their minds for the first time in their lives. I also spent time with friends at the beach. The war was still not over but we were putting our lives back together in Tripoli.

October

Tripoli celebrated, the city was decorated in flags of red, green and black. Graffiti and murals adorned every surface. My husband and I rushed out to document what we could of this artistic expression. On the 20th Kadafy was finally captured and Libya was liberated at last.

November

There was a lot of catching up to do on the internet, I spent lots of time reading articles and blogs that I had missed during the internet blackout. I posted about unexploded ordnance. Good news as Saif Al Islam was captured and on the 23rd as Libya's new cabinet was announced. I spent time with family and friends and had time for the garden too.

December

There were only three posts this month because of the poor internet service. One was a tribute to Libyan female bloggers, another a post about the education system (lack of) in Libya and the final post of the year was a complaint about the internet service - which is still giving me headaches!

2011 was one heck of a year. I'm happy to see the end of it, but honestly I can say that I have so much to be thankful for. And I discovered something about me: I lived through a war and I am a stronger person for it.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful 2012!

A plea to LTT

2011-12-23T12:47:00.001+02:00

I'm getting really fed up with the internet service these days. I know that Libya is recovering from a civil war and all of that - but is it too much to ask to have the internet up and running? Since the internet has come back on the provider has been offering free service while they work on gettting running properly again... so should I complain? We've heard that within a month we will have to pay for the service once again.... but what service????

It's off more than it's on and when it's on it's so slooooooowwwww that you all you can do is the very basic things. Forget watching a video - click and wait for it to load.... and wait... and wait.... and wait...... and then finally give up.

Once in a while the connection will apear to speed up and you get excited, your heart starts to race, and you think 'Oh yeah! It's working!' only to find that it works for about a minute or two and then shuts down completely, switching your browser to the page that says in BIG BOLD LETTERS 'This webpage is not available'. And then you wait, and wait some more for the service to resume. Go off to have a cup of coffee and come back to check... still nothing. Go start a load of laundry and come back to check.... still nothing. Then for an instant or two, or maybe three if you are lucky the service will kick back to life and you think to yourself 'Ahhh... they've fixed it... finally' But then the service stops again.... 'I guess they're still working on it.... sigh....'

The internet is my link to my family and friends abroad. Christmas and New Years is a blink away. I want to be able to communicate with the outside world. Please LTT... get your f***ing act together!

This message was sent by a browser plugin called scribefire... without it I would never have been able to post this because the connection is too slow to log-in to Blogger.

Enough school holidays.... let's get back to class

2011-12-19T08:11:00.000+02:00

We're finally having some winter weather here. Yesterday it rained all day and the weather is cold. The dogs huddled on the porch trying to stay warm and dry.

Nora started back at university last week. She said the university is still a mess. She had hoped this would be her final semester but because there is a shortage of lecturers she has to take fewer classes and now it will add more time until she finishes. At least she is studying and the extra time will give her more time to think about the next step - master's. The other kids are still waiting and who knows when they will return to the classroom... January... March... Apparently there are still no books. No books, no school. What a mess.

We have to find a new school for Ibrahim because his old school has no students for fourth grade this year... School for Ibrahim is a big problem. There are no schools that specialize in teaching kids with autism. If we put him in a regular school the teachers have no time to focus on his needs. Another option are schools for the mentally retarded - but he's not retarded! We recently had him re-evaluated and the 'specialist' suggested sending him to the mosque to study but we are afraid the shaikh will just abuse him. Libya has no national organization for autism. My husband's looking into options and researching what other parts of the Arab world are doing - maybe we can start something here. If you're interested in helping us start something for kids with autism in Libya please let me know.

In the meantime we are looking for a school with small class sizes and a patient teacher. Ibrahim is bored and very tired of staying home. He needs to be in a classroom. Until then my husband and I have been taking turns doing 'life skills' stuff with him and getting him into as many social situations as possible. A constant change of scenery is good for him. A few weeks ago he went through a popcorn phase - he made every kind of popcorn you could imagine! He went through 4 kilos of popcorn in two weeks... he was making popcorn in the middle of the night. Popcorn, popcorn, popcorn.... I never thought I'd get tired of popcorn. Thank God we finally ran out!

Very Very Versatile! - Libyan Bloggerettes!

2011-12-09T01:28:00.001+02:00

I've been awarded the the Versatile Blogger Award. Twice! First I got it from Expatlogue and more recently it was given to me by Jean from 2012: What's the 'real' truth? blog. She started reading my blog after a quest to find the 'real truth' about Libya. Unfortunately my internet is so slow that it's hard to get much blogging done - so now I'm finally catching up.

What is it?

The award is a kind of pay-it-forward award. Those who recieve it are asked to thank and link to the giver and then elect 5 to 15 other bloggers with the Versatile Blogger Award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Well, first of all - Thank you Expatlogue and Jean.

Who get's the award now?

I've decided to award some of the wonderful Libyan female bloggers with this award because they are truly versatile!

Here is my list... not in any particular order:

Enlightened Spirit says she's 'a soul visiting this world, happened to be a libyan girl...Wish to make this earth a better place for living ...

Fragola says: I'm not a perfect girl..my hair does not always stay in place..and i spill things a lot..i'm pretty clumsy and sometimes i have a broken heart..my friends and i sometimes fight and maybe some days nothing goes right but when i think about it and take a step back i remember how amazing life truly is and that maybe just maybe i like being unperfect.

Happymoi whose blog sees her through the transitions of being a single girl, then engaged, then married and now a working mom.

Crowded Mind says she's: a traditional girl..it sounds like crazy life..I'd like to back to school one day I'd like to do every thing

Ema a Libyan architect who loves design, her cat Tutu, and cooking - she has a cooking blog too called Happy Baking.

From the Rock - one of the longest running Libyan blogs. She's been blogging since 2003 about all kinds of things including topics about Libya, the north African region and the Arab world.

My Enchanting Sereeb A Libyan/British writer, artist and culinary lover. She lives abroad and gives an interesting viewpoint from outside Libya looking in.

Lebeeya - another Libyan girl who lives abroad - but her heart is very much in Libya. Bright, sunny and sarcastic; it's always fun to read her views and ideas.

I'd like to offer a post-humous award to Hannu from D-Log Hannu passed away last summer. She was a vibrant addition to the Libyan blogosphere. Active in promoting young Libyan women as the face behind the TIBRA scholarship award, a wife, a mother, a career woman. She touched the lives of many. She truly is deserving of the Versatile Blogger award.

November Cricket

2011-11-30T15:05:00.001+02:00

Years ago my friend wrote a poem called November Cricket. She gave it to me on a peice of paper that I keep stored away as a keepsake. I seem to come across it every November when I do the annual fall deep cleaning. When I find it I stop everything, go in the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee and then I sit quietly with coffee and poem for a while, thanking God for giving me such a wonderful and dear friend.

It's the last day of November and I came across the poem today. I thought it'd be nice to share.

November Cricket

November Cricket singing by my kitchen door-

You fill my heart with gladness,

You fill my heart with joy.

Now as evening falls

Your merry little notes fill the peaceful air

Saying

"This is a happy home."

Yes, you know we face our share

Of trials and tribulations.

Yet we are richly blessed

With all the goodness that comes

From our Father up above.

Sing November Cricket!

November Cricket-

I love you.

Rhonda Ahmed - November 16, 2001

The end of the story or maybe the beginning

2011-11-29T09:57:00.001+02:00

We spotted the praying mantis that has been hanging about the plumeria in our garden (here and here). Ibrahim found her on the front porch laying an egg-case on the wall and ran into the house to alert me to what was going on. 'Bring the camera mom!'.

Mantis lay anywhere from 50 to 200 eggs that are encased in a bubbly foam that later dries into an egg-case called an ootheca. It will take aproximately 5 months for the eggs to hatch.

We've enjoyed watching the mantis's life cycle in our garden. Other things have been happening in the garden lately too. Our pair of tortoises have been romancing and a bird has made a nest in one of the light fixtures on the porch. Flocks of migrating birds have been flying overhead. The early rains this year have turned the fields green and wildflowers are beginning to bloom.

Real life! It's more entertaining than television!

Something Different For A Change

2011-11-26T23:17:00.001+02:00

I didn't do anything special on Thanksgiving. It was a normal day for me here. But today was different: I invited a whole bunch of my girlfriends over for a morning coffee get together. Eighteen ladies showed up, each one brought a dish of scrumptious food to share. And that meant there was a ton of food... yummy yum!

But better than food it was great to see everyone again. We talked, we laughed, we shared our news and gave thanks for all things. One of my friends surprised us with some beautiful music. A song called Change - a new Libyan revolution song that my friend's daughter, Malak, helped create - she's the beautiful backup voice. It's a really pretty song with lots of meaning. I don't know who the male singer is. If you know please share in the comments. Well done Malak! I'm so proud of you.

Download the song here: Change

Sharing the moment

2011-11-23T00:47:00.001+02:00

I have had such a wonderful day. Everyone I met was in a good mood. And on my way home after work I went to the grocery store and everyone was staring at the TV while the Prime Minister announced the new cabinet. We all just stopped, watched and shared the moment. When it was over I called out 'Mabrouk everybody! It's a new Libya!'

They've got him at last!

2011-11-19T18:02:00.001+02:00

They've finally captured Saif Al-shaitan Kadafy. From the pictures it looks like someone has chopped off his fingers. Let's hope they manage to keep the rest of him in one peice so he can stand trial.

I heard the news while I was in a meeting. On the way home I got stuck in traffic for two hours... but it was HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY traffic!

Flashback - Unexploded Ordnance in Tripoli

2011-11-12T12:48:00.001+02:00

My wimax connection is on again off again as usual, but when it's on it's seems to be a bit faster. But then again maybe this is due to the fact that our computers, laptops, netbooks, smartphones and other gadgets are pretty much updated. The internet comes on and we all get online and everything starts to automatically update at once, putting a drain on our already slow connection.

Today I decided to look at Google Earth - but first I had to update it... and then reboot... and then connect to the net... and finally have a look. The first thing I noticed was that the imagery in the area where I live had all been updated shortly after the liberation of Tripoli. Fantastic!

One of the places I looked at first was the ammunition dump that was bombed in August that gave me the biggest fright of my life. I posted the experience here: August 2011 It still scares me; from time to time I have flashbacks and I have to stop and take a deep breath and pull myself together.

Imagery date: August 29, 2011 - Click on the images to see larger versions.

In contrast - the imagery below shows the same site at the beginning of March - before the No Fly Zone was imposed. You can see that it was being used to store munitions at that time. Such a shame that Kadafy thought so little of the civilians living in the area. I suspect most people had no idea what was being stored there. We always thought it was an old unused camp.

Below is the other part of the camp after the bombardment. There are less munitions here but still a substantial amount can be seen.

Here you can see how close the bomb craters and unexploded ordnance are to the main road.

This place is a little over a mile away from me as the crow flies. It's actually two sites that are separated from one another by a small road with the main Ain Zara road running adjacent to it's western perimeter wall. The businesses and homes across the street from the site suffered a huge amount of damage but I have not heard of anyone having lost their life as a result of NATO's bombardment of the area. We were told that leaflets had been dropped warning the people to evacuate the area - but I've not seen any of the leaflets myself. In most areas where leaflets were dropped they were quickly collected and destroyed by pro-Kadafy forces.

Damage from the exploding munitions.

More damage

Some of the shops are actually being renovated although I'm not sure whether the structures would be able to pass any safety standards... but what am I thinking... it's all in God's hands here. If the building falls down while you are in it - then so be it! It was written.... sigh....

One of the issues facing the NTC is to secure munitions dumps and sites such as these. Hundreds of bombs and rockets are clearly visible through the broken wall; there is only razor-wire between the broken bits of wall and the main road. In some places the unexploded bombs are less than 30 feet from the road.

I don't think it would be possible for anyone to walk in and drag off any of the bombs that are still scattered about. They are way too heavy for anyone to manage on their own. My concern is that they might be sabotaged in some way or that they could detonate somehow by accident. I hope they clean up this site soon. Everyday I drive down that road and I say a few prayers.

Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T19:03:00.001+02:00

I love you Dad!

Call for papers - Culture in the Era of (Post)Modern Migrations

2011-11-09T16:46:00.000+02:00

Posting this in case anyone is interested in submitting a paper about the migration issues that were the result of the revolution/civil war in Libya. See below for details.

Khadija

-------------------------------------------------------------

SIETAR Polska and the Institute of Regional Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow is pleased to invite you to the international conference:

"Culture in the Era of (Post)Modern Migrations"

The conference will be held in Cracow, Poland on 15th and 16th December 2011.

Migration has been a constant in human history. Already in ancient times, settlers used to relocate due to "push & pull" factors: better living conditions (climate, fertile soils, richer pasturage, more abundant game), safety from enemies, or simply the draw of new lands and new life. In the modern era migration has not ceased; indeed, it has become a common, even universal phenomenon.

Contemporary trends in human movements share, to some extent, features with the previous ones. However, despite the similarities in form and cause, the effects of current migrations remain less clear and do not permit yet a full accounting.

The objective of the conference is to invite discussion from scientists, researchers and practitioners involved in the migration issues both on the local, regional, national and global level. The organizers hope to prompt a lively opportunity to discuss, analyze and exchange thoughts and points of view concerning processes associated with or initiated by current migrations.

We would be happy to welcome presentations to the following panels:
- Culture and "people on the move" as objects for new research methods within social sciences and humanities
- Unsolved problems of migration management - politics and economy
- Migration in the context of globalization - Worlds of modern nomads - from reality to virtuality
- Travel and tourism as modus vivendi of the 21st century
- Space, place, time in the era of (post)modern migrations

Conditions for participation:
- Registration through the conference website: http://www.isr.wsmip.uj.edu.pl/konferencje/migration/registrationno later then 10th November 2011
- Payment of the conference fee in Polish zloty: 490,00 PLN, no later than the 25th November 2011 (please note that the payment must be conducted in accordance with the guidelines specified in the registration system)
Cancellation after November 15, 2011 - no refund of registration fee.
Cancellation must be conferred in writing.
- Submission of the full paper or presentation no later than the 1st December 2011 (please note that the paper should be written according to the editorial guidelines given in the Annex)
Attention! Important -> Abstract submission instruction in COFFEE system
Deadlines:
- registration 10th November 2011
- notification about acceptance 15th November 2011
- conference fee payment 25th November 2011
- paper submission 1st December 2011
- notification about the conference programme 1st December 2011

Organising Committee:
Monika Banaś, PhD (monika.banas@uj.edu.pl)
Magdalena Banaszkiewicz, PhD (banaszkiewiczm@wp.pl)

Contact:
Elżbieta Jagłowska
Jagiellonian University Events Office
ul. Czapskich 4 / 301, 31-110 Krakow, Poland
tel./fax: 0048 (12) 663 38 58
http://www.konferencje.uj.edu.pl/
Kind Regards,

Kamila Kowenzowska

Plenty to read about if your interested in Libya

2011-11-05T17:52:00.004+02:00

Eid Al-Adha is tomorrow. I'm ready - knives are sharpened, all the pots, pans, tubs and dishes are waiting on the shelf, we've stocked up on cleaning supplies, I've got all I need for making jerky, my husband's Eid clothes are ready to wear. We're ready for the day's hard work. The only problem is that I've got a swollen eye - an allergic reaction. I look awful and the antihistamines I'm taking make me drowsy - but I'll make it through the day. Happy Eid for all of my readers who celebrate.

I haven't done a whole lot lately. I guess I'm saving up for future adventures. However, I've been spending lots of time on the internet catching up with old friends, browsing old articles and reading new ones. Now that Libyans are free to write as they like there are all kinds of intriguing subjects to read about. Some articles I've found particularly interesting or thought provoking (in no particular order and not complete):

Scholarships... an article about the abuses of the Libyan scholarship issuance and procedures. I hope there are changes in the future.

The Plight of Libyan Diplomats... an editorial written about Libyan political appointees vs career diplomats and the hopeful changes for a new Libya - an eye-opening article that would never have been published during the Kadafy regime. This article is in the Tripoli Post, the English newspaper of Libya's past and now it's present and future. It's interesting to see the content now! Such a contrast to what was published in the past. Such a refreshing change.

The Ontario man who helped Muammar Gaddafi's son to flee... an article about Saadi's bodyguard, a man who has no qualms at all about his job. Some people find money so motivating I guess - nowhere in the article does it mention whether the bodyguard is gay... but I wonder... lolol...

Translating for Gheddafi... an account of a Libyan who worked as a translator for journalists - an insider's view to life at the Rixos Hotel during the war and gives a list of those who were paid off by the former regime.

Pro-Gaddafi group targets hundreds for assassination... about a group that says they have a list of 500 names that the Libyan Liberation Front (LLF) wants to kill, one by one. And they say it's only the first list! No names were given so I guess I just have to hope I'm not on the list.

Libyans Express Hope for a Modern Islamic Democracy... Countless articles have been written about the new Libya embracing Islamic Sharia. The journalists jumped on this news as though it were some kind of treasure trove. Horror of horrors! Libyan men would all be running off to the pharmacy to stock up on Viagra so they could take on four wives! Libyan women would be oppressed, buried under their burkas! One-handed thieves would be easily spotted around town! What they failed to do was investigate the legal system that was already in place - one that was based on... surprise... Sharia.

Sharia laws are not new in Libya - they have been the basis for family law, inheritance, marriage, divorce and most criminal laws. Polygamy has always been practiced in Libya. At one point during the Kadafy era a law was implemented that a man must get the permission of the first (second/third) wife(es) before being allowed to marry another - but this law was soon dropped. So nothing is really changing in Libya. It's a moderate Islamic country where women are educated, work and are not forced to wear the veil. I don't understand what the fuss is about. People hear the word 'sharia' and go into some kind of wild panic thinking women will have no rights. Instead they should look up Islamic laws and find out what they are all about. I think they will be surprised.

Libya has a new interim Prime Minister... Abdurrahim Al-Keib, an electrical engineer who was a professor in an American university for 20 years (and strangely enough I heard he is the brother of Kadafy's banker). He has a lot of work ahead of him but his appointment is to end in eight months when Libyans hold their first elections. Good luck Mr Prime Minister! You've got lawless rebels to deal with, Kadafy's psycho son is still on the loose, and thousands of Libyan citizens are trying to get back what is rightfully theirs. Not to mention sorting out the education system, healthcare, and rebuilding (or lets just say building) the infrastructure of the entire country. Hold on for the ride of your life!

Cats of the Libyan Revolution

2011-10-28T15:28:00.002+02:00

The war is over, Libya has been liberated, life is slowly returning to normal. We see less and less freedom fighters on the roads, fewer guns, and a reduced number of checkpoints.

As I was going to work one day last week the traffic slowed to a crawl and I craned my neck around the truck in front of me, trying to see what was holding up traffic but there was no checkpoint in sight. The traffic continued at a crawl. Suddenly I spotted what was holding us up. In the very centre of the road was a tiny little kitten. Drivers were trying to avoid hitting the poor little thing. As I pulled up next to it I stopped and said to my daughter 'Open the door carefully and go pick it up'.

My daughter got back in the car with the kitten and exclaimed 'Mom it's so dirty! And her eye is infected' 'Don't worry. We'll get her sorted out later when we get home' I replied. 'Is it male or female?' I asked. 'It's a girl. What should we name her?' my daughter asked and then she started listing off all the names she could think of. 'Wait and see, we'll find a name' I replied.

I only had a few hours of work, my daughter looked after the kitten while she waited for me to finish. When we got home I told my daughter to feed the kitten and let it get used to our house.

Later I had a look at her. She was filthy and her eye was infected, pus matting all the fur on her face, her eye was sealed shut. I gave her a warm bath, and gently wiped away the dried pus with a clean soft cloth. Then I dried her under the warm air of the hairdryer set to the lowest speed and temperature. Her eye was swollen and I wasn't sure if she even had an eye. I got out some eye ointment that I had in the medicine cabinet and applied it gently. She was so patient and sweet - never made a single complaint.

Our newest addition after we rescued her and gave her a bath.

She's just a little 'ole alleycat. I decided to name her Zenga, the Libyan word for alley which was also made famous during the Libyan uprising - Zenga Zenga! Dar dar! She's the last of the cats we aquired during the Libyan revolution. It seemed fitting to give her the name Zenga.

Last March at the beginning of NATO's intervention in Libya and 'Odyssey Dawn', the code name for the US operation in Libya, our cat Dawn gave birth to three kittens during a particularly scary air raid; one calico we named Odyssey - my son later gave her to one of the neighbours, a pure black one named Layla - she later dissapeared, possibly eaten by an owl, and the last a typical striped male that we named Homer after the Greek writer of the famous epic poem The Odyssey.

Homer's favourite hobby is knocking over coffee mugs. He manages to break a few every week. In the morning he sleeps on my bed where he enjoys the morning sunbeams. The rest of the day he can be found sleeping on top of my computer or draped across the top of the keyboard.

Homer resting in the sunbeams.

Where Were You The Day Kadafy Met His End?

2011-10-21T17:54:00.001+02:00

Yesterday marked the end of an era, the end of Kadafy. I was sitting at my desk getting some things ready for work when I heard guns going off in my neighbourhood, and the sound of a young boy shouting in the distance. 'Allah Akbar! God is great! Kadafy is dead! Kadafy is dead!' At first I just sat and listenened, not sure if what I was hearing was real. Then I called out to my daughters to switch the TV on to the news. Sure enough, they were reporting that there were unconfirmed reports that Kadafy was dead.

Pictures! Videos! Show us some proof!

Soon enough a still shot was presented on Aljazeera English and it was soon followed by mobile phone video footage of Kadafy's blood spattered body. By then the entire country had erupted into crazed euphoria. Guns were blasting away, horns were blaring, people could be heard shouting out 'Allah Akbar!' Someone went to our neighbourhood mosque and was shouting over the microphones, but he was soon replaced by a recording of the takbir played on a constant loop.

I tried to call my husband but the phone service was so clogged by users calling all at once that it shut down temporarily. He finally managed to get through to me and told me not to leave the house as the celebratory gunfire was dangerous, and traffic in and around the city was so jammed it was hard to move around the city anyway.

I got a text message from OTE that said 'Ding dong the witch is dead!' a phrase taken from a song from the movie 'The Wizard of Oz'. Within a few seconds the same message was sent again, and again, and again, every few minutes. AlMadar's sms service was going berzerk but it was so funny that it was this same message that kept being sent to me. It was as if AlMadar was sending me a singing telegram.....

'Ding dong the witch is dead, Ding dong the witch is dead, Ding dong the witch is dead, Ding dong the witch is dead'

I started laughing and singing the song out loud. And I wasn't alone - Everyone in my house was either laughing, singing, shouting 'Allah Akbar' or dancing. Some of us doing all of them at once! It was as if we'd all gone crazy. This must be the hallucinatory drugs Kadafy had talked about! His death was like a drug - a happy, euphoric drug! And we were all high on it.

After a while the noise in my neighbourhood died down, most likely because everyone had gone inside to watch the news on TV. The internet turned to a crawl as everyone with internet access attempted to download the emerging news footage and videos that were hitting the web faster than the television news services could televise them.

When my husband came home I suggested we have a celebratory meal of bourdeam (meat smoked in an underground pit) with rice and salad. The meat had been marinating and was ready. So that got us away from the television for a while. But when our meal was ready we ate in front of the TV - glued to the news, watching images and video of Kadafy and his son Motesem and listening to everyone speculate as they reported the news. All the while the whole town continued to honk their car horns and shoot off guns. Soon there were even fireworks showering the sky with beautiful colour and light shows.

We all felt so happy to see the end of Kadafy. It's hard to explain the way we felt. Like walking on cloud nine, like walking on air, like having a huge weight removed from our hearts. Euphoria is a good word but how to describe it because you won't know euphoria until you're struck by it.

We stayed up until late watching TV and checking the news on the internet. Finally we decided to go to bed.

In the morning we packed up our breakfast picnic and headed out the door for our Friday drive. In some areas the streets were coated with a layer of bullet casings from last night's celebrations. We headed toward Bab Al Azizia. In the past week the walls surrounding Kadafy's old compound had been bulldozed. But there were still many people arriving to have a look at what remained.

The bulldozed wall surrounding Bab Al Azizia

A flea market had been set up in front of Kadafy's bombed out house and people were buying and selling their wares under the hot morning sun. One section had been turned into a pet market and people were gathering around to look at the dogs on display.

The Friday morning flea market in front of Kadafy's bombed out house.

Kadafy is gone. Some people think it's a shame that he's not alive to face justice. But I think Libya's wasted enough time on him - forty-two years is long enough. It's time to look toward the future. Libyans have a long road ahead of them. I am so proud that I was here to witness this day in history.

The view of downtown Tripoli from the broken walls of Bab Al Azizia.

If this is true. . . .

2011-10-20T14:19:00.001+02:00

think

birthday

wish

has

been

granted!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44971257/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

It's my birthday

2011-10-18T00:16:00.001+02:00

I hope I get the best present ever. . . . .I'll let you guess what that is.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

UPDATED | And the truth shall soon be known: Mis/Dis-information and Libya

2011-10-13T11:28:00.000+02:00

As I was drifting off to sleep last night I was abruptly awoken by a barrage of gunfire and shouts of 'Allah Akbar' coming from all directions. My children, who were all still awake, ran out to see what was happening while my husband who was sitting in the TV room immediately started searching the news channels for information. There were unconfirmed reports that Motasem Kadafy had been captured trying to flee Sirte and had been taken to Benghazi. I got up to watch the news, hoping that they would show video or at the very least some pictures - but there was nothing. Finally I went to bed.

In the morning the reports still had not been confirmed. I watched a bit of the news and searched news websites for information but found no new information. Patience, patience, soon enough the truth will be known!

Libya is awash in misinformation and disinformation. Today, in my blog's email I received an interesting letter from someone in Malaysia who is searching for the truth in some interesting 'facts' that someone had sent him about the 'charitable' former leader of Libya. After having a good laugh I decided to post his letter in it's entirety on my blog and let my readers answer his questions. Please feel free to comment!

Here's the email:

Hi Khadija
I sighted your blog while searching for some facts about Libyan life. Recently I received an email about Col Gaddafi and am wondering if it is at all true? Could you help verify?

Below is the email :-

The international media, influenced by the Americans, has successfully painted Gaddafi as a hard-core dictator, tyrant or whatever you want to call him. However, the media as usual has also failed to show the kind, giving Gaddafi we never heard of. Gaddafi unlike most dictators has managed to show his humane side, the very side we dream of seeing in other dictators. I consider Libyans lucky to a certain extent and one wonders with the new democratic rule they cry for will it improve or worsen life for them. Yes, Gaddafi has spent millions of Libya`s money on personal ventures but is the average Libyan poor? We know others who take a country and destroy it until you feel like there is no hope of restoring this country… looting some prefer to call it. Did Gaddafi loot Libya in any way?

Now let us get to the unknown facts about the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi:

1. There is no electricity bill in Libya; electricity is free for all its citizens.

2. There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans
given to all its citizens at 0% interest by law.

3. Home considered a human right in Libya – Gaddafi vowed that his parents would not get a house until everyone in Libya had a home. Gaddafi’s father has died while him, his wife and his mother are still living in a tent.

4. All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 Dinar (US$50,000) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start up the family.

5. Education and medical treatments are free in Libya. Before Gaddafi only 25% of Libyans are literate. Today the figure is 83%.

6. Should Libyans want to take up farming career, they would receive farming land, a farming house, equipments, seeds and livestock to kick-start their farms – all for free.

7. If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government funds them to go abroad for it – not only free but they get US$2,300/mth accommodation and car allowance.

8. In Libyan, if a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidized 50% of the price.

9. The price of petrol in Libya is $0.14 per liter

10. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amount to $150 billion – now frozen globally.

11. If a Libyan is unable to get employment after graduation the state would pay the average salary of the profession as if he or she is employed until employment is found.

12. A portion of Libyan oil sale is, credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.

13. A mother who gave birth to a child receive US$5,000

14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya costs $ 0.15

15. 25% of Libyans have a university degree

16. Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.

Which other dictator has done so much good for his people?

Well, are these so-called facts true, my friend?

BTW, keep up the gud work with ur blog.

Much regards,
SivKay
Kuala Lumpur

*** UPDATE ***

Thanks for all the interesting comments about the misinformation that is circulating about Moamar Kadafi's charitable achievements.... NOT

It seems other bloggers in the Libyan blogosphere have also been inundated with requests to explain these most interesting facts. There is an excellent explanation to all of the above mentioned on Ema's blog: Gadaffi Myths Thanks Ema for putting that together!

Libya - Green Where it Should Be

2011-10-11T12:31:00.002+02:00

For the past few weeks we've been having unusually rainy weather for this time of year in Libya. Normally the rains don't begin until mid November. Actually, I've never seen such weather in all the 22 years that I've lived here. Many people say that this weather is a blessing from God to the people of Libya and that finally the evil is being removed from the country.

Today I went for a walk on the farm and took this panoramic photo. The leaves on the apricot and peach trees haven't begun to change colour yet. The fields are turning green long before they usually do and the wildflowers are beginning to sprout. Everything smells fresh and clean. If this weather keeps up the fields will soon be ablaze with the colours of wildflowers.

Green - where it should be. - click on the image to see a larger picture

The war in Libya continues..... Please keep Libya in your prayers!

On a quest

2011-10-07T20:37:00.000+02:00

The weather was fantastic this morning. My husband and I got up early, packed a picnic breakfast, grabbed our cameras and headed out the door. We were on a quest to track down and photograph Libyan street art to post the Libyan Street Art blog.

We weren't sure where we would begin, just following our noses. Along the way we took other pictures too. I thought these of the flags were especially nice.

The weather was perfect. We stopped along the shore to have our picnic breakfast. By 10:30 the lighting was getting too harsh for good shots, so we headed for home.

The fighting continues in Sirte. Don't stop praying for Libya!

Libyan Street Art

2011-10-05T23:18:00.001+02:00

I've set up a photoblog to collect and display images of street art inspired by the February 17th Revolution. Have a look:

Libyan Street Art

Creative Collaboration

2011-10-04T10:23:00.000+02:00

One of the wonderful things that is happening in Libya is that Libyans are finally free to express themselves. This is showing up in many ways, but I'm truly amazed by the graffiti and murals being painted all over the city. Many people are even hiring artists to decorate the outside walls of their homes. Designs range from very simple spray-painted graffiti to elaborate murals that are worthy of museums and galleries.

I cannot help but to slow down as drive by to admire these works inspired by the revolution and the Libyans' newfound freedom. My husband, children and I often stop to take pictures and we see other people taking pictures too.

Many of the messages are written in English as well as Arabic and sometimes in the Berber language, Tamazight. Red, green, and black, the colours of the new flag are used in abundance. And many pictures feature Kadafy and his son Saif Al-Islam. The range of work and ideas expressed by the people of Libya after 42 years of creative suppression is simply awesome.

I'd like to start a blog or website to post images of these interesting works of art. Is anyone interested in collaborating on this with me?

Still Praying

2011-10-04T09:43:00.000+02:00

This morning I found our praying mantis friend still happily roosting in the plumeria. Can you see him? He blends right into the leaves.

Keep praying for Libya!

Evening Prayers in My Garden

2011-10-02T23:07:00.000+02:00

We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather this evening to spend some time in the garden. Sara spotted a lovely praying mantis perched on the frangipani, which is also called plumeria.

Mantis are friends of the garden because they eat pests and other insects, while being harmless to humans. I'm always so happy when we find them in the garden.

Did you know.....

The word "mantis" comes from the Greek word meaning prophet.

Praying mantis eggs can be sold online and is popular among farmers who purchase them to control pests.

One mantis species in Spain, Apteromantis aptera, is actually considered as endangered.

The praying mantis is actually more closely related to the cockroach than to grasshoppers!

It is believed that the female mantis will eat the male after mating since the protein helps in egg development.

The praying mantis has excellent eyesight and can see up to about 50 feet away.

The praying mantis is the only insect that can rotate its alien-like head almost completely around! House flies can tilt their head slightly but not to this degree. This flexibility helps with their hunting.

In French culture, the praying mantis can supposedly guide a lost child home.

In China, roasted praying mantis eggs were eaten to treat bedwetting!

The praying mantis is named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer. But it is often spelled preying mantis and is googled this way almost as often as the correct spelling. Preying Mantis is in essence of the character of the insect and correctly describes its predatory nature.

I like to think that the mantis is really praying. And boy, oh boy we need a lot of prayers these days!

The war in Libya continues........ Keep praying for Libya!

A day at the beach & finally Tripoli gets some rain

2011-09-30T16:57:00.000+02:00

Last Saturday my girls and I got together with some friends for a day at the beach. We went to a beach near Garabali and as we weren't sure about the situation on the road we all met up in the morning and convoyed out together - safety in numbers.

The ride out was uneventful and pleasant. There were only a few checkpoints, one we found interesting near Tajoura because it was made out of stacked empty shipping containers. We passed through quickly, the men manning the checkpoint were friendly and polite.

Near Tajoura- a checkpoint made of stacks of empty shipping containers.

The day was lovely, the weather sunny and mild, the water warm. It felt so nice to be able to relax on the beach and enjoy the day. I hadn't seen most of my friends since before the war and some of them since last year - we had lots of catching up to do.

Jenna had arrived at the beach looking pale but within half an hour her cheeks began to turn red and her freckles popped out - like magic!

Jenna on the way home - sun-kissed cheeks and wind blowing through her hair.

We had planned to leave at four o'clock, but as the ride out was uneventful we decided to extend our time at the beach, leaving as dusk was approaching. Again we passed through the shipping container checkpoint - this time at night.

The checkpoint at night. I love the lighting on this shot.

Later during the week the weather changed. It got cooler and cloudy with some really fabulous thundershowers. Thunder and lightning while the rain poured down. It was as though the air were being cleaned of the summer. Finally it feels like autumn has arrived in Libya!

Usually toward the end of summer teams of cleaners set to work along the major roads in and around Tripoli. They open up the drain covers and dig out all the sand and debris that clogs up the works. But because of the war this wasn't done this year, the result was floods just as soon as the rain started to come down.

Flood water near Fornaj Circle, Tripoli.

I got stuck in floodwater near the Fornaj Circle (recently named University Square). Everyone drove through carefully. I've noticed a change in the way most people drive nowadays; people are much more patient than in the past.

The war still continues in Sirte and Bani Walid.

Please keep Libya in your prayers!

Pouring Their Hearts Out

2011-09-23T15:48:00.000+02:00

I've been busy getting myself back to some kind of normal. Life in Tripoli is improving everyday but it will take a while for everyone to get back to work and on their feet again.

I went back to work last Saturday and resumed classes that had been interupted since last February. Not all the students have been able to come back yet. Although stability is returning to Tripoli, the war continues in Sirte and Bani Walid as well as part of Sebha.

Some of my students are fighting at the front, some are involved in getting supplies to the fighters and some I haven't heard from at all - I pray they are safe and well. The rest are coming to class and we've been doing some review to get us started again. But most of all the students want to practice their speaking/communication skills. They finally have something to talk about! Never before have I seen such an outpouring of thoughts, feelings and ideas from my students. They have discovered the freedom of being able to speak their minds for the first time in their entire lives. It is an amazing thing to be a part of this, to hear them express themselves like never before. It's so wonderful!

It's the little things....

2011-09-12T16:42:00.001+02:00

We have Doritos in Tripoli again!

Yeah! Woo Hoo!

Now if only they can bring Fritos here too....

Fritos... look at that package Mr. Supermarket man... get some to put on your shelves next to the Doritos. I guarantee the customers will be snapping 'em up!

I was out and about this morning. Almost all of the shops have reopened. The shelves are being restocked, slowly but surely. People look so happy to be out and getting back to work and soon school will start again too. And there's the smell of autumn in the air too. It feels wonderful!

A Big Fat Libyan Wedding

2011-09-08T23:47:00.000+02:00

Well, I finally got my invitation to Aisha Kadafy’s wedding.It was a long time coming. You’re probably wondering what on earth this is allabout. Well, here’s the story:

Over the years, every once in a while, I would come acrosssomeone that would ask me ‘Do you like The Leader (Moamar Kadafy)?’. Of coursein Libya talking about the leader has always been a taboo subject. You didn’teven dare to say his name; usually he was just referred to as ‘The Leader’. Ofcourse, all that’s changed now – you can call him whatever you want, and mosttimes it’s not something nice.

So here I would be, faced with this rather awkward question,wondering if the person doing the asking planned to report whatever I said tointernal security. I didn’t want to lie and say I loved the man, or that I evenliked him. So I finally decided that when faced with this rather inane questionI would reply truthfully ‘No’.

This answer always provoked a look of shock and disbelief.And then I would add ‘I wasn’t invited to his daughter’s wedding. I have always done my best to promote hiscountry and to do whatever I can for Libya and its citizens. The least he couldhave done was to invite me to the party. And you know in Libya if you aren’tinvited to someone’s munasabat (occasions) you can just cross them rightoff your list. So he’s off my list.’ They would spend about a minutecontemplating my explanation and then have to agree with me because I hadexplained it in such a way as to include their very own social custom. And of course,thinking I was joking they would also laugh (rather nervously).

Would I have gone to the wedding if I had been invited? I’mnot sure. I hate Libyan weddings and this would have been a mother of awedding. But in a weird way it would have been nice to have been asked. Afterthe start of the Libyan uprising a video of Aisha’s wedding was leaked toYouTube (here and here). The wedding had an underwatertheme complete with a golden mermaid throne for the bride and groom to sit onwhile they watched their guests and were entertained by famous Arabic singers. I’msure it must have cost a fortune, but the overall effect looked really shlafty(Libyan word for redneck).

So where is this story going you are wondering. Keepreading, keep reading….

After the rebel fighters stormed Moamar Kadafy’s compound, BabAl Azizia, and secured it, people poured in to have a look at all that wasthere. And there is a whole lot to look at! The place is huge. And while they were having a look people wentcrazy and started looting the place. They drove in with trucks and hauled offthe furniture, carpets, air conditioners, TVs and anything else they wanted(including arms and ammunition). Kadafy’s house was full of the leader’spersonal effects; clothes, books, medical records, they even found his personalphoto album devoted to his beloved Condoliza Rice. People and journalistsstarted riffling through all the personal documents and secret files andrecords that were stored there too.

At first, when I watched this free-for-all on television Iwas appalled. Then my husband said ‘Let them take it all. Let them get thisrage out of their systems. Let them see for themselves what’s been kept fromthem.’ Apparently, the future plan is that they will demolish the site and turnit into a public park. I suppose it would cost a fortune to hire a company tocome get rid of this stuff – why pay? Just let the people haul off what theywant. Of course files, and other things of that nature need to be preserved andarchived. And weapons need to be secured. But the rest of the junk… let themtake it.

As we watched the looting on tv my kids wanted to go to BabAl-Azizia and see for themselves like everyone else, but I said ‘Not yet. Waituntil things settle down a bit.’ We took the kids to Martyr’s Square insteadand they had a great time joining in the celebrations. And then we just forgotabout going to Bab Al-Azizia. We were busy getting on with our lives. So when my son Yusef came in to the kitchen for breakfast a few days ago and said he was goingthere with his cousin I was surprised. I asked him what he was going to do andhe said that they wanted to explore the place and see it for themselves.

So off he went with his cousin on an adventure that lastedthe entire day. And he said he still had not seen everything. The compound is huge;by some accounts over 6 square kilometers. He had a great time discovering whatwas there. He even sat in Kadafy’s jacuzzi. That family must have been obsessed with jacuzzi’s – they had themeverywhere!

Despite the fact that it’s been over two weeks the lootingcontinues. Yusef wasn’t interested in plundering the compound, he just wantedto explore. But at one point he looked down at his feet and something caughthis attention. A cream coloured envelope,peeking out was a card engraved in gold. He reached down to pick it up anddiscovered that it was an invitation to Aisha Kadafy’s wedding. Obviously hecouldn’t pass that up; he had to bring the invitation home to present to me.

So that is the story of how I got an invitation to Moamar Kadafy’sdaughter’s wedding!

Remote control is to show scale.

Keep praying for Libya

2011-09-06T01:35:00.001+02:00

We've been pretty busy lately. We got through Eid celebrations and family visits. This year they were kept to a minimum because of the gasoline situation. Best of all we joined in the celebrations at Martyr's Square. It was amazing and wonderful!

Ibrahim proudly holding the flag in Martyr's Square, Tripoli. Peace!

The last few days I've been getting the house back to a post-Ramadan state and rearranging our schedules. Unfortunately I seem to be the only one interested in changing our time schedule. I prepare lunch only to find no one's gotten up and had breakfast yet. It will take a while I guess. Yesterday and today were so hot that we only felt like eating sandwiches anyway. Maybe I should keep it light for a while.

I went for a drive to see what was going on in my neighbourhood. Some of the shops are reopening but they still haven't been restocked and the prices are still quite high. There are more cars on the roads because Tripoli has gasoline. There are lines at the gas stations but they seem to be moving quite quickly and no one's queue jumping and no one's threatening anyone with guns like in the old Kadafy days. Everyone's being patient - that's really amazing! There are check points everywhere. But the guys manning them are smiling and friendly. They're also doing a great job directing traffic. I also noticed that they are beginning to fill potholes with asphalt.

I hear that the water situation in town is improving. Thank God we have our own well, but that of course depends on having electricity to pump the water into the holding tanks. We're still having problems with the electricity but it's getting better. We have power most of the time now, however, the electricity fluctuates and sometimes is so weak we have to turn off most of the appliances and unnecessary lights. This might be caused by high usage - the weather has been over 40 degrees C (104 F) for the past few days. Everyone is running their air-conditioners. Hopefully this will be worked out soon.

We've got internet! Yeah! The connection isn't very strong, especially with Wimax, but we're expecting that to improve. Mobile phone coverage is on again off again too - but also improving. I think everyone is trying to call each other and internet all at once. And I'm excited to finally be able to use all the apps on my phone. Yeah!

I've been reading about Kadafy's personal nurses. Link HERE

How ridiculous to think he needed FIVE personal nurses while in Libyan public hospitals there is approximately one very overworked nurse for every 20 to 40 patients. tch.. tch...tch...tch...

Keep praying for Libya. Pray that Kadafy forces in Bani Walid and Sirte put down their weapons and surrender and also that they capture Kadafy and his mob. Pray for a free and liberated Libya.

The Missing Months

2011-09-01T17:50:00.002+02:00

We didn't have internet for about six months (March 3rd to August 22nd) in Tripoli, so of course I wasn't able to post on my blog during that time. I did however continue to write... and write, and write and write. It was daily therapy to sit down and type out the day's events.

I thought about putting it all together and publishing it as a book. But as the war comes to an end and a free Libya opens up to a new beginning I've decided to put the past behind me and post these missing months on my blog. I need to get on with my life. The future is just too alluring for me to be dwelling on the past - but the past definitely needs to be recorded.

I wasn't able to take as many photos as I would have liked because it was too dangerous to be running around with a camera in public during the war for anyone - imagine if an American was caught taking pictures. It would have made me an instant target and probably would have been the end of me and/or my husband.

The internet connection is still very slow so I'll be uploading the images I have as soon as I am able and post a note that new pics are on.

*** UPDATE, September 3rd, 2011: I have added the images. ***

I've posted each month separately and put them on my blog as tabs at the top of the page. Or you can find them here:

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

Please keep Libya in your prayers!

Eid Freedom

2011-08-31T00:32:00.000+02:00

While in other places in the world Muslims are celebrating the first day of Eid, Libya will begin Eid tomorrow. Each country marks the end of Ramadan by sighting the new moon and of course that varies from place to place according to weather conditions, etc.

We had a very simple Ramadan this year. There were so many shortages because of the ongoing war. We had made sure to stockile supplies of basic foodstuffs long before Ramadan began but we still ran short of eggs, bread and fresh vegetables (especially parsley) toward the end of the month. It wasn't because they were unavailable, but because some things just became so expensive we refused to pay the rediculously elevated prices for them - especially parsley which is used in many Ramadan dishes which got up to four dinars for a tiny wilted bunch. We made do without. And because we had run out of gasoline we were unable to get fresh bread. The result was that we kept our meals simple and baked bread at home. Desserts were usually fresh fruit that was available on our farm or baked homemade cakes, cobblers and puddings. Imagine a Ramadan in Libya without zlabiyah!

The social aspect of Ramadan had changed for us as well. Without gasoline it was impossible to visit anyone. My mother-in-law and two of my sister-in-laws came over once and that was only because they had come to the farm when it became too dangerous to stay in their house in town. We stayed at home, watching tv, reading, sitting in the garden and listening to the war.

One of the traditions in Ramadan is shopping for new clothes to wear for Eid. We didn't do that at all this year. Earlier in the war I had bought some new clothes for Ibrahim and I had set aside two outfits so he will wear those. The rest of us will just wear something clean and nice.

Kids also get toys for the feast and Ibrahim has been asking for a remote control car (he asks for this every year). Well, that will have to wait since we haven't been able to get to town to look for one yet. Also earlier in the war I had bought a few packages of hard candies and hidden them away - so I've got sweets to pass out for the kids.

Eid will be simple this year, but we are thankful because it will be the most wonderful Eid Libya has seen in 42 years. Libya is free!

Wishing everyone a very happy, peaceful and safe Eid.

Feeding an army

2011-08-28T17:01:00.002+02:00

Saturday, August 27^th,2011 | 27^th Ramadan

A few days ago while myhusband and my son Yusef were out and about they came across a group ofopposition fighters from Misrata. It turned out that one of them was a friendof one of my husband’s cousins. Libya after all is a small world and if you sitdown to talk to someone for any length of time you will usually find some kindof connection. They chatted for a bit and then everyone went their separateways.

Quite by chance they met upagain the following day. Yusef ended up spending the day with the group. To saythat he was thrilled is an understatement. He’s joined them and is off on anadventure. Actually he is unofficiallypart of their group; he hasn’t registered to be a fighter because he isunderage. He’s unarmed and tags along as kind of a gopher, no matter, it’scertainly just as dangerous and he is delighted and honored to be a part of theliberation of Libya.

What are my feelings aboutthis? Hmmm…. It’s easy to say boys will be boys. On the one hand I am proud ofmy son. He is eager to free Libya in any way he can. On the other hand I amterrified that he could be injured – or worse. When he’s out I try to keep incontact with him but the phone coverage is miserable and I can’t always getthrough to him. I also am doing my best to convince myself that most of thefighting is over in Tripoli thus making Yusef’s new role a safer one. And Yusefcomes home to sleep.

Last night, after spending theentire evening trying in vain to get a phone call through to Yusef, the phonerang. It was nearly three o’clock in the morning and it was Yusef. ‘Mom! I’malmost home. I’m bringing the guys! Cook us something!’ he said excitedly. ‘Howmany are coming with you?’ I asked. ‘Just six’ he replied as the phone disconnected.

I went in the bedroom to wakemy husband up to tell him the news, then headed for the kitchen to cook up a largepot of ‘Macrona Umbakbaka’ a spicy Libyan pasta dish flavoured with tomatoes, jalapenopeppers, fresh basil and big chunks of beef jerky. My husband went out to thegrape vines and picked enough grapes to fill a huge bowl, and we made surethere was plenty of ice cold water and juice to drink.

Our dogs began to bark, announcing the arrivalof our special guests who pulled their heavily armored vehicle into the farmand drove it all the way into the far corner. They refused to come anywherenear the house, preferring to stay outside in the dark field under the starlitsky. ‘We’ve been outside for five months’ they said. ‘We are used to it thisway.’

They ate and rested a bit. Soonit was dawn and time for them to move off, and for Yusef to head to bed forsome much needed sleep. It was certainly an honor to feed the freedom fighters.May God watch over them and keep them safe.

It's not over yet

2011-08-24T19:30:00.000+02:00

Although we continue to celebrate, there are still pockets of fighting around Tripoli and the King of Kings and his progeny are still at large. Our electricity keeps going off and the internet connection is sporadic (but we are so thankful for what we have).

I've been staying at home (where I am safe), waiting for this to finally come to an end. I'll post when I can.

Keep Libya in your prayers.

2011-08-22T13:34:00.001+02:00

I'm safe and well in Libya. It's been a long hard six months but I made it. The internet has been turned on and I'm slowly sifting through over 2000 emails. Thanks to all who have commented, emailed, worried and prayed for me. I'll update as soon as I can. Just so busy celebrating!

August's missing posts

2011-08-01T05:19:00.000+02:00

You can find the missing posts for August here: August 2011

July's missing posts

2011-07-01T05:16:00.000+02:00

You can find the posts for July here: July 2011

June's missing posts

2011-06-01T05:15:00.000+02:00

You can find the missing posts for June here: June 2011

May's missing posts

2011-05-01T05:13:00.000+02:00

You can find the posts I've written for may here: May 2011

I am safe and well

2011-04-06T11:30:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone. I am alive and well and still here in Libya. We are relatively safe for the moment. There hasn't been internet for over a month. I will update my blog with all the news of the past month as soon as I am able. Thanks to all of you who have posted comments and emailed. I will get back to blogging as soon as I can.

Please continue your prayers for us here in Libya.

While I take this break from work I am busy setting up a packing up and shipping service to help ex-pats who have had to leave all their belongings behind. If you are an ex-pat interested in getting your stuff back let me know by clicking on the contact tab above and sending me an email.

I'll update as soon as I can.

April's missing posts

2011-04-01T05:11:00.000+02:00

You can find the posts I've written for April here: April 2011

The internet stopped

2011-03-04T05:05:00.000+02:00

The internet stopped at this point and I began writing daily and saving it to post later. March 2011 continues here: March 2011

A normal day in Tripoli

2011-03-02T20:02:00.001+02:00

It's some kind of a holiday here in Libya - 2 March; the anniversary of the declaration of Libya as a Jamahiriya in 1977. I'm not going to go into an explanation here, you can find out more if you are interested here. One thing I was sure was that there would most likely be a big long speech. And I was right, of course.

I haven't been out of the house in over a week and I wanted to get out. I needed to refill some medicine, so hubby and I went for a drive. Essential shops were open; pharmacies, grocery stores, butcher's, and bakers which had long lines of people. Most of the vegetable stands were closed - the Egyptians who had previously run them had left. In some areas farmers had parked pick-up trucks along side the roads to sell their produce. The supermarkets were busy, but most of the basic food stuffs are running low. The aisle that had once been full of ladies sanitary needs had only 5 packages on the bottom shelf so I took all five and made a mental note to hunt down more. The gas stations were open and cars were lined up waiting for fuel. The rest of the shops were closed, their green shutters rolled down, some of them with graffiti that had been covered with paint of various colours.

We drove around the city to see what was happening. Women holding shopping bags hurried about with worried looks on their faces. Men wearing green scarves around their necks were busy putting up green flags. Pick-up trucks with oil-company stickers slapped on the sides but without licence plates were parked at roundabouts, doors and windows open to reveal uniformed men with machine guns inside. A huge crowd of people were at the port waiting to board a ship that would evacuate them to safety. Anti-aircraft guns were placed at various places along the coast road. The weather was beautiful but no one was enjoying the day. The whole atmosphere was weird, it felt as if you were being watched or followed. It felt as though any second something horrible could happen - it felt unsafe.

We arrived home and found the speech in full swing. I put away the groceries and sat down to watch, mostly to see if I recognized anyone in the audience. He droned on and on, repeating the same things he's been saying the past week, from time to time taking a break so the audience could chant slogans (and wake themselves up). After a while I got bored and took a nap.

I'm getting tired of staying at home. The kids want to go back to school again. Today I said to a friend: 'I want things to be normal again.' and she laughed and replied 'Things have never been normal in Libya!'

Delusional dictators

2011-03-02T01:49:00.000+02:00

Today I tried to get away from watching the news. Sometimes you need a break. So I checked into the Chive for a laugh.... boy a laugh is pretty useful now and again!

While I was there I found this example of a delusional dictator:

Is it March 1st already?

2011-03-01T15:17:00.001+02:00

The days are all pretty much the same lately. The difference in my house this week is that it's Jenna's week to do the dishes and she's incredibly lazy and doesn't do a good job in keeping up with it. So the result is there are piles of dishes on the kitchen counter. I need to cook and I hate starting out with a mess. Since my throat surgery last year I try to avoid shouting (which never does any good anyway).

Jenna's been on my nerves lately anyway. I'm not sure what bugs me the most - is it her teenage attitude or is it the Justine Bieber hairstyle she's sporting? Maybe a bit of both!

Staying at home.
Being domestic.
Trying to keep Ibrahim from getting bored.
Planted the top of a pineapple - I hope it takes root and grows.
Listening for planes and helicopters overhead.
Reading the news on the net.
Wondering when all this will end.

A solution

2011-02-28T22:29:00.000+02:00

This is just getting rediculous. It's like when you step in chewing gum, or even worse, dog poo, and it gets stuck on the bottom of your shib-shib and you can't get it off. No matter how hard you try; you rub your shib-shib on the ground, on the grass, on the edge of the street curb, or you get a stick and try to push it off. But it just doesn't want to go.

The solution: It's time to throw those shib-shib away!

Day or night we are not safe in Tripoli

2011-02-27T18:59:00.000+02:00

Helicopters
There have been helicopters today
up over head.
More than ever before.
All of them are moving
toward the coast.
I'm afraid to go outside to photograph them,
in case I turn into a target.
The dogs growl and bark.
The sun is setting now.
Tripoli is a nocturnal place.
Day or night,
we are not safe,
in Tripoli.

KhadijaTeri
Feb 27, 2011

A sleepy Saturday.. what stress does to me

2011-02-26T23:49:00.001+02:00

I woke up this morning, got out of bed but stayed in my pajamas. I didn't change my clothes all day. I felt chilled, sleepy and depressed. I'd crawl under a blanket and fall asleep only to have weird, disjointed dreams. Not nightmares - just dreams. None of them made any sense at all. I'd wake up and wander around the house for a while and then climb back under a blanket and sleep some more. This pattern of sleep, dream, wake, stay up for a bit and return to sleep continued all day. Sometimes I slept in my bed, sometimes on the sofa in the TV room, and sometimes on the sofa in the sitting room.

From time to time during the day I'd check my email (when the internet was working) - still under a blanket, using my phone. All of my ex-pat colleagues have made it home safely - each one has a horror story to tell but most of them are ready to return here as soon as things are sorted out. My family and friends abroad have been checking up to see how things are here. They offer kind words of encouragement. Fellow bloggers comment as do my regular readers and also complete strangers. Keep praying for us!

My friends who are still in Libya are doing well. We check up on each other when the phones are working and we can get a line. One person relaying messages for the others she's spoken to. It's always a quick call because we can't tell how much phone credit we have left. The number you use to check the phone credit doesn't work anymore. We've all decided that when this is over we're going to have a big get-together.

My husband ventured out today to see what was going on. He came back with lots of fruit and veggies. The Egytptians who have been running most of the vegetable stands have all fled, leaving the produce behind. Fruit is being sold a bargain prices before it begins to spoil. So tonight we are enjoying fresh fruit cocktail. He also made an attempt to attend a funeral today for some of the martyrs but was turned away.

Watching the news is distressing.
Staying at home is depressing.
The whole situation is upsetting.

I'm hoping for the day I can type some positive adjectives. Keep us in your prayers.

Not a normal Friday in Libya

2011-02-25T23:45:00.002+02:00

I'm starting to feel totally out of synch. The days are starting to run into one another and all feel the same. Today was Friday, and I tried to keep it like any other normal Friday. I got up and started in on the laundry, scrubbed my bathroom and started lunch. When it came time for Friday prayers I went outside and worked a bit in the garden - pulling weeds. And of course listening to the sounds in the distance. I wanted it to be like a normal Friday, but of course it wasn't.

Not long after Friday prayers ended I could hear helicopters in the distance. I kept pulling weeds, straining my ears to hear the sounds in the distance, but it was windy and I couldn't tell which direction the sounds were coming from. I gave up and came inside. After lunch I checked to see what was happening on the internet, but there was no connection. I watched TV for a bit with the kids, but it was depressing and stressful.

I needed to lose myself - to find something that would absorb my attention - take me someplace else in my imagination. I curled up under a blanket and watched the film 'The King's Speech'. It's a film about King George the 5th and how he overcame his speech impediment. Of course his speeches were all written for him by a professional writer - he just had to say them. Quite the oposite here in Libya! Bla, bla, bla. Shibber, shibber! Zinga, Zinga! Dar, dar!... Makes you want to laugh but then you stop yourself when you realise how sad it all is.

The telephones were on today. I got a call from one of my students who gave me the message that the brother-in-law of one of my other students had died of bullet wounds. There is no way for me to go to the funeral (I might suffer the same fate on the way) so I'll have to call her to offer my condolances.... that is when I can manage to get a line through.

Winds of change

2011-02-24T17:51:00.000+02:00

I couldn't bear sitting in the house any longer so I put on my coat and went outside for a walk. The dogs weren't very happy about it and kept trying to herd me back home. Cisco kept biting the edge of my coat and pulling me back toward the house. But I was determined to get some fresh air.

The sun kept trying to peek out from behind the clouds but it wasn't very successful. We've had strong winds blowing since last night. The air was cold but fresh, with the smell of wet grass. I walked in the far field and took these photos.

On the right, in the distance, is my (unpainted) house. Alongside, the water tower rises above. On the horizon the pine trees are bent over in the strong winds.

When I returned home I tried to upload the pictures but the internet had shut down. We turned on the TV to see what was happening and heard that there would soon be another speech. I went into the kitchen to start some chile con carne for dinner while we waited for the show to begin. sigh.... and what a show... I'm not sure if it was comedy or horror.

Are you ready for dinner? I think I've lost my appetite.

It just goes on, and on, and on....

2011-02-24T12:28:00.000+02:00

Since last night we've had really high winds. The rains have stopped for the moment and the sun is out but it's cold. The winds are howling angrily around my house. I'm grateful that we are inside where it's warm.

My friend that has been stuck in Benghazi 'might' be evacuated today. Other colleagues in Tripoli are unreachable. I hope this means they have managed to get out of here, but from what I see on the news it is unlikely. I just hope they have managed to get inside the airport, out of the cold wind and rain.

It's hard to say what's happening in Libya from where I am. We're relying on the news and internet like everyone else in the world. If the weather improves I will go for a walk to see what I can hear in the distance, but mostly because we're getting on each other's nerves!

There was a HUGE double rainbow yesterday evening. I think Nora captured a shot of it on her camera. I'll look for it and post it later.

Looking in

2011-02-23T14:33:00.001+02:00

I got a few hours of sleep so I feel a bit better today. It's raining off and on here in Tripoli and it feels cold and damp outside. Inside the house we are warm. I have no phone service at the moment but the internet is working. The kids have finally put on a movie instead of the never-ending bad news.

I usually go out in the garden or take a walk in the farm when I'm under stress because it makes me feel better. But these days that just makes it worse. Your ears strain to hear what's happening in the distance. So instead, I worked on the plants in the window next to my desk.

I made a small terrarium. And then I thought how similar Libya is to a terrarium... everything happening inside with no intervention from outside... the whole world is looking in.

Libya, Oh Libya!

2011-02-22T21:43:00.001+02:00

Another appearance on TV this evening. I waited to see if it was going to last longer than 15 seconds, and then when it was obvious it was going to be a long-winded speech, I went into the kitchen and made a huge bowl of popcorn.

We watched, we snacked. We had mixed feelings: disbelief, horror, amazement, among other feelings, but mostly just disgust.

During the speech the phones and internet were inaccessible. Afterwards the internet and phones came on as if a switch had been flipped. Then we went outside in the garden to hear what was happening. Since the speech ended we have heard car horns blaring and gunshots and machine-gun fire in every direction - louder than it's been since all this began.

God help us all!

Idioms and puns to help us through the day

2011-02-21T10:47:00.000+02:00

We had a very long, sleepless night spent between watching reports on television and on the internet, and running outside in the garden, where we strained our ears to listen to the far off sounds of gunfire and car horns. And then the shock of listening to 'the speech'. Disbelief at what was being said. What day is it, I wondered, surely it's not the first of April yet!

It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. . . . .

Oh Libyans... Stay safe!.... no pun intended!

Live reports and eye-witness accounts... frustrating!

2011-02-20T23:36:00.002+02:00

The Internet is still on and off... telephones are on and off too.

Yusef went to buy cards for the internet this afternoon. He came back and said the 10 dinar internet card is now being sold in the shops for 15 dinars and there is a rush to by top-up cards for mobiles. I expected that recent events would raise prices. Last week I bought ground beef for 6 dinars a kilo and today it was 8 dinars..an increase of 2 dinars a kilo. I didn't even ask how much chicken was today - I just bought enough to last about 10 meals and brought it home and put it in the freezer. Now lets hope the electricity doesn't go out.

There was the same rush to stock up on food today that there was yesterday (including me for ground beef and chicken). But when I went out in the afternoon in Benashur, Fashloum, Sidimasri and Ainzara the streets were normal with the exception of the occasional flag and poster-covered car, taxi or bus. The gas station was open and I filled the tank.

My dear friend is still stranded in Benghazi. The airport was closed today and there was no way to get out. Hopefully tomorrow she will be evacuated (we thought that would happen today). It's been frustrating - we can communicate by mobile but she has no internet so I've contacted her family back home to say she is safe. I cannot imagine the stress she must be under.

Reports say that tonight Tripoli is upside-down but I live too far away to be able to say what's happening there. When I go out in my garden I can hear the sounds of car horns, shouts and noise in the distance. It's hard to tell where the noise is coming from - out in the countryside the wind carries sounds quite a distance and it depends which way the wind is blowing. We've locked all the gates because we've heard reports of people jumping into farms. The dogs will warn us if anyone comes near.

I'm going back to watch the latest news reports. So many different stories coming out tonight that I don't know what to beleive. I pray that everyone in Libya stays safe. God help us all.

Tripoli is buzzing like bees

2011-02-20T08:36:00.000+02:00

Internet is sporadic. I'm not sure how often I will be able to blog or approve comments. I will get to them if/when I can.

Yesterday afternoon I went out to the grocery store in my neighbourhood. It was packed full of people stocking up. The shelves, which had once been brimming with goods, looked sparse. There were only three bags of rice left so I took one. When I drove by the wholesale shops people were lined up buying bags of flour, cases of tomato paste, cooking oil and pasta.

The roads were packed with people going places. At one intersection empty buses were passing by... they had dropped off their load of 'rent-a-crowd' and were driving away from the city. Heading toward the city were cars full of pro-government demonstrators, honking and waving flags and posters. Everyone else seemed to be preoccupied with stocking up and shopping.

Things are 'normal' here this morning, Nora went to university to attend a lecture, the bakery and the sinfez (shop that makes fried bread) are open. But it's early yet.

Some of my colleagues arrived yesterday from Benghazi, and more, hopefully, will follow today if the airport in Benghazi opens again. The guest room is ready.

All is not quiet in the country

2011-02-18T00:07:00.000+02:00

Just when I thought I'd have a quiet evening at home...... Sara had pizzas in the oven, Ibrahim was playing with his rabbit, the rest of the kids were watching TV, and I was chatting online with my mom.

All of a sudden, the dogs started barking like crazy, and then I heard a car... beep! beep! Not one car... two! Out piled a crowd of in-laws... big, small, old, young - all chattering at once.

The ladies were ushered into one room the men in another, the children running back and forth. Ibrahim's poor rabbit was put hastily back in his cage where it would be reasonably safe from half a dozen small children. Out came the chocolates that had been hidden in Nora's closet (for surprise guests), tea and fresh hot pizza. The TV was blasting in the background. Everyone seemed to all talk at once, a party atmosphere prevailed.

None of my sister-in-laws are going to visit anyone that lives in the city now. I guess until things return to normal I should expect visitors to drop in. On the list for tomorrow: Bake a cake, for just in case.

Quiet here

2011-02-16T21:07:00.001+02:00

The number seventeen has been on everyone's lips here for the past two weeks. Tomorrow is the big day, the day Libya is expected to begin their journey to join ranks with Tunisia and Egypt. There are all kinds of speculation and rumors flying around.

This morning I went to work as usual; traffic was normal. On the way home there was a group of high school boys in their green school uniforms in one of the traffic roundabouts. They'd been given posters of the Leader to carry. It all seemed so artificial. Traffic slowed down a bit as people drove by. Other than that it was the usual bumper to bumper ride home.

Hubby came home to say there was more of the same type of pro-Leader demonstrations going on in the city center. One guy started shouting anti-Leader slogans and was quieted when some plain-clothed security gave him some money. How weird is that?

I took the evening off. No point getting stuck in traffic. I'm relaxing at home with my family. All is quiet here today where I live. Internet and mobile phone service are working normally... actually the net is better than it usually is! The kitchen is well stocked, I have over a thousand books on my e-reader. Tomorrow is another day.... wait and see what, if anything, happens.

Some really special bloggers

2011-02-14T13:08:00.000+02:00

Last January I was flattered and honored to receive a special blogger award from Expat Arrivals. They have three categories of winning blogs listed on their site. But I'm not going to brag about my blog here. The other winning blogs are really fantastic! Such an amazing and diverse list of good reads! Go over and have a look yourself: EXPAT ARRIVALS 2011 Top and Great Bloggers

Happy...

2011-02-14T00:14:00.000+02:00

Happy Miloud

or....

Happy Valentine's Day

or both....

Just have a great day!

Having a little demonstration of my own

2011-02-11T17:01:00.001+02:00

The sun is shining and the washing machine is going full-speed.

Egypt is still the main focus on the TV in the living room. I'm getting some inspiration from them:

I've decided to turn my garden into a Tahrir Square and go out there and demand that 'Husni Mustafa' get busy. I'll be shouting and chanting 'Paint the House! Paint the House! Paint the House!' the kids will join me... my friends will join me... my fellow bloggers will join me. We'll get excited! We'll be chanting! Aljazeera will interview us! And if 'Husni Mustafa' doesn't give in to my demands and get off his butt and paint the house we will force him into exile.... at his mother's house of course.

Paint the House!

(We've been living here for a year and a half for God's sake!)

Lazy rainy weather

2011-02-06T22:52:00.000+02:00

It's been raining for the last few days. The streets are flooded making driving even more treacherous than usual. I decided to cancel work for the evening and relax at home, listening to the rain on the roof and drinking hot herbal tea. In America people have been having days off for snow, so I should be allowed a rainy day off. The electricity has been going on and off throughout the afternoon and evening. And the internet has been sporadic. But the candles are lit and the house is cozy.

Our neighbours in Egypt are still in limbo. Interest is waning in our house - there is only just so much Aljazeera that can be watched (and it helps that the electricity keeps going off). It looks like Mubarrak isn't going to budge, which is what I suspected from the beginning. There are rumours that something similar will happen here in Libya, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Staring at the TV... but not like zombies!

2011-02-01T14:07:00.000+02:00

There's an Aljazeera watching marathon going on in my house... sigh. All eyes are on Egypt. While our neighbours in Egypt are busy demonstrating, all is quiet here in Libya while everyone stays glued to the TV watching events unfold. All the TV watching is getting on my nerves. Everyone is busy speculating and waiting, waiting, waiting for something to happen.

In the doldrums

2011-01-25T14:36:00.000+02:00

The kids have been on their school holidays but not much has been happening because I'm not on holiday. They stay up half the night and sleep half the day so when I get home and start cooking lunch they are poking around the kitchen looking for breakfast. Hopefully next weekend we will go someplace or do something. Until then life is boring and there isn't much to blog about.

Yesterday was my brother's birthday... he'd have been 40 if he were still alive. Today is my oldest sister's birthday and she's a big, fat, five-oh!

Happy Birthday Andi-Sue!

One goal accomplished today.

2011-01-15T19:49:00.002+02:00

Todays task of sorting out the window next to my desk - accomplished! I think the new plants look nice and I took care of the old plants. It still needs something with flowers - but this will do for now. The whole area next to my desk looks fabulous now.

Here's another picture from behind my desk:

When I first came to Libya in 1989, I came through Tunisia. So Tunis was where I stepped down on the continent of Africa for the very first time. As I walked down the steps of the plane I looked out at the view of a mountain in the distance which I later learned was called 'Jabal Bou Kornine' or the Two-Horned Mountain. I've been back to Tunis a few times since then and we usually take the time to go for a picnic and hiking on that very same mountain which is also a national park. It's quite nice actually, there is interesting wildlife to see, including wild boar (quite a surprise to come face to face with one when I didn't expect it). There's supposedly some ancient Roman ruins but I've never come across them. Once, while shopping in the capital, I found a really pretty card with the mountain in the background. I fell in love with it and bought it, took it home as a souvenir and had it framed. It's been sitting next to my desk ever since, as a reminder of my arrival in 1989. One day I will visit again... I'm sure whatever changes there will be, the Two-Horned Mountain will still be there.

An update: Yusef came home with yet another dog today. Now there are eight. .... I think we are turning into a dog rescue shelter.

Two weeks into 2011

2011-01-15T15:51:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I had planned to spend the morning in the garden planting seeds for the future - flowers in spring begin their lives now. But it was cloudy and cold so I scrapped the idea and hung about the house. Today the weather is better. Ibrahim and I went to a plant nursery and bought an assortment of things to put in the area around my desk. That's today's project. I'll plant some seeds too - pictures to follow, hopefully.

Later I have to do the weekly big shopping at the supermarket. The Libyan government supposedly lowered the tariff on food in the country... it's yet to be filtered down to supermarkets. Everything seems to be getting more and more expensive. And the kids are eating more and more too. Teenagers consume a huge amount of food - like a hoard of locusts!

It's only fifteen days into 2011 and our household has increased in size.

The last week of December, Yusef came across a heavily pregnant stray dog with a leg injury. He decided to keep her safely in the shed out on the farm. On New Year's day she gave birth to 4 puppies, two of which died. So we have New Year puppies! (now that puts the number at 7 dogs for us)
Cheekie, the cockatiel was looking a bit lonely so we bought her a partner. We've named him Chucky. Cheekie isn't very sociable - she's a bit bossy and poor Chucky looks henpecked already.
And finally, I hope, is a big white albino rabbit that was delivered last Thursday evening. Fitting as this is the year of the rabbit. The cats have been trying to figure how to make the rabbit into a meal. I'm not sure how long the rabbit is going to last.

I looked up the Year of the Rabbit to see what I'm supposed to be like (I was born in the year of the rabbit). It says this:

"People born in the year of the rabbit and sheep are considered the most sympathetic. They know how to comfort others, and will listen to them patiently. They are realists. They will not adventure forth with you into strange places even if you are their best friend. They will help any friend who is in trouble if it is within their power. But if you hurt them they will leave you quickly and in a friendly way."

Well, I can sometimes be sympathetic and patient. Definitely I'm a realist. The part about venturing into strange places doesn't sound right considering I'm living in Libya. I will help those in trouble if it's at all possible, but I'm a firm believer that some people need to help themselves. Hurt me and you will get dumped for sure - not so sure if I'll be friendly about it though.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

I will post pictures later.... if I get around to it.

P.S.... People are all excited about events in neighbouring Tunisia... just when I was planning a weekend away all hell breaks loose... sigh.. I'll have to wait till things settle down. Viva le Tunis!

Another year has passed

2010-12-31T14:22:00.001+02:00

It's that time of the year again, time to sit down and look back at the year. It's an opportunity to look back, count blessings, think about changes and consider what the new year will bring. Here's an overview of 2010.

January

The weather was changeable, sometimes rainy, sometimes cold but I had a chance to start planting seeds for the garden. The kids had exams and Yusef had his birthday for the first time in our new house. I went on a shopping trip with my mother-in-law. One special evening, Jenna and I watched in awe as a fireball arched across the sky in front of us - a part of the Coma Berenicid meteor showers.

February

There weren't many posts in February. I lost a very special friend and mentor to brain cancer. I spent a lot of time contemplating life and just going through the motions. It was like walking through a haze. On top of that I had a car that was misbehaving and a very slow internet connection and was plagued by bad dreams... sigh.

March

Busy weeks and pleasant weekends, one that included a trip to Tarhouna.

April

I went through an 'I hate Libya' phase during the beginning of April. This was sparked by nearly getting my pocket picked, the dog being poisoned, a pervert hanging about near the elementary school and escalating food prices. Some time spent in the garden helped get me through all that. Later I wrote about how Libyan traditions were changing, specifically relating to clothing. I found A&W root beer - which unfortunately I can no longer find...sigh.. but it was good medicine for my soul for a bit.

May

Exams, changeable weather and intermittent electricity. I commented about the problem with Libyan women (Libyan men are the problem!).

June

Long summer days. The kids were bored and we spent time in the garden and on the farm looking at flora and fauna.

July

This month marked the end of the World Cup and getting ready for Ramadan. My mom spent time in the hospital which left me glued to the internet to keep up with my family on the other side of the world.

August

Ramadan. The kids took over the cooking this year while I supervised. I reported on the cooks of the Libyan blogoshere. We got a new dog. Long days of fasting in scorching temperatures, and fun nights with friends and family.

September

Ramadan ended and we celebrated a quiet Eid Al-fitr. The new school year began and we got back into the swing of things. More time was spent in my ever changing garden. The month ended with a guest post about driving in Libya by expatarrivals.com.

October

Rita, a stray dog, decided to make our house hers. We spent time in the garden where Jenna found a lovely toad - was it Prince Charming in disguise? Most of the month was spent driving kids back and forth and too much time was spent at work (and not enough time was spent having adventures).

November

I had surgery in this month and counted blessings when all turned out well. We celebrated a quiet Eid Al-adha. Lots of excitement, plenty of rumours, and bumper to bumper traffic during the African Union Summit that was hosted in Tripoli.

December

The last month of the year is fairly quiet. I finally got some new wheels - just in time, as the old car had decided it was time to give up. The weather finally started to look like winter as the clouds dumped rain and the streets flooded. It was a good chance to see how my new car handled in wet conditions and concealed potholes. I had a much needed break in the mornings giving me a chance to get caught up.

Overall, I think I hated 2010! Spending time in my garden helped me ease some stress and get me through some rough spots. Looking back I noticed that I didn't have very many adventures, I spent way too much time working, and not enough time enjoying family, friends and home. Nothing was very good about the year - I'm glad 2010 is over! I'm looking forward to 2011.

Best wishes to all for a very Happy New Year!

Problem.... solved!

2010-12-27T13:42:00.001+02:00

Just when I was going to start griping about my shlafty neighbours a solution arrived, literally on my doorstep.

You see, for the past couple of months I've been really ticked off with the people who live at the farm next to mine. The problem is their trash. They've dug a big hole next to the dirt road that leads to my front gate and have been dumping their garbage in the hole. Such a lovely sight to see as I drive up to my house! Not to mention the odor, flies, stray dogs and rodents that it attracts. Periodically they light their dump on fire, usually right after I've hung out the laundry to dry. Why can't they put their rubbish in plastic bags and drop it off in one of the many dumpsters that are placed around town? Yes, it's a bit of a hassle but it keeps the neighbourhood free of trash, smells and vermin. If we can do it they should be able to do it too.

The neighbour's trash dump

I've been on a nagging campaign, begging my husband to go over and have a word with them. But he has steadfastly refused on the grounds that he doesn't want to make any trouble. He's complained to them in the past about other things and it's never gone over very well with them. They're simple country people... not very accepting of new fangled ideas like plastic trash bags or hygiene.

This morning while I was contemplating what to make for lunch, our dogs started barking and growling. I wasn't expecting anyone so I went out to see what was going on. I could hear men's voices on the other side of the wall. Then I heard a car drive up, and the dogs immediately quieted. I could hear my husband talking to the men so I went back inside. Maybe my husband had brought some workers to do something.

It turned out that the company, Rentokil, was making their rounds in our area and stopped when they had come across the sight of the garbage. My husband came home and found them setting up a rat trap next to our wall and across from the rubbish. They said they had noted the place on their GPS and would be sending someone to officially tell the neighbours to remove their garbage. So the problem will be solved! Yeah!

The rat trap

... now if we could only get rid of the neighbours....

Don't leave home without it!

2010-12-27T10:53:00.000+02:00

Nothing to do but relax today - it's been raining off and on all morning. The last few days Sara and I have been hunting for furniture. Most of the stuff in the shops is poor quality - worse than last year when we were looking. Some of the shops have the very same furniture as last year. We think we've found something, but we'll have to go back and look at it again before we make the final decision.

I finished the book 'A Reliable Wife' by Robert Goolrick - Washington Post review: Here - I read online that it's going to be made into a movie. I hope they do it justice - it's gonna be HOT - and I wonder who will play the role of Antonio? Now I'm on to a much tamer story: 'Plain Truth' by Jodi Picoult. If anyone plans on living in Libya for any length of time and they like to read, don't come here without an e-reader!

A Break!

2010-12-22T11:20:00.000+02:00

At last I'm having a bit of a break. No work in the mornings until next year, although the evenings will continue on as usual and I still have to wake up at 6:00 am to take the kids to school. But it gives me a few hours everyday to get things done that I've been putting off.

So here I sit filling up my calendar with things to do for the next two weeks:

The top on the list is to get a haircut - then I'll be ready for anything!
Also on my list is shopping for furniture - yes, I know I've lived in this house for over a year - but there are still bits and pieces to get to finish things off.
I'm feeling the need for a bit of culture, so I'll make the rounds of museums and galleries around town.
Some gardening,
and sorting out my desk.
visit some friends... is it possible to turn myself into a lady who lunches?
catch up on reading - in the middle of 'A Reliable Wife' at the moment (not bad)
I might decide to play the role of good daughter-in-law and pay a visit to my mother-in-law (haven't seen her since Eid)
finish putting together a workshop that I had a brainwave about a couple of months ago (maybe I should move this one up nearer to the top of the list!)
But most of all I want to relax and rest and spend time with my family.

I added support for mobiles for my blog - so if you read this on your mobile please let me know if it's working correctly.

A change in the weather

2010-12-13T20:48:00.002+02:00

The weather is finally getting cooler. Whenever this time of the year comes around I get the overwhelming feeling that I just want to sleep. It's as though my body has to slow down and adjust to the change. So today I took the afternoon and evening off and climbed into bed and slept for a few hours. It's only the beginning of the week and I'm looking forward to the weekend... so I can sleep. After I get used to the change in the weather I'll be ready to have some adventures. ... still waiting for licence plates for the new car... maybe tomorrow...

Too tired to bother cooking lunch, I took the picture above while I waited for Yusef to get some shawarma for us. A typical street scene - Notice the shop in the middle that's selling exterior house paint, and the house behind it that is unpainted, African street cleaners who are taking care of the garbage and sweeping up the sand that piles up on the edges of the roads, cars across the street and in the mirror.

The sky was overcast today... and I felt overcast too. It was so nice to have a lazy afternoon and evening at home.

Finally

2010-12-11T00:51:00.001+02:00

I came home from work yesterday to find a new car in the driveway... well, not brand new, but new for me. Yeah! We need to get insurance and the registration sorted out and then it will be ready to take me on new adventures.

In the evening I went out with a friend in the old car. We were driving along, chatting away, just as happy as could be, and all of a sudden steam started shooting out of the front of the car and the temperature gauge shot up to the hottest temperature. I managed to pull the car over to the side of the road. I think it must have known that it's replacement had arrived. My friend and I decided to just abandon it. My husband went over later and picked it up.

That old car has taken me on lots of adventures and I think that I've spent a good part of my life in it taxiing everyone around..... kind of sad in a way to be putting the poor old thing to rest.... sniff, sniff...

Bumper to bumper traffic

2010-11-30T23:37:00.000+02:00

The traffic situation during the summit that's being held here has really been a pain. They've closed off roads in all kinds of places and you have to plan your trip carefully to avoid getting stuck someplace. Was this the last day of this craziness? I hope so, because I've got a life to get on with.

More driving headaches are a bunch of new potholes in the main road that goes through Ain Zarah. Maybe I shouldn't call them potholes - they are more like trenches. And there are huge holes in the middle of the 'Khamsa Shwara' intersection. Someone suggested that it's turned into a roundabout. I don't know why they don't just fill in the holes. I guess they are waiting for a few people to get killed first.

In the Google Earth picture below you can see the brick place I drive past every day - see how the earth is red from the clay the bricks are made from? The huge trucks that load and unload the bricks are eroding away the sides of the already narrow Ain Zarah road there so that cars have to veer towards the middle of the road to avoid falling off the paved area - usually they veer into oncoming traffic. In the picture you can see a dark area alongside the road on the opposite side where the road is crumbling away. I know it doesn't look like much at first glance, but compare it's size to the cars on the road. The trucks are not just loaded with bricks - they are OVERloaded and dangerous. Once I witnessed a truck flip over when it tried to turn in. There were bricks everywhere and by some miracle no one got killed or hurt. One day if I have a few minutes extra I'm going to stop in at the brick place and have a word with them about it... they are the ones causing the problem in that part of the road, the least they can do is fill in the holes their trucks are creating - and make the road a little bit safer. Of course they will probably just look at me like I'm some kind of lunatic. Maybe I am... sigh..

This picture was taken about three and a half months ago. It must be very early in the morning because there is hardly any traffic in the picture. The road looks much worse now.

I was exhausted by the time I got home today. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I think I'm going to crawl into my bed and stay there.

The Rumor Mill

2010-11-24T16:20:00.000+02:00

There's is big excitement in Libya these days. The country is playing host to the 3rd AU/EU Summit that will take place on the 29th and 30th of November. There are clean-up crews in all the streets and roads making sure everything is spic and span. The shop doors on the main roads have all been painted with a fresh coat of green paint. Flag poles are being put up in strategic locations and there is a strong presence of security as it's been reported that 80 heads of state will be in attendance.

I looked around on the net to see what I could find out about the summit and I really couldn't find much. I found this link: African Union Summit that says the theme is Investment, economic growth and job creation. The downloadable programme lists an opening statement and lunches, banquets and a group photo. Apparently nothing else has been planned because for each plenary session the topics all say 'to be defined'. It doesn't sound like much will be happening, but I bet you can pretty much count on at least one very, very, very, very, very,very long speech.

In the mean time, everyone is talking about the summit, specifically about the security measures surrounding the big event. Here are some of the things I've heard - and always the people saying them claim they have an 'official source' of someone who is 'in the know'. Some of them are pretty ridiculous!

A public holiday will be called - no school, no work.
Hospitals will be closed.
All shops will be closed
Barack Obama will be in attendance
The roads will be closed in the centre of Tripoli
The roads in Benashur will be closed
The roads into and out of Tripoli will be closed
the entire event will be moved to Sirte at the last minute
The internet will be shut off
all the country's money will be given to poor African countries
There will be a curfew - anyone caught outside on the streets will be shot on sight
The baker's will all be closed and there will be no bread in Libya
etc. etc. etc.

So, tell me.... what has your 'official source' told you? Click on comments...

I'm off to the baker's.... going to stock up........ Thank God I've got plenty of gadeed!

Results......

2010-11-23T06:39:00.000+02:00

...... benign.... elhamdulillah! Some of my students told me 'Elf Mabrouk!' which roughly translated means 'one thousand congratulations'... all I could think was that one thousand is just way too small a number... I have soooooo much to be thankful for. I am just blown away... relief... wow! ... I really don't even know what to say... speechless...

Cleaning up

2010-11-19T18:34:00.001+02:00

Tomorrow's the end of the Eid break. The kids are bored and spend most of their waking hours fighting with each other. There have been lots of dishes to wash this past week. Really big pots and pans, the kind you have to wash in the garden with the hose because they don't fit in the sink. This has been the girl's job this year. We still have to finish off the gadeed tonight so there will be more dishes for them to wash.

By the way, Nora's osban (Libyan sausage) turned out even better than her aunt's sausage in the taste contest they had at my mother in law's house! I put this up to the fact that Nora put her heart and soul into making it (and she didn't have anyone to distract her with gossip while she did it). This is a big relief for me because now it means she can be our family's official osban maker. Now, when my husband decides he needs a huge dose of cholesterol we can put Nora to work making the offal (awful) stuff.

How am I doing? Well, once, and only once this week, I really yelled at the kids. That was because I found Ibrahim standing on top of the kitchen counter, swinging a broom at the light fixtures that hang from the ceiling and also trying to hit Sara, who was provoking the whole event. So of course I screamed and shouted. I should have left them destroy the house. I regret yelling now.... I think it set me back a week. One thing that has helped - I have found joy in Sue Bee clover honey... 100% American.... none of this pretend honey Libyans cheat each other with for me. A few tablespoons a day makes my throat feel so much better.

I will be happy when everyone is back to school and work.

Thanks, recovery and Eid preparations

2010-11-15T22:05:00.001+02:00

Special thanks to the staff of Central Hospital, Shara Zawia -Tripoli for taking such great care of me. My surgery went as planned and I am on the mend. Actually, I was in the hospital at 8am and out by 3pm - so it was a short stay. Everything ran according to plan, like a well-oiled machine. The staff were friendly and efficient, the hospital was clean and I was given VIP treatment. Now it's time for me to heal and wait for the pathology report.

I rested at home the remainder of the day, sleeping off the anesthesia. Sara made me wonderful lentil soup and Yusef went to the shop and got me a huge assortment of fresh fruit; navel oranges, three kinds of apples, bananas and melons imported from Italy. It still hurts to swallow anything but I am feeling better. Soon enough I'll be able to yell at the kids even louder than before.

This morning Sara and I went out to do some shopping and run some errands. After a while I got tired and just stayed in the car and let Sara get out to get what we needed. Traffic was crazy with last minute Eid shoppers and pick-up trucks piled full of sheep. We made it home and I went straight to bed for a nap. When I got up there was hot chicken soup, compliments of Sara and Yusef.

Everything is ready for tomorrow's Eid celebration. The sheep is awaiting his fate - locked up in the garage. All the equipment has been laid out for an early morning start. Nora has prepared all the ingredients for osban (Libyan sausage) - my house smells like chopped onions and fresh parsley. Sara made two HUGE pizzas that we can heat up and snack on tomorrow. More soup for me.

I wish you all a blessed Eid.

Eid - a break from work??

2010-11-12T16:53:00.004+02:00

I've been working almost non-stop since September and now I am officially on Eid break. Eid Aladha, or Eid Alkabir (the big Eid) as many Libyans call it is an Islamic holiday. My break will last a week and then it's back to work again. Am I going to rest and take it easy this week?... of course not! Eid this year falls on November 16th. At least that's what was in the Libyan newspapers here. In the past there's been disputes over the days - Libya celebrating before anyplace else in the world. We'll see what happens this year.

Eid is lots of hard work - it involves slaughtering a sheep and dealing with cutting up all the meat. I dry quite a lot of the meat, making what's called gadeed, a kind of jerky - I've posted the procedure and pictures in the past here: Gadeed

Actually I'm looking forward to Eid this year. The kids are getting older and help out quite a bit. Nora says she's going to make osban (a kind of sausage) this year, and Yusef will be a huge help to his father for the gory slaughter. There will be plenty of in-laws to visit too.

In order to prepare for all of this I'll have to go shopping. I have most of what I need, I'm just getting mostly cleaning supplies, a case of cooking oil and salt and Pepsi. Libyans can't seem to eat grilled meat with out Pepsi for some reason. Of course while I'm out shopping I will buy a whole bunch of other things that I probably don't need. But that's all part of the deal.

And if all that is not enough for one week, I've got some medical stuff to deal with - minor out patient surgery. Nothing exciting, so don't worry. I'll be in and out in a few hours. It's going to be one heck of a busy week. I'll try to post something if I get a chance. In the meantime, have a peaceful and safe Eid.

Furniture shopping

2010-11-06T17:06:00.000+02:00

Since we moved in (over a year ago) I've been procrastinating about furnishing the guest room that is outside next to the garage. I decided that this was going to be the weekend it got done. Yusef and I went out this morning and we picked out and bought a desk, bookcase and sofabed set. The furniture has been delivered and the bookcase and desk are being installed as I type. I even got a wireless extender so there will be internet out there. Tomorrow the air conditioner will be installed and the kitchenette soon afterwards. I need to have some curtains made and installed. Progress is being made!

Hopefully someone will come for a visit now. In the meantime it's going to be used as an office and a quiet place to study.

Lovely Rita

2010-10-27T23:04:00.001+02:00

We've got a new dog. She came to us. It's weird... I'll try to explain...

The other day as I was heading off to work, I had to drive down our road to turn the car around in order to head in the right direction down the dirt road that leads from our house. I noticed a stray dog in the distance. I stopped the car and watched as it slowly approached. It was limping. It would take a few steps, then stop to rest. Sometimes it would sit down for a bit and then it would get back up and proceed, ever so slowly, down the dusty road. It walked with a purpose. I just sat in the car and watched, mesmerized.

I said out loud 'That dog is coming to us. It's coming to our house.' And sure enough, as it reached our gate it stopped and laid down. At the same moment Yusef opened the gate and walked over to the dog and bent over to look at it. He stood up and called out 'Take the side road.' - There are two roads leading to our house that run parallel to each other. I slowly drove down the side away from Yusef and the dog. I looked in the rear view mirror and by the time I reached the end of the road Yusef had brought the dog into the safety of our garden and closed the gate. I let out a sigh. We have a new dog.

Later Yusef called to ask me to bring home anti-biotic cream and eye ointment. The poor dog's paw was injured as well as one of it's eyes. She's a lovely little dog, not a puppy but still quite young, with smooth soft black fur and a cheerful disposition. She has taken up residence, sitting directly in front of the door to the house where she guards us as though she has been our dog all her life. We took her to the vet and he put her on anti-biotics and gave her a tetanus shot. Her eye is already clearing up but it will take a while for her paw to heal. Ibrahim named her Rita. I'm not sure where he found this name - but it suits her.

Look what Jenna found

2010-10-23T20:31:00.001+02:00

Jenna found a cute little toad in the garden this evening. He's so sweet and very difficult to photograph!

Nora tried to kiss it to see if it would turn into a prince... but it jumped out of her hand and tried to escape!

Riding through the week

2010-10-14T20:28:00.001+02:00

I've had my nose to the grindstone all week. Out the door early in the morning as the sun is rising, home for a quick bite to eat and to change my clothes mid afternoon, out the door again, and then finally coming home at night.

All I've seen of the outdoors has been while driving the car. There really wasn't much to see. The weather was bad this week - sandstorms turned everything a dirty brown colour and made the air feel so thick you could bite off a piece and chew it. It made my eyes feel itchy, my throat feel scratchy and my chest feel wheezy. The weather seemed to be affecting everyone this week. I saw lots of fender benders on my way about town. A few of them resulted in drivers jumping out of their vehicles to have violent fistfights in the middle of the road. Of course traffic always comes to a halt while the hotheads sort out their situations. Entertainment!

One morning, at the beginning of the week, on my way through Fashloum, a neighbourhood of Tripoli, I drove past a burnt out car and lots of police men, all of them wielding billy clubs. Nothing was going on, whatever had happened was over with. Later I heard from various people that a drunken cop had killed someone... bad boys... bad boys... whatcha gonna do? LOL! Ugggh... Fashloum is just one step above a trailer park.. or maybe it's a step below. At the end of the week the burnt out car was still there. I expect it will be there for a long time because there are burnt out cars and wrecks lining the roads and countryside all over. No one seems to be bothered by them. I've decided to consider them art... sculpture!

The best thing that happened this week was my hairdresser calling to say she'd returned. She has been gone for three months.... three very, very long months! I went to visit her today and made an appointment to have 'the works'. By this time next week I will look human again!

I'm very ready for the weekend!

My favourite month - October

2010-10-09T00:03:00.000+02:00

Nothing exciting has been happening in my life lately (thank God). I've been enjoying my weeks and savouring my weekends.

The kids are back to school, with the exception of Yusef. I'm looking for a tutor for him... Arabic is such a complicated language...sigh... imagine having to repeat the year because you failed one subject (Arabic) by two marks... one subject by two marks...sigh.. depressing. He's being allowed to retake just Arabic. I need to find someone who can pound Arabic into his hard head. I am soooo happy that it wasn't English that he failed - I can blame the Arabic on his father!

The weather is changing. Last week there were a couple of hot, muggy, humid days, but for the most part it's been lovely. I've been doing things in the garden and getting some fall cleaning done inside the house. I was out in the garden this morning... it's that time of year again - tortoise mating season - a very noisy business...clunk, clunk, clunk! The tortoises in our garden have been very busy!

The garden will look so much nicer when the house finally gets painted - by the way, we added a cockatiel to our menagerie recently. I read on the internet that they can be taught to speak so I shout out 'Paint the house!' every time I walk by it's cage in the hope that it will learn the phrase. I'm so tired of saying it to hubby. He mentioned this morning that he was thinking of painting the iron work either yellow or orange. I hope he was joking because if he does that I will definitely have a heart attack and then I won't have the strength to strangle him.

October.... my birthday is this month, but better than that is Halloween. I'm on the lookout for ORANGE pumpkins.... so far I can only find big dark green ones.

Where would you go?

2010-10-01T12:25:00.000+02:00

If you won a ticket to anyplace in Europe where would you go? Rome? Paris? Vienna? Someplace in Scandinavia? A popular tourist spot? Someplace romantic or someplace quiet? Would you go to a place rich in history and culture, or a place well known for parties and excitement? Maybe you would use the tickets to visit friends and family. Would you extend your finger and spin a globe, travelling to the place where the tip of your finger landed when the globe stopped spinning?

I saw this today while looking on the whatson.ly site to see what was happening in Tripoli. There's a chance to win a ticket to anyplace in Europe from Tripoli. And it's not just one chance, it's four! And there's also a chance to win a trip to New York. Oh Yeah!

The link is here: Play and win with Lufthansa Tripoli Game

I'm off to the shops to buy a globe!

A Guest Post - Driving in Libya: The Thrill of the Chase

2010-09-23T16:34:00.001+02:00

The following is a guest post by: Expat Arrivals.com

Driving in Libya: The Thrill of the Chase

Driving in Libya is just short of a spiritual experience. Each innocent road trip is equivalent to something that resembles divine judgement – passengers bowing their heads before the scales of life and death.

Libya racks up more than 2,300 road deaths a year, a stunning statistic that is second highest in the world, and five times the EU average.

Expats moving to Libya and visitors coming to cleanse their souls in the desert should realize that driving is the country’s most dangerous contact sport; basic regard for safety is disregarded; law enforcement is lackadaisical; and the activity of getting from point A to point B is a time to do everything EXCEPT concentrate on the road.

It’s commonplace to look to the car beside you and see no driver, his head buried in the seat below looking for the cigarette he’s dropped. Or perhaps, you’ll pass a small-pick up cruising at break-neck speed around hairpin curves with a camel or pint-size pony waving to and fro on the bed in the back. There are also the veiled women that veer left and right without notice, their head scarves and burkas restricting peripheral vision, but not limiting their movement across the highway with little notice.

In one regard, these observations can be charming indicators of Libyan culture, on the other hand, they can be glaring examples of just how unsafe driving in Libya can actually be.

Though the roads in urban areas are paved and up to standard, as soon as drivers start to venture outside major centres the quality of the driving surfaces greatly deteriorate. The major highway along the seacoast merges into a single lane highway once outside a metropolis and drivers take the opportunity to put the pedal to the metal and reach top speeds with the beauty of the scenery turning into a blur of colour outside.

Wind-blown sand can often reduce visibility, and at night, drivers in Libya are also competing for road space with the odd camel, the domestic animal who’s been inspired by a bit of wanderlust, and the massive pothole.

The lack of law enforcement also acts as a directive for drivers to take risks and openly disregard the vague traffic regulations that do exist.

If driving in Libya there are certainly some Do’s and Don’ts that expats and visitors should be aware of:

Make sure you have all the necessary documents to drive in Libya (a license and yellow car booklet)
Check the state of your vehicle often, especially prior to longer trips
Enroll in a ‘Defensive Driving’ course locally
Research your route beforehand, create as much of a calm driving experience as possible
Be alert, anything can happen
Double check intersections even after the lights turn green

DON’T

Start driving without the necessary papers and insurance
Leave home without a spare tire or a vehicle in questionable condition, road side assistance is easily accessed and is often entirely in Arabic
Begin a long journey without letting a third party know
Lose your cool and get frustrated
Be in a hurry
Try and predict another driver’s actions

Crawling

2010-09-20T16:41:00.000+02:00

Everything started yesterday.... schools - both public and private, and universities. Needless to say the traffic in and around Tripoli was crazy. A trip to pick up the kids that normally would take me about 20 minutes took me over 2 hours yesterday.

By the time I got home my leg was aching from the workout it got... break pedal ... gas pedal... break pedal... gas.... break.... gas.. gas.. break.. and so on, for most of the drive home.

Today it took me less time, but it was still over an hour. It will get better when all the students going to schools, institutes and universities sort out their bus situation. In the mean time we are all exhausted and I think we've all been poisoned from the exhausts we breathed all the way home.

Ibrahim got home and tossed his backpack aside, crashed out on the sofa. Within seconds he was asleep.

Training for Libyan nurses and healthcare workers

2010-09-19T21:29:00.001+02:00

Libya suffered through years and years of sanctions that prevented training such as this from happening in the past. Imagine what Libyan health care would be like now if there had never been sanctions. It will take a long time to catch up, but this looks like a promising beginning. I wish I had known about it, I would have loved to attend.

Some pictures

2010-09-17T02:13:00.000+02:00

My husband finally got a mobile phone that has a camera. He's been having a fun learning how to use it - most of the pictures he took had his finger taking up half the frame. These are some of the good/interesting pictures I found on the camera.

Marcos Aurelius's Arch - love the sky on this.

In the Medina.

The clock tower in the Medina... beautiful sky!

This is an advert about an eco-friendly program - renting bicycles.

Do you think Libyans would rent bikes to ride around Tripoli?

Men at a wedding.

Dangerous looking electrical wires in the Green Square next to the fountain... hundreds of people walk here every day? Pretty sad... sigh...

More wires.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eid and other events

2010-09-12T09:13:00.002+02:00

Eid is over and went smoothly.

I spent the first day at my in-laws. I sat until my bottom became numb and we ate the usual fasulia (navy beans in a spicy tomato sauce with meat) eaten with fateera (a flat oily bread), which I later regretted eating... ehem..ehem...

All the little kids looked so cute in their Eid clothes. My sister-in-laws have this thing about changing their kids clothes so that they can show off that they bought them three outfits. It seemed like every time I looked at the kids they were wearing something else and a few times I shook their hands a second time by mistake because I thought it was a child I hadn't seen yet. They would laugh and say 'Abla Khadija, you've already greeted me!'. There were lots of balloons and cheap plastic toys, noise and excitement and running and jumping (and some fighting too). It reminded me of what my kids were like when they were small and I counted my blessings that I was over that.

Day two of Eid - I stayed home for most of the day, only going to my in-laws in the late afternoon. It was just a repeat of the day before, just different sisters-in-law and different kids.

The last day of Eid marked the beginning of my husband's cousin's wedding. One event progressing into the next. There are two days left of the wedding to get through. I've had a lot of family in my life this week!

Today is also the first day of school. Jenna is the only one that went as she has plans to see her best friend. Nothing is accomplished on the first day of school - total chaos - the rest of my kids are waiting until tomorrow. By next week we'll all be back to the usual routine... I hope.

Coming to a close

2010-09-08T07:29:00.000+02:00

A few months ago we put out bird seed in the garden to attract birds that are in the area. A few of the millet seeds spouted and grew and we liked the look of the plants so much that we decided to plant some more in a section of our garden. The plants grew strong and tall, some reaching nearly 3 metres high. Not only is it pleasing to the eye but it also helps keep the sand from blowing and landing on the doorstep (happy to have less sweeping to do!). Now my garden is full of birds feasting on the millet. Sometimes there are over a hundred birds in my garden at one time! Such a joy to watch. We will definitely plant more next year.

Ramadan is coming to a close. We have one or possibly two more days of fasting left. Every year my normal routine has been to cross off each day on the calendar as soon as we finished breaking our fast for the day. But this year I didn't count the days - I enjoyed every one of them. I've had lots of time to rest, read, embrace the spiritual, visit with friends and family, and I spent lots of time with my husband and children. Many, many blessings to count.

There are a few things to tie up before the feast days following Ramadan. Hopefully we'll get the list of errands finished today.

Ibrahim sitting next to me at my desk, playing games on my laptop.

It rained today... this calls for a celebration!

2010-09-04T22:09:00.000+02:00

It rained off and on today. Not a steady downpour, just a light drizzle. But it was enough to settle the dust and cool the air a little.

The girls and I, along with a niece that's been staying with us for the last few days, went out in the afternoon to pick up some of the girls' friends so they could spend the evening at our house and share the fast breaking meal (iftar) with us. Two more nieces arrived at the house later in the afternoon. They all went to work getting our iftar ready. I helped out by making the soup.

The girls ate inside while hubby and I ate in peace in the garden. After we ate, the girls went in the kitchen to clean up. I am thankful to have a large kitchen! The table was pushed aside to make room for dancing..... because teen-aged Libyan girls have to dance while they do the dishes! They sang, they danced, and they made cupcakes too.

The girls are having a great time. I expect the music and dancing will last long into the night.

A change in the air

2010-09-03T03:34:00.000+02:00

In all the years that I have been in Libya (21), the first of September has always been really hot and really muggy. But this year was different. It was nice all day, nice enough to eat our iftar outside in the garden. After we ate, we stayed outside until late in the night. As the temperature dropped, Jenna went in the house and came back wrapped in her blanket and I got out a light wool shawl to throw over my bare shoulders. We sat under the stars and the moon and enjoyed the weather. It really felt as though autumn was in the air. The next morning we woke to hot weather once again.

Soon it will be Eid, I'm enjoying the last days of Ramadan. Soon we will be back to school and work.

Survived

2010-09-01T03:59:00.000+02:00

The in-laws finally made an appearance today. They had had to postpone their visit to me because of unexpected visitors. It all worked out fine. Everyone showed up at about 11 pm. Mother-in-law, six sisters-in-law, and most of their children (and they each have at least 5).

They decided to sit in the garden because I had the air conditioners running and they were all afraid they might get tonsillitis from the cold air. The garden worked out better because all the little kids could run around freely.

There was plenty to eat and drink and everyone had a merry time. The older girls went to work in the kitchen preparing all the trays and dishes and did all the serving, while the women sat in the garden under the moon and gossiped. I ran back and forth supervising the girls. After all the food had been served it was time to clean up. One by one, and two by two, my in-laws got up to leave - kisses all around. Off they went, taking their babies and children. I'm all set, until next year.

An interesting observation

2010-08-31T02:55:00.001+02:00

Do I detect a bit of competition going on?

Son goes off to Italy and gets 1 supermodel. Link here.
Baba goes off to Italy and gets 500 models. Link here.

Is anyone supposed to top that?

Day Time is Night Time

2010-08-29T04:25:00.000+02:00

I had a lovely visit with a good friend this evening. I took Sara and Jenna so they could visit with my friend's daughter. We talked and talked, and in no time at all it was 3 o'clock in the morning. On our way home I noticed almost every shop we passed was still open. The day has switched to night for Ramadan.

Will I survive this?

2010-08-27T16:18:00.000+02:00

I've invited my in-laws over to spend an evening and share suhoor with us. The girls have been careening around the house making sure there aren't any dust bunnies in the corners or any cobwebs hanging from anything. They're even cleaning under all the cushions... because they know their aunts will look there. I've been told to spruce up my desk and office area.

Yesterday Ibrahim and I bought a huge box of coloured chalk and a couple hundred balloons so that the kids will have something to do. I'm going to whisper 'water balloon fights' in Jenna's ear - that will keep them busy for a while. The kids will have a blast and my sister-in-laws will ~~never forgive~~ LOVE me. Last night hubby and I went grocery shopping for the big in-law event.

The first of the in-laws arrived, a niece, at 1:30. She walked into the house carrying a HUGE homemade cake and said she came early to help out. Bless her heart!

Well, I better get back to work. There's a lot of supervising that needs to be done.

Charity - A Pillar of Islam

2010-08-26T04:48:00.000+02:00

Charity in Islam comes in more than one form; zakat, which is the compulsory annual contribution of 2.5 percent of an individual’s wealth and assets, and sadaqah, or voluntary almsgiving, which is intended for the needy. The Quran emphasizes feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping those who are in need, and the more one helps, the more God helps the person, and the more one gives, the more God gives the person. One feels he is taking care of others and God is taking care of him.

There are many fund raising drives in Libya throughout the year, but especially during Ramadan. The main problem for me is that most of them are announced in Arabic - so I miss out on them. WhatsOn.ly has an announcement about a charity group that is feeding the needy during Ramadan. If you would like to make a donation or offer assistance you can find the information here: Ramadan Charity Event.