My Journey Out of Africa

One week from today I will be leaving Africa, if God wills it.

Saying goodbye to everything and everyone when I feel like I have just begun to get the hang of things is strange. Difficult to describe, this strangeness and paradox of emotions has been my norm. There has been this ironic tension of my emotional state here. A continual happiness to be here, readiness for the comforts of home and awareness of my inadequacies.

I think I will always associate Djibouti with irony, paradox and contrast. My internal tumultuous roller coaster is vividly complemented by the desert dry land contrasting the sunsets over the water; the colorful houses and clothes splashed against a rundown backdrop of dilapidated buildings and corrugated tin.

Comfort is my first thought about America. Plush over-sized armchairs, the aroma of Starbucks and the a/c come to the forefront of my memories of America, but Africa has shown me those things are dispensable. Comfort does not lead to growth. My continual longing for and awareness of the contrast of emotions has lead to growth. Hopefully growth that will last.

But more than general physical surroundings, relationships are where life is truly lived.
Friends will be missed. The gracious hospitality and acceptance they showed me is more than I could have ever asked for. I have been so beautifully blessed.

While I say good bye to these friends, I know I'm returning to a hopeful future with jobs to apply for, family to hug, and friends to reconnect with. Family....I can't wait to see my family.

Goodbye Sweet Sweaty Africa. Hello Again Dear America.

Laxoox on a Rainy Day

There was a thunderstorm last night. The air felt cool this morning. But it made the dirt roads became mud that was nearly impassable.

After carefully trekking around small puddles and large lakes (there was even a large hose pumping water out of an extremely flooded neighborhood), we spent the afternoon at our friend's house making laxoox (its similar to a large sour pancake) and watching various movies that we didn't finish.

Djiboutians eat laxoox everyday. It requires pre-making with intense mixing. When our neighbors make it at night it sounds like someone is beating a drum. Then the yeast is allowed to sour for at least 8 hours and it is cooked like a pancake on a flat grill pan (see the above photo of my lovely roommate)...minus the flipping. It is important that one side have "eyes" or bubbles.


Fun Fun.

Good Night Moon

It's too hot to sleep inside.

So we sleep on the roof.

It is beautiful and you can see the stars.

It requires setting up a tent every night.

I'm not much of a camper...but life in Djibouti has basically been an extended camping trip.
It has all the same amenities of a KOA, minus the paved bike trail, air-conditioned registration office, free swimming pool and miniature golf course.

Fresh Mint Ice Cream

So yesterday I infused condensed milk with fresh mint, which I then used to make homemade ice cream. It didn't taste anything like Breyer's white mint chocolate chip.

I'm telling you this because four unimportant things in my daily life combined for this result.

Firstly, I have been learning to cook in Africa. My teammate is a terrific cook, she can make broccoli cheddar soup from scratch and created a cookbook which is carried in bookstores around the world. This has led me to read far too many food blogs. And to various cooking failures including: a Thanksgiving apple tart that wouldn't come out of the pan, and my inability to re-heat anything without a microwave.

Secondly, I am loosing a battle with heat rash. I desperately want to eat ice cream. But ice cream can't be brought home from a store on a 30 minute bus ride without a/c when it is over 100.

Thirdly, my roommate and teammate found this herb garden! Fresh basil (which led to successful pesto), fresh mint and other unidentified herbs.

Fourthly, the president declared his inauguration day a national holiday. This meant no work, all errands must be postponed and the power will be on all day. After watching two movies, I decided I needed to do something else.

Thus, fresh mint ice cream.

Somali Proverbs

Proverbs share a lot about a culture, so here are a few local proverbs:

"He that is shy will never shine."

"A man who brags about himself is like a goat who suckled himself."

"The man who saw the camel in the sky, threw away the donkey in his yard."

"Your first lie kills your second truth."

"If a man doesn't work, he doesn't drink tea."

"When you come to a village where everyone is blind, pluck out your eye."

"Put your woman in the house or in the grave."

How You Doing?

So every American knows that the cheesiest pick up line is Joey's "How you doing", which actually meant something along the lines of "I'm hot, you're hot, let's get together".

It seems like the French equivalent (Ca Va?) is reduced to a similar form by various groups of people.

For example, beggar children will run down the street or sing together a little chorus of "Ca Va"s, but what they really mean is, "Give me money since you are white and rich".

Also, men will come up to any white woman who is in the market, quite similarly to Joey and say "Ca Va?". But instead of this meaning "let's get together because you're hot", it means "let's get together, because I need an American visa".

Each of these encounters leaves me feeling a variety of different ways. But in the end, I just want to throw a "How you doing?" back in their face.

Sambussa

The other day, my dear friend taught me how to make sambussa, a little fried meat pocket (doesn't that sound appetizing...meat pocket).

Her baby was crying and since I was only on meat-stirring duty, I got to hold all 20 pounds of the beautiful baby, while the fan was off because the fan blows the gas-lit flames away from the pan. So enough complaining.

Let me share my new found sambussa making knowledge.

First step: Mix the dough wrapping.

Second step: Cook the meat with A LOT of onions.

Third step: Roll out the dough into flat circles, toast it, then cut the circles into fourths.


Fourth step: Fold the fourths into small pockets, fill with dough and seal.

Fifth step: Fry, fry, fry.



And there it is a beautifully tasty, fat-filled snack.