Hey Everyone - Welcome to my first blog post from Somaliland.
First, check out a map of Somalia. It is roughly shaped like the number seven is found on the eastern edge of the African continent, touching the Red Sea in the north and stretching out into the Indian Ocean in the east. In the northwest of the country there is an autonomous region called Somaliland. This is where I live.
I share a four bedroom house with three roommates/colleagues in Hargeisa, the capital of the region. The house is big and cold, with much of the sun blocked by the walls topped with barbed wire that surround the yard. The house can get very dark and everything echoes because of the high ceilings, tile floors, and sparsely decorated walls. We have electricity, wi-fi (most of the time), and TV though. It's the little things that count.
As far as amenities, we also have a microwave, lots of coffee accoutrements, and a juicer. We even have two fridges, but due to a recent history of electrical fires, we can't actually use both of them. Additionally, only one sink in the house has a faucet knob for hot water and the showers don't actually shower you with water, but trickle you. It is like they are consistently tricking you into thinking that they might someday actually shower you with water, instead of just spitting on you, but never actually do. Some days I am tempted to give up and work the bucket shower angle, but have been too lazy to actually buy a bucket.
As far as the decor is concerned, it is over-stuffed and gaudy - or looks like the do-it-yourself cork board throw aways that you can find at IKEA. When I first saw our living room, with the plump couch pillows and synthetic gold curtains, it seemed that it fit the picture of what American troops might have found when they took over Saddam's place in Iraq; or what the rebels in Libya could have discovered when they overtook Ghadafi's former residence - ridiculous, over-the-top, and ugly, just like they were. At least the furniture is comfy.
Hargeisa is about 4300ft/1300m above sea level and as a result it has so far been wicked - yes, wicked - windy and cold. The temps are probably in the 60s or 70s during the day and in the 50s at night. This might seem pretty perfect, especially if you are reading this from anywhere on the east coast of the U.S. in December or January; but even in pants, a long shirt, a sweater, and my head covered - my fingertips, toes, and nose are still as warm as icicles.
It is true that I am always cold, but here everyone else is too. In the sun, it feels like southern California. In the shade, it feels like fall in New England. Seriously, I am ready to break out the wool mittens. Yes, I brought a pair.
Hargeisa is very hilly and sandy, spotted with some green vegetation in the form of low bushes and skinny trees, for the most part. There are also large cactus bushes that have taken over patches of the town, seemingly strangling certain areas and begging to jump the paved(ish) roads in others. I never thought that cacti could look so menacing. The huge tangles of cacti look as if they are waves about to break, on the edge of pushing across the roads, down the hills, and swallowing up the town like a cactus tsunami. Creepy.
