Snowflakes in Libya

Libya & Power of perception

2009-06-22T16:44:00.000+02:00

Lately we hear a lot about integration issues in some European countries. We all know the story. Sad to say it is mostly people with Muslim religion which find that they have problems "integrating" in life in their country of choice. Even sadder to say it is mostly people from quite rich European countries which have the problem with "integration" of this particular group of immigrants.

Now, in my opinion these kind of problems existed, exist and will exist in any country in the world. Forever. They are probably never going to be solved completely. So many reasons, one of the less obvious ones is - What are we all going to talk about then? Imagine the boredom. No talk about "these Moroccans coming to France and being rude", "Those Arabs coming to US and bombing stuff", "Those Turks in Netherlands tsc-tscking to Dutch girls", "Those black Africans coming to Libya and breaking in the houses", "Those Algerians in Libya, lazy bastards" "Those Egyptians in Libya, sweet talking liars". (And I guess I better point out here that I am being sarcastic now.) Even if you go to a pure tourist country, where foreigners stay only few weeks at best, locals will always make fun of them, grouped by, say what? Nationality of course.

Integration is not a nice word any more, since it got negative ring to it over time. To start with, the whole idea was born a bit too late. That's how things are done I guess. Most governments are reactive, not proactive.

On the human level, I believe it is the fear of the unknown and fear of change in many of the countries that causes people to behave in strange ways. I hear it in Libya as well- "Go Home Comments" I mentioned in one post is a perfect example of it. The fear that there is someone different, with different culture, opinion, religion and family background who comes often in big numbers to your country that makes locals go berserk. You hear them whispering on the corners "What will happen to us all?", "This is bad..", "She is different..", "What if some of us change..", "What will become of us?"...

So why am I writing this then?
Integration problems in Europe are established. How to solve them, is something that we will be hearing for a long time. Many governments talk a lot and do little. But there is other side of the story as well. "The other way around". How do home countries of these immigrants to Europe treat their own immigrants?

I am an expat, not an immigrant. But as one, I face very similar problems as any other immigrant. I lived in several foreign countries for extended periods of time. Most of those countries were culturally and politically very different from mine. Admittedly, I did not like some of them. Admittedly, I did not "integrate" well in some either since it is easier to just move in expat circles. As expat, I know that I am not going to live in current country forever and that, at times, influences my integration attempts. Expats are a curious sort. We are temp immigrants. And because of that, we are always in minority and at the receiving end of discrimination. As one Libyan told me once - we come, take their money, behave different, generally cause problems (not specified which ones), and then we leave. And to top it off, it's their own government that gave blessing to us being here in the first place. And that can cause resentment.

Not that there is no resentment towards thousand of real immigrants from Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey. They are looked down to, since Libyans as we all know are after all a superior beings. Immigrants from Mali, Niger,Togo, Chad, Sudan, Benin, Ghana, Gabon etc are treated worst. Most of them are here illegally and most are barely treated as humans. I had several illegal workers doing some work for me at different times and the way that their boss talked to them was disgusting.

My personal resentment toward life in Libya is directly linked to how locals behave to me. If someone yells obscene things at you in the street, if people generally stare at you it will not be long before you start disliking the country. And even taking into account the differences in cultures, there is a bottom line in all human relationships - decency and respect. And neither one of many prejudices I face on everyday basis here is caused by having either. These are just some of them.
I am white and blond and do not cover, so I am a slut. I am foreigner, therefore I am rich and should pay higher price than local does and have to resort to bribery to get things done. I am atheist, so I must be what? Insane? Soulless? I am here for the money so I am less worthy. The list goes on.
And all of this examples are disrespectful towards me. Would you treat your mother the same? Hell, maybe you would....

So trust me, I understand how a Muslim person might feel living in some of European countries. There is discrimination against them as well, there are prejudices.
They are backward because their woman "have to" cover. They are stubborn since they do not speak the language. They are at times, even terrorists because several fanatics with Muslim religion blowed up something. Their children are more likely to grow up criminals (dubious statistics), therefore all are criminals. They form strong communities with each other, therefore they do not "cooperate" well in local community.

The only difference is that governments of some European countries are trying to rectify things. Put up laws against discrimination. Help immigrants integrate. Give more opportunities. Form support groups. They at least try to rectify things on legal level. It is not enough, the damage is done and much more has to be done much faster. But at least there is talk.

You want to wear a headscarf to school and to work and not be stared at. I want to be able to wear what I want as well and not be stared at. How does that sound? Could it be, uhm, Same?

The bottom line is that both situations hurt us all on a personal level. I don't give a shit about your government, and you don't give a shit about mine. What we do care about is how citizens of a country we live in treat us. That's what matters.

You want your culture to be respected, your religion to be accepted, your lifestyle to be left alone. And I want the same for myself. So we could all start by extending this courtesy to immigrants in our own countries.

I always treated immigrants (if I am bothered enough to distinguish) in my own country with human decency and respect. And I always will. Because you see, I know I am not better than them. And because I do not believe that treating someone else as bad as I am treated here will make things better. For him, for her, and most importantly (humans are selfish beings) for me.

Libya & Trash Everywhere

2009-04-27T13:04:00.005+02:00

Lately we noticed people working next to airport road. They seemed to be collecting trash along the road. They pick up vast amounts of trash along the road and pack them in blue plastic bags. Shocking, no?
Shocking because even the most newbie expat (and non-expat) to Libya notices culture of trash here.

Only recently and only in some areas of Tripoli there is organized trash collection. Well, organized to an extent. The trucks used for collection are more often than not run down DAFs from the 60s. The sides of truck-bed are made higher with cardboard boxes or old spring mattresses. The crew stands on the trash pile in the back (!) and poor guys have to use their hands to sort through the trash so it wouldn't fall of the truck. One guy is on the street level and he is in charge of getting the trash bag and flinging it to other guy on top of the trash pile. Sometimes people do not use plastic trash bags but just pour their trash in the can. Then, the whole can has to be flung to the top to be emptied. It is horrible job and no one should be working in those conditions. But hey, they are not Libyans so thats ok!

Now, when we go on trips out in the country, very often we see huge piles of trash strewn across the nature. It sure makes it difficult to snap trash free pic. It looks like some of those "organized" trash collection companies are taking shortcuts to deposit. If there is an official trash depot in Tripoli, which I doubt. Maybe there is even a high-tech trash burning facility hidden somewhere?

Now, this organized trashing of the Libyan nature aside, there is also unorganized and much more personal trashing going on. Every day, anywhere you go there is a huge chance that you will see a Libyan casually flinging coffee cup, plastic bag, cigarette, cigarette box and what not out of his/her car window. Once I counted 23 trash objects flung out from 21 different car windows while driving or waiting on the traffic light. 2 of them threw out several things in a succession. Spring cleaning perhaps? And you know what, none of these people looked even slightly embarrassed.
It is considered normal here. They just do not understand the concept of a trash bin. Maybe they do not understand it because there barely are trash cans put up by the community. Maybe because they just do not get that what they throw out of their window will end up in their plate in the end.

I can not comprehend how can people be so uneducated about the effect of the trash. Hell, I take it back, this is not only education, this is pure common sense. If you do not want to have it in your bloody car, why do you want to have it next to the road?? Why can you not wait until you can put it in a trash bin?? This approach as it is not-their-problem once it is out of the window is mind boggling for me.

I have seen cats with plastic bags hanging out of their buts. They eat the trash which is flung all around the nature in Libya. I have seen dogs with plastic bags hanging out of their buts too. Shocked with vulgarity? Do not be, you probably help it happen. How many plastic bags you have in your car after you finished shopping in Tripoli? 20? 30? You think I am exaggerating?
Here, individual bottle of shampoo is packed into separate plastic bag so it would not, god forbid, touch yogurt bottle. The fact that fridge in which said yogurt bottle sits in, is not working half of the time is not a problem. But hey, we would not want it to be touching with something so dangerous as a closed shampoo!! I had tugging wars at the beginning where I would pack everything in the same bag and packing helper would take it all out (!) and spread it through 10 different plastic bags. I tried bringing canvas bag into shops, but I admit I gave up after too many strange situations.

Here, we have a big garden and by default, every time wind spell ends I go around and collect flown in trash. I climb the trees, I crawl into bushes, I fish it out of the pool. Plastic bags, cookie packages, crisps bags, ice-cream cartons, coffee cups, chocolate wrappers etc. My trees looked this winter like haunted Christmas trees with all the plastic stuff hanging and dancing on their branches. Now, the leaves came out and I can pretend I do not see it anymore.

When they do not fling it out, they sure burn it. My northern neighbours are experts in it. Every week several times they pile up their trash and light it up. Of course the smell aside, trash burned on low temperatures tends to emit toxic chemicals which then end up in my lungs. And sadly, since children absorb 6 times more pollution through their lungs than adults, it also ends up in their childrens lungs. The health impact is staggering, but no one here cares. Some of the most dangerous things to burn are PVC products, coloured papers, and food wrappers. Hm, could it be....

When we first came here, we looked for a nice private beach where I can sunbathe. We eventually found one west of Sabratha. It was cool place and I enjoyed being there. But. To get there we had to drive through salt planes which were covered with so much trash of such amazing variety that for first several times we went there I had to snap tons of pics. Just so people back home would believe me.
Now, situation has not changed for the better and we stopped going there.

It is devastating situation, and one that will have influence on every human being and every animal that will live in these areas for hundreds of years. But hey, all is good right? As long as Libyans get nice new cars and some extra petty cash from oil. That is how it is now.

I believe you can see development of a country by how it treats its trash. And immigrants, but that's another post. In Libya it is crystal clear how developed it is. Current priority of citizens is to have flashy new cars and mobile phones and spend as much money as they can on trivia. Its all about money here and how you show it to your neighbors. And its fine. It is human nature. And understanding what happens with trash when we are done with it does not mean you can't have that flashy car..

As for Libyan government? They will eventually realize the escalating problem with trash they have on their hands and start to deal with it. Now the priority is to put enormous amount of oil money into urban development of Tripoli in the vain hope Tripoli will one day resemble Dubai . So it is understanding that there is nothing left to build one decent trash plant? Recycling yard? One pathetic plot of land? No?

Something nice

2009-04-07T14:23:00.004+02:00

*Courtesy of YouTube.

Libya & Spring

2009-04-01T12:17:00.008+02:00

P.S. Maybe some of you noticed that some pictures from this post are missing now. Well, that would be because blogger is acting out again. Will fix it another day..

Libya & Heat Wave

2009-03-29T17:05:00.003+02:00

I mean - What the heck?!

I am sitting in my living room sweating like a pig. I try not to rest my hands on laptop as I type since it is too hot. I try to keep my feet planted on the floor tiles which were cool few hours ago. Now in order to cool my feet I have to move them a bit left and then right once I heat up the spot. Even my head feels hot. I drink ice water with lemon wedges.

However I refuse to put airco on, since it is only March. MARCH. And since it will just make matters worse if I go out for even a sec.

We measured 38C yesterday. In shade. Today is a bit cooler (but house heated up since I figured its going to be cool today and left all doors open all night - HA!!) - 32C. That bloody gibli was blowing yesterday adding more sand into the house. At least I think it was gibli - sure was hot enough.

Its all making me feel like its summer. Only its not. Ah, the beauty of Libya.

If only I had cold beer in the fridge...

Libya & Power of Speech

2009-03-22T11:10:00.000+01:00

I noticed this pattern in behavior long time ago. And it has been bugging me since. I am referring to comments that Libyans leave on different blogs (mine included). Now, this is about Libyans that leave comments, I am sure that there are plenty out there who think differently but do not bother to comment.

Every time I read about some even slightly sensitive topic (and trust me, ALL topics on Libya are sensitive), there are at least 10 comments telling that person off. And its always the same. Commentator will say something along the lines - you are wrong, its not like that.

Once I stumbled upon a blog entry of local Libyan girl. She was saying that (some) young woman in Libya are not happy with having to wear head cover. She was saying that there is no real choice, because if a girl/woman does not wear it, society (often male part of it) pushes it on her. She wished that Libya is more tolerant and that young woman had more choice in their lives.

The answers were as usual. Several comments just claimed that - Libyan woman like to wear head covering so she is wrong. Several commentators said that that men do not care either way, but woman in Libya are free to do what they want and they ALL want to wear it. Between these 2 types of comments there was a third one - "We love Libya, Libya is beautiful country". I see it often here, this need to proclaim that Libya is best country in the world. Even if it would be, that is not an argument, but mere statement not supported by fact. Anyhow, it was just weird to read.

On blog entries such as that one, poor blogger is going to be attacked from all sides to "show" that it is not like that in Libya.

The whole thing reminds me of sheeps. One goes certain way and all have to follow. "Black" sheep is going to be attacked from all sides and pushed back into the herd. And clubbed over the head for misbehaving. But that is if Libyan says something "wrong".

But if you are a foreigner and you write something Libyans disagree with? The response is swift and to the point - leave Libya! (emphasized by stomping their little leg on the sand road).

I must ask - why is that? Why is it that if I write something you disagree with, your comment is so extreme? Not only I should stop writing it, I should LEAVE Libya completely. Why can you not handle different opinion or point of view?

I have received several comments which end with - Go Home. Some of them are published, some are not. So I ask you - are there only 2 options here - agree with Libyans (that comment) and write only what they "approve of" or Go Home?

Libya & Why Me God?

2009-03-10T00:50:00.000+01:00

Ah, there we go. You know how every bad deed goes punished? Or so they try to teach us in primary schools? Well, maybe not any more, but they used to.

Well, I obviously did something wrong. And now the Wrath is upon me. Or it is just a coincidence?

First there was a toilet. Then it broke. And not just broke, no-no, it leaked. Leaked! All over the floor. And does our bathroom have a drain on the floor? Well of course it does. And are the tiles tilted towards it? DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!!!!! Naturally, they tilt toward the bedroom. And did the toilet at least have the decency to leak loudly so I can hear it and start jumping around in a clown manner? (You know, that little frantic dance you do when you are pissed off and no one is watching?) Well, of course it didn't (insert manic laugh here)!! The bastard leaked in silence.

Just when I moped the floor and calmed myself down (long process mainly including fantasizing that I live somewhere else) dishwasher leaked. Luckily for me the dishes inside were not dirty. They were caked-up mushy drippingly dirty. And where is the kitchen floor tilted to? Why yes, towards our new fridge of course. And did that happen loudly? Of course not! I must however, acknowledge the luck I had when I walked in the puddle (it came under the fridge but then apparently decided to invade the center of the kitchen as well) and did not fall on the slippery slope and hit my head in the kitchen counter. If I did, I would surely realize while wiping blood from the cupboards, that the leak was actually in the cupboard and not under the dishwasher. In that case I would not keep squeezing mopped up puddle into the sink....

I must have been watched by the snickering Gods (yes, plural) when the amount of fluid I squeezed in the sink finally decided to overflow from the cupboard on my clean pants. And feet. And the surprise of it made me finally slip and fall.

The End.

Leptis Magna Museum

2009-02-01T15:08:00.013+01:00

In an attempt to flee Tripoli (at least for a day) we embarked on a long journey to Leptis Magna -"The Roman city" in Libya. I use the THE loosely, since there are other Roman towns along Libyan coast. I also use LONG loosely, since it is only couple hours drive.

To explain Leptis Magna in detail would be out of my depth so I will not. There is plenty of material available to travelers interested in it. These are the basics. The city has been founded by Phoenicians around 1100BC, in 146BC came under Roman Empire and it was at it highest peak around 150 when Septimius Severus (Leptis native) became Roman emperor and naturally put a lot of wealth in the town. By middle of 4th century the town was largely abandoned and soon after it came under control of Vandals. In early 6th century it came under Eastern Roman Empire but it never really recovered from Vandal (and Berber) occupation. By the time Arabs came in middle of 7th century it was almost completely abandoned. I have been on the site several times and loved it each and every time a bit more.

The museum however, I visited now for the first time. If you expect it to be a tribute to Leptis Magna and very clear introduction to the site, it will come quite short of expectations.

To greet you, there is 2 floors high cut-out billboard Colonel looking happy as a clam in the atrium of the museum. I would be equally happy if my billboard would stand on three column bases. Three Roman column bases. I mean... This is Leptis Magna. I... have no words...
Also, last few rooms are obviously dedicated to last 39 years. Since Leptis Magna was a prosperous city then....So.. a suggestion - if you insist on putting up models of "important" buildings produced in last 39 years (which are all embarrassingly ugly), do so more professionally. Children car toys should be left with children. They do not belong on any model. But of course since I have very little knowledge of Arabic maybe the real meaning of the displayed models escaped me.... Since last few rooms had explanations only in Arabic...

As for the rest of the museum exhibit - it should be followed anticlockwise and it is chronological. At times. Everything displayed is lovely and beautiful and really there is no critcism there. But.
It would be more clear if short explanation of period (you know the bigger picture) would be added as we follow the exhibit. Half of the time I had no clue where (time wise) are we or what is specific object used for. Maybe the museum could even hire an artist who can make drawings of the town (there is one on display and it is impressive) and important buildings as they were at the time and put up relevant posters in rooms. And since I am getting ahead of myself, why not chuck in somewhere a room with some kind of thematic film?

I could see that someone put an effort into putting up explanatory tags in each room in Arabic and English. Whoever you are - I want to say THANK YOU!!!! I could tell that that person is probably archeologist or an expert of that sort. However, we (the visitors) are usually not. We need explanations of this sort "shown pot was excavated in ____, and it is thought that it was used to ....boil milk. It was quite usual household item of that time" OR "this wall relief was put on every street and it represented _____." OR "this beautiful naked David statue belonged to rich merchant and the model was young slave he fooled around with." Just an idea... Dont you just hate walking around trying to follow exhibition from a travel book?

Some exhibits are explained in detail, while the whole display cases, of for example oil lamps, are just clustered together without any explanation. There were statue after statue with only short name of the god it represented. Toward the end of ground floor, there were barely explanations left. On the second floor you could amuse yourself with guessing games. More consistency and in-depth explanations would be nicer. I am just saying..

And although there is Bedouin tent displayed at the end of exhibition, there is no example of roman house. You know, how did the average citizen live at that time. I would love to see that. And hence this is after all Leptis Manga I believe it would be beneficial for everyone if there was one. Or two...

It was sunny and beautiful day outside, but very little light came in the museum due to exceptionally dirty windows. Too add to the insult, the artificial lighting was quite quirky - in most of the rooms the light was off (and couldnt be put on, I know since I tried) and the lamps that worked did an amazing job of blinding you as you peered in the showcase.

Toward the end of the exhibit (2nd floor) I couldnt help but notice the contrast between roman accomplishments and Arab accomplishments in this area of the world. It is always quite shocking, isnt it? On one side you have Romans who managed thousands of years ago to accomplish civil society in which mostly every citizen benefited from seeing beautiful statues on the way to work, had access to gorgeous baths, could go to theater or circus or to sport grounds, could have faith in law laid out for him and generally led prosperous and happy life in a stone house. On the other hand you have current Libyan society in which well, there is very little beauty present. Mind you, if you look at what Italians managed to do with their heritage, Libya is not half bad.

So not to leave you completely buggered up, its not that I didnt like the museum, I did but I only did because I didnt have a choice, if you understand what I mean. I did not expect Louvre, but Leptis Magna is a magnificent place and it is a shame the museum does not use that advantage. You would think that a country which is going to spend 25 billions dinars on urban development could spare few thousands on museum improvements...

As for the pricing - the ticket is 3 dinars per person and 2 hours should be more than enough to go through it. However, if it was more professionally done I would gladly spend 5 hours there and paid 20 dinars for it. I would pay 30 dinars if they would get rid of all those policeman crawling around and hired some real museum guys. With nice museum uniform on in which they can patrol around museum and yell at the children (and amazingly - grown ups) leaving all kinds of fruit on the statues...

On completely other note - Can anyone tell me how much is a kilo of avocados?

Libya & Electricity Part 4

2009-01-27T12:11:00.002+01:00

Well, well it took mere 168 hours to get a fridge. And that is not counting Friday - the day of rest. I guess we can be happy that it was an appliance which requires only pluging in and not actual installation, because that would surely further affect the speed of the process...

In all fairness, the fridge was delivered yesterday. Safe lifting practices were not followed, but that is not much of a surprise. Our mold infested fridge was taken away, hopefully never to be seen again. I do hope they throw it away and not resell it to some poor sucker.

So, now we are back to normal food! ;)

Until the electricity bill is NOT paid again...

Libya & Electricity Part 3

2009-01-25T14:58:00.002+01:00

BLS Efficiency Counter

144 hours

Good news - fridge request is put in the BLS system
Bad news - not 1, not 2 but 3 "Abduls" still need to push the "approve" button... And only then will the order be processed.

I wonder how long will it take them?

Libya & Electricity Part 2

2009-01-22T16:33:00.003+01:00

Uhuh, looks like BLS is not going to deliver our fridge today. I wonder will they ever deliver.. Or do they.. Ever Deliver On Time?

The system (in the case of our new fridge) just got more complicated. How many approvals in Schweppes one might need to get a replacement fridge? Think 1? Nah! 2? Nah!!
And how many BLS employees one needs to push approve button? One? Nah! Two? Nah!! ANd the jackpot question - How much time does it take?

96 hours and counting!

Libya & Electricity

2009-01-22T12:34:00.002+01:00

Our return to Libya is always like a "Kinder surprise", albeit less pleasant.

It started on the airport, where no driver showed up. Gs company hires another company which provides the drivers and cars for employees when necessary. Such as going to and from the airport. Since communication chain is more or less "hear-say" style it is not too surprising that no one showed up. What was surprising is that, when called they actually said that driver is on the way. Humph. So, few hours later we managed to arrive home.

As superstitious as this may sound now, I should have known then that there will be more to come. When we unlocked several grills, locks and chains of the house doors strange smell started to seep out. If I didn't know better, I would say that there was something dead and decomposing inside the house. But it couldn't have been, right? We closed all the windows, we put all the blinds down, nothing could have entered and died in the house after we left?

Flick on the switch explained what happened. THOSE F***** I***** FORGOT TO PAY ELECTRICITY AGAIN!!!!!!!!! And by the smell of it, electrical company shut it down soon after we left for vacation. Which was a month ago...

Sure enough, the smell was everywhere. Imagine meat and other average fridge staples left to decompose for a month in a small closed space. Take into the equation what happens to fridge after the electricity is turned off. Lets just say that it kind of expands and opens a bit, or maybe the fumes push the door open, just so a little bit. But it does not stop there. It keeps on decomposing, and soon enough different types of fungus jump in and start happily growing and growing.. And soon enough what used to be solid turns into liquid which drips out of fridge onto stone floors... And every surface of the fridge is covered with greenish fuzzy growth... And the smell.. Gag reflex was in overdrive.

The fridge is in the garden now, washed multiple of times with anti fungicide, vinegar, lemon and what not. But it seems to be finished. Plastic takes in odors quite well, especially these kind of odors. And once they are in, they are in.

However, in a difficult situation like this one always like to have support from Gs company. Lets call them Bls. So I would like to leave glowing reviews to Bls. Not only they managed to "forget" to pay electricity bill, they also managed to be very helpful in dealing with the consequences. When G informed person in charge for bills and such what happened and requested new fridge, he was told that he has to prove that the bill was not paid. Ah, the proof! After G explained that the bills are paid by company and that is how it has been until now and is in his contract (except several times that they Forgot before but luckily we were in Libya), he was told that they can replace the fridge only if it is not working anymore. (Of course that could be arranged, but G does not like to destroy things...).That information followed with suggestion that we buy the new fridge from our "furniture allowance". Meaning that we pay for it. That suggestion followed with utter confusion from their side as to where to find new fridge in question.. Because really, one can have problems here in Tripoli locating a shop with house appliances.

Needless to say, we still have no fridge. Presumably they have to make conference call with Paris to see whether they have to provide their employee with fridge? And the guy who has that information is on vacation? Or broke his leg and is coming back to work in a month? Or the archive with the "Necessary House Appliance Lists for International Mobile Employees" burned down and now they are not really sure whether or not the fridge is really that important.

There are international companies which take pride in keeping same standards of business in every country. There are also companies which make life easier for International Employees on a foreign post.There are companies which follow the rules and contracts.

And then there is Bls. They not only managed to take the worst from the Libyan system, they successfully managed to incorporate it into their every day business. Loopholes, indecision, stalling and general bullshit seems to be the way to go here.

So, hats off guys and give a joint applause to Bls!!!

Afriqiyah Airlines & Arab TV

2008-12-03T12:12:00.005+01:00

Recently I was lucky enough to travel with Afriqiyah airlines. Afriqiyah is a relatively new airline with hub in Tripoli, Libya, so naturally it is quite difficult to ignore them.
Anyway, up to now I took several flights to Europe with them and in some ways they positively surprised me. First, they allow you to carry 30kg in economy and I believe there is no need to stress how unique that is. Second, if you need to change your travel date, you can do it for free (even though it says on the ticket that the cost is 30 dinars which is still cheap). Third, their tickets are cheap compared to, oh lets say Austrian or any other established airline flying to Libya.

So if these points are the most important ones for you be prepared for the negatives.
Stewards are Libyans so be prepared for rudeness and lack of customer service. There is only water and horrible orange juice to choose from in the drink cart. All the stewards/esses (and there are at least 6 of them!!!!) are going to spend most of the flight in the back of the plane loudly talking and smoking cigarettes. Naturally, if you have seat in the back they will ask you to move forward so they can amuse themselves in privacy. And since the planes are mostly empty, it is better for you to do so. Food, well all I can say is that it is eatable.

And then to the most interesting part for me.

Several times I flew with them, there were TV on each seat. Quite nice perk considering that it is only few hour flight! Touch screen worked, headphones worked, sound was clear enough and I was impressed with the choice they had of TV amusements. You can choose between music, Hollywood (films), short features and surprise surprise - Quran recitals... Also, there is Info section which shows maps, flight progress and direction and distance to Mekah... Everything one could need..
So I checked the short features which were quite cool and moved on to movie selection. There were 2 brain dead American comedies and one action film (forgot the name). The later was about American president (who else) coming to Barcelona for a summit where (what else) terrorist attack happens. It covers more or less an hour and a half of "real time" plot cut into sections in which we can see what one, each time different character sees from his viewpoint. It is fast moving and not all that bad (if you would ignore the fact that yet again, American president is portrayed as righteous one). So, back to the interesting part. At the beginning of the movie it said that "this movie is adapted to in-flight screen and has modified contents". Most of the movie is filmed in a big square where the summit takes place. There are a lot of people there and camera often sweeps over the crowds.
And every time there is a woman anywhere in the shot wearing anything but burka (which there is not many) they fog over her shoulders and breast area. And I assure you, there was nothing indecent in their clothes. We are talking normal T-shirts. I mean COME ON PEOPLE!!! Why do you do that?!? Are you seriously trying to negate existence of female breasts and female shoulders or you are so bloody twisted and horny that you can not even see a woman (completely dressed) in a movie and not think of something sexual? And what kind of stereotype that builds? Every time someone sees foggy part the only connection that person is going to make is - forbidden, shame, wrong, indecent.

It is pure brainwashing and the best part is - it works!! There are whole cultures out there (including Libyan) that see any flesh viewing as sexual taunting or even offer of sex. Does not matter if it is a wrist or an elbow....They are raised to make fast connection between seeing any part of female skin/hair and a slut or sex or forbidden. And of course, like everything that is "forbidden" it is all the more interesting for them. They are so deprived of any normality (yes, I use that word here) that they probably can not see the difference any more with normal and extreme. I can imagine that there is quite a bit more heavy porn downloading going on in Libya than in a country that has soft porn on TV. If their youth reacts to me (completely dressed walking down the street) in such an extreme ways, there is not much more extreme they can react when seeing something truly explicit. No wonder they have no idea how to behave when they get out of their country. Imagine what it must be like for them to come to a country where women wear mini skirts?!

Connected to that, we have few Arab channels which are not dubbing, that I watch occasionally. Watching MBC channels (Dubai based TV) is just killing me. All the commercials are for cleaning stuff depicting humble woman proudly scrubbing the house down with 3 children in a tow, and young brats driving expensive cars or drinking Coca Cola while girls are watching from the background... Or, the best one - 3 grown up woman meeting on the roof at midnight to do what else- eat chocolate! And then there is unescapable beauty factor - paler the better - and promoting the products such are "Fair&Lovely" which supposedly bleaches your face... It is like watching TV for children. Except these are not cartoons...

Needless to say, all the "sexual" content is completely cut out of any film they show which makes it for a quite short and numbing experience most of the time. I mean, why bother? Most American movies already come in several versions, one that is already cut out would be surely interesting to MBC and would look more professional...But I guess that would not be good enough for MBC since they leave all the gruesome scenes depicting violence in the movie intact... Sexual harassment scenes are also left on, because thats ok too... Because this is done for the sake of adults, not to spare the eyes of young and gentle children...

The movies on MBC2 are the worst of shallow stereotypical American comedies, action and horror films there are. For the shows on MBC4 - well does Dr. Phill, Americas got talent, Good Morning America, Moment of truth and Desperate Housewives tell you something? La femme Nikita, Red Bull, The Unit, TNA Explosion, Monster trucks and The Shield govern MBC Action Channel...

Violence, ridiculous cars, films that are all the same, stupid talk shows...
It hurts my brain to watch this stuff, and if I do I feel bad and weird after a while.
Luckily for me, we have our satellite channels to which I escape every time I fell like a bit of TV. I heard they even started something like TiVo as well, so I can watch when I please. And you know what - they even show soft porn occasionally!
Which is btw probably illegal to watch in Libya...

Seaside road in Tripoli

2008-10-21T13:34:00.002+02:00

The Fish Market in Libya - Hofra

2008-10-21T13:21:00.003+02:00

Libya & Paving the Roads

2008-10-15T15:28:00.003+02:00

We came back from the short vacation (sometimes I thank god for Gs fuckwit company and their notoriously incompetent visa personnel) and this is what we saw.

Needles to say, car is on the wrong side of that half a meter drop...

Apparently, while we were gone someone decided it is finally time to repave our street. The work like this has been happening for a while in our neighborhood. It goes something like this.

Machines come, and many many people come. They stand around for a day or so, drink tea and generally yell at each other. One of them puts up tape on both street ends to cordon the road off. Sometimes they have those silly little plastic traffic cones to put up as well. Neighborhood crowd gathers to see what is happening, people stop their cars to gawk at all that tape and machinery. If it is busy street cars will pile up, general confusion descends and all drivers want to come closer to see all the action. Soon traffic jam starts and before half an hour has passed all the workers stopped drinking tea to yell at drivers and direct traffic. On a good day cars get in such a gridlock that it can take up to an hour to clear it. Of course by that time emotions are high, every driver thinks that he is The One who has right of priority and actual "slap" fights can happen which then in turn only prolong the event.

After a few days of that, someone realizes that machine for lifting old tarmac (or what is left of it) is necessary. Few days passes (these machines are busy, many roads in Tripoli to destroy) and machine shows up. They enthusiastically proceed to destroy old tarmac. Another machine is summoned, this time to push tarmac pieces to one end of the road. Houses are vibrating, chandeliers are swinging, glasses are jumping around in the houses but Neighborhood crowd is happy - finally something is happening.

Next day starts sunny and warm. And quiet. Tape and traffic cones are still in place, but all the machinery and manpower is gone. And so is next day, and the one after that. After a while, one poor guy decides he can not take any more of lugging shopping bags from the other street (where he parks his car now) to his house with complaining wife in tow . He tears the tape, moves the traffic cones and happily drives his car all the way to his house. In no time all the neighbors are happily bouncing up and down over piled up tarmac in now sand road, lifting all the sand in the air.

Few weeks later, tarmac piles melted in the heat and under the cars and now the road is just very bumpy, but in a smooth way. You can no longer hear so often that crunching sound when exhaust pipe (or something worse) hits the tarmac piece.

A month or so later, machinery comes again. Cones and tape are put up again. Trucks come and are loaded with the old tarmac. Sewer pipes are laid and sand is smoothed again.
Road roller comes and starts flattening the sand road. Everything vibrates again but by the end of work day the road is getting flat. During the evening someone breaks the tape again and drives his car to his house. Others follow. Soon the road is ruined again.

Next day machine has to flatten it again. After a week or so it is sufficiently flat and asphalt paving machine is brought in. It sprays that black gooey smelly stuff as a primer and leaves. Now the road is wet, smelly and I can only imagine how it is to be in a house next to it. Sidewalks are dug up but not fixed so people have to literally jump over overflowing trash cans that are on the sidewalk (garbage men probably can not enter road for weeks) into potholes filled with broken tiles.

Few days later, real tarmac laying machine comes. On the course of next few days one layer of tarmac is put, rectangular pieces are cut out and sewer covers are put in. And then all goes quiet again.

Now the road has metal sewer/water covers sticking out 5-10 cm above the tarmac level. But the tarmac is new and black and drivers can not resist. Everyone is driving like a lunatic (more so than usual) and every now and then flat tire happens. Neighborhood crowd can still not park in their gardens since sidewalk and access slides are not done.

Few months later there is no change.

I am so looking forward to seeing this process first hand.

Libya & Missing

2008-09-20T02:24:00.007+02:00

A new presence is in Libya - cooler weather. Last weekend, as we were going to the beach, I noticed that the light has a different quality to it. You know, everything is more clear and a bit more colourful... Just like when summer is ending and fall is starting.

In Libya, this change is as far as it goes when it comes to fall. Rain will happen occasionally and temperature is definitely going to not reach 40C any more but all in all it just doesnt feel right for me. There is not enough change here for me to really call it autumn.

In my mind there are certain things that happen in fall. Leaves start turning first yellow, then red and after first frost to brown.

Wind carries leaves all over town, people start wearing warmer clothes and shoes. More and more people spend time indoors, and bars and cinemas are starting to fill again.

On a sunny day, street cafes are full of totally bundled customers sipping hot tea. New fall/winter season comes to the clothes shops and it is full of fluffy sweaters, warm skirts and leather boots. Roasted chestnuts are being sold on the street stands. New season tangerines are available everywhere.

Rain starts and sometimes doesnt stop for weeks.

And, day by day winter is coming in. Followed by snow, twinkle lights and Christmas.

Cooking in Libya

2008-08-31T00:39:00.000+02:00

I will not even try to make this post about Libyan cuisine since I have very little knowledge of it. I will however, make this post about COOKING in Libya, as in - everyday cooking while living in Libya as an expat.

First to say, I come from the country very different than Libya. I am not saying it is always better in food department. But it is cleaner. Much much cleaner. For example meat is kept nicely packed in the cooled department of the supermarket. Also, said meat has a description stamped on the package - description which states where it comes from, what part of animal it is and what can you use it for. The vegetable comes nicely divided into types in also cooled department. On the other hand, said vegetable is plastic looking with less and less taste every year.

So, the culture shock on buying food here was big. Actually so big that it started even before we got to Libya. In the last country we lived (another Muslim oriented country, after it popped out of Soviet Union) I have recollection of being so wary of getting meat that I can come up with only one time that I went and got real meat from the real butcher. And i still remember exact shop where I went that time... And surely, I thought, we ate more meat than that....So I had to go to my knowledge source - G, because after all he was there, to tell me what did we eat there (since I vaguely recall only frozen meat and restaurants)... And the answer was - lots of chicken (frozen) and even more meals in the restaurants... And he would know I guess since the answer was followed with accusing look. But at least they had best quality and most diverse restaurants of all the countries I ever lived. You name it, they had it. We still talk about the food there. Crappy country, all in all but if someone would offer me to spend a week there I would go just for the restaurants..... But I digress.

When we came to Libya, I was more open to local ways of shopping. The vegetables you get on stalls next to the road and meat you can get either at the butcher shop (next to the road again...) or at the butcher corner inside some supermarkets. Either way, you have to get used to shops smeared with blood (not really exaggerating) and learn how to choose meat directly from an animal... All quite dirty, but once you spend more time here, and find a butcher that you like, stay with him and you are fine. In my experience, butchers that are popular among expats are not so good. Usually, they sell expensive mediocre meat but the shop will be shiny and new. As for the prices at normal butcher, a kilo of chicken breasts is 6 dinars or so, kilo of beef steak (but not sirloin quality) is 15-20 dinars, lamb leg would be between 15-20 dinars for a kilo. I must admit that these prices are prone to +/- since I tend to buy lot of meat in one go so I am never sure how much is what. But I am sure it is much much cheaper than in Europe. There is also camel meat, whole chickens (quite skinny, gasp...did they actually grow them naturally and not stuff them with corn fused with growing hormones), ocassional rabbit, turkey breasts, quails. I once asked for a duck at my butcher and they all had a good laugh.

Fish. Is. Very. Good. Here.

This is Mediterranean after all.

There used to be fish market just outside Medina, but then one day bulldozers came and tore it down. Just like that. Some of the stalls moved 100 meters down the road towards Dat Alimat towers and the others 5 km up the sea road just after Hofra. Then, there is Hofra. A small fish market where you can buy fish and then get it grilled in restaurant of your choice. All fish markets smell horrible and that is because they really don't clean them every day (or ever). so all the fish blood and more is basically smeared around the stalls. However if you get past that (I always rinse my flip-flopped feet with water when we get back to the car) the fish is mostly excellent quality. And as in anywhere else, you have to know how to recognize fresh fish. And my favorite part is that they will clean all your fish for small fee. And they clean it very good.

Vegetables are a bit on the dry side (this is dessert after all) and tend to be full of spots and faults. Not the kind you get in most supermarkets these days where every tomato is perfect red and without blemishes... Luckily for me, I like them more this way. I can get most vegetables I use at home and some more that I didn't use until now. Fruit is similar. I would say they don't use much chemicals on anything. Best indication is that if you don't eat it soon after you get it, it rots. As it should.

As for other food, bread is extremely cheap here since it is subsidized by government, but if you are used to diverse bread loafs that you can buy in Europe, forget about it. Most bread products are small white wheat buns which are good as long as you eat them same day. Croissants are very nice if you find them just out of oven... And there is something similar to nan bread, which is again good when hot.

As for all the normal supermarket produce, it is available. Like in any other country, it will be somewhat adapted to local food culture. So, there will be easy to find humus in the can while red beans might be more rare. Maybe there will be 2 types of peanut butter and not the one that you get at home. It is very likely that you will not be able to find some specific food that you could easily find at home. If that is such a big deal you can always haul them from every trip home or get them shipped here.

Dairy products are a bit disappointing here for me. I adore natural yoghurts and cow cheese (white fresh one) and I didn't find yet one that is to my taste. But then again, this is not the first country I lived in and I never managed to find it anywhere than at home. Bit demanding in this department, but then again it makes my trips home all the more special. They do have danone dairy stuff and more. As for cheese, there is frico (dutch) and some more dutch normal cheeses like gouda, masdaam etc. There is crappy mozzarella type cheese and some brie which is extreme expensive here. You can also get fresh milk in 5 liter canisters from local dairy shops but I haven't found one where they speak English yet so it is not clear is it camel, sheep or cow milk. And sometimes it is actually yoghurt. A bit confusing, so I gave up.

Also, in even the smallest supermarket there is quite big range of gluten free products.

Good sides of food in Libya.

There is huge selection of exotic (for me) spices that are really fresh, cheap and interesting. Lamb in Europe is quite expensive and difficult to get, while here it is the most common meat. At vegetable stands they sell parsley, basil, coriander, celery leaves (and other spices that I don't know English name of) almost for free and the quantities you get in one bunch are huge. To compare, last time I was in Netherlands we paid over a Euro for 1/10 quantity of basil that we get here. Fish is very good and very cheap. Kilo of baby tuna is going for 6 dinars and it is so good that G eats it fresh. They have unbelievable amount of different type of nuts and dried fruits here, also cheap cheap. Then, there are dates. I am not into them, but I bring them home to my friends and family and they love them. Apparently they are more jucy and flavored than the ones they buy in supermarkets. Here they sell them by kilo for 4-10 dinars depending on the quality. You can get lots of different stuff made from the dates, like syrup, little woven baskets with squashed dates mixed with some sort of nuts (I guess) inside, date paste and of course fresh ones. Olives are also big part of Libyan cuisine and there are dozens different types to get. Now it is the season for fresh mango and papaya and they are available at every stall. Green chilli pepers.

Bad sides. Uhm, ok here we go.

Fresh tomatoes that we can get here are of the Roma tomato type which is the one that gets canned as pelati. So, not so flavorful to eat in a salad, but excellent for cooking soups and making sun dried tomatoes. Weird bread. No smoked meat products like sausages, hams etc. No alcohol in shops.

So, what I learned here. Every time I go home I bring with me some stuff that I really enjoy and appreciate. From the last trip I brought big slab of proscuitto, sheep milk matured cheese, smoked sausages and some spices I can not get here. I don't bring that much since I also have clothes in my baggage so there is room only for little bit, but I like to have something from home..

Another thing I learned is to appreciate different types of food I can get here and to use it to the maximum. There are stuff here that I just wouldn't try at home and they usually turn out to be great. I got Indian and Arabic cookbook and it is easy to use it since all the staples are easily available. This way i am trying new food to the extent that I would not go if we lived at home. And to make things better, I am not working now so I finally have time to experiment, cook proper food and spend time on it. And that will change as soon as we move out of here and I start working again....

Do I miss food that makes home home? Yes, of course I do. But not so much to keep on nagging about it. Probably because I can get to know other cuisine that i would not experience if we did not live here. And I know that when we move out I will miss food here and will be bringing lots of stuff with me back home.

Bringing your Car into Libya

2008-08-09T16:55:00.000+02:00

I have meant to post about this for a while now. Maybe, just maybe there is some poor soul out there which wants to bring a car to Libya and is stuck just like I was. So here is some info from my side.

One thing you should know before I start. If you really really like your car (maybe even have nickname for it) and if it is fancy dont bother bringing it here. Most cars here are marked by long scratches, missing bumpers and mirrors caused by overall crappy driving. You might be good driver yourself but there is only so much you can do here. There is only one word for traffic here - crazy.
Maybe you would consider buying a car in Libya. The tax is almost non-existent and almost every 2 weeks another boatload of new cars arrives here. If you want used car, expat community is quite large and there are always people coming and going, wanting to sell or buy.

But if you are determined to bring your car here, this might help.

So, first thing you should do is export it from your own country. Procedure for that, obviously depends on country to country. But the idea is that you can not "import" vehicle in one country if it is not exported from the other one. Once you export it and get bunch of paperwork for it, you will be given set of export license plates which are usually valid for a month or so. Do not forget to take an insurance for this period, because generally, you will not be covered once you export it.

And then you have a month to make it to Libya.

At the time of our trip, there were no ferries going to Libya from Europe. We took the second best thing - Tunisia. There are ferries from France and Italy. These are some pages you can use to check the timetables and book the tickets.

http://www.directferries.co.uk/tunis_ferry.htm
http://www.southernferries.co.uk/ctn_ferries.htm

We took a SNCM ferry from Genoa to Tunis. I remember that we did not think we will make it on time, since we started our trip to Genoa a bit too late. Due to trying to fit objects in the car that were obviously not going to fit. And then enthusiastically repacking entire car few times thinking that if we just.. just..move this box here and that lamp shade there it will all fit in. You see, we were bringing car load of stuff with us. Stuff that we (by we I mean me) needed pronto and therefore they were not in the shipment that left month before and that would arrive who knows when. So when we finally did leave it looked like we are not going to be on time for ferry.

But no need to worry. When we finally arrived in the port, ferry was still there, and few thousands of people did not even start to board it. And my fear that we will be the only black sheep with car filled up to the roof shattered immediately. We actually looked organized compared to other cars since we did not have anything on the roof. I saw a car packed full only with toilet paper, one with several 2nd hand mattresses on the roof and several more with toilet paper. It seems that for some reason toilet paper is quite expensive in Tunisia..Maybe they have some special tax on it.

Anyway, once we got in the port we had to bring our passports and car paperwork to customs building. At least I think it was customs. Those few thousands people were trying to do exactly the same and lets just say that queuing in line is something that is not commonly understood with people from North Africa. I am pretty sure we had to fill in some papers and get them stamped. After few hours doing that, we finally emerged out just to find all the cars still in the same place. By the time we boarded the ferry we were 3 hours late with timetable and no one seemed even little bit bothered by it.

Due to booking the ferry too late, we had to book ourselves into luxurious double berth. SNCM website gave us only that option and it was good that it did. It was huge! Double bed, big bathroom, seating area with TV, complementary fruit basket. Very nice indeed. And it was cheaper than 2 berth cabin we booked next time...

So after leaving our stuff we went to the deck bar. There we could have Heineken and look down at the custom officers doing nothing. At that point there were cars still boarding the ferry.

Ferry left the port with over 6 hours delay. And from what I heard, it is not unusual.

22 hours later we disembarked in Tunis. After getting through the customs there (you need to buy Tunisian insurance for passing through Tunisia) we started towards Libya. Road is a highway for big part and as you approach Libya it is a local road so things go slower.

Now, if you are still not put off brining car with you go on, read more.

The most important thing to have on Libyan border is a connection.

In Libya, little can be done without "knowing" the right person. So the first thing on the list should be to find someone who will meet you at the border and get you and your car into Libya. That someone will be paid and he will have friend/cousin/father/uncle working at the border. That friend/cousin/father/uncle will push through the paperwork (it is his job after all) and will also have to be paid.

So when we came to the border at 7AM we had a "Libyan friend" waiting for us on Tunisian side. We were pushed through diplomatic line and were on Libyan side within 5 minutes. Then our papers were dispatched back to the tunisian border control. After finishing that the same papers were taken to the Libyan border control. And then things got slower. I guess too many people have a "friend" at the border so it is difficult to get priority... To cut the story short, it took 7 hours to get through. That, by Libyan standards is short. We met truck drivers who were literally stuck there for 2 weeks, sleeping under their trucks and living from tea and sandwiches...

At some point I stopped listening to what was done, but I remember that if you import the car in Libya you have to pay import tax. How that tax is calculated is not clear. We paid 600 Libyan dinars or something like that. Secondly, the car got test plates (very shitty looking plates with green numbers) which would suffice until we got to Tripoli where we had to register the car. Another thing that our "friend" did for us.

At one point, we were informed that the car is not going to be cleared same day and we had to reload ALL the stuff from our car to the taxi. The fact that the stuff were not checked with customs and that the car was not cleared yet did not stop our "friend" to drive it half a km down the road where the taxis were. In the end, the car was cleared and we could go.

Now, I will tell you a little story, but in no way I am implying that we did that.

Lets say that the car was not exported from its original country. That it was indeed still registered there. That the license plates on the car were still original license plates. That the name on the car papers was "hers". And then in one office on the Libyan border the name on the car papers became "his" and the car got Libyan import papers. And set of Libyan plates. And at no time, no one in that office questioned where is the real owner of the car....or why the car has no export papers....

And lets also say that when the time came to take the car from Libya back to its original country, the couple ignored all the advice. That they packed the bags, loaded the car and went back to that same border. This time without a "friend". And when asked where they were going that they said Djerba. And that they kept on driving all the way to Tunis where they boarded the boat, sailed a bit and disembarked in Marseilles. And lets also say that they did all that with Libyan license plates. And that they did not pay Tunisian insurance and unless you count Libyan insurance that they drove car all over Europe with no insurance. And that they passed through several borders and not one custom officer asked anything. Lets just say that...

Some story, huh?

Ah, and the cost info. The ferry price depends on the size of the car and of course kind of cabin. For the price of driving to the ferry port you can check viamichelin.com which is quite accurate and includes petrol and toll cost. Than add tax paid at the libian border and money paid for plates and car paperwork and you could be looking to few thousand euros or so. Again, it depends on several things and no one knows how much is tax on libian border going to be.

My advice as someone who actually went through all of this is - do not bring your car to Libya. get one once you are in the country.

Next Location

2008-08-03T00:42:00.004+02:00

Decision made!

Last 2 countries I lived in were Muslim. First one was not Arab so it was not as bad as here, but it was not good either. By my standards. I come from different culture and I am used to more personal freedom and less oppressive life than here. To put it mildly.

Now, I might be wrong to connect most bad things in my life in these countries to living in a Muslim country. And, I am aware that there are worse places to live than these 2 countries, but I also have no intention going there. And hence, based on my perhaps short experience and personal requirements, I made a decision.

Next location is not going to be an Arab country or a country where Islam is major religion. The map bellow shows nicely which countries are these.

picture from wikipedia

So if there is anyone who would offer me or G a job in countries marked with gray... Well, bring it on! ;) Top of the list would be Brasil, Australia, NZ, whole of Europe and SE Asia.... Would be nice...

Libya & Cockroaches

2008-07-23T15:40:00.006+02:00

I love animals and they rarely make me squeamish or scared. Even the ones that probably should. But there is one animal species that I just hate/want dead, and that would be cockroaches.

They also transform me into this jumpy, scared girly girl (not my usual behavior) who can not help but scream when I see one. Or more correctly, it used to affect me that way. And then I moved to Libya.

I did a bit of research and think that what we have here is so called American cockroach. They originated in Africa so these must be prototypes.... Later they evolved and became smaller...

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is a large species of winged cockroach. It is very common in the southern United States, and in tropical climates, and can be found in many locations throughout the world, due to its travels via shipping and commerce between locations.
American cockroach adults grow to an average length of around 4 centimetres (1.6 in).[1] They are reddish brown and have a yellowish margin on the body region behind the head. Immature cockroaches resemble adults except that they are wingless.
The insect can travel quickly, often darting out of sight when someone enters a room, and can fit into small cracks and under doors despite its fairly large size. It is considered one of the fastest running insects.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These are my cockroaches that I found this morning in the garden. Match box is 5cm long. And cockroach bends when it is dead. Really, they are longer when alive. They have wings and suprisingly, they use them. I know cockroaches are not supposed to fly. But I saw them myself. They fly for 2 meters in one go. Bastards.

Disclaimer * In case this post sounds like I never saw a cockroach before I came here, I assure you that is not the case. I even lived, for admittedly very short period of time, during university in one flat which had them camping behind the fridge. I moved out soon enough though.

First time it happened in Libya, G came running down the hallway to find me standing on top of the toilet and screaming. Embarrassing enough, and made even more by the fact that cockroach in question was already dead. Cockroach was scooped and flushed down the toilet and all was good again. That event happened on the same day that we moved to our "new" house. And on that day I stumbled upon few more inside the house. All dead, probably died of hunger or something since the house was empty for few months before we came. But I was in such state of panic that I informed G it is time to move somewhere else. Of course we did not, and of course it would be the same if not worse anywhere else.

It helped that I did not find any more cockroaches for a while. I think, but can not prove that G secretly raided the house in the morning hours to collect and dispose of them so I would not see them. See, he really wanted me to like living here...

Sometime later if I would spot one in the house I would put glass upside down on top of it and wait for G to come home and kill it if necessary and flush it. This may sound cruel to people who do not have them around, but I assure you it is not. This is survival of the fittest. And in this case, there is plenty of them left anyway. Too many...

Now it is been a year and a half we are living here. I tried everything to get rid of them, but managed only to keep them away for short periods of time. They come out to the garden in the evening when it is very hot outside. Which in Libya happens very often.

However, I am not as squeamish as before. Now I am very proficient with killing them by throwing my flip flop at them. It is called flip flop attack...

But alas, I did develop a new fear. It is one of those what-ifs.
What if we accidentally pack one of these cockroaches in our stuff when we fly home or more likely in one of the boxes when we move out of Libya? And what if it is a female? And what if it is pregnant female?

It can happen, you know. And probably needles to say, I do check every single piece of clothing that goes in my bag when I pack. Weird, you think?

Libya in pictures (Part 2)

2008-07-23T14:43:00.004+02:00

Old mosque in Tarhuna.

Man walking next to Al-Khoms port.

Palm trees.

Prayer time on Friday.

Iron collectors.

Libya in pictures (Part 1)

2008-07-21T14:55:00.004+02:00

Could this be a christian church...

Mosque in Tajoura.

Demolished shops on Tajoura road.

No comment.

On the road.

Good Times

2008-07-13T11:19:00.009+02:00

Last month I traveled. I packed my bag(s), clicked my heels 3 times and was transported into the land of hedonism.

---Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit. The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" (ἡδονισμός hēdonismos from ἡδονή hēdonē "pleasure", a cognate of English sweet + suffix ισμός ismos "ism").---
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First there was red earth. And fragrance in the air. In anticipation I opened window, inhaled and felt my whole being relax. Then, a bit further down the mountain, just behind one curve there was The First View. Blue as blue gets with little specs of white. And I smiled. The road curved and I sped on down another mountain. There was a white town. I passed through it fast, fast just stopping once to admire the view. There was a white boat with blue letters. It sailed with seagulls keeping the watch. And then finally, there were 36 steps, red door and I was home.

And there was Sun and there was Sea. There was selected food and wine to go with it. There were new beaches to be discovered. There was laughter with friends. There were church bells that rang on full hour. There were forests with fragrant needle carpets and a path that goes to white beach. There were afternoon naps. There was a beautiful terrace to lounge on and enjoy the views. There were cafes, little boats, people going about, newspapers just out of print, smiles and coffees that were just so.

Good times indeed.

Libyan men

2008-05-31T02:35:00.004+02:00

When I first came here, some expat woman warned me about Libyan men. Or to be more exact, about attitude that they carry for "western woman". They gave all sort of advice and always finished by saying you will get used to it.

But I can not get used to it. I don't believe that anyone brought up in non-oppressed country ever could.

Apparently most Libyan men (and some share of woman) think that foreign woman are easy and therefore should not be treated with respect. It also seems that men think that we like it if they make vulgar gestures or yell sexually abusing words at us while we are passing by. I am not entirely sure do they do it to prove their manhood to their sneering friends or they actually think that you were just waiting for them to yell something so you finally feel enlightened to do... exactly what?

Now, vulgarity and yelling aside, there is also normal, every day staring. Wherever you go, whenever you go, men are going to stare at you. If you have blond hair, oh my! Why, it is like circus here, and you are the 3 eyed bearded woman!

This will happen especially if you are alone outside or with female friend. Having your husband and 3 children in the tow is not going to make much difference either.

Most days it is (just) a big nuisance. But there are days, when it is just too much and when I would most like to slam as many times as I can into that Libyan car whose driver is making it just too clear what he wants from me.
When I feel like that, I think that anywhere else would be fine. As long as it is not Arab country.

So, I am looking forward to vacation.
To the place when I can walk on the street and not one guy is going to yell obscenity after me.
To the place where I can sit in a cafe and have coffee without the waiter coming and asking where am I from, and then mentioning that he heard woman there like to party.
To the place where I can drive uninterrupted by the honk of a car next me with the driver all but hanging out of window to get me to take notice of him.
To the place where horny teenage boys know their place.
To the place where I can wear bikini on any beach, not just on special beach for foreigners.
To the place where your neighbors greet you and don't look away.
To the place where I don't need G to get documents for me because it is better that way.
To the place which I call home.

Disclaimer * dressing "appropriately" aka loose fitting clothes which cover upper arms and knees (along with other, more common sense attributes) will help you fell more comfortable with yourself. However, It will have no effect on the treatment you receive. If you do not wear hijab (head scarf) and come from Libya there is not much you can do.