10 Days Down.

10 days down. I've got 10 days in. Today is the first day I've had completely off since I arrived. Oozed my way off a plane, dripped into office life 6 hours later, and have pretty much been there ever since. Not exactly what I was prepared for, may have to look at a different arrangement, but for now, push on, push on.




Theme song for the moment: Ooo Child, things are gonna get easier, ooo child things will get brighter. Just when I feel like I can't possibly bear one more second of the necessary transitory moments of bubbling, boiling heat, when sweat is flooding from pores I didn't know I had (do elbows seriously sweat?! Yes, yes they do.), I'm forced to remind myself that I am simply moving from one A/C environment to the next, that my torture is temporary. The majority of those crammed in or walking beside me have no such luxury, no escape. In the office, the A/C kicks on quickly with the flick of a button and stays on for the duration. At home, I can turn it on when I need to (although I am trying to “need” it less and less so I can acclimate somewhat) and unless there's a power cut, the fan is always going. As September seeps towards October, as summer fades to fall, the mercury will dip from 40C closer to 30C, unbearable will become tolerable, and things WILL get easier. For now, I am sweating 24 hours a day, salt stains and damp spots line all of my clothes but things are gonna get easier.




It has been a rough go at work so far but that simply speaks to the indulgence of my last job in Indo. This is only the very beginning of year #3 for Oxford International Academy in Djibouti. Other than a workbook for various levels to go by, there are no materials. Leaves the door wide open to creativity though, yes? Sadly, I'm currently lacking in that department and hoping my brain kicks into gear at some point. Since my ragged and sweaty arrival, my office hours have been from 7 – 8am until noon, sweatbus home for lunch and small rest, sweatbus back to the office between 3 – 4pm to prep then teach from 6 – 10pm, sweatbus home. During our last days off (Thurs & Fri), we didn't teach but I was still in for several hours trying to learn the curriculum and prep for upcoming classes. This Thurs, I went in for 4 hours in the morning then my body simply stopped responding, refused to cooperate, decided enough was enough.




You know how when you really have to pee you can hold it until those moments just before you reach a toilet? Suddenly you have to grab and sprint the final distance as your body knows relief is in reach so it decides to just go ahead and get started. Yes? Yes. Well it was that, but on the exhaustion scale. I got home and thought I'd take a little nap but this time, with no intentions of returning to the office. I was going to try to explore a bit as I've not had a chance to do anything yet. Yeah, right. I fell asleep and was out for dead. I woke up a few times, read a little bit, puttered a tiny bit, but essentially … utter collapse until Friday morning. Exploring will wait for another day. Africa temporarily kicked my ass. Temporarily.




Bruce has invited me out a couple of times to meet a few of the many people he knows here and to show me a bit of what's what. The utter distance between street life poor and embassy wealthy is shocking. There's barely a middle. You have too much or you have nothing. Our apartment seems shantytown shameful in the embassy district where we live but we have excesses when compared to the masses. The enclosed compounds of foreign lives are luxurious, the houses and vehicles are shrouded in tinted windows and A/C units, and life outside the compound walls is marginally, if at all, registered by those on the inside. There is very much an “us” and “them”. My white skin alone lumps me squarely into one group or the other depending on what side of the fence you're sitting. Sad.




This isn't all just expats though. There are excessively wealthy locals. Somalis, Ethiopians, Djiboutians, other Africans who work for expat agencies or are connected somehow are included in the screaming financial division. An Ethiopian who lives in Djibouti but is contracted through a European military will be rolling in money but obviously must have come from money to have been educated enough to work for an expat company. The complexities here are staggering. Despite current financial struggles, we, of course, tend to socialize solely with the elite. I'm learning that most things simplify down to who you know, being a big fish in a small Djiboutian business pond, and the luxuries that come with those associations.




I've been to the excesses of The Sheraton, where the German military who are stationed here live, and paid $6 for a Coke, a local “downtown” watering hole that attracts mostly expats or locals connected to expats charged $3 for that Coke, and a local market where those who can afford some foreign foods, asked 60 cents for the same Coke. Amazing. A tight-lipped foreign face assigned to duty in Djiboutian foreign port would never step foot inside one of these shady shops so will never know my bliss of a 60cent Coke fix. It's a tricky little world on these shores, isn't it?




Connections seem to be the only life lines here. The company I work for, and it IS a company, not a school, is focused on finding new “clients”, not students at the moment. Each client may be, and often is, a wealthy, new contact who can hopefully bring in more wealthy business. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be much competition for English services at the moment so it's working, the business is growing, contacts are coming through, but slowly. Money is still a big concern for those in charge at Oxford, expenses obliterate profit, so things are tough. I know there are ambitions of expanding to do more local teaching, providing education to kids and locals who have no other resources but for now, it's all about who you know and what they can bring in. I leave that game to the boys. Makes me feel slimy and I'm barely handling the sweat. Business is a rough TOUGH go in Africa but they're making it work; I admire what they have created here.



I'm still finding my ground. It's not a beautiful city, by any stretch of my imagination, but I'll find it. It's always there, sometimes we just have to look for it, right? The seas surrounding our little part of the peninsula are harbour and business front, full stop. Not swimming seas. A far cry from the squeaky white exotics of Tofo, Mozambique, but I'm not in Moz anymore, I'm in Djibouti so I'll find the beauty in Djibouti. I haven't had a chance to explore the diving / snorkelling opportunities here yet, I understand that they're a good distance off, but it's on the list. Once I settle a wee bit more, once the surroundings are low 30sC instead of high 30sC, I'll be up for more wandering. Time, time, time, it will just take a bit of time. And in Africa, there is nothing but time.