In 2009 when I moved to Abu Dhabi I made a promise that I was not going to be one of those expats who move to a country and complain incessantly about it. I promised myself I would make the most of country and whatever it had to offer. I saw my lack of adaptation … Continue reading »
Life is completely unpredictable. A year ago today I was on flight out of Tripoli, not knowing that it would be the last time I would be taking that route out of what had been my home for over a year. However, what followed that day proved that sometimes the worst change of plans can … Continue reading »
The ongoing protracted civil war in Libya; Contact from a friend who escapred the violence in Libya; Misadventure in the Middle East by Henry Hemming and simply reminiscing about my travels has me thinking about the Middle East and North Africa again. The two years and a couple of months spent living in two different … Continue reading »
The other day I read an interesting blog post on a blog I follow religiously about frequently asked questions asked by locals when you travel. This post reminded me of the amusing and not so amusing questions I´ve been asked on my travels, assignments and even at home.
As I write this post, allied fighter jets are scattered over Libyan skies enforcing the UN backed no-fly zone. This has basically confirmed that it’s very unlikely that I will be returning to Libya anytime soon or ever. Knowing this breaks my heart. Libya is not the easiest place that I’ve had to adapt to … Continue reading »
Below is a snippet from a chat I had with a colleague who was evacuated from Libya a couple of days ago. He says even though some of the new reports were exaggerated, things were really tense.
I’m in South Africa following the news on Libya. The remainder of my expat colleagues were evacuated two days ago to Malta and from there they are all making their way home. I’m feeling a lot more relaxed now that they are out but now my heart and thoughts lay with my Libyan friends which … Continue reading »
I’m currently writing this post on plane on way the home to South Africa. The last six days were spent in the UK with my girlfriend, which is always good, however, they were also six days of intense worry. If anyone hasn’t followed the news, here is a quick recap. Libya is in turmoil. The … Continue reading »
In my hands I have this little burgundy (not the British burgundy) booklet. In this booklet it says where I’m from. It also has a few pages with Arabic writing stating that I am allowed to work in Libya for another year. It also contains a page saying that I may re-enter Libya between now … Continue reading »
I’ve been in Libya just over a year and a month now and today I reached my rock bottom. I’m prone to the odd instances of being over dramatic about certain issues but today I think I have every right to be dramatic, annoyed, frustrated, angry, sad and any other emotion applicable to the moment.
I got back from my last holiday in October and since then I’ve completely overrun with work. Even though I’ve had two little mini breaks (South Africa for Eid and then London for New Years), I really haven’t rested at all since the Peru holiday (and even then, I didn’t really rest there as I … Continue reading »
After the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, the Egyptians have decided that they might want a change as well (the Papyrus Revolution?). News channels and papers are going into overdrive (hoping?) things take a turn for the worst in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa; they clearly want more. They want Tunisia to … Continue reading »
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in a post that I went for a walk in the area around the compound and enjoyed it so much that I wanted do it again, but armed with a camera to take some photos and to give those of you who follow this blog an idea of … Continue reading »
The week I decide to post something about how I can’t complain about my life in Libya, I end up having the worst week yet of my first year here. A lot of the frustrations of last week had to with things which I can’t possibly ‘blame’ Libya for, as it was simply the daily (however, … Continue reading »
*Also published as an Editorial (9 January 2011) on Look Out Libya** A year ago today I had just arrived in Tripoli. I still have vivid memories of wandering around the arrivals hall in the clothes I’d been wearing for the previous three days (due to flight cancellations and an unexpected stay in London without … Continue reading »
This morning I opened the door to my house when I saw a duck looking at me from the house across me. My first thought was “I need coffee”. I had my coffee and returned outside to really see the duck there. Odd. Anyway, he/she has been chilling at the compound all day. I guess … Continue reading »
Having anticipated that I would be working on Christmas day and that I would unable to take a day off due to staffing issues (The new guy always gets screwed!), I managed to talk my way into get New Years day off. Having done that I went on to book a ticket to London for … Continue reading »
Sometimes we (My colleagues and I) complain about our company and how sometimes they seem to not look out for us. Yesterday at least, we were silenced. The company held a very nice Christmas Eve dinner for its employees who had to stay in Libya over the festive period and I was honestly impressed with … Continue reading »
Continuing from the previous post… I kept seeing the image of this sticker everywhere, but had no idea what the sticker was about, that was until I met Emma, creator of the Look Out Libya website. We were talking about Libya etc. when she happened to mention the sticker. First thing I thought was, that … Continue reading »
It has followed me. Now I am following it. An omnipresent image since my arrival in Libya. I see it everywhere. It taunts me. The image is shrouded in mystery, some people haven’t noticed it. Others have and chose to ignore it. I haven’t. I noticed and I wanted answers. Before you think of answering … Continue reading »
