Have you smiled yet today?

It's almost half way through January and I'm finally getting around to posting my New Year's resolution:

Make someone smile and laugh every day.

That's easier said than done as most people around me here in Libya are pretty depressed.. Everyone I meet tells me they are unhappy with the way things are turning out.  Pessimism prevails, I hear the phrase 'sinking ship' frequently - I think I've even used it myself a time or two. It's hard to be upbeat and optimistic. Maybe they should start putting anti-depressants in the bread supply. Meanwhile, I will try my best to honor my New Year's resolution. 

The past 12 months - Recapping 2013

Here's a recap of my world, 2013...

January
 My single post for January was about the weather... as usual it was a rainy January and I spent quite a bit of time in the car, traversing on very bad roads.

February
The month began with a post about a historical landmark near Tarhouna.  Later on in the month I posted about a childhood remembrance. There was Libyan Revolution Day to get happy about, and fun times with my son Ibrahim. We waited for Nora's exam results to come out while we devised plans to scare off marriage proposals.

March
An anniversary this month - 24 years in Libya which is nearly half my life! I enjoyed springtime in my garden and tried (in vain) to buy the most exquisite lamp I had yet to see in Libya.

April
A big milestone for my daughter Sara - braces! After some dust storms that were so bad they closed down the airport I spent time cleaning up in my garden.

May
We went hiking in the mountains on a dusty day, but still had a good time anyway. There was some drama with my in-laws that turned out not to be very dramatic after all (thank God!). And I requested some ideas to get me through writers block.

June
We had some foggy mornings and my husband built some bird-feeders for the garden. I wrote a small poem called 'The Libyan Waiting Room' and started my annual stocking up for Ramadan. We had a morning picnic at the seaside  with a good friend. I wrote a 5 minute adventure story and reported on life's annoyances in Libya (drones and houseflies).

July
Ramadan preparations are well underway at the beginning of the month. The Minister of Electricity announced that there would be no power cuts during Ramadan - he didn't mention which year though because we had power cuts nearly every day. It was hot, usually over 40C and we suffered our way through the month. There were assassinations of activists in Benghazi and  unrest in the country and even close by -  right down our dirt road.

August
The Heath Minister announced that "Libyan hospitals were not fit for human beings" and said a contract was awarded to a British company to try to remedy the situation. I posted a list of things I had written in the past about my hospital experiences in Libya. I had a guest post regarding the rights of foreign wives of Libyans (we hope there will be changes made soon). Ramadan ended, we had a quiet Eid and then it was time to get back on some sort of schedule.  The new school year was about to start and I reported on a project to build portable classrooms in Libya. It was time to plan my trip to Florida to visit my family there - I was counting the seconds till it was time to leave as the temperatures in Libya got higher and the power cuts got longer.

September
The power cuts in Libya continued (seems to be the theme this year) and to top that off the water supply to the capital was cut off, but I was on holiday -  far away in Florida. I had spent a few days in the UK on my way to the United States. Unfortunately I had the flu and so didn't really get to enjoy my visit to Cambridge as much as I'd have liked, but I was 'home' in Florida recovering.

October
This month was spent with family and friends. I didn't post much during this month because I was too busy. This is what I was up to: We spent time shopping, picnicking, attending music festivals in the park, and spending time with friends.  My mother had good news from her doctor and we decided to take a 5 day cruise to the western Caribbean visiting the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. We had a fabulous time and hope to go again in 2014. Here are some pictures that I had planned to post, but never got around to:

Cambridge when it wasn't raining was really nice. 

I took this picture while taking a walk on the beach about 5 minutes from my mother's house. I'm going to have the picture printed and framed to put over my desk.

This was a big milestone for my mother. She has health problems that require her to use a walker, which is fine for the house, but make shopping difficult. She had refused to use the motorized cart  - but she finally gave in and we got her on one for the first time. She was all over the store!

Too many pictures of the cruise to post here... I will have to upload them someplace. 

November
Back to Libya. I spent time sorting through my house and getting rid of junk. Mid-month, Libyans demonstrated, demanding that the militias leave Tripoli - people were killed in the process and many were injured. The militias pulled back and Libya shut down for a general strike that lasted about 2 weeks.

December
I posted about  how the situation in Libya made posting anything difficult, how unfortunately, the new found freedoms in Libya don't necessarily include the freedom to publish your opinion. And lastly... a post about the gasoline crisis and having an empty tank.

I'm hoping that 2014 will be a wonderful year for all!

Libya's Running on Empty

Tripoli is suffering from a gas crisis this week... it seems ridiculous as Libya is an oil producing country. My tank was on empty yesterday, but my son managed to get me 20 litres of gas from someone who drove all the way to Khoms (a 2 hours drive away). I'm hoping that it will last me until the gas crises is over and I can fill up my tank again.

The gas indicator light was flashing....

Looking on the bright side... I have an excuse to do nothing and be nowhere... I'm going to relax and enjoy reading a book - the weather report says rain tomorrow. I see a nice warm blanket in my future.

Libya Hurra! ... Libya Free!

It’s almost the end of the year. Usually at this time of the year I look back at old posts and recap my year’s events. This year I haven’t posted very often. Not because there hasn't been anything to write about, but simply because nowadays writing about events happening around me might not be a very bright idea.

A great deal has been happening in Libya over the past year, and I've had quite a few interesting adventures here, but posting these days is risky, especially if you are expressing any kind of opinion because there is always someone who just might not agree with your views and take offence – and that doesn't necessarily mean they will just make a comment.  In this year alone, there have been reports in Libya of journalists being kidnapped, shot at, and even killed. The head of one of Tripoli’s local radio stations was found shot to death recently. You don’t even have to be part of the media to be a target.  This past week an American teacher was shot and killed in Benghazi – reason and assailants unknown. 

During the Gadaffi era there was a fairly tight muzzle on the media, but I was still able to pretty much express my views about things (although sometimes I had to do it in a rather vague manner).  Right after the liberation, Libya witnessed an outpouring of all kinds of stories and reports in newspapers, on television and on the Internet.  Everyone was thrilled with their newly found freedom to say whatever they wanted and to be able to express themselves in ways they never thought possible. Numerous new television and radio stations opened up and there was also an increase in the number of newspapers in the country.

Despite all this new-found freedom, I've noticed that over the last year or so, that the Libyan blogosphere has slowed to a crawl. Few Libyan bloggers have been posting in the last year, possibly because they’re expressing themselves more on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.  But I wonder if the reason for the absence of blog posts, even for those bloggers who post anonymously, is because they just don’t feel safe to write anymore. 

  

My posts this year have been mostly about the weather, my garden and complaints about the continued power outages. I've got lots of opinions about what’s happening around me but I’m keeping my thoughts to myself. Also, I've had some interesting adventures during the past year that I’m keeping to myself too.  

I hope the situation will change... soon, I hope… (Insert sitting duck image here).

Fearful

I took this picture this afternoon. The weather was perfect, but it wasn't an enjoyable day. We could hear gunfire and explosions in the distance. In Tripoli, after the Friday prayers, demonstrators gathered, singing the national anthem and chanting 'Libya'. They marched and demanded that the militias leave the city. The militias opened fire upon them. Various reports of injured and killed - the casualty lists grew throughout the day. 

As the sun set and we could still hear fighting and heavy artillery coming from the city. Later in the evening the Prime Minister gave a televised address which didn't go over very well and was later followed by a second address. Still the shooting continues. There is talk of a general strike and the launch of a civil disobedience campaign until the militias leave. 

It's been more than two years since the end of the revolution, but has Libya really been liberated? Oh Libyans! Put down your weapons and embrace one another... then you will finally be free!

Back again

I'm back and over jet-lag. Nothing changed while I was away except for the addition of a few new potholes in the roads.

I'm doing a Fall clean out - it's amazing how much 'stuff' accumulates. I've been rearranging furniture and I bought a carload of new plants to replace the ones in the house that had seen better days. The old plants are in rehab, hopefully they will recover.

Yesterday the rains started. The roads are flooded and the kids couldn't get to school this morning. They're enjoying a day off. Maybe I can put them to work... the kitchen cabinets need to be sorted out...

I'll post some pictures from my holiday soon. It was a great 6 weeks!

Still at home...

I've been enjoying spending time with my family in Florida. My son Yusef thinks we should be spending everyday at an amusement park (isn't that what Florida is all about), but who can afford that? Relaxing on the back porch, a walk along the beach, window shopping at the mall, communing with nature at the park are so much nicer in my opinion. 

In the shade of Southern Live Oak trees along the Pinellas Trail.

The end of my holiday is approaching and soon I'll be trying to figure out how on earth I will fit everything into the suitcases. I'm going to spend every moment I have busy with family and friends, but... stay tuned because there will be an interesting guest post on my blog soon.