Love thy neighbour....

Earlier this month I made a post about the terrible conditions of the roads caused by heavy rains. I included a picture of the road near my house that was washed out. No one's bothered to repair the road - we're still having rain from time to time.

Unfortunately, someone decided that the hole in the road was the perfect place to dump their rubbish... So now we don't just have a hole in the road... WE HAVE A FREAKING EYESORE!

To whichever neighbour of mine did this... I wish you all the best.... grrrrr.....

Optimism - Pessimism... Positive - Negative... Libya

Spring has sprung! As usual for this time of year the weather is unpredictable. Yesterday it was warm and sunny and I sat outside in the garden last night in short sleeves. During the night the wind picked up and I woke up to cool and cloudy. It doesn't matter though because I can see spring around me everywhere: Wildflowers are blooming, butterflies are fluttering about and the neighbour's flock of sheep is dotted with tiny lambs on wobbly legs. 

As optimistic as spring makes me want to feel it's not easy to be positive here in Libya. My rose-coloured glasses are picking up the happy sights of spring, but that is about all they are seeing. Reality hits when each morning and afternoon I check out the news services to see what's going on... ugh! The prime minister was sacked, the airport was bombed and flights cancelled and suspended, reports of assassinations and kidnappings and bomb attacks and on and on and on.... a seemingly endless list of negative, negative, negative... I'm not even going to put the links here because it's just too depressing. 

On the 8th of March I hit a milestone - it marked the anniversary of my arrival in Libya - 25 years in Libya! That's half of my life. I had thought about buying 25 trees and planting them in different places around Tripoli to mark this day... but then I realistically decided against it. 

Generally speaking, Libyans are tree haters and I'd just find it distressing to see the poor trees suffering from abuse. I hate to see the condition of the trees around town. Even in my area of town which is semi-rural farmland the trees are in pretty bad shape. When I lived in Benashur I planted mimosa trees from seeds I got from a tree in my mother's garden in Florida. The trees grew into wonderful green, shady places where birds found refuge. After I moved out the neighbour killed the trees by stripping the bark from their trunks... the reason for killing the trees: "People are parking their cars in the shade under them and I don't want anyone parking in front of the building" So now there are bleak skeletons where there once had been beauty. I seldom go down that street anymore because the sight of the dead trees makes me feel ill. 

My decision not to plant trees around town didn't prevent me from stopping in at a plant nursery and having a look at the trees and plants on display. The owner happened to be there and I chatted with him about different types of trees. My dream for many years has been to have a magnolia tree in my garden so I asked him why there are no magnolia trees here. He looked startled and stood back and looked at me and said "You know about trees! You are the first person who has ever mentioned magnolia trees to me!" He then went on to say that he had shipped a few of them in from Italy, two of them he had planted in his friend's garden and the other two were at his other nursery. He said I was welcome to have a look at them and purchase them if I liked. 

This is a magnolia blossom... imagine a tree covered with such immense blooms.
The newspapers give you an idea of the size.  

I haven't made up my mind. Should I buy the trees and plant them in my garden like I've always wanted, or not. What is stopping me? 

The road's a bit bumpy

I'm really starting to hate driving lately. The rain that we've been having lately has made the roads a mess. And the drivers are getting crazier too. There are days when I leave the house in the morning that I wonder if I'll make it home.

This a picture of part of the road that's washed away on the dirt road near my house. On another road nearby is a sinkhole large enough to fit about 4 cars.

I'd post more pictures, but I'm afraid to take my hands off the steering wheel!

It's not just the roads that are a bit bumpy here these days.... life in general is a bit bumpy. .. I'll post an update soon.

Inspiring some optimism

“May Light always surround you;
Hope kindle and rebound you.
May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.
May Wounds become Wisdom;
Every Kindness a Prism.
May Laughter infect you;
Your Passion resurrect you.
May Goodness inspire 
your Deepest Desires.
Through all that you Reach For, 
May your arms Never Tire.” 
                                                                        ― D. Simone

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.