Camping at Lac Abbe

Lac Abbe is a salt lake that borders Ethiopia and Djibouti. As a morale booster, the team took an overnight camping trip to Lac Abbe. It was only 60 miles away, but it took us almost 4 hours to get there with all the unnecessary stops and rough roads. Along the way, we stopped and took pictures with Camels and of other animals that I don’t know how to spell.

When we finally arrived, we went hiking about 3 miles to view chimneys and watch the sun set.

For dinner, we dined on MREs. That alone was enough of an experience for me to know that I would have never lasted in the military. While we ate, a few of the staff entertained us with authentic Djiboutian chants and songs. As the only American female, I was singled out to dance with the natives.

After all the excitement, we prepared for bed and slept in huts/tents. My hut did not have a covering over it so I could see the stars as I lay on my back. Each hut included a cot and mosquito net, but mosquitoes are very clever insects. Even with long pants, long sleeves, and deet spray, I still wound up with bites on my butt. How is this even possible???

I hope this didn’t sound negative, but clearly I am not the outdoorsy type of girl. Getting bit my mosquitoes was not my type of party. I am now reminded why I never took my girl scout’s camping.

In the morning, we hiked towards the lake to watch the pink flamingos. Lac Abbe is full of sulfur so we weren't able to swim in it. Because of this,I am told there is no living matter in the water. The flamingos eat bacteria from the bottom of the lake. (Hey, don't quote me on this, It was 6am in the morning when he was trying to tell me this information.) Even more interesing is this is where the movie, Planet of the Apes, was filmed.

Well, I guess that would have been interesting to me if I had seen the movie. Nonetheless, it was a cool fact to throw in. Hopefully, it was enough to make you want to come to Djibouti to visit me.

Mayhem in Djibouti

I return from my brief visit from the States to find that everyone lost their mind in the one week that I was gone. For starters, they fired our property manager for the Villas that we live in. I am still unsure of the reason, but with that decision, my house lock was changed and my maid, Kadra was gone!

I have already expressed how I love Kadra! I was livid to find that they let her go and hired a whole new set of maids.

The following Saturday, Kadra calls me from the outside gate and ask if she can come visit me. I go to pick her up and she is crying uncontrollably. All I could get from her was that she needed a job because she is the bread winner of her family and her father is terminally ill. I immediately made phone calls and asked the new property management if they could hire Kadra back. The manager, Leila, agreed since I made a compelling argument on why Kadra must stay with me. All Leila needed was a copy of Kadra’s Djiboutian ID as proof of her citizenship. A day and time was set and Kadra was on her way to being employed…again.

Well, Kadra decides to meet with Leila and invites along 3-4 other previously-fired maids from the Villas. The other girls took over the meeting and demanded more money. Reason being; they felt our houses were too big and too dirty. Leila would not budge on the $200 USD/month that she pays her maids. In the end, Kadra did not end up showing her ID and hence was out of a job.

To date, I have only spoke to Kadra via text messages but I was told that she found a new gig that didn’t pay as much, but offered free medical insurance for her and her family. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Grand"Mother" Lillie

Last week, my Sister called and told me that our maternal grandmother was not doing well and she felt I needed to come home. Apparently, she was officially dead for 30 minutes but she was resuscitated. My heart immediately sank because when I left home in July my grandmother was doing well. There was nothing wrong with her that made feel that I needed to worry while I was overseas. However, I listened to my sister and started preparing for a trip back to the States. I called my mom and she stated that she didn’t think I needed to come home just yet. “Just wait” she said. At this point, I am unsure what I am waiting on, but I tried to remain calm and focus my energies on other things. After all, God is in control. Right?

I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, I received the official phone call to come home.

I jumped on the plane on Monday morning and arrived in Charleston, SC at 10:00 PM on Tuesday night. I immediately went to the hospital to sit with Mother. Her eyes were closed but I could tell that she was up and listening. I read 93 Psalms, her favorite scripture, and then just sat with her expressing my love through touches and kisses. It was very difficult for me to see my grandmother like this, but I tried to remain strong. We (my mother, Auntie Ann, and Amber) played inspirational music for her while we sat around her. The last song we played before we left was “It’s your Time” by Luther Barnes. It was getting late and I could tell she was staying up just for me. So I kissed her good-bye and left the hospital with the intentions of returning at 6 AM.

On our way home, we received the phone call that my grandmother had passed away shortly after we all left the hospital. That was one of the hardest phone calls I have ever received. Yet, I was immediately at peace because I felt as if she waited on ME. I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with all this if I hadn’t had the opportunity to see her alive and touch, hug and kiss her one last time.

As she wished, we planned her funeral within 3 days and it was one of the best home going celebrations that I have ever attended. I think everything went flawlessly and it was a refreshing to be around family and friends, unexpectedly.

A special thank you to all my friends who drove to SC to see me, sent cards, flowers or edible arrangements: SRA family, Nicole Scott, Tricy Liferidge, Naidra Hemingway, Nneka Wells, Lennox Browne, Crystal Dickerson, LJ Raines, Lisa Ernest. Your support was greatly appreciated by my family and me.

To Mother: I love you and miss you. I will always reflect on the life lessons that you have instilled in me. My affection towards others is what I know I have learned most from. Being appreciative of all things given to me and expressing my love to those around me are what I value most from you. Until we meet again…

Homesick Blues

Yes, I am still alive; I just have been in a funky mood lately. I guess the “vacation” is slowing down; I have become homesick! I have dealt with Djibouti because I looked at this opportunity as short term. And even though a year isn’t a long time, it’s the longest I have been away from my family and friends. It doesn’t help that my internet connection and satellite television at home is non-existent. And while I am at work, everyone back on the East coast is sleeping. Therefore, I rely on the internet to give me the gleams of hope to skype or facetime my close connections.

Issues have arrived back in the States that I wish I could just fix. That is what I do. I fix things. And even if I can’t fix it, I usually feel better knowing that I attempted or tried my best. Or better yet, that I was there. Being overseas has made me question whether I have control issues. (No worries, I squashed that ridiculous thought)

Yes, this is my sad song. I have tried to guilt everyone into coming to visit me, but it doesn’t seem to work. Or did it? Will you come visit me??