All posts filed under: Expat Living

on a potluck

Published by erinwrote

I left my first job in Somaliland last week, to join a different organization just down the road. Serendipitously, my last day at the old gig coincided with the US Thanksgiving holiday, so all my gratitude was thrown into one bucket. To celebrate, our office hosted a lunch potluck. Some were concerned that things wouldn’t go off well, given this was an unknown holiday (by the majority) and a new dining concept (potluck). In the end, though, things went swimmingly, staff brought mountains of food, and we indulged to our hearts’ content: Somali classics, Ethiopian loaners, American standards, pizza and burgers (but of course@), and more. Appropriately, this post is an ode to gratitude, for a number of things perhaps elementary but also fundamental. Work | For employment, period; for a relatively seamless and drama-free transition; for 9-to-5s and side projects alike; for the organic relationships that grow from contrived collaboration and the friendships that develop among colleagues. Love | For the give-and-take, for the patience, learning, and maturing that emerges inevitably (though not always painlessly) from being in loving …

on a trip to Berbera

Published by erinwrote

Time passes, and there you are doing things you didn’t know were possible: harvesting tomatoes; meeting ministers; winning the trust of neighbors; chatting with cargo ship crew from New Jersey at the Berbera port; stripping down to bathing suits on a Somali beach, guarded by baby camels and soldiers with AK-47s. You made it, and the story no longer writes itself; you’ll have to put pen to paper and craft the day anew each morning. Here’s to relentless adventure.

on a walk

Published by erinwrote

An early morning jaunt on the outskirts of Hargeisa. Foggy, chilly, hopeful.

on all hallow’s eve (much belated)

Published by erinwrote

In lieu of pumpkins, since there are none to be found in Somaliland, we carved the most handsome of jack o’ lanterns from watermelons.

on BBC radio Hargeisa

Published by erinwrote

For a recent work project, our staff recorded radio advertisements targeting BBC Hargeisa listeners. Here are some images from our day in the studio, when we discovered some of the silky-smoothest radio voices among us.

on the inside

Published by erinwrote

As in Mali, and elsewhere, many homes in Hargeisa are hidden behind compound walls. From the outside you can’t see much, although there’s plenty to hear. Below are some of my insides, on this Hargeisa hilltop. My popcorn obsession continues, bolstered by the availability of kernels in almost every corner store. Below, popcorn gets dressed up Malian style for a date with my Somali colleagues. In the bathroom, a bit of the eucalyptus that line the roads of Hargeisa, for visual and olfactory effect. How are your insides doing ?