How to explain, how to describe..

We live in a world made of parallel worlds, they run next to each other, the majority of times without touching each other
The length and depth of my ignorance blatant with every step; my parallel world never touched this one before
As my parents taught me, you do what you see and respect the local tradition; so here I am, fully covered, fully veiled, ready to learn


Hargeysa, what to say, how to describe it?The houses are one floor, there are very few buildings with two, three or four-maximum floors; many huts, made of any material the owner got old of, namely boxes, tree branches, bags, clothes. These huts are normally occupied by men chewing Qat, in what seems to be one of the main social problems facing the country.

The businesses are very small: a photo shop, a barber shop, a supermarket, a market stall, a pharmacy, a restaurant. The big businesses are the telecom company and the hotels, which cater for the many expatriates around.

It is a country of nomads and the main source of income used to be livestock exports; nowadays is diaspora’ remittances, which may eventually dry out, when as it happens in many occasions, the children severe the links, their country of origin became another one. In the capital however, there is from what I can tell, very little nomadic movement, although goats rumble freely across town, in what seems at times suicidal ways when they cross the roads.

Ah! The roads (not sure they should be called that)….they feel more like a bumpy ride. Although the colonial past is British, and therefore have UK-like plugs they drive on the right hand side of the road. Drivers must be alert at all times to both, the holes of all sizes and shapes (some of them could fit a person in them) on the ground and, to other drivers, honking being the road’s language. The cars, the great majority are 4x4s, come from China and Japan, with some exceptions that come from the UK, with what that means for the wheel’s position. The mini buses which work as official transports, that is if you don’t count the back of trucks or anything that can carry a human being, all have Chinese words on the side, and some terrible looking decorations on the side mirrors (I have yet to discover the use or reason).

It’s a 98% Muslim country. It is nice to hear the call for prayers. They call 5 times a day, although of course I don’t hear the one at 5am. Women are fully covered, the niqab being the preferred outfit; otherwise large and long dresses, accompanied by large and long scarves/ sarongs. Some men, the least, cover their heads. Many, both men and women, don’t shake hands with people from the opposite sex. The working week is 6 days, 8am to 2pm. The weekend is Friday.