23rd. October - More Photos

A few more photos of Liz moving to Segeneiti, the house, the camel and the coffee lady!



Loading up for the trip to Segeneiti


House in Segeneiti



More of the house



Golden slumbers!



Even camels use the petrol station here!



Primary school at Tsade Kristian



Preparing coffee



Injera - the local "delicacy" !

23rd. October

Liz has asked me to upload a selection of photographs she sent us on disc recently. Now I'm not really up on this Blog lark so this could prove, um , interesting; I guess she'll set up some sort of photo library at some stage (or get me to learn how to do it.) but in the meantime, here's a few photos for a starters:

1. With other volunteers in the bell tower, Asmara.
2. The cup final at Asmara Stadium. (The local brewery team won!)
3. Next door's kids - Haynock and Heaven.
4. Segeneiti (rush hour)

23rd October 2008 (Liz's PA i.e. Dad, added these!)

An arial shot of Asmara.

Me again!!

Hi again!
I managed to get my new sim card and so I think this will be the last update for a couple of weeks at least as there is no internet in Segeneiti and I will probably ride back tomorrow. My new sim card means I now have a new phone number, please contact my parents or me via email if you'd like to know the number!
It's becoming noticeably cooler here now - the winds are picking up - apparently a prominent feature of Eritrean Highlands Autumns! Today was pretty warm but it's cooled off considerably as the sun has started setting. Days here are quite short with the sun setting at about 6 in the evening. Days start early though with schools opening for flag ceremony at 7:15am!! I am still not made for mornings though people keep telling me I'll get used to it!
Schools are usually split into morning and afternoon shifts as there are not enough teachers (or classrooms) to hold everyone at once. Children go to kindergarten, then elementary school (grades 1-5), junior school (grades 6-8), secondary (grades 9-11). Each year, students need to pass the end of year assessment in order to move int0 the next grade. This means there are often children of very different ages in the same class. Class sizes are big and often a teacher has 80 or 90 children in one class. I am hoping to visit some schools in my subzoba starting on Monday- this will give me more of an idea about the kinds of training teachers need and want. The school year starts very slowly and often children and teachers are late back due to harvesting and/or visiting family for Eid but most people should be back by Monday so it seems like a good time to start.
I'm going to try to add some photos so you guys can finally see what Eritrea looks like!

Finally an update from me!!

Hi everyone! I'm staying in Asmara this week following bike training and whilst waiting for a new sim card. It seems that the VSO office computer is currently accessing the internet at a reasonable speed so I thought I'd try to update you all!!!
As I mentioned I've been back in Asmara for a week. We had three days of off-road motorbike training which was brilliant fun!! We were riding over rocks like pros by the end of the second day!! Managed to weave in and out of the row of cones at 2.5 metres distance - the test of whether or not you are allowed to ride a motorbike on the road in Eritrea??!!! The distance is actually 3 metres but I think Yonus (the tutor) was trying to push us a bit!
On Saturday we went to see the celebrations for the orthodox festival of 'the finding of the true cross'. There was a short play about finding the cross - we think!!! Then quite a bit of chanting and rumming and then they set fire to a huge pointed bonfire - about 20 foot tall! The way the fire falls is supposed to indicate the luck for the coming year - it fell the best way- though apparently it is possibly fixed so that it falls that way every year!!
Have been visiting lots of coffee houses drinking macciato and working my way through the endless choice of cakes - not sure when this weight loss is going to happen! I need to get back to Segeneiti for the sake of my wallet and my waistline.
Things have been closed this week due to Eid but tomorrow we are hoping the Eritel office will be open and I'll be able to collect my new sim card. There has been a bit of a mix up - the old number is now not mine but another vso's number and I will hopefully get a new number tomorrow. It is not possible to text in or out of Eritrea but I would love to receive calls!!! These can be pretty pricey but mum is working out the cheapest phone card available and I'll keep you posted on that!
Ok, better get back to the pension now - desperately hoping this post will load!
L xx