Cockroaches, crickets and dust

The past weeks have been highlighted by cockroaches, crickets and dust. With the end of the rainy season, the weather is again hot but now dry with a slight cooling early morning. There have been cockroaches and crickets everywhere – in the ceiling with their piercing nocturnal sound and from under the door from the corridor outside. I don’t like killing bugs but the onslaught was just too much. One night I caught six (and they’re really big!), a relatively small number if you consider how many there could be if you were living at ground level. Then the dust just seemed to settle on the outside balcony, inevitably making its way into the apartment through the window opening, cracks in the wall and under the door. So I have to clean the balcony ever so much more frequently. The mist they speak of here and that we’re beginning to see in the evenings is not a cold mist but rather one of dust. They tell me there is yet to come some cold weather, which I have yet to see and believe.

Two weeks ago, I hosted a dinner party for a select number of colleagues from the university. It was a huge amount of work for I had to start from scratch purchasing crockery and cutlery, buying in necessary foodstuffs and drinks. Nothing can be purchased in one place here so this meant going in all different directions, finding what I needed and somehow getting it back home. All small details were attended to and the table originally set for eight then seven looked quite lovely. All enjoyed themselves and were appreciative of the opportunity to get together in a relaxed setting. The one lady guest was not able to attend so I found myself entertaining six men – quite a strange feeling at first but “normal” when you realize how male dominated the workplace is here.

Classes have started and the first two weeks, there was no electricity in the rooms. One is still without and I don’t think there’s much chance of it being wired up. You see, the university rents classrooms from other institutions and there is enormous pressure on room usage. In the master’s seminar group there are 39 students, in the bachelor first year group 94 and another third year group I’ll have for the first time next week, 280 or so I’m told. The pressure of numbers is huge creating a nightmare at assessment time. The seating is basic – wooden desks and bench seats – and there is a blackboard. I have prepared all work in powerpoint to be able to interact better with the students but there sheer numbers determine how successful this will be.

Last Wednesday was the Muslim "Fête du mouton" or sheep celebration where households purchase a sheep, slaughter/sacrifice it and then prepare it for a family gathering. The sharing of this meat is an important part of the celebration and I was touched when the plumber had a small amount brought over from his home and also when a particular friend came by. It was nice to be able to return the gesture by giving some to my Turkish friends who have had me to dinner at their place several times. It is a festival all about remembering others, something like the spirit of Christmas I think.

There has been no Internet connection at the university for three weeks now and I’m totally handicapped – no email, no checking up on information. On Monday I received my snail mail as I eventually made it to the VSO office. A strange thing getting mail months after it was written, something that takes one back in time, but a feeling of connectedness all the same. Next week I’ll have to seek some other alternative if the Internet connection is still down. In this place, you’re left to your own resources to sort out whatever. You can’t rely on what someone ways and you’re left wondering where your place in all this is. At the time of writing, it is Friday 19th November and hopefully I can access the web soon to post this blog.