Libya & Trash Everywhere

Lately we noticed people working next to airport road. They seemed to be collecting trash along the road. They pick up vast amounts of trash along the road and pack them in blue plastic bags. Shocking, no?
Shocking because even the most newbie expat (and non-expat) to Libya notices culture of trash here.

Only recently and only in some areas of Tripoli there is organized trash collection. Well, organized to an extent. The trucks used for collection are more often than not run down DAFs from the 60s. The sides of truck-bed are made higher with cardboard boxes or old spring mattresses. The crew stands on the trash pile in the back (!) and poor guys have to use their hands to sort through the trash so it wouldn't fall of the truck. One guy is on the street level and he is in charge of getting the trash bag and flinging it to other guy on top of the trash pile. Sometimes people do not use plastic trash bags but just pour their trash in the can. Then, the whole can has to be flung to the top to be emptied. It is horrible job and no one should be working in those conditions. But hey, they are not Libyans so thats ok!

Now, when we go on trips out in the country, very often we see huge piles of trash strewn across the nature. It sure makes it difficult to snap trash free pic. It looks like some of those "organized" trash collection companies are taking shortcuts to deposit. If there is an official trash depot in Tripoli, which I doubt. Maybe there is even a high-tech trash burning facility hidden somewhere?

Now, this organized trashing of the Libyan nature aside, there is also unorganized and much more personal trashing going on. Every day, anywhere you go there is a huge chance that you will see a Libyan casually flinging coffee cup, plastic bag, cigarette, cigarette box and what not out of his/her car window. Once I counted 23 trash objects flung out from 21 different car windows while driving or waiting on the traffic light. 2 of them threw out several things in a succession. Spring cleaning perhaps? And you know what, none of these people looked even slightly embarrassed.
It is considered normal here. They just do not understand the concept of a trash bin. Maybe they do not understand it because there barely are trash cans put up by the community. Maybe because they just do not get that what they throw out of their window will end up in their plate in the end.

I can not comprehend how can people be so uneducated about the effect of the trash. Hell, I take it back, this is not only education, this is pure common sense. If you do not want to have it in your bloody car, why do you want to have it next to the road?? Why can you not wait until you can put it in a trash bin?? This approach as it is not-their-problem once it is out of the window is mind boggling for me.

I have seen cats with plastic bags hanging out of their buts. They eat the trash which is flung all around the nature in Libya. I have seen dogs with plastic bags hanging out of their buts too. Shocked with vulgarity? Do not be, you probably help it happen. How many plastic bags you have in your car after you finished shopping in Tripoli? 20? 30? You think I am exaggerating?
Here, individual bottle of shampoo is packed into separate plastic bag so it would not, god forbid, touch yogurt bottle. The fact that fridge in which said yogurt bottle sits in, is not working half of the time is not a problem. But hey, we would not want it to be touching with something so dangerous as a closed shampoo!! I had tugging wars at the beginning where I would pack everything in the same bag and packing helper would take it all out (!) and spread it through 10 different plastic bags. I tried bringing canvas bag into shops, but I admit I gave up after too many strange situations.

Here, we have a big garden and by default, every time wind spell ends I go around and collect flown in trash. I climb the trees, I crawl into bushes, I fish it out of the pool. Plastic bags, cookie packages, crisps bags, ice-cream cartons, coffee cups, chocolate wrappers etc. My trees looked this winter like haunted Christmas trees with all the plastic stuff hanging and dancing on their branches. Now, the leaves came out and I can pretend I do not see it anymore.

When they do not fling it out, they sure burn it. My northern neighbours are experts in it. Every week several times they pile up their trash and light it up. Of course the smell aside, trash burned on low temperatures tends to emit toxic chemicals which then end up in my lungs. And sadly, since children absorb 6 times more pollution through their lungs than adults, it also ends up in their childrens lungs. The health impact is staggering, but no one here cares. Some of the most dangerous things to burn are PVC products, coloured papers, and food wrappers. Hm, could it be....

When we first came here, we looked for a nice private beach where I can sunbathe. We eventually found one west of Sabratha. It was cool place and I enjoyed being there. But. To get there we had to drive through salt planes which were covered with so much trash of such amazing variety that for first several times we went there I had to snap tons of pics. Just so people back home would believe me.
Now, situation has not changed for the better and we stopped going there.

It is devastating situation, and one that will have influence on every human being and every animal that will live in these areas for hundreds of years. But hey, all is good right? As long as Libyans get nice new cars and some extra petty cash from oil. That is how it is now.

I believe you can see development of a country by how it treats its trash. And immigrants, but that's another post. In Libya it is crystal clear how developed it is. Current priority of citizens is to have flashy new cars and mobile phones and spend as much money as they can on trivia. Its all about money here and how you show it to your neighbors. And its fine. It is human nature. And understanding what happens with trash when we are done with it does not mean you can't have that flashy car..

As for Libyan government? They will eventually realize the escalating problem with trash they have on their hands and start to deal with it. Now the priority is to put enormous amount of oil money into urban development of Tripoli in the vain hope Tripoli will one day resemble Dubai . So it is understanding that there is nothing left to build one decent trash plant? Recycling yard? One pathetic plot of land? No?

Libya & Spring

P.S. Maybe some of you noticed that some pictures from this post are missing now. Well, that would be because blogger is acting out again. Will fix it another day..

Libya & Heat Wave

I mean - What the heck?!

I am sitting in my living room sweating like a pig. I try not to rest my hands on laptop as I type since it is too hot. I try to keep my feet planted on the floor tiles which were cool few hours ago. Now in order to cool my feet I have to move them a bit left and then right once I heat up the spot. Even my head feels hot. I drink ice water with lemon wedges.

However I refuse to put airco on, since it is only March. MARCH. And since it will just make matters worse if I go out for even a sec.

We measured 38C yesterday. In shade. Today is a bit cooler (but house heated up since I figured its going to be cool today and left all doors open all night - HA!!) - 32C. That bloody gibli was blowing yesterday adding more sand into the house. At least I think it was gibli - sure was hot enough.

Its all making me feel like its summer. Only its not. Ah, the beauty of Libya.

If only I had cold beer in the fridge...

Libya & Power of Speech

I noticed this pattern in behavior long time ago. And it has been bugging me since. I am referring to comments that Libyans leave on different blogs (mine included). Now, this is about Libyans that leave comments, I am sure that there are plenty out there who think differently but do not bother to comment.

Every time I read about some even slightly sensitive topic (and trust me, ALL topics on Libya are sensitive), there are at least 10 comments telling that person off. And its always the same. Commentator will say something along the lines - you are wrong, its not like that.

Once I stumbled upon a blog entry of local Libyan girl. She was saying that (some) young woman in Libya are not happy with having to wear head cover. She was saying that there is no real choice, because if a girl/woman does not wear it, society (often male part of it) pushes it on her. She wished that Libya is more tolerant and that young woman had more choice in their lives.

The answers were as usual. Several comments just claimed that - Libyan woman like to wear head covering so she is wrong. Several commentators said that that men do not care either way, but woman in Libya are free to do what they want and they ALL want to wear it. Between these 2 types of comments there was a third one - "We love Libya, Libya is beautiful country". I see it often here, this need to proclaim that Libya is best country in the world. Even if it would be, that is not an argument, but mere statement not supported by fact. Anyhow, it was just weird to read.

On blog entries such as that one, poor blogger is going to be attacked from all sides to "show" that it is not like that in Libya.

The whole thing reminds me of sheeps. One goes certain way and all have to follow. "Black" sheep is going to be attacked from all sides and pushed back into the herd. And clubbed over the head for misbehaving. But that is if Libyan says something "wrong".

But if you are a foreigner and you write something Libyans disagree with? The response is swift and to the point - leave Libya! (emphasized by stomping their little leg on the sand road).

I must ask - why is that? Why is it that if I write something you disagree with, your comment is so extreme? Not only I should stop writing it, I should LEAVE Libya completely. Why can you not handle different opinion or point of view?

I have received several comments which end with - Go Home. Some of them are published, some are not. So I ask you - are there only 2 options here - agree with Libyans (that comment) and write only what they "approve of" or Go Home?

Libya & Why Me God?

Ah, there we go. You know how every bad deed goes punished? Or so they try to teach us in primary schools? Well, maybe not any more, but they used to.

Well, I obviously did something wrong. And now the Wrath is upon me. Or it is just a coincidence?

First there was a toilet. Then it broke. And not just broke, no-no, it leaked. Leaked! All over the floor. And does our bathroom have a drain on the floor? Well of course it does. And are the tiles tilted towards it? DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!!!!! Naturally, they tilt toward the bedroom. And did the toilet at least have the decency to leak loudly so I can hear it and start jumping around in a clown manner? (You know, that little frantic dance you do when you are pissed off and no one is watching?) Well, of course it didn't (insert manic laugh here)!! The bastard leaked in silence.

Just when I moped the floor and calmed myself down (long process mainly including fantasizing that I live somewhere else) dishwasher leaked. Luckily for me the dishes inside were not dirty. They were caked-up mushy drippingly dirty. And where is the kitchen floor tilted to? Why yes, towards our new fridge of course. And did that happen loudly? Of course not! I must however, acknowledge the luck I had when I walked in the puddle (it came under the fridge but then apparently decided to invade the center of the kitchen as well) and did not fall on the slippery slope and hit my head in the kitchen counter. If I did, I would surely realize while wiping blood from the cupboards, that the leak was actually in the cupboard and not under the dishwasher. In that case I would not keep squeezing mopped up puddle into the sink....

I must have been watched by the snickering Gods (yes, plural) when the amount of fluid I squeezed in the sink finally decided to overflow from the cupboard on my clean pants. And feet. And the surprise of it made me finally slip and fall.

The End.

Bringing your Car into Libya

I have meant to post about this for a while now. Maybe, just maybe there is some poor soul out there which wants to bring a car to Libya and is stuck just like I was. So here is  some info from my side.

One thing you should know before I start. If you really really like your car (maybe even have nickname for it) and if it is fancy dont bother bringing it here. Most cars here are marked by long scratches, missing bumpers and mirrors caused by overall crappy driving. You might be good driver yourself but there is only so much you can do here. There is only one word for traffic here - crazy.
Maybe you would consider buying a car in Libya. The tax is almost non-existent and almost every 2 weeks another boatload of new cars arrives here. If you want used car, expat community is quite large and there are always people coming and going, wanting to sell or buy.

But if you are determined to bring your car here, this might help. 

So, first thing you should do is export it from your own country. Procedure for that, obviously depends on country to country. But the idea is that you can not "import" vehicle in one country if it is not exported from the other one. Once you export it and get bunch of paperwork for it, you will be given set of export license plates which are usually valid for a month or so. Do not forget to take an insurance for this period, because generally, you will not be covered once you export it.

And then you have a month to make it to Libya.




At the time of our trip, there were no ferries going to Libya from Europe. We took the second best thing - Tunisia. There are ferries from France and Italy. These are some pages you can use to check the timetables and book the tickets.

http://www.directferries.co.uk/tunis_ferry.htm
http://www.southernferries.co.uk/ctn_ferries.htm

We took a SNCM ferry from Genoa to Tunis. I remember that we did not think we will make it on time, since we started our trip to Genoa a bit too late. Due to trying to fit objects in the car that were obviously not going to fit. And then enthusiastically repacking entire car few times thinking that if we just.. just..move this box here and that lamp shade there it will all fit in. You see, we were bringing car load of stuff with us. Stuff that we (by we I mean me)  needed pronto and therefore they were not in the shipment that left month before and that would arrive who knows when. So when we finally did leave it looked like we are not going to be on time for ferry.

But no need to worry. When we finally arrived in the port, ferry was still there, and few thousands of people did not even start to board it. And my fear that we will be the only black sheep with car filled up to the roof shattered immediately. We actually looked organized compared to other cars since we did not have anything on the roof. I saw a car packed full only with toilet paper, one with several 2nd hand mattresses on the roof and several more with toilet paper. It seems that for some reason toilet paper is quite expensive in Tunisia..Maybe they have some special tax on it.

Anyway, once we got in the port we had to bring our passports and car paperwork to customs building. At least I think it was customs. Those few thousands people were trying to do exactly the same and lets just say that queuing in line is something that is not commonly understood with people from North Africa. I am pretty sure we had to fill in some papers and get them stamped. After few hours doing that, we finally emerged out just to find all the cars still in the same place. By the time we boarded the ferry we were 3 hours late with timetable and no one seemed even little bit bothered by it. 

Due to booking the ferry too late, we had to book ourselves into luxurious double berth. SNCM website gave us only that option and it was good that it did. It was huge! Double bed, big bathroom, seating area with TV, complementary fruit basket. Very nice indeed. And it was cheaper than 2 berth cabin we booked next time...

So after leaving our stuff we went to the deck bar. There we could have Heineken and look down at the custom officers doing nothing. At that point there were cars still boarding the ferry. 

Ferry left the port with over 6 hours delay. And from what I heard, it is not unusual.

22 hours later we disembarked in Tunis. After getting through the customs there (you need to buy Tunisian insurance for passing through Tunisia) we started towards Libya. Road is a highway for big part and as you approach Libya it is a local road so things go slower.

Now, if you are still not put off brining car with you go on, read more.

The most important thing to have on Libyan border is a connection.

In Libya, little can be done without "knowing" the right person. So the first thing on the list should be to find someone who will meet you at the border and get you and your car into Libya. That someone will be paid and he will have friend/cousin/father/uncle working at the border. That friend/cousin/father/uncle will push through the paperwork (it is his job after all) and will also have to be paid.

So when we came to the border at 7AM we had a "Libyan friend" waiting for us on Tunisian side. We were pushed through diplomatic line and were on Libyan side within 5 minutes. Then our papers were dispatched back to the tunisian border control.  After finishing that the same papers were taken to the Libyan border control. And then things got slower. I guess too many people have a "friend" at the border so it is difficult to get priority...  To cut the story short, it took 7 hours to get through. That, by Libyan standards is short. We met truck drivers who were literally stuck there for 2 weeks, sleeping under their trucks and living from tea and sandwiches...

At some point I stopped listening to what was done, but I remember that if you import the car in Libya you have to pay import tax. How that tax is calculated is not clear. We paid 600 Libyan dinars or something like that. Secondly, the car got test plates (very shitty looking plates with green numbers) which would suffice until we got to Tripoli where we had to register the car. Another thing that our "friend" did for us. 

At one point, we were informed that the car is not going to be cleared same day and we had to reload ALL the stuff from our car to the taxi. The fact that the stuff were not checked with customs and that the car was not cleared yet did not stop our "friend" to drive it half a km down the road where the taxis were. In the end, the car was cleared and we could go.

Now, I will tell you a little story, but in no way I am implying that we did that.

Lets say that the car was not exported from its original country. That it was indeed still registered there. That the license plates on the car were still original license plates. That the name on the car papers was "hers". And then in one office on the Libyan border  the name on the car papers became "his" and the car got Libyan import papers. And set of Libyan plates. And at no time, no one in that office questioned where is the real owner of the car....or why the car has no export papers....

And lets also say that when the time came to take the car from Libya back to its original country, the couple ignored all the advice. That they packed the bags, loaded the car and went back to that same border. This time without a "friend". And when asked where they were going that they said Djerba. And that they kept on  driving all the way to Tunis where they boarded the boat, sailed a bit and disembarked in Marseilles. And lets also say that they did all that with Libyan license plates. And that they did not pay Tunisian insurance and unless you count Libyan insurance that they drove car all over Europe with no insurance. And that they passed through several borders and not one custom officer asked anything. Lets just say that...

Some story, huh?

Ah, and the cost info. The ferry price depends on the size of the car and of course kind of cabin. For the price of driving to the ferry port you can check viamichelin.com which is quite accurate and includes petrol and toll cost. Than add tax paid at the libian border and money paid for plates and car paperwork and you could be looking to few thousand euros or so. Again, it depends on several things and no one knows how much is tax on libian border going to be. 

My advice as someone who actually went through all of this is - do not bring your car to Libya. get one once you are in the country.

Libya & Cockroaches

I love animals and they rarely make me squeamish or scared. Even the ones that probably should. But there is one animal species that I just hate/want dead, and that would be cockroaches.

They also transform me into this jumpy, scared girly girl (not my usual behavior) who can not help but scream when I see one. Or more correctly, it used to affect me that way. And then I moved to Libya.

I did a bit of research and think that what we have here is so called American cockroach. They originated in Africa so these must be prototypes.... Later they evolved and became smaller...

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is a large species of winged cockroach. It is very common in the southern United States, and in tropical climates, and can be found in many locations throughout the world, due to its travels via shipping and commerce between locations.
American cockroach adults grow to an average length of around 4 centimetres (1.6 in).[1] They are reddish brown and have a yellowish margin on the body region behind the head. Immature cockroaches resemble adults except that they are wingless.
The insect can travel quickly, often darting out of sight when someone enters a room, and can fit into small cracks and under doors despite its fairly large size. It is considered one of the fastest running insects.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These are my cockroaches that I found this morning in the garden. Match box is 5cm long. And cockroach bends when it is dead. Really, they are longer when alive. They have wings and suprisingly, they use them. I know cockroaches are not supposed to fly. But I saw them myself. They fly for 2 meters in one go. Bastards.

Disclaimer * In case this post sounds like I never saw a cockroach before I came here, I assure you that is not the case. I even lived, for admittedly very short period of time, during university in one flat which had them camping behind the fridge. I moved out soon enough though.

First time it happened in Libya, G came running down the hallway to find me standing on top of the toilet and screaming. Embarrassing enough, and made even more by the fact that cockroach in question was already dead. Cockroach was scooped and flushed down the toilet and all was good again. That event happened on the same day that we moved to our "new" house. And on that day I stumbled upon few more inside the house. All dead, probably died of hunger or something since the house was empty for few months before we came. But I was in such state of panic that I informed G it is time to move somewhere else. Of course we did not, and of course it would be the same if not worse anywhere else. 

It helped that I did not find any more cockroaches for a while. I think, but can not prove that G secretly raided the house in the morning hours to collect and dispose of them so I would not see them. See, he really wanted me to like living here...

Sometime later if I would spot one in the house I would put glass upside down on top of it and wait for G to come home and kill it if necessary and flush it. This may sound cruel to people who do not have them around, but I assure you it is not. This is survival of the fittest. And in this case, there is plenty of them left anyway. Too many...

Now it is been a year and a half we are living here. I tried everything to get rid of them, but managed only to keep them away for short periods of time. They come out to the garden in the evening when it is very hot outside. Which in Libya happens very often.

However, I am not as squeamish as before. Now I am very proficient with killing them by throwing my flip flop at them. It is called flip flop attack...

But alas, I did develop a new fear. It is one of those what-ifs.
What if we accidentally pack one of these cockroaches in our stuff when we fly home or more likely in one of the boxes when we move out of Libya? And what if it is a female? And what if it is pregnant female?

It can happen, you know. And probably needles to say, I do check every single piece of clothing that goes in my bag when I pack. Weird, you think?

Libya in pictures (Part 2)

Old mosque in Tarhuna.

Man walking next to Al-Khoms port.

Palm trees.



Prayer time on Friday.



Iron collectors.

Libya in pictures (Part 1)

Could this be a christian church...



Mosque in Tajoura.

Demolished shops on Tajoura road.

No comment.



On the road.

Libyan men

When I first came here, some expat woman warned me about Libyan men. Or to be more exact, about attitude that they carry for "western woman". They gave all sort of advice and always finished by saying you will get used to it.

But I can not get used to it. I don't believe that anyone brought up in non-oppressed country ever could.

Apparently most Libyan men (and some share of woman) think that foreign woman are easy and therefore should not be treated with respect. It also seems that men think that we like it if they make vulgar gestures or yell sexually abusing words at us while we are passing by. I am not entirely sure do they do it to prove their manhood to their sneering friends or they actually think that you were just waiting for them to yell something so you finally feel enlightened to do... exactly what?

Now, vulgarity and yelling aside, there is also normal, every day staring. Wherever you go, whenever you go, men are going to stare at you. If you have blond hair, oh my! Why, it is like circus here, and you are the 3 eyed bearded woman!

This will happen especially if you are alone outside or with female friend. Having your husband and 3 children in the tow is not going to make much difference either.

Most days it is (just) a big nuisance. But there are days, when it is just too much and when I would most like to slam as many times as I can into that Libyan car whose driver is making it just too clear what he wants from me.
When I feel like that, I think that anywhere else would be fine. As long as it is not Arab country.

So, I am looking forward to vacation.
To the place when I can walk on the street and not one guy is going to yell obscenity after me.
To the place where I can sit in a cafe and have coffee without the waiter coming and asking where am I from, and then mentioning that he heard woman there like to party.
To the place where I can drive uninterrupted by the honk of a car next me with the driver all but hanging out of window to get me to take notice of him.
To the place where horny teenage boys know their place.
To the place where I can wear bikini on any beach, not just on special beach for foreigners.
To the place where your neighbors greet you and don't look away.
To the place where I don't need G to get documents for me because it is better that way.
To the place which I call home.


Disclaimer * dressing "appropriately" aka loose fitting clothes which cover upper arms and knees (along with other, more common sense attributes) will help you fell more comfortable with yourself. However, It will have no effect on the treatment you receive. If you do not wear hijab (head scarf) and come from Libya there is not much you can do.

Libyan little wonders

These days I am looking at...











 

Booking a plane ticket in Libya

We decided to skip to Egypt for a few days. Few blissfull days in nice hotel with spa, swimming pool, gorgeous inner garden, a beautiful bedroom which will be tidied up every time we leave and last but not least - perfect breakfast buffet. Faboulous! And of course, the pyramids and all that.

But in order for all these events to actually take place we have to be there. And in order to be there we have to fly there. Not so complicated at all. Find a ticket. Book a ticket. Come to airport on time.

Alas. This is Libya after all.

Day -8: G contacts his company travel people. He specifies in his e-mail which dates we would like to be flying. So lets say 1 May to Cairo and 4 May coming back.
He also tells them that if possible to have outward flight in the morning and inward in the evening. (That way we have more time for hotel spa , uhm sightseeing.)
Day -7: No news
Day -6: Its Friday. Travel people are off.
Day -5: G calls travel people to see if there are any news. They asure him they are working on it
and that he will be be First one they will contact when they know more.
Day -4: E-mail received from travel people. We are apparently flying on 1 May and coming back on 3 May in the morning..... G again calls them and explains (nicely) this is not what he asked for.
They tell him not to worry they will find something else.
Day -3: 16:30 e-mail from travel people. We are flying on 2 May and coming back on 4 May. By the time G calls them, travel people are gone home for a day.
Day -2: G sends them original e-mail again with request that they give us some options ASAP. 
Travel people come back few hours later
 - We are sorry, this flights are full now. If you told us this is what you want from the beginning, it would be no problem. Which dates would you like now? G doesnt point out to this helpful soul that he did in fact tell them this from the beginning and he tries with another date - 2 May to 5 May. G is very nice person like that. They inform him that they have to look for ticket again, but it should not be a problem.
At this point I am having panic attack at home at the prospect of NOT going at all and I decide it is better to deal with it in person. Also, I come to conclusion that it is his company travel people
who are the problem. Not all libian travel people. God forbid. So when G comes home we get in the car and go down to Al-Fatah tower. There are few travel agencies on the ground floor that I wanted to try.
We go into the first one that is open and tell the guy that we would like to purchase 2 tickets
for Cairo on 2 May, coming back on 5 May.
Travel agent (TA): Which airline would you like to fly?
Us: Do all of them have flights on these days?
TA: No problem, no problem. Which airline?
Us: What are the options?
TA: Afriqai, Libyan Airlines and Egypt airlines.
Us: Ok, then... (no clue) Egypt airlines.
TA: Which date please?
Us: 2 May to 5 May.
TA: Ok, then 3 May we have...
Us: No, 2 May please.
TA: Ok, ok no problem. 2 May....Typing something. Looking at the screen confused. Typing again. And on the screen same message appears - wrong code. please try again.
Few moments later....
TA: Ok, there is flight on 2 May.
Us: Great! Can you see is there flight on 5 May from Cairo?
TA: No problem, no problem! Typing again. This time right code. There is flight on 5th.
Us: Can you tell us how much is the ticket?
TA: 332 Libian dinars
Us: (This is better than what Gs travel people came up with. hopes are up) Ok, we would like to
buy 2 tickets.
TA: 2?! There are no 2 tickets! There is only one left on the flight from Cairo! But no problem. You can be on the wait list. No problem. Or you (looking at G) can take other plane. Some other day...
Us: Hm... That would not be good.... Can you check other airline then?
TA: Which one?
Us: (we doooont careeee) Libian airlines then.
TA: typing..... Yes, there is room on Libian airlines flight from Cairo. Looking at us happily.
Us: Can we buy a ticket then?
TA: But it is no good  to fly one way with Egypt Airlines and other way with Libian.. 2 tickets. very expensive.
Us: Ok, Can you check then that we fly with Libian Airlines  both ways?
TA: typing... Yes but there is no room in  economy. Too expensive!!! No, no..
Us: How much is the ticket?
TA: too expensive, too expensive... 530 dinars
Us: (thats how much Gs travel people asked). That is ok, we would like to buy ticket now.
TA: Ok, but it expensive. So 2 May to Cairo, 7 May back to Tripoli...
Us: No, no it is 2 May to 5 May!!
TA: Aha, ok. typing.... Flight full.
Us: (%&/%&$)

I will not continue, but you get the picture. We tried few more combinations at the travel agent, but it got too complicated so we left.

Day -1: No news from travel people. That evening we went to another travel agent (I dont give up easily) in Al-Fatah. He tried to persuade us we should go to Sharm instead of Cairo and when we told him in the end that we are going to Cairo, he told us he can not help us with the tickets today because he is closed.
Day 0: We were supposed to be on the plane to Cairo. But alas, one can not do that without airline ticket....

To finish off this little story - Now it is afternoon and we still have no plane tickets. Hotel is not booked either. And if by the time this bloody travel people figure out how to book a plane ticket hotel gets overbooked, I will kill them. With my bare hands.

Maid of the day

My Cleaning Lady has been here today. So after she left, I spend substantial amount of time to put things where they should be. It took me half an hour to find only the kitchen sponge. It was in the cupboard with clean glasses. Go figure.

She also managed to completely destroy fresh patch of grass that we were waiting to sprout for a while now. I am upset. But did I tell her something? Of course not. I handed her 50 dinars (just for comparison, average monthly salary in Libya is 150dinars) and thanked her.

I could have told her not to touch the garden. Not to use kitchen sponge to wash toilet, there are other sponges for that (Instead of telling her, every time she leaves the premises I go to the shop and get new sponge. We spend 6-pack of sponges a month). Not to wash dishes with that sponge afterwards. Ok, now I am over reacting. Kinda.

Instead of doing those sensible things I deal with it like a adult that I am not. I think about them all afternoon and then when G comes home I will take it out on him. Healthy, eh?

So why I can not stand up to my Cleaning Lady?
I will skip all the usual answers and say this - she is scary. Sometimes I feel like she is the one living here and I am unwanted guest.