Stories from the Horn #168
May 2, 2023
My first year in Djibouti we didn’t turn on our air conditioner until the end of May. I remember wrapping ice in damp towels and placing them on my neck to try and sleep. I remember leaving wet fingerprints on the pages of books I read to the kids. The power was out more often in those days and we didn’t have a generator. I remember laying on the tile, trying to catch a bit of coolness.
Now…we turned on the air conditioner to sleep at night sometime back in early March. Have we turned into squishy wimps? Reasonable adults? Is it because we are older, wiser, weaker, busier? Is it because I sweat more now, after cancer?
I don’t really care why we have started to use the air conditioner more and am simply happy that this is the case.
It is hot.
Last week I was moving things around, organizing to start packing, and streams of sweat poured from my nose onto the items. I think sometimes when I say things like that people wonder if I am exaggerating, using a bit of writerly poetic license. I am not. I mean streams of sweat pouring from my nose, and chin, dribbling onto everything I moved.
You could complain, “It is so hot!” or you could say, “Free sauna!” I do both. I know next year in Minnesota February I will be saying things like, “It is so cold!” and, “Free refrigeration!”
On to the stories from the Horn…
Djibouti
How the crisis in Sudan accentuates the strategic importance of Djibouti
US citizens evacuate from Sudan and arrive at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti
A private yacht shows up in Djibouti after being attacked at sea
Why does Japan have a military base in Djibouti?
Urban malaria may be spreading by wind
More about Djibouti’s coming $1 billion dollar spaceport. Will the road to space be as bumpy as the actual road to the spaceport? We will see…
Djibouti hosted its first international book fair
Somalia/land
Was the Garden of Eden located in Somaliland?
Diaspora
A Minnesota Somali father couldn’t find a book about Somalia for his daughter. So he wrote one.
Mo Farah reveals his last race and retirement
Kahin, owner of the wonderful Afro Deli in Minnesota, wins another small business award and meets President Biden. Congratulations, friend!
See you in two weeks with more stories from the Horn!
Such fascinating articles! And I am so grateful that we got to experience the inaugural Djibouti book fair together, particularly after the failed first attempt :). Looking forward to seeing what coming years may bring for this event. And I love the funny but also wise perspectives you share on getting through the hotter months in Djibouti, listening to and respecting our bodies and minds in this.