an observation occurred...

I'm still amazed at the American people's sheer friendliness. Everyone is extremely polite, one would simply not pass you by without asking how you're doing. I always used to wonder whether that person knew me or something (or if they were a bit disturbed in the head) but they really seem to be just a bunch of friendly people.
Apart from the international folks who work in the VOA building, they just stare at you and mumble something in their language. Some of them seem to have caught the back end of the American-English language, beginning their conversations with sentences like 'ivribodhy and theerr birother is hassling me'! (Can I get away with laughing at them? lol).

I've officially entered zombie mode, as of 9pm last night. Though I had 4 hours worth of sleep I'm still dazed, that 16 hour shift yesterday took a serious toll on me. I need to tune down my uber-excitedness that has crept up on me since I've started getting to grips with work. I'm like happy-go-lucky with all things broadcast!
So I shall take myself home and crawl into the comfort of my beloved bed.
Adieu

in a bay of slight dismay

I'm starting to reach the end of my tether in regards to my patience with the American government. I haven't been paid since I've arrived all due to silly federal beaurocracies and a gazillion paperwork that never seem to come to an end. Furthermore everything seems to hold up everything as they're all tangled up together; I can't open up a bank account cos I don't have a social security number which holds up the registering of my details with the company, can't get a social security number cos homeland security needs to verify me, homeland security finally verifies me and dudes at social security office send me a social security number only for silly Postman Pat to lose it. Bottomline; Americans are awkwardly backwards and work according to the 'baby steps method'. Can you believe I've only opened a bank account and received my social security number just yesterday??!!

Now that I've got that rant off my chest, I am looking forward to this weekend, namely Friday. K'naan is performing at the Kennedy Centre for free! How exciting, my wallet in particular is in a celebratory mood.

stuck in between..

work and home, which is highly frustrating as I cannot linger in between anymore. Most of my colleagues and I have been on stand-by for the past half an hour waiting for our weekly Friday meeting to take place so that we can all nod, mumble and go home! Being tired is an understatement, I've been up since 4am with no nap. It's a pain in the backside.

In xildhibaanland the ministers of the newly formed Somali government have been announced today. An old uncle of mine, who's a family friend, has been picked as the defense minister. I don't quite understand how this whole selection of who' s appropriate for which position is done. This family friend uncle is a known professor of geology, who's spent most of his life researching and publishing material in this field. How he's suddenly the best man for the defence of our nation baffles me tremendously.
I guess we live to see the fruits of this government though...

A moment of Eureka!

I've finally figured out why I have such an innate connection with chocolate; it stimulates not only my sweet tooth (lol) but my passion for constant education (don't laugh). I learned a new word today courtesy of snickers; peanutopolis. It means 'a state of mind making you feel very strong and powerful, almost mayor-like'. (I feel enlightened).
So a note to friends and close acquantances; next time you think 'why is this woman behaving like she's some powerhouse' please refer to 'peanutopolis' (and look for the trails of empty snicker bar wraps!).

Lately I've been feeling somewhat nationalistic with a constant googling of old patriotic somali songs. I suppose the xildhibaan-mania is having more of an effect on me than I care to admit. But it is a pleasant feeling to float away, even for a few moments, and rejoice in beautifully alliterated songs of the has-beens of Somalia.

Other than the above mentioned notes life has been fairly normal. I've been trolling along like a trooper in a distant land, though DC is becoming more of a familiar territory by the day. I've also kind of started reviving my semi-abandoned writing career (with the pressure of my dear old mum!), starting with the Somali-English phrasebook and Journey to Sophie, though the latter shall be revised somewhat extensively.

Until we meet again in the havens of blogeuphoria, I bid you adieu.

sharing a thought

I came across an article today on msn where one guy posed the question why do we humans learn from our physical pain but repeatedly make the mistakes that emotional pain causes? Take this scenario for example; If a hot frying pan burns you, you'll be sure not to touch it again but for some reason people put up with partners that hurt them over and over again. The article distinctly reminded me of a female friend of mine that I spoke to over the weekend who tells me her husband keeps spending their money (hers and his) on gambling, partying and all sorts of what he considers entertainment to the point where they sometimes struggle to keep up with their bills. This is intensely hurtful to her but lives in the vain hope that he will stop at some point. She believes he is 'the one'. Sometimes I wonder if people really are in love with their partners or just fearful of being alone (and therefore put up with all kinds of crap disguised as 'love').

On a more cheerful note, my weekend has been fairly decent I must admit. I discovered (thanks to my friend who's now officially become my DC saviour lol) a nice little Greek restaurant in the Dupont Circle area with some really nice food. I also caught 'He's just not that into you' at the cinema. A brilliant film that finally tells it like it is. Women have wasted their times deciphering so-called 'codes and signs', from guys who they went out with that have simply become disinterested, since the Middle Ages. The film exquisitely lays down the foundation rule; if a guy doesn't call after a date or does not answer your calls, it simply means 'he is just not that into you'! Brilliant.

Still at work. Catch up later :)

a wee bit homesick

Lately I've been feeling somewhat homesick and missing my family, today more so than the others.
Although I'm settling in nicely and for the most part of my experience so far in DC I've been in an euphoric state of mind, it can get lonesome at times.
I'm particularly close to my family so I tend to feel the absence of my mum and siblings more than anything else (hint hint to Ebyan, if you're reading this send me a virtual hug girl) I miss about home.
Work has been thoroughly enjoyable but very time consuming, especially since I have to spend a lot of time familiarising myself with the topics the service covers. For the most part this has actually been helpful as I'll feel less homesick. I'm feeling it today though..

Friday the 13th..

is the date of today! I wonder if society still believes in the myth of 'all hell breaking loose' on this date. My boss made a funny announcement earlier where he warned us to be careful today (hint hint). Apparently a young Somali girl killed a guy some years ago on this date here in DC! Here I was thinking we should merely watch out for walking underneath ladders.

In Somali politics the new prime minster was selected today. Omar Abdirashid is the son of the former Somali president Abdirashid Ali Sharmaarke, who was assasinated in 1969. The guy has a lot of credentials including undergraduate and postgraduate education in the West (rather than some made up qualification back in Somalia!) and has held several positions with the UN. Let's see what he brings to the table in terms restoring Somalia.

On a more personal note, I did my first phone interview yesterday in Somali (which aired in the evening show). I interviewed a Somali journalist about the comments UN envoy Ahmedou Ould Abdallah made, where he compared the Somali media to Radio Rwanda, that incited and blew Rwanda's genocide out of proportion. I wanted to find out his views. I actually enjoyed the interview (though it was bordering a regular conversation with my uhuhs and aha's lol).

I'm looking forward to more hands-on involvement in Somali broadcasting.

the arrival of a summer breeze..

has put a smile on a lot of faces here in DC including meself! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous compared to the aweful forstbite we had to endure over December and January. I spent most of my weekend days launching in my balcony, enjoying the Capitol Hill scenery. Good times indeed.
Fun galore chez Idil continued on Saturday night as I went to Babylon, a Middle-Eastern sports cafe/shisha bar with a dancefloor and a decent DJ spinning some joones! I got to catch up with the premier league on the wide screen, a well-missed trip down memory lane. Good old Premier league! Expectedly I spent most of Sunday chillaxing. I looked forward to work this morning.

When I came in to the office this morning, unfortunately suicide bombing and more killing were headlining the news. The latest news being an Afghani female suicide bomber who killed 49 civilians and injured more when she ofloaded in a public area. As much as it is condemning and absolutely unacceptable what these suicide bombers are doing, I can vaguely understand their reasons behind it. They have virtually nothing to live for with no source of income, nothing to eat or drink, women especially are anyone's prey prone to catching all kinds of deseases with no healthcare in place nor anywhere to give birth if they fell pregnant. There is no family unit as most people's family members are either killed or imprisoned. Joining a militia group that provides them some form of belief to stand for gives them, I suppose, a reason to die (since they're most likely to die, held captive or be killed anyway).
We live a saddening world.

I'm still in the office at 5pm. need to shoot off, been here since 5am!

A bientot, mes amis :)

steppin up a gear..

So my workaholicness is finally paying a teeny bit off in the form of me preparing my first correspondence report all by myself. Now the fact I'm particularly happy is for two reasons; 1 our company software that we use to edit audio in is somewhat difficult to figure out especially finding where the different themes and actualities are that I need to mix in and mixing itself, 2 I managed to finish it 20 mins early! I'm actually listening to my piece now as I write this, very exciting (although my voice still sounds like a 14 yr old school girl) I'm patting my back here lol.

Moving on to a more social note I'm getting to a point where I can safely say I've figured out most of the hot places to go to in DC (hint hint to friends of mine who still need to come visit lol). The areas that are specifically rubbing me the right way are Georgetown (they have a really cosy shisha bar that has a certain friend of mine hooked to the bone lol!), Dupont Circle, which is the upmarket trendy type area and Gallery Place Chinatown, their very own version of our West End where the only Nando's in the country is located.
I can't help but like the fact most movies come out here a lot earlier than back home so I've appointed myself to be a part time cinema attendee/critic. The last film I saw was New in Town with Renee Zellweger. She plays a high-flying city worker on her way up the career ladder when she is asked to relocate from Miami to a tiny village in Minnesota to build up a factory there. She finds herself in a modern-day version of frostbiting Skandinavian medieval times populated with nosy old ladies where they eat a weird mixture that looks like rice pudding for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think it was called Yapotzel or sumthin pfff.(apparently folks in Minnesota are literally like that!). Anyway to cut a long story short she finds herself freezing her ass off but remarkably finds love in between the icebergs in the form of Harry Connick Jr and they live happily ever after. Not too bad a story for a romcom especially if you fancy a light giggle but quite predictable.

Back to moi I'm slightly saddened as there are a lot of tragedies happening simultanously as of late. A colleague of mine has recently endured a sudden stroke whilst travelling on a plane back to DC and had to be hospitalised in Philadelphia. Another incident was one of the reporters in Mogadishu who reported for us from time to time has been shot dead in bright daylight two days ago for no reason. My prayers and thoughts are with them. May Allah bless them.

snowmania!

I hear my little island of Britain has come to stand still due to intense weather conditions. The schools were cancelled along with suspended public transport and closed shopping centres! All in the name of health and safety. (I personally think any excuse to have a few off days will do for them lol). It hasn't been this cold for the past 18 years. Mind you it was just as bad here over the inauguration period. I felt like my bones were ready to pack up and give up on me.

I have recently grown fond of the NY Times' online version thanks to a recommendation made by a close friend of mine. They have section called the most searched packed with all sorts of newsy and entertaining items that I have particularly taken a liking to. One of the articles I read left my head pondering on 1 question; how would you explain the difference between 'we're seeing each other', 'we're hooking up' and 'we're going out'? Or better yet under what circumstances would you use each phrase? hmm..

I'm planning to google and put together a list of some of the museums, historical libraries and attraction places here in DC I can visit. I figured I'm a bit more settled now so I can stop pretending to be lost and slowly wiggle my way into becoming a permanent Washingtonian (sniff sniff at the Londoner tag).