CONTINUE - Part 3... As we familiarised ourself with our new surroundings, we were indicated to walk towards a small building, which was the terminal building, to check in. We entered the small building and were met by a dark, dirty little room with metal benches in the left and right-hand corners of the room; to the front end of the room were makeshift plastic cubicles between which you had to pass in order to get a 'visa', have your passport checked and pay a sum of money... a sort of arrivals tax, if you will. This wouldn't be the first isbaaro we came across. The small room, perhaps slightly wider than than five metres, was crowded and chaotic with hurrying of bodies and the echoing shouting of people. These people it appeared, being the kind-hearted volunteers they are, were competing to 'help' the arrivals. Being as exhausted as we were, we took a seat at one of the metal benches and observed the shouting and loud mannerisms of all the Somali people in the room... this would be my first experience in a long long time of an area and place filled entirely with Somali people; for some strange reason I was expecting at every turn to see a white, asian or non-Somali black person. No sooner did we sit down than we were approached by two hurrying individuals, who we were unclear of as to whether they were workers at the airport, who demanded we give them our passports and a specified sum of money, so that they might check us in... after some heckling, being as tired as we were, foolishly perhaps, we caved in and did as they asked. We sat their and rested for a few minutes and wondered who we had just given our money and passports to, and whether they would even return. To our surprise the two individuals re-appeared after a while (15 minutes perhaps), gave us our passports and took us to the area where they said we could collect our bags. As we walked, I was still pleasantly surprised and my guard started to come down as my perception of distrust towards the local people began to wane. We walked through the narrow space between the cubicles and turned right into an even smaller space of about three metres wide and five metres in length where a man was manually pushing luggage and cargo through a hole the size of a 2x2m window in the exterior wall to the right of the room, below which a conveyer belt of metal rollers was positioned. The luggage rolled down the metal rollers and fell into the room, and each passanger had to look through the room to find his/her luggage. There was only one problem: many of the bags, including ours, had been left behind in DJIBOUTI as the 'plane' could not carry all of the passengers as well as the luggage. At this point I was too tired to even be angry and I accepted that that is the way things are done here. We did leave a telephone number at which we could be reached with one of the airport staff who would give us a call as soon as the remaining luggage arrived. We proceeded to exit the airport and a small fight broke out between two of the hurrying bodies at the airport about who would carry our bags to the exit (in return for a small fee), that we could carry/pull our own bags just fine unaided was apparently an overlooked fact that we also were made to accept.. made our way to the parking/driveway of the airport. We said that both the men could take some of the bags and as they calmed we proceeded towards the doors. Outside, it was pitch black, and we were met by a stream of waiting large 4x4 vehicles, the divers of which were all shouting and competing for passengers. One of the drivers jumped at us and forcibly began to take our bags, after fighting off the competition, and put them in the boot and atop of his car. We were exhausted and we needed a car, so without much arguing we got in and we were driven to our destination. Slowly we drove out of the airport parking/driveway and made our journey into the city. As we left the relatively smooth airport road, the 'roads' - even the supposedly 'paved' ones - became less smooth and we were rocked from side to side. As I wound down my window and peered through, everything in my line of vision was dark, dirty, untidy and dazed - was that because I was so tired or because there were no street lamps or pavement or proper paved roads, I don't know. I wil be honest, as we reached the more established parts of the city the culture and underdevelopment shock well and truly began to hit me - I was sitting there with my window half down, an unintentionally dropped jaw and a perplexed and puzzled look on my face. I was overcome and consumed with yaab; what can only be described as shock. Where had I just come? I thought. Where is the city that is spoken of? I thought... surely they didnt mean this chaotic, dirty and underdeveloped oversized slum. yaabka yaabkiis. Here is another admission... naively, I was expecting at any moment to seen gun-wielding gangs of people atop of 4x4 Toyota trucks; or to be stopped and robbed; for the car to crash or hit a person/animal/lorry/hut. I was glad then, that none of those things happened. It appearded that in all this choas and disorganisation, there was some underlying sense of order and common understanding between the locals. Most importantly there was peace and every person went about their own business without hassling the other. There was no road; no pavement; no stop-light; no fancy shops; neatly arranged houses; glass-fronted office buildings; no organisation of pedestrians and vihicles; or any of the other things I had become so accustomed to and taken for granted. Instead I was met by a few awfully paved and uneven roads with the remainder of the 'road network' comprising of dirt-tracks with deep groves caused by rain and flash-floods; a city in darkness because of either the lack of or low power of the 'street lights'; huts and make-shift houses and stalls along the 'roads'; visibly poverty sticken people walking everywhere; dust, sand and mud everywhere; sheep, goats, donkeys and cows wondering the city. All I can say is that it took some time (several weeks) getting used to this new environment. The culture shock was such that after the first 10 minutes of our journey, our windows were quickly wound up; mainly to avoid the dust that would enter via the open windows, the the direct stares of those we drove past and so as not to catch the sight of 'police'/'traffic' workers who, from seeing your face alone know that you are 'qurbojoog' and thus instantly would stop your car and demand money. The car drove no faster than 10-20 KM p/h at most and this was due to both (a) the terrible state of the roads and (b) the animals, people, cars, lorries and huts cris-crossing and blocking the path of what would have been the road. Although our progress was slow, it meant we got a good sight of the surroundings we drove past. Here is another admission... naively, I was expecting at any moment to seen gun-wielding gangs of people atop of 4x4 Toyota trucks; or to be stopped and robbed; for the car to crash or hit a person/animal/lorry/hut. I was glad then, that none of those things happened. It appearded that in all this choas and disorganisation, there was some underlying sense of order and common understanding between the locals. Most importantly there was peace and every person went about their own business without hassling the other. Another thing I noticed was the cool wheather of the city, which was simply mesmorising - there is this permanent light breeze that is very soothing and gives this city an aura of tranquility. It is also a relatively large city that has a unique character of having a 'metropolis' feel to it whilst maintaining a semblance of 'country' comfort. Waking up to the noise and hustle and bustle of Hargeisa and going to bed late at night with the city still roaring, full of energy - in that respect it reminded me of Dubai, the 24/7 city; although infinitely less developed, built-up and organised We reached our hotel and booked in to our rooms. The hotel was semi-well organised but there were still some prominent evidences of disorganisation and low quality, the worst of which being the plumbing. As I lay there on my rockhard bed, waiting to fall asleep despite the very loud noise of the hustle and bustle of the evidently very large and busy city, I was both shocked and exhausted, and wondered what else was masked by the dark that this city had in store for me. To be continued...

Someone tell Somali artists that only T-Pain can get away with constantly using auto-tune in the most obvious way

Naxar Nugaaleed;873561 wrote: Nice song but can someone please pickup an actual musical instrument rather then this electric keyboard. ?You are asking too much...

raula;873702 wrote: At all costs avoid office gossip (always try to stay neutral & less involved). x a 1000, word gets round. In fact, avoid any kind of gossip where you can.

Ina lilaahi wa ina ileeyhi raajicuun. Qadr Alle' waaye AUN. Her sister is mentally destroyed for life.

Juxa;872950 wrote: war muruq marabee baruur daawadeed which involves minimum exercise ii sheeg Sawm = Ajar + weightloss. I think that is the best avenue for you to explore.

Well done Narniah! Ilaahay ha kuu barakeeyo maalkaaga iyo xoogaaga... Some tips from me that I wish I were given when I started my first job all those years ago: - Always be seen to be working hard when your manager is around. - Talk to eveyone (in terms of colleagues) and 'befriend' as many people as you can. It make syour job a lot easier. Also managers will be a lot less likely to mess with you if you are well-liked and are well-established. - Don't work for your job, don't stress or tire yourself out, make your job work for you. Go have those drink-breaks and tell them you were thirsty and needed a drink. Don't be afraid of your manager, instead befriend him/her. Also you wernt doing anything wrong - if you need a drink you need a drink. - Do as little as you can get away with. And take as long as you can to do that little that you do do. But don't make it too obvious or you will become known... - Don't sacrifice or let work negatively affect your education (which is your true future). Its not worth it in the long run. - If you have any difficult colleagues, and we all have those, deal with them ruthlessly. But on the other hand, don't make unneccesary enemies that will make your job more diifuclt than it needs to be. Turn those enemies into friends and assets ratrher than liabilities. - Trust no-one truly.... there are snakes everywhere. - Save a good portion of your newfound income. Budget and spend wisely,... don't squander it all. - Never ever be late. It is unsightly and bad for your rep/image. Always make sure you account for your travel time + an extra 30mins for any delays you may not have forseen. It is better to be early than to be late. Also if you are early you get to hear all the usefull information that is doing the rounds and become closer to the management. its a habit to get into and its good not just for work but for eveything else in life. - Learn how to do eveything and all the ins and outs of your job/department/position very quickly; not just the basics or what you can get away with. Make an effort to find thinggs out that might not be expected of you and to learn new things. You should set yourself the first month or two to learn eveything thoroughly, it will make your job the much easier and less stressful. You will become a crucial and indisposable player in your workplace very quickly. - Don't lick 4rse (managers), instead build relationships on mutual respect and familiarity. Managers (as I do) use and abuse weaklings. Establish very quickly that you don't take sh1t from no-one and are on the same level with them, despite hierarchy. - You will find you have reasonable and easy-going managers. Use them to get your way. - One last thing. You will come across some colleagues who try to get away with doing naff all. Tell them how it is and nip it in the bud VERY QUICKLY so that they know what you expect from them when they are working with you. Dont be a f4cking push-over oo Yaan lagugu shaqaysanin. Fariidii hooyadaa dhasay noqo lol. Well done Narniah! Ilaahay ha kuu barakeeyo maalkaaga iyo xoogaaga... all the best and enjoy. If you need any advice or help, im only a PM away.

Great pics.

Do you not want children then ElPunto?

AUN to the victims. Aint nothing else to say.

Bluelicious;849827 wrote: These young men knew their chosen lifestyle would get them killed some day it was a matter of time. Blue, be a bit more compassionate walaal. For all you know their family members are on these forums; and knowing that they chose/got caught up in that lifestyle, is not any less painfull or anguishing and certainly does not provide comfort to their families. Imagine if your brother or son got killed and what you are saying now, was said to you. But it is indeed very unfortunate and regrettable.

Waa ayaan darro'. It must be anguish for the parents.

burahadeer;797546 wrote: beautiful city indeed,nice scenery,all it needs proper roads not sure if fixed,last time been there was 5yrs.don't like whinning mosquitoes thou harmless.given anotha 5yrs & it be huge. Yh Kaneeco with K9's is the catch. Theyll eat you at night if you dont have a net, in which case you will be left with scars and marks all over.

faarah22;797491 wrote: what an ugly third world town ( you can't call this a city, huge slum in all but name). there does not seem to be any definite sense of order or structure about this place, but rather mish mash of dwellings here and there erected at fancy and without any proper planning. then there is sheer monstrousness of the buildings themselves, why put tiles on facades, somalis it seems have a congenital love for the hideous. I agree with you wholeheartedly. All the things you are saying now, ive said many times before.

The valley in which Hargeisa is situated:

That is a diplomatic mistake and a loss for the Kenyans.

The worst thing is that the perpetrators of these crimes, as well as the Garissa massacre are still freely walking around in Kenya today. It just proves that unfortunately that Kenya time and time again has chosen to be no friend to the Somali people, which is a mistake on their part.

yh, if "of the hook" means impoverished and underdeveloped.

Don't trust these treacherous ************. Isku-d!r ayay wadaan, dan-na inooma hayaan. Why don't they talk about the innocent civillians the've been killing if they wanna talk about anything vis a vis Somalia?? Ku tufa...

Tallaabo;870656 wrote: ^ Far from being a rainbow nation, its the land of the last remaining Neanderthals. Except the few good individuals most of its blacks deserve to be put back in Apartaid. They should be put in zoo with the baboons. If all the whites and Asians leave South Africa, the blacks will go back to doing what they do best, which is eat their sh!t. May Allah bless the soul of the victim. Hadaynu Soomaali nahay inaga mooyaanee cid kale' halkaa inamay dhigin. Wax weyn ayay dalkeena iyo dadkeena ka sheegaysaa inay maanta Soomaali u qaxdo dalka Koonfur-Afrika oo sanad kasta lagu dilo 20,000 oo qof, 20,000 kale'na la dhaawaco ama "attempted murder" lagu sameeyoo. Lax waliba halkay is dhigtaa lagu gowracaa (oo laxda lagu metelaayo ummada Soomaaliyeed). All the tribalist online psuedo-politicians of SOL waxaa leeyahay these are the side-effects of tribalism, kala-qaybin, isku-*** iyo dagaal fidin.

Because it is in our strategic interest to be united.

General Duke;868580 wrote: This man has my support. If he attempts what he stated in this short interview he will be a great President, the best since 1968.. Viva Somalia. + 2013