Say Hello Norman! Hello!

I just attended two days of lifestock training for TUP beneficiares in Aden. I am now trained to recognize healthy and sick sheep and goats, trim their nails, administer medicine, deal with intestinal problems, castrate them, and a couple more things I forgot.

Thus, all you owner of livestock readers out there, I am ready to field all your livestock related inquires. You're in capable hooves.

Where's the Point?

I think this will be the final installment in our transportation related post series.

You can indicate to drivers where you want to go just by pointing a certain way in Aden. Pointing to the ground means you want to go within that district. Pointing down the road means you want to go to the next district or further. Pointing across the street means you want to go to an adjacent district, but not the one down the road. The bus going your way will pull to the side depending on where you point.

The Catch: It all varies depending on where you are in the city. In Mansoora, across the road means Crater and down the road means Ma'alla. In Crater, down the road (depending on the direction) can mean Ma'alla or Khor Maksar, and across the road means Kalouah. The list goes on.

Now that I know the point, I need to learn where to point.

After the Random

Beneficiaries have been selected so the project is moving into the training and asset transfer stage. The selected beneficiaries will receive training on a productive assest such as livestock or sewing, receive that asset, and then have regular check ups with field staff to address any problems with working with the asset (uncooperative goats and the sort). That's Targeting the Ultra Poor in a nutshell.

This is an exciting stage. The heart of the project is the relationships the field staff build with the beneficiaries as they work with their asset. I have been in meetings the past couple days listening to BRAC and CGAP representatives train the field staff on how manage those relationships.

My time in Sana'a was good. It's quite a different city from Aden. It was strange to get on the plane and go home to Aden. It was nice though. I have an apartment in Aden now. Send me an email for the address.

I have not really met my neighbors other than yesterday, my neighbors kids locked me IN my apartment. There is a sliding bar lock on the outside of my door which they playful slid into place. Kids, so cute. Fortunately my landlord was home and came and set me free. I think my landlord must have scolded them or something because now they run away when I come up the stairs. So, all in all, still working on meeting the neighbors.

Soggy Bottom Boy

I traveled to Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, this weekend to process my residence visa and meet with our project implementing partners. At my first meeting with our partners, I sat down to talk with a co-worker about the project. Unfortunately, the chair I selected was soaking wet and before I could avert disaster, my entire bottom was wet. I went the rest of the day with my pants completely soaked. It's a unique challenge trying to be serious and professional while your pants are wet. Other than not having my swimming trunks, I felt prepared and the meetings went well. More to come on my time in Sana'a.

A Complete Knock Off

Continuing transportation themed posts, there is a swarm of big and small buses on the streets of Aden offering cheap transportation. From what I have observed so far, the big buses run local routes stopping frequently and moving people back and forth down long streets. The smaller buses serve that purpose as well but they also shuttle passengers between districts and between the mainland and the peninsula. See below:


The Aden system for telling the bus driver you want to get off is a sharp knock on the metal bus frame. They respond to verbal commands but the knock seems to do the trick. Unless you're me and are a complete failure at knocking on the side of the bus. So far I have: missed the bus and hit the window, not knocked hard enough, or hit the rubber padding that insulates the windows. It's only been a month though. Give me one more and I'll have it down.

Thanks Google for the pretty map!

Fuming

Aden is in the middle of a diesel shortage that has lasted almost a week. There are long queues outside each gas station that block traffic and generally get everyone hot under the collar. Shortages are not that uncommon in Aden and Sana'a but they often are not this long. The government says it will end shortly, for what that is worth.

The problem seems to be this: The government recently loosened price controls on diesel and other oil products allowing the price to rise based on a World Bank report in May that oil prices in Yemen were less han 60% the world price average. The World Bank hoped to combine a reduction in government oil subsides with loans and reforms to allow the government to save on subsides and generate income with higher oil prices. The reforms, however, did not work as they were insufficient or absorbed by corrupt officials leaving the poorest in Yemen the burden of the higher fuel costs. As for the shortage, the truckers that keep Aden and other cities supplied have been denied corresponding wage hikes and thus are on strike. Thus, there is not enough diesel reaching Aden.


Further complicating matters is the occasional checkpoint set up by disgruntled members of the army who have not received their salaries for several months. They have also been responsible for waylaying trucks causing acute shortages. Note to self: If I train people in military tactics, pay them well.

Exploding the Question

I am currently staying in a hotel that is popular for wedding parties. What this means is around 11 PM, a long train of cars rolls past the hotel blaring their horns as loud as possible. Kids in the car caravan are playing drums, those not drumming are throwing firecrackers and those not throwing firecrackers are lighting them for the kids with better arms. It's quite a festival.

Car decoration is a must for your Yemen wedding. I wish I had a picture but I don't so I'll try to describe it. Cars are bedazzled with window frosting and ribbon. A standard look is a small bow on top of the car with ribbons splaying out from it reaching various edges of the hood like a fan. The windows are frosted with white and pink paint and unfortunate stencils are responsible for floods of anatomically incorrect hearts spilling over from window to window. Often only a half the windshield is left clear for the driver to see.

Apparently, the month before Ramadan is the big wedding season as the fast during Ramadan calls Muslims to abstain from food, drink, and intercourse. I wonder if that means there's a month lull for births in Yemeni hospitals.