Pushkin Square

They sure love Alexander Pushkin in Eritrea, and why not? Pushkin was Russia's greatest poet and his grandfather was Eritrean. Many establishments in Asmara bear his name, and his books are for sale everywhere. If you can't afford to buy one of his great books, you can visit the beautiful public library in the background of the photo. I walked past this library at least once or twice a day during my stay in Eritrea and it was always bustling with people. The public library that I used to frequent when I was growing up in my hometown of Saint John is no longer there. The books were digitized and the children stopped coming. But I always remembered those who were less fortunate venturing into the library to use one of the computers, shuffle through the books or read the daily newspaper. Walking through this library in Asmara reminded me of that. Their English Language section was very sizable and full of people young and old scanning the shelves for something interesting to read. They had a few old computers in the corner. One elderly man was slowly typing out an email in English, he noticed me peeking over his shoulder so he turned around; "Where do you come from?" he said in a very calm voice. "Canada" I said. He smiled and extended his hand for a nice firm shake. "My sister lives in Toronto" he said smiling. He proceeded to tell me a story about how he lost his camera while visiting his sister in Canada nearly a decade ago. They were at Niagara Falls at the time. He went to the public bathroom with his camera after a long day of sightseeing. It was only after they had traveled half way back to Toronto that he realized he had forgotten his precious camera containing all the photos from his once in a lifetime trip. His sister reassured him; "don't worry, Canadians are good people." They went back to the lookout and walked over to the Lost & Found kiosk. Sure enough, some good Samaritan had returned his camera. "I would have taken it" I said with a smile on my face. We both laughed and shook hands again. "I'll never forget that" he said, before turning around to continue writing his email. I started to feel nostalgic once again, but I always remind myself that this is all part of a natural human progression. That old man was using technology to his benefit, but yet he still took a moment to share something very intimate with me. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end my stay in Eritrea. I had met some amazing people and had some amazing experiences. I slapped Pushkin on the back as I walked through his park one last time. I'll be back again someday.