Language

Kumar from Kerala

Well, I'm back in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again. I'm way behind on my coursework, but dare I say, it was worth it. Aside from a few customs officials at the airport, Kumar  is usually the first person I see when I arrive back, and definitely the first friend I see. He works at a corner-store near my house. He has everything you could possibly need, and he'll even let you keep a tab if he trusts you. Kumar speaks excellent English and Arabic but most Saudi's address him in Arabic, not English. The best thing about Kumar is that he has an excellent sense of humor. He loves his wife and kids and does everything he can for them. When I first started working in Saudi Arabia he didn't have a computer or a smartphone, but now he has both. I sold him my old net-book and an older Blackberry Bold which still works fairly well. In less than a week, he was downloading movies, using Skype to contact his wife and two sons, and even surfing the web on his Blackberry. Ask Kumar if technology has improved his life. He can't live without it. I wish my students would have a conversation in English with Kumar. Sometimes I want to call him in class and put him on speakerphone. I'm convinced that there is no better place in the world to learn English than Saudi Arabia. World Englishes are everywhere you turn here. Anyway, I'm working on it.   

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.      

A community center in Asmara

Some free courses being offered

While wandering around Asmara I stumbled upon this tidy little community center. The young men didn't seem to mind me snapping a few photos of the place. The fellow on the left, who turned out to be the director, even invited me inside for a tour. I was pressed for time so I declined his friendly offer. As you can see from the second photo, they offer an impressive array of free courses. You can study Italian, English or Arabic twice a week for free. As I resumed my walking tour of Asmara I couldn't help but reflect on the experience I had at the internet cafe the day before. I know that Jackson and I lamented about how technology is having a negative effect on youth in the West, but I ran into him again this morning and the first thing he said was, "hey man, if you ever come back to Eritrea make sure you download the final season of Breaking Bad for me and bring it on your computer; will you do that for me?" "Of course" I replied. I'm sure the director of that community center would love to be able to offer more ICT related courses and have his students connect with other learners from around the world. The increasing importance of multicultural communication course offering jumped out at me as I quickly glanced over the bulletin board. I thought again of the digital divide and how so many Eritrean kids are being left behind because of inadequate technological resources. As I mentioned in my previous entry, many young Eritreans are doing their best to circumvent these obstacles, but what about the non urban population? How would they be able to cope?

Fancy Italianate internet cafe 

After checking into my hotel and taking a quick nap I decided to go see if I could find an internet cafe where I could check my email and possibly get some work done. I went to a place that came highly recommended by an older Sudanese gentleman who I met at the front desk. English was the medium of instruction in Sudan until 1990 but Sudanese people also speak some of the finest classical Arabic you will hear anywhere. I loved his accent; I could have chatted with him all day. "I come here to relax" he said with a smile as he took a small sip from his glass. I never bothered to ask what he was drinking out of respect but I suspect that it's banned in Sudan. When the Sudanese equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood took power they quickly banned alcohol and dumped large quantities of it into the Nile River. I'm sure the fish were happy that day. Off to the internet cafe I went. I was optimistic at that point, but my hopes of lighting fast internet were quickly dashed when I walked into the cafe and saw half of the customers using Facebook Lite.  It took a record 1 and a half minutes for a page to load. At first I was frustrated but then I became interested in how the people who live here handle such a slow connection. A young woman approached me; "do you have any download requests" she said. "Excuse me?" I replied. "If you want us to download something for you, we can do it, just come back tomorrow." She also showed me their intranet service. They had stored a variety of English movies for customers to browse while waiting for a page to load. "What a great idea" I thought. The young lady went on to tell me that they add new movies, games and educational material everyday. I admired their determination to not let the frustratingly slow internet  hold them back. They were using a variety of ICT's that do not rely solely on an internet connection. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but feel that the young students who frequented the cafe were being held back by out of date technologies. I thought of the digital divide and I wondered how it was affecting Eritreans. In a society that is primarily agrarian, literacy is the main issue that needs to be dealt with. Addressing the issue of digital literacy likely isn't a priority for a country like Eritrea that is constantly threatened and is far more concerned with feeding itself than attracting companies who can provide faster internet connections. It should be, but it isn't. As I exited the cafe I ran into an Eritrean-Canadian man named Jackson. "Hey man, it's not everyday I run into a fellow Canadian, eh?" he said smiling. "Wanna a go grab a couple of beers and watch football highlights?" "Sure" I said, and off we went. After a couple of drinks and some conversation about the TV show Breaking Bad (I accidentally ruined the finale for him) I began to reflect on my experience at the internet cafe. As I looked around the lounge packed with enthusiastic locals, I said to Jackson, "you know what man, if we were in Canada right now 80% of the people in this room would be staring a their smartphone." "Yep, not here man, people love to talk with each other" Jackson replied. I began to question whether digital natives really know what true human connection is. Is it a skill we're losing? Jackson and I sat in that lounge for hours and hours engaging in deep meaningful conversation on a whole range of topics. I needed that, and I soaked it all up eagerly. I am a major proponent of digital literacy and I believe that real human connections can be made between two people over the internet, but I guess I'm still nostalgic, especially after a few drinks.  

Classic Art Deco in Asmara

One of the first words I heard in any language once I got off the plane and through customs in Eritrea was pasta. One of many borrowed words I would hear throughout the day. One of my first missions was to rent a car. I was put in contact with a man named Estifanos; an interesting man with several relatives who moved to Canada 30 years ago during one of the first uprisings. He explained in near fluent English that the Italians, although they built a lot of infrastructure, did not educate the people. They ruled Eritrea for nearly 70 years from the late 1800's until the end of World War Two. Only mixed race children who had Italian fathers who recognized them were given an education at a Roman Catholic school. This, as Estifanos explained, created an elite class who looked down on poor agrarian Eritreans. That changed when the British came down from Sudan in the late 1940's and took over. "The British gave us a common language" he said. An Indian businessman from Oman who was looking to rent a car casually joined the conversation; "That is true, it was the same situation in my country, although nobody is agreeing that colonialism was ideal, it did have its benefits." These are the situations I love; an Indian, Canadian and an Eritrean all discussing something we're passionate about in a common language. For all Africans, not just Eritreans, the issue of language is more important than people think. Ethiopia for example has over 80 official languages which puts a major strain on the education system.  

Khat market in the old city

I am on the plane on my way to Eritrea. Flying with Yemenia is always a bit nerve wracking to say the least. The take off from Sanaa was certainly not smooth. Part of the reason why I was in the hotel back in Sanaa was because my connecting time was so long. Yemenia waits until all of their flights have arrived back in Sanaa before they take off to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. Passengers arrive from Dubai, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Khartoum and are filtered thought the tiny international transit lounge before boarding another plane to reach their final destination. A few Eritreans have already approached me to say hello. One gentlemen who spoke fluent English, was very excited that I was visiting his country and wrote down a bunch of helpful information on a napkin for me, including directions to his favorite cafe in Asmara as well as a good hotel in Massawa. I was also approached by an Indonesian stewardess who seemed surprised that I was traveling to Asmara. "Not many Western people travel to Asmara" she said. I guess because of the ongoing political tensions between Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia, not many tourists choose Eritrea as a vacation destination. The plane wasn't even half full and she seemed a little bored so she sat down beside me for takeoff and we had a brief conversation. She told me that although Yemenia didn't pay her nearly as much as other Middle East airlines like Etihad or Emirates she was very thankful because they gave her a job at such a young age. She explained that she was only 18 when Yemenia offered her a job at a convention in Jakarta four years ago. She just turned 21 a few months ago. The other big airlines don't hire stewardesses until they reach the age of 21. At 19 she saved enough money to pay for her family to go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. "It would have been impossible in Indonesia" she said. "There is a 20 year wait period for applicants, but Yemenia helped me get the Hajj visa for me and my family." After the plane reached cruising altitude I watched her as she conversed with the other stewardesses in English. One of them was Yemeni, another was Moroccan and another two were from the Philippines. All of them communicated with each other in English. As the plane began it's descent into Asmara International Airport she sat down beside me once again, this time explaining how Yemenia's small fleet of aircraft (six in total) meant that she was able to travel to many destinations. As the plane shook violently on the descent she kept babbling on about how the planes, pilots and crew are all overworked because of budget constraints. I tried to maintain my composure as I heard the landing gear deploy. "I just got back from a four day trip to Frankfurt" she said, as the plane roughly touched down on the tarmac. "Well, enjoy your trip." She got up to help the weary old man beside me gather his bags and disembark. Yet another interesting conversation with a non native speaker. It felt completely natural and we both felt completely comfortable. Aside from the terrifying descent and landing, it was an excellent start to the trip.