Squonk

What more do you want to know?

Well, she's Bulgarian..? Umm I really like her, she's my best friend, we send each other like 200 SMS a day...

Yo, I started some pure roleplay, non-linear world creation thing in Games.. check it out!

Well, I do have a BFF who also happens to be my girlfriend But she doesn't go to my school. I also have some internet friends that I often chat with. Thanks, I'm hoping to make some real good friends in sec. school

Secondary school (Gymnasium) is not mandatory. If you want to you can just not continue studying and start working, though, of course, your options are very limited.

You choose which one you want to enrol in, but they can impose limits. For example, if there's this really popular school which can take in 100 students for each grade but there are 1000 people applying for it, they raise the grade-bar. There's this point system they use.

The highest grade is worth 20, the next 15 and the next 10. They take 16 subjects and then multiplies it with the grades. If you have MVG (the highest) in 16 subjects, you get 320 (16*20). The schools can raise the grade limit to something like 275 to weed out people. I'm aiming to get 300 points, at least. The CFC-poster Love said he got 310 points last term, which is really good.

Excellent, but the other pupils leave much to be wanted.

I guess I have a lot of acquaintances, and maybe 2-3 friends. But they are hardly close friends. I don't spend much time - if any - with them outside of school. My school-related social circle is terribly small. Maybe it's just me sucking at social matters, or maybe it's that we are so different

I won't miss them. They are immature kids, loud and hyperactive; unable to concentrate on the simplest of things. I've decided on applying to 2 different schools. None of my classmates are going to try to get into the same schools as me. Hopefully, my new classmates will be better and more studious - like me.

Because you seem to very knowledgeable in matters concerning them

And yeah, I go to school

I'm in the 9th grade. I'm graduating primary school (1st-9th grade) in June and starting secondary school (1st-3rd, year or 10th-12th grade I guess) in August

Well, that sounds very interesting. Were there a majority of Sunnis back them too? If not, why are there so many now?

Are you Polish or Armenian?

And I meant that I have high ambitions, and that I treasure knowledge.

Tsk tsk I'm not just a pretty face you know I'm actually trying to learn more about the Caliphates. In school, we've only been taught about Swedish and European history in general. It's just a big hole in my knowledge that I want to fix. Still, I'm looking to get into medical school so I do think about studies.

I don't really do anything. Just sit home. Sometimes I go out with my friends. Often times not. I don't have any hobbies beyond playing on my computer and just surfing the web, trying to make friends online

I haven't, unfortunately. Just something that I thought might have been worth mentioning.

Yeah, maybe one day

What is your thesis about? What you studying?

Sorry, but I don't know that much about the economy

Well, if Eritrea was a more stable and just generally good country, I'd recommend the city of Massawa. It's a port located at the coast of the Red Sea. Its beaches are nice.

Then, from there you can take a ferry to the Dahlak Islands and check out the marine life, scuba diving, etc. Maybe go bird watching.

The third thing that seems interesting is the Denalik Desert. I've seen some cool images from it. It's considered one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

There's also the ruins of old cities

Of course, right now I wouldn't recommend it.

I'm good, thanks for asking How are you?

part 2

I guess there aren't any real dangers. Eritrea's government might be authoritarian but it's pretty stable. Although the population of Eritrea is 5 million, it has a big army. One of the biggest in Africa, comparable only to Egypt's, Morocco and Ethiopia. They have this place called Sawa where they take all High School seniors (grade 12, IIRC) and have them spend 18 months. They are trained in how to handle weapons and the stuff a soldier needs to know. They are also taught the other things you learn in 12th grade. So the people capable of military service just keeps growing.

Thus, I'm fairly certain it won't lose on its own turf against any of its neighbours. Unless, of course, it gets gangbanged or it attracts the attention of some powerful entity.


You're welcome

part 1

Well, I'm guessing (don't take this as the absolute truth) that since Eritrea was just interested in the Hanish islands, a prolonged war with Yemen would just be pointless. And when peace talks between them failed, they agreed to take it to the PCA. At least they got some islands from it

AFAIK, most members of the EIJ have either been captured or killed. The Eritrean government is ruthless I hear.

Well, like I said, some Eritrean ethnic groups are particularly Muslim. Within the Tigrinya though, Christianity is dominant. I have met very few Muslim Eritreans in Sweden. Maybe it's just me and my lack of social skills or, maybe it is that most people who fled to Sweden are Tigrinya? I'm not really sure.

part 5


I think you can cross it. I think there are flights going from Addis Abbeba to Asmara.

part 4

Yemen: Eritrea and Yemen had a conflict over the Hanish islands in 1996. There was a brief war (I think like 15 Yemeni and a fewer number of Eritreans died in the "war") before they decided to negotiate peace and take it up to an international court. The court ruled that the bigger islands be given to Yemen and some of the smaller islands in the south west be given to Eritrea. Stuff is back to normal now although both of them are wary of each other.

Djibouti: I don't know that much about the current state of affairs between Djibouti and Eritrea, but there was a border conflict between Eritrea and Djibouti in June, 2008.

Ethiopia: Well, I've already told you a lot about this. It's basically a no war no peace situation.

part 3

Sudan: Eritrea broke relations with Sudan in 1994. The reason was that the Eritrean government suspected that the Sudanese government (or, more precisely, NIF) was helping the Eritrea Islamic Jihad (EIJ). After that, in 1995 the Eritrean government held a conference to help unite the opposition in Sudan Subsequently, in 2005 Eritrea restarted the relations, though I think Sudan's government is still angry because Eritrea is "helping rebels". Still, Eritrea has been called in often to mediate peace talks, apparently.

part 2
He's been in jail for about 9 years I think and it has given Eritrea bad publicity in Sweden, as big newspaper regularly write about him and the Evil that is the Eritrean Government. Of course, Eritrean-apologists (and the Eritrean government itself) say it's just the Swedish government and other foreign powers using the media to hurt Eritrea
Actually, it's also what the Eritrean government says to justify the imprisonment of Dawit Isaak: that he was working for the Ethiopian government as a spy (sometimes they say USA ).

part 1

Well, I don't speak that much (if ever) with the Ethiopians I know. But my dad grew up in Ethiopia and goes to an Ethiopian church. His wife (my step-mom) is Ethiopian, and he speaks excellent Amharic (one of the biggest languages of Ethiopia). He knows a lot of people and most of his friends are Ethiopian I guess.

My dad is pretty critical of the Eritrean government. He always complains about how horrible it is.
Which brings me to your other question.

The Eritrean government is very authoritarian. If they don't like you, you're gone. An Eritrean called Dawit Isaak (he found refuge in Sweden during the war and became a Swedish citizen) is one good example. He is/was a journalist who worked at a newspaper that got shut-down. He wrote something bad about the government and was arrested.

part 3

Eritreans themselves wanted nothing more than to be independent, but that was not to be.

This relationship with Eritrea being an "autonomous" federation with Ethiopa continued on. The Emperor, Haile Selassie, continued to impose his will. In the end, he ended up dissolving the parliament and declaring the Eritrean constitution null, thereby turning it into a province of Ethiopia. And, as far as I know, no one really did anything substantial to stop Ethiopia. He also forced Amharic to be taught in schools.

My point in all of this? Eritreans feel like no one has ever given a crap about what they think, and that is central to all this unhappiness and bitterness. Hope I managed to answer at least some of your questions

Yeah, I do know two families who live closeby who are Ethiopians. Also my dad has a lot of Ethiopian friends.