Tuesday, April 20, 2010
All good things come to an end ...
Ethiopia ... a whirlwind of unforgettable experiences. A stay in Africa should be part of everyone's repertoire ... easier said than done. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!
The west is the best?
In some ways, "yes" ...back on Canadian soil now since late Saturday. I watched 4 movies on the way over from Istanbul. I am now even more convinced that the trick to minimizing the mess with a 7-hour time change is to sleep as little as possible during the daylight component of said journey. The movies, at least 3 of them, were crap, and Casablanca was as great as it was when I first saw it in the 60's ... here's looking at you kid.
My Sweet Thing surprised me with Golden Palace which was a treat, not as big a one as seeing her. I spoke to Nathan and saw Ben and Les Sunday. Steve and Benita dropped in for a second and it was nice to see them.
The Sens are down 2 games to 1 and I will eagerly watch game 4 tonight at 7. I am working on a deliverable for MoFED this week and hope to get signoff by Thursday. I got something from Tagel and am still waiting for some material from Dr. Paul. It will all be ready to go then, and I will parcel it off and dispatch remotely to MoFED.
My Sweet Thing surprised me with Golden Palace which was a treat, not as big a one as seeing her. I spoke to Nathan and saw Ben and Les Sunday. Steve and Benita dropped in for a second and it was nice to see them.
The Sens are down 2 games to 1 and I will eagerly watch game 4 tonight at 7. I am working on a deliverable for MoFED this week and hope to get signoff by Thursday. I got something from Tagel and am still waiting for some material from Dr. Paul. It will all be ready to go then, and I will parcel it off and dispatch remotely to MoFED.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Out of Africa ...
So Ethiopia got one last kick in before I left the country. At Bole airport I was given a boarding pass for the trip to Istabnul. They told me I would have to get the other 2 passes in Istanbul. So I get to Turkey and proceed to pass through the international transit checkpoint and am unable to proceed without a boarding pass. I am pointed to a line winding its way to the Turkish airlines transit desk. That line is so long, it stretches to India. I wait in line for a while then remember the blue Dell debacle in Addis a while back so ask someone if I am in the right line.
The line moves rather quickly, reminding me again of that Dell thing :). I get to the desk and in less than 2 minutes, become the proud owner of boarding passes. Sweet ... not so quickly. I am then told since I have a Canadian passport that I need to get a security sticker before I can proceed. The security desk serves me right away then ferenge is on his way to the next stop (actually obstacle).
I pick up some food for a price more than the GDP of a third world country and settle in to find internet. I NEED TO KNOW HOW THE SENS DID LAST NIGHT. Enter debacle #3 of the day ... there is no free WiFi in the airport and all the secure login screens are in Turkish. My Turkish is about as good as my Japanese. I cannot figure out what any of the buttons say, and click the odd one hoping I will magically be transported to a signup screen I can understand. Hah! So I am making this post offline and plan to store when I get back to Ottawa.
I bet the networks available on the moon have a multilingual interface, but not IST. ting area, I head to the information desk and ask where one can rent internet time in this airport. I am told to check in the lounges on the next floor up. I proceed there and find out yes it is indeed available, but costs 39 USD. I decide to wait until Toronto. On my way back to the waiting area, I pass another transit desk and ask the attendant if he knows where I can rent 30 seconds of time to check NHL.com. He offers for me and aI find out the Sens lost 2-1. I got the guy a Fanta and plopped it on his desk as thanks.
The farewell party for me last night was well attended. The beginning was marred by one of the biggest downpours I have ever experienced in Addis (or my life). There were small rivers running down many streets and the traffic was hideous. Dereje took almost 40 minutes to get from Dr. Paul's to Naklah. At Naklah there was Riviere Sefer :), bubbling around the establishment and I pulled up the legs of my jeans and waded through to the dry ground on the other side. The meal (as usual) was scrupmtious and the gang managed to ring up a tab of over 800 birr, a paltry sum (60 USD) for 8 people but a big one for Addis eatery experiences. Parminder from the World Bank attended and e had a very nice visit. We dropped him at the Sheraton and Dereje then dropped me at the Dulcian compound.
Melaku called and dropped in after a buffet dinner he worked at Bole 19 tennis. As usual he was his Melaku-self and stayed for a half hour or so. There was a sad but great goodbye amidst multiple shoulder dips Addis style. He was the best, and I would love to keep in touch with him.
And now the time arrives for the Addis top 10. My attention will then turn to the top 10 Ethiopian moments, followed by the 5 things I will miss about Ethiopia the most then the LEAST!!!!!
Official Addis Top 10
-----
10- Naklah Yemeni restaurant
9- The walking (and walking and walking and ...)
8- The live music we saw there
7- Kazanches or Chichinia ... 2 areas of Addis, whose names replaced "bless you" as one sneezed.
6- The climate
5- The rest of the habesha I met
4- The drivers for RSU and the people I met at Deker, Bilo's, and TDS
3- Tagel Molla
2- Metasebya, the day lady at Deker
1- Melaku
Top 10 Ethiopian moments
-----
10- Melaku and Dereje's being allowed (sometimes) to enter the secure customs area with me at the airport, then the next time the same permission not being granted. How is ferenge supposed to weed one's way through such a bureaucratic nightmare as Ethiopian customs personnel speak little or no English. Their English is more than adequate for day-to-day exchanges of information, but not great when having to explain the nuances and idiosyncracies of policy and procedure to feregie.
9- Ordering Fanta (an orange flavoured pop) and being told the establishment does not carry that brand; observing orange pop being brought to other tables. As it turns out that pop was another brand called Mirinda. Don't tell one who orders Fanta that Mirinda only is sold there.
8- Not being allowed to exit Alliance Francaise by the vehicle gate. It was staffed by 2 guards who were happy to let vehicles in and out but forced the lowly pedestrian to use the other gate. Ferenge is SO STUPID ... a vehicle gate is a vehicle gate, why do you think it is called "vehicle gate".
7- Having to get letters written twice by subject matter experts to get something done at the polics station and then at the Records office. If the wording of said letter is wrong, the authorities will reject the request. The rejection can be easily spawned by wording that makes an iota of a suggestion that habesha authority may have made an innocent mistake.
6- Eating at Family restaurant one night with Melaku and he orders some macaroni, and receives a taco salad. Those 2 dishes do not even start with the same letter :).
5- The ridiculous debacle at customs springing the blue Dell computer and the subjective application of policy by the officials.
4- Obtaining rice at the Forbidden City restaurant. It would start as we walked in the door, then anwhere from one to five times more, each request was greeted with a response that made it seem like the staff had not been asked for rice yet. Once, after 2 or 3 tries, the response was "Two?". Yes we did want 2 rice, appreciate ...
3- Asking for mustard at a restaurant and getting mayonnaise, at which point hmmmm ... I'll ask for mayonnaise and mustard will arrive? It did.
2- Being told there was no machiatto one day at MoFED and having trouble hearing the proclamation over the noise being made by the milk frother as it prepared machiatto.
1- Asking for a menu at the SELECT restaurant, being told they don't have one, then being asked what I would like to eat. Is that not why many establishments have a menu.
The five things I will miss about Ethiopia the most
-----
5- The joie de vivre of the habesha fortunate enough to be making ends meet; naturally the people I hung out with were supporting themselves just fine.
4- The simple life.
3- St. George's beer.
2- The fruit and vegetables (picked yesterday rather than trucked from CA or FL).
1- The people I was close to.
The five things I will miss about Ethiopia least
-----
5- Smoking in most bars and restaurants.
4- The incessant stream of loud noise emanating from vehicles with PA systems on the roof, music shoppes, and the plethora of night clubs all over the city.
3- The blaring of the churches at very early hours of the AM.
2- The "me first me first" attitude of the drivers.
1- ETC and ETv.
The envelope please ... the 2 biggest and most used things I acquired while in Africa ...
The Columbia vest that ST brought for me when we met for the Kenya safari
** AND **
The electric guitar I bought in merkato in August for 3,000 birr
I wandered Ataturk airport for 4 and a bit hours after clearing security. I am sitting in the lounge at gate 214 with the other poor souls bound for ice-hockey land. I am off to Toronto for the week on Monday and will drive back with ST Friday afternoon, hoping to beat the 401-a-thon of congested traffic that forms most workdays just when 3,909,000 vehicles and I try to motor west out of TO.
I will make one or more posts to this BLOG then bid farewell to Jimmy Durante's married friend and close this extravaganza affectionately called "Addis Abbeyba".
The line moves rather quickly, reminding me again of that Dell thing :). I get to the desk and in less than 2 minutes, become the proud owner of boarding passes. Sweet ... not so quickly. I am then told since I have a Canadian passport that I need to get a security sticker before I can proceed. The security desk serves me right away then ferenge is on his way to the next stop (actually obstacle).
I pick up some food for a price more than the GDP of a third world country and settle in to find internet. I NEED TO KNOW HOW THE SENS DID LAST NIGHT. Enter debacle #3 of the day ... there is no free WiFi in the airport and all the secure login screens are in Turkish. My Turkish is about as good as my Japanese. I cannot figure out what any of the buttons say, and click the odd one hoping I will magically be transported to a signup screen I can understand. Hah! So I am making this post offline and plan to store when I get back to Ottawa.
I bet the networks available on the moon have a multilingual interface, but not IST. ting area, I head to the information desk and ask where one can rent internet time in this airport. I am told to check in the lounges on the next floor up. I proceed there and find out yes it is indeed available, but costs 39 USD. I decide to wait until Toronto. On my way back to the waiting area, I pass another transit desk and ask the attendant if he knows where I can rent 30 seconds of time to check NHL.com. He offers for me and aI find out the Sens lost 2-1. I got the guy a Fanta and plopped it on his desk as thanks.
The farewell party for me last night was well attended. The beginning was marred by one of the biggest downpours I have ever experienced in Addis (or my life). There were small rivers running down many streets and the traffic was hideous. Dereje took almost 40 minutes to get from Dr. Paul's to Naklah. At Naklah there was Riviere Sefer :), bubbling around the establishment and I pulled up the legs of my jeans and waded through to the dry ground on the other side. The meal (as usual) was scrupmtious and the gang managed to ring up a tab of over 800 birr, a paltry sum (60 USD) for 8 people but a big one for Addis eatery experiences. Parminder from the World Bank attended and e had a very nice visit. We dropped him at the Sheraton and Dereje then dropped me at the Dulcian compound.
Melaku called and dropped in after a buffet dinner he worked at Bole 19 tennis. As usual he was his Melaku-self and stayed for a half hour or so. There was a sad but great goodbye amidst multiple shoulder dips Addis style. He was the best, and I would love to keep in touch with him.
And now the time arrives for the Addis top 10. My attention will then turn to the top 10 Ethiopian moments, followed by the 5 things I will miss about Ethiopia the most then the LEAST!!!!!
Official Addis Top 10
-----
10- Naklah Yemeni restaurant
9- The walking (and walking and walking and ...)
8- The live music we saw there
7- Kazanches or Chichinia ... 2 areas of Addis, whose names replaced "bless you" as one sneezed.
6- The climate
5- The rest of the habesha I met
4- The drivers for RSU and the people I met at Deker, Bilo's, and TDS
3- Tagel Molla
2- Metasebya, the day lady at Deker
1- Melaku
Top 10 Ethiopian moments
-----
10- Melaku and Dereje's being allowed (sometimes) to enter the secure customs area with me at the airport, then the next time the same permission not being granted. How is ferenge supposed to weed one's way through such a bureaucratic nightmare as Ethiopian customs personnel speak little or no English. Their English is more than adequate for day-to-day exchanges of information, but not great when having to explain the nuances and idiosyncracies of policy and procedure to feregie.
9- Ordering Fanta (an orange flavoured pop) and being told the establishment does not carry that brand; observing orange pop being brought to other tables. As it turns out that pop was another brand called Mirinda. Don't tell one who orders Fanta that Mirinda only is sold there.
8- Not being allowed to exit Alliance Francaise by the vehicle gate. It was staffed by 2 guards who were happy to let vehicles in and out but forced the lowly pedestrian to use the other gate. Ferenge is SO STUPID ... a vehicle gate is a vehicle gate, why do you think it is called "vehicle gate".
7- Having to get letters written twice by subject matter experts to get something done at the polics station and then at the Records office. If the wording of said letter is wrong, the authorities will reject the request. The rejection can be easily spawned by wording that makes an iota of a suggestion that habesha authority may have made an innocent mistake.
6- Eating at Family restaurant one night with Melaku and he orders some macaroni, and receives a taco salad. Those 2 dishes do not even start with the same letter :).
5- The ridiculous debacle at customs springing the blue Dell computer and the subjective application of policy by the officials.
4- Obtaining rice at the Forbidden City restaurant. It would start as we walked in the door, then anwhere from one to five times more, each request was greeted with a response that made it seem like the staff had not been asked for rice yet. Once, after 2 or 3 tries, the response was "Two?". Yes we did want 2 rice, appreciate ...
3- Asking for mustard at a restaurant and getting mayonnaise, at which point hmmmm ... I'll ask for mayonnaise and mustard will arrive? It did.
2- Being told there was no machiatto one day at MoFED and having trouble hearing the proclamation over the noise being made by the milk frother as it prepared machiatto.
1- Asking for a menu at the SELECT restaurant, being told they don't have one, then being asked what I would like to eat. Is that not why many establishments have a menu.
The five things I will miss about Ethiopia the most
-----
5- The joie de vivre of the habesha fortunate enough to be making ends meet; naturally the people I hung out with were supporting themselves just fine.
4- The simple life.
3- St. George's beer.
2- The fruit and vegetables (picked yesterday rather than trucked from CA or FL).
1- The people I was close to.
The five things I will miss about Ethiopia least
-----
5- Smoking in most bars and restaurants.
4- The incessant stream of loud noise emanating from vehicles with PA systems on the roof, music shoppes, and the plethora of night clubs all over the city.
3- The blaring of the churches at very early hours of the AM.
2- The "me first me first" attitude of the drivers.
1- ETC and ETv.
The envelope please ... the 2 biggest and most used things I acquired while in Africa ...
The Columbia vest that ST brought for me when we met for the Kenya safari
** AND **
The electric guitar I bought in merkato in August for 3,000 birr
I wandered Ataturk airport for 4 and a bit hours after clearing security. I am sitting in the lounge at gate 214 with the other poor souls bound for ice-hockey land. I am off to Toronto for the week on Monday and will drive back with ST Friday afternoon, hoping to beat the 401-a-thon of congested traffic that forms most workdays just when 3,909,000 vehicles and I try to motor west out of TO.
I will make one or more posts to this BLOG then bid farewell to Jimmy Durante's married friend and close this extravaganza affectionately called "Addis Abbeyba".
Thursday, April 15, 2010
13 months of sunshine
Ah yes, that famous adage ... proliferated by Ethiopian tourist outfits. I woke up today to the sound of rain rain and more rain that started at 5AM when I got up to ___. The Sens pulled it off! Sweet. I did not spring out of bed today to check the score as I thought they were not playing until tonight. We saw Bill off late last night then I settled into an Arsenal game on DStv. They ended up losing 2-1 to Tottenham. They looked very flat during the first half so deserved what they got probably. How about the Coyotes ... a come from behind victory over the Red Wings! What will they think of next. I am hoping to see Melaku again tomorrow before I leave. He is going to the buffet at Bole 19 and I am hoping to coax him over to Dr. Paul's after that.
I get the dark gray pin-striped suit today. I mentioned to Dr. Paul that we are probably the same size and if something holds up the suit after tomorrow, he could indeed be the proud owner of a new 3-piece pin-striped jobbie.
I get the dark gray pin-striped suit today. I mentioned to Dr. Paul that we are probably the same size and if something holds up the suit after tomorrow, he could indeed be the proud owner of a new 3-piece pin-striped jobbie.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
We have ignition
Bill's dinner at Caminietto was wonderful. I had the spaghetti bitch and it was great. The server just chuckled every time one of us mentioned the name of the dish. I also got a few nice digital photo shots of the menu with the famous text on display ...
Unpredictable weather
It's odd how the weather, according to habesha, has become so weird. This is still supposed to be the dry season, changing to the rainy one in early August. Having been in Ottawa two of the supposed four months of warm weather last year, I remember how perpetually rainy and cool it was. I must have used the pool a lot less the summer of 2009 than the the previous five years we have been on Wolverton.
I am wary of the stories of global warming and the effect it will have on the climate and the sea level. This "scare" I believe is somewhere between what we are being told and a huge overblown fabrication of the big businesses that could stand to profit (in the short run) from the proliferation of this phenomenon. There is no doubt that we are all experiencing extreme weather which may end up being the ultimate disaster that we hoist upon ourselves by our continued dependence on carbon-producing fossil fuels.
Dinner is shaping up nicely tonight with a gang including Melaku naturally and Bill W. We are off to Caminietto for Italian and there are 2 items on the menu which fascinate me ... one is called "Spaghetti Bitch" as I may have mentioned before and the other is an ironic misspelling of "Assorted" ... "Assortitti"; I think I'll have both :) I spoke to my Sweet Thing today and the excitement of being back home is building. Nine months (off and on but mostly on) away from home is a strain. I have every indication that things are picking up work-wise in Canada. I look forward to being 0-400 kilometres away from home rather than the 8,000 I am now.
I am taking my "class" for Chinese tomorrow at lunch. Then Friday I am going to the fish dive in merkato with Tagel that he turned me on to last fall. It is a fitting way to end this leg of my stay in Ethiopia ... sort of where it started - hanging out with Tagel :).
I am wary of the stories of global warming and the effect it will have on the climate and the sea level. This "scare" I believe is somewhere between what we are being told and a huge overblown fabrication of the big businesses that could stand to profit (in the short run) from the proliferation of this phenomenon. There is no doubt that we are all experiencing extreme weather which may end up being the ultimate disaster that we hoist upon ourselves by our continued dependence on carbon-producing fossil fuels.
Dinner is shaping up nicely tonight with a gang including Melaku naturally and Bill W. We are off to Caminietto for Italian and there are 2 items on the menu which fascinate me ... one is called "Spaghetti Bitch" as I may have mentioned before and the other is an ironic misspelling of "Assorted" ... "Assortitti"; I think I'll have both :) I spoke to my Sweet Thing today and the excitement of being back home is building. Nine months (off and on but mostly on) away from home is a strain. I have every indication that things are picking up work-wise in Canada. I look forward to being 0-400 kilometres away from home rather than the 8,000 I am now.
I am taking my "class" for Chinese tomorrow at lunch. Then Friday I am going to the fish dive in merkato with Tagel that he turned me on to last fall. It is a fitting way to end this leg of my stay in Ethiopia ... sort of where it started - hanging out with Tagel :).
Double trouble
As I mentioned in my post about the W/E in Ambo, there was a bit of a heated discussion at the entrance to Wenchi Lake park about the proper admission fee for 5 habesha and ferenge. The amount was finally agreed upon after about 10 minutes of chit-chat. It was mentioned to us later that day that a while back some German ferenge showed up at the gate. The attendants did not know what to charge them since one of the was rather large :). They ended up charging big German double due to his size ... talk about a hit on your self-esteem :).
Ruby Tuesday
I made plans to get a massage to assist the healing of my hip from the horse fall. It is better, but I hope by seeing someone, that process can be accelerated. Paddy Mallia, a seasoned equestrian, has been nice enough to offer some guidance about my future endeavours on the back of a similar 4-legged beast. Paddy and his brither Sean are quite the well-rounded and talented young men, having ice hockey, fencing, horseback riding ... they are too many to mention ... as part of their expertise. I just hope I can get as diverse as these 2 young people by the time I reach 90 :).
I am off to Boston spa at 9AM and hope the intervention I get there will help. I was supposed to go yesterday at 5:30PM but did not leave work until 5:10. If anyone claims the traffic in Ottawa is worse when it rains, you should see it here. At least in Ottawa there are controlled intersections instead of the free-for-all they are here. The mantra here is "Do not concede even a centimetre to another car and be delayed 10 seconds for the sake of reducing the congestion at intersections"; another familiar adage to describe them is "Me first".
Tonight there is a farewell dinner for Bill W. who is heading back to DC after stopping in Rome for a few days. He is a good soul and I hope we keep crossing paths. My Borgie (aka Jordan) informed me that he had found work recently. I have not heard anything since the news, so Mr. Borge, que passe with the new job?
I am close to packed for the trip home save my guitar and clothes I will need between now and then. My carry-on is the guitar and computers so I need to check an extra bag which will run me probably $250 USD. I may also be overweight on my blue bag. I still owe TDS 251 birr for my accommodations, having given them close to all I owe in deposits all along. I bought some treats for my "little ones" and will be getting myself a onesie before I leave. I am giving Hiruy my ZTE CDMA modem with about 150 birr on it. I am giving Melaku my EVDO card with the understanding that he return it to Dr. Pauk when the time on it runs out. I had lunch with Hiruy yesterday and he is picking me up 2 Teddi Afro CD's to take home with me.
If I want I have been invited to a buffet dinner at Bole 19 tennis Friday evening. Hiruy told me I could bring a date, so I told him I would bring Melaku :). I made arrangements to do some group tennis lessons at TCWO when I return to Canada.
I am off to Boston spa at 9AM and hope the intervention I get there will help. I was supposed to go yesterday at 5:30PM but did not leave work until 5:10. If anyone claims the traffic in Ottawa is worse when it rains, you should see it here. At least in Ottawa there are controlled intersections instead of the free-for-all they are here. The mantra here is "Do not concede even a centimetre to another car and be delayed 10 seconds for the sake of reducing the congestion at intersections"; another familiar adage to describe them is "Me first".
Tonight there is a farewell dinner for Bill W. who is heading back to DC after stopping in Rome for a few days. He is a good soul and I hope we keep crossing paths. My Borgie (aka Jordan) informed me that he had found work recently. I have not heard anything since the news, so Mr. Borge, que passe with the new job?
I am close to packed for the trip home save my guitar and clothes I will need between now and then. My carry-on is the guitar and computers so I need to check an extra bag which will run me probably $250 USD. I may also be overweight on my blue bag. I still owe TDS 251 birr for my accommodations, having given them close to all I owe in deposits all along. I bought some treats for my "little ones" and will be getting myself a onesie before I leave. I am giving Hiruy my ZTE CDMA modem with about 150 birr on it. I am giving Melaku my EVDO card with the understanding that he return it to Dr. Pauk when the time on it runs out. I had lunch with Hiruy yesterday and he is picking me up 2 Teddi Afro CD's to take home with me.
If I want I have been invited to a buffet dinner at Bole 19 tennis Friday evening. Hiruy told me I could bring a date, so I told him I would bring Melaku :). I made arrangements to do some group tennis lessons at TCWO when I return to Canada.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Settling back in to Ottawa
In April of each year, this 60-year old man's attention shifts to playoff hockey. Due to insider information and contacts I have, here are the first round outcomes as confirmed by Biff's almanac:
Washington-Montreal ... the Caps in 6
New Jersey-Philadelphia... the Devils in 5
Buffalo-Boston ... the Bruins in 4
Pittsburgh-Ottawa ... the Sens in 7
San Jose-Colorado ... the Sharks in 5
Chicago-Nashville ... the Blackhawks in 4
Vancouver-LA ... the Kings in 7
Phoenix-Detroit ... the Red Wings in 6
Remember, you heard it here first :).
Washington-Montreal ... the Caps in 6
New Jersey-Philadelphia... the Devils in 5
Buffalo-Boston ... the Bruins in 4
Pittsburgh-Ottawa ... the Sens in 7
San Jose-Colorado ... the Sharks in 5
Chicago-Nashville ... the Blackhawks in 4
Vancouver-LA ... the Kings in 7
Phoenix-Detroit ... the Red Wings in 6
Remember, you heard it here first :).
Dinner with Metasebya
Made plans to take Metasebya our for dinner Monday night. I had hoped to see her a few times before returning to Ottawa Saturday AM. We meet at the lounge in Deker house and head off to Blue Drops for a short visit. We saunter over to Le Grand Reve Belgian restaurant close to Deker. I had quipped earlier in the day that it was probably closed Mondays. Guess what! It's closed :). So ferenge suggests we go to Naklah in Welo Sefer, a muslim Yemeni outlet I am fond of.
We get a ride to Naklah and not long after we arrive, Metasebya announces that she will not eat there (in a muslim establishment that is). We later find out that most (all?) Orthodox Christian habesha would do the same ... I am such an idiot.
We have dinner and a nice visit with her then grab two cabs ... one to take her home, the other goes to TDS. I did not want to ask why she would not eat at Naklah. I found out from Dr. Paul this morning on the way to work it may have something to do with the meat, specifically the way the animal is slaughtered and meat prepared, that leads to their not wanting to consume dishes served at muslim establishments.
I am having lunch with Hiruy the tennis coach today then dinner with Melumabet and Melaku at Sangam for Indian food. I spoke to my Sweet Thing yesterday and she is looking forward to finishing the semester and making plans for the sabbatical next school year.
Melaku is lining up a therapist that I can go see today for some work on my hip that is sore from my fall from the horse Saturday afternoon. I am taking ibuprofen which is helping but it is quite sore when I do certain things like lift my left leg backwards at the knee to climb into the shower.
I made arrangements to take some group tennis lessons at TCWO Saturdays when I get back to Ottawa. 6,900 minutes until my expected touchdown at YOW Saturday evening at 8:30 EDT :).
{{PC O 2orr hk ot Uzzg2g Ygz0xjg4 k1ktotm. Nu2 rgzk igt O igrr 4u0 zngz tomnz? PC}} 6
We get a ride to Naklah and not long after we arrive, Metasebya announces that she will not eat there (in a muslim establishment that is). We later find out that most (all?) Orthodox Christian habesha would do the same ... I am such an idiot.
We have dinner and a nice visit with her then grab two cabs ... one to take her home, the other goes to TDS. I did not want to ask why she would not eat at Naklah. I found out from Dr. Paul this morning on the way to work it may have something to do with the meat, specifically the way the animal is slaughtered and meat prepared, that leads to their not wanting to consume dishes served at muslim establishments.
I am having lunch with Hiruy the tennis coach today then dinner with Melumabet and Melaku at Sangam for Indian food. I spoke to my Sweet Thing yesterday and she is looking forward to finishing the semester and making plans for the sabbatical next school year.
Melaku is lining up a therapist that I can go see today for some work on my hip that is sore from my fall from the horse Saturday afternoon. I am taking ibuprofen which is helping but it is quite sore when I do certain things like lift my left leg backwards at the knee to climb into the shower.
I made arrangements to take some group tennis lessons at TCWO Saturdays when I get back to Ottawa. 6,900 minutes until my expected touchdown at YOW Saturday evening at 8:30 EDT :).
{{PC O 2orr hk ot Uzzg2g Ygz0xjg4 k1ktotm. Nu2 rgzk igt O igrr 4u0 zngz tomnz? PC}} 6
Monday, April 12, 2010
A lovely last W/E in Ethiopia
The plan was to leave at 2PM for the voyage to Ambo. I found out from finance that my cheque would be ready at 2:45 so we hung around waiting. I sent Dereje to get Melaku and come back with Mulumabet too for a 3PM departure. We head north then west out of Addis. As usual while still in the city, the roads are crowded with habesha doing all the things they do in throngs all over the streets. It does not take long until we break the crowds in the city and hit open countryside.
The 1h45m trip to Ambo is uneventful except for when Dereje's ball cap flew out of the vehicle and Melaku retrieved it from the side of the road. We pass the standard assortment of small towns bustling with citizens doing who knows what. Finally in the distance we see a cluster of houses and buildings and Melaku confirms my suspicion that this is Ambo. The hotel looms on the horizon as the tallest building in the berg. We check in and I get room 301, the same number as my lodgings at TDS. I unpack and head with my guitar down into a very nice garden. The rest of the gang trickles in and I get ready for a few songs. To my horror the guitar strap amplifier is not working well, symptomatic of a weak battery or a loose connection. Proud ferenge heads up to his room, so pleased with himself for bringing an extra battery. Lo and behold, the amp is still not great so I ensure the terminals are snapped into the 9-volt battery which they are NOT. This fix does not work either and I must resign myself to finding another battery in town at the local battery dispensing establishment.
We quaff a few St. George's beer and chat in the garden and at one point the standard Ethiopian intrusion begins ... loud music that disturbs an otherwise tranquil afternoon. We visit for a bit then decide to meet in the lobby at 7PM for dinner. Prior to sustenance Melaku and I visit every possible photo store and anything else that could possibly have a battery, and there is none to be found in Ambo.
We head to the Ambo Ethiopian hotel for our dinner and enjoy a large menu with seemingly scrumptious offerings. The first two things I try to order they are out of so I settle on the mixed grill. The food arrives and all is to our liking. We discover the server is married to the front desk guy we just encountered at the hotel, and she enjoys a picture I show her of her beau. After the bill is paid we walk back towards the hotel and sit in the lobby for a bit chatting. We then hook up with the guide we hired for the trek to the lake on Saturday. After the details are ironed out and we are told to be in the lobby at 8AM Saturday, we venture across the street to a very dimly lit bar and chuckle and chat for the better part of 2 hours. Even this ferenge type had a few shots of Ouzo, rare in my history of bar-hopping. We head back to the hotel and I crash around 10:45. I leave my balcony door and window open to enjoy the cool night air. That turns out to have been a mistake as the street noise and the canine vocals are very annoying. About 3AM I finally get up and close the door/window and attempt to drift off to sleep again. I think I had 4-5 hours which turns out to be resting.
I am up for good about 6:30 and after dressing, head down for coffee and breakfast. I am the first of our party to end up in the restaurant. I order coffee with milk and french toast which are both great. The gang appears in trickles and we load up the truck and head out about 8:45 for the trip to Lake Wenchi. The drive is all dirt road and there are sections that have obviously been subject to vast quantities of rain water deluges. They are carved with fissures that remind me of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" from Cream where they mention "carving deep blue ripples through the tissues of your mind ...". As usual there is an abundance of small towns with the usual assortment of shops and throngs of people everywhere. The guide gets us to pullover and we ramble up a very steep path. At the peak of the hill we discover a panoramic view of Wenchi Lake and the landscape and waterway are quite a sight to behold. We pile back into the vehicle to finish the voyage to the place where the hike will commence.
We get to the mouth of the park, and the first of many swarms of little-ones appear. They want to sell us bundles of weeds and flowers and we agree simply to give them the pleasure of having a bit of money to show for a good day's work. The smallest of the throng looks about 2 and when the money is all given out he bursts into tears since he did not get any. I walk up to him and give him a 1 birr note amidst a large cheer and clapping from the balance of the adult habesha assembled by the administration hut for the park.
There is a lengthy discussion with the workers at the hut and we discover there are a few ways we can handle this trek. We can walk down then up; we can horse-ride one or both ways; we can walk down and horseback up. We select the third option then there is another long heated exchange about the price. When that is settled, we head off! The grade averages about 10% all the way down, taking us the better part of 90 minutes to descend the 1200 metres to the lake. The periphery of the road has clusters of huts all over the place and the natives, especially the young ones, are pleased to see us. Melaku and Mulumabet disappear into a church close to the bottom of the road, and we hang on for about 15 minutes for the receipt of some blessings from the clergy in the church. We arrive at the lake and there is a makeshift wharf and a few boats tied up to the poles emerging from the water. There is a handful of natives close to the edge of the lake and they are obviously the horsepower that will end up propelling us to the island. The boat is aluminum and the ride to the island takes 15 minutes. We climb to a small church with the roof painted in the familiar green/yellow/red of the Ethiopian flag. We hang out there for about a half hour then descend the hill to another part of the island for the voyage back to the mainland. During this trip Melaku keeps moving from side to side of the boat and earns the nickname "Cabedah" which is Amharic for "heavy". I take great joy in this new handle, my always having been a fan of nicknames.
Our boat trip ends, and we spend 30 minutes traversing the edge of the lake until we finally reach a clearing full of horses. We each choose our modus-transportation and the staff assists mounting of the beasts where required. I feel comfortable in the saddle but a little out of balance. I have not been on a horse for over 40 years. On that occasion, I was in Osoyoos BC and fell off the animal, doing no damage in the fall. I am told to sit as far forward in the saddle as I can and hold the butt of the saddle to assist my balance. The voyage begins with a guide leading each animal. Melaku and Dereje walk and the rest of us ride. Some of the land we cover is a bit hilly and we cross a handful of streams on the back of these great beasts. During the more hilly portions the guides help by assisting ferenge and habesha to maintain their balance on the horses.
Then the fun begins yet anew. During the navigation of a seemingly benign hill, ferenge loses his balance and the ground comes rushing up to said Canadian, terminating with a thud on my right hip as I hit the ground with my right foot still in the stirrup. So it's now 2 for 2 as far as horse rides go, and the guides help me up. I have a distinct pain in my right hip so walk it off as best I can. I end up walking the next while and the hip is not great. Even though it is bothering me, I can walk with little discomfort. We stop at a waterfall and it is a hot spot where the locals hang out and some wash their clothes. We walk some more then ferenge decides to try the horse again. This time it is pointed out that probably the last beast I rode was too small and therefore not strong enough for me. My only question to myself is why they let me on the horse in the first place if it was obviously too small for me.
We get to some rough terrain again and dismount, clambering up some steep embankments to softer ground then ride the horses again. We are on and off a few more times until we reach what is reported to be the end of rough going. We ride the horses to the lodge where we prepare for a well-deserved lunch. We have a choice of tibs or tibs and the repast is lovely. We head back to Ambo and return at about 5:30. The power is off all over the town and we make plans to convene in the lobby at 6:30. We want to find a DsTV outlet and watch Chelsea play Aston Villa at 7PM. Alas, this is not to be ... the hotel's generator is fixed finally and its power comes back on but teh rest of the town is still out. There is a spattering of establishments with generators but the streets are dark. We head off to a restaurant and chow down on some beef tibs. The meat was chewy and downright close to inedible. We complain to the server who says "tough" :). We then head back to the hotel and hang out in the lit restaurant. After a while the power appears to return to the rest of Ambo. We want to watch a Barcelona Real Madrid football game at 11PM but it is not on the dish at the hotel so I retire.
Sunday AM I am up early and madly check the hockey scores. Buffalo finally beat the Sens it appears. We gather for breakfast and head out to the Ethiopian hotel down the street. After an OK meal, we pile into the vehicle for the trip back to Addis. I sleep a log of the way. We stopped at a church about 45 minutes out of Addis and hang out taking pictures and visiting with the locals. It was quite a weekend and loved the exercise we got. As it turns out Lake Wenchi is quite well known in many circles.
Back in Addis I watched the ManU/Blackburn scoreless draw then most of the Liverpool/Fulham 0-0 natch as well. I had a nice Turkish dinner then headed back to the hotel to finish a quiet evening. The highlights of the trip to Ambo were:
1) Ambo
2) The Wenchi crater 7 hour/9 kilometre hike
3) Horseback riding
4) Ferenge falling off a horse
5) The company
At one point I found Mulumabet, Melaku, and Dereje all on their cell phones at the same time. I asked them if I should call them or if they are willing to speak with me in person ...
The 1h45m trip to Ambo is uneventful except for when Dereje's ball cap flew out of the vehicle and Melaku retrieved it from the side of the road. We pass the standard assortment of small towns bustling with citizens doing who knows what. Finally in the distance we see a cluster of houses and buildings and Melaku confirms my suspicion that this is Ambo. The hotel looms on the horizon as the tallest building in the berg. We check in and I get room 301, the same number as my lodgings at TDS. I unpack and head with my guitar down into a very nice garden. The rest of the gang trickles in and I get ready for a few songs. To my horror the guitar strap amplifier is not working well, symptomatic of a weak battery or a loose connection. Proud ferenge heads up to his room, so pleased with himself for bringing an extra battery. Lo and behold, the amp is still not great so I ensure the terminals are snapped into the 9-volt battery which they are NOT. This fix does not work either and I must resign myself to finding another battery in town at the local battery dispensing establishment.
We quaff a few St. George's beer and chat in the garden and at one point the standard Ethiopian intrusion begins ... loud music that disturbs an otherwise tranquil afternoon. We visit for a bit then decide to meet in the lobby at 7PM for dinner. Prior to sustenance Melaku and I visit every possible photo store and anything else that could possibly have a battery, and there is none to be found in Ambo.
We head to the Ambo Ethiopian hotel for our dinner and enjoy a large menu with seemingly scrumptious offerings. The first two things I try to order they are out of so I settle on the mixed grill. The food arrives and all is to our liking. We discover the server is married to the front desk guy we just encountered at the hotel, and she enjoys a picture I show her of her beau. After the bill is paid we walk back towards the hotel and sit in the lobby for a bit chatting. We then hook up with the guide we hired for the trek to the lake on Saturday. After the details are ironed out and we are told to be in the lobby at 8AM Saturday, we venture across the street to a very dimly lit bar and chuckle and chat for the better part of 2 hours. Even this ferenge type had a few shots of Ouzo, rare in my history of bar-hopping. We head back to the hotel and I crash around 10:45. I leave my balcony door and window open to enjoy the cool night air. That turns out to have been a mistake as the street noise and the canine vocals are very annoying. About 3AM I finally get up and close the door/window and attempt to drift off to sleep again. I think I had 4-5 hours which turns out to be resting.
I am up for good about 6:30 and after dressing, head down for coffee and breakfast. I am the first of our party to end up in the restaurant. I order coffee with milk and french toast which are both great. The gang appears in trickles and we load up the truck and head out about 8:45 for the trip to Lake Wenchi. The drive is all dirt road and there are sections that have obviously been subject to vast quantities of rain water deluges. They are carved with fissures that remind me of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" from Cream where they mention "carving deep blue ripples through the tissues of your mind ...". As usual there is an abundance of small towns with the usual assortment of shops and throngs of people everywhere. The guide gets us to pullover and we ramble up a very steep path. At the peak of the hill we discover a panoramic view of Wenchi Lake and the landscape and waterway are quite a sight to behold. We pile back into the vehicle to finish the voyage to the place where the hike will commence.
We get to the mouth of the park, and the first of many swarms of little-ones appear. They want to sell us bundles of weeds and flowers and we agree simply to give them the pleasure of having a bit of money to show for a good day's work. The smallest of the throng looks about 2 and when the money is all given out he bursts into tears since he did not get any. I walk up to him and give him a 1 birr note amidst a large cheer and clapping from the balance of the adult habesha assembled by the administration hut for the park.
There is a lengthy discussion with the workers at the hut and we discover there are a few ways we can handle this trek. We can walk down then up; we can horse-ride one or both ways; we can walk down and horseback up. We select the third option then there is another long heated exchange about the price. When that is settled, we head off! The grade averages about 10% all the way down, taking us the better part of 90 minutes to descend the 1200 metres to the lake. The periphery of the road has clusters of huts all over the place and the natives, especially the young ones, are pleased to see us. Melaku and Mulumabet disappear into a church close to the bottom of the road, and we hang on for about 15 minutes for the receipt of some blessings from the clergy in the church. We arrive at the lake and there is a makeshift wharf and a few boats tied up to the poles emerging from the water. There is a handful of natives close to the edge of the lake and they are obviously the horsepower that will end up propelling us to the island. The boat is aluminum and the ride to the island takes 15 minutes. We climb to a small church with the roof painted in the familiar green/yellow/red of the Ethiopian flag. We hang out there for about a half hour then descend the hill to another part of the island for the voyage back to the mainland. During this trip Melaku keeps moving from side to side of the boat and earns the nickname "Cabedah" which is Amharic for "heavy". I take great joy in this new handle, my always having been a fan of nicknames.
Our boat trip ends, and we spend 30 minutes traversing the edge of the lake until we finally reach a clearing full of horses. We each choose our modus-transportation and the staff assists mounting of the beasts where required. I feel comfortable in the saddle but a little out of balance. I have not been on a horse for over 40 years. On that occasion, I was in Osoyoos BC and fell off the animal, doing no damage in the fall. I am told to sit as far forward in the saddle as I can and hold the butt of the saddle to assist my balance. The voyage begins with a guide leading each animal. Melaku and Dereje walk and the rest of us ride. Some of the land we cover is a bit hilly and we cross a handful of streams on the back of these great beasts. During the more hilly portions the guides help by assisting ferenge and habesha to maintain their balance on the horses.
Then the fun begins yet anew. During the navigation of a seemingly benign hill, ferenge loses his balance and the ground comes rushing up to said Canadian, terminating with a thud on my right hip as I hit the ground with my right foot still in the stirrup. So it's now 2 for 2 as far as horse rides go, and the guides help me up. I have a distinct pain in my right hip so walk it off as best I can. I end up walking the next while and the hip is not great. Even though it is bothering me, I can walk with little discomfort. We stop at a waterfall and it is a hot spot where the locals hang out and some wash their clothes. We walk some more then ferenge decides to try the horse again. This time it is pointed out that probably the last beast I rode was too small and therefore not strong enough for me. My only question to myself is why they let me on the horse in the first place if it was obviously too small for me.
We get to some rough terrain again and dismount, clambering up some steep embankments to softer ground then ride the horses again. We are on and off a few more times until we reach what is reported to be the end of rough going. We ride the horses to the lodge where we prepare for a well-deserved lunch. We have a choice of tibs or tibs and the repast is lovely. We head back to Ambo and return at about 5:30. The power is off all over the town and we make plans to convene in the lobby at 6:30. We want to find a DsTV outlet and watch Chelsea play Aston Villa at 7PM. Alas, this is not to be ... the hotel's generator is fixed finally and its power comes back on but teh rest of the town is still out. There is a spattering of establishments with generators but the streets are dark. We head off to a restaurant and chow down on some beef tibs. The meat was chewy and downright close to inedible. We complain to the server who says "tough" :). We then head back to the hotel and hang out in the lit restaurant. After a while the power appears to return to the rest of Ambo. We want to watch a Barcelona Real Madrid football game at 11PM but it is not on the dish at the hotel so I retire.
Sunday AM I am up early and madly check the hockey scores. Buffalo finally beat the Sens it appears. We gather for breakfast and head out to the Ethiopian hotel down the street. After an OK meal, we pile into the vehicle for the trip back to Addis. I sleep a log of the way. We stopped at a church about 45 minutes out of Addis and hang out taking pictures and visiting with the locals. It was quite a weekend and loved the exercise we got. As it turns out Lake Wenchi is quite well known in many circles.
Back in Addis I watched the ManU/Blackburn scoreless draw then most of the Liverpool/Fulham 0-0 natch as well. I had a nice Turkish dinner then headed back to the hotel to finish a quiet evening. The highlights of the trip to Ambo were:
1) Ambo
2) The Wenchi crater 7 hour/9 kilometre hike
3) Horseback riding
4) Ferenge falling off a horse
5) The company
At one point I found Mulumabet, Melaku, and Dereje all on their cell phones at the same time. I asked them if I should call them or if they are willing to speak with me in person ...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Give me a "U", give me an "E" ...
It did not take long to get caught up in the whirlpool of activity here over football, the most watched spectator sport in the world. The tournament involves a number of football associations all over Europe, and each association has a rank that determines the number of teams in this tournament. I have followed Arsenal and Manchester United over the past few weeks as they compete; I watched them both get eliminated, the former Tuesday evening and the latter last night.
We had dinner beforehand at the Greek Club, with plans to hit Blue Drops for the match. It was closed so we went to Bole Rock sports bar. For 20 birr each, we entered to a close to full house with ManU already up 2-0 with 5 or so minutes gone in the game. There were a handful of TVs with a giant 30 foot screen jobbie garnishing the most attention. ManU subsequently went up 3-0 then all h__l broke loose in the second half. The German team scored twice, bringing the match total to 3-2 and the aggregate score (the two games they have played together) to 4-4. ManU did not muster much offense in the second half and it seemed like forever that the ball was in their end during those 48 minutes. It was electric in the bar and after the elimination of ManU, someone offered me his sympathy as ferenge was wearing the AIG ManU jersey. I will take on the Liverpool game in the Europa league against Benifica (Portugal) tonight that starts at 10PM.
We had dinner beforehand at the Greek Club, with plans to hit Blue Drops for the match. It was closed so we went to Bole Rock sports bar. For 20 birr each, we entered to a close to full house with ManU already up 2-0 with 5 or so minutes gone in the game. There were a handful of TVs with a giant 30 foot screen jobbie garnishing the most attention. ManU subsequently went up 3-0 then all h__l broke loose in the second half. The German team scored twice, bringing the match total to 3-2 and the aggregate score (the two games they have played together) to 4-4. ManU did not muster much offense in the second half and it seemed like forever that the ball was in their end during those 48 minutes. It was electric in the bar and after the elimination of ManU, someone offered me his sympathy as ferenge was wearing the AIG ManU jersey. I will take on the Liverpool game in the Europa league against Benifica (Portugal) tonight that starts at 10PM.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
A relatively small debacle
The likelihood that my last expenses cheque may arrive after I am gone loomed larger today. Someone suggested that I give Bezeba Arefaine signing authority on my account so I looked into it. We went to the Arat Kilo branch of the Commercial Bank where my account lives. We were told we needed a form filled out and signed. The form must be run through the records and documents official organization of the Government then the bank can act upon the request.
So off we go to the appropriate government department close to my office. We are approached by 2 people the second we show up and I do not have a clue who they are. I them remember back to when I was negotiating with customs over the Dell. We ended up at the Kezanches police station at one point, needing a letter written by yours truly and stamped by the police to show to customs. A "letter writing expert" did the work for us and these people today were representatives of the same. We entered the Records office nonetheless, and ended up in room 105 to see a gentleman behind a desk. Bezeba spoke with him for a while, then off we went with the guy from outside. We traversed the street and ended up in a small cluster of offices packed with computers, printers, photocopiers and tons of people.
A woman at a keyboard took my passport and passbook, and edited a document for about 15 minutes. The end result was an 80 birr letter to the bank in triplicate that had to be processed by a handful of people elsewhere in the same Records building we had come from. Then the fun began. Within the next 45 minutes we saw no less than 9 people in offices 205, 302, 305, 306, 215, 202, 204, 306, and finally 205 again. There were so many stamps, signatures, notations, and more stamps on the paper such that one could hardly distinguish the colour of the paper. At one point I signed the forms on both the English and Amharic sides and printed my name.
We finally ended up in the cashier's office and paid another 51 birr. Thinking I was done ... not quite. There was one final visit back to room 205 where the process ended, well sort of. Back to the bank to see the customer service head that we saw when the whole process started. We ended up upstairs where a teller processed the request, the bank manager gave his approval, signatures were done and we departed. Eureka ... Bezeba now has authority to deposit and withdraw from my account. By the way, to bring about this end result, his name had to be registered on the forms as Bezeba Arefaine Abbey :).
In summary, there were:
9 offices visited
16 signatures written
131 birr extracted from ferenge
29,892 stamps plopped onto 5 forms
12 ink pads used up completely
8 photocopies made
78 thank-you's given
12 amahsagenalu's given
3 uttering of my approvals to effect the signing authority declaration
118,902 stairs climbed
4 false-ends proclaimed to the process by Bezeba
Throughout all this, there were no animals harmed and NO non-kosher food consumed. Now if the cheque arrives after I leave, Bezeba can cash at the bank.
In the big picture, on a scale of 1 to 10, the customs blue Dell debacle was about a 17; today's was a 3.
So off we go to the appropriate government department close to my office. We are approached by 2 people the second we show up and I do not have a clue who they are. I them remember back to when I was negotiating with customs over the Dell. We ended up at the Kezanches police station at one point, needing a letter written by yours truly and stamped by the police to show to customs. A "letter writing expert" did the work for us and these people today were representatives of the same. We entered the Records office nonetheless, and ended up in room 105 to see a gentleman behind a desk. Bezeba spoke with him for a while, then off we went with the guy from outside. We traversed the street and ended up in a small cluster of offices packed with computers, printers, photocopiers and tons of people.
A woman at a keyboard took my passport and passbook, and edited a document for about 15 minutes. The end result was an 80 birr letter to the bank in triplicate that had to be processed by a handful of people elsewhere in the same Records building we had come from. Then the fun began. Within the next 45 minutes we saw no less than 9 people in offices 205, 302, 305, 306, 215, 202, 204, 306, and finally 205 again. There were so many stamps, signatures, notations, and more stamps on the paper such that one could hardly distinguish the colour of the paper. At one point I signed the forms on both the English and Amharic sides and printed my name.
We finally ended up in the cashier's office and paid another 51 birr. Thinking I was done ... not quite. There was one final visit back to room 205 where the process ended, well sort of. Back to the bank to see the customer service head that we saw when the whole process started. We ended up upstairs where a teller processed the request, the bank manager gave his approval, signatures were done and we departed. Eureka ... Bezeba now has authority to deposit and withdraw from my account. By the way, to bring about this end result, his name had to be registered on the forms as Bezeba Arefaine Abbey :).
In summary, there were:
9 offices visited
16 signatures written
131 birr extracted from ferenge
29,892 stamps plopped onto 5 forms
12 ink pads used up completely
8 photocopies made
78 thank-you's given
12 amahsagenalu's given
3 uttering of my approvals to effect the signing authority declaration
118,902 stairs climbed
4 false-ends proclaimed to the process by Bezeba
Throughout all this, there were no animals harmed and NO non-kosher food consumed. Now if the cheque arrives after I leave, Bezeba can cash at the bank.
In the big picture, on a scale of 1 to 10, the customs blue Dell debacle was about a 17; today's was a 3.
Ambo this weekend
Leaving Friday afternoon for a weekend out of Addis. We are going to Ambo is where the superb fizzy water is bottled that I have been consuming steadily since my arrival here last August. In the scheme of things, this is a big town. In 1994 it had over 27,000 people so it has to be much larger today. It has a cosmopolitan university offering study in computer science and veterinary science amongst others. There is a lake very close to the town where we will go hiking at least once. The weekend is designed to be R&R, suggested by yours truly for my last weekend here before a trip back to Canada.
I have been seeing a lot of Bill W. from DC who has been here for a few weeks. He is leaving next Wednesday, spending a few days in Rome, then heading back home. I would love to cross paths with him again. I will be dragging him to Naklah before he goes.
I have been seeing a lot of Bill W. from DC who has been here for a few weeks. He is leaving next Wednesday, spending a few days in Rome, then heading back home. I would love to cross paths with him again. I will be dragging him to Naklah before he goes.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Last Sunday in Addis
It was my second last in Ethiopia, but next weekend I will be in Ambo with Dr. Paul and a few others ...
As expected Sunday was an action-packed day. It started with a boring breakfast at TDS then a quick stroll down to Bole 19 tennis for another coffee. Melaku mentioned Saturday that he was playing doubles at 9AM but he did not show. I sat around enjoying the sun for about an hour then headed back to the hotel. Yared and I spoke and we made plans to meet at Arat Kilo at 11AM. I visited with Binyam in the TDS cafe for a few minutes then prepared for the walk to the meeting spot.
It is about a 45 minute walk and lots of stuff to see. The first stretch is boring, then Kesanches all the way to the palace is a hustle bustle of shops. I sat on the stairs at the post office and waited for Yared who showed up about 10 minutes later. We walked back towards the palace and hung a right at the first intersection. We entered a restaurant after passing the familiar carcasses that hang in a butcher's shop. Yared ordered and a plateful of raw beef arrived. There were three kinds ... some was laced with fat, some had a thick layer of fat on one end, and the last was fat-free. There was lovely sauces with the fare, especially a very runny horseradish-like one. Some of the meat was chewy but after the mouth's juices attacked it for a while, it was easy to break up and swallow. We chowed down for about an hour then I grabbed a 60-birr cab ride back to TDS.
The trip to Metasabya's commenced about 1:45, grabbing a cab and getting the driver to speak to her to get directions. She did not live near the airport as was suspected, but rather west and a bit south of the airport just off the road to Debrezeit. She met us at the road and walked to her house which took about 10 minutes. We were greeted by a sister and a few brothers, Mother, and some of the help. Matthias was there whom I had met at the little party I threw at Blue Drops before leaving Addis in December. There were two other brothers and it was remarkable how the sons and daughters all resembled the Mother. We sat in the living room and the refreshment-wave descended on the dwelling. There were a few kinds of beverages, including my favoured cold Ambo, as well as a juice that turned out to be made with honey and bananas.
The injera appeared with a deep-maroon sauce and a separate pot with beef and peppers. I ate a bit but was not really hungry. We chatted and visited as much as we could and had a lovely time chatting with the family. Another brother appeared with two friends, and they ended up at the table munchung on the injera and stuff I had devoured. The television was on with ETV the whole time we were there. The proramming it shows seems to mesmerize habesha as it is on lodu wherever I seem to go. Jirka (Dad) showed up as he got home from work and poured some Ouzo as well as arak, distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses. Both were very alcoholic. In a way I was afraid to finish a glass as another one would be poured immediately. The hospitality was second to none and the family was very warm and welcoming.
About 5 it was time to depart. One of the brothers disappeared to get a taxi, but returned empty-handed exclaiming none were to be found. We walked to the street and started heading towards the pedestrian overpass when a cab appeared. Metasabye flagged it down and the trip back to TDS began. I went to Blue Drops about 6:45 and waited for the beginning of the Roddick-Berdych match for the Miami tennis title.
That started just after 8PM and did not disappoint. By mid-way through the first set Berdych seemed in control. Roddick won the first set 7-5 and then he really took over and won in straight sets. Tuchou and Goldie left Blue Drops about 9 and I sat in the closed establishment and finished watching the match myself. I left the guard a 10 birr tip and headed across the street at the end of the telecast.
As expected Sunday was an action-packed day. It started with a boring breakfast at TDS then a quick stroll down to Bole 19 tennis for another coffee. Melaku mentioned Saturday that he was playing doubles at 9AM but he did not show. I sat around enjoying the sun for about an hour then headed back to the hotel. Yared and I spoke and we made plans to meet at Arat Kilo at 11AM. I visited with Binyam in the TDS cafe for a few minutes then prepared for the walk to the meeting spot.
It is about a 45 minute walk and lots of stuff to see. The first stretch is boring, then Kesanches all the way to the palace is a hustle bustle of shops. I sat on the stairs at the post office and waited for Yared who showed up about 10 minutes later. We walked back towards the palace and hung a right at the first intersection. We entered a restaurant after passing the familiar carcasses that hang in a butcher's shop. Yared ordered and a plateful of raw beef arrived. There were three kinds ... some was laced with fat, some had a thick layer of fat on one end, and the last was fat-free. There was lovely sauces with the fare, especially a very runny horseradish-like one. Some of the meat was chewy but after the mouth's juices attacked it for a while, it was easy to break up and swallow. We chowed down for about an hour then I grabbed a 60-birr cab ride back to TDS.
The trip to Metasabya's commenced about 1:45, grabbing a cab and getting the driver to speak to her to get directions. She did not live near the airport as was suspected, but rather west and a bit south of the airport just off the road to Debrezeit. She met us at the road and walked to her house which took about 10 minutes. We were greeted by a sister and a few brothers, Mother, and some of the help. Matthias was there whom I had met at the little party I threw at Blue Drops before leaving Addis in December. There were two other brothers and it was remarkable how the sons and daughters all resembled the Mother. We sat in the living room and the refreshment-wave descended on the dwelling. There were a few kinds of beverages, including my favoured cold Ambo, as well as a juice that turned out to be made with honey and bananas.
The injera appeared with a deep-maroon sauce and a separate pot with beef and peppers. I ate a bit but was not really hungry. We chatted and visited as much as we could and had a lovely time chatting with the family. Another brother appeared with two friends, and they ended up at the table munchung on the injera and stuff I had devoured. The television was on with ETV the whole time we were there. The proramming it shows seems to mesmerize habesha as it is on lodu wherever I seem to go. Jirka (Dad) showed up as he got home from work and poured some Ouzo as well as arak, distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses. Both were very alcoholic. In a way I was afraid to finish a glass as another one would be poured immediately. The hospitality was second to none and the family was very warm and welcoming.
About 5 it was time to depart. One of the brothers disappeared to get a taxi, but returned empty-handed exclaiming none were to be found. We walked to the street and started heading towards the pedestrian overpass when a cab appeared. Metasabye flagged it down and the trip back to TDS began. I went to Blue Drops about 6:45 and waited for the beginning of the Roddick-Berdych match for the Miami tennis title.
That started just after 8PM and did not disappoint. By mid-way through the first set Berdych seemed in control. Roddick won the first set 7-5 and then he really took over and won in straight sets. Tuchou and Goldie left Blue Drops about 9 and I sat in the closed establishment and finished watching the match myself. I left the guard a 10 birr tip and headed across the street at the end of the telecast.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter weekend celebrations
This town has been busy all weekend preparing for and enjoying this very special few days. When at Blue Drops last night, Tuchou was busily preparing a sweet table to satiate the voracious appetite for cakes and pastry these people have, accentuated during religious festivities. As I entered TDS last night, I was invited to join the coffee ceremony. There was grass strewn all over the floor as well as gobs and gobs of popcorn as there always is on holidays.
I chatted for a while with a new mother from Ireland. They are in Addis for 6 weeks to finalize the adoption of a habesha child. They are staying at the adoption agency's guest house near here. She mentioned they have been in the adoption process for almost 3 years. She has been told that people just getting started with adoption are now reporting it noticeably longer from start to finish. Apparently adopting African children is still not as complicated as trying in Asia, but starting to look as if it will become as time consuming.
I am walking up to Arat Kilo to meet Yared for lunch. I will truck somehow back to TDS and head over to Metasabya's for 2PM. The Sony Ericsson men's final is on tonight at 8PM EAT and I hope to watch it at Blue Drops.
I chatted for a while with a new mother from Ireland. They are in Addis for 6 weeks to finalize the adoption of a habesha child. They are staying at the adoption agency's guest house near here. She mentioned they have been in the adoption process for almost 3 years. She has been told that people just getting started with adoption are now reporting it noticeably longer from start to finish. Apparently adopting African children is still not as complicated as trying in Asia, but starting to look as if it will become as time consuming.
I am walking up to Arat Kilo to meet Yared for lunch. I will truck somehow back to TDS and head over to Metasabya's for 2PM. The Sony Ericsson men's final is on tonight at 8PM EAT and I hope to watch it at Blue Drops.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A typical day in Addis
It started earlier than I had hoped and was chowing down on breakfast by 7:30 at TDS. I headed back upstairs, played guitar, and watched a DVD for a while. I ended up walking down to Bole Africa to got go Fantu supermarket then headed over to the Green View restaurant for a pizza lunch. Left the hotel with Melaku about 2:15 off to the Hilton to watch a huge Barclays football game between Manchester United and Chelsea. They made Man U almost look silly and beat them easily. I then ended up at Blue Drops for the Arsenal/Wolves game which was scoreless until the end of regulation time. There were 5 minutes tacked on the end of the game and at about 95:07 Arsenal scored then the game ended shortly thereafter. Yes 95:07 is past the end of the 5 minute for-injury-time-out period, but the game always goes a bit over that time.
Tomorrow is action-packed with a lunch with Yared from the office then a visit with Metasabya and her family, she being the woman who works days at Deker Inn. I also watched the Sony Ericsson women's final from Miami before heading home tonight and Clijsters easily beat Venus Williams. Venus had a lot of stuff wrapped around her knees and she must have been out-of-sorts somehow as her unforced errors were so unlike the way she usually plays.
Tomorrow is action-packed with a lunch with Yared from the office then a visit with Metasabya and her family, she being the woman who works days at Deker Inn. I also watched the Sony Ericsson women's final from Miami before heading home tonight and Clijsters easily beat Venus Williams. Venus had a lot of stuff wrapped around her knees and she must have been out-of-sorts somehow as her unforced errors were so unlike the way she usually plays.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Who would'a thunk
As my latest sojourn in Ethiopia reaches the last 2 weeks, I cannot help thinking back to the experiences I have had over the past 8 and a bit months. I think when the dust finally settles from this extravaganza, I will be able to offer some advice to persons who may end up asking for guidance as they prepare for work on the dark continent,
There is no doubt from the ferenge I have met that people either seem to be here for extended periods of time (as in 2-3 years at a time) or short 3-6 week stays. My "sentence" here is somewhat out of the ordinary. I have met ferenge here from the USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Italy, Israel, Albania, Greece, Germany, France, Belgium, and Sweden. I have met people from countries whose residents do not, according to habesha, fall into the ferenge category ... Japan, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Chad, Mali, South Africa, India, Tanzania, Pakistan, Lesotho, Nigeria, Yemen, and Sudan. I am sure I have missed a few.
There sure has been an interesting cross-section of foreigners. I am beginning to formulate the one single piece of advice that I would give westerners toying with the idea of working in the third world. I don't think that tidbit of advice will change between now and my return to Canada, so here goes ...
"Make sure your expectations of the way things are going to work in the third world are realistic."
The systems, all the way from infrastructure (i.e., the support systems for cities) to how they work with government agencies (e.g., procedures one must follow to do something as seemingly mundane as pay a water bill), are like nothing you have or will ever experience in the west. You cannot imagine how immature these countries are from an organizational stand-point and how rigid they can be and unwilling to progress. For example ...
In Ottawa, the restaurant may be out of soap in the washroom --> in the third world the washroom has no running water and when it does, it's a trickle.
In Ottawa, on very rare occasions, some of the sewer systems get overwhelmed with heavy rain --> in the third world, puddles a foot deep form since there are no sewers. A wave of water 12-18 inches high wafting down a main thoroughfare are common after torrential rain they get.
In Ottawa, the ATM is out of service for 5-10 minutes here and there, almost always working --> in the third world, the bank machine has not worked for 3 weeks and anyone who you ask at the financial institution does not have a clue when it will be fixed, if ever.
In Ottawa, you call the front desk at the hotel to get an extra sheet delivered and it usually takes 15-20 minutes --> in the third world, you may politely ask 4 or 5 times and the sheet is still not delivered. Why? I have not figured that one out yet though I think it's a shortage of personnel on shift and their need to concentrate on more strategic issues at the hotel than my top sheet.
These 4 predicaments/facts are a good sample of why one needs reasonable expectations when working/travelling in the third world. Dr. Paul's advice when I was planning arrival in Addis Abeba in August was "bring some hiking boots". That was the best advice I received and many times have considered myself lucky to not be face down in a mud puddle after finding myself with inadequate footwear to contend with the deep puddles and seas of mud formed by the latest downpour.
There is no doubt from the ferenge I have met that people either seem to be here for extended periods of time (as in 2-3 years at a time) or short 3-6 week stays. My "sentence" here is somewhat out of the ordinary. I have met ferenge here from the USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Italy, Israel, Albania, Greece, Germany, France, Belgium, and Sweden. I have met people from countries whose residents do not, according to habesha, fall into the ferenge category ... Japan, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Chad, Mali, South Africa, India, Tanzania, Pakistan, Lesotho, Nigeria, Yemen, and Sudan. I am sure I have missed a few.
There sure has been an interesting cross-section of foreigners. I am beginning to formulate the one single piece of advice that I would give westerners toying with the idea of working in the third world. I don't think that tidbit of advice will change between now and my return to Canada, so here goes ...
"Make sure your expectations of the way things are going to work in the third world are realistic."
The systems, all the way from infrastructure (i.e., the support systems for cities) to how they work with government agencies (e.g., procedures one must follow to do something as seemingly mundane as pay a water bill), are like nothing you have or will ever experience in the west. You cannot imagine how immature these countries are from an organizational stand-point and how rigid they can be and unwilling to progress. For example ...
In Ottawa, the restaurant may be out of soap in the washroom --> in the third world the washroom has no running water and when it does, it's a trickle.
In Ottawa, on very rare occasions, some of the sewer systems get overwhelmed with heavy rain --> in the third world, puddles a foot deep form since there are no sewers. A wave of water 12-18 inches high wafting down a main thoroughfare are common after torrential rain they get.
In Ottawa, the ATM is out of service for 5-10 minutes here and there, almost always working --> in the third world, the bank machine has not worked for 3 weeks and anyone who you ask at the financial institution does not have a clue when it will be fixed, if ever.
In Ottawa, you call the front desk at the hotel to get an extra sheet delivered and it usually takes 15-20 minutes --> in the third world, you may politely ask 4 or 5 times and the sheet is still not delivered. Why? I have not figured that one out yet though I think it's a shortage of personnel on shift and their need to concentrate on more strategic issues at the hotel than my top sheet.
These 4 predicaments/facts are a good sample of why one needs reasonable expectations when working/travelling in the third world. Dr. Paul's advice when I was planning arrival in Addis Abeba in August was "bring some hiking boots". That was the best advice I received and many times have considered myself lucky to not be face down in a mud puddle after finding myself with inadequate footwear to contend with the deep puddles and seas of mud formed by the latest downpour.
The rain is merciless
As I mentioned in my last post, there is such a crowd at church on Good Friday that chairs are set up outside to accommodate the throngs of attendees. So naturally one would expect it to be dry? Not a chance. It poured this morning for 10-15 minutes and it was quite heavy. I was under the impression that the service commenced today about 9AM so hopefully the congregants were not soaked.
As expected, it's Tagel and me at work. I am getting a lot done since there is nobody else to distract me. Checked up on WTP tennis and there is a men's semi-final on at 6:30PM. Now I will look at the Sony Ericsson web site to confirm the time. Since DST started in North America in early March and the UK last weekend, Ottawa is now 7 hours behind me and London is 2. The times advertised on DStv are CAT (central Africa time) which is 1 hour behind Addis. As if I am so busy the incorrect time would affect me :).
A mere 21,459 minutes now until I return to family and friends. I have enjoyed the news Shauna about the Generous Cuff.
{{PC Kpk 5v1 l2ly 0opur 0oh0 0olyl 3v1sk il h wvz0 sprl 0opz 0oh0 q1z0 3lu0 vu huk vu huk vu huk hm0ly 5v1 mpn1ylk v10 3oh0 p0 zh5z 5v1 ylhsp6lk 0olyl 3hz uv opkklu tlzzhnl. 0oh0 tprv3hi5 jhu il 2ly5 0ypjr5 PC}} 7
As expected, it's Tagel and me at work. I am getting a lot done since there is nobody else to distract me. Checked up on WTP tennis and there is a men's semi-final on at 6:30PM. Now I will look at the Sony Ericsson web site to confirm the time. Since DST started in North America in early March and the UK last weekend, Ottawa is now 7 hours behind me and London is 2. The times advertised on DStv are CAT (central Africa time) which is 1 hour behind Addis. As if I am so busy the incorrect time would affect me :).
A mere 21,459 minutes now until I return to family and friends. I have enjoyed the news Shauna about the Generous Cuff.
{{PC Kpk 5v1 l2ly 0opur 0oh0 0olyl 3v1sk il h wvz0 sprl 0opz 0oh0 q1z0 3lu0 vu huk vu huk vu huk hm0ly 5v1 mpn1ylk v10 3oh0 p0 zh5z 5v1 ylhsp6lk 0olyl 3hz uv opkklu tlzzhnl. 0oh0 tprv3hi5 jhu il 2ly5 0ypjr5 PC}} 7
Clinched
I know everyone (except LHR) is pleased that the Sens have clinched a playoff spot. I am off to the office today at 9. Tagel and I will probably be the only soles there. I am hoping the weather will be nice so I can walk home. I watched Sony Ericsson women's tennis last night ... Venus beat Bartoli. We had hoped to see Henin play, but found out it was not on until 3AM. Melaku mentioned there is such a crowd at the church on Good Friday that he and the majority of patrons sit outside. He invited me to call him sometime this afternoon if I wanted to meet him for a bit of the service. I have always been curious so may take him up on the offer.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
A Good Friday
The government is off tomorrow for probably the biggest holiday of the Christian Orthodox year. I was thinking of going to church with Melaku before I found out it went from 5:30AM until 9AM. As is the case in schull, there are times when one cannot come or go from the sanctuary. I was told the times that is in effect are significantly longer than is the case in my faith.
It has been unusually wet here lately, with some torrential downpours having been hoisted on this berg once a day at least every other day for the past 10. I had a meeting late yesterday evening with a contact in Toronto for some work. There is nothing definite, so in the contracting world, there is basically "nothing".
The Sabres are pulling away from the Sens. I just wish we had back-to-back games or something with them to quickly gain some ground. We are heading for 5th place in the conference which works for me. Naomi is staying another year in Korea and will be home in Ottawa the third week of May. I would love to see her if I manage to be there :). I found out what the ManU supporters' pub is in Ottawa and may go there for some ball when I return.
It has been unusually wet here lately, with some torrential downpours having been hoisted on this berg once a day at least every other day for the past 10. I had a meeting late yesterday evening with a contact in Toronto for some work. There is nothing definite, so in the contracting world, there is basically "nothing".
The Sabres are pulling away from the Sens. I just wish we had back-to-back games or something with them to quickly gain some ground. We are heading for 5th place in the conference which works for me. Naomi is staying another year in Korea and will be home in Ottawa the third week of May. I would love to see her if I manage to be there :). I found out what the ManU supporters' pub is in Ottawa and may go there for some ball when I return.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
April already!!
My departure date from Ethiopia rapidly approaches. There is quite a hustle bustle at work while I finish up the DBA training. I am working with 3 very bright and keen individuals which is rewarding. Melaku gave his notice at Dulcian Ethiopia today and is moving on to other employment. I hops to see him tomorrow for lunch. It is a big holiday here Friday but ferenge-a-Michael will be working.
I am madly learning the songs from Dylan's Blonde on Blonde offering and was Queen Jane Approximately'ing for quite a while before the conference call I just had with someone in the GTA. The Sens .. 5 straight! Say what? They need 1 or 2 more points with the current 8th place team's co-operation to clinch a playoff berth. The Ileana flag was yellow since Monday but is now light green again.
At pesach my thoughts inevitably turn to my father Sydney who so enjoyed taking familiar sayings and twisting them around into comical similarities ... he had one where the punch line was "Why is this knight different than all other knights" when one waxes poetic at the pesach time of year. I have always said that 50% of my material is my own and the other half is a toss-up between Sydney Abbey and Jay Leno. The latter quipped one night on his show how he knew a couple in NYC and the wife was from Jerusalem. The husband was studying Talmud. With all that said, they were not members of the tribe, but sort of Jew-ish :). One of my Dad's best was "Hey America's a great country, just ask them ...".
I am madly learning the songs from Dylan's Blonde on Blonde offering and was Queen Jane Approximately'ing for quite a while before the conference call I just had with someone in the GTA. The Sens .. 5 straight! Say what? They need 1 or 2 more points with the current 8th place team's co-operation to clinch a playoff berth. The Ileana flag was yellow since Monday but is now light green again.
At pesach my thoughts inevitably turn to my father Sydney who so enjoyed taking familiar sayings and twisting them around into comical similarities ... he had one where the punch line was "Why is this knight different than all other knights" when one waxes poetic at the pesach time of year. I have always said that 50% of my material is my own and the other half is a toss-up between Sydney Abbey and Jay Leno. The latter quipped one night on his show how he knew a couple in NYC and the wife was from Jerusalem. The husband was studying Talmud. With all that said, they were not members of the tribe, but sort of Jew-ish :). One of my Dad's best was "Hey America's a great country, just ask them ...".
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mah nishtana ...
I have had a lot of pesach's and each and every one of them is as magical as the previous. Tonight's was a first as far as the location and it was as memorable as the rest. I used to tingle with anticipation when young before going to Libbie and Ben's (my Mother's parents) for the first night then Henry and Min's (Min was a sister of Libbie) for the second. I was so fond of pesach when little, and loved singing all the songs ... Key Lo Noyeh, Echad Me Yodeah, and the climactic Chad Gohd Ya. My father had some unique tunes and we LOVED speeding up the closer we got to echad (echad aloheynu shebeshemyim oov'e'aretz to be exact).
So I get a call from Goldie this afternoon and she suggests I come to Blue Drops for 5:30. She tells me the family will be by at 6. A vehicle pulls up in front about 6:10, after Goldie has called her Dad a few times to find out if he is actually coming. I am not sure what the plan is as we pile into the vehicle. We head up Gambia to Kezanches, following the same route as we do when going to work. At Arat Kilo we do a 270 around the traffic circle, heading towards familiar territory called piassa. It is then that I discover we are going to the synagogue. We wind our way through sites I have seen before in piassa. At an intersection I must have seen dozens of times, Goldie's Father points out a light greenish/blue building with a few lights emanating through windows and exclaims that is the destination.
We arrive amidst some security, and greet everyone with chag sameach's all around. There are about a dozen men and Goldie. We pile into a small sanctuary, very nicely appointed with a lovely aron hakodesh. It is nicely done with gold lettering on a deep blue or purple background. The service is led by one of the congregants and lasts about 30 minutes. There is another boisterous round of chag sameach's and we navigate the steep staircase back to the parking lot. The synagogue was delightful, and very small. I am told there are less than 50 practicing Jews "left in Addis".
So we're off, and I am not exactly sure what is next ... we wind our way through familiar streets, ending up at Gambia and Kezanches at which point it is obvious we are going back to Blue Drops. There is a nicely laid out set of tables and Goldie's brother's wife and family arrive.
I sit beside an 8 year old who is abuzz with trivia about capital cities of countries and some states in the US. This little guy is quite charming and wants me to sing O Canada for him. I told him one is not allowed to sing this national anthem on pesach. Some of Tuchou's finger foods arrive and there is a definite spicy theme to the dishes that arrived. We then order off the menu and the discussions at the table are heated and enjoyable.
Goldie's Dad is intrigued by my impressions about how so much of the Canadian Jewry has its roots in Estonia and Latvia. He then launches into some history of how in the 15th century the African Jews deliberately recruited young women from what is now Yemen to procreate with their men. Up until that point, the Ethiopian Jews tended to mate with first cousins. All of a sudden, the party seemed to break up. I sat and chatted with Goldie and Tuchou for a bit then come back to TDS. On a scale of 1-10, that experience was a 14.
I do miss being with family tonight and know my lovely Sweet Thing is sedering with Hal and Susan, Ben and Lesley, Pat Lahey and at least one other person. I could smell her brisket over the weekend all the way from Africa. Why is this night different from all other nights ... re-read the following few paragraphs to find out why :).
So I get a call from Goldie this afternoon and she suggests I come to Blue Drops for 5:30. She tells me the family will be by at 6. A vehicle pulls up in front about 6:10, after Goldie has called her Dad a few times to find out if he is actually coming. I am not sure what the plan is as we pile into the vehicle. We head up Gambia to Kezanches, following the same route as we do when going to work. At Arat Kilo we do a 270 around the traffic circle, heading towards familiar territory called piassa. It is then that I discover we are going to the synagogue. We wind our way through sites I have seen before in piassa. At an intersection I must have seen dozens of times, Goldie's Father points out a light greenish/blue building with a few lights emanating through windows and exclaims that is the destination.
We arrive amidst some security, and greet everyone with chag sameach's all around. There are about a dozen men and Goldie. We pile into a small sanctuary, very nicely appointed with a lovely aron hakodesh. It is nicely done with gold lettering on a deep blue or purple background. The service is led by one of the congregants and lasts about 30 minutes. There is another boisterous round of chag sameach's and we navigate the steep staircase back to the parking lot. The synagogue was delightful, and very small. I am told there are less than 50 practicing Jews "left in Addis".
So we're off, and I am not exactly sure what is next ... we wind our way through familiar streets, ending up at Gambia and Kezanches at which point it is obvious we are going back to Blue Drops. There is a nicely laid out set of tables and Goldie's brother's wife and family arrive.
I sit beside an 8 year old who is abuzz with trivia about capital cities of countries and some states in the US. This little guy is quite charming and wants me to sing O Canada for him. I told him one is not allowed to sing this national anthem on pesach. Some of Tuchou's finger foods arrive and there is a definite spicy theme to the dishes that arrived. We then order off the menu and the discussions at the table are heated and enjoyable.
Goldie's Dad is intrigued by my impressions about how so much of the Canadian Jewry has its roots in Estonia and Latvia. He then launches into some history of how in the 15th century the African Jews deliberately recruited young women from what is now Yemen to procreate with their men. Up until that point, the Ethiopian Jews tended to mate with first cousins. All of a sudden, the party seemed to break up. I sat and chatted with Goldie and Tuchou for a bit then come back to TDS. On a scale of 1-10, that experience was a 14.
I do miss being with family tonight and know my lovely Sweet Thing is sedering with Hal and Susan, Ben and Lesley, Pat Lahey and at least one other person. I could smell her brisket over the weekend all the way from Africa. Why is this night different from all other nights ... re-read the following few paragraphs to find out why :).
Saturday, March 27, 2010
And on the sabbath he rested
Woke up inconveniently early for a Saturday. I could not get back to sleep so got out of bed about 6. Naturally the first thing I did was check the Sens score from last night, pleased to see they beat the Sabres again. One may remember it was them we had to go through in the conference final when we went to the cup final in 2007.
I am off to Blue Drops at 6 to watch Arsenal followed by ManU, sporting my new football shirt I got yesterday. So they are building a new addition to the TDS hotel, unfortunately for the residents of the east side of the existing building, thereby blocking what little view they had of the Addis countryside. As mentioned before, they use eucalyptus trunks for scaffolding here and the workers have been busily banging together more and more since 8AM this morning. They are now working on the 3rd floor level, not far from my window. I was told they work on scaffolding at any height in Ethiopia without a safety line. Now I am seeing it first hand ... no tethering to the scaffolding itself whatsoever!!! That could be a 30 or more foot drop which in most cases is fatal. You may or may not know that one of the things that proves fatal with a fall so far is that as you hit the ground your vital organs get ripped from their natural location in your body as they keep going while you don't (so I have been told). I am sure you need to hear that.
There was a noticeable amount of chastising from Melaku about not taking him on the Entoto trip a few days ago. I promised he would be invited on any subsequent outings even if they start at a time in the afternoon well before when he usually leaves work.
I am off to Blue Drops at 6 to watch Arsenal followed by ManU, sporting my new football shirt I got yesterday. So they are building a new addition to the TDS hotel, unfortunately for the residents of the east side of the existing building, thereby blocking what little view they had of the Addis countryside. As mentioned before, they use eucalyptus trunks for scaffolding here and the workers have been busily banging together more and more since 8AM this morning. They are now working on the 3rd floor level, not far from my window. I was told they work on scaffolding at any height in Ethiopia without a safety line. Now I am seeing it first hand ... no tethering to the scaffolding itself whatsoever!!! That could be a 30 or more foot drop which in most cases is fatal. You may or may not know that one of the things that proves fatal with a fall so far is that as you hit the ground your vital organs get ripped from their natural location in your body as they keep going while you don't (so I have been told). I am sure you need to hear that.
There was a noticeable amount of chastising from Melaku about not taking him on the Entoto trip a few days ago. I promised he would be invited on any subsequent outings even if they start at a time in the afternoon well before when he usually leaves work.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Entoto in total
Mission ... find the 9/11 monument north of Addis. So we head off from work yesterday about 4, with plans to climb the famous hill called Entoto. It is north of the city, providing some nice views of Addis as one climbs to over 9,000 feet at its pinnacle. Even though we head through parts or urban Addis on the way to the hill, it seems oddly rural even while we are still in a city with close to 4 million people. The shops are vending an assortment of local garb and the gamut of assorted paraphernalia the locals consume voraciously. The streets are crowded and get narrower the further we go.
We start climbing the mountain, armed with some Google map printouts of where we should be going. The first major decision (aka fork) presents us with our first dilemma. Left or right? We go right, following a sign displayed promoting the assets of the park one is about to enter. The vegetation is thick and the trees copious. We get to a rolling meadow of sorts and decide we are in the wrong place. We back up and this time take the straight-ahead branch of the fork. In Ethiopia, it appears that forks in a road have 3 not 2 branches.
We travel for 40 minutes to an hour and eventually realize we are going the wrong direction. We pass an assortment of locals and they are very colourful and happy to wave at ferenge as we pass. Dereje asks periodically for assistance on where we might be. One of the last people we talk with confirms we are headed the right way. Alas, we are not, and do a 180 and head back down the hill. We encounter a brick/concrete wall less than 3 feet high, with an enclosed structure, thinking it is the 9/11 monument we were looking for. That turns out not to be the case, as it is some sort of scientific testing station. Someone speaks to a colleague on the cell, and we get some assistance. Off we go back down the mountain.
We reach the 3-way fork, and head back up the right branch that took us to a meadow about an hour ago. We get to that meadow and head a bit to the right when we first encounter it. Lo and behold, guess what is in that meadow ... how could this be possible; looks like a 9/11 monument to me!
We hang out and take pictures. The monument park seems to be closed so we scale the fence. Not long after Dereje notices that the padlock on the gate is not closed. A swarm of local kids descend on us and we give out money and play with them for a bit. They are indeed glad to see us and very social, though the money could in fact be more popular than ferenge themselves. After a while, we head back down the mount and back to TDS.
I end up at Blue Drops for lasagne and a few beers. I end up sitting with the owner and his wife, with an Asian named Fukuru. She tells me that her family wants me to do the synagogue and seder with them next Monday at sundown. This is huge! My Sweet Thing naturally is doing pesach at home and I will do something here. The owner refuses payment for my nourishment yesterday as a thank-you for assisting with the satellite a few days ago. I thank him but threaten him with a 100-birr note that I will not accept his generosity (though do appreciate the gesture) again; I want to pay for my fare from now on. He agrees ... a generous sole.
I have decided not to stay at Kazumi's starting April 1 while she is away in Japan. I heard from Bill Wigton today whom I met in the fall at Deker. We hung around a lot last time he was here and I expect to ehar from him over the weekend.
We start climbing the mountain, armed with some Google map printouts of where we should be going. The first major decision (aka fork) presents us with our first dilemma. Left or right? We go right, following a sign displayed promoting the assets of the park one is about to enter. The vegetation is thick and the trees copious. We get to a rolling meadow of sorts and decide we are in the wrong place. We back up and this time take the straight-ahead branch of the fork. In Ethiopia, it appears that forks in a road have 3 not 2 branches.
We travel for 40 minutes to an hour and eventually realize we are going the wrong direction. We pass an assortment of locals and they are very colourful and happy to wave at ferenge as we pass. Dereje asks periodically for assistance on where we might be. One of the last people we talk with confirms we are headed the right way. Alas, we are not, and do a 180 and head back down the hill. We encounter a brick/concrete wall less than 3 feet high, with an enclosed structure, thinking it is the 9/11 monument we were looking for. That turns out not to be the case, as it is some sort of scientific testing station. Someone speaks to a colleague on the cell, and we get some assistance. Off we go back down the mountain.
We reach the 3-way fork, and head back up the right branch that took us to a meadow about an hour ago. We get to that meadow and head a bit to the right when we first encounter it. Lo and behold, guess what is in that meadow ... how could this be possible; looks like a 9/11 monument to me!
We hang out and take pictures. The monument park seems to be closed so we scale the fence. Not long after Dereje notices that the padlock on the gate is not closed. A swarm of local kids descend on us and we give out money and play with them for a bit. They are indeed glad to see us and very social, though the money could in fact be more popular than ferenge themselves. After a while, we head back down the mount and back to TDS.
I end up at Blue Drops for lasagne and a few beers. I end up sitting with the owner and his wife, with an Asian named Fukuru. She tells me that her family wants me to do the synagogue and seder with them next Monday at sundown. This is huge! My Sweet Thing naturally is doing pesach at home and I will do something here. The owner refuses payment for my nourishment yesterday as a thank-you for assisting with the satellite a few days ago. I thank him but threaten him with a 100-birr note that I will not accept his generosity (though do appreciate the gesture) again; I want to pay for my fare from now on. He agrees ... a generous sole.
I have decided not to stay at Kazumi's starting April 1 while she is away in Japan. I heard from Bill Wigton today whom I met in the fall at Deker. We hung around a lot last time he was here and I expect to ehar from him over the weekend.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
You know you've been in Addis too long when ...
One of the things you just get used to in Addis is power outages. At Dr. Paul's building at MoFED they are unfortunately close to a daily occurrence. When I was at Deker they happened here and there but not often. Ato Taye did have a generator but it usually did not go on until sundown if indeed the power was out.
So a bunch of us go for dinner tonight at Naklah, my absolutely favourite eating establishment in Addis. We then get a drive back to Kazumi's house and it is very dark as is the neighbourhood she lives in. We go into the house with flashlight on and poke around the living room for a bit. She ends up in her kitchen, disappointed but prepared for the outage that is in effect. She then notices a light on and realizes that indeed there is no power failure .. it's all in our heads. Imagine that! We invented a power failure and one of the group suggested we had just experienced a "logical power failure".
After work tomorrow I am going with some people to Entoto which is a hill/mountain at the north end of the city, not far from where I work. Amongst other things we hope to see there is the Ethiopian 9/11 memorial which was opened in 2004 and is a grove of 3,000 trees planted in memory of the people who died that fateful day.
Someone at work checked for me today in bringing a third bag with me back home in a few weeks. I do not know what the charge will be but it will be at least $250 USD. I can pay for it with any credit card as long as it's a VISA. With the 2 suits and extra sports jacket I have acquired in Addis, I will be too big for 2 suitcases. Also, on the way here in August 2009 my 2 carry-ons were my CPAP machine and a knapsack where I carried my computers and other paraphernalia. This time one of my carry-ons is my Stray copy meaning the crap in that knapsack must go in checked baggage which in itself throws me over the 2 bag maximum.
So a bunch of us go for dinner tonight at Naklah, my absolutely favourite eating establishment in Addis. We then get a drive back to Kazumi's house and it is very dark as is the neighbourhood she lives in. We go into the house with flashlight on and poke around the living room for a bit. She ends up in her kitchen, disappointed but prepared for the outage that is in effect. She then notices a light on and realizes that indeed there is no power failure .. it's all in our heads. Imagine that! We invented a power failure and one of the group suggested we had just experienced a "logical power failure".
After work tomorrow I am going with some people to Entoto which is a hill/mountain at the north end of the city, not far from where I work. Amongst other things we hope to see there is the Ethiopian 9/11 memorial which was opened in 2004 and is a grove of 3,000 trees planted in memory of the people who died that fateful day.
Someone at work checked for me today in bringing a third bag with me back home in a few weeks. I do not know what the charge will be but it will be at least $250 USD. I can pay for it with any credit card as long as it's a VISA. With the 2 suits and extra sports jacket I have acquired in Addis, I will be too big for 2 suitcases. Also, on the way here in August 2009 my 2 carry-ons were my CPAP machine and a knapsack where I carried my computers and other paraphernalia. This time one of my carry-ons is my Stray copy meaning the crap in that knapsack must go in checked baggage which in itself throws me over the 2 bag maximum.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
It really suits me
I stopped at the tailor's on the way back from lunch and ordered another $67 custom made suit. This one is very dark gray with wide light pinstripes. The guy took my cell number and said he would call when it was time to come in for a fitting. That did not work last time; I never received a call! If you remember from that time, the guy hangs work in the doorway as it is ready and as one drives by and sees said clothing hanging in window, one stops in to see tailor. How simple is that :).
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MultiChoice Ethiopia
I met the owner from Blue Drops about 8:15 this morning and we went to get his DStv receiver smart card re-activated. We arrived fortunately before the crowds and waited about 15 minutes for our turn. The transaction was long and seemed complicated. The clerk spent some time re-programming the smart card and updating the software on the receiver. I should have known that I would need photo ID to use my VISA in Addis, but did not take anything :). After we were done, we stopped at TDS so I could get a photocopy of my passport. I am at work later today and the whole transaction start to finish was, in western standards, very very long but in Ethiopia, was relatively quick.
I am hoping to avail myself of the newly activated card tonight by watching Barclays at 9PM play the Wolves. There is Chelsea tomorrow so I hope his DStv works again ...
I am hoping to avail myself of the newly activated card tonight by watching Barclays at 9PM play the Wolves. There is Chelsea tomorrow so I hope his DStv works again ...
Monday, March 22, 2010
28 birr Ambo
Since the DsTV was not working at Blue Drops, Melaku suggested going to Bole Rock. It was full by the time we got around to getting there. What a quandry. Next suggestion was the Hilton lobby bar which turned out to be a great spot except for the cost of beverages there. Normally Ambo is 8 to 10 birr. The ManU game was great and they outplayed and deserved to beat Liverpool. It is remarkable how hard it is to score in this game :). After the game, I sat around watching some of the Chelsea game until Melaku re-appeared and dropped me off at the hotel.
The Sens are playing tonight and tomorrow and of course are all talk about how they are going to turn around their having lost 9 of last 10 abysmal record as of late. They are not far into the playoffs now and could fall into 9th if they keep up this latest debacle. I tried to call Dizzy today; she did answer the phone but could not talk as she was teaching ...
The Sens are playing tonight and tomorrow and of course are all talk about how they are going to turn around their having lost 9 of last 10 abysmal record as of late. They are not far into the playoffs now and could fall into 9th if they keep up this latest debacle. I tried to call Dizzy today; she did answer the phone but could not talk as she was teaching ...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
That was quite a night for this ferenge ... we started with dinner at the Greek club which was very nice. Melaku drove as usual so did not pay for his dinner. Then it was off to Club Alize for some music sponsored by l'Alliance Francaise. I was not sure what to expect as I knew nothing about the music festival they were sponsoring.
The band was very young, with an Asian leader playing a soprano saxophone, characterized by its not having the familiar turned up end where the sound exits. There were drums, bass, guitar (Fender Tele at that), trumpet, and washent/flute. The music was original, the band being from France. There were reportedly Ethiopian roots to a lot of their repertoire which was very eclectic and electric. Many numbers had no words, simply cannonading vocal humming and an assortment of sounds emanating from the performers' vocal chords. The attendees were very enthusiastic about the music and the dance floor filled half way through the set. It was one of the most enjoyable sets I have heard since arriving in Addis. The sax player also used a hand-held instrument I have seen before. It is called a kalimba, apparently originating in South Africa, most commonly in a 15-note alto or 17-note treble configuration. It's sound was quite unique, sounding a bit hollow but very metallic at the same time.
There was a bit of a mixup paying the bill and that took a while to sort out. I gave the server 20 birr as a tip for her troubles.
The band was very young, with an Asian leader playing a soprano saxophone, characterized by its not having the familiar turned up end where the sound exits. There were drums, bass, guitar (Fender Tele at that), trumpet, and washent/flute. The music was original, the band being from France. There were reportedly Ethiopian roots to a lot of their repertoire which was very eclectic and electric. Many numbers had no words, simply cannonading vocal humming and an assortment of sounds emanating from the performers' vocal chords. The attendees were very enthusiastic about the music and the dance floor filled half way through the set. It was one of the most enjoyable sets I have heard since arriving in Addis. The sax player also used a hand-held instrument I have seen before. It is called a kalimba, apparently originating in South Africa, most commonly in a 15-note alto or 17-note treble configuration. It's sound was quite unique, sounding a bit hollow but very metallic at the same time.
There was a bit of a mixup paying the bill and that took a while to sort out. I gave the server 20 birr as a tip for her troubles.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Yet another classic
| So I toddle off to Blue Drops for the customary Saturday evening in front of their big screen watching Barclay's premier league football. Alas, all that is on is Ethiopia TV and the DsTV dish receiver is unresponsive. I go dig up the owner who confesses he did not pay the bill and the service died. I then enter a new level of Ethiopian business ... he asks me if I have a credit card and we can go get the smart card authorized. He will pay me back the $195 he will get for service for the next 3 months ... no problem. We head off to the MultiChoice office near the airport and I think you know what's coming next ... CLOSED. He disappears for 10 minutes to try and find out if there is any other outlet that may still be open. No such luck. We go back to Blue Drops and I check the DsTV web site but it is too complicated I know for poor habesha. I will try to get an idea from Melaku of where else we can watch football tonight. |
Room 206
A few people at work are on a mission to get a federal tax number for Dulcian Ethiopia and have had a wide variety of suggestions from a handful of personnel in some of the federal government offices over the past few days on completing this task. At one point they were told to go to room 206 to carry out some of their business, and subsequently found out they ended up in the wrong room 206. This is my first experience hearing of a building that has the same room number for more that one room :). I guess it's a given that about 50% of the people looking for room 206 will actully find the right one ... welcome to Ethiopia.
The achilles heel
As I may have mentioned a number of times, it can be very frustrating to work some places in Africa. Some of the locals have a great deal of difficulty making decisions about anything. This is rampant where I am working. The client views holdups and roadblocks with tunnel vision; it's always somebody else's fault and they seem to be so caught up in the blame game. They are not willing to accept any responsibility for anything and always look outside to find someone to criticize when things are not going well. I have had this very discussion with people I have encountered in this country from Europe, America, and further; they all agree 100%. It is getting worse all the time at work for this type of behaviour.
In the bigger picture, this is a small percentage of habesha I have had the pleasure of meeting in Addis. The majority of those I have gotten to know a bit or a lot are, in their personal relationships, some of the warmest and considerate people I have ever met. I am not sure what compels some of the decision makers in public life to be so indecisive and unable to adhere to the plans they eagerly and enthusiastically commit to at the beginning. Sometimes I wonder if I am too hard with my expectations of how I think things should go in the third world. Maybe it's extra frustrating seeing many of the horror shows with society I have lived through in the west being played out again in living colour in the likes of Ethiopia.
I was up early and treated to a nice breakfast at TDS. I watched a bit of the BNP Paribas tennis open from Indian Wells CA on the SlingBox. Murray was playing Soderling and they were in the midst of the second set when I was watching. I am going to head off to Novis to replenish my lunch fixings, then meet Nehemiah and Umnet at the Atlas hotel at 1PM to head off to Dr. Paul's jamming headquarters. Interestingly enough, I am supposed to be having dinner tonight with a few people, one of them from, of all places. OTTAWA! I am looking forward to seeing what this lady may be doing in Addis and where she may be living in Ottawa.
Roughly 41,760 minutes until I can embrace my Sweet Thing again and familiar terra firma back in Ottawa. I will miss some of the people I have had the pleasure meeting here, with Melaku at the top of the list. He stands out from the rest of the crowd as we have seen so much of each other since our initial chance meeting at Bole 19 in late August. Tagel as well ripples to the top of the heap and has been very kind to "silly ferenge". Burhan, Hanna, and recently Yared at work are a pleasure to be around. I will never forget these people and the details of my BLOG posts I know will bring a smile to my face forever as I relive these magical months I have spent in Africa.
In the bigger picture, this is a small percentage of habesha I have had the pleasure of meeting in Addis. The majority of those I have gotten to know a bit or a lot are, in their personal relationships, some of the warmest and considerate people I have ever met. I am not sure what compels some of the decision makers in public life to be so indecisive and unable to adhere to the plans they eagerly and enthusiastically commit to at the beginning. Sometimes I wonder if I am too hard with my expectations of how I think things should go in the third world. Maybe it's extra frustrating seeing many of the horror shows with society I have lived through in the west being played out again in living colour in the likes of Ethiopia.
I was up early and treated to a nice breakfast at TDS. I watched a bit of the BNP Paribas tennis open from Indian Wells CA on the SlingBox. Murray was playing Soderling and they were in the midst of the second set when I was watching. I am going to head off to Novis to replenish my lunch fixings, then meet Nehemiah and Umnet at the Atlas hotel at 1PM to head off to Dr. Paul's jamming headquarters. Interestingly enough, I am supposed to be having dinner tonight with a few people, one of them from, of all places. OTTAWA! I am looking forward to seeing what this lady may be doing in Addis and where she may be living in Ottawa.
Roughly 41,760 minutes until I can embrace my Sweet Thing again and familiar terra firma back in Ottawa. I will miss some of the people I have had the pleasure meeting here, with Melaku at the top of the list. He stands out from the rest of the crowd as we have seen so much of each other since our initial chance meeting at Bole 19 in late August. Tagel as well ripples to the top of the heap and has been very kind to "silly ferenge". Burhan, Hanna, and recently Yared at work are a pleasure to be around. I will never forget these people and the details of my BLOG posts I know will bring a smile to my face forever as I relive these magical months I have spent in Africa.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sound of music
It was a fun Thursday night for this ferenge. First stop was the Italian restaurant that Melaku has taken me to many times. We sat close to the fire place which was nice. I had lamb and could not finish it all. I got quite a kick out of something we saw on the menu called "Spaghetti Bitch". I wonder what it was; we could not order it since they were already out. I guess with a dish with such a lovely name, it is bound to sell out quickly.
Then it was off to Club Alize for acoustic jazz. There were to drummers, one beating his hands on some local skins, the other a traditional kit. The front man was playing a mandolin and there was guitar, clarinet, and upright bass as well. The tunes were great and I especially enjoyed the Amharic ones they did. The club was busy but not really really crowded as it can get on Friday nights. I was home and crashed by midnight and a pleasant time was had by all ...
Then it was off to Club Alize for acoustic jazz. There were to drummers, one beating his hands on some local skins, the other a traditional kit. The front man was playing a mandolin and there was guitar, clarinet, and upright bass as well. The tunes were great and I especially enjoyed the Amharic ones they did. The club was busy but not really really crowded as it can get on Friday nights. I was home and crashed by midnight and a pleasant time was had by all ...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Pressure cooker holes
That's pot holes on steroids. The pot holes here are over 80% self-inflicted. When on the way to work today, we traversed a major fissure in the road near Alum hotel that was being carefully excavated by a handful of workers. These monstrosities can be over a foot wide and a few inches deep. I always remember a very scientific study that was one by a well-known engineering firm in Toronto called IAS Inc. Their CEO and founder determined if one travels exactly 74 kmh over the speed bumps in what used to be North York west of Bathurst and north of Sheppard, the bumps seem non-existent. I have suggested to the citizens of Addis that they try this well-known manoeuver with these massive fissures and they may be surprised.
Even more interesting is how we drive over one of these "canals" in the morning and it is 2-4 inches deep and requires care when crossing. Then in the PM on the way home, there is no evidence that ANY work was done that day in a 2,000 metre radius, and the hole is filled in. It gets even better ... sometimes the filler is red gravel, sometimes loose sand that serves no purpose other than to trick poor drivers as they approach a loosely filled hole that might as well be that original 2-4 inches deep. I guess that's why seasoned drivers, along the lines of those used by Dr. Paul, always approach these cavernous entities with caution.
The pot holes themselves are impressive too. On the ring road on the way back from Debrezeit there are some holes the size of a basketball if not bigger. They can creep up without warning but habesha seem to know where they are. When new ones appear, some kind sole always seems to place rocks around the opening to warn drivers of their sudden appearance. Some of these rocks themselves are so big I wonder how they get positioned in the first place.
Plans perchance to see music with Melaku tonight. I am going to see if he wants to do dinner beforehand. Jam session with habesha minus less than 48 hours. I am going to ask Melaku to join us on a hand drum that resides at Dr. Paul's house ...
Even more interesting is how we drive over one of these "canals" in the morning and it is 2-4 inches deep and requires care when crossing. Then in the PM on the way home, there is no evidence that ANY work was done that day in a 2,000 metre radius, and the hole is filled in. It gets even better ... sometimes the filler is red gravel, sometimes loose sand that serves no purpose other than to trick poor drivers as they approach a loosely filled hole that might as well be that original 2-4 inches deep. I guess that's why seasoned drivers, along the lines of those used by Dr. Paul, always approach these cavernous entities with caution.
The pot holes themselves are impressive too. On the ring road on the way back from Debrezeit there are some holes the size of a basketball if not bigger. They can creep up without warning but habesha seem to know where they are. When new ones appear, some kind sole always seems to place rocks around the opening to warn drivers of their sudden appearance. Some of these rocks themselves are so big I wonder how they get positioned in the first place.
Plans perchance to see music with Melaku tonight. I am going to see if he wants to do dinner beforehand. Jam session with habesha minus less than 48 hours. I am going to ask Melaku to join us on a hand drum that resides at Dr. Paul's house ...
Merkato
Went to get guitar strings and have lunch at the same time. Stopped at the fish store that Tagel knows for tilapia and salad before getting the strings. It was very very crowded as usual and the food was great as always.
Merkato was not as busy as it has been before, that not keeping the beggars away from ferenge. They always seem to be there in abundance regardless of how crowded the market is. I latched on to 2 sets of D'Addario light gauge strings and returned to MoFED with a full belly and a full complement of strings to boot :).
Merkato was not as busy as it has been before, that not keeping the beggars away from ferenge. They always seem to be there in abundance regardless of how crowded the market is. I latched on to 2 sets of D'Addario light gauge strings and returned to MoFED with a full belly and a full complement of strings to boot :).
A bad sign
My home bank branch is at Arat Kilo. I was pleased when the account was opened there 'cause it has a bank machine. It is such a pleasure rather than going into the branch and taking a number. I have waited upwards of 30 minutes using this take-a-number route. So the Arat Kilo machine closes permanently and I am told to start using the one at piassa. That is such a pleasure (short-lived :)) as it is now out of service more than not. I have not been able to use it for 2 weeks now. I just go into the piassa branch which is never as crowded as Arat Kilo.
After dropping Dr. Paul et al at MoFED today, I go to piassa to use the machine. Alas! No service :). I enter the branch, and get served almost immediately with number 20 and just as I arrive at the wicket a habesha with #21 tries to push her way in front of me. What is with these people! I stand to the left of the wicket and conduct my business; I would not want to stand in front of the opening where I am conducting business as that may interfere with habesha who is so much more important than anyone else. I am surprised she does not have her own dedicated line :). While conducting my business another fool arrives looking for change thrusts a 50 birr note in the teller's face and is annoyed when not served immediately. I am also charged 5 birr as an inter-branch transaction fee, something new as this is the first time it is mentioned even though I have done withdrawals there before. I get to wait while a receipt the size of a newspaper is printed and probably threw the whole banking industry into turmoil 'cause I left without the silly receipt in hand ... welcome to Ethiopia.
After today, 21 more working days and 29 elapsed days until my return to Canada. The emails are arriving at a feverish pace for opportunities in Ottawa and Toronto. It is promising but as of now, I have nada signed which means I have nada :) Hopefully that will change shortly ... gone Sens, gone :)
After dropping Dr. Paul et al at MoFED today, I go to piassa to use the machine. Alas! No service :). I enter the branch, and get served almost immediately with number 20 and just as I arrive at the wicket a habesha with #21 tries to push her way in front of me. What is with these people! I stand to the left of the wicket and conduct my business; I would not want to stand in front of the opening where I am conducting business as that may interfere with habesha who is so much more important than anyone else. I am surprised she does not have her own dedicated line :). While conducting my business another fool arrives looking for change thrusts a 50 birr note in the teller's face and is annoyed when not served immediately. I am also charged 5 birr as an inter-branch transaction fee, something new as this is the first time it is mentioned even though I have done withdrawals there before. I get to wait while a receipt the size of a newspaper is printed and probably threw the whole banking industry into turmoil 'cause I left without the silly receipt in hand ... welcome to Ethiopia.
After today, 21 more working days and 29 elapsed days until my return to Canada. The emails are arriving at a feverish pace for opportunities in Ottawa and Toronto. It is promising but as of now, I have nada signed which means I have nada :) Hopefully that will change shortly ... gone Sens, gone :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Code here but not there
As we all know there is what we call "code" in each country that controls things such as electrical, plumbing, structure, etc. when building something like a hotel. In Canada one cannot put an electrical outlet in a bathroom on a non-grounded line unless it is ground-fault protected. Well you will never guess what is in the shower stall in room 301 of the TDS hotel ... you guessed it, a standard electrical socket.
Ileana's special day
Ileana is turning 30 again today. I thought this was St. Patrick's day but all along it has been St. Balcu's day ... the Ileana flag is bright GREEN.
Green beer day in Addis
So many of the western celebration days are creeping into the Ethiopian culture. There was quite a fanfare on February 14, and Edna mall cinema proudly displayed a banner on Bolé Africa announcing their Valentine movie showing at the theatre starting a week before the 14th. I called Eddie, a local Irish guy to wish him all the best on his special St. Patrick's day. I moved to another room in the TDS hotel rather than re-locate to the Mimosa hotel as I thought I may do yesterday.
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Monday, March 15, 2010
On the road again
I am moving again tomorrow. After 6 nights at TDS I decided I could do better due to two things:
1- I am on the street, a very busy one at that. Even though the traffic noise does not keep me from getting to sleep, it does in the wee hours of the morning, say any time after 5AM. I cannot get back to sleep if I happen to wake up. Bole Gambia as is one of the 2 busiest through streets that lead from the airport to the northern part of the city.
2- The bathroom smells of mold/mildew. I mentioned it to the manager and he thanked me for that information. The walls and floors need a scrubbing with bleach or some such agent to stop the growth of the bacteria. Until that is done, occupant of room 103 suffers.
The new digs (week of March 15 version that is) are in the Mimosa hotel not far from Dr. Paul's hacienda. It is a real suite with a sitting/eating area and a king-size bed. It is on the 3rd floor of the Mimosa hotel in an area of town called Tele Bole. It is also 63 USD per night easily in my budget, 12 more than I paid at Deker and 6 less than TDS.
I met with Dr. Paul today to discuss deliverables and a few are hitting the street in the next few days. I also had a follow-up meeting with the contact in Toronto for some work for Bell Canada. My Sweet Thing had a lovely time in Tremblant and the mercury now is now peaking in Ottawa at the start of double digits.
1- I am on the street, a very busy one at that. Even though the traffic noise does not keep me from getting to sleep, it does in the wee hours of the morning, say any time after 5AM. I cannot get back to sleep if I happen to wake up. Bole Gambia as is one of the 2 busiest through streets that lead from the airport to the northern part of the city.
2- The bathroom smells of mold/mildew. I mentioned it to the manager and he thanked me for that information. The walls and floors need a scrubbing with bleach or some such agent to stop the growth of the bacteria. Until that is done, occupant of room 103 suffers.
The new digs (week of March 15 version that is) are in the Mimosa hotel not far from Dr. Paul's hacienda. It is a real suite with a sitting/eating area and a king-size bed. It is on the 3rd floor of the Mimosa hotel in an area of town called Tele Bole. It is also 63 USD per night easily in my budget, 12 more than I paid at Deker and 6 less than TDS.
I met with Dr. Paul today to discuss deliverables and a few are hitting the street in the next few days. I also had a follow-up meeting with the contact in Toronto for some work for Bell Canada. My Sweet Thing had a lovely time in Tremblant and the mercury now is now peaking in Ottawa at the start of double digits.
No fish for you ...
So we go to Romina's with Melaku for lunch. I had already had a sandwich so order a french onion soup. Someone orders the mustard fish. Then I suggest that the fasting injera that Melaku ordered would probably feed everyone. So we cancel the fish and the server repeats "no fish". Just about half way through the meal, the fish arrives and we send it back. Melaku discovers from talking to the manager in passing that the server is going to have to pay for the fish. We decide to pay the 62 birr for the fish since we can afford it more than this poor server. We give the fish to a street person near Romina and all is well ...
A nice end of week Sunday
So I was up bright and early to go to Dr. Paul's for the famous pancakes. They were great and it was so nice to be out before 7:30 under the Addis sun. I was there until about 9 then headed back to the hotel. I did a bit of this and a bit of that then walked to the birthday party on Bole Rwanda for Eddie, the Irish guy who was turning 29 (again). The road is under serious construction not far from Bole Africa. When I say "serious", I do mean serious. There were two shovels digging earth out of a whole that could have swallowed up a dozen or more cars.
The guest house that Eddie and his fiancee run was very nice. The food was yummy as usual, especially some hot meatballs. There was lots of chicken including a nice shish-ke-bob. The place started to fill up by 4PM and there were more habesha than ferenge. Birthday cake came out about 5:30 and that was scrumptious as well. I was asked to do a few numbers on the guitar and the attendees loved it as much as me. I was worried about negotiating the hole on Bole Rwanda after dark, so headed out about 6:30. They had moved the large machinery out of the way to allow one car to pass the whole at a time. When I got to the hole, naturally 2 vehicles were in gridlock as both of them knew they had the right of way and everyone else must wait.
I watched Sopranos to end my busy day then crashed early. I am still sleeping so well in Addis even in the new hotel with traffic noise. I am waiting for a room at the back of the hotel which should be quieter. I sat for over an hour yesterday speaking with a local who is related to the guy that owns Deker. Binyam, Macdes, and I covered a lot of ground during that discussion and they want to take me out of town one day before I leave in mid-April. My last trip was to Awassa with Tagel et al in October so that would be a major treat.
I am feverishly pursuing 2 opportunities ... one in Toronto, the other Ottawa. I have hopes one of them will work out, preferably the latter.
The guest house that Eddie and his fiancee run was very nice. The food was yummy as usual, especially some hot meatballs. There was lots of chicken including a nice shish-ke-bob. The place started to fill up by 4PM and there were more habesha than ferenge. Birthday cake came out about 5:30 and that was scrumptious as well. I was asked to do a few numbers on the guitar and the attendees loved it as much as me. I was worried about negotiating the hole on Bole Rwanda after dark, so headed out about 6:30. They had moved the large machinery out of the way to allow one car to pass the whole at a time. When I got to the hole, naturally 2 vehicles were in gridlock as both of them knew they had the right of way and everyone else must wait.
I watched Sopranos to end my busy day then crashed early. I am still sleeping so well in Addis even in the new hotel with traffic noise. I am waiting for a room at the back of the hotel which should be quieter. I sat for over an hour yesterday speaking with a local who is related to the guy that owns Deker. Binyam, Macdes, and I covered a lot of ground during that discussion and they want to take me out of town one day before I leave in mid-April. My last trip was to Awassa with Tagel et al in October so that would be a major treat.
I am feverishly pursuing 2 opportunities ... one in Toronto, the other Ottawa. I have hopes one of them will work out, preferably the latter.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Oy vay!
So hard-core Sex in the City bunnies may remember that Charlotte married a Jewish guy and was immensely enjoying Judaism and what little Hebrew she was able to pick up. I do not remember the circumstances, but one day something happened that led to her exclaiming "Oy vay!!!" This was followed by excitement and tingling as she then claimed "I said my first Yiddish sentence".
Well after meeting the owner's wife at Blue Drops, I spoke with her father today and he now has my number and will get in touch and take me to the synagogue. I impressed him with what little Hebrew I know and admitted "sheket b'vakashah" is my most familiar sentence ("quiet please" for any non-Hebrew speaking readers :)). It did take me almost 6 months to finally make contact with MOT but that's not too late.
Well after meeting the owner's wife at Blue Drops, I spoke with her father today and he now has my number and will get in touch and take me to the synagogue. I impressed him with what little Hebrew I know and admitted "sheket b'vakashah" is my most familiar sentence ("quiet please" for any non-Hebrew speaking readers :)). It did take me almost 6 months to finally make contact with MOT but that's not too late.
Play by play
So the new experiences continue for ferenge even after close to 6 months full time in Ethiopia. Last night I went with a few others to see a theatre troop in a building near piassa. The son of a guy from Denver who works for Dr. Paul and was in Addis for a few months last year does the lighting for this outfit. We took a cab to the middle of Churchill on the hill by the roundabout that has a cannon in the middle. I think it points northwest at Rome just in case the Italians decide they need to occupy Ethiopia as they tried to do from 1934-8. So the play is in a partially built building that is still concrete with no finishing touches yet. It is the perfect setting for the play about street people in Ireland.
Loud music is blaring as we arrive. There are 2 people sitting at a table in the entrance way to the property where the play is happening, and they are trying to read from a list with no light whatsoever. They also try to make change with no idea of the denomination of each bill! So I lend the guy my flashlight and he is thankful. Inside I have a cold Ambo and munch on some dry french fries. The play starts just after 7:30 to the tune of Roxanne. The first half seems to last forever, then at the break we chow down on curry chicken with vegetables which is yummy. We then sneak out before the second half starts and five of us pile into a cab. That was quite an experience ... English theatre in Africa.
Back at the hotel, I check my email and see a note from a guy in Ottawa with whom I have been discussing a contract. I end up texting with him a few times after calling him the first time. About 11:30PM I have a call for a half hour or so with this guy's partner at Bell Canada. We shall see what transpires with this lead.
I crash about 1:30AM which is late for ferenge-a-me. I am up about 8 and go down for breakfast. This hot meal was the most disappointing yet as there was very little food left and it was cold. I go to Bilo's for a croissant then trek down to Bole 19. I speak with Melaku and we may see each other there. I dropped off some sneakers I am not using and ask the coffee lady to give to Hiruy. I stayed at Bole 19 for a while then off to Fantu and Novis for sardines and sandwich fixings.
At 11'ish I head off to Kazume's place and we end up driving to Tamoca, a very in and trendy coffee spot in piassa. We walk around a bit then head off to Alliance Francaise, look around for quite a while then have a nice chicken lunch. On April 1 she is going back to Japan for 3 weeks and wanted to know if I would babysit here house. We will talk more as the day approaches. What a treat it would be to have a house all to myself with a nice garden out front for the last 16 days I am in Addis!! I would keep the cook and housekeeper and chow down on home-cooked food every night. That would be sweet.
Back at TDS until the footballerama begins at 6 ... first Chelsea then Aresenal. The ManU game is minyana.
Loud music is blaring as we arrive. There are 2 people sitting at a table in the entrance way to the property where the play is happening, and they are trying to read from a list with no light whatsoever. They also try to make change with no idea of the denomination of each bill! So I lend the guy my flashlight and he is thankful. Inside I have a cold Ambo and munch on some dry french fries. The play starts just after 7:30 to the tune of Roxanne. The first half seems to last forever, then at the break we chow down on curry chicken with vegetables which is yummy. We then sneak out before the second half starts and five of us pile into a cab. That was quite an experience ... English theatre in Africa.
Back at the hotel, I check my email and see a note from a guy in Ottawa with whom I have been discussing a contract. I end up texting with him a few times after calling him the first time. About 11:30PM I have a call for a half hour or so with this guy's partner at Bell Canada. We shall see what transpires with this lead.
I crash about 1:30AM which is late for ferenge-a-me. I am up about 8 and go down for breakfast. This hot meal was the most disappointing yet as there was very little food left and it was cold. I go to Bilo's for a croissant then trek down to Bole 19. I speak with Melaku and we may see each other there. I dropped off some sneakers I am not using and ask the coffee lady to give to Hiruy. I stayed at Bole 19 for a while then off to Fantu and Novis for sardines and sandwich fixings.
At 11'ish I head off to Kazume's place and we end up driving to Tamoca, a very in and trendy coffee spot in piassa. We walk around a bit then head off to Alliance Francaise, look around for quite a while then have a nice chicken lunch. On April 1 she is going back to Japan for 3 weeks and wanted to know if I would babysit here house. We will talk more as the day approaches. What a treat it would be to have a house all to myself with a nice garden out front for the last 16 days I am in Addis!! I would keep the cook and housekeeper and chow down on home-cooked food every night. That would be sweet.
Back at TDS until the footballerama begins at 6 ... first Chelsea then Aresenal. The ManU game is minyana.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Signs it is improving
There seems to be a lot of activity in the contract world back in Ottawa. I have had a number of email chats with people over the past few days. But as that old cliche goes, "it ain't over 'till the skinny man sings". It appears more and more every day that MoFED could easily do without my services past April 16. I know Dr. Paul for one sees no need for me to be here past that date.
So my attention turns to Melaku. Dr. Paul just hired another lady to work at the compound and the plan it to get Melaku over there to meet her. He seems to like habesha in short skirts for some reason. Melaku is off tomorrow and we are going to chat about doing something over the weekend.
I am at Blue Drops and a habesha guy walks in, and is not served right away so starts tapping on the table until he is attended to. He treats the servers the same way when it is time for the bill. He must be the only person in the restaurant, deserving the un-divided attention of all the staff at the expense of the other clientele. As I have alluded to before, some habesha are so impatient it borders on rude. Every time this topic comes up around my habesha friends they agree 100%. Another Friday looms on the 'morrow ... yay!!!
So my attention turns to Melaku. Dr. Paul just hired another lady to work at the compound and the plan it to get Melaku over there to meet her. He seems to like habesha in short skirts for some reason. Melaku is off tomorrow and we are going to chat about doing something over the weekend.
I am at Blue Drops and a habesha guy walks in, and is not served right away so starts tapping on the table until he is attended to. He treats the servers the same way when it is time for the bill. He must be the only person in the restaurant, deserving the un-divided attention of all the staff at the expense of the other clientele. As I have alluded to before, some habesha are so impatient it borders on rude. Every time this topic comes up around my habesha friends they agree 100%. Another Friday looms on the 'morrow ... yay!!!
One word describes the new digs
CAULIFLOWER ... is on the menu in abundance at the breakfast buffet; one of my favourite vegetables.
The new digs
The TDS hotel is quite different from Deker Inn. It looks like a western hotel except for the lobby area which is tiny. The fridge was not plugged in when I moved in but that was fixed after asking 4 times. Even though it is now on, it is not cooling at all. I will have to dispose of some perishables before I go to work today. There are miscellaneous things in the room that are "odd". I get a kick out of the table lamp on the far side of the bed that is not anywhere close to a socket to plug it into. The LCD TV is nice, with a whole 9 channels, 3 of which are Arabic.
I started speaking with the owner of Blue Drops and his lady last night before dinner. As it turns out they are recently married (1 month) and she is Jewish. When I gave them a mazel tov on their recent nuptials, she grabbed onto the expression immediately. We chatted a bit about her background and she has been to Israel many times. I asked him if their was another Barclay's game on later that evening. One was on when I was there. He mentioned there was one on at 10:45 which is too late as he usually closes around 10. He said I was welcome to watch the late game anytime even if the restaurant is closed. There is a security guard there all the time who he said would be happy to let me in and out. I just may try that.
Nothing doing yet (firmed up that is) on the contract front for late April. I return to Ottawa April 17. There has been a buzz of email contact with a number of people in Ottawa especially over the past week to 10 days. There was a teary farewell with Metisabya at Deker yesterday. She has always told me how fond she is of me and the very short visits we had at Deker. She sure was a big help navigating through some of the complexities of living in Ethiopia after 60 years experience in the west. I also was pleased to be able to supplement her income when she did a handful of extra jobs for me here and there during my stay.
I really think I'm due for scoring some work in Ottawa and, if the cards play out like they can do from time-to-time, that will happen. I do not like being away from home and family, especially my Sweet Thing. Someone contacted me to give sme advice about finding a hotel in NYC. That is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to visit the big apple. Hotels ... expensive ones are easy to find in the "north of" $450 category. There's a plethora of boutique hotels not to mention extravagant accommodations like the W, an assortment of Hiltons, and stuff in the Sheraton chain ... then there's the Plaza on Central Park south. Of course the problem is price.
I started speaking with the owner of Blue Drops and his lady last night before dinner. As it turns out they are recently married (1 month) and she is Jewish. When I gave them a mazel tov on their recent nuptials, she grabbed onto the expression immediately. We chatted a bit about her background and she has been to Israel many times. I asked him if their was another Barclay's game on later that evening. One was on when I was there. He mentioned there was one on at 10:45 which is too late as he usually closes around 10. He said I was welcome to watch the late game anytime even if the restaurant is closed. There is a security guard there all the time who he said would be happy to let me in and out. I just may try that.
Nothing doing yet (firmed up that is) on the contract front for late April. I return to Ottawa April 17. There has been a buzz of email contact with a number of people in Ottawa especially over the past week to 10 days. There was a teary farewell with Metisabya at Deker yesterday. She has always told me how fond she is of me and the very short visits we had at Deker. She sure was a big help navigating through some of the complexities of living in Ethiopia after 60 years experience in the west. I also was pleased to be able to supplement her income when she did a handful of extra jobs for me here and there during my stay.
I really think I'm due for scoring some work in Ottawa and, if the cards play out like they can do from time-to-time, that will happen. I do not like being away from home and family, especially my Sweet Thing. Someone contacted me to give sme advice about finding a hotel in NYC. That is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to visit the big apple. Hotels ... expensive ones are easy to find in the "north of" $450 category. There's a plethora of boutique hotels not to mention extravagant accommodations like the W, an assortment of Hiltons, and stuff in the Sheraton chain ... then there's the Plaza on Central Park south. Of course the problem is price.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Leaps and bounds
| After having spent the better part of the last two weeks on preparation of system documentation for IBEX2, I am reminded of the drudgery of working on the Oracle Press books we have authored. I am also continually reminded of the frustration of working with MS Word. It gets more and more feature-rich and more and more puzzling at the same time. I noticed a way back in 1994 when working on the original Tuning Oracle how crazy it was with bullets and number lists and that craziness has been refined since then with subsequent releases. When meeting with the manager of the TDS hotel last night, I mentioned that someone I work with knows the owner. It's Dawit's Mother that is the owner -- Addis is just as small a world as Ottawa :). The EVDO card that I bought in early February is so much faster than the ZTE CDMA I had been using up until then. I have heard complaints from others here about deteriorating speed but have not experience this (yet??). I made another contact sort of through the World Bank, a gentleman named Kumar who is on secondment from the Indian government to work on the procurement portfolio at MoFED. It is a warm and sunny 22 degrees in Addis today and let's hope it stays that way :). |
Monday, March 8, 2010
All's quiet on the Addis front
Had a relaxing Sunday doing just about nothing. I polished off another Michael Pollan book outlining rules to follow when deciding what to eat. They were all classic but the 3 best were:
3- If a breakfast cereal changes the colour of your milk, do not eat it.
2- Try to eat plants, not stuff that was made in a plant.
1- If an 8-year old cannot pronounce an ingredient in a product, do not eat it.
His motto is "Eat food; not too much; mostly plants". I went to 2 hotels today looking at rooms. Speaking of rooms, Dr. Paul had to hire more help to keep his new mansion clean and tidy. More than half the rooms they are not even using, but they still need to clean clean clean. I will decide what hotel to go to when I hear back from Dawit at TDS tomorrow or Wednesday. Work was nuts today which is OK 'cause there are some lulls too from time-to-time.
I finished off the weekend watching football between Chelsea and Stoke City. The first half was close and then Chelsea took over in the second. I have started reading a book by Susan George ... yippee for me; my 3rd non-fiction since I arrived in Addis. It's called "How the Other Half Dies" and discusses why there is so much starvation and malnutrition in the 3rd world. She blames it primarily, from what I have read so far, on mainly 2 things (of which you are not going to like the first) ... (1) the USA and (2) the west's infatuation with cash crops. A cash crop is one that is sold for profit as opposed to a subsistence crop that is one that is used to feed people.
3- If a breakfast cereal changes the colour of your milk, do not eat it.
2- Try to eat plants, not stuff that was made in a plant.
1- If an 8-year old cannot pronounce an ingredient in a product, do not eat it.
His motto is "Eat food; not too much; mostly plants". I went to 2 hotels today looking at rooms. Speaking of rooms, Dr. Paul had to hire more help to keep his new mansion clean and tidy. More than half the rooms they are not even using, but they still need to clean clean clean. I will decide what hotel to go to when I hear back from Dawit at TDS tomorrow or Wednesday. Work was nuts today which is OK 'cause there are some lulls too from time-to-time.
I finished off the weekend watching football between Chelsea and Stoke City. The first half was close and then Chelsea took over in the second. I have started reading a book by Susan George ... yippee for me; my 3rd non-fiction since I arrived in Addis. It's called "How the Other Half Dies" and discusses why there is so much starvation and malnutrition in the 3rd world. She blames it primarily, from what I have read so far, on mainly 2 things (of which you are not going to like the first) ... (1) the USA and (2) the west's infatuation with cash crops. A cash crop is one that is sold for profit as opposed to a subsistence crop that is one that is used to feed people.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Bring on the football
I am so ice hockey starved, I have attacked the Barclays Premier football league with a vengeance. I watched 3, hear that 3 games today. First it was West Ham United against Bolton followed by Arsenal and Burnley. The triple threat was ended with ManU against Wolverhampton. It is as difficult, if not more, to get in scoring position in this sport as it is in hockey. Both Arsenal and ManU were playing teams at the opposite end of the standing but had their hands full anyways.
And this silly ferenge will be back watching more football tomorrow starting at 5PM. The Sens play the Leafs tonight in the west and they are looking for their 3rd straight loss. They relinquished the top spot in the northeast to Buffalo. In true Sens fashion, they seem to be losing to teams in the bottom half of the conference and beating those in the top. Trade deadline is passed with no big deals/surprises right across the league. I have 42 more calendar days or 30 working days until back home ... lots of contract bites on the horizon but nada definite or even close yet. I do have an offer to go to Hanoi at the end of April if I am still looking. Who knows ...
And this silly ferenge will be back watching more football tomorrow starting at 5PM. The Sens play the Leafs tonight in the west and they are looking for their 3rd straight loss. They relinquished the top spot in the northeast to Buffalo. In true Sens fashion, they seem to be losing to teams in the bottom half of the conference and beating those in the top. Trade deadline is passed with no big deals/surprises right across the league. I have 42 more calendar days or 30 working days until back home ... lots of contract bites on the horizon but nada definite or even close yet. I do have an offer to go to Hanoi at the end of April if I am still looking. Who knows ...
As are the customs
So I go to Kazume's house and the guard will not let me in without my calling her on my cell. She is actually waiting for a visit from people from customs and has found the experience very frustrating (sound familiar). She has a car she bought that came in from Djibouti and she is allowed to bring it in duty free since she is ferenge working in Ethiopia. The car is not licensed so it cannot be taken to the customs depot for inspection. There is an inconsistency between what the car says for a VIN and what is on file. There have been a few calls back and forth and it is all very hard on one's nerves and patience.
We have a very nice lunch as it turns out; we were going to go to Bole 19 so I could introduce her to Hiruy the tennis coach. Her housekeeper is working and has made some lunch. Talk about lunch!!!! Spinach with garlic tomatoes and eggs; chicken in a light curry/garlic soup-like sauce; lovely white rice; spring rolls; garlic mashed potatoes; cold spring water. It was a feast. Eventually we got the bright idea of getting her guard to call the customs people who were supposedly on their way over to ask if SHE had to be there. To our delight, the answer is "no". So we go to Bole 19 and Hiruy is at lunch. Eventually we run int none other than Melaku and have a nice visit with him. We part ways, and I go to Novis for lunch meat and cheese. I get a text in a few minutes after leaving Novis that the customs people showed up. The last thing one wants to do in this country is have to deal with customs. I hope other African countries are not as difficult.
I am getting served at the deli counter and a seemingly habesha lady needs some questions answered about cheddar cheese which they do not have. I tell here the closest thing Dr. Paul has ever found to cheddar is provolone. I give her advice on buying local rather than imported since the price is vastly different but the quality similar (in my opinion). I feel like a habesha :). She is from Tanzania and appreciates my assistance. I get milk then return to Deker. I checked next door with the owner at Blue Drops about what Barclays football may be on today; he does not know. I check on the DsTV Ethiopia web site and there is Arsenal at 5PM then ManU at 7:30. I always have trouble converting the time of these games. On the premier league web site the games I mentioned are at 3PM and 5:30PM and, if in London, would be at 6PM and 8:30PM so why does the DsTV Ethiopia site say 5PM and 7:30PM :).
We have a very nice lunch as it turns out; we were going to go to Bole 19 so I could introduce her to Hiruy the tennis coach. Her housekeeper is working and has made some lunch. Talk about lunch!!!! Spinach with garlic tomatoes and eggs; chicken in a light curry/garlic soup-like sauce; lovely white rice; spring rolls; garlic mashed potatoes; cold spring water. It was a feast. Eventually we got the bright idea of getting her guard to call the customs people who were supposedly on their way over to ask if SHE had to be there. To our delight, the answer is "no". So we go to Bole 19 and Hiruy is at lunch. Eventually we run int none other than Melaku and have a nice visit with him. We part ways, and I go to Novis for lunch meat and cheese. I get a text in a few minutes after leaving Novis that the customs people showed up. The last thing one wants to do in this country is have to deal with customs. I hope other African countries are not as difficult.
I am getting served at the deli counter and a seemingly habesha lady needs some questions answered about cheddar cheese which they do not have. I tell here the closest thing Dr. Paul has ever found to cheddar is provolone. I give her advice on buying local rather than imported since the price is vastly different but the quality similar (in my opinion). I feel like a habesha :). She is from Tanzania and appreciates my assistance. I get milk then return to Deker. I checked next door with the owner at Blue Drops about what Barclays football may be on today; he does not know. I check on the DsTV Ethiopia web site and there is Arsenal at 5PM then ManU at 7:30. I always have trouble converting the time of these games. On the premier league web site the games I mentioned are at 3PM and 5:30PM and, if in London, would be at 6PM and 8:30PM so why does the DsTV Ethiopia site say 5PM and 7:30PM :).
A big day on Bole
I was up about 6:15 which, as long as I get to bed early which I did last night, is great since I have the whole morning (after schull of course). I decided to get in my walk before breakfast and headed out to Bole. There were police officers everywhere and of course ferenge was curious. I then noticed some fanfare at the intersection just north of the guest house and remembered there was a 5k run for women today; hence the conglomeration of police and civilians eagerly awaiting the event which started at 9AM. I believe the Ethiopian officials always ensure there is a huge police presence, with clubs and some automatic weapons, at locations where large numbers of people convene, as they have learned from the past. The event is called Women First and there must have been a few thousand runners. They were almost all women, with a few men in the mix. Only women were allowed to register though.
I walked down Bole heading for Kezanches and then heard the church at that intersection broadcasting so turned back about 2/3 of the way. There was even more activity than there was before my 20 minute hike as I approached Bilo's again.
I visited with Marou (my friendly neighbourhood security guard) and a few other people. The manager of Bilo's came out to chat and offered me some information. His last day at Bilo's is Tuesday and he has been there for 6 years. He is not fond of management and is thrilled to be moving to work that is more within his field of accounting. Marou now calls me "Guitar" which is a lovely handle for someone who owns 6 of them :).
I am meeting someone at 11aM to walk down to Bole 19. I met this woman Kazume when she was staying at the guest house in November. She wants to find somewhere to play tennis so our trip will be educational for her as she will then know where Bole 19 is.
There was an absolute sea of orange run jerseys at the 5k today and at 9AM on the dot, the front-runners broke the ribbon at the start. There were about 200-300 women at the front, probably seasoned runners; the first prize is 8,000 birr and if the first woman across the finish line also has he run card stamped by the stations along the way, she gets 10,000.
I hope Ethiopia (as Canada) has made some progress on eradicating gender-based discrimination; runs and fund-raising events are great, but the old cliche "talk si cheap" comes to mind. Let's hope this nonsense (and all sorts of discrimination) will some day be a thing of the past.
I walked down Bole heading for Kezanches and then heard the church at that intersection broadcasting so turned back about 2/3 of the way. There was even more activity than there was before my 20 minute hike as I approached Bilo's again.
I visited with Marou (my friendly neighbourhood security guard) and a few other people. The manager of Bilo's came out to chat and offered me some information. His last day at Bilo's is Tuesday and he has been there for 6 years. He is not fond of management and is thrilled to be moving to work that is more within his field of accounting. Marou now calls me "Guitar" which is a lovely handle for someone who owns 6 of them :).
I am meeting someone at 11aM to walk down to Bole 19. I met this woman Kazume when she was staying at the guest house in November. She wants to find somewhere to play tennis so our trip will be educational for her as she will then know where Bole 19 is.
There was an absolute sea of orange run jerseys at the 5k today and at 9AM on the dot, the front-runners broke the ribbon at the start. There were about 200-300 women at the front, probably seasoned runners; the first prize is 8,000 birr and if the first woman across the finish line also has he run card stamped by the stations along the way, she gets 10,000.
I hope Ethiopia (as Canada) has made some progress on eradicating gender-based discrimination; runs and fund-raising events are great, but the old cliche "talk si cheap" comes to mind. Let's hope this nonsense (and all sorts of discrimination) will some day be a thing of the past.
Friday, March 5, 2010
A feverish pace
I spent all week working on documentation at the office. We had a break on Tuesday for the holiday so it was really a 4-day work week. I have a call at 6:30 with someone from Ottawa re:work which is always good. I paid off my bill at the guest house which I always like to do. I will probably go down to Bole 19 in the AM and watch some tennis.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday night jazz
Got a ride from Melaku around 8:15. The Gaslight where the jazz was happening was empty with not even an F# note to be seen. We went to the Office bar first and it was hopping with music of a band we had seen there before from North Carolina and Georgia. We caught the last six or so songs from their set, and Melaku had a 57 birr tonic water; they are 12-15 birr at most establishments. I chatted up the guitar player at the break and was suitably impressed with his resume :). Off to Gaslight about 9:30 and the music was just starting.
The last time we had been there all the good tables were reserved and we sat nowhere. This time I called John D. the assistant manager of the Sheraton and he made arrangements for us to get a table. The music was nice, guitar/bass/drums/sax and a keyboard sat in towards the end. Melaku hung out at the Office with some buds and showed up just when the first set finished at the Gaslight. I heard someone refer to jazz in Addis as recycled old-style jazz from the west ... could have fooled me. I have found it along the line of what I have heard from the Dixie Dregs and Spyro Gyra from the states. The bass was especially raunchy and punchy. I am going to play sax in my next life I have decided.
I texted Brian Murray and he did follow my advice; the Sens lineup is the best it could possibly be now and there was no need to make any further trades before the deadline. Addis was a-buzz all day yesterday with hype over the 3PM deadline for trading in the NHL. I wanted to trade Prusek for a stronger goalie and was told to "get wth the program" ...
The last time we had been there all the good tables were reserved and we sat nowhere. This time I called John D. the assistant manager of the Sheraton and he made arrangements for us to get a table. The music was nice, guitar/bass/drums/sax and a keyboard sat in towards the end. Melaku hung out at the Office with some buds and showed up just when the first set finished at the Gaslight. I heard someone refer to jazz in Addis as recycled old-style jazz from the west ... could have fooled me. I have found it along the line of what I have heard from the Dixie Dregs and Spyro Gyra from the states. The bass was especially raunchy and punchy. I am going to play sax in my next life I have decided.
I texted Brian Murray and he did follow my advice; the Sens lineup is the best it could possibly be now and there was no need to make any further trades before the deadline. Addis was a-buzz all day yesterday with hype over the 3PM deadline for trading in the NHL. I wanted to trade Prusek for a stronger goalie and was told to "get wth the program" ...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Working from home due to holiday
Got "permission" to stay and work at Deker today. I went for a quick breakfast at Dr. Paul's. I stopped at Bilo's on the way to get 6 croissants and 6 chocolate croissants. By the time I opened the box, I found 6 of the former and none of the latter :). They gave me 8 fasting pizzas instead of the latter. This pizza is made with no forbidden food when habesha is fasting and also has some hot pepper fragments on it. We had a combo of ham and onions heated up inside the sliced croissants as well as Dr. P's world famous pancakes. I was back at Deker and working when email arrived from Tagel that chewed up some ticks getting something back to him.
It is a bright sunny (as ST likes) day in Addis, the mercury around 22 celsius. I am working my way through the Beatles songbook this afternoon, trying on a few new ditties I have not done previously. I have sort of landed some work in the background that I can do in the evenings and on the W/E for a company in Toronto that Ian A. turned me on to. I use one of three mechanisms to remote control my PC at home and do the VPN connection from there. The house that was being ripped apart behind Deker is now getting its walls rebuilt using cinder blocks and lots and lots of elbow grease. I just hope the new edifice structures does not go up so high as to block the wonderful sunset I can view on my balcony.
It is a bright sunny (as ST likes) day in Addis, the mercury around 22 celsius. I am working my way through the Beatles songbook this afternoon, trying on a few new ditties I have not done previously. I have sort of landed some work in the background that I can do in the evenings and on the W/E for a company in Toronto that Ian A. turned me on to. I use one of three mechanisms to remote control my PC at home and do the VPN connection from there. The house that was being ripped apart behind Deker is now getting its walls rebuilt using cinder blocks and lots and lots of elbow grease. I just hope the new edifice structures does not go up so high as to block the wonderful sunset I can view on my balcony.
Monday, March 1, 2010
We want Pergano
This restaurant next door called Blue Drops has been one of my prime hangouts the 6 months I have been in Addis. There are 4 women who work there who mean well, but their English is not much better than my Amharic. There was a server there named Pergano who was always able to help me be it with little changes I needed to a menu item or something done to the dish running the big screen TV. For example, they have a traditional dish there called chikenna tibs which is beef taken from a very tender part of the cow. When Pergano was working, I would ask him to use less beef and way more vegetables. He just left Blue Drops, his last shift being last night!!!!
So the first 2 times I am there post-Pergano, I ask for soya sauce for my rice, and get a dish of tomato sauce :). Tonight I try to negotiate more veggies in my tibs, and get a side of garlic vegetables which in itself is great, but not what I asked for. Either I have to learn more Amharic or find some way to make myself understood by the ladies at Blue Drops. By the way, if you google "chikenna tibs" you will get 2 hits ... my BLOG and Blue Drops :). According to the owner, Pergano has moved to South Africa where I hope he can enjoy the 200 birr tip I gave him yesterday ..
So the first 2 times I am there post-Pergano, I ask for soya sauce for my rice, and get a dish of tomato sauce :). Tonight I try to negotiate more veggies in my tibs, and get a side of garlic vegetables which in itself is great, but not what I asked for. Either I have to learn more Amharic or find some way to make myself understood by the ladies at Blue Drops. By the way, if you google "chikenna tibs" you will get 2 hits ... my BLOG and Blue Drops :). According to the owner, Pergano has moved to South Africa where I hope he can enjoy the 200 birr tip I gave him yesterday ..
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