Interesting what I have found to pass the time in Addis. I went to Blue Drops today to check the TV guide to see when Barclays Premier league games were on today. I ran into a Liga game from Spain between Madrid and another team and it was great football. I parked myself and watched the balance of the game. I then channel-hopped to S7 and found the men's final from an ATP event in Acapulco Mexico. The court as well as the surroundings were all that orange clay colour. Except in this case, the orange was brighter than what I am used to. the ball was hard to see :) It was between 2 Spaniards and was good tennis. Shortly after it ended, I returned to station S3 and found a Barclays game! Huge ...
I watched Tottenham Hotspur play Everton and it was entertaining. Then the main event came on as a few more people sauntered into Blue Drops ... ManU against Aston Villa for the Carling cup. Manchester United won 2-1 and it was great. I will have to look up the significance of the Carling cup. One of ManU's best players, much to the relief of Aston Villa, was not in their starting lineup. Well through the second half, said player, Wayne Rooney, comes into the game and not long thereafter heads what turned out to be the winning goal into the the goal. I have plans to watch the men's hockey gold medal game at 11:15 tonight on my SlingBox. My ST will be watching too ... love that girl.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Gotta give them a hand
I waddled down to Bole 19 this morning to see the end of the Castel tournament play. When I got there there, one of the women's doubles was close to being finished. All four ladies had a lovely serve, leaving the ground just before making contact. It ended 7-6, 5-2 and was entertaining. From what Melaku had told me, I thought tournament play would be going on all day. Hiruy told me there was a mixed doubles game at some time today but that was it for now. The tournament championship games are tomorrow, starting bright and early and apparently finishing by noon'ish.
Addis is a buzz with a plethora of construction sites. Everywhere you go there are massive mounds of dirt, rocks, piles of sand and concrete ready to be mixed. The rock piles at some of these locations are made up of boulders the size of soccer balls. Often one sees a worker swinging a pick axe, breaking the rock into smaller, more manageable pieces. All the concrete, except for that destined to be walls or floors of a new building, is mixed by hand. They were smoothing concrete out for a new parking area at the one storey sort of strip mall beside Deker. Speaking of floors for new buildings ... they are usually made of cinder blocks then they slap concrete on the top and bottom sort of like parging that goes on for basements in the west. I believe they do not pour concrete for two reasons. First, they do not have enough since access is strictly controlled by he government (like everything else!). Secondly, they have no way of getting the concrete up to the 10th (for example) storey of a building. Since they do everything by hand, any holdup on hand transport up 100 feet (if possible) may render the material useless by the time it reaches its destination; not to mention the possibility of a 10 cubic foot containing a solid 3,000 kilogram piece of set concrete :).
Some of the sites are sights to behold. Behind Deker they are dismantling a house using, guess what ... hammers and chisels. The roof came off a few days ago and now they are hacking away at the walls, making slow progress. That brings me to the gist of this post ... the fact that they do close to everything by hand. This wonder has been the subject of previous posts, however the sheer number of sites driven by good old elbow grease is multiplying as I write. Labour is so cheap and fossil fuel, not to mention the cost of equipment, is very very high. Close to work they are laying some sort of pipe in the ground, digging a trench with a machine brilliantly named the "Ditch Witch" (wish I'd thought of that name).
Moving sand from point A to point B .. by hand
Splitting soccer-ball sized boulders - by hand (with no eye protection to boot)
Mixing concrete - by hand using pointed shovels
Hoisting material up X storeys of a new house - by hand
... and the list is endless. I spoke to Hiruy and the tennis starts at 9AM Sunday, and ferenge will be there in clubs.
Addis is a buzz with a plethora of construction sites. Everywhere you go there are massive mounds of dirt, rocks, piles of sand and concrete ready to be mixed. The rock piles at some of these locations are made up of boulders the size of soccer balls. Often one sees a worker swinging a pick axe, breaking the rock into smaller, more manageable pieces. All the concrete, except for that destined to be walls or floors of a new building, is mixed by hand. They were smoothing concrete out for a new parking area at the one storey sort of strip mall beside Deker. Speaking of floors for new buildings ... they are usually made of cinder blocks then they slap concrete on the top and bottom sort of like parging that goes on for basements in the west. I believe they do not pour concrete for two reasons. First, they do not have enough since access is strictly controlled by he government (like everything else!). Secondly, they have no way of getting the concrete up to the 10th (for example) storey of a building. Since they do everything by hand, any holdup on hand transport up 100 feet (if possible) may render the material useless by the time it reaches its destination; not to mention the possibility of a 10 cubic foot containing a solid 3,000 kilogram piece of set concrete :).
Some of the sites are sights to behold. Behind Deker they are dismantling a house using, guess what ... hammers and chisels. The roof came off a few days ago and now they are hacking away at the walls, making slow progress. That brings me to the gist of this post ... the fact that they do close to everything by hand. This wonder has been the subject of previous posts, however the sheer number of sites driven by good old elbow grease is multiplying as I write. Labour is so cheap and fossil fuel, not to mention the cost of equipment, is very very high. Close to work they are laying some sort of pipe in the ground, digging a trench with a machine brilliantly named the "Ditch Witch" (wish I'd thought of that name).
Moving sand from point A to point B .. by hand
Splitting soccer-ball sized boulders - by hand (with no eye protection to boot)
Mixing concrete - by hand using pointed shovels
Hoisting material up X storeys of a new house - by hand
... and the list is endless. I spoke to Hiruy and the tennis starts at 9AM Sunday, and ferenge will be there in clubs.
Another wet wet day
This short rainy season is turning into a long short rainy season. It is not an Addis-like torrential downpour, just enough to make walking more difficult due to some slippery-when-wet paving stones and the proverbial mud. There is so much dust and dirt all over this lovely city even when it's dry; it all gets soaked and turns to mud when raining even for just a few minutes. I wanted to go for a walk today for some exercise and should be out of the house by 1PM. There is often a dramatic reversal of weather patterns in this berg ... not just precipitation but temperature as well.
Another ETC trick
Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, the outfit that runs internet here (actually with the speed or lack thereof, it should be said "walks the internet" :)), does pay-as-you-go on everything. So I go to a store today and buy 5 40-birr cards to put on my internet account. The balance was just over 44 birr, getting somewhat low for an approaching weekend. I call the 903 number as always, go through the key sequences I am used to, finally enter the hidden number on one of the cards, and am told the number is invalid!! I try a few more times then run back to the store where I bought the cards. I keep the one card whose hidden number I had scratched and the clerk refunds the other 120 birr. He says the system can be flaky. I mention the refusal of a card has not happened before. He suggests trying in the AM.
I try a few more times over the evening, and same result. So I call in to the 903 number and query my balance ... 84.45 birr! Say what, the card went through even though the mechanical voice said the number was invalid :). Welcome to Ethiopia.
What with the Muslim government holiday today, Ileana, me, one or two others, and the cockroaches were the only ones at work today. I got quite a bit accomplished and am looking forward to a nada weekend. I will head down to Bole 19 tennis in the morning for a while. I am at Dr. Paul's tonight for dinner and Eddie, a local actually from Ireland is there. In the midst of some chatter, he mentions that he has played tennis at Bole 19 and once the coach there mentioned he knew a Canadian who was looking for a person to play with. Must have been me! What a small world Addis is just like Ottawa ...
I try a few more times over the evening, and same result. So I call in to the 903 number and query my balance ... 84.45 birr! Say what, the card went through even though the mechanical voice said the number was invalid :). Welcome to Ethiopia.
What with the Muslim government holiday today, Ileana, me, one or two others, and the cockroaches were the only ones at work today. I got quite a bit accomplished and am looking forward to a nada weekend. I will head down to Bole 19 tennis in the morning for a while. I am at Dr. Paul's tonight for dinner and Eddie, a local actually from Ireland is there. In the midst of some chatter, he mentions that he has played tennis at Bole 19 and once the coach there mentioned he knew a Canadian who was looking for a person to play with. Must have been me! What a small world Addis is just like Ottawa ...
Friday, February 26, 2010
The significance of popcorn
There are 2 (of many) things that signify a religious holiday to the habesha. One of them is tossing long grass all over the floor. I am not sure what this means. Popcorn is the other commodity seen in abundance on holidays and I do know the reason.
There are a handful of crops that are especially attributed to the deity of which the most common is popcorn. Even in America, this plentiful member of the corn family has cultural significance in native populations. At the MoFED cafeteria, there is always long grass on the floor and many bowls/dishes of popcorn around during religious holidays. Habesha (at least the Orthodox Christians) are now in a 2-month fast that began 13 days ago and continues until Good Friday. From time-to-time at MoFED this grass appears on the floor and is then not seen for days.
There are a handful of crops that are especially attributed to the deity of which the most common is popcorn. Even in America, this plentiful member of the corn family has cultural significance in native populations. At the MoFED cafeteria, there is always long grass on the floor and many bowls/dishes of popcorn around during religious holidays. Habesha (at least the Orthodox Christians) are now in a 2-month fast that began 13 days ago and continues until Good Friday. From time-to-time at MoFED this grass appears on the floor and is then not seen for days.
Eufu___ng_reka
I just checked my bank balance in the corporate account and the first of two money transfers has ARRIVED!!! As it turned out part of the delay was my fault as I gave them the wrong SWIFT code as frequent readers of this BLOG would already know. One down and one to go ...
Too negative or realistic?
There was a movie in the 60's (I think) called Missing. Jack lemmon was in it. His son, who had been working in a disreputable South American country (is that possible?) had dissapeared. He went to be with his daughter-in-law and find the missing offspring. When he first got there he was very open-minded and believed some tragedy may have happened but was doing his best to be optimistic. The wife spouted what Dad referred to as left-wing "crap" and dogma about the regime there and how it was probably ultimately to blame for the disappearance. When he first heard this, Dad scolded the wife, and told her he did not want to here any more of her negative and damaging accusations against the military government and to keep "her left-wing dogma crap" to herself.
As the movie progresses, Dad and wife get deeper into the quagmire of society and run across evidence of cover-ups and government complicity in shady operatives within the military. Hope is dashed one day when they are takem to a stadium where son may or may have been and they do not spot the missing. Father's attitude starts to swing more and more towards the "left-wing" opinions of daugther-in-law until they finally find out when and where son was executed by the military. Now who's spouting this left-wing "crap"? Daddy; interesting how one's outlook can change so dramatically when going through experienes previously deemed to be lunacy prior to experiencing them one's self :)
I have been accused by some of being very very negative wrt. politics and way too suspicious of the authorities. A few years ago when it was announced there was a high-level terrorist warning for the Golden Gate bridge, my comeback was that Homeland Security was in budget negotiations with the US Treasury and they needed ammunition to justify their swelling budget ... "look ... we are defending the bridge from a level red terrorist threat; the country NEEDS our services".
Fast forward to 2010; I heard on Al Jazeera there was an oil spill in northern Italy that authorities claim was the deliberate act of terror perpetrated by individuals unknown to them so far. Ferenge's take? The facility where the oil spill originated is old and in need of shoring up to ensure there are no disasters. The owners/authorities will not spend the money to do what has to be done and let's see, spin the bottle ... a terrorist act!! Ya that's the ticket! Then we won't have to take the blame for the spill. Sweet!
Is ferenge too negative or just realistic?
As the movie progresses, Dad and wife get deeper into the quagmire of society and run across evidence of cover-ups and government complicity in shady operatives within the military. Hope is dashed one day when they are takem to a stadium where son may or may have been and they do not spot the missing. Father's attitude starts to swing more and more towards the "left-wing" opinions of daugther-in-law until they finally find out when and where son was executed by the military. Now who's spouting this left-wing "crap"? Daddy; interesting how one's outlook can change so dramatically when going through experienes previously deemed to be lunacy prior to experiencing them one's self :)
I have been accused by some of being very very negative wrt. politics and way too suspicious of the authorities. A few years ago when it was announced there was a high-level terrorist warning for the Golden Gate bridge, my comeback was that Homeland Security was in budget negotiations with the US Treasury and they needed ammunition to justify their swelling budget ... "look ... we are defending the bridge from a level red terrorist threat; the country NEEDS our services".
Fast forward to 2010; I heard on Al Jazeera there was an oil spill in northern Italy that authorities claim was the deliberate act of terror perpetrated by individuals unknown to them so far. Ferenge's take? The facility where the oil spill originated is old and in need of shoring up to ensure there are no disasters. The owners/authorities will not spend the money to do what has to be done and let's see, spin the bottle ... a terrorist act!! Ya that's the ticket! Then we won't have to take the blame for the spill. Sweet!
Is ferenge too negative or just realistic?
VPN stands for ...
(V)ery (P)roblematic (N)otion ... getting out of Ethiopia to someone's server outside the country. I have been discussing some work with a company in Toronto as some of you may have read earlier in the BLOG. I dropped $130 CAD on some software called SurfSolo that sets up a private tunnel to some servers in Europe using port 4426. This masks all internet activity from the ISP's and allows one to surf and email completely anonymously. Naturally their documentation does not say "works from everywhere except Ethiopia" :). This work in TO may blossom into something more as time progresses; hence the desire to get connected. I did manage (with the help of Dr. Network aka BJ Abbey) to get to my PC at home using RDP and split tunneling to Toronto. That situation is good for now, but RDP is very finicky.
My main PC at home is misbehaving and does not seem to want to work with other remote control software offerings out there either. Today is a Muslim holiday in Ethiopia and the government (for at least these 24 hours) is Muslim; they are closed. There is another holiday next Tuesday. This ferenge must go into the office if I want to get paid today. I am going to Yordanos for a 9:30 appointment with the doctor who will advise me when I can start playing tennis again but I think he will say a few more months. The bruising that I had on metatarsal 5 was so "severe" that the 5 weeks I waited from removal of the cast was probably not sufficient. Melaku has had the flu bug most of the week so I have been grounded (of sorts). It has been going around at Dulcian but I have so far been lucky.
My main PC at home is misbehaving and does not seem to want to work with other remote control software offerings out there either. Today is a Muslim holiday in Ethiopia and the government (for at least these 24 hours) is Muslim; they are closed. There is another holiday next Tuesday. This ferenge must go into the office if I want to get paid today. I am going to Yordanos for a 9:30 appointment with the doctor who will advise me when I can start playing tennis again but I think he will say a few more months. The bruising that I had on metatarsal 5 was so "severe" that the 5 weeks I waited from removal of the cast was probably not sufficient. Melaku has had the flu bug most of the week so I have been grounded (of sorts). It has been going around at Dulcian but I have so far been lucky.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
You just cannot win ...
I have probably spent 8-10 hours at my guest house over the past few days trying to concoct some mechanism to get to a VPN connection in Toronto. There is a company there who wants me to do some work on the side for them, hence the VPN connection. I have tried just about every flavour of remote control software, all reported to be turnkey solutions requiring little or no set up. A likely story; Ben has been assisting and even he is stumped.
This is yet another example of how frustrating the infrastructure is here and there appears to be nothing anyone can do about it. It has been a quiet week on the social front and tomorrow ia a national holiday here. The MoFED offices are closed but I need to come to the office if I want to bill. Ileana is coming in for a bit too so it will probably just be the 2 of us.
4 {{PC Ls0 mw xli ri0 hvyq xiegliv? 2sy wxmpp pmoi lmq? PC}}
This is yet another example of how frustrating the infrastructure is here and there appears to be nothing anyone can do about it. It has been a quiet week on the social front and tomorrow ia a national holiday here. The MoFED offices are closed but I need to come to the office if I want to bill. Ileana is coming in for a bit too so it will probably just be the 2 of us.
4 {{PC Ls0 mw xli ri0 hvyq xiegliv? 2sy wxmpp pmoi lmq? PC}}
Monday, February 22, 2010
I saw the light, I saw the light
I saw the Dell on Melaku's desk. They also charged us 19 birr for close to 3 weeks' storage of the computer.
Blue morning, blue blue day
With credit to a song from Foreigner in the title ...
And they're off ... Melaku and I were picked up at Bilo's around 9AM for the next trip to customs to retrieve Dell laptop. We go to the Bole sub-city police station near Bambi's. We are frisked on the way in and told to go to a certain office. In that office, we show what we have, including a letter Melaku wrote and I signed at the airport on Saturday. We are told the letter we have is not good enough, and one needs to be produced that was type-written :). It is suggested we go somewhere, then the clerk mentions something to Melaku in Amharic. As it turns out we can go across the street to get the required format for the correspondence.
We cross the street and end up speaking with a man who comes out of a hut. He leads us to a bench, protected by a tarpaulin, which is his office. No sign of the typewriter (yet). As it turns out, the clerk at the police station was giving us a "heads-up" that the wording of the letter is crucial, and the outlet across the street was staffed by someone who knows how to word it properly. He readies his pad of paper and carefully places the carbon-paper underneath and begins to write. I sign the letter and give the guy 20 birr. We go to see the same lady as the one that sent us across the street. There is a long conversation between the clerk and Melaku and he tells me to sit a minute and disappears. Upon his return he has another chat with lady, and disappears again. He comes back, and we go next door to the adjacent office and see someone else who writes a few things and signs the letter. We then return to see the original clerk and yet again, Melaku disappears on his own. He returns and the clerk writes and notarizes a new letter for customs. We thank all, after parting with 50 birr for the new letter, and head off to the airport. Ferenge is not too confident that it will go well at the airport.
We get to the airport, and pay the 3 birr entry fee, then the 2 of us go to customs. At first the guy there does not want to let Melaku in, but between him and another customs guy, permission is granted for the 2 of us to proceed. Considering the huge amount of discussions that followed between Melaku and customs personnel, I could not have done it without habesha. We discovered after about 30 minutes that since the police kept the photocopy of the customs document, we need to go back to the station and retrieve it. Melaku and the driver do that while I find my way to closest cafe for coffee.
My first stop is at joint that is closed, initially looking like the only watering hole ... oops there's another one on the horizon and I head there for bunna. It seemed silly that we needed a copy of the customs form because the letter from the police would not have been written without the copy of said form. Thus, the existence of the letter from the police was evidence that the copy had been produced. So why did we need to produce it again? Welcome to Ethiopia ...
Melaku returns and we go back inside customs, with ease accompanied my Melaku. Conversations heat up again. The head guy on shift scribbled something on the back of the letter, and off we go to the cashier to pay 10 birr for not having the original customs form, and the privilege of using the photocopy. We go to the cashier and after 15 minutes Melaku re-appears. We now need to go to a desk where the computer can be retrieved now that signatures and payment of fine has been completed. Not so fast ... we are also missing the receipt that customs gave me as they confiscated the Dell. Back to the guy, more writing, and another 10 birr fine for the privilege of using a copy of that receipt so nicely copied by one of the agents for 1 birr. They now decide we need to pay 2,000 rather than 1,300 birr. The reduced taxes owing are since the Dell is used. Used computer duty is reduced 35%. We get back to their agreeing on 1,300 and Melaku heads off to the in-airport bank to get a money order; monies owing in excess of 1,000 birr cannot be in cash.
I am left on my own and observe some pretty amazing events while waiting the hour for Melaku's return, a sample of which are ...
1) Two ladies disembarking from a Yemen flight saunter between 2 customs desks (unoccupied) and leave the secure area without having their luggage x-rayed; nobody from the authorities intervenes even though they could not have missed what just happened.
2) Lots of habesha try to walk into the secure area as if it is un-protected. They could not be bothered to stop and speak with the customs guy at the door. They are motioned over to customs guy by police officer on duty. The amazing part is some habesha stroll into secure area and are not challenged by anyone.
As Melaku returns, he saunters over to the cashier, joining a waiting crowd of about 10 people! As you walk up to the cashier you place your forms at the bottom of the pile. If you do not police this pile, some dickheads put theirs on the top 'cause they are so special and must be served first. I then see something more amazing than what I have seen up until then. Someone strolls beside (not through) the x-ray machine with a very large checked and a few small pieces of hand luggage. She stops and speaks for a moment with the honcho that we had been working with all day so far (#2 in command at customs this shift), then leaves. Luggage not x-rayed even though customs guy know it ... did not say anything!!!!
I now see Melaku strolling around and I approach him and he mentions the systems are down. Nothing can be processed until they come back up. I had visions of their telling us the fixer-person will be on sight by Friday, hopefully sooner :). It's now 12:40 and we have been here for close to 4 hours. We got "permission" from the #2 guy for me to leave. I thought "I have heard that before" so the guy assured me it was OK to go, and Melaku said #2 will make some notation on the forms that I left with his go-ahead. We came to the airport with 3 pieces of paper and now have close to 10. Hey that's not bad ... close to 2.5 pieces of paper acquired per hour and still no DELL!!!!
I received a call from Melaku about 2:15PM sating he has the computer. It's now 3:30 and I have not seen it yet. This should be interesting. The bill for the retrieval of the computer is as follows:
- Melaku's time 500 birr
- my time 6,000 birr
- drivers' time 200 birr
So for a grand total of 6,700 birr (~ 500USD) and 18-20 hours of person time, we have back a used 7-year old computer. By the way, while we were at customs, someone successfully brought in a gun with a barrel the size of the cardboard tube inside a roll of toilet paper, the gun standing over 5 feet in the air. I wonder if it was loaded too??
And they're off ... Melaku and I were picked up at Bilo's around 9AM for the next trip to customs to retrieve Dell laptop. We go to the Bole sub-city police station near Bambi's. We are frisked on the way in and told to go to a certain office. In that office, we show what we have, including a letter Melaku wrote and I signed at the airport on Saturday. We are told the letter we have is not good enough, and one needs to be produced that was type-written :). It is suggested we go somewhere, then the clerk mentions something to Melaku in Amharic. As it turns out we can go across the street to get the required format for the correspondence.
We cross the street and end up speaking with a man who comes out of a hut. He leads us to a bench, protected by a tarpaulin, which is his office. No sign of the typewriter (yet). As it turns out, the clerk at the police station was giving us a "heads-up" that the wording of the letter is crucial, and the outlet across the street was staffed by someone who knows how to word it properly. He readies his pad of paper and carefully places the carbon-paper underneath and begins to write. I sign the letter and give the guy 20 birr. We go to see the same lady as the one that sent us across the street. There is a long conversation between the clerk and Melaku and he tells me to sit a minute and disappears. Upon his return he has another chat with lady, and disappears again. He comes back, and we go next door to the adjacent office and see someone else who writes a few things and signs the letter. We then return to see the original clerk and yet again, Melaku disappears on his own. He returns and the clerk writes and notarizes a new letter for customs. We thank all, after parting with 50 birr for the new letter, and head off to the airport. Ferenge is not too confident that it will go well at the airport.
We get to the airport, and pay the 3 birr entry fee, then the 2 of us go to customs. At first the guy there does not want to let Melaku in, but between him and another customs guy, permission is granted for the 2 of us to proceed. Considering the huge amount of discussions that followed between Melaku and customs personnel, I could not have done it without habesha. We discovered after about 30 minutes that since the police kept the photocopy of the customs document, we need to go back to the station and retrieve it. Melaku and the driver do that while I find my way to closest cafe for coffee.
My first stop is at joint that is closed, initially looking like the only watering hole ... oops there's another one on the horizon and I head there for bunna. It seemed silly that we needed a copy of the customs form because the letter from the police would not have been written without the copy of said form. Thus, the existence of the letter from the police was evidence that the copy had been produced. So why did we need to produce it again? Welcome to Ethiopia ...
Melaku returns and we go back inside customs, with ease accompanied my Melaku. Conversations heat up again. The head guy on shift scribbled something on the back of the letter, and off we go to the cashier to pay 10 birr for not having the original customs form, and the privilege of using the photocopy. We go to the cashier and after 15 minutes Melaku re-appears. We now need to go to a desk where the computer can be retrieved now that signatures and payment of fine has been completed. Not so fast ... we are also missing the receipt that customs gave me as they confiscated the Dell. Back to the guy, more writing, and another 10 birr fine for the privilege of using a copy of that receipt so nicely copied by one of the agents for 1 birr. They now decide we need to pay 2,000 rather than 1,300 birr. The reduced taxes owing are since the Dell is used. Used computer duty is reduced 35%. We get back to their agreeing on 1,300 and Melaku heads off to the in-airport bank to get a money order; monies owing in excess of 1,000 birr cannot be in cash.
I am left on my own and observe some pretty amazing events while waiting the hour for Melaku's return, a sample of which are ...
1) Two ladies disembarking from a Yemen flight saunter between 2 customs desks (unoccupied) and leave the secure area without having their luggage x-rayed; nobody from the authorities intervenes even though they could not have missed what just happened.
2) Lots of habesha try to walk into the secure area as if it is un-protected. They could not be bothered to stop and speak with the customs guy at the door. They are motioned over to customs guy by police officer on duty. The amazing part is some habesha stroll into secure area and are not challenged by anyone.
As Melaku returns, he saunters over to the cashier, joining a waiting crowd of about 10 people! As you walk up to the cashier you place your forms at the bottom of the pile. If you do not police this pile, some dickheads put theirs on the top 'cause they are so special and must be served first. I then see something more amazing than what I have seen up until then. Someone strolls beside (not through) the x-ray machine with a very large checked and a few small pieces of hand luggage. She stops and speaks for a moment with the honcho that we had been working with all day so far (#2 in command at customs this shift), then leaves. Luggage not x-rayed even though customs guy know it ... did not say anything!!!!
I now see Melaku strolling around and I approach him and he mentions the systems are down. Nothing can be processed until they come back up. I had visions of their telling us the fixer-person will be on sight by Friday, hopefully sooner :). It's now 12:40 and we have been here for close to 4 hours. We got "permission" from the #2 guy for me to leave. I thought "I have heard that before" so the guy assured me it was OK to go, and Melaku said #2 will make some notation on the forms that I left with his go-ahead. We came to the airport with 3 pieces of paper and now have close to 10. Hey that's not bad ... close to 2.5 pieces of paper acquired per hour and still no DELL!!!!
I received a call from Melaku about 2:15PM sating he has the computer. It's now 3:30 and I have not seen it yet. This should be interesting. The bill for the retrieval of the computer is as follows:
- Melaku's time 500 birr
- my time 6,000 birr
- drivers' time 200 birr
So for a grand total of 6,700 birr (~ 500USD) and 18-20 hours of person time, we have back a used 7-year old computer. By the way, while we were at customs, someone successfully brought in a gun with a barrel the size of the cardboard tube inside a roll of toilet paper, the gun standing over 5 feet in the air. I wonder if it was loaded too??
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Walk this way
I think I have my favourite walking route ... I head out the street level entrance to Deker and am confronted with the Bilo's pastry shop terrace that is always bustling with clientel around the time I go out. The terrace has four tables with some very nice brown wicker chairs. The servers hover around the door to the inside furniture and pounce like hawks at a customer's slightest gesture. I am tempted to always tell them ... it's just a coffee, there is no need to run :). They are very attentive and just when the peace and quiet of my street is being enjoyed by all, a new mark comes driving up to the shop with horn-a-blaring as though the server better get out there NOW. These dumb f____s can't even get out of their cars and they want to make sure their arrival is noticed by all and how important they are; perish the thought they would have to wait 4 nanoseconds for some sustenance. If these people lived in Csnada, they would use the Tim Horton's drive through.
I then weave my way through the cars parked on the front walk at Bilo's. There is really room there for 4-5 vehicles, but habesha loves to do a national lampoon style cram to see how many cars can fit on the concrete allocated to house Bilo-ites. Sometimes they are so tightly packed there is a 15-20 centimetre passage-way at the widest gap between these amazing four-wheeled contraptions. Once this Ms-Pacman-like creature named ferenge navigates through the lot, the next obstacle is the collection of street vendors. They are selling just about everything any sane Ethiopian would ever want all the way from cell phone A/C chargers to cell phone A/C chargers :). They are such a nuisance and my defence is to don sunglasses before I head out so I can pretend I don't even know they are there.
The next site is Blue Drops restaurant next door to Deker where I consume the vast majority of my meals. I feel like I work there! The other day when I arrived, the TV was not woring. I headed to the back of the device and lo and behold it was un-plugged. I took it upon myself to get the entertainment centre working much to the glee and interest of the lady behind the bar who always has a 10-foot smile for me. Just before getting to Blue Drops, there is the first of what seem like dozens of drops in the sidewalk that are all over Addis, especially my street. Part of me hates these dips and risers, the other part appreciates them as they accentuate the exercise I get during this trek. My solution when I tire of them is to walk on the street, looking backwards at every opportunity to ensure there is no car bearing down on poor innocent ferenge.
I waddle down Bole Gambia at a feverish pace, negotiating some rocky sidewalks with a whole bunch of those ups and downs that force me on to the street. I arrive at the place where my street and Mickey Leyland meet, carefully crossing at the un-controlled intersection. The next stretch of the walk passes a handful of grocery stores with the maticulously created piles of fruit out front. One of the stores in particular is nicely stocked with very common western brands of shampoo and conditioner. Then there is an overpass that traverses one of the few creeks in Addis. This is the same creek one crosses on Bole Africa that is mainly rocks and garbage strewn all over the bank of the stream. It really is quite an unbfortunate site.
Then a cluster of stores are encountered with a rocky side street accompanied by a big red sign that says "Central Park". Next, for a few hundred metres, are just about every kind of knick-knack store you would care to come across. You can buy melmac plates, a wide assortment of grains, popcorn, teas, mirrors, Jesus pictures, hand tools, and it goes on and on. Once these outlets peter out, there is a handful of those up-and-down sidewalk obstacles and the first of 2 or 3 large office buildings encountered along the route. There is a McD restaurant in one of them as well as travel agencies and a Lufthansa outlet. There is a very odd furniture outlet called White Bird. The intriguing thing about some of these furniture stores in Addis is the nature of the goods they have for sale; some of them look like they have been through many many hands before being deposited in stores. The majority of furniture we do see is recycled and all the more power to habesha for using furniture like this for so long, not depositing it in the garbage for a landfill like we tend to do in the west.
Just before getting to Kazanches, a major thoroughfare that my street morphs into, there is the most interesting collection of stores yet, most selling a wide assortment of goods and some very interesting colourful sun umbrellas that are made out of bright brogue material like we may have seen on our grandparent's sofas ... definitely these umbrellas are brighter but similar. There are railings between the busy intersection and the sidewalks, designed to keep the pedestrians from flodding the road and overwhelming and delaying the vehicular traffic. Once across the street, one is positioned on some very rough rocky terrain leading to a few stairs that lead to a popular church. The street people and beggars are plentiful. Then the stroll back the other side commences, amidst a plethora of hair parlours and used furniture establishments.
The stores along the east side of the street are not as intriguing or as diverse as on the first side, but get my attention anyways. There are some furniture factories along this side, some proudly displaying white dining chairs that resemble thrones. Apparently they are popular with habesha but do nothing for me. Not far from crossing Mickey Leyland again there is the Molla guest house and a strip mall set back a bit from the road containing, amongst other outlets, a bridal gown store. After crossing the large intersection, the footing gets worse as the asphalt has crumbled and been washed away leaving loose dirt and lots of stones. Next is the Atlas hotel, a landmark that I use when cabbing it back to Deker. Most drivers know the hotel and it is a good stake in the ground that gives the driver a clue as to where I am going. There are then a gaggle of small shops set a bit back from the road, the contents of which still remain elusive. Finally, before traversing the street to get back to Deker is the TDS hotel, another affordable guest house whose room rate I have been curious about for a while ... just checking, loyal to Deker.
When Marou is working as security guard at the bottom of the Deker stairs, there is always a huge friendly greeting accompanied by a fanfare of handshaking and sometime high fiving.
What contributes to the pleasure of the route in general is the people I see. They are fabulous to watch as they go about their doings, and there is never a shortage of people to watch. The whole journey takes me about 40 minutes and it is time well spent. Melaku reminded me again today how important exercise is ... you got that right.
I then weave my way through the cars parked on the front walk at Bilo's. There is really room there for 4-5 vehicles, but habesha loves to do a national lampoon style cram to see how many cars can fit on the concrete allocated to house Bilo-ites. Sometimes they are so tightly packed there is a 15-20 centimetre passage-way at the widest gap between these amazing four-wheeled contraptions. Once this Ms-Pacman-like creature named ferenge navigates through the lot, the next obstacle is the collection of street vendors. They are selling just about everything any sane Ethiopian would ever want all the way from cell phone A/C chargers to cell phone A/C chargers :). They are such a nuisance and my defence is to don sunglasses before I head out so I can pretend I don't even know they are there.
The next site is Blue Drops restaurant next door to Deker where I consume the vast majority of my meals. I feel like I work there! The other day when I arrived, the TV was not woring. I headed to the back of the device and lo and behold it was un-plugged. I took it upon myself to get the entertainment centre working much to the glee and interest of the lady behind the bar who always has a 10-foot smile for me. Just before getting to Blue Drops, there is the first of what seem like dozens of drops in the sidewalk that are all over Addis, especially my street. Part of me hates these dips and risers, the other part appreciates them as they accentuate the exercise I get during this trek. My solution when I tire of them is to walk on the street, looking backwards at every opportunity to ensure there is no car bearing down on poor innocent ferenge.
I waddle down Bole Gambia at a feverish pace, negotiating some rocky sidewalks with a whole bunch of those ups and downs that force me on to the street. I arrive at the place where my street and Mickey Leyland meet, carefully crossing at the un-controlled intersection. The next stretch of the walk passes a handful of grocery stores with the maticulously created piles of fruit out front. One of the stores in particular is nicely stocked with very common western brands of shampoo and conditioner. Then there is an overpass that traverses one of the few creeks in Addis. This is the same creek one crosses on Bole Africa that is mainly rocks and garbage strewn all over the bank of the stream. It really is quite an unbfortunate site.
Then a cluster of stores are encountered with a rocky side street accompanied by a big red sign that says "Central Park". Next, for a few hundred metres, are just about every kind of knick-knack store you would care to come across. You can buy melmac plates, a wide assortment of grains, popcorn, teas, mirrors, Jesus pictures, hand tools, and it goes on and on. Once these outlets peter out, there is a handful of those up-and-down sidewalk obstacles and the first of 2 or 3 large office buildings encountered along the route. There is a McD restaurant in one of them as well as travel agencies and a Lufthansa outlet. There is a very odd furniture outlet called White Bird. The intriguing thing about some of these furniture stores in Addis is the nature of the goods they have for sale; some of them look like they have been through many many hands before being deposited in stores. The majority of furniture we do see is recycled and all the more power to habesha for using furniture like this for so long, not depositing it in the garbage for a landfill like we tend to do in the west.
Just before getting to Kazanches, a major thoroughfare that my street morphs into, there is the most interesting collection of stores yet, most selling a wide assortment of goods and some very interesting colourful sun umbrellas that are made out of bright brogue material like we may have seen on our grandparent's sofas ... definitely these umbrellas are brighter but similar. There are railings between the busy intersection and the sidewalks, designed to keep the pedestrians from flodding the road and overwhelming and delaying the vehicular traffic. Once across the street, one is positioned on some very rough rocky terrain leading to a few stairs that lead to a popular church. The street people and beggars are plentiful. Then the stroll back the other side commences, amidst a plethora of hair parlours and used furniture establishments.
The stores along the east side of the street are not as intriguing or as diverse as on the first side, but get my attention anyways. There are some furniture factories along this side, some proudly displaying white dining chairs that resemble thrones. Apparently they are popular with habesha but do nothing for me. Not far from crossing Mickey Leyland again there is the Molla guest house and a strip mall set back a bit from the road containing, amongst other outlets, a bridal gown store. After crossing the large intersection, the footing gets worse as the asphalt has crumbled and been washed away leaving loose dirt and lots of stones. Next is the Atlas hotel, a landmark that I use when cabbing it back to Deker. Most drivers know the hotel and it is a good stake in the ground that gives the driver a clue as to where I am going. There are then a gaggle of small shops set a bit back from the road, the contents of which still remain elusive. Finally, before traversing the street to get back to Deker is the TDS hotel, another affordable guest house whose room rate I have been curious about for a while ... just checking, loyal to Deker.
When Marou is working as security guard at the bottom of the Deker stairs, there is always a huge friendly greeting accompanied by a fanfare of handshaking and sometime high fiving.
What contributes to the pleasure of the route in general is the people I see. They are fabulous to watch as they go about their doings, and there is never a shortage of people to watch. The whole journey takes me about 40 minutes and it is time well spent. Melaku reminded me again today how important exercise is ... you got that right.
Oy vay, trip #5
I would like to think of myself as a patient person, however speaking with a few people here, they may not agree. This run-around I have had at the airport trying to spring the Dell from customs has grated on my patience. So now it's Saturday, the first day after the major debacle I had yesterday which ended up with my leaving the airport without Dell. So I decided to go with Melaku today, and speak to Ato Yosef, the gentleman the agent insisted yesterday had all the authority to solve my dilemme (a likely story).
So I go to Bole 19 tennis about 9:30 this morning, realizing that we will not be going to the airport until at least noon. Most of the tennis I watched was entertaining. So we head off to the airport about noon. We pay the 3 birr each entrance fee, and proceed to the customs area ... surprise suprise Yosef is not there. He is on lunch and will not be back until 2PM. This time Melaku is allowed into the secure area with me, unlike last time we went together :). I resolve myself to having to wait, then Melaku begins the "bargaining" with the agents on duty.
I am in the dark since they are speaking Amharic, and periodically am updated about the high-level discussions. You would think we were trying to bring an AK-47 into the country. We appear to be making progress, then what seems to be the most senior guy appears. I am told that I need to write a letter, therafter attempting to discover what the letter should say. As it turns out it is OK for Melaku to write the letter, which I will sign. I mark down as well my cell number here, passport nukmber (and measurements of the doorway to my shower stall at home :)) and flight details of my arrival here February 3. It starts to look positive.
Hah! The senior guy insists that we have to go to the police station and get a signature and stamp on the back of the letter. More discussions in Amharic and some 20 minutes later ... we need to go back to the police station with guess what in our hands? They VERY EASILY have found a copy of the customs document that I am no longer in possession of!! This really should now be a fait accomplis. Hah (again)! They tell us to do the following:
1) get a copy of the customs document
2) go to police station and get signed/stamped
3) return to customs with all documenation in order and the release of the Dell will be turnkey (hah! #34,343)
I left my photocopier in my other pants so we are stuck as to how to get a copy of the customs document. The agent takes us to the bottom of a staircase outside customs and we give him 1 birr to go get a copy. Melaku gets the brilliant idea of asking the senior guy if, armed with the official police stamp, he can claim the goods or if I have to come back. Unfortunately, I do. Oh joy, the 5th trip to the airport is yet to come.
So we go to Bole City police station to get signed/stamped and, I think you know what's coming next. The office that does that sort of task is ONLY OPEN WEEKDAYS!!!!! Oh vay. This is what we then decided to do:
1) Melaku and I will meet at Bilo's Monday at 8:30
2) We will go to the airport and attempt to claim the Dell
3) If we get it we will take his picture with today's local paper (sort of like a ransom photo after a kidnapping)
4) If we do not get the computer, c'est la vie and it will get auctioned off in 30 days (hey maybe we can go to the auction and buy it since it was never picked up by its rightful owner)
We went for lunch and now I am back at the guest house. Welcome to Ethiopia ...
So I go to Bole 19 tennis about 9:30 this morning, realizing that we will not be going to the airport until at least noon. Most of the tennis I watched was entertaining. So we head off to the airport about noon. We pay the 3 birr each entrance fee, and proceed to the customs area ... surprise suprise Yosef is not there. He is on lunch and will not be back until 2PM. This time Melaku is allowed into the secure area with me, unlike last time we went together :). I resolve myself to having to wait, then Melaku begins the "bargaining" with the agents on duty.
I am in the dark since they are speaking Amharic, and periodically am updated about the high-level discussions. You would think we were trying to bring an AK-47 into the country. We appear to be making progress, then what seems to be the most senior guy appears. I am told that I need to write a letter, therafter attempting to discover what the letter should say. As it turns out it is OK for Melaku to write the letter, which I will sign. I mark down as well my cell number here, passport nukmber (and measurements of the doorway to my shower stall at home :)) and flight details of my arrival here February 3. It starts to look positive.
Hah! The senior guy insists that we have to go to the police station and get a signature and stamp on the back of the letter. More discussions in Amharic and some 20 minutes later ... we need to go back to the police station with guess what in our hands? They VERY EASILY have found a copy of the customs document that I am no longer in possession of!! This really should now be a fait accomplis. Hah (again)! They tell us to do the following:
1) get a copy of the customs document
2) go to police station and get signed/stamped
3) return to customs with all documenation in order and the release of the Dell will be turnkey (hah! #34,343)
I left my photocopier in my other pants so we are stuck as to how to get a copy of the customs document. The agent takes us to the bottom of a staircase outside customs and we give him 1 birr to go get a copy. Melaku gets the brilliant idea of asking the senior guy if, armed with the official police stamp, he can claim the goods or if I have to come back. Unfortunately, I do. Oh joy, the 5th trip to the airport is yet to come.
So we go to Bole City police station to get signed/stamped and, I think you know what's coming next. The office that does that sort of task is ONLY OPEN WEEKDAYS!!!!! Oh vay. This is what we then decided to do:
1) Melaku and I will meet at Bilo's Monday at 8:30
2) We will go to the airport and attempt to claim the Dell
3) If we get it we will take his picture with today's local paper (sort of like a ransom photo after a kidnapping)
4) If we do not get the computer, c'est la vie and it will get auctioned off in 30 days (hey maybe we can go to the auction and buy it since it was never picked up by its rightful owner)
We went for lunch and now I am back at the guest house. Welcome to Ethiopia ...
Friday, February 19, 2010
Four times lucky?
I spoke with Melaku tonight and we are going to go to the airport for the fourth time tomorrow afternoon to get the Dell. I have no confidence in our speaking with Ato Yosef doing anything productive. One never knows; I would love to take Melaku into the secure area with me, but last time we went together he was not allowed in. If things get silly, having habesha there might be helpful, not to mention his ability to wade through what could easily deteriorate into a huge load of BS.
Thrice upon a time
So when I returned from Canada February 3, one may remember that customs took away my second computer as I am only allowed to bring in one duty free. I did not have 1,300 birr on me (the duty they wanted) so I left it with these people who gave me a receipt and some other forms.
Point #1: When leaving Ethiopia, one can only take 200 birr out of the country. Therefore, HOW COULD ONE HAVE 1,300 ON RETURN!!!!
Since then I was back to the airport once and that did not go well; on that occasion I was told to go in the wrong line and, after waiting in it for 45 minutes to be served, I was told to go to wicket #5 that already had 11 people ahead of me. Another time, one of the RSU drivers went with a letter giving him my permission to pick up the goods. That did not go well either; the forms were missing that time as they had been misplaced. Dereje was told by customs that I had to go to a police station and fill out a form or report and bring it back to the airport. With that police document, customs could consider releasing the computer . That was the substance of my journey today.
So I go to the Kesanches police station and am told by two officers that what I was told at the airport was incorrect. They could not give me what I was looking for without a copy of the customs forms that were missing. I was told to go to the airport and get a copy of the missing forms then come back to the station.
Point #2: If customs were capable of giving me a copy of my forms, why was I at the police station? If that were indeed the case (i.e., getting a copy of the forms from customs) why would I be at the police station anyways?? When Dereje went, if that were true, they simply culd have dug up a copy of the form!!!
So I follow the advice of the police and go to the airport and plead my case. The first person I speak with sends me elsewhere. Now I am at person number 2. He listens a few times to my story and takes me to see his supervisor. I wait a few minutes to speak to the supervisor ... he does not have the authority to grant my request to get the computer. I have identifying colour and serial number for said comuter which I was hoping to use to get said goods. His boss Yosef, who has the authority to release the goods without the original forms, does not work until 6AM tomorrow. I am told to come back then and speak to Ato Yosef. So it appears as though the trek was worthless just as the previous two had been, but at least I now know who is the next person to speak with (who will probably be unable/unwilling to grant my request too:)).
Point #3: Works at 6AM; I forgot to ask if that is ferenge or habesha time. The Ethiopian clock is 6 hours behind that of the west so 6AM habesha time is noon our time. Just to make sure Ato Yosef is there, I will go Saturday after noon.
All this for a 7 year old laptop that is worthless in the west now but in Ethiopia, according to customs procedures, could be sold for many hundreds of birr. The sale of used electronics is big business in Ethiopia and naturally when goods are moved, the government does not get a piece of the action; hence duty on entry of goods exceeding defined limits.
So the saga of the Dell Inspiron continues; the hours myself and a few others have put into this effort probably are now close to 10! Even at a modest salary from the western world, that could be worth upwards of two hundred dollars by now (close to 2,500 birr). This, in my opinion, is a manifestation if the cliche "don't sweat the small stuff". Welcome to Ethiopia ...
Point #1: When leaving Ethiopia, one can only take 200 birr out of the country. Therefore, HOW COULD ONE HAVE 1,300 ON RETURN!!!!
Since then I was back to the airport once and that did not go well; on that occasion I was told to go in the wrong line and, after waiting in it for 45 minutes to be served, I was told to go to wicket #5 that already had 11 people ahead of me. Another time, one of the RSU drivers went with a letter giving him my permission to pick up the goods. That did not go well either; the forms were missing that time as they had been misplaced. Dereje was told by customs that I had to go to a police station and fill out a form or report and bring it back to the airport. With that police document, customs could consider releasing the computer . That was the substance of my journey today.
So I go to the Kesanches police station and am told by two officers that what I was told at the airport was incorrect. They could not give me what I was looking for without a copy of the customs forms that were missing. I was told to go to the airport and get a copy of the missing forms then come back to the station.
Point #2: If customs were capable of giving me a copy of my forms, why was I at the police station? If that were indeed the case (i.e., getting a copy of the forms from customs) why would I be at the police station anyways?? When Dereje went, if that were true, they simply culd have dug up a copy of the form!!!
So I follow the advice of the police and go to the airport and plead my case. The first person I speak with sends me elsewhere. Now I am at person number 2. He listens a few times to my story and takes me to see his supervisor. I wait a few minutes to speak to the supervisor ... he does not have the authority to grant my request to get the computer. I have identifying colour and serial number for said comuter which I was hoping to use to get said goods. His boss Yosef, who has the authority to release the goods without the original forms, does not work until 6AM tomorrow. I am told to come back then and speak to Ato Yosef. So it appears as though the trek was worthless just as the previous two had been, but at least I now know who is the next person to speak with (who will probably be unable/unwilling to grant my request too:)).
Point #3: Works at 6AM; I forgot to ask if that is ferenge or habesha time. The Ethiopian clock is 6 hours behind that of the west so 6AM habesha time is noon our time. Just to make sure Ato Yosef is there, I will go Saturday after noon.
All this for a 7 year old laptop that is worthless in the west now but in Ethiopia, according to customs procedures, could be sold for many hundreds of birr. The sale of used electronics is big business in Ethiopia and naturally when goods are moved, the government does not get a piece of the action; hence duty on entry of goods exceeding defined limits.
So the saga of the Dell Inspiron continues; the hours myself and a few others have put into this effort probably are now close to 10! Even at a modest salary from the western world, that could be worth upwards of two hundred dollars by now (close to 2,500 birr). This, in my opinion, is a manifestation if the cliche "don't sweat the small stuff". Welcome to Ethiopia ...
The missing transfer
Bezeba dug up a copy of the transfer document which shows it completed February 16 (3 days ago). Maybe the money is on the "slow boat from Djibouti" and will arrive in Ottawa by 2017 if not sooner :).
It is but it isn't
I was informed Wednesday that a money transfer from MoFED to my TD Canada Trust account was completed. I decided to give it 2 days to check to ensure it was actually in my bank account. So today it is not there. Somehow the money, being the object of a completed transfer, is no longer in Ethiopia and has not arrived in Canada. I wonder where it is? Stuck in customs maybe?
I will go to the main branch downtown today with Bezeba to check it out. It's a sunny day in Addisl Fukuru (the driver) took the same foreign root to work today and I was still lost. Dr. Paul missed his flight at EWR and they are trying to sort that out to get him back sometime today.
I feel like one of the family at Blue Drops now even more. The TV was not working last night when I arrived so I plugged it in then got the receiver working just before the power failure. Two new Amharic words to add to my repertoire:
nage - tomorrow
boohalah - later
Now when parting ways with habesha I can sound even more (in)competent and they can say something else back to me I do not understand. Better incompetent than incontinent (an English word for being on terra firma :)). Another day another birr ...
I will go to the main branch downtown today with Bezeba to check it out. It's a sunny day in Addisl Fukuru (the driver) took the same foreign root to work today and I was still lost. Dr. Paul missed his flight at EWR and they are trying to sort that out to get him back sometime today.
I feel like one of the family at Blue Drops now even more. The TV was not working last night when I arrived so I plugged it in then got the receiver working just before the power failure. Two new Amharic words to add to my repertoire:
nage - tomorrow
boohalah - later
Now when parting ways with habesha I can sound even more (in)competent and they can say something else back to me I do not understand. Better incompetent than incontinent (an English word for being on terra firma :)). Another day another birr ...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The return of the Doc
Dr. Paul gets in early evening tomorrow from the US. my ST was kind enough to Fedex him a few things for me, including my light cotton vest that it will be especially nice to have back. It also includes the pillows for my CPAP mask that I have not been using since I returned to Addis om the 3rd. last but not least are two music stand clips that are a must to hld my Beatles songbook open as it is bound like a pocket book. That is by far the most inconvenient packaging for a songbook 'cause it will not lie flat on the stand.
Ended up at Blue Drops tonight and stumbled into a tennis match from a tournament in Memphis TN. It was 2 unknowns (at least in my narrow field of recognizable tennis players) but entertaining none the less. Just when it got started there was one of those lingering power outages that are so common in Ethiopia. Their frequency I have been told falls far short of what it was a few years ago where they were noticeably more common and long lasting.
I will go to the Dulcian compound after work tomorrow; no brisk walking tomorrow. Again I worked up quite a sweat marching down to Kazanches and back after work today. Habesha looks at me like I am from another planet :) As if wearing a sleeveless t-shirt (from MEC), shorts, and a Nike bandana is any more odd than some of the garb they are out in. For example, a car blanket wrapped around one's upper body with disheveled green shorts and a ragged cotton top with some familiar saying like "Run in the wild" emblazoned across the chest is any more normal than my get-up :).
The weekend ... good question. Nehemia broke a string on his guitar so not sure if we will jam this weekend; stay tuned ...
Ended up at Blue Drops tonight and stumbled into a tennis match from a tournament in Memphis TN. It was 2 unknowns (at least in my narrow field of recognizable tennis players) but entertaining none the less. Just when it got started there was one of those lingering power outages that are so common in Ethiopia. Their frequency I have been told falls far short of what it was a few years ago where they were noticeably more common and long lasting.
I will go to the Dulcian compound after work tomorrow; no brisk walking tomorrow. Again I worked up quite a sweat marching down to Kazanches and back after work today. Habesha looks at me like I am from another planet :) As if wearing a sleeveless t-shirt (from MEC), shorts, and a Nike bandana is any more odd than some of the garb they are out in. For example, a car blanket wrapped around one's upper body with disheveled green shorts and a ragged cotton top with some familiar saying like "Run in the wild" emblazoned across the chest is any more normal than my get-up :).
The weekend ... good question. Nehemia broke a string on his guitar so not sure if we will jam this weekend; stay tuned ...
Into thin air
So when I was at Dr. Paul's in late November for Thanksgiving, I took my guitar and tuner over. Somehow during the day the tuner disappeared. I wrote it off to the fact that a 3 year-old lives there (Paul and Ileana's son). Anyone who has raised children knows they have a habit of scoffing stuff that is never to be seen again.
So during their move to a new house, it was expected to turn up. It appeared as though the movers were all done and ... no tuner. Then at that last minute guess what surfaced? Anyone in Addis need a guitar tuner, cheap?
So during their move to a new house, it was expected to turn up. It appeared as though the movers were all done and ... no tuner. Then at that last minute guess what surfaced? Anyone in Addis need a guitar tuner, cheap?
Mid-week goings on
So now that Dr. Paul has moved into his new mansion, thay are in a part of town called Tele Bole which is just across the street (sort of) from Deker. Ileana asked if I could be picked up at 7:30 rather than 8, then the driver would go to get them. I like to be up and out as early as possible so naturally that was fine with me. I can almost (I think) walk from Deker to their new house without getting lost. It is interesting how that half hour makes such a difference in what the city looks like.
To start out with it is a bit darker as, even with the sun shining, it is not completely bright usually until just before 8. We took an entirely different route to the office from Dr. Paul's house and it was busy busy busy with pedestrians. One minute we are on a boulevard, vehicles few and far between, then the next on a small side street bustling with people walking and engaged in deep conversation with one another. Some of the street vendors have already staked their ground and are open for business. I have wondered if their is a code of ethics between the vendors on who sets up where. So many of them are selling tomatoes and onions and the belt/sunglasses merchants are plentiful as well. I bought twice from sunglass merchants ... the first pair I still have and the second lasted a whole 15 minutes until the right arm broke.
The grocery stores have elaborate piles of meticulously stacked fruit out front, mainly papaya, apples (when in season) and tomatoes. I always wondered if this art work (you should see the TLC they put into making these piles) is torn apart each night to be re-built the next morning. As it turns out, the produce is covered with tarpaulins and a security guard sits there all night. As well, there are billions of shops with hanging banana clumps and I always wonder if Addis can possibly support that many fruit vendors and that gargantuan amounts of bananas. When Jordan was young he loved bananas and would have devoured all in sight throughout Addis.
I am proud to think that I know my way around Addis well, then get chauffeured through a part of town that leaves me bewildered. That is what happened today and I figured maybe our final destination was China. I had dinner with Melaku last night then we went to a club in the Jambo building not far from Deker. There were two singers there whom we had seen in the fall at another club. Each uses a computer to pump songs with no vocal track, which they do a nice job of providing. They were OK but I do miss the band. It was a relatively early night, and I marveled at the plethora of food kiosks that were still open along Bole Cameroon as Melaku dropped me at Deker. Apparently some of these shops are open 24x7, doing a thriving business in the wee hours of the morning as the clubs empty out. Habesha loves to go to clubs, and the establishment we occupied was close to full (on a Wednesday night to boot!).
To start out with it is a bit darker as, even with the sun shining, it is not completely bright usually until just before 8. We took an entirely different route to the office from Dr. Paul's house and it was busy busy busy with pedestrians. One minute we are on a boulevard, vehicles few and far between, then the next on a small side street bustling with people walking and engaged in deep conversation with one another. Some of the street vendors have already staked their ground and are open for business. I have wondered if their is a code of ethics between the vendors on who sets up where. So many of them are selling tomatoes and onions and the belt/sunglasses merchants are plentiful as well. I bought twice from sunglass merchants ... the first pair I still have and the second lasted a whole 15 minutes until the right arm broke.
The grocery stores have elaborate piles of meticulously stacked fruit out front, mainly papaya, apples (when in season) and tomatoes. I always wondered if this art work (you should see the TLC they put into making these piles) is torn apart each night to be re-built the next morning. As it turns out, the produce is covered with tarpaulins and a security guard sits there all night. As well, there are billions of shops with hanging banana clumps and I always wonder if Addis can possibly support that many fruit vendors and that gargantuan amounts of bananas. When Jordan was young he loved bananas and would have devoured all in sight throughout Addis.
I am proud to think that I know my way around Addis well, then get chauffeured through a part of town that leaves me bewildered. That is what happened today and I figured maybe our final destination was China. I had dinner with Melaku last night then we went to a club in the Jambo building not far from Deker. There were two singers there whom we had seen in the fall at another club. Each uses a computer to pump songs with no vocal track, which they do a nice job of providing. They were OK but I do miss the band. It was a relatively early night, and I marveled at the plethora of food kiosks that were still open along Bole Cameroon as Melaku dropped me at Deker. Apparently some of these shops are open 24x7, doing a thriving business in the wee hours of the morning as the clubs empty out. Habesha loves to go to clubs, and the establishment we occupied was close to full (on a Wednesday night to boot!).
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I wonder what could have happened
So habesha goes to Istanbul for a few days last week. He was not aware that one is only allowed to take 200 birr out of the country. Just before leaving, he cashed his pay cheque. So upon leaving the country, the money is confiscated and he is given a receipt.
This receipt, upon presentation, will get him back the money that was taken away. So habesha returns to airport once back in Addis and ... oooops! They cannot find the money. What a drag.
This receipt, upon presentation, will get him back the money that was taken away. So habesha returns to airport once back in Addis and ... oooops! They cannot find the money. What a drag.
Keen senses
| I have always wondered about how habesha gets around at night when it is so dimly lit on the streets of Addis. For a long time after I arrived last August, i used a flashlight to navigate the streets around Deker. I have become better as I get used to the dim surroundings but still welcome the assistance a flashlight has to offer from time-to-time. The rough cobblestone thoroughfares are the worst, poor lighting making them even more difficult to traverse. I just visited the developers at RSU and they were crowded around Nehemiah's screen getting a demo of some of the features in the new reporting system. From where I was positioned, about the same distance as the others, I could not see what was on the screen even with my reading glasses on. This is yet another example of their keen senses. I do wonder about their hearing ... when strolling by a music store, there is always a speaker strategically positioned outside their front door so as to be a bazillion decibels as pedestrians pass by. Maybe it isn't as good as their sense of sight. Rain rain go away ... it is wet again here today and cool'ish as well. I was going to go to Dr. paul's new digs after work but it is so wet I would not want to be walking home un-protected. Melaku and I are speaking about going to see some music tonight. The Ileana flag is back and is green. 4 {{PC Irns2mrk er2 izirxw mr xli Sp2qtmgw sv xss qygl lsqi0svo? PC}} |
Vancouver 2010
I stumbled into some Olympics highlights on one of the SuperSports feeds last night while at Blue Drops. I saw the highlights of many many events, and was especially in awe watching some of the mogul runs. My knees hurt after the participants finished from just watching them. The US ambassador just showed up at MoFED for some meetings amidst much fanfare and security. My office window looks out on the main entrance to the MoFED headquarteres and I could go on for a few weeks reminiscing about what and who I have seen go in and out of the building.
I printed off my Abbey Seein' Ya BLOG and will get the resultant 152-page hard copy spiral bound. It's great reading and I chuckle when I re-live some of my experiences from the first leg of this adventure. I ended up at one of mf favourite hangouts last night for dinner and it is always such a pleasure filling up on vegetables. Their hommous rivals Mrs. A's (Ayoubs, a corner store that was around my house on Chapel St.), and the tabbouleh was scrumptious not to mention the warm middle eastern naan (I am sure there is a better and more traditional name for this stuff). It was with disappointment that I found out the bank machine near the office is permanently out of service. I was not looking forward to always having to go into the bank in person. As it turns out, there are at least two other ATM's that I can use not that far from the office. When I opened the account at COmmercial Bank of Ethiopia in August I was told the card would ONLY work at the one branch. I guess that has changed ...
I printed off my Abbey Seein' Ya BLOG and will get the resultant 152-page hard copy spiral bound. It's great reading and I chuckle when I re-live some of my experiences from the first leg of this adventure. I ended up at one of mf favourite hangouts last night for dinner and it is always such a pleasure filling up on vegetables. Their hommous rivals Mrs. A's (Ayoubs, a corner store that was around my house on Chapel St.), and the tabbouleh was scrumptious not to mention the warm middle eastern naan (I am sure there is a better and more traditional name for this stuff). It was with disappointment that I found out the bank machine near the office is permanently out of service. I was not looking forward to always having to go into the bank in person. As it turns out, there are at least two other ATM's that I can use not that far from the office. When I opened the account at COmmercial Bank of Ethiopia in August I was told the card would ONLY work at the one branch. I guess that has changed ...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Another day, another ...
Got MoFED to sign off on another deliverable today. I went on another huge walk after work, and again worked up quite a sweat. I think my Sweet Thing would be proud but I know she would leave me in her wake if we walked together. I stopped at Novis supermarket and picked up some lunch meat. The guy at the deli counter exclaimed "Yesterday Man U and today Arsenal?" I told him I did not really have a favourite Barclay's premier club, but did like the shirts, and ferenge loves the price. They are also very quick-dry.
Then I'm leaving Novis and the same 2 guys are there asking for money in wheelchairs and they both announce the same as the deli clerk :) It was a lovely day again today and the foot feels great. The only thing I do not enjoy about walking here is the manners of the drivers. The vehicle certainly is mighty in Ethiopia. Also, the traffic laws changed January 1 (I think it was then) ... now if you knock down a pedestrian with your car it's a mandatory 15 year prison sentence ... bada bing ... done. Also, I have been led to believe that under some circumstances and for certain types of automobile accidents, you need to post a 100,000 birr "bond" to the local police force. This is probably to ensure that the accident gets dealt with by both parties properly and as quickly as possible.
Then I'm leaving Novis and the same 2 guys are there asking for money in wheelchairs and they both announce the same as the deli clerk :) It was a lovely day again today and the foot feels great. The only thing I do not enjoy about walking here is the manners of the drivers. The vehicle certainly is mighty in Ethiopia. Also, the traffic laws changed January 1 (I think it was then) ... now if you knock down a pedestrian with your car it's a mandatory 15 year prison sentence ... bada bing ... done. Also, I have been led to believe that under some circumstances and for certain types of automobile accidents, you need to post a 100,000 birr "bond" to the local police force. This is probably to ensure that the accident gets dealt with by both parties properly and as quickly as possible.
Quite a feet :)
I had a nothing evening Monday night which is always good. When I returned from the office, I was trying to decide whether to go for a long brisk walk for exercise or go to the gym. The decision was not complicated as I like the former and not the latter. I tend to take shortcuts at the gym since I dislike being there so much. So I donned my hiking boots for support, and headed off at a very brisk pace. By Edna mall I was sweating buckets. I went to Friendship mall and had a look around the supermarket in the basement for a few minutes. I then headed down Bole Africa to Novis supermarket where I was accosted by habesha who turned out to be Melaku. We visited and chuckled there for a while and he suggested I buy local cheese next time since it is a fraction of the price of imported. We strolled together to Fantu supermarket then parted ways. He was off to Friendship to meet friends. I hoofed it back to Deker at a feverish pace and spent 15-20 minutes cooling down from my walk.
I had hoped to catch some of the Olympic highlights on the TV at Blue Drops but there were none to be found. DsTV coverage is very sporadic at best. Good old Steve Baker suggested checking with the Canadian embassy which I just did and they have no plans to organize anything. I guess I am out of luck. I could always get the unlimited coverage on my EVDO card and watch the Sling but it's too complicated. I am not as big a fan of winter as summer Olympics so will just have to do without. My foot felt fine during the walk last night and OK today as well.
I had hoped to catch some of the Olympic highlights on the TV at Blue Drops but there were none to be found. DsTV coverage is very sporadic at best. Good old Steve Baker suggested checking with the Canadian embassy which I just did and they have no plans to organize anything. I guess I am out of luck. I could always get the unlimited coverage on my EVDO card and watch the Sling but it's too complicated. I am not as big a fan of winter as summer Olympics so will just have to do without. My foot felt fine during the walk last night and OK today as well.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Clean bill of health
I was told at Yordanos not to do any strenuous exercise whatsoever for a few more months. I believe I shall put my tennis career on hold until the fall. I have the go-ahead to wear any type of footwear but will use my sneakers or better still hiking boots when walking any distances around Addis. To quote my Sweet Thing "it could have been worse".
4 {{PC Hmh 2sy 0mr e ksph qihep ex xli Sp2qtmgw 2ix PC}}
4 {{PC Hmh 2sy 0mr e ksph qihep ex xli Sp2qtmgw 2ix PC}}
A short rainy season
What with the yucchhy weather as of late, habesha has finally suggested this is supposedly a regular occurrence called a "short rainy season" in the middle of the dry season from November through May. They believe it is a little bit longer than usual, and this must be global warming's effect on sub-Saharan Africa. It's a sunny day with a small cloud cover which will probably deteriorate into gray sky and maybe rain.
I am stopping at Yordanos on the way to work to speak with the doctor about my left foot. It was bothering me for a day or two last week after tennis in the same spot that led to my problems in the fall. I hope I do not have to give up tennis, except it may be a blessing since I am so poor at it :) To quote my wonderful sister-in-law Devorah (aka deb4laz), gotta run ... Jakov thanks for the note on my foot.
I am stopping at Yordanos on the way to work to speak with the doctor about my left foot. It was bothering me for a day or two last week after tennis in the same spot that led to my problems in the fall. I hope I do not have to give up tennis, except it may be a blessing since I am so poor at it :) To quote my wonderful sister-in-law Devorah (aka deb4laz), gotta run ... Jakov thanks for the note on my foot.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Just for Paddy
Paddy is my 10 year-old Godson, a fine young man who lives in the Glebe, an area of Ottawa. He plays drums and hockey and has a very warm personality that all who come in contact with find very alluring. He is a real family guy and very very in tune with his surroundings. When ST and I announced we were getting married in 2001, he mentioned to his Mom that he was glad we were making a family. He has been putting up with my wet kisses for years and when he was very young, his maternal Grandma knew when I had been over 'cause his face was red from the kisses. He has an older brother Sean who also plays hockey as well as an Epi (red dual cutaway and has played at BluesFest!!!!) and the the double bass. Paddy educated me on the fine delicacy of peanut butter smeared liberally on a granny smith apple. I love it when he says (more used to say) "you know what mikowaby" ... usually followed by some Paddy'ism that was beyond CUTE!
Patrick, your Mom tells me you are solving all mikowaby's cryptic cookies I am putting in the BLOG for you. Your Mom asked if I had gotten any of your responses. No I have not; have you sent some?
2 {{PC Ujpqwnf vjg0 dg jctfgt? K okuu jcpikpi qwv ykvj 0qw cpf Ugcp ... PC}}
Patrick, your Mom tells me you are solving all mikowaby's cryptic cookies I am putting in the BLOG for you. Your Mom asked if I had gotten any of your responses. No I have not; have you sent some?
2 {{PC Ujpqwnf vjg0 dg jctfgt? K okuu jcpikpi qwv ykvj 0qw cpf Ugcp ... PC}}
A job inte______
Dr. Paul is looking for a security guard for his new house. They recently found out that one of the guards that already works at the new house has a substance abuse problem, hence the hunt for new help. Once this week when leaving Deker, one of the guys at the bottom of the stairs just before leaving the edifice told me his son was looking for work as a guard. I told him I would keep my ears open.
So I speak to the father, who turns out to be the brother, this morning and find out Marou (as it turns out his name is) will be here all day. Half-way through a brief interview, Marou, who understands no English, is given a tray of cake to carry to the back of Bilo's and leaves. This is my first experience with a job applicant leaving half way through an interview; it gets even better ... this guy did not even know he was having an interview :). The next interview is with his brother there who speaks some English and Marou actually stayed for the whole interview this time. Further conversation will be had tomorrow ... yet another Ethiopian moment.
So I speak to the father, who turns out to be the brother, this morning and find out Marou (as it turns out his name is) will be here all day. Half-way through a brief interview, Marou, who understands no English, is given a tray of cake to carry to the back of Bilo's and leaves. This is my first experience with a job applicant leaving half way through an interview; it gets even better ... this guy did not even know he was having an interview :). The next interview is with his brother there who speaks some English and Marou actually stayed for the whole interview this time. Further conversation will be had tomorrow ... yet another Ethiopian moment.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A lovely Saturday afternoon
The jam session with habesha was very interesting. Nehemiah brought his Yamaha cutaway box guitar. What we call an acoustic they call a box. I gave him some new strings which the other guy Umnet who came with him put on the axe. The strings buzzed on the Yamaha even though sighting down the neck showed no noticeable warping. We played around a bit, the 2 habesha did some traditional stuff, and a number written by Umnet. The music they play uses 3/4 time a lot and many many minor chords. Their guitar playing was OK and I worked with Nehemiah on counting and chord changes. He is still learning how to bar, and for someone who has been playing 3 months he was great!
The day deteriorated into heavy rain. Kizume, a lady who lived in the guest house for a while, was over and she asked me to have a look at her lease on her house and a letter she is giving the landlord today about terminating early. She believes she is justified in doing this due to the house filling up with a few inches of water during a heavy downpour a few days ago. She is going to move back into a guest house (not Deker) ... remarkable how a mess in a rental house so far away from home can dampen someone's energy re:house rental so quickly.
When I arranged this jam last week, I did ask Nehemiah if he could bring a bass player. That's exactly what he did ... a bass "player", no bass guitar in tow :). I do have to remember from time to time that I have to be very explicit when I ask habesha something. That is not their fault, it's mine. It reminds me of one of my favourites ... we were at a Chinese restaurant and asked for peanuts with the sweet and sour chicken. They did just that ... a bowl of peanuts accompanied the dish. Next time we asked for peanuts IN the S&S chicken which was more to our liking.
The day deteriorated into heavy rain. Kizume, a lady who lived in the guest house for a while, was over and she asked me to have a look at her lease on her house and a letter she is giving the landlord today about terminating early. She believes she is justified in doing this due to the house filling up with a few inches of water during a heavy downpour a few days ago. She is going to move back into a guest house (not Deker) ... remarkable how a mess in a rental house so far away from home can dampen someone's energy re:house rental so quickly.
When I arranged this jam last week, I did ask Nehemiah if he could bring a bass player. That's exactly what he did ... a bass "player", no bass guitar in tow :). I do have to remember from time to time that I have to be very explicit when I ask habesha something. That is not their fault, it's mine. It reminds me of one of my favourites ... we were at a Chinese restaurant and asked for peanuts with the sweet and sour chicken. They did just that ... a bowl of peanuts accompanied the dish. Next time we asked for peanuts IN the S&S chicken which was more to our liking.
Don Henley?
Not sure whether it was him or Glen Frey. One of them had a song in the 80's that mentioned an expert witness. It then went on to say the person was classified as an "expert witness" 'cause he said so :). So the NHL pundits announce a few days ago that Ottawa will NOT make any changes to its roster as the current lineup is doing just fine. The ink is still wet on that proclamation and we pick up Matt Cullen from the Canes.
It reminds me of classic Pierre McGuire. One minute Spezza gives the puck away that leads to a scoring chance and PM announces that he is steadily a puck-giving-away liability. Five minutes later Spezza is the best puck-handler on the team as he dipsi-doodles his way through 3 defenders and scores.
It reminds me of classic Pierre McGuire. One minute Spezza gives the puck away that leads to a scoring chance and PM announces that he is steadily a puck-giving-away liability. Five minutes later Spezza is the best puck-handler on the team as he dipsi-doodles his way through 3 defenders and scores.
Shabbat shalom
I found out in amazement a few months ago that the most common way they sell milk here is in a 1/2 litre bag. The way so many things are done around here, I figured they must have looked into the most inconvenient way to package milk, and adopted that approach. I bought milk a few days ago and cut the corner as usual. I fold over the corner and clamp with a small office paper clip. So I go to the fridge today and lo and behold no milk (in the container that is) but lots of dry milk on the floor of the fridge. Why not buy a plastic container to hold the milk one wonders? They do not make a container (at least at the shops I have been at) that is small enough to fit in a fridge as small as those in the guest house :).
Melaku and I went to club Alize for music last night. I had dinner with him beforehand, feasting on none other than a T-bone steak. Wow! It was good and nicely not the size of what one gets in the west. The music starts at Alize at 9:30, except last night it did not get going until 10:30. We had a table and chairs this time which was nice from the last time, where we hung out at the bar. I recognized about half the music, and especially enjoyed a ditty from the 60's called Cherokee. I had seen this band there before. For a change, habesha decided to leave around midnight; it's usually me who gets tired.
We met Abraha from Addis Ababa university for lunch yesterday. I had not seen him for a long time. What with the IBEX2 system deliverables rolling in, Dr. Paul thought it wise to re-kindle that relationship.
I was up early but not at 6:30 as I am on weekdays. I went to Parisienne for a nice breakfast, finding out that the butter I requested for my waffle now costs extra. The server returned with the goods and proudly announced "no charge". I gave her the extra birr difference. I spoke with Nehemia and he is going to find the Atlas hotel and call me to be guided in to Deker. The rest of the weekend? Good question. My left foot is bothering me for some reason, close to the area that was problematic last fall. I sent email to Dr. Laz asking him for advice. It may be the same spot or just very close. Unlike last time, all I have done recently is walk and play tennis. There has been no "over on the side of the foot events". I have not heard "boo" from that foot since my cast came off in mid-November. I spoke to Sweet Thing this morning and she sounded great. Her and Rona hava a busy day planned.
It is a warm sunny day in Addis ... how warm (hey you're in Africa) .. about 25 degrees, no humidity. Some places, so I have heard, like for examle, Israel can start the day at 80 and climb well over 90 by mid-afternoon. I know one person (yes my lovely ST) who would love that were she ever to ge there.
Melaku and I went to club Alize for music last night. I had dinner with him beforehand, feasting on none other than a T-bone steak. Wow! It was good and nicely not the size of what one gets in the west. The music starts at Alize at 9:30, except last night it did not get going until 10:30. We had a table and chairs this time which was nice from the last time, where we hung out at the bar. I recognized about half the music, and especially enjoyed a ditty from the 60's called Cherokee. I had seen this band there before. For a change, habesha decided to leave around midnight; it's usually me who gets tired.
We met Abraha from Addis Ababa university for lunch yesterday. I had not seen him for a long time. What with the IBEX2 system deliverables rolling in, Dr. Paul thought it wise to re-kindle that relationship.
I was up early but not at 6:30 as I am on weekdays. I went to Parisienne for a nice breakfast, finding out that the butter I requested for my waffle now costs extra. The server returned with the goods and proudly announced "no charge". I gave her the extra birr difference. I spoke with Nehemia and he is going to find the Atlas hotel and call me to be guided in to Deker. The rest of the weekend? Good question. My left foot is bothering me for some reason, close to the area that was problematic last fall. I sent email to Dr. Laz asking him for advice. It may be the same spot or just very close. Unlike last time, all I have done recently is walk and play tennis. There has been no "over on the side of the foot events". I have not heard "boo" from that foot since my cast came off in mid-November. I spoke to Sweet Thing this morning and she sounded great. Her and Rona hava a busy day planned.
It is a warm sunny day in Addis ... how warm (hey you're in Africa) .. about 25 degrees, no humidity. Some places, so I have heard, like for examle, Israel can start the day at 80 and climb well over 90 by mid-afternoon. I know one person (yes my lovely ST) who would love that were she ever to ge there.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Fast and furious
Well they do call me the auditor and that is exactly what I did this week. It was a real cauldron of activity, and I am close to delivering 4 items next week. We are still mired in the short rainy season, except other than Wednesday, it has been more like a short gloomy/gray season.
Now that I am in possession of a faster internet card, I may just watch the Detroit game tomorrow, even though it is on at 3AM here (ya right ... easier said than done). I found out that I owe Bolé 19 tennis club 150 birr for January and February and will join as well for March next month. I received my first in-country expenses cheque today and will pay some of the bill at Deker. Dr. Paul leaves for America in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow. They are moving to their new house next week.
Habesha jam session tomorrow with Nehemiah and bass player ... way too excited. If Melaku is into it we may go out for music tonight. We mean sometime to check out what is going on in the basement of Edna mall (music-wise) which is a very short walk from Deker.
Paddy, let me know if this is too hard ... Shauna, please let me know if he is reading these.
7 {{PC 5v1 l2ly uv0pjl 3olu 5v1 svvr mvy zvtl0opun 0oh0 p0 pz hs3h5z pu 0ol shz0 wshjl 5v1 svvr PC}}
Now that I am in possession of a faster internet card, I may just watch the Detroit game tomorrow, even though it is on at 3AM here (ya right ... easier said than done). I found out that I owe Bolé 19 tennis club 150 birr for January and February and will join as well for March next month. I received my first in-country expenses cheque today and will pay some of the bill at Deker. Dr. Paul leaves for America in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow. They are moving to their new house next week.
Habesha jam session tomorrow with Nehemiah and bass player ... way too excited. If Melaku is into it we may go out for music tonight. We mean sometime to check out what is going on in the basement of Edna mall (music-wise) which is a very short walk from Deker.
Paddy, let me know if this is too hard ... Shauna, please let me know if he is reading these.
7 {{PC 5v1 l2ly uv0pjl 3olu 5v1 svvr mvy zvtl0opun 0oh0 p0 pz hs3h5z pu 0ol shz0 wshjl 5v1 svvr PC}}
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A short rainy season
That's what habesha is calling the current wet and cool weather. Apparently we are usually in the heart of the dry/hot season. Fortunately "hot" in Addis means no more than 26 degrees! So much rain fell late yesterday. I was pounding the roof on Deker and sounded like little feet running all over the structure. The heavy heavy rain must have lasted close to 20 minutes. We do see torrential rain like this in northern Florida but not lasting this long.
I have a jam session this Saturday with a habesha that works for Dr. Paul and a bass player. I am pumped ... how about them Sens (sounds like a NYC doorman) ... won 12 or their last 13 :) Mike Fisher for president.
4 {{PC Tiegi Tehh2 PC}}
I have a jam session this Saturday with a habesha that works for Dr. Paul and a bass player. I am pumped ... how about them Sens (sounds like a NYC doorman) ... won 12 or their last 13 :) Mike Fisher for president.
4 {{PC Tiegi Tehh2 PC}}
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
They just keep coming and coming
Went with Melaku last night to yet another restaurant. This one I had seen while driving near the airport many times, just never gone in. I wanted to order the Greek salad and soup but was told they were no good. I had probably one of the best lasagna's I had ever had and it was approved by Melaku in person.
His pasta came with cheese in it (non-fasting) and it was sent back. It showed up about 15 minutes later and was sent back again 'cause he did not like it. No doubt the choices habesha have at their disposal when they are fasting are limited.
His pasta came with cheese in it (non-fasting) and it was sent back. It showed up about 15 minutes later and was sent back again 'cause he did not like it. No doubt the choices habesha have at their disposal when they are fasting are limited.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Deliverables at a feverish pace
As many as four will hit the street within the next week. That is sweet and is keeping me busy at work which I like. I went with Dr. Paul to see the new house they are renting starting March 1 ... 8 bedrooms (I think) and probably 5000-6000 square feet. They are excited since they are paying not much more than their current digs, but so much more room. The place is new and they are the first tenants.
Played tennis today and I was rusty but it was a good workout. My new internet modem allows me to connect at 10-12 times more speed than the previous POS I had. I can even watch the Slingbox now which means, not that I will be up, I can watch the Flames/Sens that starts tomorrow at 3:30AM (7:30PM Tuesday in Ottawa). I spoke with Ben MacAbbey and he helped me with copying files from a DOS USB drive to my Mac. He claimed the Mac O/S has a terrible time with NTFS and the software he turned me on to sure helps ... the copy would have taken 2.5 hours last time I tried and after installing this stuff he pointed me at it took 55 seconds!
1 {{PC Mpwf zpv Qbeez boe ufmm Tfbo uif tbnf ... PC}}
Played tennis today and I was rusty but it was a good workout. My new internet modem allows me to connect at 10-12 times more speed than the previous POS I had. I can even watch the Slingbox now which means, not that I will be up, I can watch the Flames/Sens that starts tomorrow at 3:30AM (7:30PM Tuesday in Ottawa). I spoke with Ben MacAbbey and he helped me with copying files from a DOS USB drive to my Mac. He claimed the Mac O/S has a terrible time with NTFS and the software he turned me on to sure helps ... the copy would have taken 2.5 hours last time I tried and after installing this stuff he pointed me at it took 55 seconds!
1 {{PC Mpwf zpv Qbeez boe ufmm Tfbo uif tbnf ... PC}}
Monday, February 8, 2010
Much ado about nothing
I went with Melaku this morning to take care of a few housekeeping items around town. First we went to a computer shop and I oicked up an EVDO modem for my Mac. This is suppsed to be many times faster than the CDMA one I had been using in my PC. It is not pay-as-you-go with a SIM card but rather envolvers a pre-payment agreement with ETC (Ethiopian Telecommuncations Corporation). I went to the ETC office and got the form which I have since filled in. We then headed off to Bole airport to spring the Dell computer that was confiscated last week.
That was a huge treat :) I entered the airport after paying the 3 birr fee :) and went to the customs area. They would not let Melaku in so I was on my own. I went to a counter and stood around while 3 people assisted another customer. I finally asked if I was at the right place for what I needed to do and they sent me somewhere else. My first stop was an office where I showed a clerk the letter from RSU about getting the computer in the country without having to pay 1,300 birr duty. That did not go well; he explained that the wording of the letter did not ask for tax exemption directly so wondered why did I even bring it? I must admit the wording in the letter was not the best but it could have been interpreted to be asking for what I really wanted.
I returned to another guy there who told me to go to "the window over there", which I started to do then noticed there were 2 windows. I asked again and was told to go to the cashier's window. I placed my paper on the bottom of what seemed to be a large pile and waited about 30 minutes for my turn. The first thing the agent told me is that I had been in the wrong line. He told me to go to window #5 and he would service me right away when I returned. There was a pile of paper in front of window #5 so I gave up. I ripped up the papers I had and left frustrated. "Welcome to Ethiopia" ... I was hoping to give the computer to Melaku so now it will be disposed of somehow by customs personnel after 60 days.
That was a huge treat :) I entered the airport after paying the 3 birr fee :) and went to the customs area. They would not let Melaku in so I was on my own. I went to a counter and stood around while 3 people assisted another customer. I finally asked if I was at the right place for what I needed to do and they sent me somewhere else. My first stop was an office where I showed a clerk the letter from RSU about getting the computer in the country without having to pay 1,300 birr duty. That did not go well; he explained that the wording of the letter did not ask for tax exemption directly so wondered why did I even bring it? I must admit the wording in the letter was not the best but it could have been interpreted to be asking for what I really wanted.
I returned to another guy there who told me to go to "the window over there", which I started to do then noticed there were 2 windows. I asked again and was told to go to the cashier's window. I placed my paper on the bottom of what seemed to be a large pile and waited about 30 minutes for my turn. The first thing the agent told me is that I had been in the wrong line. He told me to go to window #5 and he would service me right away when I returned. There was a pile of paper in front of window #5 so I gave up. I ripped up the papers I had and left frustrated. "Welcome to Ethiopia" ... I was hoping to give the computer to Melaku so now it will be disposed of somehow by customs personnel after 60 days.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Same old, same old
I have been including minute details in many BLOG posts for the sake of readers who enjoy my antics in and around Addis. Even more so, since most of my adventures have been interesting and often comical, I want to be able to re-visit them any time in the future and re-live these experiences. That word "experience" is the first one that comes out of most mouths when discussing this opportunity I have had to spend time in Africa.
I headed off to the bank mid-morning yesterday to confirm that, as suspected, the bank balance that showed in my pass book was indeed incorrect. I thought I remembered having done a 2,000 birr withdrawl just before returning to Canada in December. I got to wait about 20 minutes until my number came up (with visions of chocolate bobka), then discovered I had a whopping 111 in the bank. So much for the modem I was going to purchase to be able to use my Mac on the internet.
I left work about 4:30 and came home to watch some of the Sopranos. I can't get enough of that series, and this is the third time I am watching all 28 DVDs. Melaku called about 8 and suggested we dine somewhere. I suggested the Greek Club and off we went about 8:30. We had a nice visit, and the mayor (I call him the mayor of Addis since he knows so many people here) dropped me back at Deker 10'ish. I played guitar and worked away madly on China Grove, a Doobie Brothers song from the 80's that always caught my interest.
I slept the best I have since my return from ST land on Wednesday. I was up about 8 and waited for Melaku to call. We ended up meeting at Bole 19 tennis club and visited and chatted it up with Hiruy. He and I had spoken Thursday and he mentioned that the Dell I sold him only lasts 10 minutes on a full battery charge, He plugged it in and we looked at it when full. It seemed to last a lot longer than he reported. There is no doubt the battery may be close to end of life but it is in far better shape than he reported. I left Bole 19 about 1 and went to get a haircut. I returned to the joint on Kazanches where I got my first trim and the same lady gave me the 10 birr treatment. I gave her 20 birr and returned to Deker. About 3 I headed out to MKs up the street to have a burger for a late lunch. It turned out to be a typical Addis adventure as we will see next ...
I ordered the cowboy burger with a Schweppes tonic water. There are other brands of tonic but I am a dedicated Schweppes fan. I find the other brands here taste like soap. After taking my order, the server returned a few minutes later and ensured that I actually wanted take-away, with no intention of eating there. I pointed to the table and said that I wanted to eat here. Lo and behold, about 10 minutes later, what was obviously my order appeared at the table in a take-away container. The food was then put on a plate and I changed tables to watch the Liverpool/Everton match on DsTV. I asked for some vinegar for the french fries a few times and the server eventually showed up with some sort of liquid that sort of looked like vinegar but I am still not sure what it was. I ordered another tonic which did not arrive so I ordered again (twice). Shortly thereafter, my server came over and offered to get me another tonic (wish I'd thought of that). I gave her thumbs up and it arrived poste haste. The bill was just over 95 birr so I gave her 110, expecting 15 in change. Over 15 minutes later the change had not arrived so I asked for it and left a nice tip and departed. In Canada if there had been such quirky service, I would have commented to myself "What a ridiculous establishment that was" but in Addis, I quipped to myself "Welcome to Ethiopia".
Melaku called mid-evening and we discussed going to see music early in the week, I am listening to Luther Wright and the Wrongs' country and western rendition of The Wall (Pink Floyd) and will retire soon. I got a call this evening from a woman I met at the guest house in December. She has since rented a house and is having people over for lunch tomorrow at 12:30. I changed my tennis to 9AM so I can attend. I will pick up some goodies at Bilo's before going over. I spoke to the Sweet Thing today and we gabbed and gabbed about life and the world problems. I am excited about a jam session planned for next Saturday. I am not sure how experienced the two habesha are I will be working out with so it should be fun ... I was thinking of trying to find somewhere to watch the StupourBowl tomorrow, then lost interest when I found it it started at 2:25AM in Ethiopia.
I headed off to the bank mid-morning yesterday to confirm that, as suspected, the bank balance that showed in my pass book was indeed incorrect. I thought I remembered having done a 2,000 birr withdrawl just before returning to Canada in December. I got to wait about 20 minutes until my number came up (with visions of chocolate bobka), then discovered I had a whopping 111 in the bank. So much for the modem I was going to purchase to be able to use my Mac on the internet.
I left work about 4:30 and came home to watch some of the Sopranos. I can't get enough of that series, and this is the third time I am watching all 28 DVDs. Melaku called about 8 and suggested we dine somewhere. I suggested the Greek Club and off we went about 8:30. We had a nice visit, and the mayor (I call him the mayor of Addis since he knows so many people here) dropped me back at Deker 10'ish. I played guitar and worked away madly on China Grove, a Doobie Brothers song from the 80's that always caught my interest.
I slept the best I have since my return from ST land on Wednesday. I was up about 8 and waited for Melaku to call. We ended up meeting at Bole 19 tennis club and visited and chatted it up with Hiruy. He and I had spoken Thursday and he mentioned that the Dell I sold him only lasts 10 minutes on a full battery charge, He plugged it in and we looked at it when full. It seemed to last a lot longer than he reported. There is no doubt the battery may be close to end of life but it is in far better shape than he reported. I left Bole 19 about 1 and went to get a haircut. I returned to the joint on Kazanches where I got my first trim and the same lady gave me the 10 birr treatment. I gave her 20 birr and returned to Deker. About 3 I headed out to MKs up the street to have a burger for a late lunch. It turned out to be a typical Addis adventure as we will see next ...
I ordered the cowboy burger with a Schweppes tonic water. There are other brands of tonic but I am a dedicated Schweppes fan. I find the other brands here taste like soap. After taking my order, the server returned a few minutes later and ensured that I actually wanted take-away, with no intention of eating there. I pointed to the table and said that I wanted to eat here. Lo and behold, about 10 minutes later, what was obviously my order appeared at the table in a take-away container. The food was then put on a plate and I changed tables to watch the Liverpool/Everton match on DsTV. I asked for some vinegar for the french fries a few times and the server eventually showed up with some sort of liquid that sort of looked like vinegar but I am still not sure what it was. I ordered another tonic which did not arrive so I ordered again (twice). Shortly thereafter, my server came over and offered to get me another tonic (wish I'd thought of that). I gave her thumbs up and it arrived poste haste. The bill was just over 95 birr so I gave her 110, expecting 15 in change. Over 15 minutes later the change had not arrived so I asked for it and left a nice tip and departed. In Canada if there had been such quirky service, I would have commented to myself "What a ridiculous establishment that was" but in Addis, I quipped to myself "Welcome to Ethiopia".
Melaku called mid-evening and we discussed going to see music early in the week, I am listening to Luther Wright and the Wrongs' country and western rendition of The Wall (Pink Floyd) and will retire soon. I got a call this evening from a woman I met at the guest house in December. She has since rented a house and is having people over for lunch tomorrow at 12:30. I changed my tennis to 9AM so I can attend. I will pick up some goodies at Bilo's before going over. I spoke to the Sweet Thing today and we gabbed and gabbed about life and the world problems. I am excited about a jam session planned for next Saturday. I am not sure how experienced the two habesha are I will be working out with so it should be fun ... I was thinking of trying to find somewhere to watch the StupourBowl tomorrow, then lost interest when I found it it started at 2:25AM in Ethiopia.
Friday, February 5, 2010
New kid on the block
That's what I felt like today as we went for lunch. Both Dereje and Melaku fast as Orthodox Christians at least every week on Wednesday and Friday. This is a breed of fasting that forbids eating of dairy, eggs, and all kinds of meat. It may more easily be put as "containing an ingredient that came from a living creature". Anyhow, I suggested going to Naklah, a Yemeni dive near the Wello Sefer part of town. On the way Melaku expressed a desire to go elsewhere. Even though there is a gamut of food they could have eaten at Naklah, it was explained to me that unless a restaurant has a specific section of its menu dedicated to fasting food, their fasting-eligible food could have been in contact with a forbidden substance. We ended up at Samgan Indian restaurant on Bolé Africa not far from Naklah.
Suppose Naklah used the same skillet to fry onion and pork slices, not at the same time, but in contact with the same pan. Hence, the onions could come in contact with some pork residue making them a non-fasting substance. He said that establishments with a fasting menu take a huge amount of care to ensure food that is off-limits does not come in contact with eligible food during cooking, preparation, and storage.
Starting next Monday, they are entering a 2 month fasting period which always occurs before Easter (Good Friday). It has not been long since their 30-day Christmas fast that started I believe on December 8, exactly 30 days before their time to celebrate Xmas.
ST loves to tease me about the minute details of what I ate and when, so ST, I had rice, naan, curry, cauliflower, chicken, tandoori, rice, carrots, onions, and sparkling water. Melaku had ...
Suppose Naklah used the same skillet to fry onion and pork slices, not at the same time, but in contact with the same pan. Hence, the onions could come in contact with some pork residue making them a non-fasting substance. He said that establishments with a fasting menu take a huge amount of care to ensure food that is off-limits does not come in contact with eligible food during cooking, preparation, and storage.
Starting next Monday, they are entering a 2 month fasting period which always occurs before Easter (Good Friday). It has not been long since their 30-day Christmas fast that started I believe on December 8, exactly 30 days before their time to celebrate Xmas.
ST loves to tease me about the minute details of what I ate and when, so ST, I had rice, naan, curry, cauliflower, chicken, tandoori, rice, carrots, onions, and sparkling water. Melaku had ...
Almost end of week 1
Wednesday had been a glorious Addis-like sunny dry season day. Thursday was back to cloudy with the sun doing its best to poke through the cloud cover. Today is gray and cool. This is certainly not what I expected for the dry season and habesha claims this is out of the ordinary. I am going to get the internet card for my Mac today and may as well go to customs at the airport. I have been without internet at the guest house since getting back and it is difficult. No plans yet for the weekend other than tennis Sunday at 2.
Shauna/Paddy, should I continue with the cookies in the BLOG for your enjoyment?
Shauna/Paddy, should I continue with the cookies in the BLOG for your enjoyment?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
System documentation
Ploughing away at work on the documentation prepared by Dulcian for the IBEX2 system. There is a lot of it to look at and will keep me busy most of this week. I probably have not adjusted yet to the time change since I was up at 4AM and could not go back to sleep. The Blackberry's I brought back fro Melaku and Dereje are a big hit. I saw the guys from Bilo's today and last night and there were lots of hugs and shoulder dips as we were glad to see each other. Had a nice short visit with Tagel yesterday and he is now out of the office for 2 days, the balance of the week.
I formulated the list of things I forgot in Ottawa ... my vest, the pillows for the CPAP machine mask, and the hard copy of my existing contract. I will get Dulcian's address in New Jersey and get my lovely ST to DHL there since Dr. Paul is going to the US about the 12th and returning the 19th or so.
5 {{PC Mt1 fgtzy ymjr Xjsx 1nym 65 xywfnlmy 1nsx 1T1 PC}}
I formulated the list of things I forgot in Ottawa ... my vest, the pillows for the CPAP machine mask, and the hard copy of my existing contract. I will get Dulcian's address in New Jersey and get my lovely ST to DHL there since Dr. Paul is going to the US about the 12th and returning the 19th or so.
5 {{PC Mt1 fgtzy ymjr Xjsx 1nym 65 xywfnlmy 1nsx 1T1 PC}}
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Too many PC's
To say I had an interesting time at customs coming into Ethiopia would be an understatement. They scanned my luggage on the way out of the airport and noticed that I had 2 computers. I brought 2 computers in when first coming here in August and that was not an issue. They wanted 1300 birr taxes since computer #2 exceeded my tax-freee allowance. It took about 90 minutes to sort out the mess and I had to leave it at the airport. I may be able to get a letter from Dr. Paul stating that the Dell is for RSU use and then get it without having to oay the taxes.
The flight from Istanbul to Addis was 5 hours, a mere joke compared to the 10 hour jobbie from Toronto to Turkey. I encountered one of the worst things you ever want to run into on a plane ... a huge ferenge who overflowed her seat well into mine. Once we were in the air, I moved to row 28 and had the 3 seats to myself. That was a huge improvement to the exit row where i had to sit in some sort of weird position to avoid rubbing up against ferenge-a-huge. There were no TVs in the seat backs on the last leg of my trip. I probably slept too much on the plane as I did not fall asleep at the guest house until close to 4AM. When I got to Deker I had to call Ato Taye to get someone to let me in. I don't know how, but I seem to have 2 times as many electronic gadgets with me now than I did when I left.
The flight from Istanbul to Addis was 5 hours, a mere joke compared to the 10 hour jobbie from Toronto to Turkey. I encountered one of the worst things you ever want to run into on a plane ... a huge ferenge who overflowed her seat well into mine. Once we were in the air, I moved to row 28 and had the 3 seats to myself. That was a huge improvement to the exit row where i had to sit in some sort of weird position to avoid rubbing up against ferenge-a-huge. There were no TVs in the seat backs on the last leg of my trip. I probably slept too much on the plane as I did not fall asleep at the guest house until close to 4AM. When I got to Deker I had to call Ato Taye to get someone to let me in. I don't know how, but I seem to have 2 times as many electronic gadgets with me now than I did when I left.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
First leg
The flight from Toronto was long. I asked at the gate for exit row which naturally was already taken. I did chat the agent up and manage to get my seat moved to row 20 which was completely empty. I fiddled with the double arm rest between the two middle seats and was quite disappointed to find they did not hinge up. Had that been the case, I would have grabbed the row by lying down after takeoff. Sadly, that was not the case and someone grabbed the seat at the far end of my row after the seatbelt sign was extinguished.
I watched a terrible Sandra Bullock movie called The Proposal. Why would I watch some of her crap when other perhaps finer were available? Good question. They had a "nice feature" such that when an announcement was being made, the movie continued to play, unlike some other systems where the movie pauses any time the PA is being used. So after the announcement I re-wound a bit to see what I had missed and ended up at the start of the film again.
As per Ileana's feedback, the food was good as expected. After the movie the lights were dimmed and I settled in for a sort-of-good-night's sleep. The 5 hours between the end of the movie and landing I probably slept between 3 and 4. I am sitting in the Istanbul airport now, eyeing the departure screens to see what gate my flight to Addis will leave from. It is just over 6 hours which will be a treat after that 10 hour job from YYZ.
2 {{PC Rcffz ... K okuu cntgcf0 ... ygv mkuugu htqo okmqycd0. PC}}
I watched a terrible Sandra Bullock movie called The Proposal. Why would I watch some of her crap when other perhaps finer were available? Good question. They had a "nice feature" such that when an announcement was being made, the movie continued to play, unlike some other systems where the movie pauses any time the PA is being used. So after the announcement I re-wound a bit to see what I had missed and ended up at the start of the film again.
As per Ileana's feedback, the food was good as expected. After the movie the lights were dimmed and I settled in for a sort-of-good-night's sleep. The 5 hours between the end of the movie and landing I probably slept between 3 and 4. I am sitting in the Istanbul airport now, eyeing the departure screens to see what gate my flight to Addis will leave from. It is just over 6 hours which will be a treat after that 10 hour job from YYZ.
2 {{PC Rcffz ... K okuu cntgcf0 ... ygv mkuugu htqo okmqycd0. PC}}
YYZ is short for cardio
Just hoofed it for what seemed like 20 minutes from our landing gate to gate 179 at Pearson A/P. The departure areas for Europe and Asia are hidden away somewhere on the way to Hamilton :) The flight does not leave for over 2 hours and the lounge is already filling up. At least it was a good workout.
Monday, February 1, 2010
And they're off
Leaving Ottawa at 7PM for the arduous trek to, of all places, Toronto. After a 4 hour layover there, next stop is Istanbul after a 10.5 hour flight. Then a short layover and I am Ethiopia-bound. I get into Addis about 1:10AM on Wednesday morning, and off to work probably about 10 or when I wake up.
<<PC Keep practicing those traps. A goal the other day!! PC>>
<<PC Keep practicing those traps. A goal the other day!! PC>>
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