My departure date from Ethiopia rapidly approaches. There is quite a hustle bustle at work while I finish up the DBA training. I am working with 3 very bright and keen individuals which is rewarding. Melaku gave his notice at Dulcian Ethiopia today and is moving on to other employment. I hops to see him tomorrow for lunch. It is a big holiday here Friday but ferenge-a-Michael will be working.
I am madly learning the songs from Dylan's Blonde on Blonde offering and was Queen Jane Approximately'ing for quite a while before the conference call I just had with someone in the GTA. The Sens .. 5 straight! Say what? They need 1 or 2 more points with the current 8th place team's co-operation to clinch a playoff berth. The Ileana flag was yellow since Monday but is now light green again.
At pesach my thoughts inevitably turn to my father Sydney who so enjoyed taking familiar sayings and twisting them around into comical similarities ... he had one where the punch line was "Why is this knight different than all other knights" when one waxes poetic at the pesach time of year. I have always said that 50% of my material is my own and the other half is a toss-up between Sydney Abbey and Jay Leno. The latter quipped one night on his show how he knew a couple in NYC and the wife was from Jerusalem. The husband was studying Talmud. With all that said, they were not members of the tribe, but sort of Jew-ish :). One of my Dad's best was "Hey America's a great country, just ask them ...".
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mah nishtana ...
I have had a lot of pesach's and each and every one of them is as magical as the previous. Tonight's was a first as far as the location and it was as memorable as the rest. I used to tingle with anticipation when young before going to Libbie and Ben's (my Mother's parents) for the first night then Henry and Min's (Min was a sister of Libbie) for the second. I was so fond of pesach when little, and loved singing all the songs ... Key Lo Noyeh, Echad Me Yodeah, and the climactic Chad Gohd Ya. My father had some unique tunes and we LOVED speeding up the closer we got to echad (echad aloheynu shebeshemyim oov'e'aretz to be exact).
So I get a call from Goldie this afternoon and she suggests I come to Blue Drops for 5:30. She tells me the family will be by at 6. A vehicle pulls up in front about 6:10, after Goldie has called her Dad a few times to find out if he is actually coming. I am not sure what the plan is as we pile into the vehicle. We head up Gambia to Kezanches, following the same route as we do when going to work. At Arat Kilo we do a 270 around the traffic circle, heading towards familiar territory called piassa. It is then that I discover we are going to the synagogue. We wind our way through sites I have seen before in piassa. At an intersection I must have seen dozens of times, Goldie's Father points out a light greenish/blue building with a few lights emanating through windows and exclaims that is the destination.
We arrive amidst some security, and greet everyone with chag sameach's all around. There are about a dozen men and Goldie. We pile into a small sanctuary, very nicely appointed with a lovely aron hakodesh. It is nicely done with gold lettering on a deep blue or purple background. The service is led by one of the congregants and lasts about 30 minutes. There is another boisterous round of chag sameach's and we navigate the steep staircase back to the parking lot. The synagogue was delightful, and very small. I am told there are less than 50 practicing Jews "left in Addis".
So we're off, and I am not exactly sure what is next ... we wind our way through familiar streets, ending up at Gambia and Kezanches at which point it is obvious we are going back to Blue Drops. There is a nicely laid out set of tables and Goldie's brother's wife and family arrive.
I sit beside an 8 year old who is abuzz with trivia about capital cities of countries and some states in the US. This little guy is quite charming and wants me to sing O Canada for him. I told him one is not allowed to sing this national anthem on pesach. Some of Tuchou's finger foods arrive and there is a definite spicy theme to the dishes that arrived. We then order off the menu and the discussions at the table are heated and enjoyable.
Goldie's Dad is intrigued by my impressions about how so much of the Canadian Jewry has its roots in Estonia and Latvia. He then launches into some history of how in the 15th century the African Jews deliberately recruited young women from what is now Yemen to procreate with their men. Up until that point, the Ethiopian Jews tended to mate with first cousins. All of a sudden, the party seemed to break up. I sat and chatted with Goldie and Tuchou for a bit then come back to TDS. On a scale of 1-10, that experience was a 14.
I do miss being with family tonight and know my lovely Sweet Thing is sedering with Hal and Susan, Ben and Lesley, Pat Lahey and at least one other person. I could smell her brisket over the weekend all the way from Africa. Why is this night different from all other nights ... re-read the following few paragraphs to find out why :).
So I get a call from Goldie this afternoon and she suggests I come to Blue Drops for 5:30. She tells me the family will be by at 6. A vehicle pulls up in front about 6:10, after Goldie has called her Dad a few times to find out if he is actually coming. I am not sure what the plan is as we pile into the vehicle. We head up Gambia to Kezanches, following the same route as we do when going to work. At Arat Kilo we do a 270 around the traffic circle, heading towards familiar territory called piassa. It is then that I discover we are going to the synagogue. We wind our way through sites I have seen before in piassa. At an intersection I must have seen dozens of times, Goldie's Father points out a light greenish/blue building with a few lights emanating through windows and exclaims that is the destination.
We arrive amidst some security, and greet everyone with chag sameach's all around. There are about a dozen men and Goldie. We pile into a small sanctuary, very nicely appointed with a lovely aron hakodesh. It is nicely done with gold lettering on a deep blue or purple background. The service is led by one of the congregants and lasts about 30 minutes. There is another boisterous round of chag sameach's and we navigate the steep staircase back to the parking lot. The synagogue was delightful, and very small. I am told there are less than 50 practicing Jews "left in Addis".
So we're off, and I am not exactly sure what is next ... we wind our way through familiar streets, ending up at Gambia and Kezanches at which point it is obvious we are going back to Blue Drops. There is a nicely laid out set of tables and Goldie's brother's wife and family arrive.
I sit beside an 8 year old who is abuzz with trivia about capital cities of countries and some states in the US. This little guy is quite charming and wants me to sing O Canada for him. I told him one is not allowed to sing this national anthem on pesach. Some of Tuchou's finger foods arrive and there is a definite spicy theme to the dishes that arrived. We then order off the menu and the discussions at the table are heated and enjoyable.
Goldie's Dad is intrigued by my impressions about how so much of the Canadian Jewry has its roots in Estonia and Latvia. He then launches into some history of how in the 15th century the African Jews deliberately recruited young women from what is now Yemen to procreate with their men. Up until that point, the Ethiopian Jews tended to mate with first cousins. All of a sudden, the party seemed to break up. I sat and chatted with Goldie and Tuchou for a bit then come back to TDS. On a scale of 1-10, that experience was a 14.
I do miss being with family tonight and know my lovely Sweet Thing is sedering with Hal and Susan, Ben and Lesley, Pat Lahey and at least one other person. I could smell her brisket over the weekend all the way from Africa. Why is this night different from all other nights ... re-read the following few paragraphs to find out why :).
Saturday, March 27, 2010
And on the sabbath he rested
Woke up inconveniently early for a Saturday. I could not get back to sleep so got out of bed about 6. Naturally the first thing I did was check the Sens score from last night, pleased to see they beat the Sabres again. One may remember it was them we had to go through in the conference final when we went to the cup final in 2007.
I am off to Blue Drops at 6 to watch Arsenal followed by ManU, sporting my new football shirt I got yesterday. So they are building a new addition to the TDS hotel, unfortunately for the residents of the east side of the existing building, thereby blocking what little view they had of the Addis countryside. As mentioned before, they use eucalyptus trunks for scaffolding here and the workers have been busily banging together more and more since 8AM this morning. They are now working on the 3rd floor level, not far from my window. I was told they work on scaffolding at any height in Ethiopia without a safety line. Now I am seeing it first hand ... no tethering to the scaffolding itself whatsoever!!! That could be a 30 or more foot drop which in most cases is fatal. You may or may not know that one of the things that proves fatal with a fall so far is that as you hit the ground your vital organs get ripped from their natural location in your body as they keep going while you don't (so I have been told). I am sure you need to hear that.
There was a noticeable amount of chastising from Melaku about not taking him on the Entoto trip a few days ago. I promised he would be invited on any subsequent outings even if they start at a time in the afternoon well before when he usually leaves work.
I am off to Blue Drops at 6 to watch Arsenal followed by ManU, sporting my new football shirt I got yesterday. So they are building a new addition to the TDS hotel, unfortunately for the residents of the east side of the existing building, thereby blocking what little view they had of the Addis countryside. As mentioned before, they use eucalyptus trunks for scaffolding here and the workers have been busily banging together more and more since 8AM this morning. They are now working on the 3rd floor level, not far from my window. I was told they work on scaffolding at any height in Ethiopia without a safety line. Now I am seeing it first hand ... no tethering to the scaffolding itself whatsoever!!! That could be a 30 or more foot drop which in most cases is fatal. You may or may not know that one of the things that proves fatal with a fall so far is that as you hit the ground your vital organs get ripped from their natural location in your body as they keep going while you don't (so I have been told). I am sure you need to hear that.
There was a noticeable amount of chastising from Melaku about not taking him on the Entoto trip a few days ago. I promised he would be invited on any subsequent outings even if they start at a time in the afternoon well before when he usually leaves work.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Entoto in total
Mission ... find the 9/11 monument north of Addis. So we head off from work yesterday about 4, with plans to climb the famous hill called Entoto. It is north of the city, providing some nice views of Addis as one climbs to over 9,000 feet at its pinnacle. Even though we head through parts or urban Addis on the way to the hill, it seems oddly rural even while we are still in a city with close to 4 million people. The shops are vending an assortment of local garb and the gamut of assorted paraphernalia the locals consume voraciously. The streets are crowded and get narrower the further we go.
We start climbing the mountain, armed with some Google map printouts of where we should be going. The first major decision (aka fork) presents us with our first dilemma. Left or right? We go right, following a sign displayed promoting the assets of the park one is about to enter. The vegetation is thick and the trees copious. We get to a rolling meadow of sorts and decide we are in the wrong place. We back up and this time take the straight-ahead branch of the fork. In Ethiopia, it appears that forks in a road have 3 not 2 branches.
We travel for 40 minutes to an hour and eventually realize we are going the wrong direction. We pass an assortment of locals and they are very colourful and happy to wave at ferenge as we pass. Dereje asks periodically for assistance on where we might be. One of the last people we talk with confirms we are headed the right way. Alas, we are not, and do a 180 and head back down the hill. We encounter a brick/concrete wall less than 3 feet high, with an enclosed structure, thinking it is the 9/11 monument we were looking for. That turns out not to be the case, as it is some sort of scientific testing station. Someone speaks to a colleague on the cell, and we get some assistance. Off we go back down the mountain.
We reach the 3-way fork, and head back up the right branch that took us to a meadow about an hour ago. We get to that meadow and head a bit to the right when we first encounter it. Lo and behold, guess what is in that meadow ... how could this be possible; looks like a 9/11 monument to me!
We hang out and take pictures. The monument park seems to be closed so we scale the fence. Not long after Dereje notices that the padlock on the gate is not closed. A swarm of local kids descend on us and we give out money and play with them for a bit. They are indeed glad to see us and very social, though the money could in fact be more popular than ferenge themselves. After a while, we head back down the mount and back to TDS.
I end up at Blue Drops for lasagne and a few beers. I end up sitting with the owner and his wife, with an Asian named Fukuru. She tells me that her family wants me to do the synagogue and seder with them next Monday at sundown. This is huge! My Sweet Thing naturally is doing pesach at home and I will do something here. The owner refuses payment for my nourishment yesterday as a thank-you for assisting with the satellite a few days ago. I thank him but threaten him with a 100-birr note that I will not accept his generosity (though do appreciate the gesture) again; I want to pay for my fare from now on. He agrees ... a generous sole.
I have decided not to stay at Kazumi's starting April 1 while she is away in Japan. I heard from Bill Wigton today whom I met in the fall at Deker. We hung around a lot last time he was here and I expect to ehar from him over the weekend.
We start climbing the mountain, armed with some Google map printouts of where we should be going. The first major decision (aka fork) presents us with our first dilemma. Left or right? We go right, following a sign displayed promoting the assets of the park one is about to enter. The vegetation is thick and the trees copious. We get to a rolling meadow of sorts and decide we are in the wrong place. We back up and this time take the straight-ahead branch of the fork. In Ethiopia, it appears that forks in a road have 3 not 2 branches.
We travel for 40 minutes to an hour and eventually realize we are going the wrong direction. We pass an assortment of locals and they are very colourful and happy to wave at ferenge as we pass. Dereje asks periodically for assistance on where we might be. One of the last people we talk with confirms we are headed the right way. Alas, we are not, and do a 180 and head back down the hill. We encounter a brick/concrete wall less than 3 feet high, with an enclosed structure, thinking it is the 9/11 monument we were looking for. That turns out not to be the case, as it is some sort of scientific testing station. Someone speaks to a colleague on the cell, and we get some assistance. Off we go back down the mountain.
We reach the 3-way fork, and head back up the right branch that took us to a meadow about an hour ago. We get to that meadow and head a bit to the right when we first encounter it. Lo and behold, guess what is in that meadow ... how could this be possible; looks like a 9/11 monument to me!
We hang out and take pictures. The monument park seems to be closed so we scale the fence. Not long after Dereje notices that the padlock on the gate is not closed. A swarm of local kids descend on us and we give out money and play with them for a bit. They are indeed glad to see us and very social, though the money could in fact be more popular than ferenge themselves. After a while, we head back down the mount and back to TDS.
I end up at Blue Drops for lasagne and a few beers. I end up sitting with the owner and his wife, with an Asian named Fukuru. She tells me that her family wants me to do the synagogue and seder with them next Monday at sundown. This is huge! My Sweet Thing naturally is doing pesach at home and I will do something here. The owner refuses payment for my nourishment yesterday as a thank-you for assisting with the satellite a few days ago. I thank him but threaten him with a 100-birr note that I will not accept his generosity (though do appreciate the gesture) again; I want to pay for my fare from now on. He agrees ... a generous sole.
I have decided not to stay at Kazumi's starting April 1 while she is away in Japan. I heard from Bill Wigton today whom I met in the fall at Deker. We hung around a lot last time he was here and I expect to ehar from him over the weekend.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
You know you've been in Addis too long when ...
One of the things you just get used to in Addis is power outages. At Dr. Paul's building at MoFED they are unfortunately close to a daily occurrence. When I was at Deker they happened here and there but not often. Ato Taye did have a generator but it usually did not go on until sundown if indeed the power was out.
So a bunch of us go for dinner tonight at Naklah, my absolutely favourite eating establishment in Addis. We then get a drive back to Kazumi's house and it is very dark as is the neighbourhood she lives in. We go into the house with flashlight on and poke around the living room for a bit. She ends up in her kitchen, disappointed but prepared for the outage that is in effect. She then notices a light on and realizes that indeed there is no power failure .. it's all in our heads. Imagine that! We invented a power failure and one of the group suggested we had just experienced a "logical power failure".
After work tomorrow I am going with some people to Entoto which is a hill/mountain at the north end of the city, not far from where I work. Amongst other things we hope to see there is the Ethiopian 9/11 memorial which was opened in 2004 and is a grove of 3,000 trees planted in memory of the people who died that fateful day.
Someone at work checked for me today in bringing a third bag with me back home in a few weeks. I do not know what the charge will be but it will be at least $250 USD. I can pay for it with any credit card as long as it's a VISA. With the 2 suits and extra sports jacket I have acquired in Addis, I will be too big for 2 suitcases. Also, on the way here in August 2009 my 2 carry-ons were my CPAP machine and a knapsack where I carried my computers and other paraphernalia. This time one of my carry-ons is my Stray copy meaning the crap in that knapsack must go in checked baggage which in itself throws me over the 2 bag maximum.
So a bunch of us go for dinner tonight at Naklah, my absolutely favourite eating establishment in Addis. We then get a drive back to Kazumi's house and it is very dark as is the neighbourhood she lives in. We go into the house with flashlight on and poke around the living room for a bit. She ends up in her kitchen, disappointed but prepared for the outage that is in effect. She then notices a light on and realizes that indeed there is no power failure .. it's all in our heads. Imagine that! We invented a power failure and one of the group suggested we had just experienced a "logical power failure".
After work tomorrow I am going with some people to Entoto which is a hill/mountain at the north end of the city, not far from where I work. Amongst other things we hope to see there is the Ethiopian 9/11 memorial which was opened in 2004 and is a grove of 3,000 trees planted in memory of the people who died that fateful day.
Someone at work checked for me today in bringing a third bag with me back home in a few weeks. I do not know what the charge will be but it will be at least $250 USD. I can pay for it with any credit card as long as it's a VISA. With the 2 suits and extra sports jacket I have acquired in Addis, I will be too big for 2 suitcases. Also, on the way here in August 2009 my 2 carry-ons were my CPAP machine and a knapsack where I carried my computers and other paraphernalia. This time one of my carry-ons is my Stray copy meaning the crap in that knapsack must go in checked baggage which in itself throws me over the 2 bag maximum.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
It really suits me
I stopped at the tailor's on the way back from lunch and ordered another $67 custom made suit. This one is very dark gray with wide light pinstripes. The guy took my cell number and said he would call when it was time to come in for a fitting. That did not work last time; I never received a call! If you remember from that time, the guy hangs work in the doorway as it is ready and as one drives by and sees said clothing hanging in window, one stops in to see tailor. How simple is that :).
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MultiChoice Ethiopia
I met the owner from Blue Drops about 8:15 this morning and we went to get his DStv receiver smart card re-activated. We arrived fortunately before the crowds and waited about 15 minutes for our turn. The transaction was long and seemed complicated. The clerk spent some time re-programming the smart card and updating the software on the receiver. I should have known that I would need photo ID to use my VISA in Addis, but did not take anything :). After we were done, we stopped at TDS so I could get a photocopy of my passport. I am at work later today and the whole transaction start to finish was, in western standards, very very long but in Ethiopia, was relatively quick.
I am hoping to avail myself of the newly activated card tonight by watching Barclays at 9PM play the Wolves. There is Chelsea tomorrow so I hope his DStv works again ...
I am hoping to avail myself of the newly activated card tonight by watching Barclays at 9PM play the Wolves. There is Chelsea tomorrow so I hope his DStv works again ...
Monday, March 22, 2010
28 birr Ambo
Since the DsTV was not working at Blue Drops, Melaku suggested going to Bole Rock. It was full by the time we got around to getting there. What a quandry. Next suggestion was the Hilton lobby bar which turned out to be a great spot except for the cost of beverages there. Normally Ambo is 8 to 10 birr. The ManU game was great and they outplayed and deserved to beat Liverpool. It is remarkable how hard it is to score in this game :). After the game, I sat around watching some of the Chelsea game until Melaku re-appeared and dropped me off at the hotel.
The Sens are playing tonight and tomorrow and of course are all talk about how they are going to turn around their having lost 9 of last 10 abysmal record as of late. They are not far into the playoffs now and could fall into 9th if they keep up this latest debacle. I tried to call Dizzy today; she did answer the phone but could not talk as she was teaching ...
The Sens are playing tonight and tomorrow and of course are all talk about how they are going to turn around their having lost 9 of last 10 abysmal record as of late. They are not far into the playoffs now and could fall into 9th if they keep up this latest debacle. I tried to call Dizzy today; she did answer the phone but could not talk as she was teaching ...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
That was quite a night for this ferenge ... we started with dinner at the Greek club which was very nice. Melaku drove as usual so did not pay for his dinner. Then it was off to Club Alize for some music sponsored by l'Alliance Francaise. I was not sure what to expect as I knew nothing about the music festival they were sponsoring.
The band was very young, with an Asian leader playing a soprano saxophone, characterized by its not having the familiar turned up end where the sound exits. There were drums, bass, guitar (Fender Tele at that), trumpet, and washent/flute. The music was original, the band being from France. There were reportedly Ethiopian roots to a lot of their repertoire which was very eclectic and electric. Many numbers had no words, simply cannonading vocal humming and an assortment of sounds emanating from the performers' vocal chords. The attendees were very enthusiastic about the music and the dance floor filled half way through the set. It was one of the most enjoyable sets I have heard since arriving in Addis. The sax player also used a hand-held instrument I have seen before. It is called a kalimba, apparently originating in South Africa, most commonly in a 15-note alto or 17-note treble configuration. It's sound was quite unique, sounding a bit hollow but very metallic at the same time.
There was a bit of a mixup paying the bill and that took a while to sort out. I gave the server 20 birr as a tip for her troubles.
The band was very young, with an Asian leader playing a soprano saxophone, characterized by its not having the familiar turned up end where the sound exits. There were drums, bass, guitar (Fender Tele at that), trumpet, and washent/flute. The music was original, the band being from France. There were reportedly Ethiopian roots to a lot of their repertoire which was very eclectic and electric. Many numbers had no words, simply cannonading vocal humming and an assortment of sounds emanating from the performers' vocal chords. The attendees were very enthusiastic about the music and the dance floor filled half way through the set. It was one of the most enjoyable sets I have heard since arriving in Addis. The sax player also used a hand-held instrument I have seen before. It is called a kalimba, apparently originating in South Africa, most commonly in a 15-note alto or 17-note treble configuration. It's sound was quite unique, sounding a bit hollow but very metallic at the same time.
There was a bit of a mixup paying the bill and that took a while to sort out. I gave the server 20 birr as a tip for her troubles.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Yet another classic
| So I toddle off to Blue Drops for the customary Saturday evening in front of their big screen watching Barclay's premier league football. Alas, all that is on is Ethiopia TV and the DsTV dish receiver is unresponsive. I go dig up the owner who confesses he did not pay the bill and the service died. I then enter a new level of Ethiopian business ... he asks me if I have a credit card and we can go get the smart card authorized. He will pay me back the $195 he will get for service for the next 3 months ... no problem. We head off to the MultiChoice office near the airport and I think you know what's coming next ... CLOSED. He disappears for 10 minutes to try and find out if there is any other outlet that may still be open. No such luck. We go back to Blue Drops and I check the DsTV web site but it is too complicated I know for poor habesha. I will try to get an idea from Melaku of where else we can watch football tonight. |
Room 206
A few people at work are on a mission to get a federal tax number for Dulcian Ethiopia and have had a wide variety of suggestions from a handful of personnel in some of the federal government offices over the past few days on completing this task. At one point they were told to go to room 206 to carry out some of their business, and subsequently found out they ended up in the wrong room 206. This is my first experience hearing of a building that has the same room number for more that one room :). I guess it's a given that about 50% of the people looking for room 206 will actully find the right one ... welcome to Ethiopia.
The achilles heel
As I may have mentioned a number of times, it can be very frustrating to work some places in Africa. Some of the locals have a great deal of difficulty making decisions about anything. This is rampant where I am working. The client views holdups and roadblocks with tunnel vision; it's always somebody else's fault and they seem to be so caught up in the blame game. They are not willing to accept any responsibility for anything and always look outside to find someone to criticize when things are not going well. I have had this very discussion with people I have encountered in this country from Europe, America, and further; they all agree 100%. It is getting worse all the time at work for this type of behaviour.
In the bigger picture, this is a small percentage of habesha I have had the pleasure of meeting in Addis. The majority of those I have gotten to know a bit or a lot are, in their personal relationships, some of the warmest and considerate people I have ever met. I am not sure what compels some of the decision makers in public life to be so indecisive and unable to adhere to the plans they eagerly and enthusiastically commit to at the beginning. Sometimes I wonder if I am too hard with my expectations of how I think things should go in the third world. Maybe it's extra frustrating seeing many of the horror shows with society I have lived through in the west being played out again in living colour in the likes of Ethiopia.
I was up early and treated to a nice breakfast at TDS. I watched a bit of the BNP Paribas tennis open from Indian Wells CA on the SlingBox. Murray was playing Soderling and they were in the midst of the second set when I was watching. I am going to head off to Novis to replenish my lunch fixings, then meet Nehemiah and Umnet at the Atlas hotel at 1PM to head off to Dr. Paul's jamming headquarters. Interestingly enough, I am supposed to be having dinner tonight with a few people, one of them from, of all places. OTTAWA! I am looking forward to seeing what this lady may be doing in Addis and where she may be living in Ottawa.
Roughly 41,760 minutes until I can embrace my Sweet Thing again and familiar terra firma back in Ottawa. I will miss some of the people I have had the pleasure meeting here, with Melaku at the top of the list. He stands out from the rest of the crowd as we have seen so much of each other since our initial chance meeting at Bole 19 in late August. Tagel as well ripples to the top of the heap and has been very kind to "silly ferenge". Burhan, Hanna, and recently Yared at work are a pleasure to be around. I will never forget these people and the details of my BLOG posts I know will bring a smile to my face forever as I relive these magical months I have spent in Africa.
In the bigger picture, this is a small percentage of habesha I have had the pleasure of meeting in Addis. The majority of those I have gotten to know a bit or a lot are, in their personal relationships, some of the warmest and considerate people I have ever met. I am not sure what compels some of the decision makers in public life to be so indecisive and unable to adhere to the plans they eagerly and enthusiastically commit to at the beginning. Sometimes I wonder if I am too hard with my expectations of how I think things should go in the third world. Maybe it's extra frustrating seeing many of the horror shows with society I have lived through in the west being played out again in living colour in the likes of Ethiopia.
I was up early and treated to a nice breakfast at TDS. I watched a bit of the BNP Paribas tennis open from Indian Wells CA on the SlingBox. Murray was playing Soderling and they were in the midst of the second set when I was watching. I am going to head off to Novis to replenish my lunch fixings, then meet Nehemiah and Umnet at the Atlas hotel at 1PM to head off to Dr. Paul's jamming headquarters. Interestingly enough, I am supposed to be having dinner tonight with a few people, one of them from, of all places. OTTAWA! I am looking forward to seeing what this lady may be doing in Addis and where she may be living in Ottawa.
Roughly 41,760 minutes until I can embrace my Sweet Thing again and familiar terra firma back in Ottawa. I will miss some of the people I have had the pleasure meeting here, with Melaku at the top of the list. He stands out from the rest of the crowd as we have seen so much of each other since our initial chance meeting at Bole 19 in late August. Tagel as well ripples to the top of the heap and has been very kind to "silly ferenge". Burhan, Hanna, and recently Yared at work are a pleasure to be around. I will never forget these people and the details of my BLOG posts I know will bring a smile to my face forever as I relive these magical months I have spent in Africa.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sound of music
It was a fun Thursday night for this ferenge. First stop was the Italian restaurant that Melaku has taken me to many times. We sat close to the fire place which was nice. I had lamb and could not finish it all. I got quite a kick out of something we saw on the menu called "Spaghetti Bitch". I wonder what it was; we could not order it since they were already out. I guess with a dish with such a lovely name, it is bound to sell out quickly.
Then it was off to Club Alize for acoustic jazz. There were to drummers, one beating his hands on some local skins, the other a traditional kit. The front man was playing a mandolin and there was guitar, clarinet, and upright bass as well. The tunes were great and I especially enjoyed the Amharic ones they did. The club was busy but not really really crowded as it can get on Friday nights. I was home and crashed by midnight and a pleasant time was had by all ...
Then it was off to Club Alize for acoustic jazz. There were to drummers, one beating his hands on some local skins, the other a traditional kit. The front man was playing a mandolin and there was guitar, clarinet, and upright bass as well. The tunes were great and I especially enjoyed the Amharic ones they did. The club was busy but not really really crowded as it can get on Friday nights. I was home and crashed by midnight and a pleasant time was had by all ...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Pressure cooker holes
That's pot holes on steroids. The pot holes here are over 80% self-inflicted. When on the way to work today, we traversed a major fissure in the road near Alum hotel that was being carefully excavated by a handful of workers. These monstrosities can be over a foot wide and a few inches deep. I always remember a very scientific study that was one by a well-known engineering firm in Toronto called IAS Inc. Their CEO and founder determined if one travels exactly 74 kmh over the speed bumps in what used to be North York west of Bathurst and north of Sheppard, the bumps seem non-existent. I have suggested to the citizens of Addis that they try this well-known manoeuver with these massive fissures and they may be surprised.
Even more interesting is how we drive over one of these "canals" in the morning and it is 2-4 inches deep and requires care when crossing. Then in the PM on the way home, there is no evidence that ANY work was done that day in a 2,000 metre radius, and the hole is filled in. It gets even better ... sometimes the filler is red gravel, sometimes loose sand that serves no purpose other than to trick poor drivers as they approach a loosely filled hole that might as well be that original 2-4 inches deep. I guess that's why seasoned drivers, along the lines of those used by Dr. Paul, always approach these cavernous entities with caution.
The pot holes themselves are impressive too. On the ring road on the way back from Debrezeit there are some holes the size of a basketball if not bigger. They can creep up without warning but habesha seem to know where they are. When new ones appear, some kind sole always seems to place rocks around the opening to warn drivers of their sudden appearance. Some of these rocks themselves are so big I wonder how they get positioned in the first place.
Plans perchance to see music with Melaku tonight. I am going to see if he wants to do dinner beforehand. Jam session with habesha minus less than 48 hours. I am going to ask Melaku to join us on a hand drum that resides at Dr. Paul's house ...
Even more interesting is how we drive over one of these "canals" in the morning and it is 2-4 inches deep and requires care when crossing. Then in the PM on the way home, there is no evidence that ANY work was done that day in a 2,000 metre radius, and the hole is filled in. It gets even better ... sometimes the filler is red gravel, sometimes loose sand that serves no purpose other than to trick poor drivers as they approach a loosely filled hole that might as well be that original 2-4 inches deep. I guess that's why seasoned drivers, along the lines of those used by Dr. Paul, always approach these cavernous entities with caution.
The pot holes themselves are impressive too. On the ring road on the way back from Debrezeit there are some holes the size of a basketball if not bigger. They can creep up without warning but habesha seem to know where they are. When new ones appear, some kind sole always seems to place rocks around the opening to warn drivers of their sudden appearance. Some of these rocks themselves are so big I wonder how they get positioned in the first place.
Plans perchance to see music with Melaku tonight. I am going to see if he wants to do dinner beforehand. Jam session with habesha minus less than 48 hours. I am going to ask Melaku to join us on a hand drum that resides at Dr. Paul's house ...
Merkato
Went to get guitar strings and have lunch at the same time. Stopped at the fish store that Tagel knows for tilapia and salad before getting the strings. It was very very crowded as usual and the food was great as always.
Merkato was not as busy as it has been before, that not keeping the beggars away from ferenge. They always seem to be there in abundance regardless of how crowded the market is. I latched on to 2 sets of D'Addario light gauge strings and returned to MoFED with a full belly and a full complement of strings to boot :).
Merkato was not as busy as it has been before, that not keeping the beggars away from ferenge. They always seem to be there in abundance regardless of how crowded the market is. I latched on to 2 sets of D'Addario light gauge strings and returned to MoFED with a full belly and a full complement of strings to boot :).
A bad sign
My home bank branch is at Arat Kilo. I was pleased when the account was opened there 'cause it has a bank machine. It is such a pleasure rather than going into the branch and taking a number. I have waited upwards of 30 minutes using this take-a-number route. So the Arat Kilo machine closes permanently and I am told to start using the one at piassa. That is such a pleasure (short-lived :)) as it is now out of service more than not. I have not been able to use it for 2 weeks now. I just go into the piassa branch which is never as crowded as Arat Kilo.
After dropping Dr. Paul et al at MoFED today, I go to piassa to use the machine. Alas! No service :). I enter the branch, and get served almost immediately with number 20 and just as I arrive at the wicket a habesha with #21 tries to push her way in front of me. What is with these people! I stand to the left of the wicket and conduct my business; I would not want to stand in front of the opening where I am conducting business as that may interfere with habesha who is so much more important than anyone else. I am surprised she does not have her own dedicated line :). While conducting my business another fool arrives looking for change thrusts a 50 birr note in the teller's face and is annoyed when not served immediately. I am also charged 5 birr as an inter-branch transaction fee, something new as this is the first time it is mentioned even though I have done withdrawals there before. I get to wait while a receipt the size of a newspaper is printed and probably threw the whole banking industry into turmoil 'cause I left without the silly receipt in hand ... welcome to Ethiopia.
After today, 21 more working days and 29 elapsed days until my return to Canada. The emails are arriving at a feverish pace for opportunities in Ottawa and Toronto. It is promising but as of now, I have nada signed which means I have nada :) Hopefully that will change shortly ... gone Sens, gone :)
After dropping Dr. Paul et al at MoFED today, I go to piassa to use the machine. Alas! No service :). I enter the branch, and get served almost immediately with number 20 and just as I arrive at the wicket a habesha with #21 tries to push her way in front of me. What is with these people! I stand to the left of the wicket and conduct my business; I would not want to stand in front of the opening where I am conducting business as that may interfere with habesha who is so much more important than anyone else. I am surprised she does not have her own dedicated line :). While conducting my business another fool arrives looking for change thrusts a 50 birr note in the teller's face and is annoyed when not served immediately. I am also charged 5 birr as an inter-branch transaction fee, something new as this is the first time it is mentioned even though I have done withdrawals there before. I get to wait while a receipt the size of a newspaper is printed and probably threw the whole banking industry into turmoil 'cause I left without the silly receipt in hand ... welcome to Ethiopia.
After today, 21 more working days and 29 elapsed days until my return to Canada. The emails are arriving at a feverish pace for opportunities in Ottawa and Toronto. It is promising but as of now, I have nada signed which means I have nada :) Hopefully that will change shortly ... gone Sens, gone :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Code here but not there
As we all know there is what we call "code" in each country that controls things such as electrical, plumbing, structure, etc. when building something like a hotel. In Canada one cannot put an electrical outlet in a bathroom on a non-grounded line unless it is ground-fault protected. Well you will never guess what is in the shower stall in room 301 of the TDS hotel ... you guessed it, a standard electrical socket.
Ileana's special day
Ileana is turning 30 again today. I thought this was St. Patrick's day but all along it has been St. Balcu's day ... the Ileana flag is bright GREEN.
Green beer day in Addis
So many of the western celebration days are creeping into the Ethiopian culture. There was quite a fanfare on February 14, and Edna mall cinema proudly displayed a banner on Bolé Africa announcing their Valentine movie showing at the theatre starting a week before the 14th. I called Eddie, a local Irish guy to wish him all the best on his special St. Patrick's day. I moved to another room in the TDS hotel rather than re-locate to the Mimosa hotel as I thought I may do yesterday.
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Monday, March 15, 2010
On the road again
I am moving again tomorrow. After 6 nights at TDS I decided I could do better due to two things:
1- I am on the street, a very busy one at that. Even though the traffic noise does not keep me from getting to sleep, it does in the wee hours of the morning, say any time after 5AM. I cannot get back to sleep if I happen to wake up. Bole Gambia as is one of the 2 busiest through streets that lead from the airport to the northern part of the city.
2- The bathroom smells of mold/mildew. I mentioned it to the manager and he thanked me for that information. The walls and floors need a scrubbing with bleach or some such agent to stop the growth of the bacteria. Until that is done, occupant of room 103 suffers.
The new digs (week of March 15 version that is) are in the Mimosa hotel not far from Dr. Paul's hacienda. It is a real suite with a sitting/eating area and a king-size bed. It is on the 3rd floor of the Mimosa hotel in an area of town called Tele Bole. It is also 63 USD per night easily in my budget, 12 more than I paid at Deker and 6 less than TDS.
I met with Dr. Paul today to discuss deliverables and a few are hitting the street in the next few days. I also had a follow-up meeting with the contact in Toronto for some work for Bell Canada. My Sweet Thing had a lovely time in Tremblant and the mercury now is now peaking in Ottawa at the start of double digits.
1- I am on the street, a very busy one at that. Even though the traffic noise does not keep me from getting to sleep, it does in the wee hours of the morning, say any time after 5AM. I cannot get back to sleep if I happen to wake up. Bole Gambia as is one of the 2 busiest through streets that lead from the airport to the northern part of the city.
2- The bathroom smells of mold/mildew. I mentioned it to the manager and he thanked me for that information. The walls and floors need a scrubbing with bleach or some such agent to stop the growth of the bacteria. Until that is done, occupant of room 103 suffers.
The new digs (week of March 15 version that is) are in the Mimosa hotel not far from Dr. Paul's hacienda. It is a real suite with a sitting/eating area and a king-size bed. It is on the 3rd floor of the Mimosa hotel in an area of town called Tele Bole. It is also 63 USD per night easily in my budget, 12 more than I paid at Deker and 6 less than TDS.
I met with Dr. Paul today to discuss deliverables and a few are hitting the street in the next few days. I also had a follow-up meeting with the contact in Toronto for some work for Bell Canada. My Sweet Thing had a lovely time in Tremblant and the mercury now is now peaking in Ottawa at the start of double digits.
No fish for you ...
So we go to Romina's with Melaku for lunch. I had already had a sandwich so order a french onion soup. Someone orders the mustard fish. Then I suggest that the fasting injera that Melaku ordered would probably feed everyone. So we cancel the fish and the server repeats "no fish". Just about half way through the meal, the fish arrives and we send it back. Melaku discovers from talking to the manager in passing that the server is going to have to pay for the fish. We decide to pay the 62 birr for the fish since we can afford it more than this poor server. We give the fish to a street person near Romina and all is well ...
A nice end of week Sunday
So I was up bright and early to go to Dr. Paul's for the famous pancakes. They were great and it was so nice to be out before 7:30 under the Addis sun. I was there until about 9 then headed back to the hotel. I did a bit of this and a bit of that then walked to the birthday party on Bole Rwanda for Eddie, the Irish guy who was turning 29 (again). The road is under serious construction not far from Bole Africa. When I say "serious", I do mean serious. There were two shovels digging earth out of a whole that could have swallowed up a dozen or more cars.
The guest house that Eddie and his fiancee run was very nice. The food was yummy as usual, especially some hot meatballs. There was lots of chicken including a nice shish-ke-bob. The place started to fill up by 4PM and there were more habesha than ferenge. Birthday cake came out about 5:30 and that was scrumptious as well. I was asked to do a few numbers on the guitar and the attendees loved it as much as me. I was worried about negotiating the hole on Bole Rwanda after dark, so headed out about 6:30. They had moved the large machinery out of the way to allow one car to pass the whole at a time. When I got to the hole, naturally 2 vehicles were in gridlock as both of them knew they had the right of way and everyone else must wait.
I watched Sopranos to end my busy day then crashed early. I am still sleeping so well in Addis even in the new hotel with traffic noise. I am waiting for a room at the back of the hotel which should be quieter. I sat for over an hour yesterday speaking with a local who is related to the guy that owns Deker. Binyam, Macdes, and I covered a lot of ground during that discussion and they want to take me out of town one day before I leave in mid-April. My last trip was to Awassa with Tagel et al in October so that would be a major treat.
I am feverishly pursuing 2 opportunities ... one in Toronto, the other Ottawa. I have hopes one of them will work out, preferably the latter.
The guest house that Eddie and his fiancee run was very nice. The food was yummy as usual, especially some hot meatballs. There was lots of chicken including a nice shish-ke-bob. The place started to fill up by 4PM and there were more habesha than ferenge. Birthday cake came out about 5:30 and that was scrumptious as well. I was asked to do a few numbers on the guitar and the attendees loved it as much as me. I was worried about negotiating the hole on Bole Rwanda after dark, so headed out about 6:30. They had moved the large machinery out of the way to allow one car to pass the whole at a time. When I got to the hole, naturally 2 vehicles were in gridlock as both of them knew they had the right of way and everyone else must wait.
I watched Sopranos to end my busy day then crashed early. I am still sleeping so well in Addis even in the new hotel with traffic noise. I am waiting for a room at the back of the hotel which should be quieter. I sat for over an hour yesterday speaking with a local who is related to the guy that owns Deker. Binyam, Macdes, and I covered a lot of ground during that discussion and they want to take me out of town one day before I leave in mid-April. My last trip was to Awassa with Tagel et al in October so that would be a major treat.
I am feverishly pursuing 2 opportunities ... one in Toronto, the other Ottawa. I have hopes one of them will work out, preferably the latter.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Oy vay!
So hard-core Sex in the City bunnies may remember that Charlotte married a Jewish guy and was immensely enjoying Judaism and what little Hebrew she was able to pick up. I do not remember the circumstances, but one day something happened that led to her exclaiming "Oy vay!!!" This was followed by excitement and tingling as she then claimed "I said my first Yiddish sentence".
Well after meeting the owner's wife at Blue Drops, I spoke with her father today and he now has my number and will get in touch and take me to the synagogue. I impressed him with what little Hebrew I know and admitted "sheket b'vakashah" is my most familiar sentence ("quiet please" for any non-Hebrew speaking readers :)). It did take me almost 6 months to finally make contact with MOT but that's not too late.
Well after meeting the owner's wife at Blue Drops, I spoke with her father today and he now has my number and will get in touch and take me to the synagogue. I impressed him with what little Hebrew I know and admitted "sheket b'vakashah" is my most familiar sentence ("quiet please" for any non-Hebrew speaking readers :)). It did take me almost 6 months to finally make contact with MOT but that's not too late.
Play by play
So the new experiences continue for ferenge even after close to 6 months full time in Ethiopia. Last night I went with a few others to see a theatre troop in a building near piassa. The son of a guy from Denver who works for Dr. Paul and was in Addis for a few months last year does the lighting for this outfit. We took a cab to the middle of Churchill on the hill by the roundabout that has a cannon in the middle. I think it points northwest at Rome just in case the Italians decide they need to occupy Ethiopia as they tried to do from 1934-8. So the play is in a partially built building that is still concrete with no finishing touches yet. It is the perfect setting for the play about street people in Ireland.
Loud music is blaring as we arrive. There are 2 people sitting at a table in the entrance way to the property where the play is happening, and they are trying to read from a list with no light whatsoever. They also try to make change with no idea of the denomination of each bill! So I lend the guy my flashlight and he is thankful. Inside I have a cold Ambo and munch on some dry french fries. The play starts just after 7:30 to the tune of Roxanne. The first half seems to last forever, then at the break we chow down on curry chicken with vegetables which is yummy. We then sneak out before the second half starts and five of us pile into a cab. That was quite an experience ... English theatre in Africa.
Back at the hotel, I check my email and see a note from a guy in Ottawa with whom I have been discussing a contract. I end up texting with him a few times after calling him the first time. About 11:30PM I have a call for a half hour or so with this guy's partner at Bell Canada. We shall see what transpires with this lead.
I crash about 1:30AM which is late for ferenge-a-me. I am up about 8 and go down for breakfast. This hot meal was the most disappointing yet as there was very little food left and it was cold. I go to Bilo's for a croissant then trek down to Bole 19. I speak with Melaku and we may see each other there. I dropped off some sneakers I am not using and ask the coffee lady to give to Hiruy. I stayed at Bole 19 for a while then off to Fantu and Novis for sardines and sandwich fixings.
At 11'ish I head off to Kazume's place and we end up driving to Tamoca, a very in and trendy coffee spot in piassa. We walk around a bit then head off to Alliance Francaise, look around for quite a while then have a nice chicken lunch. On April 1 she is going back to Japan for 3 weeks and wanted to know if I would babysit here house. We will talk more as the day approaches. What a treat it would be to have a house all to myself with a nice garden out front for the last 16 days I am in Addis!! I would keep the cook and housekeeper and chow down on home-cooked food every night. That would be sweet.
Back at TDS until the footballerama begins at 6 ... first Chelsea then Aresenal. The ManU game is minyana.
Loud music is blaring as we arrive. There are 2 people sitting at a table in the entrance way to the property where the play is happening, and they are trying to read from a list with no light whatsoever. They also try to make change with no idea of the denomination of each bill! So I lend the guy my flashlight and he is thankful. Inside I have a cold Ambo and munch on some dry french fries. The play starts just after 7:30 to the tune of Roxanne. The first half seems to last forever, then at the break we chow down on curry chicken with vegetables which is yummy. We then sneak out before the second half starts and five of us pile into a cab. That was quite an experience ... English theatre in Africa.
Back at the hotel, I check my email and see a note from a guy in Ottawa with whom I have been discussing a contract. I end up texting with him a few times after calling him the first time. About 11:30PM I have a call for a half hour or so with this guy's partner at Bell Canada. We shall see what transpires with this lead.
I crash about 1:30AM which is late for ferenge-a-me. I am up about 8 and go down for breakfast. This hot meal was the most disappointing yet as there was very little food left and it was cold. I go to Bilo's for a croissant then trek down to Bole 19. I speak with Melaku and we may see each other there. I dropped off some sneakers I am not using and ask the coffee lady to give to Hiruy. I stayed at Bole 19 for a while then off to Fantu and Novis for sardines and sandwich fixings.
At 11'ish I head off to Kazume's place and we end up driving to Tamoca, a very in and trendy coffee spot in piassa. We walk around a bit then head off to Alliance Francaise, look around for quite a while then have a nice chicken lunch. On April 1 she is going back to Japan for 3 weeks and wanted to know if I would babysit here house. We will talk more as the day approaches. What a treat it would be to have a house all to myself with a nice garden out front for the last 16 days I am in Addis!! I would keep the cook and housekeeper and chow down on home-cooked food every night. That would be sweet.
Back at TDS until the footballerama begins at 6 ... first Chelsea then Aresenal. The ManU game is minyana.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Signs it is improving
There seems to be a lot of activity in the contract world back in Ottawa. I have had a number of email chats with people over the past few days. But as that old cliche goes, "it ain't over 'till the skinny man sings". It appears more and more every day that MoFED could easily do without my services past April 16. I know Dr. Paul for one sees no need for me to be here past that date.
So my attention turns to Melaku. Dr. Paul just hired another lady to work at the compound and the plan it to get Melaku over there to meet her. He seems to like habesha in short skirts for some reason. Melaku is off tomorrow and we are going to chat about doing something over the weekend.
I am at Blue Drops and a habesha guy walks in, and is not served right away so starts tapping on the table until he is attended to. He treats the servers the same way when it is time for the bill. He must be the only person in the restaurant, deserving the un-divided attention of all the staff at the expense of the other clientele. As I have alluded to before, some habesha are so impatient it borders on rude. Every time this topic comes up around my habesha friends they agree 100%. Another Friday looms on the 'morrow ... yay!!!
So my attention turns to Melaku. Dr. Paul just hired another lady to work at the compound and the plan it to get Melaku over there to meet her. He seems to like habesha in short skirts for some reason. Melaku is off tomorrow and we are going to chat about doing something over the weekend.
I am at Blue Drops and a habesha guy walks in, and is not served right away so starts tapping on the table until he is attended to. He treats the servers the same way when it is time for the bill. He must be the only person in the restaurant, deserving the un-divided attention of all the staff at the expense of the other clientele. As I have alluded to before, some habesha are so impatient it borders on rude. Every time this topic comes up around my habesha friends they agree 100%. Another Friday looms on the 'morrow ... yay!!!
One word describes the new digs
CAULIFLOWER ... is on the menu in abundance at the breakfast buffet; one of my favourite vegetables.
The new digs
The TDS hotel is quite different from Deker Inn. It looks like a western hotel except for the lobby area which is tiny. The fridge was not plugged in when I moved in but that was fixed after asking 4 times. Even though it is now on, it is not cooling at all. I will have to dispose of some perishables before I go to work today. There are miscellaneous things in the room that are "odd". I get a kick out of the table lamp on the far side of the bed that is not anywhere close to a socket to plug it into. The LCD TV is nice, with a whole 9 channels, 3 of which are Arabic.
I started speaking with the owner of Blue Drops and his lady last night before dinner. As it turns out they are recently married (1 month) and she is Jewish. When I gave them a mazel tov on their recent nuptials, she grabbed onto the expression immediately. We chatted a bit about her background and she has been to Israel many times. I asked him if their was another Barclay's game on later that evening. One was on when I was there. He mentioned there was one on at 10:45 which is too late as he usually closes around 10. He said I was welcome to watch the late game anytime even if the restaurant is closed. There is a security guard there all the time who he said would be happy to let me in and out. I just may try that.
Nothing doing yet (firmed up that is) on the contract front for late April. I return to Ottawa April 17. There has been a buzz of email contact with a number of people in Ottawa especially over the past week to 10 days. There was a teary farewell with Metisabya at Deker yesterday. She has always told me how fond she is of me and the very short visits we had at Deker. She sure was a big help navigating through some of the complexities of living in Ethiopia after 60 years experience in the west. I also was pleased to be able to supplement her income when she did a handful of extra jobs for me here and there during my stay.
I really think I'm due for scoring some work in Ottawa and, if the cards play out like they can do from time-to-time, that will happen. I do not like being away from home and family, especially my Sweet Thing. Someone contacted me to give sme advice about finding a hotel in NYC. That is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to visit the big apple. Hotels ... expensive ones are easy to find in the "north of" $450 category. There's a plethora of boutique hotels not to mention extravagant accommodations like the W, an assortment of Hiltons, and stuff in the Sheraton chain ... then there's the Plaza on Central Park south. Of course the problem is price.
I started speaking with the owner of Blue Drops and his lady last night before dinner. As it turns out they are recently married (1 month) and she is Jewish. When I gave them a mazel tov on their recent nuptials, she grabbed onto the expression immediately. We chatted a bit about her background and she has been to Israel many times. I asked him if their was another Barclay's game on later that evening. One was on when I was there. He mentioned there was one on at 10:45 which is too late as he usually closes around 10. He said I was welcome to watch the late game anytime even if the restaurant is closed. There is a security guard there all the time who he said would be happy to let me in and out. I just may try that.
Nothing doing yet (firmed up that is) on the contract front for late April. I return to Ottawa April 17. There has been a buzz of email contact with a number of people in Ottawa especially over the past week to 10 days. There was a teary farewell with Metisabya at Deker yesterday. She has always told me how fond she is of me and the very short visits we had at Deker. She sure was a big help navigating through some of the complexities of living in Ethiopia after 60 years experience in the west. I also was pleased to be able to supplement her income when she did a handful of extra jobs for me here and there during my stay.
I really think I'm due for scoring some work in Ottawa and, if the cards play out like they can do from time-to-time, that will happen. I do not like being away from home and family, especially my Sweet Thing. Someone contacted me to give sme advice about finding a hotel in NYC. That is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to visit the big apple. Hotels ... expensive ones are easy to find in the "north of" $450 category. There's a plethora of boutique hotels not to mention extravagant accommodations like the W, an assortment of Hiltons, and stuff in the Sheraton chain ... then there's the Plaza on Central Park south. Of course the problem is price.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Leaps and bounds
| After having spent the better part of the last two weeks on preparation of system documentation for IBEX2, I am reminded of the drudgery of working on the Oracle Press books we have authored. I am also continually reminded of the frustration of working with MS Word. It gets more and more feature-rich and more and more puzzling at the same time. I noticed a way back in 1994 when working on the original Tuning Oracle how crazy it was with bullets and number lists and that craziness has been refined since then with subsequent releases. When meeting with the manager of the TDS hotel last night, I mentioned that someone I work with knows the owner. It's Dawit's Mother that is the owner -- Addis is just as small a world as Ottawa :). The EVDO card that I bought in early February is so much faster than the ZTE CDMA I had been using up until then. I have heard complaints from others here about deteriorating speed but have not experience this (yet??). I made another contact sort of through the World Bank, a gentleman named Kumar who is on secondment from the Indian government to work on the procurement portfolio at MoFED. It is a warm and sunny 22 degrees in Addis today and let's hope it stays that way :). |
Monday, March 8, 2010
All's quiet on the Addis front
Had a relaxing Sunday doing just about nothing. I polished off another Michael Pollan book outlining rules to follow when deciding what to eat. They were all classic but the 3 best were:
3- If a breakfast cereal changes the colour of your milk, do not eat it.
2- Try to eat plants, not stuff that was made in a plant.
1- If an 8-year old cannot pronounce an ingredient in a product, do not eat it.
His motto is "Eat food; not too much; mostly plants". I went to 2 hotels today looking at rooms. Speaking of rooms, Dr. Paul had to hire more help to keep his new mansion clean and tidy. More than half the rooms they are not even using, but they still need to clean clean clean. I will decide what hotel to go to when I hear back from Dawit at TDS tomorrow or Wednesday. Work was nuts today which is OK 'cause there are some lulls too from time-to-time.
I finished off the weekend watching football between Chelsea and Stoke City. The first half was close and then Chelsea took over in the second. I have started reading a book by Susan George ... yippee for me; my 3rd non-fiction since I arrived in Addis. It's called "How the Other Half Dies" and discusses why there is so much starvation and malnutrition in the 3rd world. She blames it primarily, from what I have read so far, on mainly 2 things (of which you are not going to like the first) ... (1) the USA and (2) the west's infatuation with cash crops. A cash crop is one that is sold for profit as opposed to a subsistence crop that is one that is used to feed people.
3- If a breakfast cereal changes the colour of your milk, do not eat it.
2- Try to eat plants, not stuff that was made in a plant.
1- If an 8-year old cannot pronounce an ingredient in a product, do not eat it.
His motto is "Eat food; not too much; mostly plants". I went to 2 hotels today looking at rooms. Speaking of rooms, Dr. Paul had to hire more help to keep his new mansion clean and tidy. More than half the rooms they are not even using, but they still need to clean clean clean. I will decide what hotel to go to when I hear back from Dawit at TDS tomorrow or Wednesday. Work was nuts today which is OK 'cause there are some lulls too from time-to-time.
I finished off the weekend watching football between Chelsea and Stoke City. The first half was close and then Chelsea took over in the second. I have started reading a book by Susan George ... yippee for me; my 3rd non-fiction since I arrived in Addis. It's called "How the Other Half Dies" and discusses why there is so much starvation and malnutrition in the 3rd world. She blames it primarily, from what I have read so far, on mainly 2 things (of which you are not going to like the first) ... (1) the USA and (2) the west's infatuation with cash crops. A cash crop is one that is sold for profit as opposed to a subsistence crop that is one that is used to feed people.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Bring on the football
I am so ice hockey starved, I have attacked the Barclays Premier football league with a vengeance. I watched 3, hear that 3 games today. First it was West Ham United against Bolton followed by Arsenal and Burnley. The triple threat was ended with ManU against Wolverhampton. It is as difficult, if not more, to get in scoring position in this sport as it is in hockey. Both Arsenal and ManU were playing teams at the opposite end of the standing but had their hands full anyways.
And this silly ferenge will be back watching more football tomorrow starting at 5PM. The Sens play the Leafs tonight in the west and they are looking for their 3rd straight loss. They relinquished the top spot in the northeast to Buffalo. In true Sens fashion, they seem to be losing to teams in the bottom half of the conference and beating those in the top. Trade deadline is passed with no big deals/surprises right across the league. I have 42 more calendar days or 30 working days until back home ... lots of contract bites on the horizon but nada definite or even close yet. I do have an offer to go to Hanoi at the end of April if I am still looking. Who knows ...
And this silly ferenge will be back watching more football tomorrow starting at 5PM. The Sens play the Leafs tonight in the west and they are looking for their 3rd straight loss. They relinquished the top spot in the northeast to Buffalo. In true Sens fashion, they seem to be losing to teams in the bottom half of the conference and beating those in the top. Trade deadline is passed with no big deals/surprises right across the league. I have 42 more calendar days or 30 working days until back home ... lots of contract bites on the horizon but nada definite or even close yet. I do have an offer to go to Hanoi at the end of April if I am still looking. Who knows ...
As are the customs
So I go to Kazume's house and the guard will not let me in without my calling her on my cell. She is actually waiting for a visit from people from customs and has found the experience very frustrating (sound familiar). She has a car she bought that came in from Djibouti and she is allowed to bring it in duty free since she is ferenge working in Ethiopia. The car is not licensed so it cannot be taken to the customs depot for inspection. There is an inconsistency between what the car says for a VIN and what is on file. There have been a few calls back and forth and it is all very hard on one's nerves and patience.
We have a very nice lunch as it turns out; we were going to go to Bole 19 so I could introduce her to Hiruy the tennis coach. Her housekeeper is working and has made some lunch. Talk about lunch!!!! Spinach with garlic tomatoes and eggs; chicken in a light curry/garlic soup-like sauce; lovely white rice; spring rolls; garlic mashed potatoes; cold spring water. It was a feast. Eventually we got the bright idea of getting her guard to call the customs people who were supposedly on their way over to ask if SHE had to be there. To our delight, the answer is "no". So we go to Bole 19 and Hiruy is at lunch. Eventually we run int none other than Melaku and have a nice visit with him. We part ways, and I go to Novis for lunch meat and cheese. I get a text in a few minutes after leaving Novis that the customs people showed up. The last thing one wants to do in this country is have to deal with customs. I hope other African countries are not as difficult.
I am getting served at the deli counter and a seemingly habesha lady needs some questions answered about cheddar cheese which they do not have. I tell here the closest thing Dr. Paul has ever found to cheddar is provolone. I give her advice on buying local rather than imported since the price is vastly different but the quality similar (in my opinion). I feel like a habesha :). She is from Tanzania and appreciates my assistance. I get milk then return to Deker. I checked next door with the owner at Blue Drops about what Barclays football may be on today; he does not know. I check on the DsTV Ethiopia web site and there is Arsenal at 5PM then ManU at 7:30. I always have trouble converting the time of these games. On the premier league web site the games I mentioned are at 3PM and 5:30PM and, if in London, would be at 6PM and 8:30PM so why does the DsTV Ethiopia site say 5PM and 7:30PM :).
We have a very nice lunch as it turns out; we were going to go to Bole 19 so I could introduce her to Hiruy the tennis coach. Her housekeeper is working and has made some lunch. Talk about lunch!!!! Spinach with garlic tomatoes and eggs; chicken in a light curry/garlic soup-like sauce; lovely white rice; spring rolls; garlic mashed potatoes; cold spring water. It was a feast. Eventually we got the bright idea of getting her guard to call the customs people who were supposedly on their way over to ask if SHE had to be there. To our delight, the answer is "no". So we go to Bole 19 and Hiruy is at lunch. Eventually we run int none other than Melaku and have a nice visit with him. We part ways, and I go to Novis for lunch meat and cheese. I get a text in a few minutes after leaving Novis that the customs people showed up. The last thing one wants to do in this country is have to deal with customs. I hope other African countries are not as difficult.
I am getting served at the deli counter and a seemingly habesha lady needs some questions answered about cheddar cheese which they do not have. I tell here the closest thing Dr. Paul has ever found to cheddar is provolone. I give her advice on buying local rather than imported since the price is vastly different but the quality similar (in my opinion). I feel like a habesha :). She is from Tanzania and appreciates my assistance. I get milk then return to Deker. I checked next door with the owner at Blue Drops about what Barclays football may be on today; he does not know. I check on the DsTV Ethiopia web site and there is Arsenal at 5PM then ManU at 7:30. I always have trouble converting the time of these games. On the premier league web site the games I mentioned are at 3PM and 5:30PM and, if in London, would be at 6PM and 8:30PM so why does the DsTV Ethiopia site say 5PM and 7:30PM :).
A big day on Bole
I was up about 6:15 which, as long as I get to bed early which I did last night, is great since I have the whole morning (after schull of course). I decided to get in my walk before breakfast and headed out to Bole. There were police officers everywhere and of course ferenge was curious. I then noticed some fanfare at the intersection just north of the guest house and remembered there was a 5k run for women today; hence the conglomeration of police and civilians eagerly awaiting the event which started at 9AM. I believe the Ethiopian officials always ensure there is a huge police presence, with clubs and some automatic weapons, at locations where large numbers of people convene, as they have learned from the past. The event is called Women First and there must have been a few thousand runners. They were almost all women, with a few men in the mix. Only women were allowed to register though.
I walked down Bole heading for Kezanches and then heard the church at that intersection broadcasting so turned back about 2/3 of the way. There was even more activity than there was before my 20 minute hike as I approached Bilo's again.
I visited with Marou (my friendly neighbourhood security guard) and a few other people. The manager of Bilo's came out to chat and offered me some information. His last day at Bilo's is Tuesday and he has been there for 6 years. He is not fond of management and is thrilled to be moving to work that is more within his field of accounting. Marou now calls me "Guitar" which is a lovely handle for someone who owns 6 of them :).
I am meeting someone at 11aM to walk down to Bole 19. I met this woman Kazume when she was staying at the guest house in November. She wants to find somewhere to play tennis so our trip will be educational for her as she will then know where Bole 19 is.
There was an absolute sea of orange run jerseys at the 5k today and at 9AM on the dot, the front-runners broke the ribbon at the start. There were about 200-300 women at the front, probably seasoned runners; the first prize is 8,000 birr and if the first woman across the finish line also has he run card stamped by the stations along the way, she gets 10,000.
I hope Ethiopia (as Canada) has made some progress on eradicating gender-based discrimination; runs and fund-raising events are great, but the old cliche "talk si cheap" comes to mind. Let's hope this nonsense (and all sorts of discrimination) will some day be a thing of the past.
I walked down Bole heading for Kezanches and then heard the church at that intersection broadcasting so turned back about 2/3 of the way. There was even more activity than there was before my 20 minute hike as I approached Bilo's again.
I visited with Marou (my friendly neighbourhood security guard) and a few other people. The manager of Bilo's came out to chat and offered me some information. His last day at Bilo's is Tuesday and he has been there for 6 years. He is not fond of management and is thrilled to be moving to work that is more within his field of accounting. Marou now calls me "Guitar" which is a lovely handle for someone who owns 6 of them :).
I am meeting someone at 11aM to walk down to Bole 19. I met this woman Kazume when she was staying at the guest house in November. She wants to find somewhere to play tennis so our trip will be educational for her as she will then know where Bole 19 is.
There was an absolute sea of orange run jerseys at the 5k today and at 9AM on the dot, the front-runners broke the ribbon at the start. There were about 200-300 women at the front, probably seasoned runners; the first prize is 8,000 birr and if the first woman across the finish line also has he run card stamped by the stations along the way, she gets 10,000.
I hope Ethiopia (as Canada) has made some progress on eradicating gender-based discrimination; runs and fund-raising events are great, but the old cliche "talk si cheap" comes to mind. Let's hope this nonsense (and all sorts of discrimination) will some day be a thing of the past.
Friday, March 5, 2010
A feverish pace
I spent all week working on documentation at the office. We had a break on Tuesday for the holiday so it was really a 4-day work week. I have a call at 6:30 with someone from Ottawa re:work which is always good. I paid off my bill at the guest house which I always like to do. I will probably go down to Bole 19 in the AM and watch some tennis.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday night jazz
Got a ride from Melaku around 8:15. The Gaslight where the jazz was happening was empty with not even an F# note to be seen. We went to the Office bar first and it was hopping with music of a band we had seen there before from North Carolina and Georgia. We caught the last six or so songs from their set, and Melaku had a 57 birr tonic water; they are 12-15 birr at most establishments. I chatted up the guitar player at the break and was suitably impressed with his resume :). Off to Gaslight about 9:30 and the music was just starting.
The last time we had been there all the good tables were reserved and we sat nowhere. This time I called John D. the assistant manager of the Sheraton and he made arrangements for us to get a table. The music was nice, guitar/bass/drums/sax and a keyboard sat in towards the end. Melaku hung out at the Office with some buds and showed up just when the first set finished at the Gaslight. I heard someone refer to jazz in Addis as recycled old-style jazz from the west ... could have fooled me. I have found it along the line of what I have heard from the Dixie Dregs and Spyro Gyra from the states. The bass was especially raunchy and punchy. I am going to play sax in my next life I have decided.
I texted Brian Murray and he did follow my advice; the Sens lineup is the best it could possibly be now and there was no need to make any further trades before the deadline. Addis was a-buzz all day yesterday with hype over the 3PM deadline for trading in the NHL. I wanted to trade Prusek for a stronger goalie and was told to "get wth the program" ...
The last time we had been there all the good tables were reserved and we sat nowhere. This time I called John D. the assistant manager of the Sheraton and he made arrangements for us to get a table. The music was nice, guitar/bass/drums/sax and a keyboard sat in towards the end. Melaku hung out at the Office with some buds and showed up just when the first set finished at the Gaslight. I heard someone refer to jazz in Addis as recycled old-style jazz from the west ... could have fooled me. I have found it along the line of what I have heard from the Dixie Dregs and Spyro Gyra from the states. The bass was especially raunchy and punchy. I am going to play sax in my next life I have decided.
I texted Brian Murray and he did follow my advice; the Sens lineup is the best it could possibly be now and there was no need to make any further trades before the deadline. Addis was a-buzz all day yesterday with hype over the 3PM deadline for trading in the NHL. I wanted to trade Prusek for a stronger goalie and was told to "get wth the program" ...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Working from home due to holiday
Got "permission" to stay and work at Deker today. I went for a quick breakfast at Dr. Paul's. I stopped at Bilo's on the way to get 6 croissants and 6 chocolate croissants. By the time I opened the box, I found 6 of the former and none of the latter :). They gave me 8 fasting pizzas instead of the latter. This pizza is made with no forbidden food when habesha is fasting and also has some hot pepper fragments on it. We had a combo of ham and onions heated up inside the sliced croissants as well as Dr. P's world famous pancakes. I was back at Deker and working when email arrived from Tagel that chewed up some ticks getting something back to him.
It is a bright sunny (as ST likes) day in Addis, the mercury around 22 celsius. I am working my way through the Beatles songbook this afternoon, trying on a few new ditties I have not done previously. I have sort of landed some work in the background that I can do in the evenings and on the W/E for a company in Toronto that Ian A. turned me on to. I use one of three mechanisms to remote control my PC at home and do the VPN connection from there. The house that was being ripped apart behind Deker is now getting its walls rebuilt using cinder blocks and lots and lots of elbow grease. I just hope the new edifice structures does not go up so high as to block the wonderful sunset I can view on my balcony.
It is a bright sunny (as ST likes) day in Addis, the mercury around 22 celsius. I am working my way through the Beatles songbook this afternoon, trying on a few new ditties I have not done previously. I have sort of landed some work in the background that I can do in the evenings and on the W/E for a company in Toronto that Ian A. turned me on to. I use one of three mechanisms to remote control my PC at home and do the VPN connection from there. The house that was being ripped apart behind Deker is now getting its walls rebuilt using cinder blocks and lots and lots of elbow grease. I just hope the new edifice structures does not go up so high as to block the wonderful sunset I can view on my balcony.
Monday, March 1, 2010
We want Pergano
This restaurant next door called Blue Drops has been one of my prime hangouts the 6 months I have been in Addis. There are 4 women who work there who mean well, but their English is not much better than my Amharic. There was a server there named Pergano who was always able to help me be it with little changes I needed to a menu item or something done to the dish running the big screen TV. For example, they have a traditional dish there called chikenna tibs which is beef taken from a very tender part of the cow. When Pergano was working, I would ask him to use less beef and way more vegetables. He just left Blue Drops, his last shift being last night!!!!
So the first 2 times I am there post-Pergano, I ask for soya sauce for my rice, and get a dish of tomato sauce :). Tonight I try to negotiate more veggies in my tibs, and get a side of garlic vegetables which in itself is great, but not what I asked for. Either I have to learn more Amharic or find some way to make myself understood by the ladies at Blue Drops. By the way, if you google "chikenna tibs" you will get 2 hits ... my BLOG and Blue Drops :). According to the owner, Pergano has moved to South Africa where I hope he can enjoy the 200 birr tip I gave him yesterday ..
So the first 2 times I am there post-Pergano, I ask for soya sauce for my rice, and get a dish of tomato sauce :). Tonight I try to negotiate more veggies in my tibs, and get a side of garlic vegetables which in itself is great, but not what I asked for. Either I have to learn more Amharic or find some way to make myself understood by the ladies at Blue Drops. By the way, if you google "chikenna tibs" you will get 2 hits ... my BLOG and Blue Drops :). According to the owner, Pergano has moved to South Africa where I hope he can enjoy the 200 birr tip I gave him yesterday ..
2 holidays in 3 working days
Golden opportunity
So I deliberately fight sleep for a few hours last night to be able to stay up until 11:15 my time to watch the Canada/USA men's hockey gold medal game. I knew I had enough time on my internet card for the 1st period. Also, yesterday being the last day of the month, I knew something would happen to the money on the card as the new month arrived.
There is a 450 birr minimum on the card though since ETC does not do this by credit card, I did not know how that would be enforced. So I watch the first period and Canada goes up 1-zip. Like that! Then I disconnect during the break as it is silly to chew up time for banter and commercials.
So I hook up for the 2nd period just as the puck drops. A minute later the transmission rate indicator goes to 0kbps as the screen freezes. Uh-oh the roll over has occurred. I call in as usual and find that the card balance is -375 birr. So that's how they do it. At 12:01AM in a new month, the balance goes to -450 birr and has to be returned to 0 to use.
I only have 225 birr worth of cards so put them on bringing the balance to -150 birr so I cannot watch anymore ... bummer. I sent text to ST and retire. I prance out of bed the second the alarm sounds and discover a 1-0 OT win for Canada. Sweet!
Good old Cindy Crosby ... nhl.com has the nerve to tell Paul Henderson (the hero of the 1972 series with Russia) to move over for the new hero of Canadian hockey. Why can't Henderson still be revered as a hero alongside CINDY instead of being replaced by Cindy :).
4 {{PC Hmh 2sy 0exgl xli ksph qihep keqi? 0L2 rsx vitp2 xs wsqi sj qmos0ef2'w uyiwxmsrw PC}}
There is a 450 birr minimum on the card though since ETC does not do this by credit card, I did not know how that would be enforced. So I watch the first period and Canada goes up 1-zip. Like that! Then I disconnect during the break as it is silly to chew up time for banter and commercials.
So I hook up for the 2nd period just as the puck drops. A minute later the transmission rate indicator goes to 0kbps as the screen freezes. Uh-oh the roll over has occurred. I call in as usual and find that the card balance is -375 birr. So that's how they do it. At 12:01AM in a new month, the balance goes to -450 birr and has to be returned to 0 to use.
I only have 225 birr worth of cards so put them on bringing the balance to -150 birr so I cannot watch anymore ... bummer. I sent text to ST and retire. I prance out of bed the second the alarm sounds and discover a 1-0 OT win for Canada. Sweet!
Good old Cindy Crosby ... nhl.com has the nerve to tell Paul Henderson (the hero of the 1972 series with Russia) to move over for the new hero of Canadian hockey. Why can't Henderson still be revered as a hero alongside CINDY instead of being replaced by Cindy :).
4 {{PC Hmh 2sy 0exgl xli ksph qihep keqi? 0L2 rsx vitp2 xs wsqi sj qmos0ef2'w uyiwxmsrw PC}}
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