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.