Out of Africa ...

So Ethiopia got one last kick in before I left the country. At Bole airport I was given a boarding pass for the trip to Istabnul. They told me I would have to get the other 2 passes in Istanbul. So I get to Turkey and proceed to pass through the international transit checkpoint and am unable to proceed without a boarding pass. I am pointed to a line winding its way to the Turkish airlines transit desk. That line is so long, it stretches to India. I wait in line for a while then remember the blue Dell debacle in Addis a while back so ask someone if I am in the right line.

The line moves rather quickly, reminding me again of that Dell thing :). I get to the desk and in less than 2 minutes, become the proud owner of boarding passes. Sweet ... not so quickly. I am then told since I have a Canadian passport that I need to get a security sticker before I can proceed. The security desk serves me right away then ferenge is on his way to the next stop (actually obstacle).

I pick up some food for a price more than the GDP of a third world country and settle in to find internet. I NEED TO KNOW HOW THE SENS DID LAST NIGHT. Enter debacle #3 of the day ... there is no free WiFi in the airport and all the secure login screens are in Turkish. My Turkish is about as good as my Japanese. I cannot figure out what any of the buttons say, and click the odd one hoping I will magically be transported to a signup screen I can understand. Hah! So I am making this post offline and plan to store when I get back to Ottawa.

I bet the networks available on the moon have a multilingual interface, but not IST. ting area, I head to the information desk and ask where one can rent internet time in this airport. I am told to check in the lounges on the next floor up. I proceed there and find out yes it is indeed available, but costs 39 USD. I decide to wait until Toronto. On my way back to the waiting area, I pass another transit desk and ask the attendant if he knows where I can rent 30 seconds of time to check NHL.com. He offers for me and aI find out the Sens lost 2-1. I got the guy a Fanta and plopped it on his desk as thanks.

The farewell party for me last night was well attended. The beginning was marred by one of the biggest downpours I have ever experienced in Addis (or my life). There were small rivers running down many streets and the traffic was hideous. Dereje took almost 40 minutes to get from Dr. Paul's to Naklah. At Naklah there was Riviere Sefer :), bubbling around the establishment and I pulled up the legs of my jeans and waded through to the dry ground on the other side. The meal (as usual) was scrupmtious and the gang managed to ring up a tab of over 800 birr, a paltry sum (60 USD) for 8 people but a big one for Addis eatery experiences. Parminder from the World Bank attended and e had a very nice visit. We dropped him at the Sheraton and Dereje then dropped me at the Dulcian compound.

Melaku called and dropped in after a buffet dinner he worked at Bole 19 tennis. As usual he was his Melaku-self and stayed for a half hour or so. There was a sad but great goodbye amidst multiple shoulder dips Addis style. He was the best, and I would love to keep in touch with him.

And now the time arrives for the Addis top 10. My attention will then turn to the top 10 Ethiopian moments, followed by the 5 things I will miss about Ethiopia the most then the LEAST!!!!!

Official Addis Top 10
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10- Naklah Yemeni restaurant
9- The walking (and walking and walking and ...)
8- The live music we saw there
7- Kazanches or Chichinia ... 2 areas of Addis, whose names replaced "bless you" as one sneezed.
6- The climate
5- The rest of the habesha I met
4- The drivers for RSU and the people I met at Deker, Bilo's, and TDS
3- Tagel Molla
2- Metasebya, the day lady at Deker
1- Melaku

Top 10 Ethiopian moments
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10- Melaku and Dereje's being allowed (sometimes) to enter the secure customs area with me at the airport, then the next time the same permission not being granted. How is ferenge supposed to weed one's way through such a bureaucratic nightmare as Ethiopian customs personnel speak little or no English. Their English is more than adequate for day-to-day exchanges of information, but not great when having to explain the nuances and idiosyncracies of policy and procedure to feregie.
9- Ordering Fanta (an orange flavoured pop) and being told the establishment does not carry that brand; observing orange pop being brought to other tables. As it turns out that pop was another brand called Mirinda. Don't tell one who orders Fanta that Mirinda only is sold there.
8- Not being allowed to exit Alliance Francaise by the vehicle gate. It was staffed by 2 guards who were happy to let vehicles in and out but forced the lowly pedestrian to use the other gate. Ferenge is SO STUPID ... a vehicle gate is a vehicle gate, why do you think it is called "vehicle gate".
7- Having to get letters written twice by subject matter experts to get something done at the polics station and then at the Records office. If the wording of said letter is wrong, the authorities will reject the request. The rejection can be easily spawned by wording that makes an iota of a suggestion that habesha authority may have made an innocent mistake.
6- Eating at Family restaurant one night with Melaku and he orders some macaroni, and receives a taco salad. Those 2 dishes do not even start with the same letter :).
5- The ridiculous debacle at customs springing the blue Dell computer and the subjective application of policy by the officials.
4- Obtaining rice at the Forbidden City restaurant. It would start as we walked in the door, then anwhere from one to five times more, each request was greeted with a response that made it seem like the staff had not been asked for rice yet. Once, after 2 or 3 tries, the response was "Two?". Yes we did want 2 rice, appreciate ...
3- Asking for mustard at a restaurant and getting mayonnaise, at which point hmmmm ... I'll ask for mayonnaise and mustard will arrive? It did.
2- Being told there was no machiatto one day at MoFED and having trouble hearing the proclamation over the noise being made by the milk frother as it prepared machiatto.
1- Asking for a menu at the SELECT restaurant, being told they don't have one, then being asked what I would like to eat. Is that not why many establishments have a menu.

The five things I will miss about Ethiopia the most
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5- The joie de vivre of the habesha fortunate enough to be making ends meet; naturally the people I hung out with were supporting themselves just fine.
4- The simple life.
3- St. George's beer.
2- The fruit and vegetables (picked yesterday rather than trucked from CA or FL).
1- The people I was close to.

The five things I will miss about Ethiopia least
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5- Smoking in most bars and restaurants.
4- The incessant stream of loud noise emanating from vehicles with PA systems on the roof, music shoppes, and the plethora of night clubs all over the city.
3- The blaring of the churches at very early hours of the AM.
2- The "me first me first" attitude of the drivers.
1- ETC and ETv.

The envelope please ... the 2 biggest and most used things I acquired while in Africa ...

The Columbia vest that ST brought for me when we met for the Kenya safari
** AND **
The electric guitar I bought in merkato in August for 3,000 birr

I wandered Ataturk airport for 4 and a bit hours after clearing security. I am sitting in the lounge at gate 214 with the other poor souls bound for ice-hockey land. I am off to Toronto for the week on Monday and will drive back with ST Friday afternoon, hoping to beat the 401-a-thon of congested traffic that forms most workdays just when 3,909,000 vehicles and I try to motor west out of TO.

I will make one or more posts to this BLOG then bid farewell to Jimmy Durante's married friend and close this extravaganza affectionately called "Addis Abbeyba".