Arrival

It is day 14 of my adventure in Ethiopia. Realizing that I have been here for two weeks makes me question why I haven’t accomplished more, but I’m starting to realize that I should be proud of the small accomplishments that I have made, like figuring out how to walk home and mastering the names of my regular taxi drivers.

I arrived in Addis at night, and I think there were more people working inside the airport at 11pm than got off the plane. My flight from Amman to Addis only had maybe 20 people on a plane that seats 200. I spent more than an hour looking for the taxi driver from the guest house, only to discover that he had the sign with my name on it in his pocket. He was supposed to be standing on the exit ramp with the sign, but maybe he found it amusing to watch me walk from one side of the parking lot to the other, clearly lost and exhausted.

The guest house was nice, and had very fast internet. The staff were friendly, and I spent my first day walking up and down the street. Exploring on my own was a bit daunting at first, and I quickly discovered that I would have to reject the pleas of children over and over again. However, by Sunday, I was able to find the mall where I watched a movie, Men in Black 3 (don’t waste your money).

I really only looked at one place to live and decided to stay there. In hindsight, I wish that I would have spent more time looking, but I suppose that my sparse digs are forcing me to live with less, which may not be a bad thing. I’m living in a compound that is owned by a couple (the woman in British and her husband is Ethiopian). They live in the main house with their two adorable children, and there are multiple living areas around the main house. There is an older American couple who are here volunteering that live in the nice guest house, and I live in a two room area that is connected to the housing where the staff of the house live. I won’t elaborate on my living conditions, but will just say that I have a bed, couch, and have finally acquired hangers.

If you ever want to visit Ethiopia, don’t come in June, July, or August. It’s cold and rainy! And when I say cold, I mean it’s actually cold. Last night was the first night that I didn’t wake up cold, thanks to the kindness of the American couple who shared with me one of their heavy blankets. You should also not trust historical weather data found on random websites. I was expecting highs in the mid-80s, but have found highs in the low-70s and lows in the 50s. That’s cold when you don’t have heat and never see the sun (although as I write this the sun has appeared as if to taunt me). If you've never lived in the cold without heat, I don't recommend it. It's not as cold as it was in Namibia, but I also didn't bring any warm clothing.

I have slowly discovered the area around where I live, and I think that people are starting to recognize me as I walk from my house to the main shopping area (about a 5 minute walk). I rarely see other foreigners walking anywhere, so at first I think people couldn’t understand why I didn’t need a taxi. I was taking a taxi to work, but have met a guy who works in my building that lives rather close to me. He is now giving me a ride in the morning, and I walk home in the afternoon (it takes about 30 minutes). I decided that it would be better for my health to only inhale excessive amounts of exhaust and dust once per day.

Thus, I have arrived. I have a place to live and a cell phone (feel free to fill my inbox with low cost text messages from skype: 251912626902), and am slowly learning about how to negotiate my temporary home.