Rainy Days

I haven't felt inspired to write in the past few days. Perhaps I have the "it's cloudy or raining all the time and i miss the sun blues." Today was an especially lovely morning as I woke up and didn't have electricity. I peeked outside to see if any of the staff were awake, but none were, so I braved a cold shower. I only managed for about a minute. 50 degree temperatures plus ice cold water is not so enjoyable. When I lived in Namibia, we used to save money by not turning on the hot water heater. I have no idea how I took cold showers there where it was much colder. Today it was almost impossible, and after doing so and shivering for the next hour, I decided never again. I will just go to work dirty.

Let's just be honest...the weather in Addis right now is terrible. But it will surely make the 100+ temperatures much more bearable when I return to Austin. Ethiopians seem to manage just fine in the cold. They wear a light sweater or a light jacket, and often wear a gabi (which is kind of like a large scarf) to cover their upper body. I have been looking for a jacket/sweaters but the lovely Chinese imports are just a bit too pricey for my budget. I don't want to spend 600 birr ($35) for a cheaply made sweater. On the positive side, the rain is great for farmers outside the city, and I will try to keep them in mind when I am next caught in a torrential downpour with my $5 umbrella.