Where is all the juicy, interesting stuff?

Good question. I know that many will read my posts and wonder, why isn't she telling us all about Ethiopian culture and history and stuff? Well, that's because mostly, I'm just living and working. Of course, I plan to spend some time exploring some historical/cultural sites inside and outside of Addis (so stay tuned if this is what you want to hear about), but right now, I wake up, force myself out of my sort of warm bed into the freezing cold air, take a shower, and rush out the door (never having time to eat breakfast before I leave). I walk to a colleague's house for a ride to work, spend the hours between 8:30 and 5:30 eating my breakfast/working/blogging/praying the sun comes out), and then I walk home. Once home, I cook dinner, peruse the internet, attempt to stay warm (and fail), and go to bed. Occasionally I attempt to spend time working on all the academic work I need to produce as part of this internship, but generally, the cold makes it incredibly difficult to concentrate.

What I find juicy and interesting is sitting in a cafe and watching people walk up and down the street, or simply walking around Addis. There is so much that can be learned about day to day life by simply making yourself a part of life in the city. I walk pretty much everywhere, which can be pleasant and obnoxious at the same time. I used to respond to hellos/his/how are yous but have slowly started to ignore them. There are so many that making a pleasant reply to each one can be tiring. After being followed/harassed by multiple young Ethiopian men, I have developed a strategy to quickly get rid of them beyond the questions of how are you/where are you from/where do you live/how do you like Addis. There has been only one occassion where I had to become rude and forceful to get rid of someone. :(

On the subject of getting around Addis, I have decided that I will make every attempt to take a minibus before taking a taxi. While I have become quite skilled at negotiating lower fares from taxi drivers who attempt to charge exorbitant prices, I hate the negotiating process. In addition, I have found that people are quite helpful in assisting me to figure out where the minibuses are going and where I need to get off. While they are not always the most convenient because they drive certain routes, it's worth a bit of inconvenience to avoid haggling with taxi drivers (and to pay less than 1/10 the cost of a taxi ride).

Okay, so maybe this is not that juicy, but it's life in Addis! :)