home stretch?

Well, looks like I might be getting my wish of losing weight here, despite the bad start these first few weeks…. Think I had some bad Italian last night, and I’m hurting today! The food was excellent, but maybe I should pay more heed to the advice of not having too much salad or raw fish in Africa, since those kinds of foods might not always be the freshest…although I figured I was probably safe eating at one of the Sheraton restaurants. Oh well, there went my Sunday plans to get out of the city and take in some of the natural sights around here! At least Wednesday is a national holiday, so hopefully I’ll be feeling better then and can explore a little more!



It’s also been raining a lot the past two days, so probably couldn’t have done too much outdoors anyways. Started hailing like crazy yesterday afternoon and the storm cut off electricity a few times here…luckily the hotel has back-up generators on hand to make sure guests aren’t too uncomfortable… Plus staying inside just gives me more time to get work done in my hotel room/office, I guess…

Figure I must be doing something right since I’ve now had an offer from one of IRI’s partner organizations to stay in Ethiopia through the May 15 elections…. I’d be involved in long-term observation out in the boonies, probably in the southern regions, talking and interviewing local officials and residents, finding out what the conditions are like in advance of elections. Not sure I’m cut out for roughing it like that though….and for another two months! Part of me is definitely ready to go home, this whole working-all-the-time thing is starting to wear thin…but another part of me would love to stay on and at least see the outcome of the elections, see if all of this activity actually results in anything. And life in Addis can actually be pretty fun with all the expats around, and I’d look forward to getting to know the country better too. Then again, I didn’t come prepared to stay more than a month, and I’d need to file my taxes while I’m out here, among other things!! Perhaps the U.S. Embassy could come in handy here…

So once again, time to make a serious decision, something I really hate doing these days, especially when it concerns what I want to do with my life! In the grand scheme of things two months isn’t so much, but I really wonder if I have it in me, somewhat cut off from civilization as I know it. It’s strange because I never had these concerns when I spent those months in Kenya and Sudan, but I think it’s because I cared a lot more back then…. It’s somewhat harsh and perhaps a bit melodramatic, but I definitely feel much more disillusioned and jaded about development work now, which makes it difficult to sustain any sort of enthusiasm or excitement about what I’m doing.

Okay okay, enough introspective reflections!! I’ll let you all know whether I’m going back to the U.S. or sticking it out for another few months….ahhh!!

another long week!

Can’t believe another week is almost over… but continually making progress, so at least that’s something! Office is all set up, with supplies and furniture and equipment, just no phone lines or internet connection… welcome to Ethiopia!

The socialist-leaning government means almost everything is state-controlled, from property (government owns everything and leases to the people) to phone lines to cell phone sim cards (only available to people who are officially registered as ethiopian residents/citizens) to television stations and newspapers. Makes it that much harder to get things done here, but we get around….like registering things in our local staffs’ names and sub-leasing office and residence space. Just another layer of bureaucracy to get used to!!

Still in the midst of meeting different people and trying to figure out how we’re going to get everything we need to get done in the next few months!! Even though I’m not staying through the elections, a lot of the foundation has to be laid now…meeting with the electoral board, political parties, media groups, civil society organizations, and other government representatives/donors. For someone who’s not a fan of networking in general, keeping all these people straight and figuring out their “angles” is starting to become torturous!! Still, events do have their up-sides, like getting to meet the U.S. Ambassador and other high-level government officials at the Embassy National Day celebration this afternoon. Apparently the Embassy here doesn’t celebrate Independence Day on July 4 because the rains here are so heavy here during the summer, and most people leave town then anyways…so they hold their “National Day” in February….isn’t that hilarious?! I was looking forward to hot dogs and hamburgers (I know, I know….my all-organic diet has definitely gone out the window since I’ve been here, considering African diets are very meat and starch-heavy!)…but no such luck. Still, the food was excellent, catered by the best restaurant in town, and we had a mix of different ethnic foods, from Mediterranean to Tex-Mex to Italian (of course!), plus an array of drinks (I’m starting to become a gin-and-tonic girl…heehee) and delicious chocolate cake!! I could get used to this… Plus the U.S. Embassy compound is gorgeous, with huge eucalyptus trees (brought over from Australia) and an expansive lawn and tons of flowers. As lavish as the U.S. Embassy is, the Brits have it even better, complete with the best medical clinic and a private golf course on the grounds!! Think the Ethiopian government strategized and decided to grant these huge tracts of land to foreign countries to appease them and discourage them from colonization….just a theory though.

Anyways, it’s been a packed week, and think I’m going to have a quiet day of reporting and phone calls tomorrow. Plus I have yet to spend more than one hour on my exercise bike!! Need to stop eating so much and start exercising more…

getting used to it here!

Man, was I glad for the weekend last Friday….even though I’d only been in Ethiopia for less than a week, felt like forever! At least the arrival of my luggage made me feel much more myself, and I was ready to see some more of Addis, outside of the same areas I keep going for work purposes….

Began with dinner on Friday night, drinks first at a cozy little café called the Milkhouse (don’t ask me how they came up with that), with a kind of bonfire burning outside, which luckily was close to our table so I wasn’t too chilly. Since it’s so hot during the day, I keep forgetting to bring along a jacket or sweater for the evenings…can get pretty cold! The local beer here – Castel – isn’t too bad, and it’s super-cheap, like $1/bottle…. Could get used to the low cost of living here! then off to a Korean restaurant for dinner, complete with japchae and bulgogi, quite authentic and very good. Go figure, didn’t know there was actually a Korean community here, but the restaurant was packed with Asians, and aside from me, the other guys I was with were the only white people (faranji) around….interesting! we then headed to a pretty sophisticated bar/lounge called the black roses, apparently one of the places to be on the weekend, was full of Ethiopians and foreigners.

That’s something I still need to get used to, is that work colleagues are also my social circle, which can make for awkward situations at times. It’s a bit strange to see the political officer from the Irish embassy with his arms draped around various women, obviously quite tipsy…and then head into a serious meeting with him about Ethiopian elections. Think I need to get over it, but takes some disassociation and haven’t been able to completely sort it out. Talk about weird colliding worlds….

So Saturday was a bit of work in the morning, but then off to see what cultural activities I could discover. First was the Ethiopia national museum, with four floors of interesting artifacts, some of which are deteriorating due to poor conservation and facilities, pretty sad. Otherwise, some objects of note: lucy’s skeleton (she was only a bit over 1m tall!), royal robes and thrones, fossilized tools and animal remains, local instruments, and different types of jewelry worn by various ethnic groups. My driver then took me to Addis Ababa University and the institute of Ethiopian studies there – the former royal palace – where they’ve preserved emperor haile selassie’s bedroom and bathroom, pretty advanced and luxurious accommodations for the 1930s. some cool photos from all different eras, including the Italian occupation. Ethiopians are very proud that the country was never actually colonized, just occupied for a time before/during ww2.



Another thing that keeps throwing me off here is the Ethiopian flag and the country’s national colors: red, yellow, and green…yup, same colors as the Rastafarians (who believe Ethiopia is their homeland)!! Every time I see a flag or poster or sticker, I can’t help think of dreds and pot. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it…

So Sunday was truly a day off, as I moved from my first hotel to the Sheraton, one of the chain’s luxury resorts….and it’s an amazing place!! I admit I definitely have pangs of guilt as I walk through the marble lobby and lounge by the pool…but hey, work hard and play hard!! After a week of lugging around my shoulder bag full of documents and books, I decided I was overdue for a massage and booked an hour-long session, after which any sort of intellectual endeavor was totally a lost cause. luckily I didn’t have much else to do in the evening, other than head over to a friend’s place for dinner. I’m now totally set up in my room overlooking the fountain and courtyard, complete with French doors and my own personal exercise bike…heehee! Reason being the Sheraton doesn’t have a gym so you can request your own equipment free of charge…pretty sweet huh? Very necessary since I’m not getting much walking/running done and had to leave my bike back in the states. think this more than makes up for it though!!

Another hard day’s work in the bag, having bought some office furniture and caught up on paperwork. Lots of reading done too, so not bad considering it’s supposed to be a day off in the u.s.! plus had my first real Ethiopian meal here, complete with injera and eating with my hands…yummy. I’m finding it hard to get used to a meat-only diet, so must supplement with greens whenever possible! Think I’ll be having a salad tonight…

one week down...

well, i've survived the first week!! and the highlight of the day was that my luggage finally arrived!!! for those of you who have been worried about my personal hygiene, rest assured that we're back on track...

i think i'm on my way to finishing up a lot of the basics for the trip, so now it's on to the little details, like getting phone lines installed, buying office furniture, securing meeting space for iri's workshops...and then on to even more fun stuff like meeting the political parties and local civil society organizations that all want money, money, money!! of course we'll tell them we don't have any to give, but if they want training as election observers, then we're the ones to call!



i'm behaving horribly on this trip, and all these expat tendencies are coming out, but i can't seem to help it because it's apparently the only way things get done here. for example, i blew up at the poor customs officials who wanted to open my box of office supplies at the airport, after already putting through the x-ray machine and because i was pissed that it took 4 days to get here.... so i whipped out the whole "your government invited us here and i don't appreciate this kind of treatment," while handing over all these papers signed by the ethiopian electoral board, the u.s. government, etc. man, i never knew i could be so mean! well, at least it got the job done, and they left it alone after that....

security measures seem to be pretty ad-hoc around here, with some people getting checked and others not, tons of barbed wire at some houses, and others nothing. one funny thing i've seen is broken glass bottles being glued or cemented to the top of walls around people's houses, kind of serving as barbed wire....talk about creative deterrents!! i guess people here are pretty resourceful with what they have, which is pretty admirable....

okay, off to begin my weekend!! i'm sure i'll be working tomorrow, though i might take some time off to visit lucy at the national museum. nothing like millions-year-old fossils to keep things in perspective...