AT HOME

Looks quite Norwegian, doesn't it?:)

Well, for those of you who got the story about the sofa - here it is! This is my home in Ethiopia. Not so bad, really. Quite comfortable, actually. Especially now that I have this lovely, brown sofa to relax in. The cushion-cases that are on the back of the sofa will probably remain there for quite a while, because I am sure that it will just take me forever to get hold of cushions.

WHAT CAN I SAY.......

Life is unpredictable. I have started going with the school bus that goes to the Norwegian school and passes outside my door every morning, to be sure to get to work in time. I’m actually at work half an hour before I have to. But the other day, this huge trailer had tipped over on the road, and was blocking the traffic. So the morning after, I expected the school bus not to arrive, or having to take a different route. I decided to walk. A decision I shared with many others, it seemed. People were just pouring out on the streets and up the hill. I felt like I was part of a big pilgrimage. And all this because of this car that had tipped over. Yes, it is in fact quite normal to have cars tipping over in the road like that, they are digging everywhere these days, I must have mentioned this before, haven’t I? So there I was, walking in my high healed shoes, trying to avoid the worst mud. And then the school bus comes driving towards me. Jepp, he came after all. And it seemed he was going back the same way, even if it would be difficult to get past that trailer. I decided to keep on walking, and let the bus pick me up if he caught up with me. Because I grew up in Europe, I am a fast-walker, so I ended up walking the whole way to work. Well, on the bright side, it wasn’t raining, and it wasn’t that muddy. It could have been worse. The point is, here you never know what tomorrow will bring – cars blocking the road, or maybe even the whole road will have disappeared during the night. Or maybe there is so much water that you can’t pass. Or maybe the minibus-taxis have decided that they will not go the normal route anymore, and there are only a couple of buses going if you are lucky. And when they finally arrive, they are stormed by the 450 Ethiopians waiting for them in the morning. And because I’m too polite to push myself into one of them, I’m left waiting forever. So I take the school bus. But it might not come. Because a car might be blocking the road. I might have to walk. Life is unpredictable.

TIA

It feels like home but it’s not. I’m a stranger here. But part of the puzzle. Grateful that I’ve been given the chance to be a part of this great world of contrasts. Ups and downs. Extremes. Extreme beauty. Extreme poverty. Desperation. Joy. The hot, hot sun. the cold, freezing nights. The vast grassland and never-ending fields. The lions roaring in the night. The enormous sky. The billions of stars. The fantastic view from the top of the landrover – horizon everywhere. The smell of bush. The smell of smoke. Dust. Crazy traffic. Queing. Waiting.

More queing.

Food – tasty, aromatic food.

People – interesting, friendly, open, beautiful people.

Vibrant streets and music, rhythms. Colors. Clothes. Fashion. Luxury. Toilets that are not flushing. Envy. Guilt. Racism. Prosperity. Neat streets. Bumby roads. New, giant houses, castles. Shacks. Dogs. Giraffes. Herds of impala. The leopard walking past the car. Birds of all sizes. Water – and the lack of it. The mountains – shaped in the most amazing ways. The beach. The sand, white. Language. Misunderstanding. Conversations with strangers. Friendships. Life stories. Anger. Opportunities. Hope.

So many impressions, impulses, all at once. Thousands of them in one single day. And as different as night and day. Difficult to deal with, easy to deal with. Challenges your senses, your beliefs, your convictions, your perspectives. Makes you want to laugh, makes you want to weep. A variety, a diversity, so great that it can hardly be described. It has to be experienced. That’s why I love it here.

This is Africa.

GOING SOUTH!

The Okavango-delta

Joburg

Tomorrow at this time I will be in Johannesburg! Yeyh! I can't wait! When browsing the net for info about Joburg and South Africa I realize how much I miss that country, and how much I'm looking forward to going there again! Yes, there is a lot of crime, and you might not come home alive, but apart from that it's just amazing! The people, the athmosphere, the scenery, the food, the colors - it is breathtaking! I'm also really excited that I get to see more of Joburg this time, although I must admit that I'm a little worried too. But as long as I'm careful I guess I'll be ok! It will be interesting to see if I can find a place to dance salsa - thought it might be good to get some practiCe outside of Ethiopia! Anyway......people, I wish you all a very nice Easter-holiday, and if you don't have anything to do, I will leave you some pictures of where I'm going, so that you can spend your time looking at them and being envious at me!:)

RAIN IN THE VILLAGE

The rainy season is here....I have been dreading it since I came, and now it's a fact. However, this is just the small one, so hopefully it will only last for a short while. And I'm going to South Africa next week, in order to escape from everything wet. Well, that's not quite right, because I'm going to the Okavango-delta in Botswana, which is swampland, so I might have to prepare myself to get wet, anyway. In any case, it will be nice to get away for a while. And I'm really looking forward to going to Cape Town again, it's been a while since last time I was there. To remind myself of what Addis is like when it's not raining, I'm posting some picures of the city, for you to get an impression of what it is like. In many ways it's like a huge village, as many well-known features from the country-side can be found here. Don't be surprised if a herd of donkeys comes galloping towards you, sometimes with 2 meter high loads of hay on top of them. Or you might meet a cow or two, or maybe even 50 goats or sheep. Vegetable-fields may also be found, although you might have to look more carefully to discover them. There are of course a lot of cars and city-like buildings also, which makes you remember that you are actually in a city. Having said that, I want to underline that even if Addis is not the most cosmopolitan city you can find, it's still a very nice place to be, and it is relatively easy to move around here. (not in the rainy season, because you will get extremely muddy from walking, and extremely dirty if you take the minibustaxies....all because of the roads that are under construction). It is also very safe, and that is one great advantage, especially for a white girl! So I have to prepare myself for a change of mobility when I get to Cape Town. Well, every city has its advantages and its disadvantages. Let me conclude with that. And from my office, where I'm now sitting, I can see the sun shining. So it's not raining all day long!

This is supposed to become a bridge someday (who knows when...?!!)

You don't have any problems seeing that, do you?

This is right outside where I live. Turn to the left where you can see the little yellow "house", and there you will find my compound. So where all the minibus-taxis are, that's where I wait every morning to go to work. Because of the roadconstruction, it is very difficult to get a minibus, so sometimes I have to wait for half an hour....you really need patience in this country sometimes. But I should know that.....

Construction

My daily life in Addis is not always as straightforward as I could hope it was. Construction is the key-word, and the root of all my problems. New buildings are popping up everywhere (that is, they are slowly and gradually beginning to pop up, and maybe in a couple of years, they will be finished), but they are not really causing me that much problems. I’m sure my dad would get a headache had he seen the scaffolding they use here, though - it looks very fragile and not fit for standing and walking on. Anyway, what gives ME the headache is the roadconstruction! For some reason, they have decided to start working an ALL the roads at once, meaning that it is almost impossible to get anywhere by car anymore. And if you do go by car, you can be sure that you have to drive on roads that look more like quarries than roads, and that your whole body will be exposed to a bumping so intense that you are glad you are still alive when you have reached your target. And not to forget the dust! It’s everywhere! As I remarked in my last post, it is very hot these days, and no rain has fallen for a long while. And we all know what dust-roads become like when they never receive rain…..Sometimes I’m having trouble breathing, and I can just picture all the brown, dry dust finding its way down my lungs, where it will stay together with all the pollution I inhale, and in a couple of years I will die from lungcancer…..! It seems I will have to take some measures on my own when it comes to the politics of climate if I am not going to die from suffocating. No, I’m not paranoid or hypochondriac, just realistic! Well, well, despite my complaints, I have to say that living in Addis is not that bad, infact - if you disregard all the issues that has to do with construction, it’s quite nice, actually:)

Saturday Morning

This is the view from my porch one early Saturday morning. The sun wakes me up, and I go down to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Then I bring my chair out on the porch, put on some music, and sit down with my tea and relaaaaaax……….Mmm, wonderful! It’s very hot here in Addis these days, so I can’t sit too long before I feel the temperature in my head rises. If there is no wind, it’s even worse. But still, those early mornings on my porch are just a blessing!