Hello everyone. Addis Ababa, wow, what a city. It is situated in Ethiopia’s central highlands. Surrounding the city you find the beautiful and green Entoto Mountains, lush wetlands, ancient forests, rock hewn churches, many natural hot-springs, and much more. The hot-springs are actually said to have been the reason for the city’s location. Emperor Menelik II’s wife loved them and insisted that he build his new city here in 1887. The city’s surroundings definitely contradict the common image that American media has presented of Ethiopia over the last few decades; as just a dry, baron land overwhelmed by constant famine and disease. It is true that Ethiopia has had many terrible famines and lacks sufficient water, but the country is actually incredible diverse climatically, geographically, and culturally. From the Rift Valley lakes in the South to the Blue Nile Falls in the North, Ethiopia has many unexpected wonders.

They claim that the country has 13 months of sunshine. Unfortunately I’ve come during their rainy season so that statement seems a little misleading. The sun comes out for short stretches of time but the weather is generally cold, cloudy (maybe more so in the city because of the pollution), and storming. And when I stay storming I mean pouring rain, lightening, and thunder. This weather makes it hard for a newcomer like me to explore and learn my way around the city, which is difficult enough as it is. There are no maps with any kind of detail for the city and there is also no such thing as addresses. Everyone just describes their location in reference to some landmark or other building.  I try to walk as much as I can so that I can familiarize myself enough to locate things. After almost three weeks of being here I finally starting to understand the layout around my house and work.

Today Addis is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa and boasts 3 million residents. My Ethiopia guidebook says that most people, even those who have spent time in developing countries, are at first overwhelmed and put off by Addis. I must admit that I felt the same that first week that I arrived. The poverty and pollution is extreme and the streets are full of hawkers, cripples, and desperately needy people asking for money. On my walk to work my first day I passed tons of single mothers with babies, sitting on the roadside with a few coins at their feet. I passed many polio suffers whose bodies have been crippled and contorted in ways I could never imagine, people going blind with flies picking at the mucus in their eyes, and so, so many children, mostly orphans, with nothing and no one. A girl, a baby really, who must have been no more than three years old tried to sell me tissue on the roadside. I wasn’t surprised by all the older children selling things like tissue and chewing gum in the streets but she really did shock me. I just looked at her as she extended her hand and mumbled something that sounded more like baby babble than Amharic (Ethiopia’s national language). Moments like this make it hard to keep my spirits up. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to what I see on the streets here. The only thing that has made me feel any better about it is being able to share with them. Now I always keep a wad of single birr notes in my pocket to give to the people that I pass. There are many of them along the road to my office so I end up pausing to give a birr every few feet. This usually attracts a lot of attention. I see other passersby looking at me, probably thinking what a silly foreigner I am, but the warmth and appreciation that comes into the eyes of those that I share with is worth it.

Now that I have been in the city for a couple of weeks I am more able to relax and appreciate what an interesting city Addis Ababa is. The people are very kind. Ethiopians have a reputation of being shy but once you break the ice they are generally very warm and inquisitive. The city is very safe, which is amazing considering the large population and extreme magnitude of poverty. I have done a lot of walking about, day and night, and never once feared for my safety. Violent street crimes are virtually unheard of. The most common crimes are pick pocketing and this coffee ceremony scam that is run on foreigners. The scam goes a little something like this: An individual, or group of foreigners, are out on the town and they are approached by a very friendly Ethiopian who begins chatting them up. The Ethiopian invites them either to a celebration of some kind or to check out some traditional dancing. The foreigners agree and are taken to either a bar or a private residence. They are greeted by lots of Ethiopians, there is some dancing, coffee or drinks are served, and at the end of the production a ridiculously huge bill is handed to the foreigners (sometimes as high as $300 USD). Even though the foreigners could just refuse to pay and walk out (they are not being threatened with violence or weapons), they almost always pay.

Anyway, I will say that I am enjoying this city and meeting lots of really great people. My next posts will delve into the work I’m doing here in reproductive health and ICT. Thank you all for visiting my blog and I look forward to your comments!

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