More from Addis

It is supposed to be the dry season here in Ethiopia, but apparently I brought the rain here with me from Kigali. It has been pouring rain most of the afternoon. Fiona is not impressed since she thought she was done with rain until January. I am also really tired of rain and was looking forward to hot and sunny weather while I was here. Maybe it will be sunny when I get back to Halifax....I know, not very likely.

Addis is a crazy city that provides a lot of opportunities for people watching and observations. Walking from where I am staying to Fiona's house yesterday afternoon I passed several posters for 'marital assistance' and it is not unusual to see donkeys piled high with sacks walking down the streets. I met Fiona for lunch near the MEDA office today and from the window we watched a bunch of cows being herded along the side of a very busy roundabout. There were a couple of near accidents as drivers in Addis are not well known for their safe driving and the cows were not happy to stay on the sidewalk and kept running in the middle of the road. Good lunchtime entertainment.

Fiona has had to work most of this week and her work trip down south that I was going to tag along on has been postponed until next week so I've been spending a lot of time just wandering around Addis and relaxing at home. It is a nice break from thinking and planning and worrying about research. We're planning a day trip for this weekend and it is possible that monday will be a holiday but they aren't sure at her office yet - it is a lunar holiday so I guess it depends on what the moon is doing? So we might go out of town on Monday as well, or else I'll go to Emtoto by myself. Emtoto is where the old capital was and though there isn't a whole lot left there is a church and a museum, and it is on top of a big hill. It is supposed to have really good views of the city and it will be nice to be out of the airpollution for a little while. The pollution makes me feel like I am loosing my voice and I have had to use my inhaler more in the past few days than I have in several months combined. The altitude does not help either but I am getting used to that. I am looking forward to taking some good pictures at Emtoto. I haven't been taking very many here - I am reluctant to take my camera out of my bag since this city is well known for pickpockets and Fiona has already been robbed twice. Cameras also mark you as a tourist which invites more of the harrassment from beggars and street vendors that I am generally trying to avoid. Fiona has also talked about visiting some of the weavers that she works with and I'm looking forward to this as well. Some of the scarves and fabrics I've seen so far are really beautiful and I am hoping to buy some.

I am really looking forward to the weekend and whatever adventures we end up having. I'm really glad that I was able to come to Ethiopia and I am enjoying my time here, but I am also really looking forward to returning to Canada. I will miss the coffee though!