Morning all- It is Wednesday, and I am writing this in my office, in between working on updating Visio diagrams of the college. Work is proceeding well- we have started to prepare the documentation to accompany the bid for the network cabling which will enable us to link all the college to the servers and the internet. I’m beginning to get to know more of the staff now which is nice- people are now coming to see me with IT problems-mainly viruses! I’m the only Ferenji on the campus, but not the only volunteer- there are three Korean volunteers here. However, only one of them speaks any English- Jo, and he is a really nice guy. Last Thursday, he bought two local Japanese IT volunteers to meet me- Mickey and Masash, both of whom are working in local high schools. I was chuffed to find that Masash is a fellow cyclist who has bought his Gary Fisher mountain bike from Japan to go exploring on.
I decided last week that I will be returning to the UK in May for a couple of weeks to collect my bike- as some of you know; I’m a very keen cyclist! I had been looking into shipping the bike out to me, but the cost was so similar to getting a flight home, it seemed an obvious move to do that instead. My flight is now booked for the 4th May, and I will be returning to Ethiopia on the 13th. I hope to catch up with a lot of you whilst I’m home. I’m looking forward to getting my bike back here- my VSO supplied bike isn’t up to much more than riding to work, and I really want to get out and explore more of the local countryside.
Thanks to Lisa, Joseph, and Cedric for filling me in on “Rupell” from last weeks update- Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell (20 November 1794 - 10 December 1884) was a German Explorer who, in 1830, was the first naturalist to traverse Ethiopia, and in doing so a number of species of birds and mammals are left bearing his name.
I have also discovered that the common local monkey is called the “Vervet” or “Blue balled” monkey, for very obvious reasons that I won’t dwell upon here. The monkey that regularly visits my office is one of these, and yes, they are very, very blue. Enough said on that I think...
As I ride to work every day I have begun to notice how much of the clothing that Ethiopians wear must come from charities in the US/UK, and I am continually surprised and sometimes educated by slogans that I see on T-shirts. This week I have learnt that “Global Hand Washing Day” takes place on October 15th and “World Malaria Day” is April 25th- all from T-Shirts. And one shirt I saw informed me “You have a face for radio”. Thanks. It’s funny to see all these English slogans on Ethiopians as I’m pretty sure not all the wearers have any idea what they mean.
Football shirts from English Premier League teams are worn with pride by many Ethiopian men- the obsession with football here is staggering. Most bars and restaurants have seated areas where you will regularly find rows of solemn Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United fans sat staring at the match in complete silence. It’s like a church of football. Not many other teams/leagues get a look in bar the three above- and don’t ask about the Ethiopian national team, as you will be met with sneers and muffled laughter. On the other hand, ask about Spain’s chances in the World cup and you will be informed of every team member, their current form, and the high hopes of a Spanish victory!
I’ve now been here in Ethiopia for 6 weeks, and it dawned on me the other day that this is the longest I have ever been away from home, and barring a couple of low days, I have had a genuinely terrific time. I think that I have begun to adjust to the idea that this is my home for the foreseeable future, though contact with everyone back home keeps my spirits up no end. The phone calls that I have received from Dom, Sandra, Will, James and Arash have helped immensely- it is so nice to know that everyone is thinking of you and looking out for you. I also spoke to my Mum and Dad on Mother’s day, for the first time in nearly a month, which was great. Hi Mum and Dad! A volunteer I know in Delhi said this the other day “there are some people I really miss talking to and when I do it feels just like the happiness you feel when going home”. I know exactly what she means.
The highlights of the last week (apart from talking to my Will and my Mum!) were Karen and Laura’s little gathering on Saturday. It was declared that we couldn’t call it a party as there were only 6 people, but a great time was had by all. Me and Laura purchased a crate of Dashen beer and managed to get a friendly Bajaj driver to get us almost to the front door, which was great. Buying beer in Ethiopia is not quite as easy as it is in the UK as shops just don’t sell it- it has to be bought at bars, and you have to very solemnly promise to bring back the bottles when you are done as there is a deposit. Proper recycling of bottles- I think it’s great: why did we stop doing this in the UK? Well, as me and Laura were the only people drinking at the party, there is still a lot of beer to get through, but it’s nice to know there is a supply, should I fancy one. I just hope the bar don’t get too worried about the whereabouts of the bottles.
The work highlight of the week was getting one of the two Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) at the college fixed- I had to go into the office on Saturday morning to let in the engineer, and an hour later, the broken unit was up and running. The UPS’s basically are big batteries that supply power if the external supply goes down, and allow the servers to stay up and running. This is a great step forward, especially when you take into account all the power issues that we have been having at the college.
The low point of the week came on Sunday when I came down with a cold. Luckily it only lasted a couple of days, but a cold when its 30 degrees outside is now fun at all. Rather than “man-flu” I decided on Sunday I had a much more African “man-malaria”. And like “man-flu” it was almost entirely gone by Tuesday.
Right- It is time for me to go.
Thanks for all your emails and good wishes -they all mean a lot to me.
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