tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14454740479813267212024-02-07T11:21:36.784-08:00Joanne In EthiopiaJoeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-24033046919653024412011-06-01T04:36:00.001-07:002011-06-01T04:36:00.731-07:00Part 3<p class="MsoNormal">Final Days Part 3</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now it may seem that my last two blogs were a tad negative – and so they were but I am trying to stay positive and amuse myself in the last few weeks I have here. I am trying to remember all the good things about Ethiopia, and there are some. However, I do not have the will or the inclination to recount them here at the moment. I am hoping when I return that I will remember things with fondness, like the Ethiopian penchant for plastic flowers. They are everywhere and of every gaudy colour possible. In fact plastic allows for an array of vibrant colours not often associated with flowers. My favourite is bright violent blue. Blue bridesmaid dresses are this season's choice for young ladies. And the blue has to be a violent deep blue and shimmery. As do the associate flowers. Ethiopian bridesmaids never carry real flowers – I have no idea why – especially as there is an abundance of beautiful flowers that grow year round. Every landlord I know cuts back flowers. My present landlord uprooted all the flowers planted by a previous volunteer. What a pity. But bridesmaids must carry plastic flowers and wave them out of the car window as they ride around town in the wedding car and drive round the roundabout several times before moving on. Last Sunday there was a queue to use the roundabout for wedding car horn tooting and waving of plastic flowers. Plastic flowers are everywhere – even in the President of SNNPR's office and the office of all the Deans of Universities. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was asked to give the SNNPR President an English lesson and was asked to prepare something ahead of time. I took the opportunity to print off reviews from web sites recounting the terrible hassle tourists and visitors receive on a trip to Ethiopia. We discussed the shouting of ferengi, you you etc, the perception of people outside Ethiopia and how much hassle we get from beggars and those simply shouting at you. We even asked him the question of how he would feel if someone in England or Australia shouted nigger at him in the street. His answer was very interesting. He said that if he was in London he would think the guy was just mad as he knows that most British people do not think that way and would be offended if one of their compatriots shouted at a tourist in that manner, but that if it happened in Australia he would feel distinctly uncomfortable as many Australians have a poor attitude to the Aboriginals and that he may be thought to be one of them and therefore come in for some serious ridicule. President Shiferew is a smart shrewd man with many interesting ideas. I enjoyed his company immensely so when he asked if the hassle we had discussed was as bad in Awassa I said it was worse than Addis. He replied saying that he guessed most educated Ethiopians would not know this as they do not receive the hassle. But that as he has access to newspapers and radio he would start a campaign to stop the hassle of ferengi!!!! If that is my legacy then I am happy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">And so it is time to come home. Almost all my clothes are ripped, torn and threadbare and will be required to be thrown away. Which is just as well as VSO have booked me on two different airlines<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>- BMI which allows me 30kgs from Addis to Heathrow and then BA which allows me 20kgs from London to Glasgow. Good old VSO, unable to see the difficulty this would present. I'll need to eject 10kgs along the way. But it will also be good to come home to a new wardrobe.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>2011 – 2012 will be a year of new beginnings and I am so looking forward to it. I have mixed feelings about Ethiopia and its people – but I have had some amazing experiences (which I hope to share here when I reflect back) and learned a lot – including how to make pancakes and popcorn – and met so many incredible people from so many countries. But I have developed and grown as a person. It could just be something that hits you when you turn 40, it could be that I have had to challenge myself and my (at times) unreasonable behaviour and behave better. Or it could be that living cheek by jowl with some of the world's poorest people puts things into perspective or it could simply be that I have found my other half. My better half. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have found someone I am completely myself with and who understands me and accepts me entirely and with whom I have a future that I am truly excited about. But most likely it is a combination of them all and I am comfortable with myself and who I am. Travel really does bring you home to yourself and it is a happy place to be. Happy Travelling Blogees!!!!!!!</p> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-79133192880886465662011-05-30T23:44:00.001-07:002011-05-30T23:44:10.678-07:00Final Days<p class="MsoNormal">Final Days<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Part 2 (of the Trilogy)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So the food shortages continue, but I am still getting enough veg to keep the plumbing clear. This is more than can be said about the general plumbing in Ethiopia. As you know I have a deep loathing for the sanitation here – it is probably the thing I dislike the most and something I will never understand. Men peeing constantly in the street is bad enough but I am increasingly becoming irate at men here using the ladies loos, especially when not peeing. I shall go to the ladies room and it will be occupied – no problem – but then time is marching on and my lukewarm dinner is becoming increasingly cold. Then the noises start, usually a lot of grunting, and finally after an age a man appears. I take one look at the wet floor and the mess left behind, then I lay into them. They all claim that they did not realize this was a ladies toilet. If I can read the sign in Amharic as well as recognize the international symbol for a lady then I am sure they can. The reason they use the ladies toilet is that they have soiled their own room and have moved on to soil elsewhere. These men are disgusting. It is also true that Ethiopians do not know how to flush a 'Western' toilet. Can't / Wont? Even at the MoE no flushing took place!!!! Don't understand the people here sometimes. But in truth the general state of plumbing here is appalling. But one gets used to it. For example I cannot fill the kettle for a cup of tea while Paul is using the shower or said shower will stop working. If I use too much hot or too much cold water in the shower – shower will stop working. There are more plug sockets in the bathroom than any other room in the house – there is only one in the bedroom and there is no toilet cistern that actually works properly; there will be an array of plastic, wool, straw, string attached to the stop cock that needs pulled and every tap leaks – except when there is a water shortage. Which is required from time to time to dry out the bare wires from all electrical appliances.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">My new favourite electrical appliance is the laminator!!!! It truly is the best thing for Ethiopia. I have to makes sure, however, that it is plugged in to the right socket with enough voltage to heat it up. But I have been making resources for my last workshop and the best thing is that they can be re-used. Albeit not by me as I witnessed my colleague collecting armfuls of resources at the end of the workshop for which he did zero preparation and very little presentations during the four days. My second colleague was a bit distressed and went round picking up what was left. And of course not one thank you between them, it was all "I need this" and "I need that…" They were welcome to all my hard work. It was a rather strange workshop. I had organised two training sessions so all the trainers could get together and agree on a plan for the four days and decide who was responsible for which sessions. When the workshop started it was very clear my two colleagues had done NO preparation and had expected me to do ALL the preparation. I was feeling somewhat charitable in my last official duty as VSO volunteer and made up power point presentations for them as we went along, though my patience was tried when one colleague told me to wake up in the middle of her Amharic presentation and put certain information on the screen. She told me her next session would simply be a translation into Amharic of the session I had done that morning and I should use the slides I had already prepared. I reminded her that the slides were in English but this was not a problem. I wasn't really sure why there was an Amharic session using English slides. It was a bit like watching an English movie that had been badly dubbed into Amharic with English subtitles. Why were the trainers there I wondered. The workshop had already been cut by one day and the three remaining days were shortened by 1.5 hours. But then I discovered not only were they getting a per diem they were being paid as trainers – more than half a month's salary for 3 days work. Not bad work if you can get it, especially if you leave the ferengi volunteer to do all the work!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Final Part of the Trilogy to follow as will the Editors Cut on Ethiopia.</p> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-17842069065057034812011-05-30T05:12:00.001-07:002011-05-30T05:12:12.545-07:00Final Days Part 1<p class="MsoNormal">Final Days <br><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Part 1</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well my blog friends I am coming to the end of my time in Ethiopia. I officially finish my placement in Awassa on Friday 10<sup>th</sup> June. This has resulted in much goings on in my head; reflection on my time here and thoughts about coming home. Such reflection and thoughts are rarely coherent in one's own mind and become even more obfuscated out loud. So let me just recount some of the amusing aspects of life here in Ethiopia that I have failed to include in previous blogs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Observation on the life and people of Ethiopia never fails to amaze me – and not always in a positive way. One thing that I can never get over is the complete lack of common sense. Thinking skills here are non-existent. One of the capacity building efforts Paul would have liked to support here is training Ethiopian's to ride a bike properly. We are constantly amused that cyclists here ride with their heels. Now it is certainly within the realms of possibility that they do not realize that peddling with the balls of your feet is much more efficient way to gain power and better on your thigh muscles but surely commons sense would prevail, as by riding with your heels it means that your toes and the front of your feet overlap the front wheel, making it increasingly difficult (nigh impossible) to steer the front wheel. So to counteract this problem cyclists here ride duck-footed – with feet pointing outwards away from the bike – thus endangering their thigh muscles further. And what with men's predilection here to wear those ridiculous long pointed shoes they are practically doing a plie on the bike simply to avoid tangling their toes in the front wheel spokes. Simply moving their feet backwards a little on the pedals would ensure greater speed on the bike and less damage to the thighs. But alas no; this common sense approach evades them. But in terms of speed though, there are moments of alacrity. As I cycle past on my bike any Ethiopian men I pass simply speed up to overtake me, peddling with all their might with their heels. But they cannot sustain the pace and I simply cruise past them 2 minutes later. So they speed up again and pass me. This cat and mouse chase continues till I get so sick of it I simply put into top gear and leave them in a dust cloud. I once did hear an Ethiopian say –'Wow she is fast!' I wondered at this strange behaviour till I was watching the Awassa 7km run. I was standing at the sidelines cheering on friends as they passed. A friend Mark passed and there was much shouting, jeering and laughing as he passed. I asked my friend Tes what was being said and he replied that the Ethiopians were shouting at other Ethiopians – 'quick run, don't let the ferengi beat you' which produced a burst of runners to fly past Mark. Apparently it is not cool to be outdone by a ferengi – I guess especially in running for which Ethiopians are renowned.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Apart from the dubious Emperor Haile Selassie the most famous Ethiopian is Haile Gebre Selassie (no relation to the emperor) the marathon runner. Our friend Dee completed the half marathon in two hours and as I was congratulating her another friend declared that Haile could do twice the distance in the same time. Its true – Haile ran the marathon in just under 2 hours – his record has still not been broken. He is a great advocate of running in Ethiopia and attends all the local running events. He is a real credit to Ethiopia. He is also a millionaire and the owner of one of the few five star hotels in all of Ethiopia and the 'Face' of Johnny Walker. Ethiopians are mad for Johnny Walker and when I tell them they should try real malt whisky they say 'What like White Horse'!!!!!! Anyway Haile's hotel in Awassa is on the lake and a lovely (though expensive) way to while away an afternoon (a macchiato is 15 birr as opposed to the usual 3 birr. Though that is still less than a pound.). The hotel is still somewhat under construction. When I spied and enquired about the tennis courts on site I was told it was free to play there till the whole site is finished. And so each Sunday Tes, Mark and I venture down to the Haile for free tennis and one morning – there was Haile himself. All tiny bits of him. He is really small. We had a quick chat and he seemed pleased we were using the courts. Afterwards Paul and I shared a steak sandwich – one of the best I have tasted anywhere in the world. And it is definitely better than the plate of chips I had the other day which came free with a large piece of broken glass in it. When I held it up to the waitress she looked at me wonderingly and her face said 'Why is the strange ferengi putting bits of broken glass in her food?' I decided not to sue as I hadn't actually swallowed anything. Unlike my friend Megs who nearly swallowed a cockroach found in her coffee. Well we all need a bit of protein from time to time. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">Food is one of the things I am looking forward to. On the whole, I have a very healthy diet of fresh vegetables and there is something extra sweet about eating avocados and mangoes straight from the tree of our garden. But there are things I miss, like a decent wine (not the Ethiopian powdered kind), especially cold white wine and cheese. We haven't had cheese in over a month here. Food items come in fits and starts. For a while we had cheese and now none. Also there is not yoghurt to be had at all. But worst of all there is no sugar and no oil. Sugar doesn't bother me but Ethiopians consume sugar on enormous scale. There is an urban myth here that says the reason Ethiopians eat so much sugar is that a number of years ago the government transmitted health notices saying sugar was good for you, in order to boost sales of sugar. But whatever the reason, sugar is a vital component in Ethiopian coffee. Now the government has fixed prices for certain food stuffs, such as bananas, sugar, milk, bread, beer, beef and soft drinks. The only places exempt from charging government prices and can charge what they like are 'places where ferengis tend to go'. And this was reported in the newspaper!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So sugar became difficult to get. Some places were not even selling to ferengis and you could only literally get it from under the counter. The prices soared from the fixed 7 birr a kilo to 15 birr then 30 birr a kilo. So there was sugar to be had, but only on the black market. To counteract this government institutions were given a ration for each member at regular prices. So we all had to bring in our plastic bags for our 5 kilo ration of sugar. Now I never use sugar but was able to 'pass it on' to others. Volunteers don't get paid much, but our serentenga was very happy. We are awaiting our ration of oil too as this ahs completing disappeared off the shelves. Makes cooking incredibly difficult and olive oil is no good for popcorn. So with no popcorn and no sugar the Ethiopian coffee ceremony is in jeopardy.!!!!</p> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-24070365131908894362011-04-19T06:54:00.001-07:002011-04-19T06:54:51.197-07:00Just one item this week...<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Hippos and Hijacking</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>There is only one item for the blog this week.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>My friends David and Maureen have been on tour for the MoE and Awassa was the last set of visits on a long month's tour. Paul and I said we would look after them and pamper them, help them rest and show them the sites of Awassa. I think it will be quite a while till they visit Awassa again! </FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>One of the highlights of Awassa is a boat ride on Awassa Lake to see the Hippos. Having checked various places and prices we decided on taking the boat from the Lewi Hotel – one of the few five start hotels in Ethiopia. A lovely spot to chill out with a (rather expensive) beer.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>After a macchiato we were ready for our trip. Paul and I had previously been out on the Lewi boat and we had a very nice driver / pilot. This was Paul's sixth trip on the lake and for me the fourth, but we still both love a look at the hippos. This time the boat was jammed packed full of people – Ethiopian's and ferengi alike.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>It was a lovely morning and everyone was buzzing with excitement. The only thing to disturb our peaceful journey was the little speedboat from the hotel which sped past us, disturbing the waves. Our worry was they would upset the hippos and scare them off. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But by the time we reached the hippos the speedboat was on its way back, short trip which smacked of 'I have money and can do what I like' attitude. But it meant we could watch the hippos in peace. And we were well rewarded for our patience. I have never been so close to these majestic creatures. They have enormous heads – I mean really huge and they had more than their nostrils and tiny flappy ears out of the water. I felt truly privileged to be so close to them. All too quickly we had to head back – it was after all only an hour's trip. But the trip back lasted two hours!</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>As we proceeded back to the hotel the driver of the boat slowed down. I noticed several row boats and thought – 'Oh hell we have driven over their fishing nets'. Fishing is a major source of employment and income for the fishermen in Awassa. Then we saw one of them holding a gun. Maureen thought it was a spear gun to get fish. Paul thought it was an excellent photo opportunity. Then we saw another boat with a guy with a gun, then another and another. We were surrounded by half a dozen rowing boats all with armed gunmen. There was a lot of frantic shouting in Amharic and we were being corralled into the middle of the lake. It was clear by now that something was 'going on'. The driver of our boat complied and we piloted slowly to the middle of the lake where we met up with the speedboat which was also being held at gunpoint. By now we thought that we were going to be robbed, and there was an amazing array of photographic equipment on the boat. The waiter from the hotel sitting next to me stuffed his money and his sim cards into his shoe. I did the same. It actually went through my head that they could have my phone but it was too much of an annoyance to lose my sim card – especially now that the cost to replace a sim card has gone up by 25 birr! There wasn't much money in my purse and no ID, thankfully. I even said to Paul to take out the memory card from his camera as he could replace his camera but not his photos. This too went down my sock! It is amazing how clear your head can be when faced with six guns pointed at you. I still wasn't convinced the guns were real. Everyone by now was thinking the same, that we were going to be forced to the other side of the lake and robbed. But then more frantic exchanges took place in both Amharic and Afan-Oroma (the language of the fishermen from the other side of the lake!) Finally an Ethiopian guy who works for the UN got up and starts shouting at the boatmen with the guns telling them (we find out later) to go away and leave us alone. Next thing we hear gunshots and in seconds we all hit the deck. This was now really serious. The waiter and one of the boatmen were first to the floor. Then the shouting got more and more frantic and with us all squashed on the floor of a rather small boat it was difficult to know what was going on. Slowly as the shouting stopped we one by one sat up again. The two Chinese people and the driver of the speedboat were boarding our boat. The gunmen took over the speedboat and told us to go on our way. They seemed anxious we leave quickly and there were cries of Amesaganallo (thankyou) as we drove off.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>We all wanted to speed off back to the hotel but the pilot just cruised off, only to stop 10 minutes later to take a phone call on his mobile phone (apparently the noise of the boat made it difficult for him to hear). In fact he had been incredibly calm throughout the whole ordeal and was 'chatting' to the fishermen and seemed to know who they were. David thought the whole thing was a set up and he was part of it, to steal the speedboat. Someone else said it was a revenge attack for the death of two of their fishermen by the Sidamese fishermen (from the Awassa side of the lake). Either way it was a pretty frightening experience, though I didn't realize how scared I was till we finally got off the boat and my legs were shaking. Maureen flung her arms around my neck and cried – with relief. No-one was hurt. We all got back safely. </FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>The reactions of people to the incident have varied. The Police were completely unconcerned and took no details, my colleague at work just laughed, my Programme Office hasn't bothered to call and the manager at the hotel (where we were FINALLY given a free lunch) simply said: "This Is Africa!" Though he was a lovely man and very attentive to us and apologized profusely. We have had phone calls and texts from concerned volunteers and the Country Director called us. But this still remains a country where guns are easily come by and civil strife between tribes spills over from time to time to non-locals. I have been told that the 'squabbling' between tribes is something actively ignored/encouraged by the government in order to divide and conquer. But where will it stop? Does it really need the death of a tourist to create an international incident and set people to action? And in the mean time who is concerned about the deaths of the two local fishermen? And what is being done to ensure the livelihoods of local people in one of the world's poorest countries? And what would we all be willing to do to put food into the mouths of our children in a place where the government looks the other way?</FONT></P> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-88689950690980303622011-04-13T02:36:00.001-07:002011-04-13T02:36:16.724-07:00Rain and Sludge and StuffRain and Sludge and Stuff<BR> <BR> I have just completed a most satisfying job. It is one of those jobs that I am always meaning to do and never seem to have the time nor the inclination to get round to. I cleaned up one of my pen sticks. Actually I cleaned up three pen sticks. I no longer have double folders with the same names and documents with the same name just numbered 1 - 6 and I now know where everything is. And I am re-familiarising myself with all my school documents before this August. It only took me all afternoon yesterday and all this morning. But a strangely satisfying feeling! Only one small problem - I managed to completely delete my Poetry folder - and from the looks of things I teach a hell of a lot of poetry. I was quite blase when I realised what I was doing as I thought I'd simply recover all the documents and data from the recylce bin! But alas and alack no joy. Apparently when cleaning up and deleting from a pen stick the documents do not go into the recylce bin - I never knew that - so I have learned something in my time in Ethiopia! Thank goodness my hubby to be is an IT Guy, who spent an incredible amount of time recovering my data last night. That would be enough reasoon to marry him, but to be honest I am marrying him for his pancakes and the fact he has the complete series of West Wing!<BR> <BR> In practice of my role as the dutiful wife I said I would cook dinner - we had agreed some time ago that as an example to Ethiopian men and young women Paul would do most of the cooking. Men here NEVER cook and would never dream of even entering the kitchen. Our (female) day guard's daughter thinks it is strange that Paul is even in the kitchen never mind he cooks while I lounge on the sofa reading my book. But it is all in the name of capacity building and setting a good example in the name of development! We had little in the house in the way of food, some tatties and a couple of ends of raggedy courgettes, so tatties and veg it seemed to be - till I was enlightened. A few days previously I came into the kitchen to the smell of raosting something. Almaz was roasting chick peas in the back patio. It was a lovely sight, her crouched over the tiny charcoal burner roasting chick peas. It was a delicious smell. The next day she arrived with a small bowl of shiro - chick pea powder - which she had obviously ground herself - truly amazingly fine - and she made a point of handing the bowl to me and not Paul - was she trying to say something? I think she is worried for Paul. She also likes to call me Jenny! So, I thought, we'll have shiro. Shiro and Tegabino are two of the most common dishes in Ethiopia. They are simply powdered chick peas made into an orangey paste and eaten with Injera. I love tegabino, which is usually thicker and spicier, having the spice berberry in it - a tastier version of chillie powder. From my vast knowledge of Ethiopian cooking I was aware that the shiro powder is usually cooked with some onion, garlic and burberry - which also gives it the lovely orangey colour and so I set to. The tatties were boiling and the veg roasting as I set my mind to the shiro - onion in, garlic and shiro powder in, cooked with water till the right consistency and eh viola - a lovely brownish sludge which tasted of nothing!!!! Serioulsy it was a brown sludge. I threw in the raosted courgettes and things seemed a little better, but it was fine with the mashed tatties - turned out to be a comfort food. But I think I'll stick to eating tegabino from restaurants. I also needed to hide my disaster from Almaz or she will probably seriously consider marrying her daughter off to Paul just to ensure he is being fed properly!!! But another reason for marrying Paul is he said he really enjoyed my sludge. We did try out other names for my cooking sensation like gloop - but gloop is always beige coloured to be and this was definitely a greeny-brown colour!!!<BR> <BR> Or maybe it was simply that the electricity had gone out which gave the sludge its characteristic palate. You get used to the power going off here often, but last night it was perfect - we couldn't see what we were eating but we witnessed the most amazing thunder and lightening storm I have ever seen. The sky was electric with both sheet and fork lightening - it was like fireworks! And the constant rumble of thunder was strangely comforting. A truly amazing sight! <BR> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-52669745839562462962011-04-08T00:30:00.001-07:002011-04-08T00:30:49.109-07:00Bonga Bonga<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Aha, the leak has stopped leaking! Why? Who knows, we are just thankful for the simple things in life. But to give the 'plumber' (he was a guy carrying around a wrench) his due he did say leave it a week, and he was right. Maybe the hay needs to swell or something. </FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Well it has been an interesting week. We went on tour for the REB to the west of Ethiopia to one of my favourite sounding places in Ethiopia – Bonga. I have to resist the urge to call it Bonga Bonga. The hours of neck-breaking (by the seatbelt) bumpy riding on the non-asphalted roads was worth the journey. Breathtaking scenery – oh so green and luscious – and there were trees – proper trees; if I squinted my eyes a bit and held my nose I could have been in England. Apparently Bonga is the birth place of coffee – but I imagine many places in Ethiopia can lay claim to this title. Our hotel didn't even sell tea – much to the chagrin of my travelling companion. But it is truly beautiful. What was also encouraging to the soul was to meet teachers and college lecturers working hard on CPD, and without per diem!! There are young teachers out there who want to improve the education of themselves and their students – and it is all the more heartening when you see how little resources they have. </FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>I often wonder at the sense here of spending millions on 13 new universities when the school classrooms are so (literally) bare. And not just bare – but lacking sufficient numbers of desks for students, blackboards crumbling off the wall, 1 textbook per four students (if they are lucky) and 1 teacher for 75 students per class. It is funny how we look at development – all students in Ethiopia have free education right through to the end of university – including being given accommodation allowance. When I think of the debt our students come out with at the end of four years it is staggering – and yet Ethiopians all think white ferengis are loaded with money. Even in the remotest rural west in Bonga – where the sight of a white person is real cause for staring and commotion – there is the cry of one birr one birr, money money money!!! Do they get taught this at school I wonder! But again and again I am coming back to the notion of working at grass roots level – it is fashionable for NGOs working in development to alleviate poverty through working at the federal level. RUBBISH! Let's get back to simply building classrooms and giving schools and children proper places for learning with decent resources. How can we help alleviate poverty if the country won't help itself? The CPD team at the Ministry produced a manual to support teachers in their learning. All schools were to receive copies of this for their teachers and there is recognized funding set aside for this. It has been stuck in planning and procurement at the MoE for over a year now. When I kept chasing it up no-one seems bothered. How can you make a government care for its people? Why, I wonder, are we trying to introduce CPD in schools when teachers can't even get enough books and pens for theirs students and are paid a pittance for their trouble. Primary schools have on average 4,000 students and maybe 50 teachers. It gets back to the Ethiopian blame culture – no-one takes responsibility for their actions. The government blames teachers for the poor education of the students – even though it is not prepared to equip schools properly or pay its teachers a decent wage. Teachers blame their students for not learning even though they do not have the books to learn (students are regularly hit with sticks in schools). A volunteer mid-wife told me she was at a delivery and the baby was distressed and they assumed it was dead or dying. Not one of the Ethiopians took care of the baby. She had to insist on getting oxygen and stuff to revive the baby – which survived due to her care. While all this was happening all the Ethiopians in the room were laughing. When she asked about this she was told that no-one wanted to take responsibility for the baby in case it died and so avoided caring for the baby and used laughter to take away their sense of responsibility! The lack of responsibility is compounded by the fact there is so much 'Aid' money in the country that I think Ethiopians believe that is how you get money – through foreign aid and not actually working – hence the call for money, money, money from the smallest dirtiest child to the fattest well-dressed mama in the street. Paul's counterpart asks every day when Paul will give him his laptop. A friend lent an Ethiopian friend and colleague her camera and it was never returned. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When she asked for it back <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>her 'friend' said – I am keeping it, you are a ferengi and can afford to buy another one. When the ferengi pointed out that this was simply stealing the Ethiopian shrugged his shoulders and walked off – with camera!</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Now there are genuine cases of poverty here – but it is getting harder and harder to distinguish who they are, and it is frustrating to have worked in a VSO placement where you thought you were going to be doing capacity building and sharing your skills when in actual fact they simply want you to do their work for them. So having travelled to Bonga has been a mixed experience. We were literally swarmed by children all trying to touch our skin, small children were actually being trampled on by other children to get to us. Real pop star stuff – but quite frightening and unsettling. I still do not understand the fascination they have for white people; it's a real mystery to me. People will literally stop in the street and stand and stare at you while you are having a coffee in a café. But I have come away remembering those teachers who are freely giving of their time and energy to improve things for others and their country. They are all young (in their late 2os early 30s) and I believe they are the great hope for their country. It is time for the new generation of Ethiopia to take over – and I wholeheartedly support them.</FONT></P> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-80307192653266511382011-03-21T23:55:00.001-07:002011-03-21T23:55:15.970-07:00Awassa<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri><STRONG>The Good Awassa Life</STRONG></FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>The first thing Paul and I did was re-arrange the house. We moved the bedroom to the front of the house where it is cooler and quieter – the day and night guard live at the back and we used to be awoken to the sound of thumping – grinding the coffee beans. All Ethiopian women roast and 'grind' their own coffee. Ethiopian coffee is the best coffee I have ever had and it is a pity that Western companies and policies do not support/allow Ethiopia to roast, package and export its own product. Coffee companies in the west buy raw, green coffee from Ethiopia and then roast, package and sell it themselves. As Western companies will only buy raw coffee they can buy it incredibly cheaply – forcing local people to work incredibly hard for very little money – but if they stopped selling the beans as a protest Western companies would go elsewhere and many many local villages would simply not survive. Corporate greed keeps poverty alive. It wouldn't take much to support local factories to set up their own production of coffee for export – but no doubt import taxes in western countries would make it too high for them to compete in the coffee market – and no doubt 'experts' would quote a number of other 'issues' which would make this impossible. But the only way Ethiopia is going to get out of the cycle of poverty is not through AID but having their own healthy economy. But whether the west would really allow this to happen is a different matter. But I digress. I have been reading books like 'Dead Aid' which explain comprehensively and clearly why AID not only does not work – but actually inhibits poor countries from growing and developing – but that is for another time. I think we should start another campaign alongside Drop The Debt Campaign – called Drop the Aid Campaign.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri></FONT> </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Anyway, it still remains that Ethiopian women cannot buy reasonably priced ground coffee in their own country, and so roast<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>their own and 'grind' it using a large pestle and mortar where thy bash the beans. It is incredible how smooth they can make it. They also have special coffee pots where when they pour the coffee in a particular way so you do not get any of the ground beans in your cup. Necessity really is the mother of invention. The kitchen tap was dripping – normal here - but incredible amounts of water are lost due to poor plumbing. We left in the plugs in the double sink over night to catch the water to use it in the morning. Just over night both sinks were full and there was a small lake on the floor. When you consider this was just one kitchen over one night and that all plumbing here is abysmal it is astonishing to think this amount of water waste is happening in most kitchens around the country, and in a land where water is a precious commodity. Washers simply do not exist in Ethiopia, so how they fix leaks is by wrapping a strip of rope made from hay around the tap. I was struck between admiring their ingenuity and frustrated that the knowledge of having something as simple as a washer does not exist. And this was fixing a leak in a new tap just installed! So we have a new tap – but the same old leak. Ho hum.</FONT></P> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-34992442991721498012011-03-14T01:15:00.001-07:002011-03-14T01:15:12.290-07:00Awassa<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Well Blogees</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>I have arrived in Awassa and am inspired to take up the mantle of re-writing my blog. I don't expect anyone to be there as it has been such a long time, but coming to live in Awassa feels like a new experience and in many ways it is. I am still in Ethiopia and still working as a VSO Volunteer, but I am living with Paul in a new house and have taken up a new placement and so to a great extent, things feel different. So rather than recount events of the past in Addis and the many trials of being a VSO volunteer over the past year I'll take up my blogging from arriving in Awassa.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Awassa is one of the largest towns outside Addis Ababa. It is about 400km directly south and is at a lower altitude – don't ask me what I have no idea about heights and stuff (except that a tennis net is three feet high and comes roughly to my hips), but being lower means that almost all year round it is hot. In Addis I was sleeping with three blankets at night and that was before the rains came. Awassa was incredibly hot for the first two weeks I arrived here. My finger swelled up and I couldn't get my engagement ring off – not that I want to take it off anyway! But the 'small' rains have finally arrived here – which is just what the town needs. Trees were wilting in the heat and there is dust everywhere. The great thing about the rain here is that it predictably comes at 5.30pm every evening. At about 5.15, when I hear the thunder I have enough time to jump on the bike and make it home before a soaking. The rains also make the evenings cool and bearable.</FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>Awassa is also different from Addis as it is flat – which is perfect for cycling around. Paul has fixed up an old bike for me – broken pedals and punctures galore – which will suffice till VSO get a me a new one. But it is wonderful to be back on the bike. Yesterday we cycled down to Haile Gebre Selassie's (Ethiopia's most famous athlete) five star hotel. Five Star in Ethiopia is not quite five star Sheraton in Addis type of luxury but the drinks were cold and the food tasty. But like all Ethiopian buildings nothing is ever quite finished, but unlike most other buildings which look 20 years old and decrepit weeks after 'completion' The Haile Resort looks well and healthy. And the best thing about the resort is the view. It sits on the banks of the Awassa Lake and it is wonderful to spend a few hours having a juice and reading a book, watching the bird life or staring into the lake. One of the best features about eating and drinking in Ethiopia is you can simply buy a coffee or juice and then sit for hours on end. No-one hassles you to move on or buy another drink – it is very relaxed and enjoyable – and even more so at the lakeside. </FONT></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Calibri>It is a pity this hassle-free behaviour is not extended to Ethiopian's general 'interest' in ferengis. As you know from Addis feregenis are constantly hassled for 'one birr' and more and the beggars literally step into your path and bang you on the arm for money. The hassle in Awassa is subtly different. There is a lot more staring. Groups of Ethiopian's of all ages stare constantly at you and if you literally stand still for too long (like getting a bajaj) you will be surrounded by locals staring at you. There is still the constant cry of 'You You Fereng' often followed by 'I love You' – not reserved for female ferengis only – Paul is 'loved' by many locals. I find the staring very disconcerting. Paul was told in a cultural talk that Ethiopian's find it rude to stare – so we have adopted a non-violent retaliation to the staring problem – stare back. Often with a 'teacher's' glare. This usually makes the staring stop. As to the cry of 'you you ferenge' (which will now be referred to simply as YYF) being on the bike helps. Usually by the time I have swept past on the bike they do not have enough time to react to a white person on a bike. But here's another interesting fact about Ethiopian's they are resilient. As you pass them we hear the cry of the Ethiopian – YYF. You ignore it – the cry gets louder – you ignore it and maybe walk a fraction faster – but the further you get from them the louder the cry – I have had children screaming YYF from down the street – Ethiopian's hate to be ignored – even if they are being rude, it's a pity they do not understand how rude it is to shout constantly at foreigners. On a bad day the shouting can really get to you and you resort to shouting back, I nearly slapped a man on the street for shouting something really rude at me and he replied 'I am Ronaldino'!!!!!Paul nearly hit a small child who would not go away – children will follow you for literally miles asking for money and nothing you say or do will make them go away – Ethiopian's are the most persistent and resilient people I know. I sometimes think that I should behave better and not let it get on my nerves, but I was reading the guide book the other day and it stated that the hassle in Ethiopia is possibly the worst in the world – and certainly compared to other African countries the author had visited Ethiopia is the worst hassle he has experienced in his many travels in Africa. It makes me feel better that it is not just me who feels like that. I could go on, especially about cyclists having stones thrown at them as they cycle past towns and other cyclists who gave up cycling in Ethiopia because of the hassle, but this is only one side of life here. In general I am enjoying Awassa and life here. It is a good change to Addis.</FONT></P> Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-7293073126626867222010-05-18T00:39:00.001-07:002010-05-18T00:39:43.037-07:00PostponementPostponement Notice!<BR> <BR> Unfortunately due to escalating developments surrounding the Ethiopian Election the installment of 'The Tale of the Screaming Paint' is postponed till the next blog. This is to bring you an update on latest developments in this developing country. The Election is set for Sunday 23rd of May and although VSO have said they do not forsee any problems several measures have been put in place. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) have decreed that all ferengis cannot travel without a travel permit; that means an official letter with all your details, reason for travelling, liscence plate of car you will be travelling in and people you are travelling with, all sealed with the usual Purple Stamp. VSO are requesting: 2 mobile numbers (not sure why as I have only one phone), that we identify a 'safe house' in our area (I nominated Colin's house as he has a landline but more importantly a fridge in which to keep the beer and a bbq set), that we get in enough tinned food and water to last four days, that we do not travel anywhere between Thursday 20th - Wednesday 26th May, that we avoid any public demonstrations, avoid public transport and stay away from any polling station. The quote on their last weekly update said: Did you know: 'Demonstrations and Protests lead to violence and unrest'!!! But still no need to panic.<BR> <BR> Thought you'd like to know, makes you thankful for the 'democracy' of our own elections. It is actually amazing that opposition parties can at least pretend to be working together for the next five years. Here two oppostion leaders 'died' one of natural causes, the other in a bar brawl. And tonnes of people are being arrested for simply taking down an election poster - 6 months in jail!!!! The posters are hideous as the party symbol is a giant bee which looks like some mutant killer bee from a 70s Sci-Fi B Movie. But despite all these restrictions everything seems calm. Can't help feeling it is a little media frenzy at work. Though interestingly the EU Observers are here to ensure things go smoothly. I was a little perturbed when having coffee in a cafe an Ethiopian came up and asked if we were EU Observers, not sure what the locals think of them being here. But we saw some the other day and they were wearing blue body warmers with EU on the back including the EU stars in a cricle in bright yellow - looks like a target!!! Glad I am not one of them.<BR> <BR> Well folks hope you are all well. I am really well on this, unusually, bright sunny day in Addis. I'll keep you posted on any updates.<BR> <BR> Love to you all<BR> Joanne x<BR> <br /><hr />Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/' target='_new'>Sign-up now.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-72490355619948237232010-05-13T11:50:00.000-07:002010-05-13T11:54:13.563-07:00Blogless No More<p class="MsoNormal">Blogless<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>No More</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dear all blogees, please forgive my tardiness in the lack of blogs. It is not for want of things to share with you, but rather a want of time. It is a rather time consuming business trying to ensure that all 40,000 + teachers are up to date with their CPD and writing support material to help them grasp the subtle complexities of why their government (like all governments) insist in overloading teachers with yet more 'vocational' training. As if trying to ensure that their 6 classes of 75 + students get a good education doesn't take up enough of their time. Also it is a rather interesting prospect to convince teachers here that Active Learning Methods, such as small group work, project work, research methods, active participation etc is all good learning. A bit difficult when there are few or no textbooks, one broken blackboard, enough rough wooden benches for only half the class and no resources for the students. Ho hum, developing teachers in developing country is a daunting and humbling experience, especially when confronted with teachers' eagerness to learn and develop their own teaching and learning despite all these obstacles. How can I dare to get despondent when daily I am met with enthusiastic and willing teachers, genuinely concerned to bring the best education to their students. It is these people who keep you going, not the ever-creepy-smiling State Minister in his yellow and lime-striped impeccable suit who talks at you and tells you what to do even though you have tried to do that very thing half a dozen times only to be met with brick walls of excuses and incompetency's and cries of 'That's not the Ethiopian way of doing things..' Ah, can you tell I am in need of a holiday. Soon, soon. But before then I must regale you with 'Tales From the Compound'. And don't be discouraged, these tales do include episodes of gore and horror of Edgar Allen Poe proportions. Some titles include: 'The Tale of the Squealing Dog', 'The Tale of the Missing Head', 'The Tale of the Missing Vegetables'. But let us begin with 'The Tale of the Screaming Paint'…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are you sitting comfortably? Then let is begin… It all began a few months ago…</p> <br /><hr />Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail – Free. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/' target='_new'>Sign-up now.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-29417113951266232132010-04-26T04:36:00.001-07:002010-04-26T04:36:46.061-07:00My Dearest S4<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>My Dearest S4 Class<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>It is with a heavy heart that I write this. I have already sent you a card wishing you Good Luck for the Exams and was going to do the same in this Blog, but now events have overtaken us.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Who can answer the question as to why Laura took her own life. It is unimaginable. I remember her as a smart, intelligent young girl, who had the same hopes and dreams of all young people. Laura had her own circle of friends who loved her for herself and she was a loyal and good friend in return. She was also my pupil and your classmate and she touched all our lives in different ways. You will know her better than me but I will share my remembrances of her as my pupil.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Laura may have seemed quiet at times but she had a sharp intelligence – she was in our special S3 / S4 class after all – and a quiet but funny sense of humour. She could turn round with a sharp and witty comment at any time, and unexpectedly at that. She worked extremely hard and was always striving to do her best. She will be missed by us all.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>So how do we move on from such a tragedy – because it is a tragedy that such a young and vibrant person should take their own life? We cannot imagine the depths Laura reached to take such a step. But we must remember her with joy and love. We must mourne her loss and not forget her and it seems too soon to move on with our own lives. But what you can take from this is how precious life is. All life is precious but I think most especially young life is precious. Laura was precious. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>So your exams are approaching, what do you do? You continue. That's all you can do, sit your exams. It doesn't mean you have stopped thinking about Laura – no-one would ask that of you and it is not an offence to Laura's memory because you are still here alive and working to do your best in your exams. It may seem that there are more important things in life right now – and to some extent you are right. But this is an important time for you all right now.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Do your exams. Do them well. And do them for the memory of Laura. And when the exams are over, take time to remember Laura in a way that she would appreciate. In a way that you can all remember her with joy and Love.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Every single one of you are all in my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>With much love<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Miss Joanne Cairns x<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/' target='_new'>Sign-up now.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-34919884647491984962010-04-03T06:05:00.001-07:002010-04-03T06:05:04.540-07:00HAPPY EASTERHAPPY EASTER EVERYONE<BR> <BR> Special birthday wishes to Paul and Florence - hope you both have a fantastic day!!! Thinking of you!!<BR> <BR> To everyone else have a lovely Easter Sunday. After the vigil tonight I am going to enjoy a glass of South Africa Red Wine (after my lenten abstinence) with some cheese and Nairn's oatcakes, from Maura and James.<BR> <BR> Thankyou to one and all for my Easter Wishes, my apologies for not replying individually but we have been having power cuts every other day and can't access the internet easily.<BR> <BR> I also hope to get my blog entries up nd running more regularly too, seen some rather interesting things. And I know I have been here a good length of time when I get excited by seeing road lines painted on a new road or getting a bounty bar!!!!<BR> <BR> No Easter eggs here, but as I was walsking out the other day I had to negotiate my way through a crowd of goats and the herder asked if I wanted on for Fasika (Easter). Also at Shola Marklet today a man thrust a live chicken in my face asking if I wanted that too. It is obvious the animals here are not going to have a good day tomorrow. But the Christian Ethiopans have been fasting - proper fasting for fifty days which includes no eating meat and no dairy products for fifty days. So they indulge themselves (or gorge themselves) on Easter Sunday on meat and dairy. I have never seen so many live chickens!!!!!<BR> <BR> Love to you all and HAPPY EASTER<BR> <BR> Joanne x<BR> <BR> <br /><hr />Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail - Free. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/' target='_new'>Sign-up now.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-31052407880120930562010-02-10T07:09:00.001-08:002010-02-10T07:09:06.258-08:00Thankyou AllBig Birthday!!!!<BR> <BR> Just a quick to note to say thankyou to everyone who wished me well on the BIG 40!!!! Thankyou especially to my family for all the phonecalls, it was wonderful to speak to everyone, but didn't help me keep my emotions intact over dinner. I celebrated on Sunday by having a dinner with close friends (15 of them) at the Greek Club where I am now officially a member and have been asked to participate in the next tennis tournament!!! Yippee.<BR> <BR> We all enjoyed some moussaka, Greek salad, dolmades, some lovely South African White Wine (almost impossible to get here without paying a small fortune) and of course a couple of ouzos. I was spolied with pressies from my Addis friends, including an ode written for the occasion and a cake with large 40 candles and sparklers. I broke down in tears saying the thankyous as I felt the joy, love and support of all my family and friends in Glasgow, Addis and around the globe. Though it was difficult not to miss everyone at home. I am truly blessed by thoe I call friends and family. My Addis family want my Glasgow family to know they wanted this to be a special day as they knew how difficult it would be to be away from those I love at home. They did an excellent job.<BR> <BR> I received cards from home yesterday. I think VSO did not collect their post last week due to the arrivals of new volunteers, but in some ways was glad as I was already and emotional wreck (with happiness) on the big day. Cards already received from Madeleine and Grace Cairns, Aunt Eileen, Paul, Teresa and family and Gail and Scott and boys (gosh Gail how big is Fraser now????) Clara (by email). I also have a slip from the post office to collect a small parcel which is exciting. Individual emails of thanks to follow. I particularly liked the sharing of my birthday by those of you who raised a glss in my honour - be it a G&T or Whisky be sure I was raising one (or two) as well.<BR> <BR> Thankyou one and all for all your birthday wishes, including texts (Mo and Jas) and Nuala and Josie for your Happy Birthday song. Thanks for emails, Gill, Paddy.<BR> <BR> I am going to sign off now as I think the torrential rain has lessened a little - now I know what 'real' rain is - it is even heavier than Glasgow rain!!!! and all I am wearing is a pair of flip flops!!!!<BR> <BR> Big Love and Big Hugs to everyone, and if I have forgotten to mention anyone please forgive me - when I get a minute I'll be in touch (after my three day National workshop, two day field trip, another two day workshop and all before Monday when I start my new job!!!) But be assured I'll be in touch.<BR> <BR> Love, Love and more Love<BR> <BR> Joey X x 40<BR> <br /><hr />Got a cool Hotmail story? <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/' target='_new'>Tell us now</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-62776580518110872542010-01-29T04:58:00.000-08:002010-01-29T04:59:43.658-08:00Another Grandish Tour of Ethiopia<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Another Grandish Tour of </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>With Lions, Leopards, Dozy Goats and Chat Rooms</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Hello Blogees, I hope all is well with you all. Is the snow starting to melt yet? I think days are getting a little hotter here in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB>. I am sitting in a town called Harar without a cloud in the sky, the sun is shinning and I am watching the Australian Open in the hotel's lounge. It is a real treat for me to be watching any telly, never mind the Aussie Open. I think I'll have a local Harari beer while I watch the tennis and write my blog. What is also strange is that one of the adverts on the sports channel is for the next Celtic and Rangers game. Pretty bizarre! Maureen and I are on tour for the Ministry. It was supposed to be Maureen and David but David had to return to </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>England</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> as their house was flooded pretty badly from a burst pipe. From his phone calls to Maureen things sound pretty bad. David will be away for two months, so I am taking his place, much to the chagrin of the Ministry Driver who huffed and puffed his way throughout the journey. I think he is not pleased at having to drive two ferengi women.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Our first visit was to </SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Haramaya</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN lang=EN-GB>University</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>. It is one of the oldest universities in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and is a complete and walled campus. It is a lovely campus and safe and full of students and staff, all of which live on campus. It even has its own farm with produce; fresh milk, eggs and pork – the only pork I have had since being here and delicious. But strangely no cheese. </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> does not make cheese, despite the abundance of cows and goats. The uni also has its own 'pets' corner', but a little bit different to </SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Linn</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Park</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>'s pets corner. We saw two lionesses, one of which is pregnant, a lion, a spotted hyena, a leopard, really large tortoises with babies and an assortment of monkeys one of which tried to grab my shirt as I passed. It only cost 1 birr, which is 5 pence, not bad to see my first ever lions and leopard!! Pity the cages are so small. We do get to drive through the Elephant sanctuary tomorrow – so who knows? Maybe we'll ask our driver kindly to stop and wait for the elephants!!!</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB></SPAN> </P><SPAN lang=EN-GB> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>We are currently staying in Harar, but to get here we had to pass through what Wynne calls '</SPAN><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Chat</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Town</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>'. Chat is a plant that grows here – looks like a common garden hedge – and people chew chat to make them high. Apparently they have to chew it for 8 hours to get a 'high'. But the fields around here are covered in it. Pity they don't grow crops on such fertile land. Also in this chat town they have chat rooms – not the scary online type but the scary chewing chat rooms. They are reminiscent of Victorian opium dens. These are simply large rooms with mattresses where people buy chat and sit around for hours simply chewing chat and getting high. It is really sad and the whole town has a really sad feel to it. It reminded me of a phrase by Richard Adams in 'Watership Down' that 'they look like trees in November'. All those people whose hopes and dreams and chances of a solid job gone in the pursuit of chat. There are chat leaves strewn everywhere – even the goats chew them and stagger around the place or stubbornly refuse to get off the road. We even had to do an emergency stop at one point as a goat was clearly fixated on getting its chat leaves!! When we met a colleague for a 9am meeting he was clearly high on chat. His eyes were sparkling and his speech slurred. It was very strange. Also we were told not to expect to conduct any business in the afternoon as everyone will be on chat. And sure enough as we walked round the town people were clearly doped up on chat and talking in a version of English only heard in Harar. A few VSO pals have tried it and said it tastes like hedge – or I what I imagine a hedge tastes like!</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>But Harar is a really interesting place – now a protected World Heritage Site with a fascinating past. Next time on Joanne's blog: Christians banned from the walled town, feeding hyenas, brightly coloured scarves and a poet called Rimbauld.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Be well everyone. I hope spring is springing into action.</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Lots of Love Joanne x</SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"></SPAN> </P></SPAN></FONT></FONT> <br /><hr />Do you want a Hotmail account? <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/197222280/direct/01/' target='_new'>Sign-up now - Free</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-31818987771105689402010-01-08T00:07:00.001-08:002010-01-08T00:07:35.607-08:00Christmas in Ethiopia<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Christmas in </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Dear all blogees I would like to wish you all a HAPPY GENA – Ethiopian Christmas. This took place yesterday and although today (</SPAN><st1:date Month="1" Day="8" Year="2010"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Friday 8<SUP>th</SUP> Jan 2010</SPAN></st1:date><SPAN lang=EN-GB>) is not technically a holiday the Ministry is pretty quiet and luckily for me I have not seen any of my colleagues. Yippeeee. As you may have ascertained from recent blogs work is not going too well. I just think they are not used to a smart, intelligent, efficient, woman (yes that would be me Mark!) working with them. All women at the Ministry are secretaries, cleaners or tea-ladies and I am not kidding. Also, my team are resistant to change or doing anything 'new' suggested by me. So life at work is pretty difficult at the moment. However, I am just going to get on with things and find a way to succeed. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>But also I want to say a HUGE </FONT></SPAN><B><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Apple Chancery'">THANKYOU</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Apple Chancery'"> </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">to everyone who went to the trouble of sending me a Christmas card or gift. You cannot imagine the joy it gives me to receive anything in the post and it is one of the things that has kept me going over the past wee difficult time at work. I feel very lucky to have such family and friends and it has kept me going and able to find ways to face the daily challenges of life here. So thank you. Also I received several packages yesterday – on Ethiopian Christmas – so it was like having two Christmases – which was great.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">So what is Christmas like here in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">? Well not as warm as I had hoped – but still lovely. There aren't many Christmas trees or decorations but </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Nancy</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">, David and Maureen had decorated their houses which was nice. I think I already told you about Christmas day and how we had a lovely meal together. But one thing I am surprised about is how my appreciation of mobile phones has increased. I have already mentioned the annoyance of all my colleagues answering mobiles at ANY time at work, even in a meeting. But on Christmas day I would see different people popping out to the garden as their mobile rang with warm(ish) wishes from home. I haven't missed a single call from home as my family call my mobile. That means there is no need to arrange times to call – which may not work as often the network is down – and you never know when – and people can call at their convenience. Also as everyone here answers their mobile at any time I can do the same. All you need to say is 'May I take this call? (Really it is a rhetorical question) It is very important'. Every call for Ethiopian's is very important. But I wont complain again as I know I can be contacted from home at any time. Brilliant!!! Long Live the </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Mobile</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Yesterday Eyalnesh invited Kellie and me to her house to share Christmas with her. I had two other invitations from other Ethiopian's but chose to share the day with my serentenga. The first thing that struck me was how we tend to keep Christmas for family, but here it is common for Ethiopian's to ask ferengi's for Christmas. It was the first time we had gone to Eyalnesh's house and were a bit worried as apparently a couple of years ago Eyalnesh invited other ferengis to her house and when her landlady saw this she upped her rent as she had 'white friends' and therefore believed she was receiving financial help!! But Eyalnesh has moved houses, thankfully. She lives on the edge of Addis in an area called Kotobe and at the top of a hill – with amazing views over Addis. We entered the compound which seemed similar to our own with a nice garden with grape vines and flowers. The difference was that whereas Kellie and I have a whole house to ourselves Eyalnesh lives in one room – common for many Ethiopians. The room contains one large bed, which I think she must share with her daughter and son, two cupboards, a small table, a t.v and little else. I saw no evidence of a bathroom and we didn't ask. At the moment she has no running water, but pipes are being laid so hopefully they will have piped running water soon. There was no sense from Eyalnesh or her daughter Jordan – who is a teacher and is so beautiful looking, really striking – that life was hard or difficult. The room was clean and obviously well cared for and they were good company, chatting the whole time. We were served Doro Wat – which is traditional at Christmas. It is a chicken dish served with a spicy, bright red sauce and a boiled egg. It is quite acceptable to take an egg but you try not to take too much chicken and leave it for your host and family. I really like it and thankfully Eyalnesh is a whiz at washing as I have spoiled so many white blouses with red splotches of doro wat sauce! Also here when a man asks a woman to marry her he will only do so if she can make a good doro wat and perform the coffee ceremony well. Apparently most women are asked to make doro wat for her prospective husband to ensure she is a good wife (maybe I should bring some into work – or just serve them haggis instead!)<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">It was funny walking to work on Wednesday as suddenly on the side of the road appeared thousands of chicken sellers displaying their wares in bamboo cages. Also there were even more goats being herded down the street. Treatment of animals here is appalling and when someone buys a goat and takes it home they hold the back two legs and 'wheelbarrow' it home. It is rather funny looking, but the goats know what their destiny is and resist at every opportunity. I often have to jump out of the way of a runaway goat. So at Eyalnesh's house we were also served a goat meat dish with carrots which was very nice. </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> is a good place for vegetarians as Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays and Fridays – no meat or dairy products, and on the run up to Christmas they fast for 45 days. So it is easy to get vegetarian dishes in restaurants. However, once Christmas has come the opposite is true – it is all about the meat and you would be hard pushed to find anything vegetarian. Apparently, although the day after Christmas is not an official holiday people have spent so long fasting and then stuff themselves with meat on Christmas day they are too sick to come to work. But then again we do the same – just pass that small piece of turkey, or just a small bit of stuffing or Christmas pudding. We just have the sense to realise we need the next day off.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">So Kellie and I spent a lovely couple of hours with Eyalnesh and her family and sharing food. One disconcerting thing is that when you are invited to a person's house the wife will not eat with you. It is important that the guest eats first – or with the husband, if he is there – and the wife waits till the guests have eaten their fill and then eats. I still find that hard to take, but Eyalnesh's husband is dead so Kellie and I ate on our own, though there were others who did eat also, just not exactly with us. Some neighbouring children came to the door and Eyalnesh fed them too. She said they had no parents and so she sort of takes care of them from time to time. This is a woman with the bare necessities for herself and her family looking out for others. She truly is a remarkable woman and an inspiration. An experience like that puts a lot of my life and worries into perspective. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Well my friends, thank you for sharing my Christmases with me. I have felt you all close with me through your generous gifts, cards, emails and well wishes and am a little jealous of your snow. Next time on joanneinethiopia: the coffee ceremony. I can't believe I haven't written about it yet, it is so important here. Have a great start to the year and hope getting back to work is not too bad.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Much Love<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Joanne x<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr /> <a href='' target='_new'></a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-21955011795984799032009-12-31T05:26:00.000-08:002009-12-31T05:27:47.645-08:00Happy New Year!<FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt" face="Comic Sans MS" color=#ff0000 size=5><EM>HAPPY NEW EVERYBODY!!!!!</EM></FONT><BR> <BR> Sorry its just a quickie, but I have been back at work since Monday and with the Ministry Newsletter deadline today (last day of December!!!) and me as Editor-in-Chief!!!!! its been pretty busy!!! (Only 3 Birr for anyone who wants an online version!) I have even been told to edit some 'sensitive' information in case it lands me in jail - no kidding! No criticism of the Government here.<BR> <BR> Hope you all have fantasic plans for Hogmanny. I am off for an Indian meal after work and then a few drinks at a friends to hopefully see in the New Year and then work tomorrow. I am so missing a proper teacher's holiday at this time of year.<BR> <BR> May all your dreams come true in the new Year!!<BR> <BR> Lots and lots of Love and warm hugs from Joanne in a semi-sunny Addis Ababa<BR> <br /><hr />Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394593/direct/01/ ' target='_new'>Find out how.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-50742739223987741492009-12-23T00:39:00.000-08:002009-12-23T00:40:23.506-08:00Christmas in Africa<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Christmas in </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Africa</SPAN></st1:place></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>My dearest bloggers as Christmas approaches I am filled with a multitude of emotions. This is my first Christmas ever away from home so it is all a little strange. Firstly </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> celebrates Christmas around the 7<SUP>th</SUP> on January (our Epiphany, their Epiphany is at the end of January and they just celebrated their New Year in September) so forgive me if I am a little all over the place. It doesn't help that the cd I have on is currently playing '</SPAN><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Caledonia</SPAN></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>' you are calling me home, and if I should become a stranger you know it would make me more than sad….. yadda yadda. Also I hear that it is snowing in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Britain</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and could be the first proper white Christmas in years. The BBC website is rubbish for photos! I was hoping to brag about having a warm, sunny Christmas with the possibility of a BBQ, but it is unseasonably cold in Addis for this time of year. I am using two thick blankets and a hot water bottle and African houses are not designed for the cold. I did manage to burn my shoulders walking up the hills around Addis on Saturday for a picnic for Maureen's birthday though.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>But it is strange here, hardly a decoration to be seen, except in ferengi restaurants, which I can no longer afford to eat in and after my marathon trip I can eat and pee anywhere now!! So no real sense of Christmas here and all my colleagues will be working on Friday. I miss hearing carols on the radio, seeing the shops decorated (no real shops here, only shacks – must get a camera - ) trashy Christmassy films on the t.v. my fire roaring while I wrap presents at the last minute, whisky and a good glass of red wine. But of course I miss family and friends most of all. It doesn't help that </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Frances</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> sends me emails and cards from Hannah telling me she cries as she misses me so much. But to get an email or a card through the post keeps my spirits up. What I missed most on my Grand Ethiopian Tour was emailing. I thought that strange till I realised that what I miss most is sharing my experiences with those who are interested in my life. And emailing and blogging keeps me connected to you all, which is so important. Sharing and communicating with each other is what counts.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>So I have to thank you all for your communication and a special thank you to those of you who have already sent stuff for my ELIC schools. It's brilliant. There are doublers of cds which is brilliant as I am trying to furnish two different schools (outside of my Ministry duties) which will make it easier to divvy up the goods if there are doubles. Films, audio and music cds are all welcome as are posters. When I am missing home (as I am right now greatly) knowing you are sharing in my experiences and supporting me in my work gives me great strength. Have no doubt about that. I am discovering that the most difficult thing about my placement here is being on my own. I don't mean lonely – I am not lonely, I have great friends and a happy and healthy social life (getting tennis racket soon too – yippee) but being on my own. My colleagues are infuriating, but I must have patience and learn to work with them in their environment and not 'impose' my ways on them, and the difficulties of the environment, like sanitation etc, are not that difficult. What is hard is to find the strength in myself to keep positive in the tough days. It can be difficult to have a bad or frustrating day and come home and find the power is out, or my vegetables have gone off, or there is no milk or teabags and I have to go out and speak in what little Amharic I have just to get a cup of tea. I cannot simply go round to my mums, or Gill's or Clare's for a 'free' dinner and chat and let off steam. Also as I am the only ferengi in my department I have no-one else who can understand my frustrations at work. So when I get an email or a little something through the post it gives me joy and great strength and I feel less alone. So a very special thank you for all my little cards and gifts. If I am this thoughtful over the Christmas period, heaven help what I'll be like when the New Year comes in!!!</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>So just to finish (finally) I will be having Christmas dinner with my friends: David and Maureen, Nancy, Trish, Tara, Vicki, Jamie and Mary, Mary's brother, Adam and Jillian and Me. We are having a secret santa and cooking a couple of chickens. I think we'll buy ours at the ferengi supermarket as usually folks get their chickens live from the markets and I am not sure I am all that good at plucking feathers or strangling necks, unless it is my colleagues!!!! </FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>So: HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Lots of Love Joanne x</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />Add other email accounts to Hotmail in 3 easy steps. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394593/direct/01/ ' target='_new'>Find out how.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-78778632910040241062009-12-11T05:31:00.000-08:002009-12-11T05:32:48.372-08:00Grand Ethiopian TourDear All<BR> <BR> my apologies for the lack of blogs. I have just returned for my 18 day trip visiting educational institutes around Ethiopia which was amazing. There is so much to share with you and I will get a blog done soon. Just one thing to say - I can't believe how green and luscious Ethiopia is - a far cry from the dry arid land we see on the news, it truly is a beautiful country. I have tales to tell of pink bottomed baboons, herds of camels, cheeky monkeys and drizzling waterfalls. All of which made up for having to share the small confines of a car with the most irritating colleague in the world and the appalling sanitation; well what can a girl expect from a 20 Birr <EM>'hotel' </EM>(£1!)? I look forward to sharing my stories with you.<BR> <BR> I am a little jealous of your Christmas preparations - there is NONE here - in fact their Christmas is not until January - the feast of the Epiphany. But us ferengis will take the day off and have dinner together. If you feel sorry for a poor VSO and wish to send me some goodies for Christmas the postal address is <STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt" size=3>Joanne Cairns, VSO Programme Office, PO Box 23531, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia</FONT></STRONG>. This is also the address to send your cds and posters for my school project. Sending stuff for them could be your Christmas present to me. Thanks so much.<BR> <BR> I'll be in touch soon. But just want to say the emails I have been getting have been brilliant - I missed emailing during my visit, but it is good to be back in touch. Thankyou to all of you who keep up with the emails, you have no idea how much it brightens my day. I am still enjoying the challenges of my post here, but feeling just a tad homesick with Christmas looming. Still I have my Addis family here: David, Maureen, Nancy, Trish, Vicky, Mary and Jamie all to keep me company. Tales of Christmas in a foreign land to come.<BR> <BR> Love to you all<BR> Joanne xx<BR> <BR> p.s thanks for the PJs - you know who you are - I love them!!!!!<BR> <br /><hr />Have more than one Hotmail account? <a href=' http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394591/direct/01/' target='_new'>Link them together to easily access both.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-53974540685827502872009-12-02T01:02:00.000-08:002009-12-02T01:03:05.982-08:00Hi AllDear All<BR> <BR> I am now ten days into my grand tour of Ethiopia. So far it has been an amazing experience - seen herds nad herds of camels, baboons with pink bottoms, ibexes, strange houses, strange people and amazing countryside, from desert to driving through clouds. Ethiopia is so green and lucios, nothing like the pictures on the telly. I am so lucky to have a chance to see all this. <BR> <BR> On the other hand I am ready to hand in my resignation at the Ministry or kill my colleague. He is proving to be a real trial to work and travel with. I just want to get back to my home in Addis and for the first time I am really missing home and all my friends and family. I will email you all when I get back around the 9th of Dec. <BR> <BR> I will blog the more interesting things later when I get baack to my office, but am thinking of you all and can't believ it is December already and talking about Christmas!!!!!!!<BR> <BR> Lots of love for now<BR> <BR> Joanne xxx<BR> <BR> <BR> <br /><hr />Use Hotmail to send and receive mail from your different email accounts. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394592/direct/01/' target='_new'>Find out how.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-11423210919902145412009-11-20T06:57:00.000-08:002009-11-20T06:58:52.757-08:00A Plea<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>A Plea</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Dear all, just back in the office after a most frustrating day. Left the office at </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:time Hour="14" Minute="0"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>2pm</SPAN></st1:time><SPAN lang=EN-GB> to go to the bank to cash the cheque for our expenses for our trip. Sat in the car for 45 mins while my colleague ranted about something other – it was all in Amharic, but raised voices mean the same thing in any culture. The driver and I had a lovely chat – with him having no English and me with no Amharic. But I did discover he had 3 children, one of who was in </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Beirut</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and he has a grandchild. I even saw photos from his wallet!!!! I managed to tell him my mum had 13 grandchildren – he was most amazed and I desperately wanted to show him some photos (hint, huge hint to my family – I am still waiting!) but all I had was a photo when Martin was about four and Maria two. But we had fun trying to work out what the other was saying. Normally conversations revolve around football but when I said football he had no idea what I was talking about – which was refreshing. Finally went off to the bank who confiscated my cd, full of boring work things. We went to cash our cheques only to be told this wouldn't happen as they were not purple stamped. EVERYTHING official here needs a purple stamp. So I waited at the bank while Tsegaw returned to the ministry to get the purple stamps. I used the time to call a colleague and finalise plans for our joint workshop. Tsegaw returned half an hour later thinking I was sitting in the long snaking queue keeping us a place. Oooppsss. Needed to be outside to get a reception on the phone. Finally got through the queue. When we got to the first desk Tsegaw asked me to produce my id. 'Id?' I said. He looked strangely at me. I did consider telling him I didn't have it (he never asked me to bring it!) but Ethiopians don't have the same humour and I really think he may have had a heart attack. So I produced my Ethiopian id and got a token to collect my money (after passing go and getting out of jail free!) It turns out Tsegaw needed photocopies of his id to get a token, which of course he didn't have. Another panic and another ten minutes while he ranted at bank staff, who have huge security guards with guns on their side, producing no results. He had to return with photocopies, 20 minutes later, then receive his token. Finally we got our money and off we set for the ministry. But alas, alack no I was to be abandoned miles form the ministry and find a line taxi back to work as he sped on to do something else somewhere else. I got back to the ministry at 5pm. We started this journey at </SPAN><st1:time Hour="14" Minute="0"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>2pm</SPAN></st1:time><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and all I had to show for it was 1,200 Birr for expenses – that's about £50! Phew a very frustrating afternoon – but there is no getting to know beuraucracy like experiencing it!!!! Helps me to know more about about life and culture here.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>THE PLEA</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>But on the other side of things I visited one of my schools who is setting up an ELIC. I have told you about them and more to come – its </SPAN><st1:time Hour="17" Minute="30"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>5.30pm</SPAN></st1:time><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and I want to get home. These are amazing guys who want to set up English clubs in their school – but they have absolutely no resources. So here comes the plea: Can I please ask you to send stuff to me. And I thought what would be a good and quick start was if everyone could gather together all the free posters and free cds you get in newspapers and send them to me. They will be flat, easy to package and post and quite light. It wont matter if I get duplicates and it will only cost you the postage. And it should get here relatively quickly. This will be a great start and a great support to them. Obviously if you want to do more and send books or anything else that would be great. Sorry I can't remember the address right now, but my mum has it. This could be your Christmas present to me. We throw away so much and these guys would use this material in such a brilliant way. I am really excited by their work and I have already established a good contact with them, even tried explaining what haggis was! You could be a part of that. It would be wonderful. I'll post the address when I have it, but please start collecting now. Many Thanks, Joanne. Don't forget my email address is <A href="mailto:joanneecairns@hotmail.com">joanneecairns@hotmail.com</A> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Sorry have to dash now. Also, I am off on an 18 day trip touring the country as part of my Ministerial duties – wow how lucky can a girl get. Its all by car and our first destination is an 18 hour drive!!! But just imagine what I'll see. And through this blog you'll get to see it too. Not sure how much electricity and internet connection there will be so don't worry if you don't here from me, I'll be back blogging (and bragging) before you know it.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I hope everyone is well and I take a part of each of you with me.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Much love as always</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Joanne X</FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />Have more than one Hotmail account? <a href=' http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394591/direct/01/' target='_new'>Link them together to easily access both.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-40680908212778844622009-11-13T06:34:00.000-08:002009-11-13T06:36:05.358-08:00Friends in Addis<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Friends in Addis<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Quite a few people have asked whether I have made any friends here in Addis. I can't believe I haven't mentioned them, but I guess they have become part of my life here so quickly I almost feel that you know them as well as I do. First and foremost I am very lucky to have met David and Maureen. They both work here at the ministry in the department of HDP and CPD. We have lunch together almost every day and we socialise all the time. David and Maureen are retired but spend the last two and a half years running a school in a place called Ladac in north </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">India</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">. We all get on so well I can't believe how luck I am. David and I are going in search of tennis and squash courts tomorrow, possibly at the Greek Club!!!!! Also at the ministry are Simon and Isobel in the same department as David and Maureen. We all get on really well. I am also friends with other VSOs here in Addis; Nancy, Doreen, Catherine and Helen and of course my flatmate Kellie. We are finding plenty to do and are putting together an ever-growing list of things to do in Addis which will fill our weekends for quite some time. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Out of Addis are Jamie and Mary and Tara who live close by. In fact Jamie and Mary are almost part of the family, and come into Addis so much and often stay with me that I got an extra set of keys to my house cut for them! Just don't tell Kellie!!!!! Jamie, Mary and Tara have entertained us in Sabeta and Ambo, all for another blog. I don't think I have met anyone here so far (except a certain Canadian - nothing against Canadians – Nina is especially a lovely Canadian person) that I haven't got on with. I guess those people who travel or do VSO type work have similar outlooks in life.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Then further afield I have many VSO friends I stay in contact with such as Richard and Emilie, Vicky and Hazel and many others. WE all stay in contact through email, phoning and texting. But being in Addis is such an advantage as people from the regions will come down to Addis for various reason and we all go out and catch up with one another. It is a familial community and we all look out for each other, but more importantly we have a great laugh together. It is a great community of people from all ages. </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Nancy</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> will be 29 on Wednesday and a whole group of us are going up to the hills surrounding Addis for a picnic. No-one cares who is what age, its brilliant. So I have a healthy and happy social life with a wide variety of interesting people. I couldn't be luckier.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">As for Ethiopian friends, that will have to wait for another blog. Its 5.30 and the building is closing up. Also Ethiopian friends are a little more complicated. I was approached by a young man the other day shouting at me 'ferengi, ferengi, you, you' asking if I wanted a 'special boy' for my time in Addis. I declined politely and gave him a quick lesson on how rude it was to use the terms ferengi and you when trying to get someones attention!!!!!<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Next time Ethiopian friends and social life in Addis, including my attempt at the 10K Great Ethiopian Run!!!!!!! Stop laughing Carole, I am still picturing you on the bike down </SPAN><st1:Street><st1:address><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Kings Park Drive</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">!!!!!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Love to you all<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Joanne x<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />View your other email accounts from your Hotmail inbox. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394592/direct/01/' target='_new'>Add them now.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-82779585667886196732009-11-04T06:17:00.000-08:002009-11-04T06:18:25.685-08:00Biting the Dust!<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Rock Star in Addis</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>As you know I have been busy at the Ministry with Oh-so-important-work for the country. But I am also getting to see real life in Ethiopian schools. 2 young teachers literally came knocking at my ministry door seeking help for their primary school. They want to set up an ELIC in their school. Now all ELICs at present are based in Universities and Colleges so this is a pioneering idea to set one up in a primary school. I suppose it is a bit like having an English Club but more specialised and formalised. I was very excited by the idea and was invited to visit the schools and see what their plans are. As the school is so far away one of the teachers came yesterday to show me how to get to his school. When we got there he showed me round the school and introduced me to the staff. At break time all the students wanted to shake my hand. They kept coming up to me and shook my hand, I could hardly get to the cafeteria they crowede me so much. My only glimpse of what a rock star may feel like. I was then officially invited as the Ministry Representative to their flag ceremony and ELIC launch this morning. I got up early and put on my best Ministerial suit, looking all official. I successfully negotiated the three line taxis to get there – it is on the edge of the city in a very quiet almost rural setting – beautiful. So I was feeling all pumped up in my good suit and positive about getting there on my own. I made my way down the last dirt track to the school <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>thinking about what I would say in my address to the 2,000 pupils when I managed to slip on the only puddle in the street (remember there is a drought here!). So I arrived in less than Ministry or Rock Star style covered in mud, with ripped trousers and a bloodied knee. Oh, how the Lord likes to keep us humble. I even had to address the students and staff with one trouser leg rolled up to 'air' my bloodied knee. But the staff couldn't have been nicer and tended to my wounds, though I was stared at and laughed at by many of the children. I know now how to keep my place – with my feet well and truly planted on the ground!! Also the conditions of the school opened my eyes to the true challenges facing education in </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB>. I only I hope I can do my small bit to support these amazing and enthusiastic teachers who are doing their best in pretty dire circumstances. So, Clare, Claire, Fraser et al at </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Lourdes</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB>, if you are reading this I have a possible project for you if you are interested.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Love to you all and hope there are still some leaves left on the trees to cheer your day. Just remember this, when a student was asked today what he didn't like about the school he said that he liked the IT club but was disappointed it only had four computers (with no internet). This for a school with 2,000!! The lack of books, cracked blackboards, lack of free school meals for the poorest kids….. all for another day.</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Love Joanne x</FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. <a href='http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/buy/' target='_new'>Learn more.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-70631539147181191262009-10-30T06:52:00.001-07:002009-10-30T06:52:25.133-07:00Adopting small children!<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>School Children</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>On the walk to work I pass loads of school kids walking to school. There seems to be a uniform uniform, only in different colours. The girls wear a long skirt of a particular colour, aquamarine and burgundy are the most common, but often with trousers underneath. The boys wear trousers of the same colour. They all wear a white shirt (no tie!) and a waistcoat of the same colour as the skirt. It is simple but nice and looks comfortable. What is great about seeing the school kids is that they are the same wherever you go. Boys wearing football tops under their shirts, girls with spangly cardigans over their waistcoats for which they are definitely going to get a talking to, boys carrying books but not using a bag, boys getting girls to carry their books for them, girls with fancy things in their hair etc. It is obvious that many of these uniforms have been sewn together by mothers with little money, many are dirty and ripped. It can often be difficult to keep anything clean here when the water supply goes out, and you can see from the state of the houses many will not have running water in the house but use a standpipe in their area. Nevertheless all the kids wear the uniform and are pleased to be going to school. We all walk at the side of the road as there are no pavements. Buses and cars beep to let us know they are coming up behind us, but the pedestrians are about 6-8 deep at the side of the road. The embassy road is about 6 lanes wide both sides. One of the things that cheers me up the most going to work is the number of smiles and hellos I get along the way. A foreigner or ferengi as we are known is still something of a novelty. In particular children of four years and under love to say hello and shake your hand. It is almost like you are a lucky talisman and if you shake a ferengi's hand you will have good luck. But their smiles are gorgeous. The Ethiopian people in general smile a lot and they are so beautiful when they smile. However, some children are quite afraid of ferengis and get scared if I hold out my hand to them, they hide behind their mother's skirt. But generally it cheers me up to say hello to these smiling children. As I take the same road to work I have been adopted by two girls on their way to school. Their names are Reesa and Fadeela. They just came up to me one morning and told me my hair was lovely (the following Thursday they said 'every day you are beautiful' – who can resist that?) and we got chatting in English. They are in grades 5 and 6 so about 11 or 12 years old. Now whenever I see them we walk to school together (its on my way to work). The other morning we had a heated discussion about whether Chris Brown or Rhianna was a better singer. Fadeela and I both agreed that Chris Brown was bad for having hit Rhianna but Reessa still thought Rhianna was better. This morning I was listening to my MP3 player when I met them and for the rest of the journey they listened to Abba's Mama Mia and we sang along together. So hopefully I can help them with English. They tell me words in Amharic, but I always forget them, so when I left them at school last week they said don't forget our names – but how could I? (Fran tell Hannah: This morning I met another girl called Hannah and she met her friend called Danny, who I suppose is called Daniel. I wonder if she has a goat at home!) I see so many wonderful things on the way to work. A new bridge is currently under construction too – built with Chinese money. But the hard labour is done by the locals, chipping at huge rocks with pick axes – in the hot sun – for about 10 birr a day – that's 5pence!!!! But the progress they make is amazing!! I enjoy walking as it is always sunny in the morning and it is the only exercise I get at the moment – 45 mins walk in the sun! Not bad. There is a major junction on my way and it often gets clogged by blue line taxis (mini buses we travel in) with guys shouting out the window their destinations. You can just flag one done if I can understand where they are going. It took me a week and a half and a long walk home one evening before I learned the word for stop please so I could get off. There are always goats who accompany me on the way to work too, and I pass lots of people with their wares of tomatoes, potatoes and green beans (I am already sick of green beans) laid out in the street! I buy my bananas for the week from a stall close to the ministry and my water from a young boy at a stall – who should be at school! But he recognises me now and has my water ready. Its not the same as cycling through </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Pollok</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Park</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB> but I love it.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Love to you all, Joanne x</FONT></SPAN></P> <br /><hr />New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. <a href='http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/buy/' target='_new'>Learn more.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-81688986181866802272009-10-19T07:06:00.001-07:002009-10-19T07:06:49.267-07:00Walking to Work<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Walking to Work in Addis</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Hello folks. Hope everyone is well. If you read my last blog then you'll know how busy work has been. But I am enjoying it so far. I also enjoy the walk to work. It is about 45 mins and quite different to the cycle I had through </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Pollok</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-GB> </SPAN><st1:PlaceType><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Park</SPAN></st1:PlaceType></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB> to </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Lourdes</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB>. I do miss the bike. I have seen a few cyclists here, but it is more dangerous than </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>London</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB>, I reckon. Also a lot of my walk is uphill, which is good as I haven't yet worked out how to get some proper exercise here. Apparently the British Embassy has a tennis court, but a tree fell on it last year and it hasn't been cleared since – so not many tennis lovers there. I leave my compound (that's just really my house behind a big wall and 'don't-come-near-me' gate) at 7.45. I turn down my dusty dirt track, trying to avoid the many stray dogs which bark constantly during the night, onto a larger road which has tarmac on it and head up towards what we call the embassy road. I have no idea of its real name. Roads here don't have sign posts. I did see a sign post once, </SPAN><st1:Street><st1:address><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Queen Elizabeth II Road</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB>, but it had fallen over and was lying in the dirt. We call the main road </SPAN><st1:Street><st1:address><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Embassy Road</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB> as the British embassy is on it, and right next door is the brand new British Council building. It is a gorgeous building, all wood panelled and glass. Needless to say both buildings have huge security gates. The British embassy has 88 acres of land which includes an 8 hole golf course and a vast forest out of which leopards apparently roam. What strikes me most about these two buildings is they are directly across the road from where the real people of Addis live, in mud huts and corrugated iron roofs. It looks like what you would call a shanty town. I don't think I could live and work in the embassy and see that across the road every morning. But it does cross my mind how soon I may become 'accustomed' to seeing the poverty around me every day. The poverty and simplicity and basic way of living here is a fact of life and a fact of the city. Unlike </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Lima</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB> where you could avoid the poorer slum areas in Addis it is all around you. All people of Addis, rich and poor, live check by jowl, almost literally. It is quite humbling really. I can safely hide away behind my big walls and gate and not see, hear or smell the 'real' Addis. For the moment I try to take in all the scenes around me each morning and be aware of the people and lives I walk past every day.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <br /><hr />Chat to your friends for free on selected mobiles. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/174426567/direct/01/' target='_new'>Learn more.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1445474047981326721.post-9123740226425041682009-10-12T04:49:00.001-07:002009-10-12T04:49:59.384-07:00Working in Addis<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Working in Addis</FONT></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Hello everyone, I hope you are all well and enjoying the October break. I hope the weather is kind to you. We have been having rain for the past four days. Real proper thundery rain. The streets are rivers of mud. But it is good for </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB> and it is good for continued electricity supply. So actually I am happy to see the rain. I have been working at the Ministry of Education now for three weeks. I am officially a 'suit'. Aaarrgghh! But although it is called the Ministry it is more like what I imagine working at Wheatley House is like – lots of people looking busy, wandering around endlessly with bits of 'important-looking' bits of paper, telling everyone they are 'soooo busy' and completely disorganised and not getting much done. But that is harsh on my Ethiopian colleagues. They do work hard, but are completely disorganised. No filing system or recording system. Meetings are plentiful but no minutes are ever recorded. Also meetings are very often cancelled as people simply do not turn up. Phones go off and are answered during meetings and it is quite humorous to see grown men crouching under a desk and whispering into their phone, all simply because 'that call' could not go unanswered. My colleague Solomon is particularly guilty of this. Every day he says to me, 'Can I answer this? It is very important. I get a lot of important calls.' I reply 'does it make a difference what I say?' and he just laughs. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>I have quite a good team. They don't call themselves a department, not sure why. The whole department I am working in is called a Core Process, headed by the core process owner, then we have the sub-process headed by the sub-process owner, but no mention of a department. My three colleagues (also known as counter-parts for VSO) are Solomon, Tsegaw and Hamid. Together we are in charge of ELQIP – English Language Quality Improvement Programme. (I officially got my name on my door on Friday!) Within that I am involved in ELTIP – English Language Teachers Improvement Programme. This involves several things. First I co-ordinate the ELICs nationwide - English Language Improvement Centres. There are around 30 ELICs in the country which provide courses or clubs or anything else relevant to support the students and staff in colleges and universities to improve their English. All subjects are taught in English from secondary school onwards. But there are major gaps in teachers English. It is my job to ensure that ELICs are running smoothly and they get what resources they need – which looks like it is going to be a difficult task. At the moment I am conducting a census of what centres we have as Tsegaw does not have an up-to-date list of centres and their co-ordinators. Also it is hoped that in the next month I will have to monitor and evaluate quite a number of centres which means a field trip – yippee. I get to leave Addis and travel the length of the country. I am so looking forward to that. But that trip has been suspended (lots of suspension here, though not in the buses!) till I complete a task given to me directly from the State Minister. His office is lovely. Huge Jimmy Saville type chairs, only in leather and mahogany, with a large flat screen t.v. I have been given the job of writing up a 'profile' of all the qualities a primary and secondary teacher would have. Solomon and I are preparing to train 40,000 teachers to improve their English Language, both in proficiency and methodology. It is quite an ambitious task and the aim is to have assessed all English teachers' skills gaps and then devise modules which will address these skills gaps and then train teacher trainers to ensure all teachers have access to these modules and hey presto – all English teachers in Ethiopia will have improved English skills. It is hoped this will all be done in the next three years. If I get it right and do some of the training myself, maybe we can have Ethiopian teachers all speaking with a broad </SPAN><st1:City><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Glasgow</SPAN></st1:place></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-GB> accent! So I am pretty busy at the moment, especially as I get the odd editing task to do as well. Just finished editing the government's policy on HIV and AIDS. Very interesting. So I am pretty busy, but so far the work is interesting, though at times frustrating. It is a long day, </SPAN><st1:time Minute="30" Hour="8"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>8.30am – 5.30pm</SPAN></st1:time><SPAN lang=EN-GB> with a one hour lunch. But two hours on a Friday. Thankfully I have my own room with internet access which is great and I have a lovely view of the hills surrounding Addis from my window. So it is pretty nice. I can wander off and visit other VSOs in the building who work close by. My friends David and Maureen, who are in charge of CPD nationwide, work on the same floor, which is nice and we go for lunch together.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>I have loads more to share, and my next instalment will be The Walk to Work. Many interesting sites include, </SPAN><st1:Street><st1:address><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Chinese Road</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB> building, adopting cute small children and goats tied to roof racks. Take care everyone. You are all in my heart and thoughts and prayers. Have a great October week.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Love Joanne in </SPAN><st1:country-region><st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ethiopia</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region><SPAN lang=EN-GB>.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <br /><hr />Use Hotmail to send and receive mail from your different email accounts. <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/167688463/direct/01/' target='_new'>Find out how.</a>Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377341193678400821noreply@blogger.com1