Day 1 - Addis Ababa

This is my first time in Africa and my first time in the Developing World. A unique combination for Day 1...

I am experiencing the greatest level of culture shock I have ever experienced abroad. I feel overwhelmed with emotions and humbled by the level of poverty. That word carries with it such a deeper meaning in Ethiopia and I am saddened by how little people really have. The most heart-breaking are the children who rummage through garbage without shoes and continuously beg for money. Given how inexpensive life is here (dinner is $2, good coffee $0.50, taxi ride home $3) it's even more upsetting. 

I arrived last night to be warmly greeted by the Co-Executive Director, Asfeha, of African Services Committee, who is setting me up with a room in his house. My current room features JC...Please note that African JC is also white.

Every day, I take in a few cockroaches as pets. They seem particularly attracted to my bed. Must be the proximity to JC...

The process of getting a cell was a lengthy 1.5 hour process in which I had to go to 4 different offices in order to complete the process. This includes 2 passport size photos to be submitted with the application (?!) 
I'm told Ethiopia is the only country in Africa in which the government has complete monopoly over the phone system and is known to monitor calls. Fortunately, I brought my phone scrambler along. 
I am now the lucky owner of a semi-functioning 1995 mobile telephone. 

My SIM card...."connecting Ethiopia to the future"...

The bureaucracy and inefficiencies are rampant here and it's impressive anything concrete ever gets done. Due to low electricity supply, in many areas, power is usually down for a couple hours each day. They call it "lights out". This is as common as seeing a couple donkeys grazing on the street.

There is a clear shortage of petrol and lines to fill up a tank of gas can take up to 1 hour...Given the proximity to the Middle East, this seems surprising to me...if only JC could negotiate a deal with the Saudis...

Every morning there is a coffee ceremony. This is done in people's home as well as in the coffee houses. Beautiful tradition. And the coffee is amazing!!! This country is right up my alley in terms of coffee consumption. 

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There is construction going on everywhere in Addis. Buildings, houses, roads...Foreign investment - primarily from the US, Europe and China - is being channeled into the country. This is transforming the landscape of Ethiopia and is already leading to improvements in terms of standards of living. 

 

These new buildings are, of course, in direct contrast with how most people live....