Ethiopia by E-mail
Subject: Hi from Addis Ababa
I had a sinus problem this week so I did not go to Gemini on Wednesday. So
on Thursday when I got back I had a lot of questions from students as to
what was wrong and if I went to the hospital. I told them I just stayed
home and rested.
I went to Gemini Trust and everything there is in a mess. They have been
kicked off the main site where the store and Ruth's office was. The
government is going to lease the land to some one to build apartments. As
Mickie said they would be for rich and or foreigners not regular
Ethiopians. They are moving temporarily all offices to either Gem TV or the
Youth Center. Except the T-shirt which is being moved to the site where
they are putting the shipping containers and all the corrugated steel which
they are now using on the main site. They are renting two cranes and trucks
to move them. Ruth is on her way back to England on Sunday because of eye
problems to have health tests starting Tuesday and Dr. Carmella is in
Baltimore so it has been a real mess. They found out that they have been
squatting on the land for 20 + years because the only file they could find
in the government office was for a 6 month lease to Dr. Carmella for Gemini
Trust. The government does not have to help them because of this but the
people at the government offices are being very helpful so they will have
a site to store stuff until they figure out what to do. I guess from Ruth
they had about a 3 day notice to get off. They did get a letter in January
but the last time they were told something about a site change on another
place it took over a year for anything to happen so I guess they were not
too worried until the last notice. They are going to rent a hall for now to
house the dance stuff but they are having to stop a few things they were
doing until they can figure things out. So yesterday at class every time a
truck pulled in all the students were out helping unload. They had dug up a
place of land in front of the medical office for a garden which they had not
planted yet. So all the male students were out moving big rocks back on
where they dug up so they could get to a little storage place in the back.
That means no garden for now. The only good thing is I was going to go over
to the store and now it will be at the Youth Center. I need to get a few
things for gifts.
I was talking to 5 boys after class. They were asking questions and writing
the questions on the blackboard. The questions were about how I live here.
They asked who did my laundry. When I told them that I did it, they were
surprised. Foreigners don't do their own laundry here. They asked if I had
a washer machine & they were surprised when I told them no, I do it by hand.
They asked if I took it to the river to wash. Many homes are in compounds
where there is a central spigot and everyone in the compound shares the
outhouses and water supply and they pay for water. They assumed I did not
have running water in my home because most of them don't. They go to the
river or other place where there is running water to do their laundry.
There are fresh water springs all over the place here, some of them are hot
springs.
They were asking me about the calendar and the difference between their
calendar and the European one. They were telling me that they are always 7
days behind our date. I said no that it changed because of the months in
our calendar where not always the same. So I was figuring out which months
had 30 days and which had 31 days when they finally understood we have the
same amount of days just in a different set of months. So I am going to get
Jim to bring home a calendar so next week we can all look at it. One of the
boys asked me after I had explained the months to make sure he got it written
down right so I had to look at his notebook to see if he had the right
months with the right amount of days. I know the students are learning
something because when one of the boys asks me how old I was two of the
other boys told them before I said anything. They had asked in a class the
first day how many children I had and how old they were and I told them then
they wanted to know how old I was and I told them. So some of them
remembered. When you exchange information you have to be willing to tell
them the answer to any question you ask because they turn the questions
back to you. I have not wanted to ask any questions that would be
improper in Ethiopia so I tell them if it is not a question I should ask to
please tell me. But the students are very open and want to learn about
America and they want me to understand about their lives.
I talked to Thomas about Abrico closing and he told me that they can rent
the space that Abrico was using for 90 thousand birr a month so he thinks
that is why Abrico moved out. He thought it was very expensive and was not
sure that it was worth that much. I have not found out where Thomas our
contract cab driver lives but I am sure he is probably staying in the type
of housing my students live in. A room they use for everything for about
100 birr a month with the kitchen, water and other things shared with the
others in the compound. Although being a contract cab driver is a pretty
good job in Addis. So he may have a very small apartment with his wife and
daughter.
This week they have closed the main entrance to the compound and opened one
on the other end of the compound. We have not found out why. We think
maybe it has to do with the building at the end of the drive they have been
working on since we arrived. We have been very careful when we leave the
compound because they sometimes drop stuff off the side of the building.
They do not barricade off construction sites so if you are going that way,
you walk through. Maybe someone got hurt or they are going to start taking
the fence down around the constructions we will have to see.
We went to the Mercato with Yonas this morning. It was in a different area
then Jim and I have been before. It was the part where the local people
shop. The Mercato is a very busy place and the workers move a lot of items
and products on their heads and in their arms. Some of the areas we where
in they can not take a car or truck too. Unlike the built up parts of the
Mercato where the buildings are finished and the roads are wide. Here the
alleys are narrow, and unpaved with rock and mud. The stalls are sheet
metal, corrugated metal, and tarps. We saw some beautiful baskets and other
things and we bought a lot of yarn at one stall. I am still making shawls
and trying to make a couple of bedspreads for the spare room. Then we took
Yonas to lunch and came home. Jim is now taking a nap.
For those who would like to see it on the web, Gary Grzebienik has been
doing a good job of editing and posting the newsletters on the web on the
SWEEP site at: http://www.aboutsweep.org/etjournal.html.
You can pass that site along to friends as well.
If you would prefer to get the newsletter on the web & not receive e-mail,
let me know & I will take you off the newsletter list.
We talked to Shannon and my mother yesterday. They are both doing well. I
guess I will close for now.
Pat and Jim
Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 11:01:11 +0300
From: Pat Rollin