Feb. 28

I had a nice long post prepared today and it's on my transfer drive but this neighborhood internet shop I've discovered, almost across from where we live, doesn't recognize it. :(

I have been making friends with some of the neighborhood kitties. They recognize the Ethiopia cat call (like a mother cat calling her kittens) but are very cautious, except for one old tom was delighted to have any attention. I must remember to pick up some scraps for them, or maybe they prefer injera.

Phil and I just had a nice lunch of doro wat (hotly spiced chicken stew) at a neighboring restaurant. It's the first time I've eaten Ethiopian food here that compared in quality to what I eat in Portland, Maine. I was beginning to worry.

All my major missions are complete except for next Tuesday when I turn the laptop over to one of Dr. Muluneh's favorite students. I decided that made more sense than trying to get it back to Emdeber where there wasn't a clear need for it; they already have a full computer lab.

My host Phil flies off for a conference in Beirut this evening but his wife Daniele (corrected spelling) will still be here. She's happy about her new job as a part-time teaching assistant at the American International School which is also in our neighborhood; she qualified to do much more but this is what she wants to do.

This has in all been an interesting and rewarding visit overall. My longer post has an abundence of detail but now I'd just like to say that many Ethiopians I've searched out have made me feel welcome, and the technical snafus while tedious are irrelevant.

Here are some random observations of the Addis Ababa night scene, as observed at various times during this week via my 4th floor apartment window:

9 to midnight the bar blazes forth with comtemporary Ethiopian music from the neighboring Melinnium Hotel. Then it's time for the dogs to take over, and they bark and howel in cascading anthems for the next four hours, only overpowered by an occassional jet plane landing or taking off, or a heavily loaded lorry making its way around the rotary and on up the hill. Then the neighborhood roosters begin their competition and the dogs knock it off for the night. The final act, about 5:30 am, is between the churches and mosques via amplified speakers. Now you know!

Besalam,
Charley Noble