11 Kilometres from Sudan

Yesterday I finally got to go to the town of Almehal, about 50 km from Guba. The first time we tried to go there I was told there was a security issue around the Great Renaissance Dam and it wasn't safe to travel. The next time it was the rainy season so the river was in full swing and we couldn't cross. I was starting to get suspicious.

Well this time we went. It was quite the journey. I have photos of the river from this time and the last time. Maybe I'll post them to show the difference. Being the dry season, there is no evidence of a river. The security issue I still don't get as Almehal is not that close to the Dam, but oh well. What it is close to is Sudan. Apparently because of the proximity, on market days, people come to and fro - no need to show a passport, just come for the market, buy or sell your goods and return home. Really, the borders were arbitrarily drawn anyway.

11 kilometres from Sudan is where I learned I have a good shot of getting into Heaven. At least according to Elias, one of the members of a crop cooperative that is being supported by one of our projects. He is a real inspiration, taking on the double role of secretary and accountant for the group of 118. Apparently some of the other executive committee members have been slacking so it's been up to Elias and Ambo to run the show. We met with about 11 group members and as is often the case, their gratitude for the support is conveyed. I typically try to throw this back to them, as really, they are the ones working hard and using the opportunity to make a change. This group is selling sesame collectively and getting involved in some other activities ton increase their income and change their lot in life.

Anyway, back to Heaven - Elias directed the following towards me (translated and scratch note taken) - you come from Canada, a well-educated country and you have benefited from this education. You have come here to a poor land with uneducated people and poverty to support us with education and training - not so you get something from us but for God, to try to get your passport. We hope we will get our passport too and meet you again there.

No matter what your beliefs, this is a pretty nice sentiment. I was genuinely touched. Even if I could not understand his words directly, I could tell enough from his sentiment and sense his conviction in his beliefs to feel honoured and moved by his words.

Dibate - View of Destayehu's fruit farm - a farmer from a previous project who has achieved great things!

Walking in Dibate - the loads people carry - I wouldn't last.

Meeting with some Farmer Field School group members in Dibate. We drew quite a crowd. The woman on the left exclaimed that I was the first white person she'd ever seen. If she judges white people by our encounter, I suspect she thinks we're dirty dirty bags, who are always scribbling stuff down, are kind of rude, speak a strange sounding language, and like to take pictures

Coke and Bananas

Here I am in Beles and we're in a town with network coverage so I'm unexpectedly using an internet stick. It's flipping hot. I guess actually it hasn't been awful at night, no wait, it depends. I can't keep track. My first night out of Addis, in Finote Selam, I had to sleep with a cold compress on. Let it snow! Then when we arrived in Dibate, I thought I might not last an hour. Luckily it was Sunday and I could nap for much of the afternoon - part of efforts in cold and other oddness fighting.  By night it was cool and I had one of the greatest night's sleep of my life (after 2 of the worst ever).

In Beles it's pretty warm - no breeze is the problem in the room. There is a fan but it's running because of the generator so that won't last - and it's not helping much, I'm definitely sweating as I type. The electricity actually came back on in the town about an hour after our arrival but the place we're staying isn't connected for some reason. And they're out of water. I took a bucket shower with the water we were allocated which was a great relief.

Right, so the subject line. I haven't officially been sick, I mean, not really. Well I had my horrible cold, which is mostly gone except I still blow my nose a lot. Anyway, my stomach is just off. I managed to avoid Ethiopian food in the style of injera and other all the way until today actually. I just tried a little shiro. It wasn't the worst. The first day in Dibate though, I thought I would puke at the smell of it. I've been eating bananas and drinking coke. Sometimes I throw in bread, peanut and eggs. I also scored a papaya - so good - and had a mango. I'm supplementing with Cliff bars. Totally nutritious right? Here's the kicker - I didn't have coffee today. Yesterday I forced down a cup and the day before that, I could only mange 3 sips. Whaaaaat? I'm sure it's nothing.

I've had some good field visits that maybe I'll write about another time. I'm supposed to be trying to finish a report right now. Oh and I've been ridiculously filthy. It's the dry season and the dust is so bad. My clothes are full of dirt and by the end of the day (who am I kidding, by the start of the day) my shins and ankles are filthy somehow under my pants! I used the tiniest amount of water to bathe yesterday - there wasn't really any water, so maybe I used 4 cups. I thought I got pretty clean...I think I just couldn't see in the dark. When I come back, double check - it probably won't be a tan.

Special Tea

Well today is Friday. It's been a few days since I left home and it feels a little like forever and at the same time like I still have so far to go. Probably because I literally do have so far to go. We start our driving adventure tomorrow. It's a two day drive to get from Addis Ababa to Dibate. I think the paved road ends about 3 hours (or less) outside of Addis. This is unbelievably my fourth trip to Dibate and Guba. Seems kind of nuts really.

I'm looking forward to seeing some of the same people I've met before. That's always exciting for me. To remember people's faces and stories and meet them again, find out how they are doing and what is changing for them. I'm trying to focus on those positives when I accidentally slip out of the present and think of the future. If I think about anything else, it's kind of all overwhelming.

Thus far, I have completely avoided Ethiopian food. That will end tomorrow, this I am acutely aware of. Hmm actually, maybe I can stretch it to Sunday. I've had pizza, spaghetti, the fruit smoothie juices of my dreams (that probably counts as Ethiopian) and pancakes. Tonight I'm supposed to go for Indian food with my old boss who happens to be in town for work as well. I am not looking forward to getting reacquainted with my old friend Shiro - but it's going to happen so just go with it, right? I have peanut butter as a back up. 

As I think I mentioned before, I have a cold and it kind of really sucks. I'm going through tons of kleenx and toilet paper because of it. I guess there are worse reasons to go through tons of toilet paper...but I digress. This morning, my colleague proposed I drink some special tea. We took a break and instead of my usual macchiato (oh my god I've only had one macchiato today - ahhhhhhhhhhh) um, I had the special tea. It has honey, lemon, ginger, tea and alcohol of some kind. It was so good. There was about 2 tablespoons too much honey it but it comes layered, like my beloved spris juice, so you just don't stir it all the way and it stays not so so sweet. I'm hoping I can get another one as it did help and I didn't notice the booze.

Well that's it for now. I won't have internet for a week, which is kind of freaking me out because I've appreciated all of your support. And I have work to do that would benefit from ye old interweb. Nevertheless, onwards and upwards. Gotta prep for a meeting with some Dutch guy from a University we're partnering with. And by prep I mean, blow my nose 55 more times.

Did I mention I'm drinking about 4L of water a day? I'm not exaggerating. Oh and my colleague told me to relax so maybe it's time for a quiet meditation.

Magic

I've just been informed by a couple people back home that the Conservative party of Canada is magic and the best and oh so amazing. This is great news for me. I honestly don't know which government is worse between my current host country and my home. Okay I do, no wait I don't - Canada is at least supposed to be a real democracy so doesn't it make it worse that this is all happening? Oh it's so hard to tell which way is up.

My favourite quote yet - "Yesterday, Finance Minister Joe Oliver even implied they were the fight-against-climate-change party." Heyo! Unicorns for everyone.

I guess the fact that this government funded institution is "allowed" to publish an article such as the following, means Canada wins. I just feel like if Harper wins again, Canada is going to continue losing (and yes, we are losing). 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-s-truthiest-election-campaign-begins-don-pittis-1.3043785
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/joe-oliver-s-promises-kept-budget-ignore-the-sleight-of-hand-1.3043145
I haven't taken any photos yet really but since I suggested there might be some here, I'm including a photo of my pizza from last night. It's super greasy, like many politicians (not you Paul Dewar, you're my hero).

In Case You Are Wondering

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/anti-isil-rally-turns-violent-ethiopia-150422151713828.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/ethiopia-mourns-christian-nationals-killed-isil-150421192442742.html

I'm fine but there has been no power since about 7 pm last night. Country wide. My hotel has a generator and therefore still internet as well. The CPAR office has a generator for power but not internet (or something).

Some have suggested the power is off because it's the only way to stop people from watching non state-sponsored tv. Elections are coming up but I'm pretty sure there is only one candidate. 

Yeah, I totally crashed about 10 minutes after writing that entry.

Now I'm awake again.

Made It

Well here I am in sunny Addis Ababa. I arrived on a day of protest to mourn the deaths of the Ethiopians killed in Libya in connection with IS/ISIL/ISIS. The streets near my hotel, perhaps as a result of this, are very quiet. I received a travel advisory from the travel agency that booked my flight, once I got here. Since I don't intend to attend any of the protests, I think things are fine.

Because I really don't know what more to say about that, I'll carry on with my post as originally planned. My flight was smooth - thanks to my frequent flying, my silver status with air canada (which gets you nothing!) got me something. My bag was tagged priority and so came out on a different belt (not a big deal when you spend half an hour in the visa line anyway) and I got priority boarding. That was pretty nice I suppose. Although, had I spent more time waiting to board, I might have seen my old Humber classmate who was on the same flight! As it ended up, he only noticed me as we were on the bus to Bole International Airport. He was off to Malawi so we only had a few minutes to catch up. It was a nice surprise though.

I guess I've only been here for four hours and so far I almost accidentally bought 2 kilos of tomatoes (I wanted the 2L water - no excuses on my part), have had a macchiato - which had a heart on the foam, and seen a bunch of familiar faces. The little restaurant next to the hotel has all the same staff - whether they recognize me I don't know but it's kind of nice to recognize them. The owner gave me a quality plastic bag after noticing my 2 2L bottles of water and 3 mangoes were tearing through the one I'd been given during the almost 2kg tomato incident. The USD is strong and so far it seems only the entry visa has gone up in price. Otherwise I've spent $2 on 4L of water, 3 mangoes, a macchiato and an Ambo sparkling water. I haven't yet been called ferenji - it's been all nice welcomes and just happy.

I don't feel the worst but I don't feel the best. Perhaps and afternoon nap...and a work out after I work on my report? So far I'm thinking walking the 4 flights of stairs in Addis altitude counts for my fitness challenge...objections? Didn't think so.

My colleagues picked me up from the airport rather than leaving it in the hands of the hotel guys who last time didn't have a sign and so eventually I gave up and they spent 3 hours waiting...how was that ever going to work? It was nice to be greeted and welcomed by Endris and Aklilu for sure.

Anyway, time to take a crack at that report and/or fall asleep.

I look pretty fresh for coming off a 14 hour flight but I'm too tired to take a photo of myself to prove it.

Gotta Get My Greens

As many of you know, I got a little ill on my last trip through Ethiopia (okay, yes, thanks for the reminder Fi, I get sick every time) but last time was worse. I mean, the first time was a cold and I got loopy because I was put on a bunch of meds. No biggie. Then the 2nd time it was super minor food poisoning that landed me in the hospital only because my colleagues were super concerned. Last time, I was really ill but again, just the old 24 hour food poisoning - 8 hours of active illness really. Point is, it left me with my a shaky relationship with my trusty and beloved shiro.

The chick pea based dish is my go to in Ethiopia when I'm outside of the capital, Addis Ababa. It's delicious. It still is but my mind and stomach are not so sure. I took a test run with some friends this past week to try to get myself back in the game. It went, well it went. I had some uneasy queasiness but once I chased my dinner with a black bean korean fish-shaped treat, I pretty much felt okay. I'm admittedly a little concerned but it's going to be totally fine. I just stocked up on cliff bars and stuff like that. I'm going to pack some peanut butter and hope for the best. I figure if I can drink Ambo (best sparkling water in the world), drink avocado smoothies, eat egg pizza with honey and drink macchiatos, when I have the chance, I'll be set. Plus there is that bean breakfast meal I discovered last time. It's not going to take me 10 years to get over this one like it did with mangoes. The reality is, I don't have a choice.

When I'm travelling with work, my vegetable intake is often pretty darn low so I splurged on broccoli this week and ate a beet and arugula salad the other night. Gotta get my greens while I can! I know, it's only 3 weeks but sometimes it feels like longer because it's such a change from the routine. Going to have to figure out how to not lose my jump shot, basketball, running and biking legs. So much sitting to come.

There you go. If you're new to my blog, it's probably going to go like that - starts off with an idea and well just carries on as I please. I try to include pictures because who doesn't like a visual.

I wonder if this building will be done!!!

Oh and there is now electricity in Guba...I have a doomsday scenario for that town but I'm hoping I'll be proven wrong! Perhaps the beer will be even colder!

Pictures

Well since I can't sleep and am sorting through work photos anyway, how about I post some fun ones here. I was waking up at 4:45...then 4:48...then 5:00 and then...2:30 am?! Work is going to be fun tomorrow if I don't run myself so ragged that I have to sleep through the night.

Anyway, I can't say these are necessarily some of my favourite photos because I don't know what I'm going to post yet. But I do know I'm leading with spris juice (an my colleague Aklilu in the background). Apologies if I've posted this before (I know I posted something similar the first time I was in Ethiopia) but this stuff is just so dang good. Avocado, guava, mango and fresh squeezed lime.

Nkhotakota, Malawi...dry season is almost over

Nanana take me home!

Flying into Addis Ababa

That's your birth kit ladies and gentlemen - sorry for the graphic nature but not really - it's legitimately life saving

Yeah yeah I saw zebras - helps when you drive past the Serengeti

Group of farmers we met with...they asked so I obliged

More farmers we met with in Tanzania 

A road to a village in Bunda, Tanzania

The surrounding view from some farmers' fields (TZ)

Pretty sure my boss got the FFS group to laugh

I had no idea this was what a jacaranda tree looked like - it's beautiful

Yes! Kids laughing. Success

Going to go try to catch the sunrise.

Water

Those of you who have lived with me probably know I have a thing about water. It makes me quite literally crazy ("mentally deranged, especially as manifested in a wild or aggressive way") to watch it wasted down the drain. Taps running while water heats up, cools down, teeth are brushed, people are distracted, dishes are washed and rinsed. But I waste water as much as the next guy or well I certainly waste water and I am always reminded that I could do better, a lot better, when I am in Ethiopia, Malawi or Tanzania.

Water is a challenge in each of these countries. Not for everyone and not all the time but for many people, much of the time, I would say it's certainly not as easy as turning on a tap.

When I was in Bunda, Tanzania, the hotel I was in had a bucket in the shower, so I easily collected water when I showered. I noticed that by the end of my shower, which didn't include heating up water time because I didn't want a hot shower, I had almost a full bucket of water, clean water - no soap or shampoo or conditioner in it. The next day I figured I'd use that water for a bucket shower. I was actually shocked by how far it went (I didn't need the full bucket for my shower) and how much of that water would have just gone down the drain.

In Malawi, in every village we visited, the community asked for a borehole. If not for their village (as some had boreholes through a CPAR-run project) they asked for the other villages nearby who were also using their borehole. In some cases I thought to myself, "But your water source is only half a kilometre away, that's pretty good comparatively speaking." Wait a minute, if I stand up right now, I can be at a clean, potable water source in 5 steps. I can take 6 steps and be at a second source, and in 4 steps I can turn on a washing machine to do my washing. Comparatively speaking for Nkhotakota, Malawi I meant...

The place we stayed, well the whole town actually had a water problem so we had to either wake up around 4 am to get the morning water - so I heard - or stay up later to see if the water came back before bed. My colleagues semi-joked that it was best to wake up at 4 for water, bathe and then go back to sleep. I stock piled in the evening and then reused my water. Too much information? It was just a rinse and it was so hot there, 35-40 degrees, I probably almost would not have cared if someone else had used the water first.

I've been to Dibate, Ethiopia three times now. Guba is the one that is supposed to have the water issues (it does) but Dibate is supposed to have electricity and water. Every time I've been there, the town has had neither, for months.

So when I come home I become hyper-aware of water usage but never, ever do as well at conserving water here as I do in Tz or Malawi or Ethiopia. I go back to putting water on my toothbrush before brushing my teeth. I don't typically collect water when I shower - and when I do, the basin usually overflows and I actually don't know what to do with the extra water. I notice myself rinsing the sink when I could just wipe it down with a cloth. I don't use my grey water to water plants (okay I don't have any plants but still).

Anyway, I could do better.

Pretty sure she's laughing because she's thinking 'why on earth does this person want a photo of me washing my hands? And what a waste of the water I had to collect.'