Hello Everyone! We have just finished up our first 24 hours in the lovely city of Addis Ababa (AA).

Last night, we arrived in Bole Airport just before 9PM. Our flight from Geneva to AA was quite pleasant. We connected in Frankfurt with no problems. We also had a stop in Khartoum (Sudan) which we were unaware of until we boarded the plane. In Khartoum some people got off, and they refueled the plane. So we sat in the plane on the tarmac for over an hour. Looking outside the teensy plane window, Khartoum seemed dry, hot & orange. Very much a hot desert.

Hence, landing in AA was nice and cool. The skies were dark and there was a light breeze. Andy & Bev Warren picked us up from the airport. We got all of our bags safe and sound and through customs without a second look. We were pleasantly surprised, considering all the computer & video hardware we had in our bags. The Warrens' greeted us warmly, and we piled into their SUV and drove to Bingham Academy (where we now live).

From the airport to Bingham, you roughly cover the east-west direction of AA. The streets were in good shape, and relatively empty. The Warrens' gave us a verbal tour of the different roundabouts and sub-cities we went through.

When we arrived at Bingham, Murray Overton, the director, had waited up for us to greet us and show us to our apartment. Murray is from New Zealand, with a wonderfully dry and slightly inappropriate sense of humor. His jokes are often sarcastic and hilarious. He showed to our apartment, which had been stocked with bread, milk, eggs, fruit, jam & kola nuts (a peanut/barley snack mix).

Our apartment is large and airy with lots of windows. It is actually a converted dorm, so we have two bedrooms and one bathroom which has two shower stalls and a large bath tub. We have a nice sitting room and a large kitchen with a fridge, gas range, etc... Everything was nice and organized and clean enough considering its an old building. It has a lot of character. It sort of feels like souped-up summer camp. We got all of our things unpacked, explored a little and were in bed by midnight.

We woke up to a sunny morning and took it a bit easy. I made eggs and toast for breakfast, and we poked around our apartment, taking in the sites and sounds of morning. We got showered and dressed, and headed out to the school office for some orientation with Murray. Murray gave us a tour, introduced us to a bunch of folks and went over the necessities. Then we had morning tea with all the faculty. We had coffee, tea, and fresh cinnamon rolls, as the kids run wild during a 20 minute recess. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. In fact, we have people either taking us out to dinner or having them over at their house for the next 5 days!

After morning tea, we went for some more information-session with Murray. Then we strolled around some more, had lunch in our apartment and continued to settle in. In the afternoon, we went to the office to meet with Dawn Bryan (the recruiting coordinator -- she is quite wild and extremely friendly). Then Daniel met with Murray and had his first staff meeting. I went back to the apartment to try to figure out the internet situation and get us a bit more settled.

We just got back from having dinner at the Warrens' with Andy, Bev & Kit (their 10th grade son at Bingham). It was very interesting to drive through the city more during rush hour. The Warrens' live in the sub-city Lideta, which is a really poor area of the city. So, as we were driving to their house we passed many slums and open window shops. It seems that everyone here lives behind a gate -- even if you live in a shack of corrugated metal, there is some fashion of a gate. And the thing you don't expect, is that total slums are located right next to giant mansions (which also have large gates). And people and chicken and children are within spitting distance to the Chinese ambassador's large, gated mansion. You also see a lot of open window stalls where people are selling everything from shampoo to fruit to DVDs to hot coffee to cigarettes. And these are in rows right next to the slums and everything else. It makes you think -- if people are living in corrugated metal shacks, who is buying DVDs?

Dinner was delicious and it was great to sit with them and talk about their project and HIV work in Ethiopia. We talked some about the different teams that do different things here and some of what I might be doing. Bev prepared dinner that was delicious -- fruit and sauteed vegetables and a good meat stew with green peppers on rice. The food here is so fresh.

The only drawback is that you have to bleach every piece of produce and then rinse it with 'clean water.' Clean water is not tap water. Clean water is what has been treated to kill all the bacteria -- we have a tank behind the school kitchen that we refill these big plastic jugs. That is also the water you brush your teeth and shave with.

The weather here is so mild and sunny. There are lots of eucalyptus trees, so it smells good. I haven't really noticed the change in altitude, but I probably will when I attempt to go for a run tomorrow. Bingham has a track that runs around the compound -- right alongside the compound wall (which is topped with barbed-wire). It is almost a kilometer long.

Tomorrow Daniel & I are going to go the US embassy to get registered, and to foreign affairs (in case Somalia attacks Ethiopia and the try to get all the Americans out), and to start the process of getting Ethiopian drivers' licenses. Apparently it's easier to get an Ethiopian license if you are American -- but you still have to pay over 100US and it takes two days. So, by Friday we will be able to drive legally in AA. Hopefully.

I am also going grocery shopping with Jacqui (Murray's wife) tomorrow afternoon. Then Thursday morning Daniel & I are both going to the AIDS project. Mainly to get acquainted with everyone and talk about specifics. I am looking forward to that!

OK, it's approaching 11PM right now ... so I need to go get ready for bed. We have to leave at 8AM for our errands. Sleep well everyone!

XOXOXO
Betsy