TIA

The view from our third-floor balcony on a clear day

Here at last, here at last, thank god almighty, we're here at last! In Africa for the first time! After a long flight from Washington, D.C. via Frankfurt, we arrived at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on the final Friday in July to begin our next adventure. As it's been only been nine days so far, conclusions can't be made and impressions are continually being shaped, but thanks in large part to our social sponsors M & K, our transition has been relatively smooth so far. Unlike other officers with the missions (AU and bilateral) here who had to wait several months in hotel rooms before housing could be secured, we were able to move into our residence upon arrival. It's a three-story townhouse made of concrete and tile, and surprisingly resembles a typical Taiwanese abode, an observation noted by our daughter almost as soon as she stepped inside. It's also largely empty, as our unaccompanied baggage, household effects and consumable shipments (not to mention our car) will take weeks or months to arrive, due in no small part to host country bureaucracy. This is Africa...

Ethiopia has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, but GDP per capita is among the lowest and there are serious structural problems. This has been manifested for us in the frequent power outages - fortunately, there is a generator that kicks in when the electricity goes out. We have a water distiller to ensure an uncontaminated supply, and have been strongly advised to bleach our fruits and vegetables before consumption. Gastrointestinal difficulties are apparently a frequent topic of conversation among the expat community here.

We've also managed to get our Internet service sorted out quickly (again thanks to our social sponsors), though not without a few hiccups. Here is Ethiopia, after all, where the Ethio telecom government monopoly is the sole Internet Service Provider, and shutdowns are not infrequent, most recently in the wake of the Amhara Region coup d'etat attempt. Blog posts, therefore, may not be as frequent as when we were living in Shanghai and Vilnius.

A frequent topic of discussion almost anywhere you go in the world is weather. We managed to arrive in Addis Ababa አዲሱ አበባ at the height of the rainy season, and it has rained every day we've been here, heavily at times (with lightning and thunder). The rain also means the temperatures are occasionally on the chilly side - the average highs for July and August are 21° Celsius (70° Fahrenheit), while the average lows for both months are 10°C (50°F). The rain, however, is manageable - it tends to come in short downbursts, and we've had some very clear skies at times. What is harder getting used to is the altitude - Addis Ababa sits at an average elevation of 2200 meters (7200 feet). It's going to take a few months to fully acclimatize, but while I find myself short of breath just going up a flight or two of stairs, it appears I'll be spared any altitude sickness (cue the sound of frantic knocking on wood).

Food hasn't been a problem so far. Our social sponsors have taken us grocery shopping a couple of times, as well as going out to Addis' best hamburger joint and a Korean restaurant (the latter being our suggestion as well as our treat). In fact, I'm embarrassed to say I haven't had any Ethiopian food so far, but I'll blame my wife and daughter for that - Shu-E isn't ready to try any yet, and Amber still thinks injera እንጀራ is "too sour" from the one time I took her to an Ethiopian restaurant in D.C. Addis has a lot of non-Ethiopian dining options (pizza places proliferate here), but sooner or later I'll force convince the girls to try something more native.

It's been a busy week for me at work, though mostly that's due to the process of getting everything sorted out. I've been fascinated by the street scenes spied from the shuttle going to and from the embassy in the mornings and afternoons, but we've yet to do any sightseeing. That should change in the forthcoming weeks and months as we begin to settle in, so stay tuned. In the meantime, for your enjoyment, a few photos taken with my camera and iPhone during the past few days...

The view on our first morning in Addis Ababa:

Looking out from the rear of our building:

To quote John Lennon, rain, I don't mind (though I'll be glad when this season is over):

Sampling some of the many local beers, including Walia ዋልያ...:

...Habesha ሐበሻ...:

...and St. George ቅድስት ጊዮርጊስ:

I took this picture from the shuttle:

Examples of Ethiopian currency, known as birr ብር:

My wife was disappointed to learn seafood isn't common in Addis Ababa, but it didn't take her long to find a small store not far from where we live:

A typical street scene. Ethiopia is a developing country, and the traffic is unsurprisingly chaotic:

So far I've only seen one accident, but once our car gets here, I'm not looking forward to scenes like this!:

For safety reasons we're not allowed to use the blue-and-white taxis to get around:

Driving around Karls Square, named after an Austrian-German actor and philanthropist and not Karl Marx, like I first presumed (the country suffered under a Marxist dictatorship from 1974 to 1991):

We were given an informal tour of Amber's new school yesterday afternoon. Haile Gebrselassie ኃይሌ_ገብረ_ሥላሴ is one of Ethiopia's greatest sports heroes:

Losing to one of the school's resident tortoises, while Shu-E walks away in disgust:

The view from the school rooftop:

A fruit-and-vegetable stand that so far has lived up to its name:

I was surprised to see this young woman's bag bearing the names of several seminal California punk bands (Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Descendents and Angst):

This Sunday we took our first taxi ride, going out for lunch at the Sichuan Chinese Restaurant የሲቿን ምግብ on Tito Street. That's "Tito" as in former Yugoslav Marshal and leader Josip Broz, and not Michael's brother in the Jacksons:

Across the street from the Chinese restaurant:

Amber enjoys a post-lunch treat at Tutto Gelato:

One of the many traffic circles in Addis. The only noteworthy thing about this roundabout is that it's named after the Russian novelist, playwright and poet Alexander Pushkin:

Strolling around the neighborhood. Note the minaret in the background - 30-35% of the population is Muslim. The first call to prayer is at five in the morning, right about the time I'm waking up to get ready for work:

And so the adventure has begun. More to come soon, I hope...