Rediscovering my musk in Addis Ababa

The view I had while in quarantine

It's been 16 days since I landed at Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport, and the first fourteen of those were spent in quarantine at my residence. I tried to keep myself occupied - for one thing, you would be amazed at the amount of dust that accumulates indoors (inside a sealed house!) over the course of the six months that we were spinning our wheels in Arlington while on Authorized Departure. It was a lot of work dusting, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping the floors of one kitchen; an entranceway; a living/dining room; four bathrooms; and six bedrooms (only three of which are actually used for sleeping). Our house is very reminiscent of places where we lived in Taiwan - namely, it's a narrow three-story structure with tile flooring that doesn't take much to get dirty again. I also went through all the kitchen cabinets and shelves, throwing out any food items that were past their use-by dates; some had expired back in 2017 and 2018! My wife wasn't too pleased to hear I had done so, as she apparently believes expiration dates are merely guidelines, but my stomach isn't made of cast iron, so like a going out of business sale, everything that was out of date had to go!

Still, despite all the work involved, the boredom was constant. It didn't help that I didn't have working WiFi indoors for the first few days I was back, meaning I had to rely only on my government-issued 3G phone to communicate with the outside world. This also meant I couldn't access Netflix, so my evening entertainment options were limited to my daughter's Studio Ghibli スタジオジブリ DVD collection. Over the past two weeks I've watched (in the original Japanese, with English subtitles) Princess Mononoke もののけ姫; Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し; My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ; Ponyo 崖の上のポニョ; Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城; Grave of the Fireflies 火垂るの墓; Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ; and, most recently, Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便. If there's one thing I've learned during quarantine, it's that Hayao Miyazaki 宮崎駿, Isao Takahata 高畑勲 and Toshio Suzuki 鈴木敏夫 are (or, sadly in the case of Takahata, who died two years ago, were) freakin' geniuses! I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of the collection over the next few weeks.

Thanks to my supervisor (who provided a box of food for me), and the local versions of Door Dash, Grubhub et al (plus the food in the kitchen and freezer that are still within a safe timeframe to consume), I didn't come close to starving, though it does seem I lost around four kilograms while staying indoors. We'll see what happens to my waistline now that I can go outside to consume.

Tomorrow I return to the office for the first time in 206 days. This upcoming week is going to be a busy one - in addition to catching up on work (especially emails), I'll need to make sure my car is still operating after sitting in an Embassy parking lot for more than six months; pick up all my personal mail that has accumulated during the time I was away; exchange all my old Ethiopian birr banknotes for the new ones the government of Ethiopia introduced in mid-September; and arrange for Shu-E and Amber to rejoin me here following the end of the my daughter's school's first semester in late December (she's currently doing online learning from Taiwan). 

Ah, yes, the family. We've been separated for 25 days now. They had their own quarantine to go through in Taichung 台中, but now they're out and living what approximates something close to a normal life thanks to the Taiwanese government's successful attempts at controlling the spread of COVID-19. We talk everyday on the Line social messaging app, but I miss them terribly. 

Speaking of the coronavirus, how are things in Ethiopia you or may not be wondering? The last time I checked (which was just now), the country has recorded 90,490 cases (out of an estimated population of 109 million), 1371 deaths and 43,638 recoveries. The good news is that Ethiopia has a young population (people aged 0-24 make up 63% of the population); the government acted quickly in response, declaring a state of emergency in April that lasted until September; and nearly 80% of the populace lives in rural areas. On the other hand, because testing has been scaled back due to limited resources, the actual extent of the virus is unknown; and when I went outside this weekend to do some shopping, it appeared that fewer than half the people on the streets were wearing masks, and many of those were only covering their mouths and not their noses as well. For the remainder of my tour here, it's going to masks, hand washing and social distancing all the way!

Don't expect too many blog posts in the coming weeks and months, as thanks to COVID-19 and my unwanted bachelor life, I probably won't be going out too often except to shop and work. As for the title of this post? Well, for fourteen days I wasn't working up a sweat in Addis Ababa's subtropical highland climate, nor was I interacting with other human beings, so I didn't see the point in applying deodorant. Sometime a man's got to smell like a man!

More views from the balcony. The nighttime shot was taken using a tripod. Yes, there really aren't that many lights on at night:

Back in the 'hood after more than six months away:

Stocking up on the essentials:

There's a lot of roadwork going on at the moment, making Alexander Pushkin Street a big mess:

Only 8-9 months to go...

Returning and Separating: The Final Dispatch from Authorized Departure (I hope)

This land is your land, this land is my land...

First, the good news (sort of): barring a change in plans, on Thursday, October 8 I will be leaving the Washington, D.C. area, and returning to Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ, bringing to an end 186 days of Authorized Departure. When we arrived in Arlington in early April, I had no idea we would be spending more than half a year cooped up in a small apartment, with me teleworking and my daughter studying online, but as everyone is well aware by now, this has been an extraordinary time. Following a two-week quarantine at our residence in Ethiopia, I should be back in the office for the last week of October.

Now, the bad news. On Day 178, Shu-E and Amber left to go back to Taiwan. While I've received permission to return to Addis, the situation for family members isn't so clear. Sure, the girls could've stayed in the D.C. area, but seeing as Taiwan has done what the U.S. has been spectacularly inept at doing, namely containing the COVID-19 virus, it's better for the girls to take advantage of their dual national status. Once they've completed their 14 days in isolation (in the Fengjia 逢甲 area of Taichung 台中), they'll be able to have something more closely resembling a pre-pandemic life than they would've by staying in America. They deserve that after all the time cooped up here (with me!) in Arlington. However, it looks like it'll be at least 2½ months before the three of us can be reunited in Ethiopia. I've always known there would be a possibility of work separating me from my family when I joined the Foreign Service, but that's little solace when it comes to coping with the depression that results from being far away from those you love. 

But life goes on. So last Thursday (Day 178 + 1), taking advantage of the car I'd rented to take my wife and daughter to Reagan National Airport (see photos above), I decided to get out of Arlington for a few hours and take a drive into the Virginia countryside. I ended up in Waterford, a National Historic Landmark 40 miles (64 kilometers) by car from my apartment building. I was expecting the typical old village that has been retooled for the tourist trade, with a plethora of Olde Shoppes selling antiques and other curios, but what I found instead was a quiet Main Street lined with suitably old buildings (most of which were closed), and almost devoid of people. I parked my car by the 1900 Corner Store and went for a stroll:

This brick building dates from around 1880, and has been functioning as the village's post office since 1897. Americana at its most authentic:

The Leven Smallwood House dates back to 1810, though a lot of work has been done on it since then (like the addition of a second floor after it was purchased by a Civil War veteran in 1879):

The Joseph Janney House, the construction of which started after the lot upon which it stands was purchased by a Quaker in 1781:

The Bond Street Barn was one of the few structures that had a posted explanation of its history (most of the information I've given above was gleaned from this website): 

You're never far from the Civil War in Virginia (nevermore so than in this day of Black Lives Matter and Confederate flags). Surprisingly, Waterford appeared to have supported the Union during the conflict, at least judging from this sign, though that didn't stop Federal troops from burning the Phillips farm despite the owner having provided assistance to resting soldiers. In the background is the 1891 John Wesley Methodist Church, which used to serve the local African-American community:

It didn't take me long to reach the end of Main Street and the entrance to the village (I'd arrived from the opposite direction):

No village would be complete without its mill. This one was built sometime before 1830, and was in operation up until 1939:

From the mill I took a peaceful walk along part of the Phillips Farm Interpretive Trail:

At one point I came upon this deer. I would see a couple more later at the local cemetery:

A bluebird nesting box, part of local efforts to increase the local population of that particular species:

I walked as far as these slices of rural America, before turning back to the mill:

Back on Main Street:

I ended my visit to Waterford with an uphill stroll to the local cemetery:

Unlike my recent drive through 'Murica (here and here), in Waterford Biden signs outnumbered Trump ones (at least on Main Street) by at least a 3-1 margin (namely the three signs I saw for Biden vs. the one I passed for Trump). 

On Friday morning I went for what would be my penultimate long-distance walk of this Authorized Departure. Again taking advantage of the rented wheels (the car wasn't due back until the close of business on Friday afternoon), I drove to Gravelly Point, parked the vehicle in the mostly-empty lot and set out in a southernly direction along the Mt. Vernon Trail. The first part of my walk wasn't all that pleasant, with Reagan National Airport to my left, the busy George Washington Memorial Parkway on my right, and the sun shining directly in my face. But I pressed on:

This time I was able to watch the planes land at the opposite end of the airport from Gravelly Point:

Passing by the Washington Sailing Marina:

Eventually the trail moved far enough away from the highway to allow for some peace and quiet (except for the approaching aircraft):

My plan had been to see how far I could get on the Mt. Vernon Trail, but a sign pointing in the direction of the Alexandria waterfront was too good to pass up, so I changed directions and found myself alongside the Potomac:

Across the river was a sinister-looking communications facility, part of the Joint Base Anacostia Bolling. The base is the headquarters of the Defense Intelligence Agency:

 

Reaching Tide Lock Park, part of a series of green spaces along the waterfront:

There are some expensive-looking properties overlooking the river, but all that money doesn't block out the noise of the planes coming and going:

The Torpedo Factory Art Center, which my family and I visited back in February 2013. It wasn't open yet as I walked by, which was a shame as nature was calling at that point. Fortunately, there were some portable toilets further down the path:

I brought a halt to my forward progress 1 hour and 41 minutes into my walk. I had planned on doing two hours one-way, but I ran out of waterfront as the path entered a construction zone:

Alexandria seemingly embraces all of its offspring:

In the distance is the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, linking Maryland and Virginia. I didn't quite get that far on Friday morning:

Military helicopters are a common sight flying over the Potomac:

If you look hard enough, you can see the Washington Monument on the far left, and the Capitol on the far right:

Back at the Washington Sailing Marina. Squint and you can see the Washington Monument through the masts:

A Metro train crosses the George Washington Memorial Parkway on its way to the airport:

A VIP was being given a police escort on their way to the airport:

That day's vital stats included 3 hours 28 minutes on foot in total, in the form of 19,150 steps according to Fitbit. It felt good to be back out on the trails again. Unfortunately, even without a pandemic to worry about, Addis Ababa isn't a pedestrian-friendly city. I hope once quarantine is finished I can ride my bike to Amber's school on the weekends and walk a few laps on the track there.

The final walk of this Authorized Departure waste of time period took place this morning (Tuesday). A bank of fog appeared to cover the Potomac as I looked out from my balcony just after 0700 hours. Of course, it had long since burned off by the time I reached the river:

As with most of my walks, I followed the Custis Trail down to the Theodore Roosevelt Island parking lot. However, instead of continuing south on the Mt. Vernon Trail, for a change of pace I headed north on the Potomac Heritage Trail:

Approaching the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge:

Someone (not me) has had enough of wearing masks, dammit!:

Passing under the bridge, and looking across the water to Georgetown:

The trail was surprisingly overgrown in places, though the path was marked with blue blazes. It was also dark in parts due to tree cover - my imagination conjured up images of antisocial psychopaths camping out by the riverside, and waiting to knife unsuspecting passersby, like myself. However, the only crazies I encountered were squirrels agitated by my presence:

 

A rowing club coach was using a megaphone to berate her team. Today's elite private university athletes - tomorrow's privileged Karens?:

If this were a horror movie, I would've suffered the consequences for having ignored this warning sign:

At around the 1 hour 45 minute mark, I decided I'd gone far enough - the demands involved with getting ready to move meant I needed to get home and back to work:

As it turned out, the place where I stopped was the same spot in Windy Run Park where I'd reached the conclusion there was no path down to the Potomac:

It turns out I was mistaken back in July:

It only took 50 minutes to reach my apartment building thanks to taking boring streets running through suburbia. Taking these long walks has been the only beneficial activity (for my mental and physical health) during these past 184 days (as of Tuesday). Six months of my life that I'll never get back, plus I'm now into Day 6 of being separated from my wife and daughter. 

Fuck this virus and all it has wrought...

That's all for now, folks. Unless something game changing occurs between now and Thursday morning, the next entry on this blog should be from quarantine in our residence in Addis Ababa. 

I'll end this post with a few random images taken since my last blog entry. Like this late evening scene from my balcony:

A father-daughter date to Gong Cha (gòng​ chá) 貢茶 on Wilson Boulevard:

A rainbow that was so close it almost seemed like I could walk to it, claim my pot o'gold and retire early:

Up before the sun:

This lineup of noodles at H Mart Falls Church neatly summarizes the makeup of Taiwanese society (well, almost). On the left is Taiwan Noodle, representing the benshengren 本省人, those Han Chinese whose ancestors were already living in Taiwan in 1945 when World War 2 ended with Japan giving up control of the island. Tainan 台南, of course, was the historical capital of Taiwan. In the center is Hakka Noodle - the Hakka 客家 being a Han ethnic subgroup that makes up around 15% of the population. And on the right is the Mandarin Noodle. Notice the Chinese characters - 外省, as in "外省人" (waishengren), the term used to describe people who moved to Taiwan from China after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, and their descendants. Notable in its absence is the Aboriginal Noodle, not the first time Taiwan's indigenous peoples have been overlooked:

Next stop: Addis Ababa. I just wish Amber and Shu-E could be going with me...

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!