It was all a wash

Between Awash and Addis Ababa

With about seven months to go before we're scheduled to leave Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ for parts unknown, it's the "parts unknown" clause that continues to give me grief. The bidding process this time around has been a nightmare, with still no end (as in an onward assignment) in sight. I suppose I could take solace in knowing I'm far from the only one in this situation - thanks to COVID-19 and the resulting drawdown in consular operations around the globe, there aren't enough consular positions at my pay grade to go around. 

At this point, though, it's all I can do to restrain myself from going on a profanity-laced angry rant over the unfairness of the assignment process. The original draft of this post, in fact, consisted of several paragraphs of venting that in the end I decided should be left for another time. I will say that the process of deciding who goes where is not based on intangibles such as experience and qualifications, but more on who you know and what they think of you. And in order to protect what little if any reputation I may have in the decision-making corridors of our nation's capital, it's best to keep my feelings in check for now and avoid being called onto someone's carpet for a dressing down, even though no one reads this blog. 

And so here on the ground in Ethiopia it's been 13 days since fighting broke out between the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ (TPLF) in the country's northernmost Tigray Region ክልል ትግራይ. For what I assume are obvious reasons I won't comment further on the military and political situations. I will, however, provide some links to articles from the likes of the BBC, AP, CNN and the Economist which try to explain what is going on (and why it's happening) at this moment roughly 750 kilometers from the Addis Ababa.

Somehow I found myself spending last Saturday night in Awash, a market town in the southern Afar Region, around 4½ hours by car from the capital. Security concerns meant having to return to Addis on Sunday without accomplishing what I had set out to do, but at least I was able to get a glimpse of the Ethiopian countryside, and to take a few photos in the process...

Stopping for a toilet break in Metehara:

One of three overturned trucks I saw on the way to Awash, the result of bad driving and not military action:

Sunset from my room at the Genet Hotel. Approximately $21 for a room with no hot water, but it did come with AC, and the attached restaurant wasn't bad (bonus points for no gastrointestinal difficulties the following day):

Morning from my balcony (yes, those chickens served as alarm clocks)...:

...and from the hotel roof:

A group of baboons hung out by the side of the road just outside of Awash, apparently because truck drivers stop and give them bananas:

Another one of the three overturned trucks. Hopefully the drivers of these vehicles weren't seriously injured, because it was a long way from any clinics or hospitals:

The scenery was often starkly beautiful:

Because Awash is known for its oranges, a stop had to be made on the way back to Addis to procure some citrus:

One form of local transport:

Just as with cathedrals in medieval European villages, Orthodox churches were usually the most impressive structures in the various towns and villages I passed through:

Camels congregating by a disused railway:

Even along the most remotest stretches of highway, cattle and goats could be seen:

Stopping for a restroom break in Adama አዳማ, a major city about 2 hours by car from the capital:

The scenery as I got closer to Addis Ababa on Sunday afternoon:

I guess you could say the trip was a wash (rimshot). 

In other recent news, I wore a Seychelles national soccer team jersey while on Seychelles Street, and the only reaction I got was from a local who asked me if I was Cuban:

Waxing nostalgic for my college days:

A splash of color:

A typical shop on a residential street:

Looking down side streets:

KKFC:

Chinese expats playing tennis on a weekend afternoon:

The mountains that surround Addis begged to be hiked, but security concerns preclude any solo excursions:

Affluence on one side of the road, poverty on the other:

People going home following an afternoon service at an evangelical church:

እንዴት አደርክ:

After 33 days of only cooking for myself or ordering from Deliver Addis, I finally ventured outside to eat...at Pizza Hut:

North Korea also has an embassy in the city. I so want to drive by and have a look, but my daughter won't let me:

The Iranian embassy (along with some other diplomatic missions) is located in an upscale neighborhood (in case you're wondering, those are just houses pictured below):

A church with a small shopping strip out front:

Mekanisa Square, where Lesotho, Egypt and Guinea Bissau Streets meet:

A church...:

...and a mosque. This is the one I hear around 0500 every morning:

It's been 49 days since Amber and Shu-E left for Taiwan. On the other hand it's only 33 days until they rejoin me here in Addis, barring any drastic changes in the security situation. In the meantime, they're enjoying a relatively normal life (like going to night markets) in this coronavirus-ravaged world, thanks to a government that actually listened to science and common sense. I miss them so much:

In the meantime, I'll keep watching this scene from Sid and Nancy over and over and over again...: