Yesterday
The past two days have been relatively quiet, with a lot of exploring the city. Work at the mission has been pretty quiet, and we were mentally preparing for the ~30 nursing students departure after today, and the rush that will be tomorrow morning. Additionally, all three of Rick's main oncology patients started another round of chemo, a new regimen of medicine, or had some other tweak in their care every day. The afternoons have been especially quiet and so I've been leaving around noon for lunch, internet, macchiato, and juice, and then some wandering.
Yesterday after work, lunch, etc...i decided to drop into the National Museum down the road from the mission. I saw many interesting things including: Lucy's skeleton, Haile Selassie's Throne, and other cool, old items. The most interesting/frustrating/amusing part of the visit was when I became an exhibit myself - 50-60 first-year history students at some university way up in the north were visiting Addis and I take it they had never seen a Faranji/white person before. After I was spotted, my next 45 minutes were spent posing with every one of them individually and then in every group configuration imaginable for 100+ pictures. Interesting, but definitely colored, and eventually detracted, from my museum-going experience.
To make up for this very touristy activity, I decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon walking down every random side street/alley/gulley that struck my fancy. I ended up in some areas I had visited before but chose new routes from there, essentially trying to get as lost as possible and then finding my way back. Along the way I saw some unbelievable poverty and the average neighborhoods where "the other half" ( i.e the other 90%) of Addis lives. These adventures are one of the greatest highlights of my trip thus far and an amazing benefit of walking around alone. I am still a spectacle that causes people to stop and stare midsentence, but I am never bothered by beggars, threatened in any way, and most often I am invited to join in a game of soccer (even if it is in the middle of a 5-street intersection). This everyday life that I've witnessed is impossible to capture and the thing that I will miss the most about this city.
Yesterday after work, lunch, etc...i decided to drop into the National Museum down the road from the mission. I saw many interesting things including: Lucy's skeleton, Haile Selassie's Throne, and other cool, old items. The most interesting/frustrating/amusing part of the visit was when I became an exhibit myself - 50-60 first-year history students at some university way up in the north were visiting Addis and I take it they had never seen a Faranji/white person before. After I was spotted, my next 45 minutes were spent posing with every one of them individually and then in every group configuration imaginable for 100+ pictures. Interesting, but definitely colored, and eventually detracted, from my museum-going experience.
To make up for this very touristy activity, I decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon walking down every random side street/alley/gulley that struck my fancy. I ended up in some areas I had visited before but chose new routes from there, essentially trying to get as lost as possible and then finding my way back. Along the way I saw some unbelievable poverty and the average neighborhoods where "the other half" ( i.e the other 90%) of Addis lives. These adventures are one of the greatest highlights of my trip thus far and an amazing benefit of walking around alone. I am still a spectacle that causes people to stop and stare midsentence, but I am never bothered by beggars, threatened in any way, and most often I am invited to join in a game of soccer (even if it is in the middle of a 5-street intersection). This everyday life that I've witnessed is impossible to capture and the thing that I will miss the most about this city.
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