Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Life continues at brake neck speed in Addis!
The days and weeks are flying by and I think part of the difficulty in realising that the months are passing is because the weather is eternally beautiful now. At home you realise time is passing as the seasons change but for me here in Addis the sunshine makes it feel like a brief summer. It is great to get up each day and see the sunshine and blue skies...reminds me so much of California...and here too like the first year there you try to pack so much in.
Routine...well I have just given up on that one...it hasn’t happened and I don’t think it really will...the up side is there never seems to be that Sunday night feeling...I never seem to feel like Monday impinges on the weekend...so that is a plus for life in Addis! And those of you who know me well – I have kicked my internet junkie habit.
Highlights of the past few weeks...
The Great Ethiopian Run – an annual 10km run in Addis with participants from all over the world and over 30,000 participants...a lasting memory! The good humour and fun on the streets of Addis was not to be missed. I ran to raise money for the Food Run, a weekly program aimed at feeding 400 homeless people in Addis and organised by Jill Campbell , the year 4 teacher at Sandford, entirely though donations – Addis’s Mother Teresa. Thanks to the generosity of friends and family the current total is £1520...truly amazing and so worthwhile as all the moneys go directly to feeding the homeless as there are no administration costs. Major donations were received from Belmont House School and St Mary’s College in Derry.
Another highlight a three day weekend spent at Safari Lodge in Adama, a town that is growing in size 2 hours south of Addis...a mini bazaar at school to raise money to provide clean water in Sheshamanie...the Artisans Bazaar at the tropical gardens in Addis...sunsets over Addis at Top View...lunches at the Greek club...an amazing barbeque at Mary and Yohansis’s house...great food, great company and great craic!
So life...never dull...often fun...and I am sure the fun will continue when Siobhan my friend from Dublin arrives in the wee small hours of Thursday to celebrate the holidays in Addis. We will travel to see the tribes in the South Omo Valley...
Routine...well I have just given up on that one...it hasn’t happened and I don’t think it really will...the up side is there never seems to be that Sunday night feeling...I never seem to feel like Monday impinges on the weekend...so that is a plus for life in Addis! And those of you who know me well – I have kicked my internet junkie habit.
Highlights of the past few weeks...
The Great Ethiopian Run – an annual 10km run in Addis with participants from all over the world and over 30,000 participants...a lasting memory! The good humour and fun on the streets of Addis was not to be missed. I ran to raise money for the Food Run, a weekly program aimed at feeding 400 homeless people in Addis and organised by Jill Campbell , the year 4 teacher at Sandford, entirely though donations – Addis’s Mother Teresa. Thanks to the generosity of friends and family the current total is £1520...truly amazing and so worthwhile as all the moneys go directly to feeding the homeless as there are no administration costs. Major donations were received from Belmont House School and St Mary’s College in Derry.
Another highlight a three day weekend spent at Safari Lodge in Adama, a town that is growing in size 2 hours south of Addis...a mini bazaar at school to raise money to provide clean water in Sheshamanie...the Artisans Bazaar at the tropical gardens in Addis...sunsets over Addis at Top View...lunches at the Greek club...an amazing barbeque at Mary and Yohansis’s house...great food, great company and great craic!
So life...never dull...often fun...and I am sure the fun will continue when Siobhan my friend from Dublin arrives in the wee small hours of Thursday to celebrate the holidays in Addis. We will travel to see the tribes in the South Omo Valley...
Friday, 20 November 2009
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Teachers go on a Field Trip
Friday afternoon at 3.30 saw Sandford teachers escape the chaos of Addis for the more relaxed surroundings of Weliso and the nearby Wenchi Crater...all organised Rachel from the secondary end of the school.
About 2 hours drive took us to Negash Lodge...the pictures tell again of a place so far removed from our image of Ethiopia...accessability is an issue that perhaps keeps these little gems well hidden...but boy is it worth taking the time to explore places like this...even if I did get sunstroke!
The crater is an hour and a half from the lodge...breathtaking!
Melissa, Mary W, Iris, Sophie, Ginny, Me, Christine
About 2 hours drive took us to Negash Lodge...the pictures tell again of a place so far removed from our image of Ethiopia...accessability is an issue that perhaps keeps these little gems well hidden...but boy is it worth taking the time to explore places like this...even if I did get sunstroke!
The crater is an hour and a half from the lodge...breathtaking!
Melissa, Mary W, Iris, Sophie, Ginny, Me, ChristineIt was a one and a half hour walk to the base of the crater
Sophie and Mary W
We took a boat across the lake and picniced on the other side before our journey through the valley.
Ginny
Me
Tree Bar at Negash Lodge
A whole variety of accomodations is awailable at the lodge...this is one of the newer ones
Sophie and Mary W
We took a boat across the lake and picniced on the other side before our journey through the valley.
Ginny
Me
Tree Bar at Negash Lodge
A whole variety of accomodations is awailable at the lodge...this is one of the newer ones This is really Ethiopia - I kid you not!
Me, myself and I at Angel Falls in Awash National Park
Accomodations at the rustic Angel Falls Lodge
Hot Springs
Afar people ...a nomadic tribe know for their fierceness... as with many of these places in Ethiopia you have to bring an armed guard with you
Four hours south of Addis takes you to Awash National Park. You gottta get there before 6pm to gain entrance to the park and accommodations are scarce in this part of the world…well decent ones anyways. Angel Falls Lodge is newly opened one with a great location on the edge of the Falls. The Falls are not high by any standards but in landlocked Ethiopia the roar of the water rushing over the falls is not to be missed. Angels Falls Lodge is what you would call rustic.
Dawn sees the planned game drive eclipsed by a curious baboon who decided to come right into my room …climb onto my bed just as I was brushing my teeth…up close and personal or what!
Just over one hour of the main road are the hot springs…should be called hot hot springs…but there is no way you would believe they are the end of this rugged dusty road…not to be missed! Crystal clear waters and the most amazing turquoise...a gem of a place.
Accomodations at the rustic Angel Falls Lodge
Hot Springs
Afar people ...a nomadic tribe know for their fierceness... as with many of these places in Ethiopia you have to bring an armed guard with you
Four hours south of Addis takes you to Awash National Park. You gottta get there before 6pm to gain entrance to the park and accommodations are scarce in this part of the world…well decent ones anyways. Angel Falls Lodge is newly opened one with a great location on the edge of the Falls. The Falls are not high by any standards but in landlocked Ethiopia the roar of the water rushing over the falls is not to be missed. Angels Falls Lodge is what you would call rustic.
Dawn sees the planned game drive eclipsed by a curious baboon who decided to come right into my room …climb onto my bed just as I was brushing my teeth…up close and personal or what!
Just over one hour of the main road are the hot springs…should be called hot hot springs…but there is no way you would believe they are the end of this rugged dusty road…not to be missed! Crystal clear waters and the most amazing turquoise...a gem of a place.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Not "Yew Tree House" but!
3 storeys...but thank goodness the walls can't talk and tell the true stories!
Low maintainence garden!
Living room...bright and breezy just like its occupants!
Needs a little filling up...we will get there in time
Kitchen that has seen some action already
Perfect for some fun on the stairs
My bedroom at night
My en-suite
Survivin' in Addis! Life is agreeing with me - hurrah for Harrar!
So tomorrow is November 1st...and my computer has reminded me that daylight savings time has kicked in the UK which means we are now 3 hours ahead here in Ethiopia...but the weather here is turning warmer by the week and Addis life is feeling ‘sunny’ too.
What an amazing place and time...I have to keep pinching myself...living life here feels like the ‘precious present’...not least because I feel so privileged.
The week off for half term hols is coming to a close and it has been a fun one...experiencing travelling 500km east in a white carriage ...that translates in white landcruser in Ethiopia... through incredible landscapes...passing through Awash and seeing herds of camels under the protection of the fierce Afar nomadic people...climbing high into the mountains and enjoying the spectacle of vast mountain regions stretching as far as the eye could see...farming going on in age old ways long forgotten in the mechanised west...terraced hillsides filled with all so important crops that yield some of the best peanuts I have ever tasted.
My favourite part was the drive down the winding hillside into Dire Dawa...to reach the sleepy town that plays an important role in the importation of goods by rail from Djibouti... nights spent in Room 104 in the Selam hotel... One highlight was an evening meal in a local family's house complete with bonfire outside and a traditional coffee ceremony...very intimate and lovely to be part of a household.
Retelling this part would not be complete without telling you about Frea...an Ethiopian working for an English company here in Addis...so great is her thoughtfulness and ability to read your mind that she called ahead to the hotel and had them make homemade ice cream...delicious. Many great memories on this trip and as they say in Mamma Mia dot, dot, dot!
So back to life in Addis...I have learned allot...and am getting to grip with how to live in Ethiopia...I feel safe and have learned how to get around in line taxis which are basically shared minibuses that travel on main routes through the city the average journey costs 5p...so economical...then there is a contract taxi system ...basically like taxis at home where it is point to point and costs about £2 subject to your bargaining skills or alternatively you can hire them by the hour for £5 for 2 hours and £2.50 an hour after that...this is great especially as there is a taxi driver who lives near us that I can call and he will pick up from the house...important after dark...I would not walk alone after dark anywhere.
Shopping for food is not easy but Desta the maid takes on that responsibility and is a great cook...lots of vegetarian food...rice and pasta...so no losing weight as the carb intake is high..well that combined with meals out and of course a glass or three of wine!
So I have moved house ...again it is close to school ...a ten minute walk and two other teachers and I are sharing a lovely new spacious house...we are the unofficial UN...England ...USA and Ireland...great to have company and a bit of craic...lots of space for guests too.
School is great...I have 25 kids and a classroom assistant...the school is a fee paying school and although the children come from wealthy families the school is very poorly resourced...we have books but very few resources like games or puzzles...I am glad to have brought what I did with me and I have made some purchases from Amazon which amazing delivers to Ethiopia...and Colette Delargy of Maths Buddy has come to my rescue – sending me a box a maths games faster than the speed of light http://www.mathsbuddy.com/ – so far the kids favourites are addendum and cross three puzzles.
What an amazing place and time...I have to keep pinching myself...living life here feels like the ‘precious present’...not least because I feel so privileged.
The week off for half term hols is coming to a close and it has been a fun one...experiencing travelling 500km east in a white carriage ...that translates in white landcruser in Ethiopia... through incredible landscapes...passing through Awash and seeing herds of camels under the protection of the fierce Afar nomadic people...climbing high into the mountains and enjoying the spectacle of vast mountain regions stretching as far as the eye could see...farming going on in age old ways long forgotten in the mechanised west...terraced hillsides filled with all so important crops that yield some of the best peanuts I have ever tasted.
My favourite part was the drive down the winding hillside into Dire Dawa...to reach the sleepy town that plays an important role in the importation of goods by rail from Djibouti... nights spent in Room 104 in the Selam hotel... One highlight was an evening meal in a local family's house complete with bonfire outside and a traditional coffee ceremony...very intimate and lovely to be part of a household.
Retelling this part would not be complete without telling you about Frea...an Ethiopian working for an English company here in Addis...so great is her thoughtfulness and ability to read your mind that she called ahead to the hotel and had them make homemade ice cream...delicious. Many great memories on this trip and as they say in Mamma Mia dot, dot, dot!
So back to life in Addis...I have learned allot...and am getting to grip with how to live in Ethiopia...I feel safe and have learned how to get around in line taxis which are basically shared minibuses that travel on main routes through the city the average journey costs 5p...so economical...then there is a contract taxi system ...basically like taxis at home where it is point to point and costs about £2 subject to your bargaining skills or alternatively you can hire them by the hour for £5 for 2 hours and £2.50 an hour after that...this is great especially as there is a taxi driver who lives near us that I can call and he will pick up from the house...important after dark...I would not walk alone after dark anywhere.
Shopping for food is not easy but Desta the maid takes on that responsibility and is a great cook...lots of vegetarian food...rice and pasta...so no losing weight as the carb intake is high..well that combined with meals out and of course a glass or three of wine!
So I have moved house ...again it is close to school ...a ten minute walk and two other teachers and I are sharing a lovely new spacious house...we are the unofficial UN...England ...USA and Ireland...great to have company and a bit of craic...lots of space for guests too.
School is great...I have 25 kids and a classroom assistant...the school is a fee paying school and although the children come from wealthy families the school is very poorly resourced...we have books but very few resources like games or puzzles...I am glad to have brought what I did with me and I have made some purchases from Amazon which amazing delivers to Ethiopia...and Colette Delargy of Maths Buddy has come to my rescue – sending me a box a maths games faster than the speed of light http://www.mathsbuddy.com/ – so far the kids favourites are addendum and cross three puzzles.
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