If there is one thing I miss besides friends and family, its convenience. The Internet is soooooo slloooooooowwwwww around here, it takes literally 20 minutes to send an email with an attachment, especially with the Internet at home. At work its no better- there are 2 Internet chords to share between 4 people, so even when the Internet is working, there is no guarantee that I will have access to it. And the public transportation is a whole other story. When the director leaves work early and I cannot catch a ride with her and her private driver, I have to take the "puda puda", aka a "bus" about a foot longer than the average soccer mom's minivan. They pack 20 PEOPLE on the them, not including the babies sitting on their mother's laps. Uhhh, its so hot and sweaty. And I miss electricity, I'm not really a fan of peeing in the dark. Also, its the beginning of the rainy season here, meaning mud and moldy clothes. It rained so hard the other night, that I got soaked in my bed and the window in the bedroom next to mine shattered. But I guess this initial frustration is just a part of getting used to life here. One of my friends here told me that I have to get used to the tune of Africa. Working on.
The kids I live with in the house are starting to open up to me slowly (When I say kid, I mean between the ages of 20 and 22. Everyone matures so much slower here, so they come off as a lot younger than 20-22 year olds in America). Everyone has a story. One kid lost both his parents and drinks alcohol some nights to fall asleep. The girl in the house is fortunate enough to have both her parents, but they live in another part of the country. Her father is crippled from a stroke and has other ailments from the war, so he can't pay for her schooling. She came to live with Frances and she pays for her school. And then of course there's the boy who used to be a solider.
I'm great- I took off work today and am on my way to hike to a dam near the beach with Lara. I will post pictures soon, promise. Hope all is well with everyone.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
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Hiking to a 'damn' near the beach rather than a dam? I guess the loss of comforts is getting to you. Don't worry, there is always an adjustment phase. Make sure to keep your humor about it all.
we have those crazy buses here too, except they're called kombis. they drive down the road while some kid (yes, it's usually a kid) screams out the name of the destination out the window, especially at those of us who are clearly foreigners, as they like to get a reaction out of us. while it's certainly a cheap way to get around, i always fear for my life and my limbs, as there are way to many people, no seatbelts, and they go super fast. ah, life in africa, eh?
Aw, I miss those crazy buses! Sure you get squished, but they run more frequently than the buses in DC! For some real excitement, head to Uganda where they have the buses but you can also hop on the back of a motorbike. Not too safe as you're zipping through cars, but still fun!
However, when riding on the buses be vigilant of scams. I don't know if it's common outside of Addis, but sometimes you can get pickpocketed on these buses. There's one trick (and this is what happened to me) where they sit you up front with the driver and the kid who calls out the destination will reach around and pretend that the passenger door that you're sitting next to is not closing properly. He'll ask for your help and while you're distracted the person sitting next to you will reach into your purse and grab your wallet. When they were done they kicked us out with the excuse that the bus wasn't working properly, and yet everyone else stayed on. They also stole my roommates phone. It's very well coordinated, and usually everyone on the bus is in on the scam, so just stay vigilant.
we need an update, missy! miss you.
Congratulations on doing something fun and interesting this summer. Even if it's not fun now, it'll seem fun in retrospect.
Best to you from those of us languishing uselessly in Our Nation's Capital.
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