Taking stock

Where to start? Well, probably with the nearly daily power outages and resulting Internet service challenges that have made it hard to get all the resources aligned to write more posts. The power goes out most days - sometimes in the evening and sometimes in the morning (makes sense, as those are peak usage times). It happened just after dinner on my first evening in Addis, and by now I'm not fazed when I have to change my plans mid-stream, such as yesterday afternoon as I sat at the computer to "get some work done" and *poof* no power. It happened again this morning when the bread was already soaking for some French toast. And then again tonight, just before putting on the water for boiling some pasta. At least I have some peanut butter and bread around to fall back on.

Some things I'm glad I brought:

1. school supplies - like color markers, which I'm using a lot and are seemingly unavailable here.

2. an old, "dumb" cell phone - it may not have Internet access or a camera, but I've used the FM radio function (I have no TV and limited web access), the flashlight (during the frequent power outages), the alarm clock, the memo function, the calculator, and the unit converter (very handy for converting prices in birr to dollars at 18.5:1. Oh yeah, it also works to text and make voice calls (even to the US).

3. my headlamp - again, for surviving the near daily power outages.

4. the NWS frisbees - already a hit with the students

Something I wish I'd brought?

Besides innumerable books and teaching aids, a soccer ball! (I know, ironic. But who knew how hard it would be to find a good one here?)

A few things it's hard to get used to:

1. farm animals in the middle of the roads - horses, donkeys, cows, entire herds of goats! (yes, Jenn, I know you warned me)

Our regular driver, Biruk, and his trusty taxi, an '86 Russian-made Lada.

2. the driving in general (although I've only been a taxi passenger so far) - there are no traffic lights  (well, there are at least 4 intersections that have them, but only one set is working), pedestrians cross at their own peril, and horns are honked with abandon (when pulling out, pulling in, turning, passing, being passed, wanting to pass, sitting in traffic...). Bicycles are understandably nearly non-existent (I've seen 5, and 3 were in a training pack; all seemed in imminent mortal peril)

3. having to soak all my produce in bleach solution for 30 minutes before eating

4. eating cold bananas - they have to be kept in the fridge to protect them from the insects

5. the insects - did I mention sharing my apartment with hundreds of ants (they wear a daily path from my front door to the back door) and dozens of flies, crickets, spiders, and cockroaches?

Educational tidbit:

As I've discovered, Ethiopians use their own calendar and system for time. The twelve daylight hours start at 6 a.m., so 7 a.m. is 1 a.m., 10 a.m. is 4 a.m., etc. The nighttime hours are similarly counted, starting at what I'm used to calling 6 p.m.

By the Ge'ez calendar, today is 20 Miaziya 2005. As Wikipedia describes, "this calendar has twelve months of exactly 30 days each plus five or six epagomenal (how intercalation is done in solar calendars) days, which comprise a thirteenth month."

This, coupled with my ignorance of Amharic, has made arranging and discussing schedules and meetings both complicated and entertaining. Thankfully everyone has been quite good-natured so far.

First Saturday class

Today the students (and I) had the first full Saturday class. They arrived at 9:00 a.m. (we'll usually start at 9:30) for a campus tour; the parents had an orientation and tour as well, led by Ellen (the ILEA Executive Director). We had class until 2:30 p.m., with an hour break for lunch. One of the most common comments I got leading up to this trip was, "Oh, I love Ethiopian food; you're going to eat so well." Today's school lunch was my first "Ethiopian" meal, and it did not disappoint. For all of 20 birr apiece (roughly $1.10), we all at a delicious meal - specially prepared by the woman who runs the college cafeteria.

The 20 students are all 8th graders, but they come from four different schools. They are eager and focused - and decreasingly shy with each passing hour. The classes are focused on developing English fluency in reading, writing, and speaking. Even though it is not the home language for any of them, their regular classes are taught in English starting in 5th grade, and the national exams (coming in 10th and 12th grades) are administered in English. We are also working on leadership skills, critical thinking, and community building.

It was a long and exhausting day (I blame jet lag and altitude), but it was also terrific to get the program off to such a spirited and productive start!

The day ended with a celebratory dinner out with some NWS alum parents who are living and working in Addis.

Eating in the Hope University College cafeteria.

The girls relax after lunch...

while the boys try their hands at tossing the disc.

Ma vie en plastique

Okay, so I have been reduced to drinking bottled water, and the irony is not lost on me that I am now living a reluctant and uncharacteristic plastic-laden lifestyle mere months after hosting anti-plastic activist Beth Terry (author of Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too and of the blog "My Plastic-free Life") at school. (Here's my write-up of that visit for the NWS blog.) The shop stalls of Addis Ababa are awash with plastic goods (pictures coming). They're wonderfully inexpensive and convenient, but cheaply-made and awful for the environment. While short-lifespan plastic products are a lousy use of resources under any circumstances, it seems worse here where there is no infrastructure for disposing of them. Much waste festers on the roadside or in vacant lots. Some gets burned - either on the street or at the dump, and there is no recycling to speak of - except for refillable glass bottles and lots of re-use/re-purposing out of both resourcefulness and necessity.

An instructive graphic from the UNDP's Human Development Report showing that nearly all of the countries with a sustainable current lifestyles are among the planet's poorest and least developed, such as Ethiopia. 

As car-choked and polluted as this sprawling city is, the average Ethiopian's environmental impact is still far below the average citizen of a developed country (even if our cities are cleaner and more organized). According to Louise Carver of the Population and Sustainability Network in a 2009 publication, "The average American emits about two hundred times more carbon dioxide than the average Ethiopian" and "For every 1,000 people in Ethiopia, there are only two motorized vehicles (compared to 787 motorized vehicles per 1,000 Americans)." I'm guessing that since 80-85% of Ethiopia's population is reportedly still rural farmers, the overwhelming majority of the country's carbon emissions come from the capital city - and they're taking a toll on my poor lungs!

Class begins!



The fancy sign that Hope University put up for us.

Yesterday was a big day for ILAE. Ellen and her Board have been working up to this day for more than 5 years. It was an honor to be part of welcoming the first ILAE students. The class time went by fast; we only had 90 minutes, and there were a lot of introductions and logistics to cover.

The students seemed a bit nervous at first, but they opened up quickly. This is going to be fun! 

Our hand-made welcome sign.

Ellen welcomes the students.



Our first students!

Welcome to Addis Ababa!

Addis street market.

Wow! If one word describes this city, it is dynamic. From what I've seen in my 2 days here, Addis Ababa is a sprawling, chaotic mass of humanity that is in the midst of breakneck growth and development. It's a bit overwhelming! It's one thing to study a place from afar and to look at statistics - population of 87 million (Africa's second largest, to Nigeria), a per capita GNI PPP of $930, a fertility rate (TFR) of 4.8 (double the world average and way over the replacement rate of 2.06), 78% of the polulation living on less than $2 per day, etc.; it's an entirely different thing to find oneself living in the midst of the chaos (and charm) of a developing country's BIG capital. One source says 4.25 million people live in the capital; another estimates 5 million. (Someone told me it was closer to 8 million.)  

Our classroom building. We have two rooms on the 3rd floor.

In any case, where I get to live and work is in an area on a rapidly developing edge of the city. I'm being hosted by Hope University College, a newly built campus in its second year of operation and with a student population of nearly 400. The campus was built to accommodate 2,000 students, so they are letting ILAE use some of the surplus classroom space. We (Ellen, the ILAE Executive Director and former Head of NWS, and I) are living in on-campus faculty apartments, and we even get an office. 

The faculty apartment block.

The green-roofed library.

The view behind campus.

Cows graze just outside the campus gate.

The "sports green" just outside the campus gate.

 

Dubai

Well, I'm glad I decided to fly to Ethiopia on Emirates air. The route starts with a 14 and a half hour flight to Dubai, over Iceland and Turkey. Once in Dubai, the airline provides a free hotel room and meals for layovers of over 6 hours. Mine was almost 15 hours, so I had enough time to take advantage of these amenities. I arrived after 7 pm and didn't expect to do or see much, but a vendor in the hotel offered a two-hour van tour of the city. (I would have needed to be there during daylight for the desert camel tours!) Not knowing when or if I might ever be back, I decided to sign up.

Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, is a glitzy, booming, and very modern city in the middle of what was, according to our tour guide, largely desert only 25 years ago. He described how the economy is fueled by tourism and shopping (other Emirates, he said, have most of the oil). With a massive foreign workforce (interestingly not eligible for citizen rights), the city was buzzing with activity and development. Dubai has become a destination for the world's wealthy; one can, for example, have a new, private island built to spec in the harbor.

I was impressed by the modernity: the glittering towers (including the world's tallest skyscaper), the elaborate hotels and resorts (including a twin of the Atlantis in the Bahamas - aquarium and all), and the world-class infrastructure (tunnels under the bay, fancy shops and cars, etc.), but I couldn't help wondering at how energy-intensive it must be to have all those fancy buildings, and air conditioned bus stops. Dubai relies on desalination plants for 80% of its water I also knew that there would be a dramatic contrast between Dubai's wealth and what awaited me in the capital of Ethiopia.

The morning flight to Addis Ababa only took four hours. The best part was flying over Djibouti and recognizing the Gulf of Tadjoura and Lake Assal (the lowest point on the continent of Africa!); they look just like they do in the atlas! Once landing at Addis Ababa's Bole Airport, I knew my adventure would begin...  

Heading to Ethiopia!

The former Head of the Northwest School is very involved in the founding of a high school in Addis Ababa: the International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia. ILAE's ultimate goal is to attract top students from all over the country, from all backgrounds, and offer them a world class education. I've been invited to teach a spring and summer prep program to 8th graders, potential members of ILAE's first 9th grade!

Even though it's hard to leave home, family and friends, and the great Northwest School community - especially an awesome 8th grade class, it's very exciting to have a chance to see another part of Africa - and especially one that I have studied and taught about. Exciting, and more than a little intimidating.

I'll try to post updates, stories, pictures, and observations regularly.