Making it Work

In using this title I first need to give a shout out to Maura Casey (Mauraincameroon.blogspot.com) as she coined the phrase ‘making it work’ during our three week orientation in Antigonish. While Maura may have coined it, in my short time in Addis I already feel Ethiopians epitomize the phrase.

No power this afternoon? Cool we have an alternative or a generator. That side of the road is closed? Oh alright no need to put up road signs we will just go onto the wrong side of the road and share with oncoming traffic, ignore all of the traffic signs and lines in place and Make It Work. One of the drivers for OXFAM laughed as I said I could probably never drive here, he responded that it would likely take five years of watching before one could understand all of the unwritten rules of the road. I couldn’t help but laugh and think of when Lower Water Street in Halifax first became a one-way street. Although there had previously been ample room for traffic to move in both directions, in the absence of a line marking two lanes, the drivers could not seem to organize themselves in to two parallel streams of traffic, ultimately defeating the purpose of making it a one way street.  It is also interesting to note that the reason all of this road sharing is happening in Addis, is as a result of serious upgrades to the highways system. Now I know we have all see the classic construction worker set up in Canada, four people watching, one digging, but these people are making it happen. I am very curious to see the progress that will be made not only during my six-month stay but also in the next few years.

While I have found that many Ethiopians have a ‘make it work’ attitude, they carry this out in a very calm and unassuming manner. Aggressive or hasty is exactly what they are not. In their efforts to assist me in finding a home, my co-workers here at OXFAM want to make it work, yet they have been clear in stating that everything is a process. They want to make sure things are done properly. The office manager has been so kind; when Tasha and I thought we had settled on a place, she insisted that someone show us how the public transport system operates from the location and that we go back in the morning to ensure that all of the appliances work properly. We feel so fortunate to have such amazing support! I will let you know how the appliance check goes, please keep your fingers crossed for us! Hopefully by the end of the day we will have a home!