Sweet Home Addis Ababa

Those of you who know me well, know that one of my main concerns, prior to beginning this adventure of a life time, was to not become engulfed in an 'expat life'; living in Addis the same way I would live in Halifax. While I have hardly come to abandon this idea, I feel it may need a little re-shapping. My naivety prior to my arrival in Addis lead me to believe, that as much as I did not want to think of the expat community as a homogenous group, I had. I had imagined them to be people who were uninterested in learning about Ethiopia even though they lived there... While it would be a blatant lie to say these individuals do not exist, it is a far cry from the attitude that permeates the community.

The similarity which binds the expat community together is the obvious fact that none of them are from the country in which they currently live; yet, this seems to be where the guaranteed similarities end. In my brief experience, I however think it is safe to say that anyone who is willing to leave their original home and find one else where must be at least a little adventurous.

Last Thursday, through a friend of a friend, I found myself at a local 'expat bar' known as a Guy's Bar, (Guy turned out to be a very friendly French man, who was in fact in attendance). There was an old expat band playing a special show this night. My understanding was that they had moved away from Addis a few years ago and were using this show as a Reunion of sorts. The band was made up of a German guitarist, a Bavarian base player a Belgian drummer and two singers; British and Irish respectively. They came together to play some classic rock covers. The band went by the name of Ishee Backa Cio  which literally translates to okay enough bye and is the first thing any expat will typically learn upon arriving in Addis. I immediately felt comforted by the familiarity of the songs they were playing; as well as the fact that I was surrounded by others who also knew all the words to the likes of Sultans of Swing, Paint it Black and Sweet Home Alabama.. which they changed to Sweet Home Addis Ababa for the occasion. 

While I originally felt like I was "cheating" in my experience by attending such an event, as life abroad 'shouldn't be this easy'... I realize in looking back, that it is not something which I must escape, rather another aspect of life that I should balance. Everything in moderation. The night Ishee Backa Cio played at Guy's bar I met many amazing people who had interesting and unique life experiences to share and build upon; from an Ethiopian girl about my age who has been studying engineering to a Portuguese free lance conference translator who is fluent in god knows how many languages, as well as  other interns my age. I realized that to completely cut myself out from this diverse world of expats would be to rob myself of a whole other set of life experiences and stories. 

While the reality of the expat community is still one which perplexes me, and leaves me incredibly curious to learn more about the people and their stories and how it all fits into life in Ethiopia, I am by no means about to run towards it forgetting the other wonderful relationships I have developed with co-workers who are quickly becoming good friends. I wouldn't trade my morning macchiato sessions or friday evening beers with my coworkers for the world. I feel so fortunate to have this time with them, it is when I learn most of my Amharic (Ethiopian National language), and where I have time to ask about the culture and most importantly where I laugh so hard I almost cry-- which I think is the foundation of any great friendship.. even if the laughter is at my expense!

I am however slowly coming to terms with the fact, although it isn't easy for me to accept, I do not have to choose one of the other. Its all about balance. 

As always please feel free to get in touch with me via e-mail: steph.milo.mackinnon@gmail.com and let me know if you have any questions or comments:)

Much love,

Steph xx

To the Field!

      Yesterday I accompanied three of my colleagues to Weilso, a community aprx 100km West-ish of Addis…we were checking out the progress of a rural women’s empowerment project.  The journey was quite surreal for me; I found myself in a vehicle with three other Oxfam staff, driving through the Ethiopian countryside discussing family, life etc, but the conversations that I really enjoyed were the ones around development. I felt so privileged to be in the company of people who were passionately committed to achieving realities for their country I had more or less only read about in articles or discussed in classes. The discussion touched on how the majority of the early development in African nations had been put in place to export their raw materials to the West; my colleagues naturally expressed their frustrations with a lack of connectivity within Africa. While this discussion was not new information to me it was exciting to hear that although initial developments were made solely with the intention of exporting raw materials, there are efforts underway to create routes for internal trade (highways for example). Another interesting conversation was around the impact of the Arab spring on the AU*.

There were multiple layers to the sense of privilege I felt yesterday. One was how fortune I felt to experience the realities I had studied and to be able to see the character of the rural area through which we traveled; the way the houses are constructed, the toys the children play with, the colorful fabrics used as saddles for horses and the Acacia Trees (YES they made me think of Rafiki and the Lion King..) that sprawled the vast farmland, with the mountains filling in the distant landscape.

 Then there was another side of the privilege I felt; the one which is somewhat more daunting and harder to process. WHO THE EF AM I TO BE HERE?  And why was I so lucky to be born into an incredibly supportive family? I am soooo thankful for the family, the friends, the upbringing and opportunities I’ve had. But why do I get to have this privilege while others did not? I've found that the privilege and security I've felt in my young life has left me incapable of completely comprehending poverty…

The same thing happened with me in Ghana and it I hadn’t realized until recently that it was happening here as well... But thankfully I have since recognized some of my own hypocrisy; I have been continually questioning what fellow “Forengi’s”(foreigners) stories were, but I wasn’t asking myself what the back-story was behind the boys who try to shine my shoes, sell me a phone card or simply ask me for money. I was too busy trying to avoid eye contact and not have my wallet picked out of my pocket.   While I cannot comprehend the reality of these children, I would like to say that I understand that they have more than a ‘single story’ (see one of my favorite Ted Talk Videos: http://blog.ted.com/2009/10/07/the_danger_of_a/ ). One of my major pet peeves is when someone’s reality is painted with one broad brushstroke of “poor”. These boys may be poor by I am sure they are more than just that, they have personalities, friends, probably a favorite sport either to watch or play, they are people too and they are multifaceted just like anyone else, they just live a completely different reality than me… one which I am increasingly intrigued by.

I also raise the point of children, because of the contrast of my encounter with the children in Weilso. My skin attracted as much if not more attention than walking down the street in Addis, but the atmosphere was much different. I attracted a following of 20-25 children who gawked at me, eyes wide with curiosity, as we walked through the town. I would turn around to check my posse’s status and notice that most of children we passed had also joined the crew. None of these children asked anything of me; expect for one girl, who practiced her English and asked my name. Instead they giggled at my pathetic attempts to greet them in Amharic and at my trying attempt to play with this toy they all had—where you had to balance a rubber wheel with a stick as it rolled. I left the community feeling a refreshed sense of faith in the spirit of children, but also realizing (that from my perspective) the children in the city seemed to be robbed of this period of their life, that for many is characterized by carefree giggles.

     On another note, I find that when people have something echoing in their mind, everything else in their life seems to be reflected through that particular lens? If you become hooked on a TV series or burry yourself deep into the plot of a book or perhaps a video game, everything around you seems to remind you of that “thing” that is already consuming your thoughts. While my thoughts remain to be consumed by the questions I posed in my last blog around “why are we all here in Addis?” Last night while I was waiting for my dinner to finish cooking, I had my ITunes on shuffle (as I typically do when I cook) and ‘Patience’ by – Nas And Damian Marley  came on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAo9vMyUXwQ 

Now I credit my brother, Ian, for the fact that this was on my computer to begin with, as he supplies the majority of the music in my life and for that I am eternally grateful! But I had never really listened to the words of this song before, it was the section that follows which really pulled me back to the thoughts I have while walking by all those embassies in the morning.

The section is as follows:

Some of the smartest dummies

Can't read the language of Egyptian mummies

An' a fly go a moon

And can't find food for the starving tummies

Pay no mind to the youths

Cause it's not like the future depends on it

But save the animals in the zoo

Cause the chimpanzee dem a make big money

This is how the media pillages

On the TV the picture is

Savages in villages

And the scientist still can't explain the pyramids, huh

Evangelists making a living on the videos of ribs of the little kids

Stereotyping the image of the images

And this is what the image is

I would like to acknowledge that this is ONE perspective of an artist and I posted it not necessarily because I agree with it, but because it provoked me to continue to think about the diplomatic dynamic in Addis. 

Thanks again to those who e-mail! It was more than appreciated!

Again my address is steph.milo.mackinnon@gmail.com

ALSO I think I fixed a security setting so that COMMENTS ARE NOW POSSIBLE! So giver a shot if you like!

Cheers,

Stephanie :)

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* For those interest in the impact of the Arab Spring on the AU my colleague sent me this article http://nai.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:622198 on the topic.  It is from this that the following quote is taken;

“As the host country for the AU headquarters and the seat of various multilaterally and bilaterally accredited missions, delegations and institutions, Addis Ababa is the diplomatic hub of Africa… The close to 500 embassies, diplomatic missions and international organizations from all over the world accredited to the AU and Ethiopia make Addis Ababa one of the five biggest diplomatic concentrations in the world…”

I included this to show that I seem to have seriously underestimated the players present in this mystifying African metropolis in which I am now living…

Embassies Everywhere!

Sheena is a good friend of mine who I worked with last summer in Ghana. She once said to me that each time you leave home to go work/study abroad it gets easier, while the return home becomes more difficult.  This statement initially confused me, but as a dealt with reverse culture shock during my return to Canada last September, I felt very much unable to relate to the people around me/my immediate reality in small town Nova Scotia. In hindsight it was the conflict I felt was around how to portray my experience and the responsibility I felt towards how I would describe the people who had very much become my Ghanaian family. I did not want to perpetuate stereotypes of poverty as their only reality, but I also did not want to romanticize a truth and gloss over the trials and tribulations that have been internalized as a daily part of their lives. It was attempting to find this balance that left me feeling quite lost in my own head, while the world carried on around me. Thus, much of my motivation in writing this blog is to try and bridge the gap between the things I experience while abroad and break down the stereotypes of a single story of poverty, famine and neediness, in a hope that it will make my shift back into Canadian life all the more smooth.

The other side of Sheena’s theory, the growing ease of leaving, seems to be ringing true for me at this point.  I am not sure if it is that I have started to develop a system or a routine where by I almost come to anticipate the unexpected or if this time I am living in a much larger city with access to basically anything I want within reason? Whatever the case, it almost feels like this has been too easy. Those who study culture shock may read this and laugh, saying I am merely in the ‘honeymoon stage’ and that in a week or so my reality will smack me in the face and I will really feel it, but for now I will just have to wait and see!

There are however still a number of things that which regularly remind me I am not in Nova Scotia anymore.  At home when I walk almost anywhere alone I tend to plug in my Ipod and let myself get lost in the music. Yet I do not quite feel comfortable flashing around an Ipod on streets that are notorious for pick-pocketers. So during my morning walk to work, I have found that in the absence of music, my thoughts have tended to wonder to all sorts of places. My first days I was more concerned with landmarks for the sake of knowing if I was heading in the right direction, yet as the week has gone on I really thought about what some of these buildings were. I kid you not in my short commute I walk by at least ten embassies; Denmark, Luxembourg, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Sudan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Portugal and Tunisia (talk about an eclectic mix!). There are also a number of unique license plates. In Canada I’m sure everyone has noticed the special plates for volunteer firefighters, while here the unique plates seem to be infinite. There are region codes similar to how we have specific provincial plates, yet in addition there are also United Nations and African Union special plates and others with numbers from 1-100, separate from the rest of the plate number.  I am told that these are diplomatic vehicles and each number represents a country. Thus there are over 100 countries represented in the city. This also means that the embassies I pass on my way to the office represent only a fraction of those present in the city (The Americans naturally have a small city built in the mountains..haha)

All of this made me wonder; how it came to this point? How has Addis become such a hub of international organizations and representatives? It was evident to me early on when I realized that although I was in an African capital I could realistically access any material thing I really desired, it was just a matter of difficulty and time it may take. The question continues to ring true to me; why is everyone here? Have these organizations and individuals come in an attempt to support the growth of the Ethiopian economy and participate in its ‘development’? Ethiopia was after all the only African nation to never undergo colonization. They are proud and hardworking people who are known to stand up for what they think is important. Is it this attitude that has drawn in such a large percentage of international organizations and diplomatic representation? Or do they hide under the mask of their diplomatic words and leach the benefit from the years of famine? It is after all the stories of famine that resonate in many Westerner’s minds when they hear the name ‘Ethiopia’. In basic economic classes (because lets be honest that’s as far as I ever made it with econ), they explain that economies do better in times of war. While my current context is hardly war, do development workers solely feed off of the demand that comes with crisis, I guess is what I am asking?

         I do not think in my naive and idealistically biased opinion, that it is entirely one or the other; that both exist but many are working in a grey space in-between, realistically needed to keep themselves afloat but trying to engage in positive change actions.  In bringing up this discussion I feel I am attempting to artificially categorize a reality, which is far more complex and circumstantial than can be bit into a box and labeled as a ‘Reality’ of international/foreign workers in Addis. Nonetheless, stepping outside of examining the motivation it has created quite a unique dynamic of individuals, groups, organizations, institutes and diplomats working in development and living in Addis. I am intrigued to discover more about this dynamic, and have to be honest; whenever I see another Forengi (foreigner) walking down the street I can’t help but wonder ‘what brought you here?’

As the weekend is approaching I sure I will have some more funny stories for next week! Word on the street is that the comment boxes are basically impossible to use! So if anyone would like to get in touch with me please feel free to drop me a note at steph.milo.mackinnon@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!

Monkey See Monkey Do...I live in a Monkey Zoo?

Outside view of the 'Villa'

WE HAVE A HOME! I am more than excited to say that Tasha have settled in a home, in what appears thus far to be a safe and accessible area of the city. I would once again like to thank the staff at OXFAM for their incredible assistance! We would never have found this place without them. There are two German exchange students who live in the same compound, they refer to our home as a “villa”. Tasha and I saw it as more of a 70’s throwback cottage, perhaps the colors of the house gave us this idea? Nonetheless it is cozy, has everything we need and already feels like home. As an added bonus not only are their cats who live in the compound, but little monkeys seem to make a regular appearance.  The landlord tells us that they enjoy eating the guava fruit that grows in our trees, I will do my best to take a photo next time I see them.

My room:) 

As we now have the facilities to cook, we have shifted from eating all of our meals out, which has been cheap based on the exchange rate, to slowly starting to cook. Well the ‘villa’ is equipped with everything we need to cook (minor details of getting used to a gas stove) it has more so been the purchasing of things to cook which has held us back a little… Needless to say when I asked the man at the supermarket around the corner for 12 eggs, he put them in a plastic bag for me... I stood there blankly for a minute before accepting them, thanking him and deciding if I wanted eggs for breakfast I would have to figure out a way to make this work.

On Saturday we set out to discover Addis with out German neighbors. We made a pit stop at a hotel across the road from us to get a coffee and use their Wifi before beginning our day. We were quickly made aware that the hotel is frequently used to host wedding receptions. I am not sure what I saw first, the elaborate poufy decorations in the dinning room, adjacent to where we sat in the lobby, the traditional music playing or the guest entering in their formal attire. The scene escalated as we finished our coffees, and just as we had finished paying our bill, the music changed the camera men were at the entrance filming the entire wedding party entering the lobby! Three of us managed to quickly get out of the shot, but one of our German neighbors will be eternalized in the corner of this families wedding video. They did not seem to mind…  

           

Moving on from our wedding crashing experience we made our way to the city center or the section known as Piazza (Italian influence much?) to meet a Danish friend. From there we saw a few of the ‘must see’ churches. While St Georges Church was quite pretty, more than anything its garden proved to be a bit of a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the streets outside. The streets were filled with people selling things from umbrellas, to gum and phone cards; there were also shoe-shiners, beggars, construction workers, and others just trying to move through the crowds.  We had planned to visit the Lion Zoo, but took too long eating and unfortunately did not make it on time, so the lions will have to wait for another day.

Old Photo of Meskel Square

While it was nice to see some of the sights on our expedition across town, more than anything I gained a bit of confidence using the public transport system of minibuses— twelve passenger vans that run a set route very similar to a subway system… just not marked with clear signs and not underground... I also feel that I am able to orient myself in most of the main areas of the city now, which is a plus. Another skill gained is how to cross the street. The best way I can explain it is like Frogger. For those of you who are not familiar with the throwback Nintendo game, it consist of a frog who is meant to pass multiple lanes of traffic which fly him in many directions and at various speeds. Meskel Square is where this theory rings true the most.

On Sunday, Tasha myself and five German girls made tracks for Entoto Hill, the site of Emperor Menelik II’s palace. This is where the Emperor resided with his wife Empress Tito prior to founding the city of Addis. The Hill overlooks the city, and on a clear day you supposedly have a great view and can pick out the main square almost like you are looking at a map. Unfortunately Sunday proved to be very foggy, I was however happy to know that this was not just smog/pollution and that there are sometimes clear days. While the cite proved to be an interesting attraction and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, it also reiterated to me that altitude does make a difference as we moved from Addis’ altitude of aprx 2600m to almost 3000m. Needless to say the slightest incline left me a little short of breath.

We reached the top of the mountain by a series of minibuses, lead by two of the German girls who have been in Addis since October. They are modest about their Amharic (the local language) skills, but they managed to make sure we were not ripped off, and also translate what a tour guide has to say when we were looking around the palace. It was very encouraging to see other Ferengis (foreigners) speaking the local language.

Church beside Menelik II Palace

As the weekend draws to a close, I will have to step away from being a tourist and make my way to my first real day of work at OXFAM. Wish me luck!

The walk down from Entoto

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! 

Acclimatizing

Having grown up in the Maritimes all I have ever known is that humidity accompanies heat. My experience in Ghana further supported this notion and I ignorantly anticipated the climate of Ethiopia to be the same and as a result something I would have to adjust to. Boy was I wrong! As I stepped off the plane in Addis the concept of humidity as inevitable was crushed and let me tell you DRY HEAT is amazing! Yet, this was the first of many things that made my arrival in Ethiopia run very smoothly. I proceeded to easily get through customs, although the women was hardly friendly and looked at me like I had horns on my head when I didn't understand her hand wave meant I was supposed to stare into a webcam like device which I presume took my photo? Nonetheless my bags arrived, as well as Tasha and Caroline's ( two other Coady interns working with NGOs in Addis, SEDA and IDE respectively). Once we waited in one more incredibly long line, where they checked that our ticket stubs matched out luggage tags, we were greeted by individuals waiting to take us to our temporary accommodations.

But back to the topic of weather, as Nova Scotians do love to talk about the weather, it is interesting to note that our western system of seasons does not apply here (or in most African countries to the best of my knowledge), there is rather ‘Rainy Season’ and ‘Dry Season’. Rainy season runs from approximately June to the end of August/beginning of September. This is said to be the beginning of one of the coolest times of the year with temperatures averaging around 15 degrees, peaking mid-day and dropping at night. This is wonderful, as it will ease me into the warmer weather to come! I am also curious to see what the climate will be like in the rest of the country as it is said to vary depending on the altitude. Addis is aprx 2700m above sea level, and yes I have been using this reduced amount of oxygen as an excuse to why I am out of breath when I finishing climbing three steep flights of stairs to arrive at my office…

While the climate seems to be something I will not have to adapt to, there are plenty of other things I will, but to be honest not as many as I anticipated. There is a large variety of Western food available, particularly pizza. At this time it is my understanding that the availability of pizza and the prevalence of coffee/pastry shops is largely the result of the Italians brief stint in the country (not to be confused with full blown colonization). Regardless, those who know me well know I have a particular fondness for pizza, and am going to have to make an effort to keep my pizza consumption to a minimum/something I eat as a treat rather than a meal I consume on a regular basis. One of my co-workers has already offered to teach me how to prepare traditional food, which is amazing!

In terms of my placement at OXFAM itself, I could not be happier and more excited about the work that I am going to be part of. Monday I was given a brief overview of the four broad projects that OXFAM Canada – Ethiopia, is working on. Two of those, the Asset Based Community Development programs and a gender and agriculture program are the ones I will be working on. My role will primarily be around documentation (case studies and things of that nature), this will allow me to travel around the country a bit on some field visit. The people at OXFAM could not be more welcoming if they tried. I would guess that there are around ten to fifteen staff here, but it is hard to say for certain as people are constantly coming and going. People keep telling me to feel at home or “feel free”, which I have a hunch is a common phase in the local language based on the prevalence by which it is used; nonetheless it is catchy and easing some of my nerves about being in a new place. 

One of the only real challenges since my arrival has been trying to find long-term accommodations. Tasha and I are on the hunt for a home with great assistance and dependency on OXFAM staff. It seems the frustrations of trying to find a home are present everywhere! It does however heighten the level of difficulty when you are not able to speak a language, unaware of which neighborhoods are safest, not sure how public transport works and what is a good price. Thus, we sincerely appreciate their help, as we would be completely lost without them! I am however hopeful that we will have a home by the end of the week..!