Saturday 13 October 2007

Latest on Gilgel Beles and Addis Shopping 2

On Monday all of our partners from colleges and universities all over Ethiopia came to the university here to meet us and have some joint training. The volunteers all dressed up smartly (shirts and ties) to show respect. It was funny seeing everyone like this after being in T-shirts and unshaven etc for two weeks.

The Dean of Gilgel Beles Teacher Training College looks very young, and was accompanied by my line-manager who is one of the Vice Deans. They both seemed friendly and easy-going and told me about the person who would be my counterpart – a young graduate who will take over the cluster management after I leave (sustainability in action!). Apparently he speaks very good
English, which is good. The Vice Dean told me about the schools in the cluster. There are ten main ones scattered about 20km in both directionsfrom the college along the main road. I asked about a map, but there isn't one and the Dean asked if I could make one. I should be able to make a simple one using my GPS Receiver which I have with me.

The main problem was there had been no accommodation arranged for me. The Dean suggested I stay in a hotel in the town, but staying in a hotel in a small town, possibly sharing facilities with all the other guests for two years is not my idea of fun. Eventually he agreed that I might be able to share a house on the college campus with an Ethiopian academic - if one volunteers to share with me!!! I am also still uncertain as to how I will be getting to Gilgel Beles. At first I was going to be driven over two days, but I think now I will be flying to Bahir Dar (near the huge lake in the North) and then being picked up by a GBTTC driver and driven the 4-5 hours
to the college.

At 6 o'clock there was a cultural evening. There was an Ethiopian band playing music and Ethiopian dancing which lots of us joined in. Some of the volunteers including me sang "Lean on Me" to our Ethiopian partners. A couple of people were on guitar and I played my whistle in the chorus.

Yesterday I manage to hitch a lift with a VSO vehicle to Addis with another volunteer to continue shopping. At first we went to a market, bartering for things like saucepans, a belt, an umbrella etc. Then we got a line taxi to another area and hit all the supermarkets. I got an electric kettle for 170 birr and a few snacks to take with me – I don't know what I will be able to
get when I am in GB. After walking all day, not having lunch, we arrived back at the VSO Office at 1600 to find a vehicle had left 15 minutes earlier. In the end we had to wait until 2100 before we could get back. In the meantime, we went to a local restaurant and had ferengi food (ferengi = foreigner) which in this case was my first burger and chips since the UK! It was luxury not having injera and wat (the lentil or meat-based stews) for once.

As well as modern features in Addis, including an amazing huge circular bank with two layers (the top layer being open so you can see the one below) there are huge holes you have to watch out for in the pavements (1m or deeper!) some containing open sewers. Also there are no public toilets so there are areas where people just pee up against the wall (the same as some places in the UK!) Also the pollution from the cars is bad – you come home very dirty.

I now have my Ethiopian mobile phone and SIM card and people from the UK have been calling me. This is only a short-lived luxury as there is no coverage in GB or even the town 40km away!

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