photo update

- These are the ominous rainclouds I so often report, as viewed from
my office window.
- The desert which reminded me more than a little of southern AZ, on
the way to Dire Dawa from Addis last week.
- Jijiga street scene.

It looks like I'm not getting around to the promised update from
Jijiga. No time for a comprehensive report right now, but here are a
few thoughts...

The drive was beautiful and diverse. Alternating highlands and
lowlands, green mountain views and dusty, scrubby desert. There were
wide expanses of brush and acacia trees, volcanic lakes, winding
mountain roads, even pine forests. Our first night's destination was
the city of Dire Dawa, reported to be the second largest in Ethiopia.
It's a far cry from Addis, however, with its clean air, and to me it
was a welcome oasis. We drove down, down through a landscape that
reminded me of what I expect Afghanistan to feel like, arriving in the
city at dusk, when the air was still warm and the wind was dry and
perfect. DD has a distinctly European influence, stemming from the
days when the French built the railroad between Addis and Djibouti.
There was an entertaining, two-world juxtaposition, as camels carrying
sacks strolled down the wide avenues and through narrow alleys. This
was a city where I could imagine living.

The next morning, after breakfast, we drove the last kilometers to
Jijiga, passing through towns famous for chat (the country's favorite
narcotic) and peanuts, and arrived in time for lunch. My first
impression of Jijiga was of a relatively easy, friendly town, where
people were less inclined to approach, or to call attention to
foreigners with shouts of "you you you!" It felt like a place where I
could be comfortable walking through town unescorted, though I had
been discouraged from doing so by my male colleagues and travel
companions. By the end of the week, however, I was tired of feeling
conspicuously female in all public places. All meals were eaten in
cafes and restaurants, places where the clientèle are 98% male, and
where I clearly stood out from the surrounding crowd. This is the
sort of thing I tolerate well for several days, but eventually find to
be tiresome. The celebrity status phenomenon is entertaining for a
bit, until my introvert tendencies take control, and all I want is to
blend in, be anonymous, and have some space to myself...and suddenly
every sideways glance - or direct stare, for that matter - is a
personal affront, and I have to sequester myself in my hotel room
until the frustration passes. That said, the irritation was
temporary, and I truly did enjoy myself, and the new setting. It was
the perspective change I wanted, and the climatic improvement I
needed. And perhaps most importantly, I was ready to be back in Addis
by the end of the week.

I spent the weekend bumming around my own neighborhood with my current
housemate. The patron saint of the nearby church enjoyed a holiday -
an entire weekend of celebration, it seemed - which drew extra crowds
of church-goers and beggars to the streets, adding extra challenges to
our ventures out for groceries and coffee. Both of us struggle with
the proper response to requests for money or bread, and decided
spontaneously to buy and distribute a kilo of bananas to the 4 or 5
boys that approached us on Sunday as we shopped for vegetables. This
turned into a chaotic and entertaining debacle, however, as the onset
of the attempt drew at least a dozen more children, creating a scene
that was not typical, and led to a much longer conversation about how
to respond to the poverty all around us. That evening we ended up in
a nearby hotel restaurant, entertained for hours by music videos from
the early 90s, and most of all by the mocking of each and every one.
There seems to be an odd affinity for Celine Dion in this place.

And now it's back to work for a week. I think tomorrow I'll allow the
rain (and the avoidance of internet distraction) keep me at home for
the day, where I should be able to write more intensively and
creatively. The office always seems to pull my attention in other
directions, in the form of impromptu meetings, or documents in need of
editing. This needs to be a productive week, before I take off for
Moyale and Negele to gather the final, qualitative information for my
reports.

Apologies for a less-than-satisfactory trip report. I'll do better next time!