I've arrived!

After a 13 hour plane ride from D.C. to Addis Ababa, I have arrived in Ethiopia. I spent almost all of Tuesday sleeping, but today I started my "orientation". It began with an innocent ride in the family car to one of the handful of offices that the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) operates around the city. It is housed in a renovated tractor trailer and it is really cool! Complete with skylights, comfortable seating, reliable internet,  and white boards it is just a place where your mind is ready to go. 

Following that I noticed that our driver had left and my guide (and amazing co-worker) Habtamu, had a smile on his face. It was time for him to show me the "taxi" system. When I say "taxi" I mean an old run down minibus with 13+ people crammed into it. Good thing is that it cost between 1 and 3 Biir (about the equivalent of $0.05 to $0.20). Bad thing is trying to figure out where they are actually going to take you. They do follow routes, but without knowing the language at all, it is really a crap shoot. Fortunately, after about 4 of these rides I now feel mildly comfortable navigating a very small section of the city. Tomorrow will bring me to another small section and the day will be repeated... probably for a few days until I make the leap to try it on my own. 

This Saturday I leave for a region of Ethiopia called Gambella. It is in the Eastern reaches of the country. From what I hear it is quite desolate and my daily internet usage may disappear. I will be spending two weeks there with part of the CCL team developing and improving leadership workshops. It should be a great opportunity to do some good work and see more of the country. 

Housing has been good, but promises to be constantly on my mind. Right now I am staying with the Director of CCL and his family. They have a good sized home that includes a detached wing where my room is located. The shower requires using a pliers to turn the water on, but that is nothing new to me. The issue is that this Saturday the family not only leaves to head back to the U.S. until August, but also ends their lease at this home. They have another one lined up across town, but it is smaller and will not have space for me to reside in it. Fortunately there is a guest house across the street from their new place that I will be able to rent. I hear it is nicer than where we are at now, but even that rental may not get me through the rest of my time here. So... we shall see. 

I will end it there for now, but there promises to be much to share with you as the summer progresses.