Gambella Part 2?

I spent the last week working on completing a $110,000 grant proposal to extend and expand the work that CCL is doing in Gambella. The grant has already been approved, so now it is just a matter of getting it up and running, and it appears that I may be in line for another trip to Gambella to help implement it! If all goes as planned, on August 1st I will head back out there to do just that, and I could spend the majority of my remaining time in the country out there. I could not be happier with the experience and opportunities that CCL is affording!

My guesthouse in Addis Ababa

Fun facts... while I am between 7 and 9 hours ahead of most of you reading this blog, I am 8 years behind you. According to Ethiopia, it is 2004 right now. No joke. More oddities include the Ethiopian New Year always begins on September 11th, they have 13 months each year, and time is told much differently than we are accustomed to. Right now it is about 4pm according to me and you, but they read it as 10. I never hear anything relating to AM or PM, it is just 6 hours ahead or behind what I consider the time to actually be. So, good luck wrapping your mind around all of that. I know I still do not understand it.

How many mattresses can you carry through heavy traffic?

One small section of a part of Addis called Merkato. Regular taxi is what you see in the middle of the road, taxi busses are what I take and they are located on the right side of the road.