Friday, May 27, 2005
NO MORE POOP HUTS!!! At least I hope there are no more poop huts in my future. Today, we
finished the last of the "rapid convenience" surveys. Sorry about not
writing yesterday, I was too exhausted from being dragged out of bed at
5:30am for my 6am departure. I was home by 3:30pm (so we did get done
sooner) and I went straight to bed after a shower (hot water seems available
every other day). I did take the suggestion of one of you by taking my
headphones and CDs for the drive. That Ethiopian pop star on endless replay
was driving me nuts. It really helped my mood to listen to music I actually
liked while staring out the window at the countryside.
I did visit Hell's Post yesterday, according to my counterpart. It took
about 3 hours to get there, and the way was "paved" with large rocks,
meaning my chiropractor will have some work to do when I return :)
Seriously, it was like being in the middle of massive earthquake for 3
hours. I took pictures of "Hell" and it was pretty desolate and isolated.
But get this...out of all the places we visited, they were the only ones who
did things 100% correctly. Go figure.
After sleeping about 13 hours, I awoke at 5:30am this morning in a slightly
better mood. At least I wasn't half dead from exhaustion. I had another
lovely egg sandwich breakfast (and if anyone gets smart when I return and
offers me one, I won't be responsible for my response!!!) with Coke. I've
been refusing offers to "try" things the last couple of days b/c I keep
trying to get diarrhea. Thank God for the immodium pills CDC gave me...a
couple of those a day blasts that notion :) Still, don't want to take
chances. Seeing how little I get to eat here, I will not be pleased if I
haven't lost weight by the time I get home. I didn't even eat dinner last
night. I probably won't tonight either, b/c that would mean going back out.
The Rodeo Restaurant where I have eaten every meal is good (except for a
couple of breakfasts in Hayk....think gorgeous lake, and an old monestary
from the 1100s...along with poop shacks) but they selection is sparse.
I am not sure what it was today that set off my driver and counterpart, but
they were striking out (literally) at kids who surrounded us. A few
teenagers were trying to talk to me at one stop, and I told them I only
spoke English and French. My driver said something to them to make them go
away, but as they did, one said "Fuck you!" to him. He jumped out of the
car (we were stopped, of course) and chased them down the street, finally
hurling rocks at them as they escaped into a field.
Then in our final two visits, we were again beseiged by children. I did
find out that "You! You!" is the Ethiopian way of trying to get your
attention, kind of like "Hey!" or "Excuse me!" but it just sounds rude in
English. The cries of "Money! Money!" have died down, but still occur.
It's still annoying, but has lost its effectiveness as being rude. Anyway,
as the children surrounded us as we went house to house, the escort from the
kebele ("local district") smacked at least three of them on the ear as he
told them to get lost. Now, all week, they have at times told the kids to
get lost, mostly b/c it kind of makes the mom at the house we are at feel
like she's in trouble. But no one batted an eye when the escort did this,
and some even laughed. One kid came up to beg and he was grabbed by wrist
and yanked to the side and scolded fiercely by the escort. Kid ended up
crying before it was over. At the last house we went to, my counterpart
joined the "fun" and smacked in a kid in the head when he didn't go away
when told. After that, the kids gave wide berth. But I smilled and waved
whenever I could. A few kids at the last village said "Hellq!" to me which
was cute, so I said hello back. The last house at this village had a 1 yr
old that had been vaccinated, and while every child before this was eager to
stare at us and show us where the polio were put (mouth), this kid screamed
like we were there to take him away and murder his family. Very odd.
That last village was one extra than we were supposed to do, and I was not
pleased. I know that's shocking, considering how much I have adored being
in the field, mud, and amongst the legions of flies (I got covered again
today...I should have brought cans of RAID with me!) and poop huts.
Luckily, that was the only "extra" one we did, so I got over it quickly.
Plus, seeing my counterpart melt down and start hitting older kids was
almost worth the extra visit :)
I also forgot my sunscreen this morning, so my right arm is FRIED. It
should be quite a sight by time I reach Atlanta on Thursday. Speaking of
which, I get to leave Dessie on Sunday! That means I'll be back in Addis
(hopefully in a real hotel again) on Monday afternoon. I hope to get some
laundry done, b/c I'm out of clothes. I've been reduced to recycling
underwear. I know, I'm shocked and ashamed too. I was not raised to wear
dirty clothes, and I've had to resort to wearing pants for 3 days and shirts
for 2. Silly me thought there would be laundry arrangements like I had in
Zimbabwe. Boy, was I wrong. I guess I could find a creek or something, but
that's silly. My sink in the bathroom of my hotel room doesn't even have a
stopper, so that's out! I'm quite perterbed as I hate being dirty. At
least I'm not smelly. :)
You may or may not get an update from me tomorrow. If you don't, then
you'll next hear from me Monday in Addis, as I won't have email access on
the way back to Addis. Thanks for putting up with my gripes and reading
about my adventure in the wilds of Ethiopia. Talk soon :)
Saturday, May 28, 2005 - Sunday, May 29, 2005
Who knew there'd be a reward at the end!?!? Woooooooooooooooo, chil'rens!!!!
I am back in civilization at the Sheraton Addis Ababa, rm 442, which is on
the executive floor. It's also the top hotel in the country and the top of
the Sheraton line. They have restaurants with European, American, and Asian
cuisine...they have a shopping mall (small), laundry service (which I needed
badly), and a full service bathroom. I get to take a REAL bath tonight!!!!
Not just fill empty water bottles with a mix of hot and cold and make do. I
have services, cable from all over, pools, saunas, jacuzzis (of course, I
didn't bring a bathing suit....damn!). I've called Will and checked in, so
I will just luxuriate until I am called to send my report. Actually, I may
just sent it from here...that's an idea :) Maybe I won't have to go in at
all and just relax here for three days. Of course, that won't happen, as
the WHO polio guy will want us to make a personal appearance to give our
report. Such is life. They know where I am...if they want me, they can
find me.
Can you tell I'm excited? :) I've taken pictures of the room, and the
website of the hotel is at:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/se
Yesterday, I didn't do much. I slept in for one, and then got up and went
about writing my report. That wasn't too difficult, and I was just being
lazy when my driver came knocking on my door. Apparently, Dr. Teklay wanted
to have lunch with me. I went with him, and then he wanted to show me the
city. Not much to show. I did get to see the ruins of an old palace, which
was cool and overlooked the city. We then had coffee and I was on the
internet trying to secure a room in Addis tonight and respond to email. The
internet connection really sucked, so I just made do until I finished what I
was required to finish and then went to dinner with Dr. Ibriham, who is the
surveillance guy in Dessie. We had a nice dinner (at that same restaurant I
ate all my meals at) and I was taken back to the hotel. I packed, watched
another movie on my computer DVD drive, and went to sleep.
Got up at 5:30am, happily this time, and finished packing in time to leave
by 6am. Amazing how getting back to civilization perked me right up. We
got here about 3pm, and I checked in. I ended up an on executive floor,
which is awesome :) It will go over my allowed per diem for rooms, but you
know what? Screw it. I'm worth it, and I will cover the rest as an early
treat to myself. I wish I could find a bathing suit; maybe the mall has
one. I've not really checked it out yet.
I have discovered that not everyone lives in poop huts in Ethiopia, just
about 95% of the people. There are "real" houses (according to my American
standards, of course) once you get into the capital, but you'd be amazed at
the poverty even here. Most Ethiopians live in what we would consider
squalor. It's really sad.
The hotel is right across the street from the old Emperor's palace, which I
think now houses the president. One of my group is also here, and we'll
have dinner tonight. Gosh, I hope I don't have to spend much time at the
WHO offices. :)
Ok, I'm babbling now, so I'll let you go. Only a few more days until I come
home!
Monday, May 29, 2005 - Memorial Day Off After all!
I had a marvelous day....almost enough to erase the memories of the
hellacious past week in the field. After a leisurely morning, sauntered
down to the pool. Remember, I have no bathing suit with me, but I do have
some athletic shorts. They worked just fine :) A little heavy, being 100%
cotton, but oh well. The day was gorgeous. I laid out for almost 5 hours.
I know, I know...I'm about 6 degrees north of the EQUATOR, and I'm also
about 8000 ft in the air...and it's windy. But I lathered on some 30 SPF
sunscreen (usually don't put on anything stronger than 4 at home) and took
my book (Anne Rice's Blood and Gold) out to the lawn chairs. My tan will be
a little more even now, although my right forearm is still VERY much darker
than the rest of me. At least I will have some color for my birthday next
Sunday :)
Let me tell you, this hotel is NOT Africa. Anyone who comes here and thinks
this represents Africa is kidding themselves. Granted, this is the finest
resort hotel in Africa, according to what I've been told by people who
should know. You should see the walls they constructed to blow the view of
the guests at the pool of neighboring slums. HUGE walls with paintings of
mountains and sky....it's very clever. The pool is magnificent, heated with
thermal spring water and rotated/cleaned 5x daily. The lounging area is
high quality with cushioned wooden deck chairs on a plush lawn. They also
serve you food out there, so you can guess where I had my lunch :)
Anyway, as you'd expect, the honkeys in the building came out to sunbathe.
Mostly it was old women though, along with some old men....in speedos. NOT
a pretty sight. After reading my book and swimming, I went to the locker
room. Now, this locker room....can you say "bath house"?!?!? I swear to God
it was an exactly replica on the inside of a hot tub room from those Turkish
bath houses you see in books. It was kind of funny. But that was the
resting area of fat, old African men (again, in speedos, God help us all).
Still, I like a good hot tub, so I relaxed in there a while before coming up
for my evening drink in the executive lounge. Now I'm here at the
computer....no messages from WHO or my contact there, so I presume my
vacation continues until I am summoned. :)
Dinner doesn't start around here until at least 7pm, so I'll have some time
to decide what I want to do this evening. Probably stay in my luxury room
:)
I do have some observations on my Ethiopia experience to ruminate on....
* Men holding hands on the street. STILL kills me every time I see two men
walking down the street hand in hand and/or arm in arm like they are a pair
of lovers. Yet I know that this is just a sign of "good friendship" here.
As I've mentioned...VERY homophobic society, but yet you see men carry on
like this. Must be the heat or something, but it made me think of Bush
holding hands with the Saudi prince :) It's extremely intimate, and being
American, my first instinct is to run up to them and say, "Are you crazy?
Do you want to be killed? This isn't Midtown! (or Dupont Circle or San
Francisco)" Guess that's a commentary more on American society, huh? It
would be nice if we could do the same in the states, but if Ethiopians
thought it meant what Americans do, they wouldn't do it either :( Oh, and
one day, I say two men CUDDLING on a crate by a street corner. There's no
other word for it. One guy sitting behind, with his arms around the guy in
front of him who's sitting between his legs. The guy in front, leaning on
the guy in back and holding his arms as well. Very interesting.
* Chat plant. Drug of choice here, and perfectly legal. It's been used for
CENTURIES to produce euphoria. The Muslims first used it widely b/c it
allowed them to pray longer without ceasings. First, you get this sense of
well being and euphoria. Then you follow that with intense intellectual
activity, which is why artists often chew this plant's leaves. You have all
these grandiose schemes and ideas that inspire you. Then you become horny.
This is followed by a "crash" where you get really depressed (sounds like
some club drugs in Atlanta) and have side effects like impotence. All this
is cured by chewing more leaves of the "chat" plant. People in the
countryside eat this stuff like there's no tomorrow, and it probably helps
keep them in poverty. Even children as young as age 1 chew it. I saw that
with my very eyes several times. I was offered some "chat", but I declined.
I'm almost surprised that the club scene in the US hasn't discovered this
plant. No one's outlawed it as of yet.
Those were the biggies I wanted to mention. I'm sure there will be others
that will come to me later. I hope you all had a great holiday weekend!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - All Done
Today we had to go to the UN Compound to have our "debriefing" with the WHO
staff and a member of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. It wasn't too
bad, and actually went well. Will Schluter helped me tone down my report to
be more submissive and to remove any "judgement laced" wordings.
Apparently, Africans are a sensitive lot. But it saved me from getting in
trouble.
I got to spend the afternoon at the pool again, which was great :) It's
absolutely gorgeous here. I will be sure to take pictures. I will
definitely look like I've been to Africa when I return, which was my goal
when I got here to the Sheraton. We've finished our final report, and I
have totally disengaged mentally from my mission here. I'm ready to go
home. Not sure what I will do tomorrow while waiting to take off at 11pm.
I think I'll stick around the hotel, but I have to be out of my room by 1pm.
We'll see...I'm sure it won't be a problem :)
I look forward coming back home to the civilization I know and love.
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