Just when you think you've got the Hoffman's pinned down to a patch of hard grass under the hottest sky, we move yet again! This time to exotic and medieval Ethiopia. Let me tell you folks! I have never dealt with such culture shock yet I am African! You would think nothing would faze me after having grown up in Kenya. No! This I was not prepared for. Addis Ababa is one long stretch of a village within a village. Beggars, cows, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, and donkeys roam the streets alongside the 1920's vehicles that shine on the beautiful, wide roads of the city. This is a true contradiction. Addis is caught back in time while rushing to catch up with the rest of Africa, and the rest of the world. For instance, Internet, along with every other piece of Western influence is heavily controlled by the government. But you can get internet, for a price. A USB card that is attached to your laptop becomes your wireless internet that you can take absolutely anywhere. So...you can afford wireless connection but cannot afford just good old broadband in your house! See what I mean by contradiction?
Let's start all over again. A lot has happened. No, we are not expecting baby number three despite the persistent insistence from parties that know themselves all too well ;)
Leaving Philippines was certainly less emotional than when we left Nepal. Here's why. We barely had any time to say goodbye! We simply packed our stuff and left within a month's notice! Barely enough time for me to complete my shopping list (and I mourn the trips missed to furniture stores, clothes stores, oh, the list is long. Manila, you will see me wandering your malls in the not-so-distant future).
Now we miss the convenient life, but are slowly adjusting to the simple life. It's funny how you go from one thing to another and somehow find ways to recreate your comfort zone. Well, I just had a salami sandwich in my rickety apart/hotel. Last night I had a tasty glass of Cabernet sauvignogn. And now i can barely remember what the good life was/is. I'm not missing much, not even my unlimited access to the internet. All around me I'm surrounded by filth in the midst of cafes that serve the world's best machiatos.
Contradictions...
I refused to blog in the first week of us being here (it's now been three) simply because I was sure I was never going to make it here alive. I thought I would die of hunger alongside all the starving beggars. I couldn't bear the homeless mothers with babies on the dusty streets, holding out worn out umbrellas with one hand and the other held out for a coin from a kind soul. I still cannot bear it. There is this one woman I see on a daily basis completely asleep, deep asleep like in a coma (but I know she is alive because she is often awakened by the movements of her baby who nurses on her bare bosom completely oblivious of her harsh reality). It is not the sight of the woman that haunts me. I could care less for a needy adult. It is that baby on her lap. The smoke and the smog, the dust and noisy movements of people passing by is this child's reality. How dreadful! To be subjected to that life everyday, and not know any better, much less know that you have a choice! This woman, I would wring her neck if I had my way. But then I am reminded all too sadly that maybe, just maybe, she is completely and utterly hopeless. This bothers me on all levels of humanity. And this is just the beginning of a long posting in Addis.
Our kids are doing fantastic. Vera is now at the International Community School of Addis Ababa and she absolutely loves it. Noah is keeping us busy at home. He is singing and dancing as usual, and talking a whole lot more. Vera is now reading books like an adult and wants to do so all the time. She is also writing better and better each day and has even learnt to write her name in cursive!
There is a lot to say, most of which could be really depressing. It's hard for me to keep that sense of humour after that account of the lady on the streets with her little baby. Yet I know that there are so many such stories in Addis, let alone the whole world. But for now, let that sink in as my story. I hate that it's my story.
Peace from rainy and cold Addis.
