After much confusion and disorganization, I now have a new home. I was moved from the campus guesthouse to permanent staff residence housing (which is also located on campus). I am sharing a 3-bedroom apartment with Helen, a wonderful lady from England. She has been at Haramaya for over a year as a VSO volunteer; she does work related to English language teaching, but focuses more on training teachers. Our apartment is in the "B-block" which means that it is second only to the standalone homes that the top dogs (i.e. presidents, deans, etc.) get. While the guesthouse was considered to be the highest quality housing available, I prefer the apartment. I don't have any rats to deal with and I have an awesome roommate. The main downfall in moving is the water situation; the water only works during mealtimes (approximately 6-7:30 am, 11:30-1 pm, 5-7 pm). So during those hours, Helen and I leave the tap turned on and collect water in a bucket. We use those buckets of water to fill up a big barrel in our bathroom. That water is then used to do our laundry, wash our bodies, manually flush our toilet, and wash our dishes. We also boil the water and put it through a filter for drinking/cooking. We haven't quite figured out whether the water heater gets enough water so we don't use it. Instead, we have one 3-4 gallon bucket for bathing. We fill it up 3/4 of the way and then boil a pan of water to top it off and warm it up. Dipping my head in a bucket of water and splashing the rest of my body with one hand definitely makes me miss standing up in the luxury of a shower! At least we have water access in our home...the majority of Ethiopians walk great distances to get their water supply from a local well.
Another perk is that we have a front and back balcony. I transplanted some of my cilantro and basil seedlings and they are enjoying the abundance of sunshine on our back (south) balcony. Another luxury is that we have Internet access! Of course there are still frequent power outages and the construction workers regularly cut through the fiber optic cables, but at least I can sometimes work from the comfort of my own bed!
I moved in on Thursday. I made sure that the people moving into the guesthouse would keep my housekeeper, Almaz. I knew that she was really upset that I was leaving, but I had little control over the situation. She asked me weekly whether or not I was really staying in the guesthouse for 10 months. I always assured her that I was and that she would have a job. After just eating dinner at her house a few days prior, I felt terrible that I was not going to fulfill my promise to her. The new residents, however, are a Canadian couple who will be paying her a little bit more than I did (since there will be twice as much laundry to do). Once she realized that she still had some job security, she felt okay letting me go. Helen already has someone who cleans her house and does laundry, so we really didn't need a second person.
I moved in on Thursday. I made sure that the people moving into the guesthouse would keep my housekeeper, Almaz. I knew that she was really upset that I was leaving, but I had little control over the situation. She asked me weekly whether or not I was really staying in the guesthouse for 10 months. I always assured her that I was and that she would have a job. After just eating dinner at her house a few days prior, I felt terrible that I was not going to fulfill my promise to her. The new residents, however, are a Canadian couple who will be paying her a little bit more than I did (since there will be twice as much laundry to do). Once she realized that she still had some job security, she felt okay letting me go. Helen already has someone who cleans her house and does laundry, so we really didn't need a second person.
On Saturday night, there was a BIG soccer match: Ethiopia vs. Nigeria. This was a qualifying game for the African Cup. I watched the last game in which Ethiopia lost to Nigeria. In order to advance, they had to win this game. Helen and I prepped for the game by painting the faces of all the local kids (probably 20 of them or so) and then we did our own. I finally had a good opportunity to wear the Ethiopia jersey I had purchased. Helen and I watched the game with Solomon in the staff lounge. Every chair in the vicinity was full and some people were even standing or sitting on the floor. People's spirits were high for awhile, but dwindled throughout the 90-minute game. Ethiopia lost 0-2. Both of the goals were scored on penalty kicks which is disappointing since they could have been prevented. Oh well. Maybe next year! This is the furthest Ethiopia has ever gone in this tournament.
On Sunday, I had a lot of work to do, so I went to the office in the morning. It was a beautiful, sunny day though, so I decided to go to the swimming pool again. Helen, Dan, Sidney, and I spent about an hour and half swimming and lounging by the pool. It was much needed rest and relaxation. Afterward, I went back to the office to finish some handouts for the upcoming workshop in Jimma that I will be presenting at.
So all in all, life here is good. I'm super busy, but the time passes quickly. I've made great friends and now have a fabulous roommate!
So all in all, life here is good. I'm super busy, but the time passes quickly. I've made great friends and now have a fabulous roommate!