Locked in the Supermarket

Many stores around here are catching up on the digital age. They are
beginning to use computers to keep track of all the transactions. It
makes checking out go a LOT faster as the cashier does not have to
write down every singe item. (It's kind of ridiculous when you are
checking out at a grocery store and they are writing down 50 different
items.) Anyways...while computers bring a lot of benefits...there is
one BIG drawback....they depend on electricity. AND here in
Ethiopia...one cannot depend on power to be flowing 24/7...or even
during business hours.

So the other day when I was shopping, all of a sudden the power went
out. Luckily I already had everything I needed (only 2 things this
time) so I went over to the cashier to head out. She pointed to the
computer and said she couldn't take my money. I was thinking, "Cant we
just do this the old fashioned way." Nope. After waiting for a bit,
I decided the 2 items weren't worth the wait, so I but them down and
headed out the store empty-handed. I got to the door...and
lo-and-behold....they wouldn't let me leave! I had to wait for the
power to go back on! Maybe they were thinking that when the power is
out...it's easy to hide things in my pockets and walk out? Or maybe
they don't want to lose the customers so they force them to stay in?
I really don't know? Praise the Lord....the power was only off for
few more minutes. And..they did get my business in the end.

Our New 'Hood....

So a couple days ago we moved into our new semi-permanent house (the
one we'll live in for the next year or two). We're really excited
about this new pad. It's right near the heart of a large Som
community, the people we have grown to love as we have taught many of
them English back in the states. It's also just a couple minutes from
Bole Road, the new "up-and-coming" area with many Western style
restaurants and shops. There is also a Walmart-ish type of
supermarket...which over here is a huge blessing as it will cut down
on a lot of our time shopping for things. But don't be fooled...it's
still probably only the 1/20th the size of a walmart.

I think we have already discovered our favorite little hangout. It's a
coffee shop called La Perisienne. They are trying to model a European
coffee shop...and are doing a pretty good job at it. I usually get a
macchiato and chocolate crossoint. In fact i just finished that...as
I am typing this from La Perisienne.

Anyways...we're at our new pad and loving it. We're now slowly filling
it up with furniture! 2 Days ago, the big task was getting an oven
and fridge. Yesterday was getting stuff for the living room.
Today..we'll I'm catching up on emails.

Here we go again.../ T-Shirts

I've finally been able to sit down again and begin working on the computer answering emails and keeping people up to date. While I love being out with the locals, I think it is pretty important to keep you guys up to date as this is your work as much as it is ours.  It's also good for me to sit here for a bit and collect my mind and sort out what has been going on. I know too often I am so busy running around trying to get things done that I never get to reflect on what has happened.  And often there are a lot of funny/ strange/ tough/ great things about this culture that I am sure you would love to know about.

I can always blog about the slower/ less productive/ no guarantees about anything... way of life.  But I'll try to stay away from that. I want to tell you some of the good things that keep a smile on our face.  So maybe every couple days I will try to send something out...but I can't guarantee it.  I might be busy, the power may be out, the internet might not work, I don't know...it's Africa;) So here is the first dose of Africa...

T-Shirts
Some of the funniest things we have encountered so far are the t-shirts that people are wearing.  Now most of this country is wearing the clothes we might have owned 10 years ago. If any of you guys forgot what the 90s looked like, you may want to come here...

Anyways...most of the people don't know English, but they sure do have shirts that are written in English.  Sometimes I see a University of Texas shirt (actually I see a lot of Texas shirts), other times Wisconsin/ California/ Alabama. A lot of University shirts for some reason? Maybe a bunch of college kids come here to help and leave their t-shirts.  I haven't yet seen a TCU shirt....boo!!!! That will be the day though! But I wonder what I would do if I saw one...go up to the person and say, "Go Frogs"...but he would really have no clue what I was talking about? Anyways...

The better shirts are the ones that say, " World's Greatest Grandma" worn by a teenager. Or maybe even "Hot Chick" worn by a guy.  Gap seems to have made an impact here...see many of those.

OH no...I just remembered something....I was in this crowded bus, and then I saw some Ethiopian wearing a shirt that I currently own and wear sometimes.  If any of you know me really well...you may have noticed I have a certain style.  Well that guy had an Andrew Haverly shirt on...literally..it was one of the ones I owned. Praise the Lord I was not wearing that shirt on that exact instance. That would have been weird.  But I began to think...is my style way out of date? Or is this guy really fashion forward?  I have to admit it is probably the former.  Some American probably though that shirt was way ugly and decided to send it off to Africa.  Oh well.  I guess that makes me fit in more here.

Anyways, t-shirts. I'll let you know if I see any other great one!
Andrew



--
www.hellohaverlys.com

We've Got a Home!

Yesterday we signed a lease for our new house.  Lord willing, we will be living here for at least a year.  We’re really excited.  More info & pics to come!

Chris Cole in Town!

We’ve had our first visitor!  Yesterday Chris came over to our house for dinner! He’s in Addis for about 2 months doing different projects around the city. He’ll move in with us for a while towards the end of his stay here. We’re pretty pumped about that!  

He brought along a bag of goodies which we are so thankful for! It included many of the things we missed from back home.

• Lawry’s Season Salt.  Yep...salt and pepper just doesn’t do it for us.  We need some zing.
• Peanut Butter M&M’s. We’re going to have to savor these...eat them nice and slow...or until someone else sends us some
• Beef Stroganoff
• Taco Seasoning! Yes...a taste of Tex-Mex
• Craisins....Jackson loves these
• Real Bacon Bits.  Oh....pork...it’s so hard to find here.
• Ranch Dressing Packets.  
• Glad Cling Wrap
• Dried Apricots.
  

MMM..Pizza

Yesterday we spent the day with our good friend Joe R from Texas! He works runs an organization called Adera, which connects groups back in the US with programs in Ethiopia. He comes through every couple months so it will be good to see him every once in a while!

Together with some other visitors at the Bjoe Guesthouse, we had a little pizza party! We went to the store, bought all the supplies to create pizza from scratch, and tried our best to recreate our American favorites. After some time of figuring out how the heck to work the Instant Yeast here..we did it! It was so good to get a small taste of home. Oh...and while we were at the store, we found some Dr. Pepper! Yes!!! Oh it was so good.

Ethio-Transportation Day

How early do you leave for appointments? When we were back in Fort Worth, we could get anywhere in about 10 minutes. If we wanted to make sure we were there on time..maybe 20 minutes early. Here in Africa...on a good day, it might take us 30 minutes to get to most places....walk down the road to the taxi station, hop on a bus heading towards TorHailuch/ Mexico, probably transfer buses once or twice...and we’re there!! BUT like I said, that’s on a good day...and those are very rare. Today our 30 minute normal route....became a 2 hour ordeal!

Why so long?
Well first we went down to the taxi station. No busses heading in our direction. As we were waiting for a bus to hopefully come, 2 bulls came charging our direction, one rammed right into the back of an old lady (she’s OK), then the bull kept on slipping on the road (which was kind of funny/ OK Sarah thought it was sad “He probably hurt his knees really badly.” She wanted to call the Ethiopian PETA, but that doesn’t exist). Well since no busses were coming, we decided to walk about 5 minutes to another taxi stop in case some busses were coming there. We arrived...and guess what....every other Ethiopian heading in our direction had the same idea. As a taxi would come...they charged the streets and stood next to the taxi bus (narrowly avoiding getting hit), and then stuffed themselves into the taxi. It doesn’t matter how long you are waiting for a taxi...whoever is bravest gets a spot. We decided not to charge into the street. After a while we walked to another taxi station. Same thing. (They say many taxi’s are “contracted out” on Sundays for weddings....as the wedding parties fill up the buses and drive around the city honking their horns and dancing to the music while halfway outside their window). So...we went back to the original bus stop near our house...as we were walking to it...a minibus was headed towards Mexico..BUT he only said one person could get on...So we waited. Our friend we were meeting was a little worried that we didn’t show up yet, so he gave us a call and told us a different route to take....Take a Bajaj (small 3 wheel taxi) to Wherra, then take a small taxi bus to Mobile, and then walk about 5 minutes. We began our new route, got on the Bajaj to Wheera, but when we got there, had to wait about 20 minutes for a taxi in our direction. We hopped on, but about halfway there, people in the bus started asking questions..seemed to be some confusion, and about half the bus got out. We didn’t know what was going on and decided to stay in the taxi. Poor decision...the taxi took us about 25 minutes (walk) out of our way. When at the new direction...hundreds of people waiting at the taxi stop. So we decided to walk... On the way we encountered a dog...eating a goat head.....that was weird. But finally, after 2 hours...we made it to our destination.

Needless to say...we need a car...