I have always been a little ambivalent about tourism that involves going to see local people in traditional dress, but the trip to the Omo Valley in the south of Ethiopia was amazing. The expectation, on both sides, that tourists pay for photos made the whole experience seem less voyeuristic and less stressful too. The downside was that it was difficult to take un-posed photos and sometimes individuals were almost aggressive in insisting that you take their photo; I found the Mursi tribe especially aggressive. The fact that we saw many people wearing traditional dress as they walked along roads or [View Full Entry]

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The bureaucracy at the College is quite amazing! I had to undergo ‘internal clearance’ before theywould write the clearance letters that I need for when I leave Ethiopia. This involves 32 different people each signing (seven times) to say that I have nothing belonging to the College and am free to leave. Most of the 32 have had nothing to do with my work here! Luckily, one of the office workers, Ture, was given the task of collecting the signatures for me. There have only been two slight problems … When I handed over the running of the Higher Diploma Programme [View Full Entry]

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Apart from the cactus and the people washing their clothes in the river, the landscape as I walked along the River Shaya could have been somewhere in Northumberland. The recent rains were holding off, so I had decided that, as we had a day off work for Patriots’ Day, I would go for a walk. I left Robe at 8am, and headed towards Hora Boka. It is amazing how quickly the mud dries - after only a couple of days without rain, there was a hard crust underfoot. I walked along the main road, only getting a few comments, giving the [View Full Entry]

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I was “Taking the Long Way” to come back to Robe. In order to avoid taking the bus from Addis Ababa, I accepted the offer of a lift with Teresa, a VSO volunteer friend who was coming to Robe for work - via Arba Minch and Dilla. Which are not exactly on the way! Having left Addis in the early morning light, we had lunch at the Tourist Hotel in Arba Minch, doing the journey much faster than I imagined was possible. While Teresa had meetings, I met up with Rob and Judi (more volunteers) for a cup of tea. How [View Full Entry]

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Monday 31st March - Friday 11th April 2008 I wasn’t sure that anyone I knew was going to use the opportunity of me being in Ethiopia to visit this wonderful country. Finally, after 18 months, my first visitors arrived - my Mum and Dad! I went to Addis to meet them at Bole International Airport and was just beginning to wonder if I should try and get into the arrivals area to look for them, when they appeared. I am very proud of them for coming to what can be a difficult country and coping so well with it. After a [View Full Entry]

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Selka is a very small town 45km east of Robe, off the road to Sof Omar. I was supposed to have gone there on Tuesday afternoon in preparation to run a workshop this morning, but no electricity in Robe meant that the College driver who was to take me and leave me there, could not fill the vehicle with fuel. Instead, we agreed that he would pick me up at 6.30 this morning. He arrived dead on time! We then waited for half an hour for Lama, the Cluster Supervisor from Sanana Woreda Education Office. As there was no mobile network, [View Full Entry]

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Most of the time I feel a little bit like a fraud as a volunteer in Ethiopia, as my quality of life is so much better here than in the UK. I am often asked how Ethiopia and the UK compare economically - my stock answer is that it is difficult to compare because, of course, wages are much higher, but so are costs in the UK. There is no air pollution; just the dust of Robe to contend with in the dry season. And I rarely take work home in the evening or at weekends. I sleep well and eat [View Full Entry]

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Friday 15th to Saturday 23rd February 2008 Harar has a very different feel to other places that I have visited in Ethiopia. I flew to Dire Dawa, and then took a taxi to the bus station and the line taxi to Harar (virtually forcing Wolfgang, a German tourist, to accompany me - he was thinking of paying for a taxi to Harar, but later thanked me for saving him 289 birr). Clare met me at the Tana Hotel, and after a brief stop at her office in Harar Teachers’ College, as she had a meeting, we went to her house, opposite [View Full Entry]

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I was invited to go and watch the Mamilla Kindergarten Institute (where I teach on a Saturday) playing in a volleyball match yesterday, but missed the game as it had finished by the time Hannah and I got there - based on the experience of today, I have no idea how! They were playing again today, so after a Sunday breakfast of eggs (the best in Robe) at Welmall Café, we went to Robe Stadium. The volleyball was taking place behind the actual stadium, in the grounds! The first match, between Robe Teachers’ College and Agafa College, was supposed to have [View Full Entry]

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Two of my friends in Robe have set up a private training institute for Kindergarten teachers. When they first told me about it, I was impressed by their vision and the fact that they had recognised a gap in the market and acted on it. They are using an old clinic and have refurbished the classrooms. They asked if I would help them by teaching some classes, so I spend Saturday mornings teaching three groups. I don’t get paid, but the guys occasionally invite me out for a drink or dinner, which is a great deal. The sessions are about how [View Full Entry]

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