Assendabo

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We are working in Jimma and the seven other PA/MPH Touro students are working in Assendabo. They were having a party Friday night, and Regina and I decided to go see what Assendabo is all about. Plus we could go for a party as we have been doing nothing but work since we got here! The ride was by minivan which had 11 seats: driver and shotgun, 3 rows of two-seats and the back three-seats. I tried to count how many people were in the damned thing; I think it was 20 something not counting children on laps. We weren’t as cramped as some, we got actual seats, but there was still not much room to move. All Ethiopian drivers think they’re Michael Schumacher; cutting corners, taking the inside, swerving to avoid livestock. The scenery gave way to occasional villages which were nothing more than wood or tin shacks lined alongside the road. One of the homes had an exquisite wood door. It looked like it belonged to a modern suburban home. I remember wondering, “How on earth did that door find its way there?”

The van eventually stopped. We sort of waited around in the van dumbfounded. Some people got off, but not all. Someone eventually told us that this was Asendabo. We asked for Abebe Hotel which is where the group was staying, and they pointed to a hotel that was on the main intersection of town. The town mind you was only slightly more elaborate than a serious of tin and wood shacks; there were some more solid concrete buildings and you could see that the town had some depth. Hotel Abebe didn’t seem right from the beginning. I walked in and said something to the people who obviously didn’t speak English. After some investigation and loudly asking if any white people were around we went back to the entrance to try and find someone who knew what was going on. I asked simply “Ferengi? White people?” followed by “Are there currently any peoples of Anglo-Saxon or Philippine ancestor residing here?” When no one speaks English I find it entertaining to talk elaborately, don’t know why. One guy who spoke some English finally understood and said, “Second Abebe Hotel.” “Second Abebe hotel?” “Yes, by high school, you know it?” I laughed on the inside, smiled and said “No. Where?” Of course I don’t know where the freakin’ high school is! He told us to follow the road and we’ll find it. We tried calling the gang, connection didn’t go through, so we started walking. After maybe thirty feet a teen approached us and asked us if we were looking for the students. The group had mentioned a kid named Dale who helped them. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Dale.” Sweet. Take us to our people.

Dale took us the back way to the hotel, cutting through dirt paths that led to people’s homes and even a mosque. Hotel Abebe 2 had a wooden fence around the back entrance and a wooden poles tied together to form a door. The hotel was on a hill and the grounds sloped upward from our vantage point. There was a long, wide courtyard that was bisected with small mounds, Eucalyptus trees, and treaded pathways. Livestock would occasionally wander into this courtyard and forage. A community bathroom was on the left-hand side, followed by a row of 7 rooms which were occupied by our fellow students. On the right-hand side was another row of rooms topped by a bar; detached and above the rooms and bar was a room with large rooms and drapes. Each row of rooms had a porch area and chairs. We met our friends and got our rooms for the night. They occupied all the deluxe rooms, those with toilet holes, and we got the regular rooms which were maybe fifteen feet by ten feet consisting of: a bed, a mosquito net, an old dirty patio chair, and a light bulb dangling from a cord on the ceiling (peeling linoleum floor included). But hey, for $2 a night, what do you expect? Certainly not your own private hole to poop or pee in. That’s ok though as I hadn’t planned on delivering any packages. The hotel was equipped with three boys who did very small errands for the hotel and enjoyed hanging out with the ferengis. They loved taking pictures with our cameras.

They showed us around Assendabo, saw the high school, and checked out the health clinic. The health clinics are all the same, 3 or so single story structures that form an open rectangle facing a courtyard, a couple of people waiting, and not much going on. They said someone arrived via local ambulance the other day; he was unloaded onto the ground and just lay there waiting to be attended to. The mentality of health care workers is very different here, they just want to drink their tea or coffee and not be bothered. Local town children greeted us on our walks and everyone had their favorite children and least favorite children.

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