Debre Birhan; the next episode

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Greetings from site! Actually we’ve been here for a week, but I’ve been busy furnishing my house. Glad to say I finally have a bed frame to put my mattress in. It’s super nice, but really low to the ground. The whole assembly fiasco was like watching a three stooges skit. They brought in the four boards, attached two to the head board, and then were confounded when the foot board did not match the crooked holes they had drilled in the head board. They thus disassembled and reassembled, with the same problem on the footboard. I tried to tell them how to do it, but I don’t know the Amharic words for, “let me do it.” They finally figured it out though. We also ordered sofa’s from the same carpenter, but they won’t be finished for another two weeks. Baby blue… I can’t wait.

Furnishing the rest of my two rooms would have been a disaster had I not stumbled into the compound of the best landlord ever. She wasn’t here during the first week so I hadn’t met her yet, but the first night back Sean and I were chillaxing and she randomly brought us at night. She saw how empty my house was, so the next day she brought over three padded chairs and a tray with two plates, forks, knives, and tea cups… and it don’t stop. Then, about 4 days ago, Sean and I were putting together sketches of the furniture we wanted (for clothes, dishes, etc.) and I get a knock on the door. It’s my landlady and her maid, each holding the end of a giant cabinet. I tried to tell her I didn’t need them but she wouldn’t have any of it. She brought two cabinets in, and now my house is next to furnished. Oh, and as I was typing this, she brought me tea again and a small coal burner which she described as a “cultural heater.” I think I already noted how Debre Birhan is cold, right?

I’ll put up some pictures soon, but basically I have my small bedroom, with a table and a cabinet for clothes, and then I have a 4 by 3 meter living room, one corner I’m putting the sofa and chairs, the other corner which has turned into a make shift kitchen. For cooking, Sean and I each bought a two-burner propane stove. The funny (mostly annoying) part was, the person who sold us the burners didn’t know where to get propane tanks. We ended up having them delivered from Addis a couple of days later. We assembled all of the parts though. The whole contraption, minus the tank, fits very nicely on my cement windowsill; perfect for ventelating. Oh, and did I mention there is no kitchen sink. Instead we have to take water out of the faucet outside and wash it in a big bin. That is, of course, when my landlord isn’t around because she doesn’t let me do any washing (clothes, dishes) if she’s within eye shot. At a minimum she’ll share half of the load, but most of the time she just takes everything and washes it, despite my pleas.

So that’s pretty much it for this week. We haven’t been at our offices much because we’ve been looking for things to spice up our houses. A lot of people are asking what I’m doing in letters and emails, and the answer for the time being is nothing. I’m working at the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Coordination Office (HAPCO), but for the first three months were’ writing up a community assessment plan, which is a document that outlines all of the different organizations, challenges, and our project ideas for the community. After our three months, though, I’ll most likely be working with the orphan and HIV positive populations, doing small scale income generating activities. Looking forward to it. Right now there are a lot of schools to visit, NGO’s to interview, and people to meet. There’s a rumor that there are some other British ferenjis living in the town, so we’re looking for them right now. We met a few Indian professors who teach at the university, but they thought we were here doing research or something.

Oh, and finally, I have a new address:

Adam Lenarz, PCV
P.O. Box 539, Debre Birhan
North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia

Letters are better than emails. And even better than letters are packages. Here’s a more comprehensive list of things that put me forever in debt to you:

- Chedder cheese that would stay for over a month (i.e. lots of preservatives)
- Spices (they only have a few here and they’re weird; most liked: black pepper, oregano, basil, Cajun spices, garlic powder, ginger, thyme, cinnamon, and the list goes on… anything you send, I’ll use)
- Baking powder
- Sand paper (Dad, could you get me some of the roughest stuff you have? Our furniture is poorly made)
- Cliff bars
- Summer sausages
- CD’s: God, I miss mixed tapes…
- DVD’s: only pirated ones though, don’t spend any money…I can play them on my computer when the power is on.
- As always, Gatorade powder
- Pictures
- The Economist
- That bacon that you don’t need to refrigerate. It comes in a yellow box and doesn’t taste half bad when you cook it. Most Ethiopians are Eastern Orthodox, and can’t have any pork, so Sean and I have been craving pig
- Canned mushrooms
- Tuna fish in a bag
- Crackers of any sort

That’s obviously a long list, but anything sent will be much appreciated. It will also be followed by an appreciative and hilarious letter from me. One thing to note: don’t declare what’s in the package. I just found out today that it makes it take like twice as long to get here. Thanks to everyone who is reading, writing, and sending packages. I miss you all very much. I’m trying to write every week now, so check back in a week and we’ll see what materializes.

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