So my baggage is missing. I have called Ethiopian Airlines and they said, “ok, it will be in Addis tomorrow” Then they said it will be in Jimma the next day, “You can pick the bag up at 2pm”. So I am now starting to think “how am I going to get to damn airport?” As I was entering the hotel I saw one of the managers who I have befriended and told him my situation. He then introduced me to his friend standing next to him who is the freakin air traffic controller, Yirga. I gave Yirga my number and he said no problem; he knows all the people in Addis and will make sure my bag is on the flight and call me when it arrives. Sweet. Long story short, the plane was smoking ... read more

On Saturday one of the students organized a trip to Jafar’s Palace, which as it turned out was not very old. I am not sure how far away the palace was from our hotel, it probably wasn’t that far, but the roads made the trip lengthier than it could have been. We flew down the paved part of the streets, but we took a turn down a side street and things got a little bumpy. The roads in Jimma are kind of like Los Angeles, there are the main highways bisecting and travelling through the city, main streets, and everyday surface streets. Instead of the 405, Jimma has a paved, sometimes obstructed road, Sepulvada is replaced by a dirt/cobblestone road, and the surface streets are occasionally impassable. You know when you are on a rollercoaster and ... read more

I really don’t know why, but I find myself occasionally trying to communicate in Spanish. I frequently have to stop myself from saying “Buenos dias” and instead say “acumbulte”. It is especially true when the person only knows 3 English words, and I only know 3 Omharic words… Maybe Spanish will work. I through the Spanish words out to try and fill the void. Stupid American. ... read more

Men hold hands. I had seen it before in Egypt… and in San Francisco. I wasn’t taken aback at all, it’s their culture. I wasn’t taken aback that is until a guy I know grabbed my hand. I played along, but I definitely felt a little awkward running off with this dude and holding his hand. The customary greeting between men is a handshake where you lean in and touch shoulders. Kind of similar to the urban man-hug where you shake with your right and hug with your left arm, but since you are still shaking, the right arm provides a slight buffer between man chest. They don’t really eat or sell fruits, just juice. All the juices are fantastic. I like pineapple and avocado the best so far. Yes, avocado is a fruit, it can ... read more

The city’s landscape can change pretty quickly. All of the streets are fairly dusty. Some of the streets have store fronts on the road, others have ditches that fill up with water. You need to walk over five foot-long make shift wooden bridges to get to the store fronts. There is corrugated aluminum siding along most of the roads. There are sections of the aluminum that actually serve as doors to people’s houses. You move them away and before you is a small courtyard that usually has a small vegetable, fruit, and coffee garden and a modest home. It is sort of like the Labyrinth starring Jennifer Connely and David Bowie, where the worm shows Jennifer how to actually get into the Labyrinth.... read more