Images From Ethiopia

Lake Abaya, Arba Minch.

From May 2003 to June 2005 I taught and worked with computers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Going there I left behind family and friends, Thai food, live rock, broadband, irony, anonymity and arguably whatever I had going in the way of a career.  I did, however, bring a camera.  And I found some new stuff too.

Latest update: Aug 19 2005: Complete revamp (update history)  –  About these photos  –  I welcome comments!

Homes

On the steps outside the company guesthouse where I lived my first year.  Elsa; Shibu; Suhas standing in front of Jackie, our dog (whose?); Bebi and Genet; Johann.

Genet and Elsa.  Not sure what was going on here.

Johann, a South African colleague, sitting in our garden the day before his return to Pretoria.

After Genet got another job Haimanot came on as our maid (above – I think the woman below is a relative).

The only painting I’ve ever bought.  By local artist Joseph Hailemariam.  It turned out Haimanot’s sister was taking art lessons from him!

Suhas and Ashwini, the Indian couple I lived with in the guesthouse for over a year, with Suhas’s mother.  Suhas, Ashwini and I only found out we’d be living together on the day they arrived.  I got lucky.  Good people.

Ashwini with her parents and grandmother.  Ashwini and Suhas’s families came to visit and seemed to like Addis, staying for over 3 months.  My parents also visited and stayed for 5 days.  I guess that’s a cultural thing.

View from CMC, the apartment compound where Shibu, Seb and I lived for a couple of months in 2004.  It’s a nice enough place (though a painful drive from downtown during traffic) and had been described to me as a traditional residence for foreign diplomats and the like.  Then someone told me it stands for Communist Military Compound.

The apartment we moved into after CMC was in the heart of downtown facing Estifanos church.  Great location, but by some crazy Ethiopian Orthodox tradition the priest would regularly chant for several hours starting around 2 am, through speakers aimed right at our window.

Shibu, my roommate and the first person I had dinner with in Addis.

Sebastian, a friend from Canada who joined us halfway through my stay.

Serkalem, Elsa’s sister, who worked as our maid at the apartment.  Shown here in the guesthouse plucking cilantro leaves.

Serkalem found this thing convenient for doing our laundry.  I’m glad someone knew how to use it.

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