Adventure in Lalibela

This past weekend, Laura, Sarah and I took a weekend adventure to Lalibela.  This city situated in the north of Ethiopia is very historical in that it is known for its incredible monolithic churches.  I've inserted a CNN video on the history of the churches below.  It's rather interesting and beautiful.

We flew from Addis to Lalibela on Saturday morning, arriving at our destination at about 9:30AM.  The airport was appoximately 30 minutes by car away from the city of Lalibela.  The scenery there was incredible.  It was strewn with rural villages along the way.  The day we arrived was a huge market day in the city, so villagers and their donkeys from all around the city were making their way to the market with their goods to sell.  Our shuttle van to the hotel that morning had quite the time making it to the city as the driver spent a lot of time on the horn dodging people, cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, etc. along the way.  I kind of enjoyed them there because it slowed the ride down so that I could take a few photos of the scenery both on the road and of the topography.  See pictures below.

On Saturday after we settled into our amazing hotel - the Tukul Village Hotel - we meandered around Lalibela a bit.  We made a brief visit to the market before visiting and touring one of the clusters of monolithic churches in the afternoon along with St. George's Church, the most famous one.  Making our way through the churches seemed a lot like a fantasy land.  It was like a maze made in volcanic rock with beautiful Ethiopian Orthodox icons and religious articles all around.  Sarah hit the nail on the head when she said that it was like we were Alice in Wonderland.  Amazing.

On Sunday, the three of us took mules up a mountain about 15 kilometers away from Lalibela to the Asheton Mariam Monastery.  This was no beginner's mule ride.  We trekked through some intense terrain to reach this place.  Many times we had to dismount our mules and hike up the most rigid and steep parts.   I liked to think of this particular excursion as our trip through Middle Earth.  I think that The Lord of the Rings trilogy movies should have been shot here.  Once we finally made it to the top, we found that Mass had just ended and a meeting of parishioners.  A priest from the church showed us some texts and a a huge crucifix that is held in the church.  There were a number of villages on our way up the mountain and absolutely staggering views of the landscape.  Even more pictures are below.

Business Semi-Accomplishments and Adventures

Monday proved to be a productive day. I handed in the first draft of the Procurement Manual to Alem and to Birkti at the end of the day – exactly 2 weeks from receiving the assignment to the hour. I knew that it wasn’t perfect, but I felt as though it was a solid first draft and a good foundation to work off of for the final draft that will be composed later after feedback from Alem and Birkti.

Birkti didn’t waste any time giving feedback. Tuesday, she read through the draft and went to town, so to speak; adding, correcting, and commenting on various parts. I really appreciated it. I don’t necessarily see that as a failure on my part but as success in establishing a firm basis for intricate details to now be added so that a complete and extensive product is finished. My work is anything but through with this thing.

Aside from that, Birkti had some purchasing to do that day as well. She, Challachew and I went to a few tailor shops in the city to price and order new uniforms for the security guards. The first two places that we visited were rather conventional. They were along main roads and visible to the general public. However, the third one and the one from which the purchase was actually made was hidden away from the main road and it would take a bit of searching to find it. While Birkti and Challachew made negotiations with the shop personnel, I was being stared at and harassed by some a few of the kids that lived near the shop. They were amazed that there was a “ferenge”, or white foreigner, in their midst. At first they just kind of stared, but after I spoke to them, their mouths came to life. I’ve attached a couple photos of that experience below.

Wednesday was the last day at MVP for one of the accountants. There was a small celebration ceremony for her just to wish her well in her future endeavors and to thank her for her time with this organization. It was nothing like I am used to. Everyone from the organization as well as Laura and I were invited and gathered onto the first floor where there was a circle of chairs surrounding a coffee table piled with assorted Ethiopian snacks and bottles of soda and water. Those with whom she worked said a few bits of thanks as well as all of the administrators and directors. Most of what was said was in Amharic, so Laura and I simply listened and went along with the flow of things. Finally after everyone had said their piece, Elisa presented her with a vase and some flowers just as a sign of thanks. It was much quieter and a bit more formal than American farewell festivities, but it was a nice ceremony nonetheless. The cultural experiences keep on coming.

Sarah came home on Saturday after about three weeks in the village cluster. It was the first time that all three of us had been “home” together in Addis. We have been hoping that she would be joining us again. Her time in the village was physically trying as she had a difficult time finding ample food to fit her diet. In light of this, we met her at the airport with cookies as a part of our own “Sarah fattening project”. I’m not sure how long she’ll be with us since she’s now threatening to leave for four weeks in August to go to Kenya for some regional training. I don’t think we’ll be able to keep this girl home very much. She will be working on business planning in the village more often than originally anticipated, so I guess that Laura and I will be doing most of the holding down of the fort in Addis Ababa. All that we can do at this point is enjoy the spurts of time that all three of us are together and make the most of them, whether they involve traveling around Ethiopia or just playing card games at our dining room table. C’est la vie.

Week Three: America’s Birthday and Ethiopian Cultural Experiences

Monday was the 4th of July, America's Independence Day. Laura and I knew that we had to do something to celebrate. So, since there aren’t any small fireworks or grills in back yards, we decided that the only option for us to even remotely act as though we are Americans would be to have a hamburger for dinner (see dark picture below). We went to our new favorite pizza restaurant and ordered hamburgers and fries. There are a couple places nearby that serve these burgers and fries, but Laura insisted that we go to this place, “Right Spot”, because of their advertisement. The sign outside read “the burger that honors the meat” and “we have an ambitious menu”. What does that even mean? Anyway, we decided to also honor the meat and our nationality and eat at this place. So we made our efforts as Americans and ate our native foods even though they didn’t exactly taste like they do at home. I hope we can at least get an “E” for effort, even if it’s out of pity.

At work I continued to progress through the procurement manual draft. My goal is to have a solid draft to Alem by the next Monday evening, that’s exactly two weeks from the time we initially met and he gave me the assignment. I continued to gather information from what seems like a thousand different places in order to try to compile something linear and sensible for this thing. It continued to come together little by little and should be finished by the time that I had intended. I also went on my first procurement adventure with Birkti. We took a ride outside of Addis to what would be analogous to a suburb, but it’s a more like just a suburban village. There were lots of horses with small carriages out there. Generally, it was much more rural than Addis Ababa. I'm still kicking myself for not taking my camera with me. We were going to a government-run steel company. They don’t manufacture steel there, they just distribute it. MVP’s business with them concerned pipelines for irrigation to be dispatched to the village cluster in northern Ethiopia.

On the way back to the office we stopped at a few stores in the city that sold light bulbs and fixtures. After pricing two or three different vendors, Birkti finally settled on one place with the best price. The interesting thing about Addis Ababa is that when one looks to procure a certain genre of goods – stationery, computers, plumbing, electrical supplies for example – there are areas of the city where these things are generally sold. So, the same general place that has a bunch of tailor shops may be about ten kilometers away from where the stationery stores may be. It isn’t like going to Wal-Mart and being able to find 50 completely different things for almost always the lowest price possible. It takes a lot more traveling and research to really efficiently and cost-effectively procure supplies here.

On Friday evening, I thought it would be nice to take Laura for her first Ethiopian Cultural Dance experience at the cultural center right around the corner from our house. Hiwot accompanied us as she loves to do when we experience Ethiopian culture intentionally. She is such a great little Ethiopian hostess. And she does all of this for us while having a 4 year old at home and another little one on the way. She is a champ. We always make sure to treat her as well as we possibly can when she gives us some of her time just to try to show her how much we appreciate her.





Laura participated in her first shoulder dancing lesson from one of the dancers, which is always entertaining. I haven’t done it yet, but all parties involved, excluding myself, keep threatening that I have to be next. I’m going to try to avoid that like the plague. I don’t really want very much to do with dancing in public… It’s just not my scene. The video below is of Laura shoulder dancing with one of the dancers. Hiwot even joined in with a bit of her expertise at the end.  

 

The ensuing weekend was rather quiet and relaxing. We met Birkti for some Indian food on Saturday afternoon since she spent five years studying in India. We share an office, so we always find time to chit-chat about India. She’s much more familiar with that place since she spent so much time there, so she’s usually teaching me a bit about it. However, I do know an Indian or two from the U.S. who also fill my ears with stories and customs of their motherland. And, of course, what would an afternoon in Ethiopia be without coffee? We headed then for some traditional coffee and even had a bit of ice cream before Birkti dropped us off at our house and headed home.

Another thing that happened last week was that I was the first one of the American volunteers here to fall ill.  I battled a sinus infection all week that Iwould imagine arose from a number of factors including the altitude, pollution, physical adaptations (or lackthereof) and germs that  my body still doesn't recognize even after the eleventeen vaccines that I had before I left for this place.  It still wasn't completely clear by the end of the week, but there was no fever, and I can deal with the sniffles, sneezes and congestion. Thankfully, life goes on.

Week Two: Assignment and Laura Received

As I had anticipated in the first week’s blog, I’ve received my first assignment here at MVP after a briefing from Alem, the Director of MDE.  The assignment is this: compile an extensive and detailed manual for procurement and supply chain management at MVP Ethiopia at both the Addis Ababa and Cluster levels.  Okay…?  So, what does that entail?  It entails everything.  There has never been a manual written for the procurement process, so, needless to say, there are a few gaps that need to be filled and some details that need to be regimented.  This is how it went last week.

                                  

On Monday Birkti returned.  I met with her in the morning, when she gave me a new manual issued by Millennium Promise, the overarching organization that will now be headquartered at Columbia University in New York.  She also gave me an electronic version of the Ethiopian government Proclamation on Procurement processes to be carried out by businesses.  Then in the afternoon (at about 5:30), Alem called me to his office to plot out the current process from Cluster level, or the village level, ordering then through procurement in Addis and then back to supply delivery and processing back in the village.  He then informed me that he hoped for a draft in two weeks. 

Oh okay.  ‘Nova Flashback!  I now felt as though I was back in graduate school cramming three 25-page papers into the final two weeks of the semester.  I began scrambling to read and gather as much information as possible while also tapping Birkti here and there for clarification on what exactly happens at each one of these steps.  She was ultra helpful.  Every time I saw her, she gave me a new bit of paper describing the process.  This was good, but it just kept adding to my materials to compile.  Great.  This will certainly allow me to create as extensive manual as possible, which is exactly what I intend on producing.  It will be a challenge, but I am definitely up to it.

I asked Elisabeth - Elsa or Elsie for short - the Executive Secretary at MVP, if it were at all possible to meet with Dr. Awash, National Director of MVP Ethiopia.  She is so awesome.  Dr. Awash met with Birkti and I on Wednesday morning to inform me exactly what was expected of me in terms of this manual – troubleshoot the problems, identify and fill the gaps.  That wasn’t the end of my meetings with Dr. Awash, however.  On Thursday morning he called for me again to talk about hierarchy and role specifications a bit since my next project following the procurement manual will be the HR manual.  

Just a bit about Dr. Awash Teklehaimanot.  I’ve never met this guy before, but he is absolutely amazing.  A quick glance at his resume shows that he is a current Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Columbia while serving as National Director for MVP Ethiopia.  He has worked with the CDC and the World Health Organization on malaria projects.  Holy cow.  Sitting across the desk from him was rather humbling to say the least.  And yet he still expressed his confidence that I would do well with these projects that have been bestowed upon me and that I would be a huge help to MVP Ethiopia both now and for the future of the organization.  That was simply staggering.  I think that he may have more faith in me than I have in myself. 

All of this has caused me to revisit my whole presence on this assignment.  The PULSE folks from GSK and from the Earth Institute have found me to be a fit for this project.  They have brought me here to do a bit for this country that I would have never imagined for myself.  But, our lives are more than whom or what we are.  There are forces at work that cannot be fathomed, and for that uncertainty I will always be thankful.  It is because of those forces that I am present here, surrounded by the people both in Addis and at home who have given me this opportunity and have supported me through all of it.  I will never be able to thank them enough.

After making as much progress as possible on the manual for the week, I joined Yihenew and his girlfriend, Rosa, for some relaxing on Friday night at the Jupiter Hotel.  Of all events to be taking place, it was Open Mic Night.  Open Mic Night!?  In Ethiopia!?  I couldn’t imagine how this was going to turn out, but I was super impressed.  Most of the songs were American songs, which included songs by Colby Caillat, Guns ‘n Roses, and Rihanna amongst others.  These people can sing!  Maybe record companies should recruit from the Addis Ababa Jupiter Hotel lounge on Friday evenings.  I’ve placed a very dark picture of one of the performers at the event along with a picture of Yihenew and Rosa below.

We went out to also celebrate Yihenew passing his driving test.  In the U.S., it’s a big deal for 16-year olds because they’ve passed the normal right-of-passage into semi-adulthood by being able to drive around and wreak havoc in the streets of their choosing with their kindred teenagers.  But, in Ethiopia, it is kind of rare to have a driver’s license since the public transportation system here works well for the cities and the villages typically utilize non-automotive means of transport.  So licenses are usually acquired later than the teenage years, and it’s an exciting feat to become a legal driver.  Congratulations, Yihenew!

Saturday, Laura finally arrived.  She was the last volunteer to join us here in Addis in this round of PULSE volunteers.  Richard and Delphine will be joining us in Ethiopia in a couple months, but will be stationed mainly in the village cluster.  We are all awaiting their arrivals, too!  I was really happy to finally meet her after some Skyping and teleconferences with her and Sarah while we were still back in the States.  There was even more joy in her arrival since I was alone in the house since Sarah had gone to the village cluster on Wednesday.  Company is nice in a city that’s still a bit foreign to me. 

She had to hit the ground running on Saturday.  I retrieved her at about 9:30-10AM at the airport and took her straight to the Ethiopian Telecommunications office to have her set up for phone and internet services before they closed at noon.  What a rush!  And, of course, it didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped.  Laura showed up with everything that she could possibly need to receive these services, but there was some kind of mix-up with the TC people that prolonged the process.  But, in the end, she received all of her services and currently has internet and cell phone service … when they’re available.  Afterward, she did some time zone adjusting by sleeping a bit here and there.  She’s been doing great with the changes so far, so hopefully she’ll continue to adapt to Addis Ababa this well throughout her entire time here.

I've also attached a picture of "The Big Church" that is about two blocks from our house.  The proper name of it is Holy Savior Orthodox Church.  It is the biggest church in Ethiopia.  After that is a photo of a donkey who found his oasis on the median of one of the busiest roads in Addis Ababa.  Whereever there is grass, there will be animals.  Cheers!