Look up. More.

First locust cloud, I've seen. Some kinda scary amazing, up close.

The things one would, could, miss if, when, one does not look up. More.

Like clouds of locusts swarming through a midday sky that's suddenly turned to dusk.

Which I could've missed if a student didn't tell me to open the window, and look up.

Craaazy.

Broken

Broken, not inoperable

So, in class today, I dropped my phone.

Not my first time, so I was like, yeah, breathed a curse, picked it up and put it aside on table. As I was in the middle of a lecture. Why was I holding it in a middle of a lecture, it's my notepad, you know. I was peering at it, while lecturing.

Only after class did I notice the crack. Damn. But to my relief, it was still operable, the touch screen and all. Left a scar, is all. Which is annoying but I can live with.

Ah well.

Becoming francophone (well...)

After finally connecting with Alliance Francaise and meeting some really cool people, learning French language, why not?

So, this evening was our first class for French Language Level 1 at Alliance Ethio-Francaise (aka Alliance Francaise aka Alliance) Dire Dawa. I was able to half-convince two of my Filipino colleagues, Lizel and Luzzette, to register as well, but I came alone this first day to scout the scenes...

Celebrating Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) with Student Interns

Happy Ethiopian Easter!

Yesterday marked the Ethiopian Easter, which means the breaking of the intense 56-day fasting over Lent, when no meat or any animal products, including milk and butter are eaten by all practicing Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

I was on that student trip when this long-fasting season began, and had experienced about a week of fasting from meat with the habesha's (local Ethiopians) and with their very limited cuisine as it is, it could be tedious. There's always meat, of course. Ethiopia has a good number of Muslim population, and other Christian denominations, Roman Catholic, Protestants, and an ever-growing number of expatriates and tourists, so there can't be no meat. In Dire Dawa, particularly, the Muslim population (Somalis, mostly) is quite huge -- so you can be sure to still find macchiato (it has milk, no!) and shukla tibs even during fasting season. Most Christian meat shops (marked with red cross signs), though, are closed for the full 56-day period.

Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) in Dire Dawa (18 January 2014)

Timkat ala Dire Dawa

So, of course, I want to immerse myself in the local culture. So when the cultural calendar alert sounded -- let's go!

It's Timkat. People were talking about it. I asked my colleagues about it. Students, too. And my pal, Wikipedia, of course.

Timkat (Amharic: ጥምቀት which means "baptism") is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 (or 20 on Leap Year), corresponding to the 10th day of Terr following the Ethiopian calendar. Timket celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptism (similar to such reenactments performed by numerous Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land when they visit the Jordan); early European visitors confused the activities with the actual sacrament of baptism, and erroneously used this as one example of alleged religious error, since traditional Christians believe in "one baptism for the remission of sins" (Nicene Creed). (Wikipedia)

I'm a draftswoman, great!

3D rendering via Sketchup. Design is by Architect Luzzette.

I love my job. I mean being an architect. Really.

I've been lucky, getting this volunteering placement. Being an architect, there's only so little humanitarian work or professional volunteering opportunities (none that you don't self-fund, IMHO) or with known volunteering agencies or iNGOs.

Media Noche in Ethiopia

Not quite lavish, but was most filling, nonetheless!

While we didn't celebrate Christmas with the tradition noche buena, Filipino colleagues at the university, Ma'am Luzzette, Ma'am Liezl, (with their housemate Ma'am Ana from TVET) and Doc Rommel, and I, bid goodbye to 2013 with a very meager media noche at the 3 ladies' flat.

Visiting Fiseha's Baby

We have a new baby in our department!

Fiseha, my line manager, the Architecture department head, just became a new dad a few days ago. And as per tradition, Snafiksh, the department secretary, collected contributions from everyone, to buy gift(s) for the new baby boy, Amen.

My Crib

In the bedroom. Not much.

So my living condition... 

I share a compound with Gavin. He has the actual "dwelling" end of the compound, of course, as he is/was the compound's main dweller. Other volunteers were either short-termers or left (way) earlier.

I have the "outer" dwelling. (Or what I jokingly tell the other Filipino friends here, the "servant's quarter"). Two rooms. One for my bedroom, with a chandelier lighting, the room probably was the "dining room", as the kitchen (outhouse) is also outside of the actual house. The other room, which was to be my "living room" (now my office/living room/ dining room), has a door (locked tightly) that opens to the street, as well a windows (locked and sealed). This room might have been a little shop (called souq here, though that's market in Arabic) of sorts. And I have my own toilet and bath.

Meeting the Arch Students Org

NIDEF (roughly, sketch in Amharic) is the newly founded architecture students organization in DDU

The other Filipina architect/lecturer (full-time/paid with expat rate) here at Dire Dawa University, Ma'am Luzzette has also initiated programs for the department of architecture.

What was I thinking?

How I got here.

Two weeks into my volunteer placement, I ask myself: what the eff was I thinking?

Harar Trip (8 Dec 2013)

Harar Jugol's iconic (main) gateway. The portrait in the middle is that of the city's last emir.

Gavin, Joseph, Idu and I went off to Harar today.

I was lucky, because Gavin was showing them around, as it's there first time hereabouts. Also, it's good for Idu, as he does some tour guiding on the side and Harar, perhaps the only tourist destination in East Ethiopia (Danakil is a bit northern, and better accessed via the northern Ethiopian city of Mekelle), should be on his have-been-to list.

First Breakfast

Fita (Philippine version of Ritz) and butter and jam from Emirates Airways.

Of course, I have nothing to eat.

Haven't had time for shopping yet. Bringing food stuff from Addis Ababa was out of the question. So here I am, munching biscuits for breakfast.

Serves me.

So, Dire Dawa.

First look. Houses on the road from the airport to our house in Dire Dawa.

I arrived early afternoon, Gavin picked me up, dropped us really quick at the compound we're sharing, I haven't had lunch, I'm exhausted, but we had to go off quick to the uni because Gavin has a meeting with our program manager, Bizuneh, and I, too, need to meet up with Bizuneh and my line manager at the uni for that tripartite meeting (that was supposed to happen yesterday at the VSO office during the ICB, where tripartite meetings are supposed to happen) where the tripartite agreement will be signed.

Touchdown Dire Dawa

Uh-oh, flyin' via a propeller plane. 

So, Dire Dawa.

I arrived early afternoon, an hour (definitely more) delayed, with Gavin patiently waiting outside the terminal. (Gavin is the other VSO volunteer in Dire Dawa, also works with the Dire Dawa University, but at the ICT department. He's been here 2++ years. Which is great, I'd have a guide of sorts.)

The flight was rather smooth (only had a bit of difficulty checking into the my flight, lugging the big-ass VSO box on top of my already cloggy luggage, hence the excess baggage fee of ETB800++), and had quite an assortment of passengers, businessmen-types in suit and ties, elegant Muslim women, and what looked like a full team of hot to hot-ish Adidas-clad (jerseys, shorts, bags, flipflops and all) dudes.