Back in Addis Abeba

After waiting an hour for our luggage to come down the belt, we made way out of the airport where we were immediately greeted by our friends/colleagues.  The smiles on their faces, and ours, surely told a story better expressed by emotions than what I could put here in words.  Sometimes in life, we have those short moments where we know we are experiencing LIFE as it is happening.

As soon as we exited the airport, the smell of burning wood was prevalent.  Cooking.  I had forgotten how the smoke lingers in the air over Addis.  Immediately, the importance of our work was entering my mind via my senses.

We dropped our bags at the guest house, and went out for dinner at the Zebra Grill, a local place known for its grilled meats.  But, we went to the new Zebra Grill, which is an upscale version of the other Zebra Grill that we frequented the last time we were here.  The old one is still around, which is good news.  It’s not as fancy!

Woke this morning to 13 Months of Sunshine, and stopped at the Swiss Cafe to catch up on emails.  The cafe is like anything you’d see in the West, complete with wireless internet and waffles for breakfast.  It sits in perfect view of the huge Orthodox Cathedral named Medihanialem, meaning “Jesus–medicine for the world.”  It was not finished being built when left here in December 2005, and it’s still not done.

I’m sitting here at our office, two cups of tea already in me.  Time to start thinking about lunch.  Here’s some Hafiz to chew on:

DAMN THIRSTY

First,

The fish needs to say

“Something ain’t right about this

Camel ride–

And I’m

Feeling so damn

Thirsty.”