I am very
proud of myself, as I have been good. Up until today, we did not know where we
would be staying in Addis, but I did not bug anyone about that, not even once!
I just waited until, at the last minute, Addis Ababa University (AAU), gently
nudged by the Canadian organizers, made up its mind and assigned us our rooms.
We are
staying in apartments owned by AAU in Sar Bet, an area southwest of downtown
near the old airport, a golf club (?!) and the Canadian Embassy. We don’t have
an exact address, because Ethiopia does not work that way. Even street names
are a bit vague and inconsistent. Taxi drivers need to be given directions to
the nearest square, tourist hotel, or other large building.
On the
whole this is good news. Sharing a couple of apartments with the rest of the
anesthesia team is more friendly than each of us having our own hotel room, and
means we can cook some meals together and work together on our talks, plan our
trips etc.
There are
several downsides. We don’t have free WiFi, we have to use a USB “Rocket Stick”
and pay to charge it up from time to time. The water supply can be a bit
erratic, so a local health club membership is advised to ensure access to
showers. We get a driver to take us to work in the morning, but getting back
home we may be on our own, depending on what time we finish.
There are
two hotels within walking distance of the hospital which are sometimes used.
One of them has free WiFi. That would be nice, but living in a hotel room for
four weeks is a bit tough, anywhere in the world.
Spent a
while looking at Addis in Google Maps, and in particular at the pictures people
have posted. (Street View has not got there yet!). It looks cleaner and more
civilized than I expected. Lots of large buildings, sidewalks with a few
well-dressed people on them, four-lane highways, public spaces with rather odd
looking concrete art on them. At least, those are the things Google users
choose to post photos of.
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