Well the good news is that at the start of last week,
a place was found for me to live in town. The bad news
is that by the start of this week, I am still not
living there. It is in a good area of town (quite near
the best hotel), and is within a compound. It is directly
opposite my boss which I am not sure is a good idea, but
then I don't have to answer the door. I will have two large
rooms and an indoor toilet and shower room (quite small).
I do not have my own kitchen but the landlady has agreed
that I may use the kitchen in the compound. This kitchen
appears pretty good - it has a western oven. We will have to
see how this works out. The landlords (I have only met the
landlady) also live in the compound with several dogs and
chickens (not literally in the compound - they have a
similar building). Compared to other compounds I have seen,
this one is quite small, but that isn't a problem. The
rooms are not furnished. This was something that should have
been provided by TDA but has not. There is no phone point
and I am not sure if/when I will be able to get a phone
but I shall try. I do not have to live there permanently
though.
At the start of the week, I learnt that we had been granted
twenty 486 machines from Kellamino and a single reel of Cat-5
cable (for a network). No RJ45s to go on the end of the cable
though. Still, at least this now means that we can request
more equipment from the board of directors, now we know
what we are getting from TDA.
Kellamino High School has a woodwork department, and my boss
decided to get the furniture made there. The workshop
was well equipped. However, I don't think that I will be
doing any of the students an injustice if I said that they
could probably do with the help of a craftsman. Not to
do the work but to instill the master craftsman idea.
One of the people that works here I had met before. He is
very friendly and speaks good English. In fact, I can't
fault him. Well, I couldn't until I noticed the T-shirt he was
wearing. I thought of Beverley Hills 90210 when I first saw
it but that wasn't quite right. As he turned round, it had
the initials MP on it, presumably for Melrose Place. I would
blame the Americans, but I guess that 99% of them would agree
with my sentiments. It's odd to see someone who is looked
on as cool by other people sporting such a shirt. We left
the students to their wonky tables covered in dust and
pidgeon feathers.
On the Friday I was able to test some of the machines at
Kellamino. This is a lengthy process, and one that must be
observed by their storeman or his deputy. After managing to
test and find eight working machines it was time to go into
town. I thought that our driver would come over and pick us
up. At least this is what I specifically arranged. However,
I was told that he might not come (don't know whether that was
the case), and we should go into town and wait for him there.
We took the Kellamino school bus into town and stopped at
a restaurant. We being myself and the registrar. I was then
told that the driver would not be there for some time. I was
probably quite rude. Because, when offered food I refused and
just asked for a drink because I thought that the driver would
be there soon. I tried to explain politely to the registrar
about the fact that this was eating into my time - something
that I do not seem to have much of. I'm pretty sure it sounded
rude though. That's really frustrating. Not only do you think
that you have offended someone, but they have also meant that
you have wasted a couple of hours. I don't think I am adapting
quickly enough!
There are not enough computers for all of the students. I
would like to have a lab attendant scheme, run by the students.
I decided to do a bit of participatory work and invited
the students to a meeting to decide what rules this lab should
have. I split them into eight groups and asked them to write
the rules they thought were important. I then asked one member
of each group to write on the board. The board was quite
chaotic and people were asking me if they could write one at
a time. However, I wanted them to fight for space - it meant
that they had to cooperate. Which they did, eventually. I was
pleased with the rules. Most were the same as mine except
possibly more restrictive. This should make it easy for them
to accept the rules once they are drawn up. We did not,
however, have time to decide on the responsibilities of the
lab attendant. This is something that we will have to do in another
meeting. Only once they know the responsibilities will they be
asked whether they want to be an attendant.
I was hoping to be able to move into the house on Friday or
Saturday but a lack of furniture prevented that.
On the Saturday I went into town and met the other two VSOs in
Mekelle, and Wilko and Seamus from Maichew - a nearby town.
It was good to see Wilko again, he was the VSO with whom I
had trained and journeyed to Tigray. We went for food and
Wilko decided to have a pizza (they're not available in
Maichew). Myself, Seamus and Andy had the buffet. This was
at the same restaurant as the buffet the previous week but
I don't think that it was anywhere near as good. The driver
was coming at three in the afternoon to pick me up and take
me back to MIT. I had to leave the others and a not
go to a party that night. Looking back on it, I think that
was a pretty duff decision. I could have done with a bit
of winding down time. Also, I am now worried that I might
look like I don't want to socialize.
For most of Sunday I was very agitated and angry. I wasn't
sure why at the time, but what happened on Monday could
explain it. The highlight of the week was a phone call
from Sarah. We had arranged a time and I had gone
into the admin building to receive the call. The calling card
had not worked correctly, so I think that Sarah will be
getting a huge BT bill, probably about 30 pounds for that call!
The administration building is rather spooky. It is old and
creaks with the wind. The pidgeons play 'it' on the roof
and it generally makes noises. Something that I think is
particularly spooky is that the crickets do not
make any noise around it. By the dormitories, the crickets
make lots of noise. Around this building is silence,
although a dog may howl for atmospheric effect in the
distance. I looked at where the crickets where - they're
in long grass. There is long grass all around the admin
building. I must ask an Ethiopian if they believe in ghosts.
Monday 17 was a busy day. I had labs to run, and we got
permission to use two of the unused machines from the upper
lab (the ones that we cannot touch). I decided to have a
look at what was installed. I picked my machine (they
were layed out like a class room). Plugged it in, and
heard the sickening snap and the puff of smoke. Although the
machines looked as if they had been used, they had not. Infact,
they were still set to 115 where they had been brought from the
US. One of them no longer has a power supply. This is something
that I will need to try to fix before it is noticed! Note
to self: always check the power switch at the back of the
computer. They must have been installed in the US as well. I
opened the machine to examine the damage. The part that destroyed
itself seems confined to the power supply, but I have no
idea where/when I will be able to get another, and even if
I replace this, whether the machine will be fixed. This has not
helped the general feeling of having far too much to do.
At lunch I described my main problem of adapting. People keep
asking what is happening to this or that. As usual, as
a computer person, you have the skills to help other people
but they can't actually do that much in return. After
being asked about the machines at Kellamino for the umpteenth
time, I pointed out to the staff why I might be getting
upset when they ask. In Ethiopia, you have to keep asking and
pushing someone to do something. I pointed out that this
was not normal for ferenjis and to bear with me if they got
a short reply. I thought about preparing a list of jobs
that I am doing and putting it on my door with a notice
like 'If the job is on this list, then don't ask about
it'. Maybe I should just adapt, and not do things.
After lunch I discovered what else might have been making
me a bit moody. A storm descended on Ainelam and released
quite a bit of rain. Sometimes in the UK I will get
moody before a storm. Looking back, there were signs that it
had been coming for a few days. Although it rained
quite heavily, it still feels that there is a lot more to
come.
There is now furniture in the house, although the bed needs to
be built, and there is no mattress. Maybe I will get to move
in this week. Who knows.
The mosquitos have taken to formation flying in pairs or
threes. I appear to have adapted and can wake up at just
the right moment to waft them to the other side of the
room. It then takes them several hours to find me just
three metres away. I wish I could be quick enough to
knock them out of the air. The other VSOs look at me as
if I was mad when I said that I was getting bitten. I
do not think that the mosquitos have found where they
sleep.