Lake Awassa

An occasional treat: chips, freshly hand-chopped and fried.

We’ve just been having the surreal experience of watching the Malaysian Grand Prix and one episode of ER on a DVD a friend of Gill’s has sent us. Slumping on the couch watching the Grand Prix was a taste of being at home. Two hours of escaping from reality, with the added twist of watching the most expensive sport in the world while living in one of the poorest countries in the world. Everybody we saw on the TV coverage was white and the amount of money obviously being splashed around seemed even more absurd than when I watch F1 in the UK.

The streets are now very quiet. Lots of people will have already left to travel to their home towns to be with their families. There a fewer chickens in the streets already. The sky is now grey and it’s a bit cooler than the baking temperatures I suffered in this morning. We were invited to Fiona’s house by her maid, Almos, for a coffee ceremony this afternoon. The coffee, as usual, was superb. Sitting around with the VSOs (Fiona, Leena and Margaret) was nice if a bit dull. We do see a lot of each other and I think we need to do less socialising together. I’d like to get to know more Ethiopians on a social basis. At times I feel unstimulated and want more stimulation from others. Perhaps I need to create a good argument with the other VSOs and have a heated debate about something!