The Sunday morning run was good, after a week of no running. I’m feeling tired a lot at the moment. The combination of climate, understimulation and diet is draining. There is no lack of food available here and yet we have still lost weight. Our lives are a good deal less adrenalin-fuelled than they were at home, which might explain why we can be involved in very worthwhile and satisfying work and yet feel understimulated.

I’m reading a book called “Journey through Britain” by John Hillaby. The book, published in 1968, is his account of a walk he did from Lands End to John o’ Groats. I would love to do a walk like that and reading about somebody doing it, while I’m here in Africa, is fascinating. What’s particularly interesting is his description of walking across Britain during the 1960s. He describes strong regional variations in manner, accent and attitude that are probably much diluted now, forty years later.

Sometimes living in Awassa feels a bit like living on a farm. There seem to be at least as many animals as there are people. The main mode of transport here is a garry, a horse-drawn, 2-wheeled open carriage that operates as a taxi. There must be hundreds of them and they all look knackered, with wobbly wheels and bent frames. The horses are often in an even poorer condition. There are no vets or any concept of animal welfare here. The horses spend their lives trotting while pulling garries. Most of them are clearly not well fed and are sometimes whipped mercilessly. The state of some of them is shocking. Apparently, when the horses are truly knackered they are turned loose, hence the stray horses wandering he streets. I’ve also been told that some of them actually thrive and recover while they are able to freely wander and eat. The equivalent of a van here is the donkey garry, a donkey-drawn 2-wheeled flat wagon. I think the donkeys have easier lives and are certainly in much better shape than the horses.

There are also quite a large number of free-roaming cows, goats, sheep, chickens and dogs. Most of the dogs are strays although some are probably guard dogs which can roam free. The dogs seem to spend many hours during the night time howling, probably in response to the presence of hyenas, which come into town and scavenge in the streets. Once one dogs starts to howl others join in, adjusting their pitch to produce some surprisingly harmonious choral performances. The only good looking animals are the birds. There are some stunningly beautiful birds. One of my favourites is the Common Mousebird. In flight, it can only be described as looking like a flying mouse with a very long, feathered tail.

Fasil has just arrived home after sitting an exam this morning. He’s studying part-time for a degree in Rural Development & Family Science at Debub University. The students on the course seem to agree with their tutors when to sit exams, hence an exam on a Sunday morning. Today is particularly humid and it’s the first time I’ve seen Fasil sweating. I feel a bit better now that it’s not only me that’s suffering!