ICS Addis

I wanted to take some time to show you guys what I get to see everyday. This is the road from my house that goes up to the school. You can seet the tall cement wall on the left. This is the ICS Facility.


Next is the main security gate which has around the clock guards. The following pic shows the parking lot and cafeteria and gymnasium.







The campus is absolutely beautiful. I believe it is great for the kids morale and spirit to go outside inbetween classes and to have so much beauty to look at.


The band room is not in great condition. I am not a big fan of tier floors. Especially with such a small space to work with. However, I have a big office that I can stick a piano in, a desk, bookshelf, a few file cabinets, and still have room to run a 4-5 person sectional. We are in the process of building a performing arts facility on top of the current outdoor area that we use for performances.

Entoto Mountains

Last week we took a trip to the Enoto Mountains. They are the backdrop of Addis. There we found a large, colorful church. It is the first Ethiopian Orthodox chuch. In front of the church is a museum documenting the history of the monarchy residing there. To the East is a palace that I will mention later. I saw an early hymn book from the eighteenth century. The words were in Geese (a language that was a predecessor of Amharic and Hebrew) I swear that under the lines were chord progrssions. The Guide mentioned that they were directions on how to sing the words above.


We then went to the palace. At that point the clouds settled in and instantly it was like being in an asian movie.

Later that day we had luch at this place called Kaldi's. It is a replica of our Starbuck's. I guess the story behind it is that the owner wanted to start a chain of Starbuck's in Ethiopia and was not given permission. So she opened a kaldi's that looks just like it.


I ordered a cheeseburger. I guess they make all their burgers with eggs. Talk about a heartattack waiting to happen!

Debre Zeit

Today we went on a little trip southeast of Addis Ababa. It took us just over an hour to get to Debre Ziet. The trip was amazing. It was so nice to see the landscape and breathtaking scenery around the area.



The town is home to a series of crater lakes surrounded and intertwined with inactive volcanic landscape. It was so amazing. These pics are of the trip. That guy you see with me is Rob. He is the new school counselor from England. He is definitely a friend that I have made here that I definitely call brother.



There is a small group of us that all arrived together in which we have adopted each other. Rob and his wife Kathy, Jeordon and his wife Jennifer. We are a great group of family. I will post some other pics of them later.

Facts

To remove some of the preconcieved notions of Addis Ababa and Ethipia in general, I thought I might share some facts with you.

The following information is from an introductory booklet compiled by a parent volunteer from ICS.

Official Name: The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ancient Name: Abyssinia
Capital: Addis Ababa
Boundaries" Eritrea in the North and North-East, Djbouti and Somalia in the east, Kenya in the Sounth, and Sudan in the west.

Official Language: Amharic
Population: 71 million
Unit of Currency: Birr
Exchange Rate: USD 1- ETB 8.68 (May 2006)

Addis Ababa is the 3rd highest city in the world at an altitude of 2,500 meters. The city is set against the backdrop of the Entoto mountain range and is home to 5.8 million people.

The rainy season is from mid-June until the end of September. It has been raining everyday here. I finally saw the sun for the first time in 5 days. Even in the warmer months the evenings can become extremely cold. That is one of the features of living in a high altitude climate.

Ethiopiea's economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for more thatn three-quarters of its GNP and is the livelihood of most of the population. Coffee is the most important cash crop, constituting 65% of exports. Recent drops in coffee prices have devastated this sector of the economy. Other major crops include corn, sugar, wheat, sorghum, oilseeds, and pulses. Livestock-raising figures heavily in the economy, and livestock products are the second most important source of export revenue. Ethiopia's livestock population is the largest in Africa. The International Livestock Research Institute is a few miles from the city of Addis Ababa; it is not uncommon to see animals grazing all over the city limits. A small industrial sector centers on agricultural processing and the production of cotton goods, cigarettes, liqueurs, soft drinks, and plywood.

Religion primarily consists of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, Muslim and animist. The Islam faith serves 50% of the population but is practiced in a far less rigid way than in the Middle East, although the number of adherents to the more strict Wahabi sects appears to be on the rise. Groups holding animist beliefs have influenced both Christian and Muslim religions in Ethiopia. There are also significant Evangelical Prodestant and Roman Catholic communities. The Israeli government evacuated most of the small Jewish (Falasha) community in May 1991, though some of its members have begun returning to Ethiopia.

The calendar is pretty significant. Ethiopia follows the Julian Calenday, which consists of 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days. The Ethiopian Calendar is seven years and 8 months behind the Gregorian calendar. Therefore the year 2006 corresponds to the year 1999 in Ethiopia. New Year's Day is celebrated on September 11

Each day begins at 6am and not midnight. For an Ethiopian, 6am is midnight and they begin counting from there. In other words, 8am is 2 to an ethiopian. 11am is 5 to an Ethiopian. Ethiopia doesn"t use am or pm but rather talk in terms of day (ken) or night (leyleet)

Last thing, Names; Names are given differntly here. It is very difficult to name famlies of people (like the Cameron family or the Williams Family). Everyone has their first name, their last name is the name of their father. My name is Christopher Cameron. If I use the Ethiopian method my name would be Christopher Ezra because my father's first name is Ezra.

Yeah man, lots of info. I hope this helps clear up some myths of Ethiopia.

My New House!!!!!

This is my new place. Its huge. When I first arrived they had turned all the lights on, left fruit on the table, all beds were made, and they even prepared a meal for me in the refridgerator! They really take care of their international staff. The house has a full living room and dining room, master bedroom with full bathroom, guest bedroom, office, kitchen, half bath, and tons of closet and dresser space in each room. The house comes fully furnished. This place is amazing.

Terrified Solitude

What did I get myself into? This is the question that has been going through my head ever since I stepped onto the plane. Most of you know how my personality works...I have a philosophy of , "It is what it is". This phrase has brought me through many challenging aspects of my life. As I arrived in Germany I had this feeling of overwheming excitement. I was laid over for about 4 hours. We arrived early to Frankfurt. As i ask questions most folks responded in German. I had no idea what was going on. For a person who has never left the country I had this feeling of terrified solitude. There were hundreds of people around me yet I felt so alone. Most people speaking languages I am unfamiliar with. So what do I do to pass the time...I found a bar. Much to my suprise I met 2 people from Texas on their way to Turkey (jennifer & tecoy). They happen to be musicains as well and are the same age as me. We chatted for about an hour to pass the time by. I also met an individual named Paul from Vancouver. He was reterning home from a hunting expidition in Zimbabwe.
My 3 hour layover wasn't too bad. I then hopped on the next flight to Ethiopia. I guess going out to another country on your own is a tremendous learning experience. It can be terrifying and amazing all at the same time. Well you know my favorite phrase.

"It is what it is!"

Last Day

Alright...This is my last entry before I begin my adventure. It seems as if everything is hitting me all at once...packing, errands, paying bills, etc. This has been a crazy day already and its only 10am.

My next entry will hopefully be from my office an the international school of Addis Ababa. I still can't believe it.

The clock is ticking

Now I am down to 1 day left in the states. This whole 2 month experience preparing for this trip has been surreal. It still seems as if I am not going anywhere yet. Nevertheless, tomorrow is the day. I leave Detroit Metro at 6:30pm and then arrive in Frankfourt, Germany approx. 12 hours later for a three-hour layover. Then I will arrive in Addis Ababa.

I am so curious as to what I will see when I get there...the people I'll meet...the sounds around me...the conditions of my house. I am very excited. This is going to be an excellet adventure (not a pun on Bill and Ted).

I have never understood the level of how a person can affect another. On Tuesday I was supposed to meet a couple of friends in Hillsdale for dinner. It turned out to be a suprise going away party with about 15-20 peole from the hillsdale wind symphony. At times I have struggles with showing my personal emotions, however, that night was amazing. I never thought that anything like that would happen. I am blessed. I just hope and pray that I can make a difference in someone else's life in Addis. We'll see.