Home Away From Home

Life is in Dire Dawa is simple and enjoyable, or perhaps I have chosen to make it that way? Here are my basic daily routine to give you an idea of exactly what I mean. During work days, I would get up around 6:30 am in the morning,  most days it is usually my Maid (Serategnya) Burtukan that wakes me as I still have not gotten over the habit of going to bed late (2am or 3am). Other days, I would get up, open the door for her before she arrives and go back to bed. By the time I am ready to go to work, my breakfast is usually made and ready, usually hot tea, scrambled egg, chechibsa, chiko, firfir or beso. I eat my breakfast while Burtukan cleans the house and makes my bed and leave for work around 7:30 am to catch the University staff bus by the main road. The bus arrives on campus for 8am start work day. Currently, I have chosen to set my office in a Server room, where it is air conditioned. It is only when I arrived that we set up the server rack, placed the two servers on the rack, and turn on the newly installed AC. Although they have yet to give any services, the two servers that were unplugged and sitting on a table when I arrived, are now running 24 hours. I have made one of them to be web server, with Linux OS, Apache web server and a mysql database as we are currently building the website.  For those tech savy, I have configured an SVN (Sourcesafe) and have a number of students and staff work on the website and check-in code. Speaking of the website, although I am still gathering the content from the University, a draft version is published for now at http://diredawau.com. Stay tuned for the official website domain at http://ddu.edu.et once I can sort the domain issue with Ethiopian Telecommunication…errr. :(

Now days, my days are usually spent dealing with the University Compound services to give me a labor force to set up the network antenna, building the ladder, cables ,etc. If you want to know what is this is like: imagine it is taking about 2 months to get done something that is usually would take 1 week with proper planning, equipment, material and management of people and resources. I also work with a number of students on adding content on the website, usually during their class breaks and often during lunch time.

By the time lunch comes, which is from 12:00PM to 1:30pm, I am back on the bus to have lunch at home although I sometimes choose to stay on campus and eat a quick Beyanetu or shiro (12 birr) at the student Café. When I get home for lunch, Burtukan have my lunch ready, often injera bewot, Pasta, Makoroni and the like. If she happen to be still there, she would serve lunch or else I would serve myself. After lunch and a quick nap, I am back on the bus to campus; often I miss the bus so I get on a Bajaj (three wheel taxi) to get to work. This time of the day (12:00 PM to 8PM), Dire Dawa is hot and you will feel your head is about to crack open if you stand on the sun for more than 10 or 15 minutes. No wonder you will not see a single soul on the streets; well, the story is most people are at home with their chat…

In the evenings, I often stay late on campus became that is where it is quiet and I can get more work done or can do some personal internet browsing. Since I arrived, my strategy has been to work with Computer Science students to get most of the labor work, such as updating content for the website, arranging computer labs, installing software, etc. I get a lot of reward and they also get some practical skills. Not surprisingly, they are hungry and thankful of such opportunities. As a result, I work closely with a newly established ICT Club; composed of a dozen Computer Science students. They coordinate basic computer skill courses (Windows, Word, etc) for students from all departments and I have also given them the responsibility of managing the general access student computer lab, etc. To say the least I get a lot of reward from this part of my job and can also get a lot of done. Since I am not giving the responsibly of delegating work and managing any staff (there is only one, Bisrat), I get things done by students. Bisrat rarely have time to work with me as it seems he is tasked by everyone on campus, including teachers, students and staff. This is another challenging part of my job, where I would have to be involved and do everything that must be done, literally from building servers, designating website, drafting ICT strategy and policy, and providing support for the newly introduced services, and work with administrations and deans of school of procurement of software and equipment, etc , 

On the weekend, I am often campus working on students, at Haramaya University for a quick get away or simply at home chilling or wondering around town and swimming, playing table tennis at the local recreation center (Papas?). My cool evenings are often spent at Bridge (local café for the young and professional) with friends drinking St. George (Ethiopian beer), my favorite Sprese (fresh Papaya, Mango and Guava juice) or simply the usual macchiato or tea. Yes, I have had enough of the raw meet, tibse and goal meat experience often associated with visiting Dire. umm…now that I think of it, I have not tried the famous roasted chicken, yet. Yes, I have had one or two Chat ceremonies at home and elsewhere; I enjoy the ceremony and the conversations than chewing the leaf itself.  Yes, I have seen the Dire night scene and there is not much to say, except to say there are too many university students for my comfort and overwhelming male-female ratio and of those few, the professional prostitutes outnumber the rest. Perhaps, I have picked the wrong places or this an’t my thing?  I am not sure. :-(

Files from at Home in Dire

Spending two weeks in Twain with good friends Leif, Yonas and Chaig-ching was a perfect vacation before a year long volunteer work in Ethiopia. The trip was filled with memorable times with chiag-ching family in a small town in Central Taiwan, a small city called Nantou, hikes, hot springs, message, a visit to one of the tallest buildings in the world (Taipe 101), and good and cheap food. Did I mention we got a test of typical typhoon threat?



This being my first ever travel to Asia, it was a totally different experience . First of all, it is amazing how developed, civilized and clean the whole country appears, at least to the tourist's eye. Everywhere we went, there were excellent roads, transportation and friendly people. Speaking of the people, I was actually amazed at the politeness although it may appear a disrespect and a complete disregard to the typical Westner. People will never really look at you directly and if they did it would be a split of a second and they will look away appearing completely oblivious to your presence. Coming from the west and having travelled mostly in Africa, this is a completely different to me as I am used to being either starred at or given a little more attention, specially in places where I know I standout as an outsider. Being black in Taiwan, I had expected to be a center of attention, at least I had thought I would get a second look from the people. If is surprising and even pleasant is that once you have started a conversation with, they are friendly and fully interested in you although their lack of confidence in the English language make it a bit difficult to communicate well.

In all of my travels, I always strive to connect with the local people of the places and I cannot think of any other place where I was able to do than this trip. Thanks to Chaig-ching's wonderful family, we not only had an opportunity to discover places and had an experiences a typical tourist would rarely get in a country like Twain. I still vividly remember Chaig-chig's mom's reaction when I said to her "Tonight, I am not going to bed until I bit you." None of us were able to bit her in Chinese checker's for days. We would play late into the night, sometimes until midnight and still end losing to the master of the game. Well, it finally happened that evening when I almooooooost won, by playing into the wrong side of the board, which I guess gave me an advantage! Well, the master lost the game that evening but unfortunately I was not the winner. I believe it was Leif that bit her for the first time….!

Another memorable experience that is worth to be mentioned is the a visit to a very known Chinese Traditional doctor in Nanto. As I have never been to a traditional doctor before, I was both a bit scared and skeptical when we all decided to venture up the hill were this Chaig-chig's family doctor is found. Once we got there we all sit around a tea table and waited until the doctor emerged from the backroom. Then, we were examined, diagnosed and prescribed a various combination of natural herbs. I, however, was diagnosed healthy and was told did not need any medicine. Yonas, Leif and Chaig-chig were told their problems and prescribed a medicine.

Lastly, I think it is worth to mention the 4 day adventure in Taipe, the capital and largest city in the country where me, Leif and Yonas had some interesting experiences and adventures. In brief, we meet 2 Germen guys who had just arrived a week earlier to study International Business for one year. We got to hang out with them one evening at a night market and in bar, which apparently was a Gay bar and at the end of the night, we learned we were all thought to be Gays by everyone at the bar including the three girls (2 were lesbian couple) we were talking to all night. We also meet some people from Nigeria and Ghana, that were there teaching English and apparently making a lot of money, a contractor from Dubai and an American who says he was traveling all over Southern Asia.

Check out pictures on Facebook and on my Picasa folder.

Reported from Internet Cafe in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

It is only recently that I seriously contemplated about what it really means to be home and what or where home is for me and other millions of immigrants in the diaspora? I started thinking about this just recently as my departure date to Ethiopia approached fast. In the midst of getting all the logistics (paper work, paper work, more paper work, and packing) done, I didn’t really have much time to really contemplate on the significant of going to Ethiopia to work as an IT Advisor for Dire Dawa University.

I am going to Ethiopia through an organization called CUSO-VSO, a Canadian based NGO that sends volunteers all over the world. I am only able to do this because my employer has a partnership with CUSO-VSO that allows any employee to take a maximum of 1 year to go as a CUSO-VSO volunteer anywhere in the world, while still retaining the benefit of being an employee with a guaranteed job security up on return. Of course, the fine prints are a bit complicated…but isn’t that always the case?

Going back to the concept of home, for all the 14 or so years I have lived in the US, I have never felt "home". Don’t get me wrong, I love this country for all the wonderful opportunities, conveniences and luxurious (perceived or otherwise!), and for the record I am a proud American citizen and my entire immediate family lives in the US. This is despite moving to this country at a young age; attended both High School and University in the US. So, it seems it is a perfect place to be content with to call "home"?

Not for me! I have come to a conclusion a few years ago that I need to go somewhere outside of the continental US every two years to keep my sanity and preserve my sensitivity to the existence of the rest of the world. I seem to always view my time in this country as a temporary, a transition period to something different, better, and bigger I want to do or get to. And I am almost assured that “something” does not involve the typical “American Dream”; 8-5 job, a Condo or a big house, etc. Perhaps it is fair to say I have not assimilated ? Q: What is your view of the “American Dream”? Q: What is your story? Do you ever feel you or your friends have assimilated to the American Way? Well, where do you draw the line anyway? Between assimilated and not-assimilated, that is....

The irony is that it does not take long, once I am outside of the US, for me to yearn to came "Home" to see my family and friends and before I miss all the conveniences (NO, I don’t mean satellite TV and hot showers ) that came along with living in the US. I miss to see my dear mother who seems to not to want to endure another long separation from her oldest son – it took 6 years for my mother and siblings to join my father and in the US. Q: What is your immigrant story? Or do you even have one?

So, this had me to conclude that “Home”, at least for me, is where my “heart” is. Q: Where is “Home” for you? What do you consider “Home”? “Home”, for me is where I spent probably the happiest and most memorable times of my entire life. Even after many years of being away, “home” for me is where my heart is.

In just a few days, I will be going to a country and continent that I most treasure, Not for its opportunities and conveniences and luxuries (I do realize these things a perceived values), but for the people, the land, and the social, cultural values and the opportunities it provides to connect with a fellow human, and to LIVE life with humility, humbleness, enjoyment and fullness. This blog, “Home Away From Home” is about my adventures to truly discover what makes me happy, valued and valuable in this world. I hope to share my perspectives and experiences of living both in America and Ethiopia. These perspectives won’t generally be limited to just Ethiopia and US, they will certainly be inclusive and relevant to the African Content and the Western World or so called the Developed World. There will certainly being posts about Technology, Education, International Development, The Brain Drain and and of course adventures of travel and culture...

It is my hope that as you read this blog posts, you will realize you have something to share and contribute -- I hope you will do so respectfully and realize that the views expressed are mine and just that. The whole idea is to have conversations….conversation about what it truly means to be an individual in this world, a human in this content and a citizen of a nation? What does it mean to be privileged individual, human and citizen? What does it mean to be part of a generation of change? A generation with a potential to bring about change in once community, country, content and the world? Q: How do you feel about your potential to be bring “Change”? What is “Change” for you? Where does one start?

You see, as a Ethiopian Diaspora living in the US, and part of a generation of young Ethiopians living the country to be Educated and searching for opportunity, I feel there is a role to play in developing our country and our continent? If Not us, whose role it is? Can we have a conversation about that as a starting place?

With Sincere Humility,
Filed From Panora Bread in Seattle, WA