Ethiopia At Last

Hi all,

It's Thursday here and I'm starting to settle in. I had a rough night last night with some of the worst jet lag I've had since I traveled to Asia. I was awake from 11-3...but I watched Breach on the movie channel to keep my mind off things. Like the fact that I live here now and I don't have any friends!! But back to basics.

I arrived on KLM via Amsterdam and it was all uneventful. My flight actually got in an hour early and both my bags arrived...hurrah! I'm staying at the Sheraton...which is like the nicest hotel in the country--probably one of the nicest in Africa. Holy cannoli!! It's like a palace! The first classic moment was when the check in guy asked if a room with two twins was ok. I asked if there was a room with a queen bed available. He said no. I said two twins was fine. :-) But I've unpacked my stuff mostly and am forcing myself to get up at 6:45 am so that I can get the 7:30 "shuttle" to the office.

Yesterday my sponsor took me around to meet everyone. This office is huge!! Especially compared to Sudan. My colleagues tell me there are over 200 staff people here!!! Needless to say I only remember about 5 people's names. Finding houseing for people is a problem...apparently the going rent here for an expat house is about $2,500 a month....plus we get it furnished, with appliances, etc. So it's a booming business! I don't think I'll get a house for about a month so for now the Sheraton is home.

My office is a bit of an annex to the main building. I'm on the roof. And in a cube that is so tiny I can't really move my chair around! I'm told that this will change in about a month (let's hope). But I did get one of two boxes of office stuff from DC and have put up pictures, etc. So far so good!! I'm not really "working" yet because of all of the check-in procedures I have to go through but I'm seeing a few emails and am being introduced around. I've actually got a field trip scheduled with my colleague next Wednesday so that should be really interesting.

I'll post some photos of the Sheraton and the office tomorrow or so. The Internet isn't too good here so I'll have to try to do it at an "off" time so I don't hog the bandwidth.

Sp, I guess I'm starting to settle in. It's going to be a process though. I can tell.

More soon,
Jane

Pack Out Day 2....Take It Away Boys!

Hi--So yesterday was a frantic day. More like what I was expecting from day 1. The guys swooped in and started taking everything away. Before I knew it, I could see the far wall again!!

Here they are getting started and taking inventory.....


Things start to thin out as they get down to the furniture.....


I decided to check out how this works....This is my US storage crate. So they put everything in these crates and then these go into a government warehouse--which I imagine to look something like where the Ark of the Covenant goes at the end of the first Indiana Jones.....

And for the stuff coming with me....there are four--that's right people--I said four--of these smaller crates.

Off to clean it....more soon. It's all Bobby D and Shannon R's fault that I couldn't write this last night.

Survived Day One-TMS

So my mom said I suffer from TMS....too much stuff. And it may be true. The pack out started today when three women showed up with all of the boxes I could imagine. And then they got to work. They started packing at 10 am, took a 1 hour lunch break and finished at 5:45....Brutal. And for some reason I'm tired. Though I did have to make some last minute adjustments...like apparently they don't take anything down that's above eye level....so the high kitchen shelves, curtains, etc. Would have been nice to know that before my place was overrun with boxes!!

Anyway--I survived and am now comfortably ensconced in a hotel in Dupont Circle for the next few days. Here's what it looked like today....


Mom gets down to business.....

Janet, the crew chief, tackles the biggest pile.

Annie gets busy packing up my kitchen.

Shannon, taking notes for her own pack out next week, helps Anna in my bedroom.

Towards this end, this is what my living room looked like.....


Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow!!!

True Panic Sets In

So my pack out is tomorrow. And I'm panicked. I don't mean I'm a little worried about things....I mean I just had a full on panic attack where I was crying and freaking out about crying. It's ridiculous. I'm much better now; I think I just had to get it out.

There are so many things to be done, and only so much time in the day. And to that minor complications that pop up and disrupt my carefully planned schedule and it's just rough going.

Add to that the onslaught of tearful or semi-tearful goodbyes to a multitude of friends, and some weird vaccination meds that make you feel yucky and it just doesn't add up to a fun time.

So I've been bringing stuff out of storage and where some was "resting" at my friends house. A huge thanks to Mark S, Dan F and Adrienne T for all of their help on Saturday and Sunday. The previously huge-seeming costco pile has now been dwarfed by, well, take a look:

I mean, who can relax in this mess??? But the fact that a bunch of guys are going to swoop in and have me packed up in no time doesn't really calm me if you know what I mean.

Anyway--I still have some sorting to do, and some forms to get organized. But the move excitement continues. I'm not worried about going at all, I'm just stressed about the next few days. Then all will be right in the world of Jane--well, at least I hope so!!

More soon,
Jane

I'm sure I could live without it, but....

Oh my goodness. I'm starting to panic!!

So my pack out (when the movers come and pack up everything I own) is on Tuesday. I've got to have everything sorted for what I'm taking and what is staying...and what I want to go air freight vs ocean freight...and what I want to take on the plane with me. Plus I'm arranging for my condo to be cleaned, the rugs to be steam cleaned, etc to get it ready for my tenants. I've got lists of lists of lists. I have to write down what errands I'm running becuase I'm forgetting. It's just ridiculous!

So I've been told that the internet's pretty slow in Addis and I shouldn't expect much...and to bring books and dvds with me. So I've been doing a little shopping--a wii, the wii fit, wii games, board games, dvds, some books, etc. You get the idea.

Then on top of that I've got my "consumables" or stuff that I'll use up and the government pays for me to ship over becuase it's such a hardship to live without your oreos! I mean stuff like babyfood and diapers I get, but I can take a ridiculous amount. I didn't go that nuts even but I still managed to spend $1,000 at costco yesterday. Seriously! 1G!

Maybe I should just go with a suitcase and nothing more--go all peace corps style. But then again, I do really like my bed, and my photos, and my stuff....hmmm.

Oh well, I think my buying spree is over. The costco trip took it out of me. Here's my pile....
It's impressive and sad at the same time isn't it.

Off to the "export" store to buy coverters for my electronics. Seriously?!?! It never ends.

More soon as pack out day nears....