Category Archives: Ethiopia

Cargo cult

Posted on 19 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

I want my stuff. This is the refrain you start to hear from new overseas teaching staff around this time of year.  Listen closely: you can pick out my voice in the chorus. Actually, when it comes to personal belongings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | Leave a comment

High times

Posted on 18 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 4:40:02 PM Subject: Pot plants Dear Varnero residents, The ICS admin is pleased to let you know that it has purchased pot plants for your apartments. These will be delivered tomorrow. In case your maids are not at … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | 4 Comments

In darkest Africa

Posted on 17 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

You know dark days (and nights) are coming when the welcome kit includes a pack of long-burning candles and a big box of matches.  Also when new teacher orientation includes a session on how to start a generator. Power outages … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | 1 Comment

Addis on Stage

Posted on 16 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

Is this a blog post title made in heaven, or what? Those who have known the Horaites-MacIver partnership for a long time will get the joke: you’re an insider if you read those words as “Addison Stage.” ICS employees received … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Clubs and activities, Ethiopia | 5 Comments

Party like it’s 2005

Posted on 15 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

Ethiopians use a different calendar than we do in the West.  I first caught on to that when, reading through my ICS contract, I encountered the statement  “all dates herein refer to the Gregorian calendar.” Ethiopians have 12 months of … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | 3 Comments

Daytrippers

Posted on 14 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

Last Saturday the school organized an all-day outing for the teachers.  Actually they organized it for a visiting trainer who was here for a professional development session, and we were all invited to go along.  This was our family’s first … Continue reading →

Posted in Around Ethiopia, Ethiopia | Leave a comment

A sign of humility

Posted on 10 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

This new business opened up across the street from our apartment complex a couple of weeks ago. No one can accuse them of overdoing the hype.

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | Tagged | 1 Comment

Kitchen disaster, round 2

Posted on 9 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

What is it with us and kitchens, anyway? Most of you probably know what happened a year ago last Monday.  Three weeks after we moved to Syria, Nik and Alice had a fire back in Medford that precipitated a full … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | Leave a comment

The Varnero faranji

Posted on 8 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

We flew into Addis late at night on July 28. The middle school principal and a driver met us in the airport parking lot and chauffeured us to our new home in the Lebu district of southwestern Addis Ababa. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | 1 Comment

Junk in the trunk

Posted on 6 Sep 2012 by lornaofarabia

Ethiopia is a land-locked country.  The nearest ports are in Eritrea and Djibouti.  Ethiopia and Eritrea don’t get along so well these days, so goods shipped via boat from overseas come through the port in Djibouti.  All summer long, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | Leave a comment