Happy New Year!

Happy Ethiopian New Year!  This morning I awoke to the sound of singing in the streets.  Today is the first of the year for Ethiopians.  They are on the Julian calendar, and today is 1-1-98.  How exciting.  For those of you who were obsessed with the first go around of the millennium fever, you have a chance to celebrate 2000 all over again in two years here.  So far I have heard little worry about the "Y2K" bug here.  I think it would be rather ironic if in two years every computer system in Ethiopia were to shut down.  Of course, this would affect the economy very little since most Ethiopians have never heard of a computer let alone seen one.  I'm thinking of starting up a page called "Ethiopians say the darnedest things" and go around asking them what they think the Y2K bug is.  I suspect they would guess a new kind of Malaria.  (I'm not really thinking of starting up a page called "Ethiopians say the darnedest things.")

I have moved into my new home.  It is a concrete house that I share with an Ethiopian couple.  Gemitchu - the husband - works with me at Fayyaa and attends the Nazarene church.  They are extremely nice people and I have been taking my meals with them of late.  When it comes to sanitation I am better off eating at the hotel restaurants in town, but as far as my stomach is concerned I have been doing much better eating the food Annana cooks.  Any meal ordered out will have meat (except on Wednesdays and Fridays).  Most of the meals cooked in, however, do not.  A type of lentil stew poured over engerra seems to be a staple, often with a hard boiled egg cooked in.

I'm sure I've mentioned the mosquitoes but I should do so again.  They are everywhere, all the time.  Sleeping in a mosquito net may look romantic on television, but mostly its just annoying - but necessary.  When I first moved into the house, I fogged my room with a heavy insecticide, and now daily apply a small amount of "off" to some of the walls.  My room is now fairly free from mosquitoes.  This morning when I opened my door to the rest of the house, I was greeted by a swarm.  The small area that joins the living room, the two bedrooms and bathroom was teaming with mosquitoes.  The bathroom was full as well.  Out came the deet charged CVS brand of "off".  Now many of you may have environmental issues with deet.  In times past I have tried to stay away as well.  I should now confess, however, that I am a firm believer.  Deet is a gift from God, and do not attempt to tell me otherwise.  Mosquitoes fall from the sky like the walls of Jericho at the blasts of Joshua.  Almost instantaneously after spraying the areas, the mosquitoes were gone.  You have to give humans credit for something: if there's one thing we're good at, its transforming our environment.  ('Good' of course being a relative term, but aptly applies here.)

(While writing this, some children came to the door.  They work at the 'sook' down the street - a small shop selling various daily items.  The other day I bought a Pepsi from them and told them I would bring the bottle back later.  Apparently I've waited too long and they came to fetch it.)

We leave for church around 9am.  I think service starts at 10.  I don't know if they go early, or if the walk is just that long.  I wouldn't think its 3 miles away, but perhaps it is.  I am excited to attend my first service here.  Most likely I will only go every other Sunday (for various reasons), but as I haven't had a chance to attend anywhere since I came to Ethiopia, today will be a nice change.  I just hope I don't fall asleep; listening to a foreign language I can't understand makes me sleepy.  I have heard their sermons aren't that long (20-40 mins) so if the service goes til noon, there must be a lot of singing and praying.

Anyway thats about it for me.  Hope you enjoy your New Year!