My Bole home 2

1. Opposite side of the living room
2. Guest room ( aka Nele's room)
3. Bathroom with super flashy pink shower curtains in front of the window and for the shower/bath...
4. Masterbedroom

My Bole home 1

Pics of the house speak for themselves, don't they?
( last one is another from the housewarming party that got uploaded without me realising...)

Housewarming

So around the 8th of March I had my housewarming party or better just a party because there is a lot to celebrate.
I had another guest from couchsurfing who took these pictures and the next with his digital camera.
1. The whole group some friends didn't make it but it was a great evening. I'm really starting to settle in.
2. My new colleagues: Secondary school teacher (re) Becca is the blond beauty and the other is a KG teacher that teaches next to me and is called is Melissa.
3. The snacks I made.
I attempted Spanish tortilla but my friends back in Spain would have been embarrassed...The zucini snacks ( calabacin rebozados) did work out and even the italians agreed my pizza was tasty!

Running around….

I have to go to court on Monday and explain them that the summon hasn’t been delivered. Yep kinda scary plus I miss the first day of work and the reception of a new student in my class but there’s no other way. My collegues, not the board, are so kind: they actually wished me luck which felt so good. I was also invited to a BBQ at my closest colleague’s home.
Also on the brighter side the landline in my flat just started working so from now on you can reach me _ if I’m home_ less expensively on 00251115548779 = Really cool!
And there are only 24 more days to go before I get my first real visit: Nele! (=best vriend from Flanders) and Karen. So the smile on my face has definitely returned!

Ps: Wish me luck with the 1st women Ethiopian run tomorrow!!!

Just a short note in between…

My week off is flying by and sadly enough I’m not really able to enjoy it very much… . After the cleaning was finally finished I found out that Immigration has lost my file and thus I still don’t have a new residence permit which means I cannot go to the police for my stolen camera still which is bad for my insurance company, plus I can’t give the court summon to GYA. I should have given this the latest last Friday, 10 days in advance, seeing as the case is supposed to be on the 8th of March, meaning next Monday but Dr G and me fear GYA may block some paperwork so the case will probably be postponed… What a mess.
In addition my ex landlady is given me trouble, even though most of the furniture is still in the other flat and I have paid until March the 20th or so she refused to let me in the compound the other day which infuriated me so much I caused quite a scene… I’ve decided not to move anything out so she can’t rent it a day sooner just to bug her but still. It’s so frustrating. Where has my luck gone off to???
On top of that there are loads of power-cuts, some Italian company didn’t do a good job with the construction of a new hydro power plant so the tunnel with generators collapsed a mere week after opening. It’s super annoying: For example I went to school to prepare for next week but there was no power when I arrived so I couldn’t do a whole lot... And more of the same.
till I shouldn’t complain: I’m liking the new house, will probably be in a play ( covering for someone which is exciting because it’s been 10 years since I was last on stage), also I’m hosting the boys again now that they’re back, plus am running ( or rather walking) 5 km for women empowerment and have a house-warming party coming up… . So hopefully next update will be less winy =)

Home sweet home...

Things still haven’t really settled down but it is a more enjoyable rhythm then before. My paper process is running at its end. With Dr G driving me up the wall because he felt I should be doing things whereas the school doesn’t allow me to interfere. Due to a meeting in the ministry of education we are behind schedule which won’t be a problem for my visa but does mean I didn’t give the summon to GYA on time so the court may be postponed… .
Last weekend the 20th or something was fun. I hosted couch surfers at my home. 3 crazy guys from about my age: a Welsh one, German and South African. The last did his masters in London and is now returning. The welsh guy is joining him and they’re driving his 4X4 all the way to Capetown. Can you imagine from London to Capetown!?! They have a lot of fun stories to tell and saw some interesting places. They have solar panels on the roof of the jeep and try to raise money for a charity that wants to provide people in desolate regions with solar energy because the lack of electricity tends to intensifies their poverty. If you want to read about their adventures www.overlandandintheSun.com . The German is also involved in charity and is doing the trip from Germany to Capetown by motorbike. He’s currently joining them while his bike is being fixed. His site: www.fernwehge.de .
They were good fun, we had some delicious meals and did a daytrip to the lakes at Debrezeyt. Sadly enough I couldn’t go swimming because the water’s not safe if you’re not being treated against some disease and frankly the leech my feet attracted when I was paddling put me off. Still it was great to eat cheese and guacamole sandwiches at the shore.
In my class and with the colleagues all is well. My students are very adorable and say the funniest things: We were describing people and they said their previous teacher had a green nose. My wage and housing is arranged through the board more specifically through the senior manager, Sisay. He’s Ethiopian and not nice to me, may be because his kids are going to GYA ( not all the staff members are allowed to have their children in the school…). The head of primary, John Lane, was absent so I saw my new flat with him and his assistant and when I pointed out things that should be taken care off I got an inappropriate answer. When I told Mr Lane he apologised and even his assistant told me he felt his boss was out of line. Result: I have moved into my new home but where all the other teachers get a clean house mine is/was really filthy. This because Sisay wanted me to hire a cleaning lady of his choice, probably someone he owed a favour and got angry when I explained I already had someone doing my laundry and that I usually cleaned myself.
The place is starting to get cool though. I rearranged all the furniture yesterday, washed out most cupboards, unpacked and started cleaning the bathroom which was the filthiest. I’ve never missed Mr Proper this much in my life. There are hardly any cleaning products here so your result depends on your effort. Plus I managed to clog the bathroom pipes when I was trying to get rid of dirty water which made me unable to shower after cleaning. So now I’m waiting for the school plumber. It wasn’t exactly the start of my week off I had hoped for but the result _when I finally finish_ should be well worth it. I’m really excited: It’s so enjoyable to have a fridge again (after more then 2 months) and there’s an oven, a table to eat at, space in the cupboard, a good bed/mattress, a sofa, A sink in the kitchen etc. The flat is on the third floor and in the fancy tourist neighbourhood of Addis. It has a pretty big terrace and an extra bedroom with double bed which I’ll use to host people. It will be so nice! There are some things which aren’t exactly stylish such as the curtains which are extremely ugly and the painted kitchen cupboards which no matter how hard I try look dirty but hey I’m willing to put up with it. ( I may go all out shopping for matching scarves to use as curtains. Textile here is rather pretty plus affordable.)