Finally together in Addis Ababa

Well it has been kinda quiet around these parts. Mostly because I have been getting ready for pack out, and honestly because I haven't had the drive to write.


To update fully on where I am. I arrived into Addis Ababa, Ethiopia late Friday, February 10th. though I was probably traveling for around 20 hours including a 2 hour layover in Frankfurt (can't stand that airport, have to walk 5 miles from terminal C to B), it seemed like I was traveling for 3 days! It was pretty uneventful, little sleep, airplane food, movies, and luckily babies on the flights were well behaved.

Upon arrival I got in that line for my visa as I was instructed to do. About 10 minutes went by before one of the local Embassy staff came through looking for me, I waved her over. She got me through without a visa, as I would get my diplomatic visa at the Embassy soon. So they stamped my passport and off we went. We collected my bags and right outside costumes which we breezed through was Dan waiting for me.

We pushed the luggage cart with my two monster of a suitcases (50 and 70 lbs respectively) to our SUV. Conveniently I found out our house is less than a mile from the airport. While some may be bothered by the airplane noise. They seem to only go over head in the early mornings and evening time, and it doesn't really bother me much as it tends to block out the other street noise.

I think so far my biggest culture shock in the weekend I have been here is all the different noises I hear. I am constantly  saying "what is that Dan" or "what direction is that coming from"?  The biggest difference is that the church's here call out for prayer in the morning like mosques do. I believe we are in ear shot of two local church's.

So far this weekend was restful as I settled into the house. I am still settling in as I don't have my hangers yet for my clothes, so I am slowly unpacking.  We have wall length built-in armor closets which have tons of storage.  Funny enough, Dan has already managed to take up a good portion of these, so I will be doing some shuffling around. I have also so greatly enjoyed being back with our three kitties. They were a little upset with me for the first two house, especially my baby Neko but soon afterwards they just wanted to cuddle and play, hasn't stopped since.

Dan also showed me the town some.  We ate twice at the Sheraton, once for a lunch buffet and then Sunday night for a delicious Italian dinner. Unfortunately I think I am still getting used to things here as I have gotten sick once from our filtered water system (bottled water for me) and then the Italian food was a little too rich for my stomach so I only at a little and brought the rest home (yay leftovers).  Otherwise I have thoroughly enjoyed all the delicious artisan bread they make here, probably some the best I have ever eaten. I am so happy we picked some up French bread, farmer artisan bread and some rolls for sandwiches. Also bought some beef tenderloin, noodles, some sodas, bottle water, and other tid-bits. One huge benefit for us living here is the hugely lower cost of living, it is always a huge surprise and always brings me happiness when we hand over a hundred bier and realize it is only $5!

Ok, so I have truly written a lot for this post and still have so much more to share. I will give more fun details in the next post.

Merry Christmas and Medical Clearances

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and warm Holiday wishes to all!

Dan and I spent our first married Christmas apart this year, as he is in Addis Ababa, and I am still working my way through the system to join him. We had originally hopped I would be in Ethiopia by Christmas, but arranging to get me his orders and schedule my medical clearance took longer than hopped.

I went up for my medical clearance on Dec. 12. It seems they try to make you spread everything out. Not sure why they would do this as it only prolongs the process. However, I let them know throughout my process with MED that I was here on limited time from Florida and needed it to get down. That seemed to help. 9am on the 13th I had my first set up testing. Now I am not one who likes needles, in fact my mother would reward me with ice cream after I got shots for school when I was younger. I don't pass out or anything like the such, I just hate looking at them, hate feeling them, hate the mental anxiety that swells up in my body when I have to get them. So as you can imagine when they tell me that not only am I getting my blood drawn today but also a TB test, how over joyed I was. I went through it all, the TB exam, the blood drawn, the urine test, and then over to the Washington Radiology Center for my Chest X-ray.

I am very happy and lucky I got a great deal on a hotel that was only a couple block from MED and the Radiology Center.

Next day, my appointment was a little later at 10am. It was very chilly so I decided to take a cab. When I was walking away from the cab I looked back, I had a feeling that something was missing. I was right my phone. I hopped and prayed while I was MED I just left it at my hotel. So I went back in, and they were setting up for their Christmas party. I met with the doctor, we discussed my previous days tests, and once again reiterated how fast I need my clearance. I was determined to leave DC Friday morning with it. The doctor checked my entire body for any unusual moles etc, then did a pelvic and breast exam. Oh the joys of being a woman. I thought everything was going great till she requested I get a pelvic sonogram, due to she felt that my left pelvic area was more pronounced than the right and wanted to make sure I didn't have cyst. Now I have to schedule a sonogram before my trip is over.

As for my phone it was in that cab. Thank goodness for Find with icloud for the iPhone. I not only was able to watch a live feed of where my phone was I could send it text messages and alarm noises. I prayed that a kind customer would find it. My hope jumped when I saw the cabby pull into and out of Oakwood apartments in Fairfax! I thought oh pleas oh please let an FSO or family find my phone. I started calling it none stop and the driver answered finally. He brought my phone back to me safe and sound! I am soooo lucky.

I luckily got in again with the Washington Radiology center the next morning. This was my first sonogram and honestly it wasn't too bad. You know, other than having three people in the room (a doctor and two med students) checking out everything on the mounted tv monitor. By that point so many medical professionals had seen me naked in some form that week, what the heck add two more. I even got the doctor to agree to fax the results with an hour rather than waiting 24 hours as they normally do.

So I waited that hour, doing some Christmas shopping in DC and then headed back to MED. They checked out my TB results and then of course said no way did that radiology center have my results to them that fast. They checked the fax, they were of course there. I then reasoned with them to give me medical clearance so I could get my yellow fever shot. After about 20 minutes, they granted to me. I then proceeded to get my yellow fever shot. The woman in travel MED must have fun with all those needles, she had the pleasure of asking me if I wanted to get 5 shots at once! After she saw the horror on my face, she reconsidered. I explained I was traveling early the next morning and didn't want any major side affects from all of them. Since I knew I only needed my yellow fever shot to get to Addis Ababa and can get the rest once at post, I opted for that one only and to take home typhoid pills.

I walked back to my hotel so happy I had not only got my medical clearance in 3 days, I achieved in getting the one shot I needed as well. I was ridding this high, which turned into a small fever and upset stomach from the shot later that evening. I was down at the bar waiting on a specially made grilled cheese to help my stomach when I placed my phone on the table in front of me. Next thing I know it is slipping off the table and smashes face down on the tile floor. I knew before I picked it up what waited me. I was right. Smashed. Still functioning but smashed. My phone was determined to spite me that week. Of course with, hopping, less than a month in the states till I leave for post, and I can't use an Iphone there, what am I to do?

Now we are waiting upon my approval for finance for pack out and my flight to Addis Ababa, once I have that I will know definitely when I am leaving. I will submit my application for the diplomatic passport with orders attached and start organizing the mess of everything squeezed into my parents spare rooms.

I am very excited for the near future, truly becoming an EFM at post and of course my husband.

Warmest Holiday wishes,

The diplonerds

DiploNerds Wed!

I know we have been away for awhile but we have a good reason! Besides Dan being very busy with his duties in Ethiopia, we are proud to announce the DiploNerds are married! Dan and I wed on November 12 in my hometown of Orlando, Florida. We were so happy Dan could get two weeks off for the wedding and we are now working on getting me added to his orders. I hope to be joining him in Ethiopia by Christmas. So if anyone can help speed up the process or has any tips on getting a new spouse out to post we would love to know! Here are some pictures from the big day of us!

- Mr. and Mrs. DiploNerd

A total goat roast

Last night, some of the newer arrivals from the Embassy as well as a bunch of NGO workers got together, and we roasted a small goat. It was pretty awesome -- one of the NGO guys had picked it up on his way back from Afar region, and when he got back to Addis he strung it up and butchered it. The resulting chops were small enough that they could fit into a single bowl.

We got a couple of rather meaty chickens (at least by Ethiopian standards) and some veggies and set to work. My colleague hosting the party built a bonfire in his driveway, and placed some sort of giant steel plate over it -- the thing is like an enormous wok, probably 3 feet in diameter. Toss in some beer, spices, and a healthy amount of olive oil, and you've got a party.

Now, my asparagus is well known back in the states as being the best you can possibly eat -- now we're international. I cooked up the asparagus as well as some sweet red onions that someone managed to find. It was amazing; better vegetables than I've ever had at the Sheraton. The goat turned out pretty good as well; a little tough to get off the bone, so you had to rip it with your teeth like a feral dog. Nothing a few toothpicks later on can't fix.

Anyway, this swiss guy dressed like a club kid shows up. Now, he didn't work at the Embassy, nor did he work for the NGO all these people were with. In fact, I can't really figure out who he knew or how he got there. But by the end of the night he was drunk and serenading us with his violin. He was actually pretty good (though a little out of tune at times). He spoke better Italian than he did english, and surprisingly after 10 years since the last time I took Italian, I actually understood most of what he was saying.

It was a great way to end a very stressful week, and despite some rain earlier in the day, we caught a break just long enough for me to get home nice and dry (and the second I closed my front door, it started pouring again.) All in all, a great weekend.

And here I am.

I realized the other day that if I don't get even a short post out, updating people on what I'm doing here, friends and family will butcher me when I return to the states. Plus, I've been feeling guilty about not updating quite so often as I wanted to.

So here I am, in Addis. It's pretty great here -- the weather is 50-60 most days, and while it is the middle of the rainy season, that's tolerable and my house has only flooded once. The DiploCats have arrived, and are busy tearing the crap out of the house, though they hate the local cat food. Supposedly I'll get my HHE sometime this month. We'll see about that.

About once or twice a week, I get over to the Sheraton hotel, which is a true five-star. The restaurants there are spectacular, although since I started a low-carb diet I mainly tend to go to Summerfields, their buffet. All you can eat beef tenderloin and lamb chops what up!? The meat is Kenyan, which is good because that means it actually is quality; Ethiopian meat tends to be tough and stringy. It's also the place to go do business; you can't go two feet without running into an Ambassador, or a Somali parliamentarian, or some corporate CEO. The nice thing is that they have a fair selection of cuban cigars; and while overpriced, they're well kept.

I've been basically dead this whole week -- 16+ hour days except today, due to having two separate groups of congressional staff visitors in town and somehow I got stuck with all of them. Which wasn't as bad as it could be, it was actually rather fun, but I like to go home at a reasonable hour (8:30 or 9pm is NOT the norm.) I'm looking forward to some much deserved sleep this weekend; although a colleague in Consular tells me they may be roasting a goat at his place and I don't think I can pass that up.

And it begins...

Well Dan is now flying to Addis Ababa. It seems like there is someone leaving from his 160th class every day. Pack out took 12 hours last Thursday, yes that is right 12 hours! Even the cats where tired after (evident of picture below). I don't even know how they do a full house. I thought it would take only half a day but guess we know for the future.
Yesterday I took Dan to the airport for his flight to Addis. Before the airport we completed last minute errands for a cell phone charger, international adapter and to return a few unneeded items that were purchased for the cats travel.

We also stopped at 5 guys for a last supper of sorts. while driving around the block in Old Town three times looking for place to park, one opened up right in front of the restaurant, yes! Except...I don't know how to parallel park. That probably seems weird to most people but in the state of Florida (where we are from) there is almost no parallel parking so it isn't required to learn on the driver’s test. Luckily Dan was better at it than me and so we traded and he parked my car. The burgers were great as always.

We got to the airport 3 1/2 hours early, which turned out great because Dan had to wait behind a family with 10,000 pieces of luggage to get checked in and then found out he could only take one carry-on. Luckily they checked the third for free since it was small. From Dulles airport he flew to Frankfurt and had a 5 hour layover. Currently I am guessing he is flying somewhere over the Mediterranean on his way to Addis. He arrives fairly late at night (7 hour time difference) and then starts work immediately on Tuesday. No time to recover from Jet lag. Guess that is what this weekend is for.

What hit me really hard is when Dan handed over his keys to the apartment.
As most of you know I will be joining him in November after we get married. I have the fun task of cleaning up, but at least I have the cats for company. I am happy to still have them. They are contracted to fly out on the 6th of July to Addis. They actually worry me more than anything because they are flying alone. They will have to stop in Frankfurt for a night in the animal lounge and they don't understand German, haha. I think by the time they get to Dan they will be pretty mad but hopefully they will get over it soon after they see the new house.

For myself, I am currently in my last week with my job and will be enjoying the 4th of July weekend with my parents here in DC before moving home. This way I will be in town to do wedding planning, spend time with family and friends before moving in November and of course save money. Hopefully I will find a new job soon. If you know of anything in Orlando I am all ears!

Preparing for Post

One of the weird things about going to post is that everything happens in crazy little bursts of activity, followed by periods where I'm making no progress and feel guilty about it. Example: After Flag Day, I was ready to start knocking out all those things I'd have to do in order to leave for post -- book my travel, get my diplomatic passport (for the first time) and tourist passport (renewal)....but I couldn't do any of these things until a cable came saying I'd been officially assigned to the post. Now, in the paper we get after A-100 conveniently titled "Next steps after A-100", they have a timeline for when these things should be done. That cable, for instance, should be in your hands several months before you go to post. Needless to say, that was not a possibility for me, so the cable's proposed timeline was utterly useless to me.

Most recently, I had been waiting on post to tell me when I'd be arriving, but that's now out of the way. Since then I've gotten my passports renewed, got several rounds of shots and immunizations, met with my desk officer, signed up for distance learning courses, submitted my itinerary, scheduled my pack-out and about a million other things. It feels great to be making some sort of progress towards getting to post. On the one hand, it can be incredibly stressful when you know that in a couple weeks you need to be in Ethiopia, and nothing seems to be happening. On the other hand, State is pretty good about ensuring that you will actually get your visas and passports and what-not, even if that means a one-day turnaround. (I'm sure someone with more experience can offer examples of where they've failed, but this is the general impression that I've gotten so far).

The worst part of this process though is that my beloved Mercedes can't come with me. I've had this car since 2006 and it has been an utter joy to drive. Unfortunately, a rear wheel drive sedan simply won't work in Ethiopia, and parts are hard to find. So, I had to trade it in and buy an SUV. I'm now the proud owner of a 2004 Range Rover HSE, and it is awesome. It handles like a car, it's very agile, and corners surprisingly smoothly. The interior is quite nice and it has plenty of room to store just about anything I can throw at it. Unfortunately, I had to go out of town the next day, so I've literally only drove it home from the dealership and that's it. But I'll have some pictures later. Land Rover and Toyota parts are quite common in Ethiopia in particular, and Africa in general, so it shouldn't be too hard to maintain. 2004 is also one of the last years that the Range Rover used the 4.4L V8 BMW-made engine. Rover group was sold to Ford in 2000, but they didn't switch engine production over to Jaguar (also Ford) until 2006, so the 2000-2005 Range Rovers still have the BMW engines, which are apparently more reliable. I was expecting it to be sluggish compared to my Mercedes, which had a 3.2L 221hp turbocharged V6 engine and is quite zippy, but the V8 on the Range Rover pushes around 290 hp and has quite a bit of kick even at higher speeds on the Beltway. So I'm pretty excited about it.

Finally, I get to suffer the indignity of likely having a black eye in my driver's license photo when I renew it this week. Why will I have a black eye? Because I walked into a sliding glass door tonight at full speed, almost knocking it off its hinges -- if it wasn't tempered glass, it would have certainly shattered. I'm amazed that I didn't break my nose, but almost instantly a huge knot swelled up just over my eyebrow, and I can feel my right eye swelling as well. I've been icing it, and it's been fairly pain free, but knowing my luck I'll have a huge shiner. Great. Oh well, it's better than my current photo, which was taken when I was 15. Now I know how birds feel when they crash into windows at speed.