Yesterday I arrived in Hawassa where I will be living and working for the next two months!!
I can’t believe that only 24 hours ago I was still in Addis Ababa. All the traveling is making time move super slow and me super tired.
I really enjoyed Addis—the lifestyle, the pace of things, the environment—so it was a bit hard to leave there, knowing the next place wouldn’t be the same. The flight to Hawassa was relatively quick, it took about an hour, but with security, boarding, and transport all included it took near three hours (and at that point driving would be almost a quick).
I was very impressed driving into Hawassa. It’s like a mini Addis Ababa. I went straight from the airport to the office and by the time I got there it was around 9:30am. I met my coworkers and got a tour of the office.
My office for the next two months is here in the meeting hall. Chatting with everyone and actually starting my independent work has made me very excited for the type of life I will be living. I have always cursed the 9-5 life, but I don’t have any complaints as I begin to live it.
After about an hour at the office I went to see my new housing arrangement! I was a bit nervous because they hadn’t finished putting in the shower when we first arrived, and I didn’t want that to be what set the tone for the next months, but I felt better when I got settled in later in the evening.
Communicating with my host family is going to be difficult because they don’t speak English and I Amharic, but it seems like I will be more independent here than living with Lucas’ family. After checking out the “apartment” we went back to work for a bit before going out to lunch. Lunch was nice, more so because we drove around town and I got to orient myself. I’m very excited because of the independence I have specific to this adventure—I’ll be able to go out very often and explore the city!
It’s seems the rainy season has followed me, or I it, because right when work finished and I was meant to be walking home, it started to dump. Like Arusha, it was only a short burst of rain but my friends and I had to wait underneath a shop overhang—luckily I needed some eggs for today’s breakfast and this provided a great opportunity.
When I got back to my home I was finally able to get settled and take a breath. It’s quite nice traveling with only one suitcase and a week’s worth of clothes—it’s really easy to put it all away and get organized quickly. I went out for a run right as the sun was setting which is something I had missed a lot. My family in Arusha wouldn’t let me go out by myself in fear of my safety, and no one was up for a jog, so the best exercise I got were my periodic morning walks with Lucas. Trying to run just 2 miles I found out how out of shape I am these days, so it’s good I have the opportunity to get out and exercise now!
I got back home, showered, read, and went to sleep. I think it’s going to take a while for me to acclimate to the noise here, just like in Arusha, because I’m right near a main road and I could hear the cars all throughout the night. Today should be a bit more calm than yesterday I hope, and I think I’ll be finishing up my orientation!