tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88023225729507825182012-02-16T12:03:44.585+03:00Everyday life in Addis – as seen by a keen observerI always feel that there are everyday happenings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital - that are too worthy, charming and fanciful to be left out – yet are hardly reported or recorded.
I strive to fill this gap – writing what I observe around me while traveling in share-cabs, sitting in cafes, walking, talking with friends, etc.
So, enjoy my blog and leave your comments……..
Addis WatchAddis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-16398064766950171872007-06-06T15:50:00.000+03:002007-06-06T15:59:06.262+03:00The Changing face of AddisAddis is plagued with housing problems. A friend of mine calls Addis a big slum. He lives in one of the impoverished sefers (who doesn’t?); he always says that he lives in a smaller slum located in the bigger slum (Addis). Well, it’s true (or has been true for many years).But now we can witness a wave of new constructions in Addis. Whenever I visit places where I haven’t been to for a while, I’m Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-63642607071426607642007-05-30T11:26:00.000+03:002007-06-04T10:25:56.986+03:00Leba Teyizo Dula Ayiteyekim (If you catch a thief, beat him up.)We Ethiopians may not see eye to eye on many things. But one of things we may agree about is the treatment of thieves. If you catch a thief, just beat him up. Beat him up more. And even more. And much more. He has to have his lessons – so that he wouldn’t come around again. Only few would mind if a thief is killed ('murdered' would be the right word) while being beaten – after all he’s a thief.I Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-10543705095229640312007-05-22T15:28:00.000+03:002007-05-22T15:34:54.981+03:00The other side of AddisI heard a friend saying that a European colleague of his remarked Addis is a very safe city; her roads are better than most of the cities in East Africa. And that Sheraton Addis is one of the most luxurious hotels in the whole of Africa. And that people are friendly and polite.Well, this European’s image of Addis was quite different before he came here on business trips a couple of times. He Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-41163820900776946262007-05-04T11:57:00.000+03:002007-05-04T12:03:19.701+03:00I was unable to blog for the last few days, as the blogging site was blocked. Now it has been unblocked and I am able to access it.Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-12594802852326535352007-04-27T10:51:00.000+03:002007-04-27T10:53:50.074+03:00The millennium craze and accommodation for the guests:Millennium Burger, Millennium Traditional Food Restaurant, Milennium...., Millennium....The list can go on. Entrepreneurs have already been making advantage of the craze to make some fortune out of it. Hotel rooms are being expanded; various committees are set up (with the way things are going, they will set up a committee that will oversee all other committees); NGO's are getting pamphlets Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-11607942487079199092007-04-23T09:48:00.000+03:002007-04-23T10:01:28.349+03:00More to come on this blog: Ethiopian Millennium Celebration, Inflation, the New Upper Middle classAddis is gearing up to celebrate the millennium (for those who still think that the millennium passed 7 and 1/2 years ago, I would inform Ethiopia follows a different calendar). The government has set up a millennium celebrations committee; one hears the word 'millennium' mentioned more often; and new restaurants/cafes/ shops that bear the name 'millennium' have started showing up. I will try toAddis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-61552546195549897422007-04-23T09:43:00.000+03:002007-04-23T09:48:37.567+03:00Shoa Supermarket removed the USAID Oil cans from the standsI happened to be in this supermarket some weeks ago and was shocked with what I saw and posted it on this blog.Last Friday, I visited Shoa and was pleased and surprised to see that they had removed the oil cans from the stand. Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-82013794810298663812007-04-20T11:21:00.000+03:002007-04-23T09:43:43.062+03:00Pollution and the environment in Addis - as seen by a driverWell, Addis may not be as polluted as Bombay or Sao Paulo or Beijing. I'm afraid, however, that pollution is on the rise. Going to work early morning, I have to drive along numerous Anbessa buses, inter - city transport buses, trucks and the like. When many of these vehicles shift gears or climb steep roads, the amount of smoke that comes out is horrible to see. A driver may escape the immediate Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-6694595880798936352007-04-17T08:19:00.000+03:002007-04-17T08:21:10.226+03:00Blogspot.com has been blocked again, and a pledge to write moreI haven't been able to blog for some time now, as I've been a bit busy. But I'll try to post two blogs a week. The situation is not very encouraging as blogspot.com has been blocked again in Ethiopia and readers here can access it only via annonymous proxies. Sad!I encourage the readers to leave comments; there's a lot more to be said about Addis that might have escaped the blogger's attention.Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-85193631121954835782007-03-22T16:22:00.000+03:002007-03-22T17:17:13.917+03:00Addis Roads and Thirteen Months of SunshineThere have been some torrential rains in Addis in the last few days. Many of the main roads, including the ring road, have been flooded.The flood can always be blamed on the poor construction of the drainage or the roads. Yet, one wonders when one sees the ‘well constructed’ ring road. It’s been built by the now ubiquitous Chinese construction companies. These guys have made a name for themselvesAddis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-43554618370654557912007-03-12T14:13:00.000+03:002007-03-12T14:24:33.433+03:00Fireworks and CommonsenseYesterday afternoon, I was sitting with friends in a café. The Addis Ababa Stadium was in full site and it looked like there was some kind of procession going on (it was the Ethiopian Sports Meet – we later learnt). We were chatting and suddenly one of us shouted ‘fireworks, fireworks!’ We thought it was on the giant LCD screen in the Meskel Square. No, it was not. It was being detonated from theAddis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-78658482690503717752007-03-06T15:36:00.000+03:002007-03-06T15:40:44.245+03:00USAID OIL FOR SALEThese days in Addis, it’s so common to see cans of aid oil (cooking oil), donated books (with the stamp ‘Not For Resale’ clearly shown), etc in the market (mind you, they are for sale).The most common aid oil for sale is the oil with USA stamped on it with a smaller USAID print beneath. You can get it in Merkato; you can see it in small shops in your neighbourhood. You may even have it in your Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-42165746803334863302007-02-26T14:30:00.000+03:002007-02-27T08:04:04.386+03:00Profit, profit, and yet more profit - Private hospitals and their mottoJust to follow up on the health care.Private hospitals in Addis are alleged to charge a very exaggerated rate for the medicines used by patients during their stay there. Inside sources say that the hospitals charge up to 5 times the price of the medicine one would be required to pay at a pharmacy. A friend of mine informed me that they had to pay more than one thousand Birr for two – three Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-83027037793573903232007-02-20T15:35:00.000+03:002007-02-26T14:36:16.888+03:00Money, proper healthcare and traditional medicineI wrote last time that I would write on schools in Addis. I disappeared owing to problems in accessing the blog edition site. Now that I can access it well, I’m back with more stories about everyday happenings in Addis.Do allow me to shift from schools to one particular incident that got me thinking about our healthcare. This is what happened to a friend of mine:A person he knows closely had a Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-2539495883854375112007-02-19T13:15:00.000+03:002007-02-19T13:19:30.760+03:00Addiswatch is back.Hello...I've learnt that this blog can be accesses directly at www.inblogs.net/addiswatch. I will keep updating this blog.....Now that you can access it without anonymous servers, you can read the ads too.Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-63120719665944994452006-11-27T11:48:00.000+03:002006-11-27T11:52:50.387+03:00This blog is blocked; but I will keep on writing.....It’s been quite a few days since I posted the last blog; all blogs in Ethiopia have been blocked and this is one of them (oddly and sadly) – this blog is very apolitical and the blogger’s (only) interest is to let people know the other [perhaps the more fanciful and charming] side of Addis. It took me a while to find out how I can make my blog accessible to readers in Ethiopia and abroad. For Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-24888318265616493512006-11-23T13:48:00.000+03:002007-02-20T12:23:41.540+03:00Kindergartens and their amusing ads.....I was just standing on the pedestrian pavement of a big road (the road from Urael to Bole Medahlialem) this morning and waiting for somebody. It was around 8:00 am (GMT + 3:00); I could see a lot of students walking to the nearby Bole Higher Secondary School clad in their green and white uniforms. I quickly scanned in my mind the numerous kindergartens, elementary and high schools, colleges – Addis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802322572950782518.post-57624675731767968672006-11-23T02:31:00.000+03:002006-11-22T15:31:57.631+03:00Addis Watch Online!Well, I always feel that there are everyday happenings in Addis Ababa (for that matter everywhere) that are too worthy, charming and fanciful to be left out– yet are hardly reported/ recorded. I strive to fill this gap – writing what I observe around me while traveling in share-cabs, sitting in cafes, walking, talking with friends, etc.So, enjoy my blog and leave your comments……..Addis WatchAddis Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11544102048770096506noreply@blogger.com1