bon voyage

John and Sam and I are leaving tomorrow morning for a two week trip. I think I wrote about this already on the blog, but just wanted to have a post here explaining why I won't be posting for a few weeks (most likely- we won't have a computer with us, so I don't know when/how I would).

We'll be meeting our friend Elisabeth in Addis Ababa tomorrow afternoon and we'll just be on vacation with her there. We are trying to decide if we should visit Lalibela (the stone-cut churches) or just hang out in Addis. Then the following Sunday we'll leave for Tanzania for a microfinance conference that John is attending. I think it will be really great for him, and Sam and I are preparing to have a week of vacation just by ourselves. I read that there are two waterparks near our hotel on the beaches north of Dar es Salaam, so Sam and I will probably do that (tuesdays are women only :-) ), and there is also a cultural museum with dancing and drumming that I think Sam will like.

We'll be back in contact the 27th.

I am ready for the break. We had a discouraging week in most ways (except for Sam- he's super). One good thing though, is that we've finally got a fix for our water shortage problem. I spoke with the lady ccross the street who has a well and she said we can fill our resevoir up with their water using a hose when we need to. I'm glad to have that resolved- it's been stressful dealing with the politics of her guards (who have been selling the water that she has said anyone can have for free). Not just that they were doing that, but that they were shorting us too- saying they'd put in 20 100 liter buckets when they'd only done six and stuff like that.

Our generator broke again- third time in six weeks. I hope it lasts now. But the technician there took our key for it- said it was his from before and so we have to start it by hand like a lawn mower (a really hard to start lawn mower). Stuff like that frustrates me immensely. Like the time we brought in this battery operated toy thing to get fixed and the repair guy said that the batteries we left there to test it with were 'stolen'. Just another sign that I'll probably benefit from a little R&R.

Our friends here were hosting a bday party for a young congolese friend of theirs at the Meridian hotel's pool. One of the guests at the party drowned- horrible and it was at the start of the party and no one saw him get in the pool even. So that's horrible, but I'm frustrated too because people are opportunistic even in something like a death. They want money from our friends to pay for funeral stuff- like they are responsible or something? I don't think they are as frustrated as I am about it.

So bon voyage to us, I'll post pics when we get back- we should have our computer cord by then.