Buhala Enegenagne

See you later.
Well I'm down to the last several days now and I'm working on a budget of around $1.75... I probably shouldn't be on the internet right now but I thought I should give the blog some closure. I didn't post as much as I thought I would, mainly because most of my time is spent inside the compound, and the interesting stories from the compound are either depressing or disgusting. I can't afford too many minutes on here, so I'll do one last Berg's Eye View and call it good. I'm supposed to arrive in New York on Friday the 11th at around noon, so I'll talk to you all soon.

A BERG'S EYE VIEW

- Instead of pidgeons, Addis has eagles.
- I can never tell which type of handshake to expect here.
- Finding the rare piece of cake among the free airline bread provides a high unmatched by any illegal substance (I assume).
- Jean Claude Van Damme is a god here, but still some kids at the compound are telling everyone I beat him in a fight.
- According to the Ethiopian calendar, it's 2002. I guess the cars aren't as old as I thought they were.
- The Ethiopian clock is six hours off what the time zone says it should be... So the day starts when my watch, which is set to this time zone, says 6am.
- The only Ethiopian card game I've heard of is called "Crazy." It's kind of like Uno, only crazier.
- The only Ethiopian billiards game I've heard of is called "Crazy." It's kind of like pool, only crazier. They start with all the balls against the bumpers.
- The Pay to Park machines here are even worse than in Seattle. You put the ticket on the outside of your car... if you actually buy one.
- The streets here are fine, but the sidewalks are all kinds of torn up. I generally walk in the street.
- When you greet an Ethiopian, you ask them how they are. Then they ask you how you are. Then you ask them how they are a different way. They ask you back. You ask a third way. They ask you back. I don't ask them how they are anymore.
- Today, a stranger named Dave asked if he could show me around the city. I said no, and that I didn't need a guide. Dave said he wasn't a guide.
- Today, a stranger named Job started following me around the city. He told me I look like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. I told him Forrest Gump is, though mentally handicapped, one hell of a long distance runner.
- Ethiopian television (ETV) is the worst television I have ever seen. One of the two stations is dedicated to music videos typically filmed with a cheap handheld video camera in a public park.
- I saw a dog on a leash yesterday.
- Occasionally the government here flies over some areas of the country dropping spoiled meat to poison the wild dogs.
- Yesterday I met an Ethiopian who lives on First Hill in Seattle. Don't remember his name.
- Today a man spit on me, I think accidentally. Wisely, he used the occasion to try to take my camera out of my pocket as he wiped the spit off.