Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

I (Marc) have spent the past 10 days or so back in Ethiopia, mostly in the Rift Valley around Lake Ziway. The Rift Valley floor lies roughtly 1600-1700 meters above sea level, about 600-700 meters below Addis, so the climate is somewhat harsher. Indeed, during this time of year (dry winter season), the air is almost abrasive, and the wind carries clouds of dust through the air. Being in the Rift gave me real appreciation for the harsh environment with which its inhabitants cope. Though I had read and heard alot about the Rift as my colleagues did the planning for this work, I had to visit it to understand what it is really like. I'll post some pictures upon my return to the US next week.

In fact, this has been one of the most challenging places I have ever done household surveys. Access to the rural villages we are working in is difficult and requires driving kilometers over very rough roads. During the rainy season they are impassible. Once in the field, the work is tough, under a hot sun in dusty conditions. Houses are spread out so the enumerator teams walk quite a bit. The cars take a beating; after 2 weeks in the field, one of our two 4x4s developed a radiator leak and broken water pump such that we barely made it back to Addis Thursday night, stopping every 20-30 minutes to cool the radiator.

Nonetheless, after some real challenges achieving our objectives, the ship seems to have righted, and I am now confident that the remainder of the work will proceed relatively smoothly. There are 13 villages to go over the next 2 and a half weeks (roughtly one village a day with a few days off), and we think we have lined up a qualified group to do the data entry. My research associate will finish up the work once Chris (PhD student) and I depart tomorrow and Monday.

Otherwise, it has been a real joy to be back in Ethiopia, where I did much of my dissertation work. Today is Christmas, so the survey team has three days off, and we are going to have a traditional dinner at Tewodros' (Duke postdoc) parents' house. The city is quiet and calm, as most people are at home celebrating. Other highlights of the trip have been once again eating lots of injera and traditional dishes (doro wat, kitfo, shiro, beyaynetu), drinking the wonderfully fragrant Ethiopian coffee, running in the Entoto Hills behind Addis, and simply enjoying the hard-working and friendly spirit of the Ethiopian people.

~ Marc