Settling down: New House, New Friends, New lifestyle

Hi everyone. Fist week of work, way intensive but nice. I was assigned for two majors:

1) 2007 Training workshop on methods for HIV and Aids Estimates and Projection in cooperation with HAPCO (Hiv/Aids prevention and control Office) to work on the implementation of the M&E system in Ethiopia

2) Five year evaluation of the Global Fund impact on three major diseas: TB, Malaria and AIDS.

Very hard issues, but step by stepo i'm going trough them and they are not ununderstandable.

I have to go almost every day to the Ministry of Health, 5 minutes far from here , and always with a UN official driver... and that is so cool! All the kids say Hi to me, people see the UN car and they stop moving, trying to see if one big boss is in.. But it's just me!

Amharic lessons with Abraham are going quite well, and we establish a rule called ''a word a day'': heb teaches me one word of Amharic, i teach him one word in Italian. I wonder how long it will last to learn a language... but I might hire an official teacher to learn seriously, and faster.

Other than that we finally settled down. The new house is amazing, a huge villa with a nice garden, satellite tv (rai international = serie A every sunday for free!!!!!!!!!!), big living room, confortable beds, new fridge, a guard 24/7, a maid that washes & cleans 3 days a week.... this is life! We even met lots of people: 2 french guys working here, many ethiopians, and the Irish roomate just came yesterday. Everything all right, I even recovered myself after the terrible first week.

That's all folks, new updates coming soon

First days in Addis Ababa, first negative records...

After a never ending flight, we finally came to Ethiopia. A UN driver came to pick us up, and we had no problem with bags and luggage, even tough we exceed the weight limit. We went directly to the Atlas Hotel, where 2 comfy room were waiting for us.
The following morning was dedicated to the discovery of the city: t-shirt, snickers, shorts and our unchanghable white skin. A taxi driver took us to the University and then we followed walking without a direct target... just willing to know how the real Africa was. Well, unfortunately all what people say about it, seems to be true. People begging for money every 50 metres, old people lying on the sidewalks, a noisy and smelly traffic jam... we went down the menelik road where the Ethiopian white house is, and we got lost in a `favela` where everyone was looking at us. But I have never felt in danger, people seemed to look at us but not to hate us because we were "whites" . They were smiling us, and that was leaving us astonished. We recover our way to tha Mezkal square, where some young guys were playing soccer. Normal traffic, but no shadow, no refuge from the African burning sun. We ate a sandwich, but our skin was already read, and that, lately, would have been a big problem.
We accidentally found the only internet point open at sunday, and we had the chance to say hi to our families with a text message from the vodafone web site. Then, burned and tired, we got home to take a shower. My face was completely red, my neck as well. My head was spinning, and my legs were tired. We had a brief dinner and then I tried to go to sleep... but i could not.
I did not sleep at all, i was so fricking sick! So thew following morning we went to the office, but before anything I asked to go to the CLINIC inside the compound. Diagnosis: fever (38.5) and gastrointeritis. The nicest wasy to begin. But after a shot in the bottom and some salty water I recovered my energies and I was ready to face the first day. The compound is gorgeous, an oasis in the desert with offices, shops, gym, conference rooms (Prodi came here 2 weeks ago) 4 restaurants, 5 bars...... its like a (rich) city in the (poor) city. It makes u thing about the words UNITED NATIONS, when you see a 3-metre-wall and beyong house made by wood and mood...

But still.... so during these days we are arranging all the burocratic stuff: UN id, UN passport, Bank account and research of accomodation. Yeah, that will be the major point.
On Friday, tomorrow, we will have the first contact with our agencies (UN/AIDS for me, UNFPA for Valentina, my experience buddy). I'll you guys know. I took some pictures, Ill post them tomorrow. In the meantime a huge hug from Addis......

BONN - UNV Briefing, January 21-23

48 participants from Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic.

4 days in Bonn, old undiscovered and elegant capital of the Nordrhein-Westfalen region. UN campus, just right in front of the Rhein.
These are just the premises of the 2-day-briefing that took place in Germany. It was a moment of careful consideration of what we are gonna do in a couple of weeks, a moment of sharing of the ideals of the organization and a brief introduction of our duties in the host country.. in other words a real brainstorming made of practical indications (insurance, security, logistical tips) and a way to know our colleagues sent all over the world. Burkina Faso, China, Uzbekistan or Laos. Nicaragua, Uganda or Swaziland. Most various destinations for young dynamic guys, united by love for volunteering and developing countries but also interested in an international career (just like me). The campus was incredible, a skyscraper close to the Deutsche poste's one -see pic- with an extremely helpful staff that has tried to clarify all the aspects on the internship. I was even given a medical kit and the exceptional UN PASSPORT, can you guys believe it??

I finally met Valentina and Caragh, the two "Ethiopian"girls from Vercelli and Dublin that will accompany me in this long travel: educated, friendly, smiling and cute.. everything seems to be almost perfect so far, but better not saying it loud.. Murphy and his laws are just behind the corner...
I'll probably be flying on the 10th, so I still have 2 weeks here. Enjoy the pictures!

The beginning

22/12/2006

"Further to the interview which took place last November in Rome , we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for the internship post. As you already know, the briefing in Bonn will take place 21-23 January 2007. You will receive more information on your assignment and travel details in the coming days.
Please confirm your continued interest and availability for the UNV assignment.
May I take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
With best regards"
Jean de Dieu Kamanzi
Research & Development Unit
United Nations Volunteers (UNV)
PO.B. 260 111, 53153, Bonn Germany
Tel. : +49 228 8152024
Fax : +49 228 8152001


With this letter I have been informed that the post in Ethiopia is mine.. What it comes out now is a mix of feelings: joy, pride, fear for what is happening now in the African corn. But considering everything, I'm happy to leave to Africa.. I'm sure it will be a HUGE experience, by any point of view. Professional and human.
I will have to attend the briefing in Bonn in less than a month where they will tell us everything on the internship, and it will be just the first step.

This will be the official blog of this whole adventure, and I would be glad if you guys could interact with me through this adventure/experience/travel. Keep me company, talk soon.
-A-