Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 16, 2006

Our last week in Ethiopia wasn't without its unexpected adventures. Last weekend we stopped in to see our cook Melke's brother and friends at their house east of Shashemene. We were treated to coffee ceremony, where the woman of the house roasted fresh coffee beans over a charcoal stove, stirring them all the way, then once dark brown grinding them with a mortar and pestle, then brewing the coffee in a pot and serving the brew in small cups with a little sugar from local sugar cane. Undoubtedly, it was the best coffee any of us ever tasted. The following Tuesday, when shopping for fresh vegetables in the open market in Shashemene, Pinky was hit in the back of the head by a rock, cutting her scalp and causing her to bleed profusely. Her only companion was Isaiah, our frequent driver, who saw who threw the rock and ran him down and "kicked" him, or as he described it, punched and kicked him to the ground. He told us the rock thrower is a local "crazy guy" who is known for such conduct. He is allowed to run loose because he is crazy and the government doesn't have the means to institutionalize him. Isaiah took Pinky to the clinic, where she received excellent care and two stitches and a partially shaved back of the head and a bandage. For the rest of the week, she wore an "Argentina" hat Isaiah bought her at the market. Pinky is ok not and no longer has any headaches. Later in the week, when returning from town with Isaiah, we got stuck in the "road" leading from the paved road to Kumudo. It had rained for some time there, causing the dirt road to turn to mud, which Isaiah's Toyota Land Rover with treadless tires couldn't negotiate. We had some help from villagers who stopped by, but nothing could get the vehicle going, so Pinky and I were reduced to slipping and sliding in the mud for 3 km in the dark back to camp. Pinky only fell once, and we were both coated with mud when we got to camp. Work continued on the siphon all week. The EWB group primed it several times and did their best to try and figure out why it wouldn't work. They thought they had it made in the last attempt, but the siphon stopped. One of the suspected weak spots were two tees placed at high points, but use of Teflon tape on the threaded plugs and placement of Sensation prophylactics over the tee cut off any chance of leaks. At the end, the group had to accept the fact that for the present, it wasn't going to be functional and spent the last few days completing the pipe installation and backfilling and the masonry tank and sheet metal roof. We met with the community on Saturday and explained to them the project status and that the Princeton EWB group should be returning to complete the project in December or the following March and get them the water they need to irrigate their gardens and to supplement their domestic needs. They expressed gratitude for our work and efforts and desire that the group returns to complete the job. After the meeting Saturday we played soccer with the community, which was great fun. I even contributed to the mixed team I played on. We left at 3 PM, had an Ethiopian lunch at Isaiah's house in Arsi Negelle, and left for Addis at about 5 PM. Not more than 20 minutes into the trip we had a very loud blowout, and we had to change the tire and find a replacement en route. We finally made it to our hotel in Addis Ababa at 10. Today we got to go to the National Museum and see the display of Lucy, the Ape-man found 200 KM north of Addis Ababa in 1974. Her bones stand 3.1 meter high. Our Ethiopian Airlines flight leaves at 10 PM this evening, and we should arrive in Newark Monday afternoon. We look forward to our return.