A Day in the Life

Now that I've settled into something resembling a routine here, let me
give you an idea of what a "normal" day for me here in Addis consists.

5 to 6 am (7 to 8 pm CA time)
Time to get up. I get some good time in the Word and in prayer before
a quick shower and putting on my dress clothes. Here in Ethiopia they
dress up for class, unlike in California.

7:15 am
The staff ring the bell for breakfast. It's very loud. I try to
navigate the sweet spot between being the first one there and being
too late to get fed (which is around five minutes late). Breakfast
always, always consists of porridge and fruit, with one other item
(usually toast) for "variety."

8:00 am
I make my last minute preparations before leaving with Steve Strauss
for EGST, the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. These include
making sure I have all my books and my umbrella (it's rainy season
here and can rain literally at any moment), as well as filling up my
water bottle from The Golden Spigot, a faucet here at HQ that
dispenses filtered water (the water in Ethiopia is not generally safe
to drink). The walk to EGST is about 3 km (I've ceased to think in
miles, but I think it's about 2 miles). The way there isn't too bad,
since it's mostly downhill, but it's always either very dusty (if it
hasn't been raining) or very muddy (all the rest of the time). So, I
never get to EGST looking very nice.

9:00 am
Steve's class on Issues in Christology in Ethiopian Context. We get
teatime about halfway through the three-hour class. As far as I can
gather, all of Ethiopia grinds to a halt about 10:00 am for tea.

12:00pm
Lunch, usually at ETC (Evangelical Theological College), where I can
get good traditional Ethiopian food and a soda for Birr10-15 (about
$1-1.50), which is a good deal even for Ethiopia. Sometimes I'll
frequent other traditional restaurants in the area or even a "Western"
restaurant if I must (don't think McDonald's; think Ethiopians trying
to do American food, not usually poorly).

2:00 pm
I have a good three-hour block in the afternoon in which I don't have
anything scheduled. This can look pretty much like anything:
exploring the town, shopping at the little booths around the city,
visiting a local café for bunna (amazing Ethiopian coffee), talking to
people I meet on the street, doing TA work for Steve, catching up on
correspondence, or, like today, updating my blog.

5:30 pm
Dinner time at HQ. Sometimes I'll go out for dinner, or sometimes
I'll skip it if I had a particularly big lunch. In Ethiopia, lunch is
the biggest meal of the day.

7:00 pm
An hour or two to unwind. Sometimes read, sometimes take a nap.
Sometimes I have to catch up on reading for Steve's class, so that
I'll know what we're talking about.

8:30 pm
Catch up and debrief on the day's activities as a team in the SIM
dining room. Sometimes Raymond and Peter and I play "Speed Scrabble."
Usually we're too tired to be in too talkative a mood. Or at least I
am.

9:00 pm
Time for bed. If I can fall asleep to the sound of blaring Ethiopian
music from the nightclub next door…