A LITTLE LOOK AT OUR HOME

Our House in Addis Ababa

We have heard that everyone is very curious about our home. I will do my best to explain our house and the ins and outs of home-life in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Compound

For the most part, in Ethiopia when you have a house, it is within a compound. A compound is basically a walled off area that contains a yard (some bigger than others – ours is quite big, which was a selling point), and a house or houses.

After traveling down a very rocky and muddy road you arrive at our compound. Our compound is quite spacious, in a very new and quiet neighborhood, and is a work in progress. When I say our neighborhood is new, I mean really new. Our house is the only finished one in sight and the others are just empty concrete structures. Our neighbors are actually the workers who are building the local houses. They live in structures made of unprocessed wood (trees that have had their bark and limbs removed) and big tin sheets. We love living amongst Ethiopians although we have a hard time communicating, but that should improve with time.

Jack and Adunya in our front yard

A work in progress… When we moved in the yard was dirt. Since that time we have planted a garden with the help of Andrew who lived with us for about 3 months. We are currently growing tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, corn, beats, and onions. We have also tried our best to grow some grass. It’s starting to come in, but there are still large spots of dirt (now mud, since the rainy season is upon us).

The House

Our house’s layout is normal for Ethiopia, but different from what one sees in the States. It has 5 rooms and 2.5 baths. Let me explain it from left to right as if you were standing in the front yard, looking at the house. Before I start explaining the rooms, understand that there is a long front porch that extends from one end of the house to the other. Every room, except for the living room, exits out to this porch, so you have to go outside to get from one room to another.

1. Bathroom #1 and work sink… This bathroom goes unused as it is far from bedrooms and has no hot water. The work sink is where we wash clothes and attain water when cleaning.
2. Guestroom/guard’s room… Next you come to the guest room. It is a modest room of about 8×10 square feet of space. It has become our night guard’s (Murad) room since a snake found its way into the guardhouse. We’ve discovered that a lot Ethiopians are petrified of snakes through this experience.
3. Kitchen/office/dining room… Our kitchen is a nice size and where we spend most of our time – Jack and Mac love to eat. It’s probably 8×16 square feet with a wall that partially divides the kitchen area from what we’ve made into our office.
   

   Karyn with McLaine in the kitchen

4. Jack’s room… Next we come to Jack’s room at the same size as the guest room. It’s filled with books – Jack’s favorite pastime – some toys, a crib, and both of the kid’s wardrobe. Jack likes his room, except for when it’s used as a timeout spot.
5. Karyn’s and my room… Our room is next door to Jack’s and is the same size. Our queen size bed takes up most of the space, leaving a small walkway to get around to the door that leads to the bathroom with hot water and our living room.
6. Half bath… When you exit our room onto the porch the next-door down is a half bath. I suppose you could call this the guest bathroom.
7. Living room… From our room you can also enter a hallway that has a full bath (the one we use) and a living room off of it. The living room is our biggest room at about 16×16 square feet. This is where we have a couch and chairs, Mac’s crib, our wardrobe, and a toddler bed (just in case Jack needs it). We like to play with cars, letter blocks, play dough, and the walker in this room. We also sometimes eat dinner here when guests come over.

Adventures With Power and Water

Let me explain our power and water situation. Currently, every other day we go without power, as does the rest of Addis Ababa. We have heard rumors that this will change in about a week since the rain has come (the power shortage is supposedly associated with the water shortage). Also we have gone without water twice – once for 6 days and once for 1 day. The first time it took me going to the water and sewage office twice to get water in our community – the second visit I had 2 screaming dirty children, one in each arm. At this second visit I secured the direct number of a woman, whom I called the second time we were without water, thus making it only a one-day event. It think the screaming dirty children were a nice touch!

Having fun on the front porch

Finally, we do love our home despite its many quirks and inconveniences. To us, things like no power, walking outside to go from room to room, and muddy shoes have become a normal part of life. Usually we don’t even flinch at such events as we did when we first arrived.