My New Abode

Sunshine Residence - an ugly Chinese block of flats
  

I´m somewhat peeved. Accommodation is a part of  my non-lucrative two year contract.  I was given an option of an apartment or villa and asked how close did i want to live near the school? I request a villa within walking distance. No problem with the latter, i´m just a 20 minutes walk away or a 10 minute drive (after i have negotiated getting out of the car-park). However it is my predecessor´s apartment. This reduce security issues but i had visions of sitting out on my verandah playing my guitar and having plenty of space for some of my more intrepid friends who have assured me they want to visit.

The location is good; in a recently developed area called Gerji, close to the famous but unplinthed Bob Marley roundabout on the eastern side of the city just 3kms from the airport. I am told that there are many expats in the area and so most locals don´t raise an eyebrow when they come across a farangi - white foreigner. There a whole bunch of mini-marts, coffee shops, fast food restaurants, bars and even a couple of massage parlours along my road. It´s true, i can walk round my ´hood with limited stares and harassment, but after a couple of days i see no evidence whatsoever that there are other farangis about.

The third floor apartment is in a guarded compound in a private block – in other words, Chinese built and an ugly eyesore indeedy. Nonetheless, i´m told it is far superior to the government compounds that are cracked, inappropriately wired and inadequately serviced with water. However, this is Addis, and water and electricity loss is a daily occurrence. No different really from my year and a half in the foothills of the Himalaya.

dining room

It is big (especially after my last abode on Hong Kong Island) and as Frank observes, i will kinda be rattling around. The front room contains the kitchen, dining room with an adjoining lounge.  There is purported to be three bedrooms, but one is a dumping ground and another is a completely bare room without a bed - not very convenient for impending guests. It also boasts limited satellite TV, a bath tub (in the ensuite) and a washing machine (currently uninstalled and sitting in the ensuite too). The choice of curtains can only be described as vomit inducing. There are also two small balconies (one off the Master bedroom and the other outside the dining room/lounge. I feel a garden coming on.

view from my balcony

However there is only plastic cutlery, four coffee mugs and some spices in the kitchen, no bed-linen and the floors are filthy. I call up Mr A. (Head of Human Resources) at the school and request a cleaner immediately, who then spends four hours washing and sweeping the floors before i am prepared to unpack. 

I´ll demand a bed for the guest room and the washing machine installed, and see how i get on in my first three months - a probation period for both myself and the school. If i don´t like it, i´ll demand a villa.