Handwash! Week 7

I enjoyed my seventh week here in Addis very much. Because of Corona, I have 'vacation'.

Freedom of movement has not been restricted so far. I slept in every day, rode my bike, spent a lot of time outside in nature, and did whatever I felt like doing: There are many smaller repair jobs to do in Barbara's garden, and I started building a dog house for Marley, the guard dog, at Addis Guzo. It is exciting in Addis Ababa, there are handwashing stations everywhere, sometimes you see people wearing face masks and gloves, and sometimes you don't notice anything about Corona at all. We have also set up a handwashing station in front of the house with water and soap...

The walks around Addis offer a lot: Many colors, exciting flora and fauna, interesting panorama, fresh air with eucalyptus scent. This week I saw hyenas from a distance, birds of various colors and sizes, monkeys, and various insects. We found a small waterfall with a pool and an old steel bridge, this place reminded me of Maggiatal. In the forest, you sometimes meet other people, often women who collect firewood.

Biking in Addis is fun, only the unhealthy exhaust air is annoying. The shops are all open, before shopping you have to wash your hands, and in some small supermarkets you order the goods from the outside without entering the shop. The tourist restaurants and parks are closed. In the neighborhoods, however, there is 'normal' life, because there people live, work, shop etc.

I'm fine, I feel safe and well informed. It is difficult for me to talk to Ethiopians about Corona. There are a lot of fake news and scaremongering in the air, rational thinking is only sporadically present. Today the first person in Ethiopia died from the Coronavirus (a 60-year-old woman), tomorrow the fear of the virus will probably be even greater...
In Ethiopia, there are many diseases (hunger, malaria, tuberculosis, yellow fever, HIV, measles, and many more) that thousands of people die from every day. I find it difficult to understand why the media is instilling such a huge fear in people because of Corona. The Ethiopian television shows the worst pictures of Corona from Europe and the USA every day in an endless loop. The government's measures are communicated like propaganda, some regions have completely isolated themselves. I find all of this very exaggerated and I am looking forward to the hustle and bustle being over.