Hi Addis Ababa. It's been a while. I was so wide-eyed when i landed here the first time 9 years ago. I remember peering down from the plane as we flew over the vast expanse of brown and reds of the Rift Valley. The bewildering scrum of the lines for visas on arrival - trying to pay - USD, only currency older than 2006; documents stamped in triplicate by multiple civil servants. Breathing in the smells of diesel and wood smoke at dusk as I left the airport for the first time. I remember being surprised that it was cool. I'd spent years focused on India and never thought too much about the continent of Africa, let alone countries within, and had the (wrong, also stupid) impression that it was generally hot. And now I've been here, on and off, for almost a decade.

I remember there were only 2 ATMs in the city and half the time they didn't work so I carried so much cash. I stayed at a guest house full of couples here to adopt Ethiopian children. I stood in line for hours at a government office with identification to get a SIM card for my mobile phone. Now there are 5 ATMs in my hotel alone and I hardly ever see people adopting kids - I think they cracked down on that - and you can get a SIM card anywhere in five minutes. The city is transformed, and I guess I am too. I had all these great friends. There were reggae parties and dinners and I just wanted to meet people and explore. I used to spend hours walking up and down the roads, just looking at stuff. Today, I marveled at the amazing underpass that lets traffic move through the main arteries of the city (there's nothing like it anywhere else i work these days) and the cool new train that looks like a monorail ringing the city. I peered through all the construction fences for a glimpse of the old compounds between the shiny new buildings. It's turning into a city just like any other city, and i'm just a schmo with a bunch of meetings at the ministry.

10:21 a.m. - 2017-11-02