Since I'm wide awake at 2:00 am again, I might as well email a little about how things have changed since we were last here, and a little about the life here.
Water: Bottled water is incredibly cheap to buy. We use it for drinking and brushing our teeth. If you drink the tap water unboiled, you will end up sick. We also don't eat raw fruits or vegetables that don't have a thick peel as they are washed in their water. However, a mom (who is a nurse) from Manitoba is here and she eats salads every day and has had no problem yet. I'm not so sure I want to take the risk. Oddly, when mixing formula for the kids, you have to use boiled water, not bottled, or it will give them worse diarrhea than they already have. Their stomachs are not ready for the drastic change.
Climate: We are very close to the equator. It doesn't change in weather too much here, except for rainy season or dry season. We are in the dry season, but not dealing with a drought. This city doesn't usually deal with drought ever anyway. It has been colder than usual at night, getting down to about eight degrees. The day time is in the twenties and we have felt the dry heat. It is harder on us for sure. Not like 21 degrees back home. But the nights feel much colder than 8 degrees too. Our bodies fluctuate in what feels like 30/35 to 1/2 degrees. No wonder I got sick! There are no heaters, as they are not normally needed. A lot of the locals have colds as they are not used to it being this cold. They refer to colds as flu, although its just a cold.
Elevation: I don't recall our elevation here, but it's much higher and you do run out of breath easily. Two flights of stairs is enough to do you in sometimes. A slight incline as you walk down the road can put you out of breath. Of course, the pollution doesn't help. Sunday pollution isn't too bad because, unlike North America, most places, at least 95%, are closed for religious reasons. So the roads aren't busy with cars.
Driving: In a city of millions (at least 6 million) with huge roads and cars everywhere, they have finally gotten a couple of street lights. However, they often aren't obeyed or working. People still just beep if someone is changing lanes. No shoulder checks. You just start moving into the lane you want and if you are cutting someone off, they'll beep to let you know, or let you in. If you want to cross traffic, either with a car or as a pedestrian, you just start nosing your way through until you make it. No speed limits. Drive how you want, where you want, when you want. There are now lanes painted on more than just the one main road (Bole Road), but often a two lane road is used as three or one. They are using a lot of traffic circles in the newer areas now. No stop signs either. I have seen some people starting to use signals.
Animals: As part of your daily foot traffic among the streets and sidewalks, you will see herds of goats, sheep and donkeys. Imagine Robson Street in Vancouver or 16th street in Calgary with no lights, stop signs, double the traffic, pedestrians crawling everywhere, and then your herds of animals. Dogs everywhere too. Mikiyas has come to assume that every dog is a wild dog because there's no one walking their dog, and no dogs have collars. You never know if they are or aren't.
People: If you can afford it, you always dress your best and your hair is always done. Not us, of course, but the locals. We would look weird dressing up and it's not expected. We do have to make sure our hair is done though. If you can't afford it, you wear your best and cleanest (and probably your only) set of clothes/rags. Everyone is generally nice and has a "halo" (hello) for you.
Begging: I have seen a handful of it in comparison to what we saw last trip. Last time, every time your vehicle was stopped, the windows were swarmed with people asking for food or money. If you walked, you were often followed by children or a woman begging. You often saw people crawling along the sidewalks with deformities. And people sleeping on the sides of roads everywhere. This has changed. You still see it, but not as much. Begging along the roads to go up to vehicles has become illegal as there were many accidents and deaths caused. Drivers will be fined if we give anything out. We have been approached at the vehicle twice now, but we don't do anything except ignore them, which is hard. A lot of people still sleep along the roads. When we walk, we have children who follow for a little ways then they stop. We don't give to them either as they are working. Their money goes to men who watch not too far away. Same with women. Often a man is watching from not too far away. Kids come up with 
tissue or gum trays hanging around their necks to sell you things. But they will come close enough to put the tray against you while they pick pocket you. You have to push them away. So who can we give to? A woman alone with a child or children. Sick men or women alone. Alone is key or you will be swarmed and that gets unsafe. So far we've not been in a position to give to anyone.
Mihret to the same clinic as we took Mikiyas, but had to go a different way as so many new things around. Scaffolding is the same as before, but scary to look at. Seriously looks unsafe but somehow it works.
Money: When we came for Mikiyas, the exchange was about 8 birr or 1 USD. This time it is 17.2 birr for 1 USD. Wages have not really increased at all, with the average monthly wage of 10 birr. Doctors make about 2500 birr a year. But inflation has definitely increased. I paid 35 birr for Mikiyas to see the doctor at the clinic four years ago. It cost 80 for Mihret. We used to eat dinner for about 50 birr for three of us, now I'm usually paying 200 birr. When we here for Mikiyas, I remember learning about apples. It was 27 birr for a pound of apples (3 USD). It would take 3 months to afford apples! Rich man's food. I wonder how much they cost now. Our drivers and our agency representative are paid in USD so it appears they make decent wages.
Water: Bottled water is incredibly cheap to buy. We use it for drinking and brushing our teeth. If you drink the tap water unboiled, you will end up sick. We also don't eat raw fruits or vegetables that don't have a thick peel as they are washed in their water. However, a mom (who is a nurse) from Manitoba is here and she eats salads every day and has had no problem yet. I'm not so sure I want to take the risk. Oddly, when mixing formula for the kids, you have to use boiled water, not bottled, or it will give them worse diarrhea than they already have. Their stomachs are not ready for the drastic change. 
Climate: We are very close to the equator. It doesn't change in weather too much here, except for rainy season or dry season. We are in the dry season, but not dealing with a drought. This city doesn't usually deal with drought ever anyway. It has been colder than usual at night, getting down to about eight degrees. The day time is in the twenties and we have felt the dry heat. It is harder on us for sure. Not like 21 degrees back home. But the nights feel much colder than 8 degrees too. Our bodies fluctuate in what feels like 30/35 to 1/2 degrees. No wonder I got sick! There are no heaters, as they are not normally needed. A lot of the locals have colds as they are not used to it being this cold. They refer to colds as flu, although its just a cold.
Elevation: I don't recall our elevation here, but it's much higher and you do run out of breath easily. Two flights of stairs is enough to do you in sometimes. A slight incline as you walk down the road can put you out of breath. Of course, the pollution doesn't help. Sunday pollution isn't too bad because, unlike North America, most places, at least 95%, are closed for religious reasons. So the roads aren't busy with cars. 
Driving: In a city of millions (at least 6 million) with huge roads and cars everywhere, they have finally gotten a couple of street lights. However, they often aren't obeyed or working. People still just beep if someone is changing lanes. No shoulder checks. You just start moving into the lane you want and if you are cutting someone off, they'll beep to let you know, or let you in. If you want to cross traffic, either with a car or as a pedestrian, you just start nosing your way through until you make it. No speed limits. Drive how you want, where you want, when you want. There are now lanes painted on more than just the one main road (Bole Road), but often a two lane road is used as three or one. They are using a lot of traffic circles in the newer areas now. No stop signs either. I have seen some people starting to use signals.
Animals: As part of your daily foot traffic among the streets and sidewalks, you will see herds of goats, sheep and donkeys. Imagine Robson Street in Vancouver or 16th street in Calgary with no lights, stop signs, double the traffic, pedestrians crawling everywhere, and then your herds of animals. Dogs everywhere too. Mikiyas has come to assume that every dog is a wild dog because there's no one walking their dog, and no dogs have collars. You never know if they are or aren't. 
People: If you can afford it, you always dress your best and your hair is always done. Not us, of course, but the locals. We would look weird dressing up and it's not expected. We do have to make sure our hair is done though. If you can't afford it, you wear your best and cleanest (and probably your only) set of clothes/rags. Everyone is generally nice and has a "halo" (hello) for you. 
Begging: I have seen a handful of it in comparison to what we saw last trip. Last time, every time your vehicle was stopped, the windows were swarmed with people asking for food or money. If you walked, you were often followed by children or a woman begging. You often saw people crawling along the sidewalks with deformities. And people sleeping on the sides of roads everywhere. This has changed. You still see it, but not as much. Begging along the roads to go up to vehicles has become illegal as there were many accidents and deaths caused. Drivers will be fined if we give anything out. We have been approached at the vehicle twice now, but we don't do anything except ignore them, which is hard. A lot of people still sleep along the roads. When we walk, we have children who follow for a little ways then they stop. We don't give to them either as they are working. Their money goes to men who watch not too far away. Same with women. Often a man is watching from not too far away. Kids come up with 
tissue or gum trays hanging around their necks to sell you things. But they will come close enough to put the tray against you while they pick pocket you. You have to push them away. So who can we give to? A woman alone with a child or children. Sick men or women alone. Alone is key or you will be swarmed and that gets unsafe. So far we've not been in a position to give to anyone. 
Mihret to the same clinic as we took Mikiyas, but had to go a different way as so many new things around. Scaffolding is the same as before, but scary to look at. Seriously looks unsafe but somehow it works. 
Money: When we came for Mikiyas, the exchange was about 8 birr or 1 USD. This time it is 17.2 birr for 1 USD. Wages have not really increased at all, with the average monthly wage of 10 birr. Doctors make about 2500 birr a year. But inflation has definitely increased. I paid 35 birr for Mikiyas to see the doctor at the clinic four years ago. It cost 80 for Mihret. We used to eat dinner for about 50 birr for three of us, now I'm usually paying 200 birr. When we here for Mikiyas, I remember learning about apples. It was 27 birr for a pound of apples (3 USD). It would take 3 months to afford apples! Rich man's food. I wonder how much they cost now. Our drivers and our agency representative are paid in USD so it appears they make decent wages.
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