Settling in

Whoever said it's the journey, not the destination never flew United.
I arrived at the San Antonio airport at 3 p.m. Tuesday and didn't arrive in Addis Ababa until 2 a.m. Friday thanks to a series of mechanical issues, missed connections and other humiliations.
I landed in Addis exhausted, dirty - and, it turns out, without my luggage. It's in Chicago or London.
Enough of that - I'm here and settling in nicely.
In any journey, the first step is always the scariest. For the days leading up to my trip, I was most worried about stepping off the plane into the unknown - but after four days living in airports, it was like walked across my living room.
I caught a taxi to the Baro Hotel - "many white people there" the driver said. He taught me some words in Amharic and corrected the pronunciation of the ones I already knew.
Funny - every time I've tried to speak Amharic, people just smile and say "very good." Which means the opposite.
The taxi driver said - there are a lot of Americans from Washington D.C. in Ethiopia and lots of Chinese. I read an article that said the Chinese just invested $10 billion in a railroad from Addis to Djbouti toward the coast. They are investing roads and rail all over Africa.
I paid for a room through Monday night - about $6 a night.
My biggest fear about this trip was that I wouild be shy and would spend most of my trip alone. Instead, I ordered a coffee and approached a group of travelers sitting in the shade. I asked if anyone would be willing to show me around and soon I was walking the streets with a Nepali Sherpa who is riding his bicycle around the world in a 17 years trip and a Macedonian-Australian who kept the conversation going with a steady stream of political opinion.
Highlight of the day was dropping in on a film festival of documentaries about communal living in India.
As we walked around the city stopping for coffee - which is amazing - I met people about my age who were educated in the states, had careers in places like L.A., San Francisco, New York and recently moved back home to Addis.
A combination of the poor economy in the U.S., improving opportunities in Ethiopia and aging parents brought them here - a growing professional "creative class."
I heard of one man - a jazz musician from New York, educated at the Berklee School of Music - who moved back and helped start a music program for jazz musicians and opened a jazz club not far from where I'm staying. Going there tonight.

P.S. As I wait for my luggage to arrive, I've learned that the bare necessities are:
- A handkerchief (the best thing I packed)
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Deodarant
- Shampoo from a Chicago hotel
- The clothes on my back
- Sunglasses
- Pen and paper
- A copy of The Atlantic Monthly

Now you know.