. . . until I went to Ethiopia:

1.    The world's highest capital city is LaPaz, at 11,913 feet above sea level.  The world's second highest capital city is Quito, at 9,350 feet.  These elevations make the mile-high city seem like small beer, right?  These capitals dwarf even the peaks of many ski resorts in the US.  So why do these factoids matter for Ethiopia?  Well . . .

2.    The world's third highest capital city is Addis Ababa, elevation c. 8,000 feet.  At least according to local lore, this ranking is accurate.  The city's elevation is important for at least two reasons. 

First, the elevation means mild weather all year round and no mosquitos.  During my short stay (the last week of June), it was cooler in Addis than in Atlanta.  No mosquitos also means no malaria, no yellow fever.  So while I got the full panel of vaccinations before I left (hep A, polio, typhoid, meningitis, DPT, as well as yellow fever), at least the weather was mild, and mosquitoes and the mosquito-borne diseases were not a worry.

Second, the elevation in Addis, according to local sports fans, helps explain Ethiopian dominance in distance running.  Many (most?) of Ethiopia's elite runners train in Addis, where the thin air makes for superior conditioning.  When they race at locales closer to sea level, the advantage is apparently similar to blood doping (which increases red blood cell counts to improve performance).

3.    Addis has a growing Chinese population!  My first night there, I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel having a beverage when I hear Mandarin being spoken behind me.  Two Chinese fellows had just walked in, and they sat down at the next table.  We started chatting, and it turns out they work for a Chinese engineering/ construction company that has a big road project going on in Addis.  One of the fellows said he'll probably be staying in Addis for a couple of years until the project finished. 

Addis is clearly booming with construction projects--buildings and roads.  Apparently all the roads are being built by Chinese contractors.  Both cabbies and my lawyer companions at the Ministry of Justice confirmed that Chinese firms are the dominant players on infrastructure projects in Addis, and that apparently Chinese firms are involved in construction all over Africa.  One night, I also noticed a table of Chinese expats at one of the nicer Italian restaurants in town.  I guess I knew in the abstract that China always saw potential strategic partners in Africa.   It was interesting to actually see Chinese involvement in the region.

Comparative Law, Economic Development, Globalization/Trade | Bookmark

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