By JACOB ELIOSOFF

Why did you want to teach in Ethiopia?

 I actually started out looking for a position anywhere in Africa, but it’s hard to even begin a search that broad.  So partly by chance I ended up focusing on Ethiopia.  I’m a computer programmer by trade, not a professor, and I was looking for a school where my experience would really add something.  I mean India has plenty of eager computer science students, but it also has a much larger pool of teachers with the relevant skills.  The last thing I wanted to do was end up taking some local teacher’s job.

Ethiopia has a pretty extreme shortage of computer science teachers relative to local demand.  It’s also a country I knew very little about, so coming from Canada I figured I’d learn something about what life was like for people in a very different place.

How did you get the job?

 Well, my boss at a previous company was Ethiopian, but I didn’t use that connection as well as I should have.  I started out looking for an NGO that could help set up the trip.  But I didn’t find much.  CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency) has a program for young Canadians wanting to work abroad, but it seemed to be aimed more at fresh grads than at more experienced workers like me.  I didn’t find anything like IPP.

Fortunately, this was 2002, not 1992.  I just spent a few weeks searching the Web and sending emails to various random Ethiopian organizations and potential employers.  Most went nowhere, but one guy referred me to an Ethiopian company that ended up hiring me as a software consultant.

By University of Venus August 31, 2011 8:45 am EDT

The University of Venus question of the month: What is it that you do to relax when you do not want to be your academic self?

• Afshan Jafar (US): I hang out with my kids doing whatever it is that they want me to do... playing with LEGO sets, dancing, reading, playing dress-up. I highly recommend these activities, even if you don't have kids!
• Ana Dinescu (Germany): I am reading a novel, or learning a new language, or taking pictures or trying to get in touch with old good friends.
• Denise Horn (US): I take my dog to the park, where I have a group of friends who do the same. We are all professionals or academics, and yet hanging out with our dogs, we talk about the silliest things and tell crazy stories. For an hour every day, I am not an academic, but just a bit of a kid in the park.
• Janni Aragon (Canada)" Yoga is normally where I can turn off my mind and completely immerse myself in the asana. And, this is one of the many reasons why I love yoga. I find that most exercise offers me moments to turn off, but yoga and balancing poses require concentration!
• Heather Alderfer (US): After college I worked in a kitchen, hoping to treat intellectual burnout with the Zen of chopping vegetables. I still use cooking to balance out my academic self - preparing a meal uses all five senses and helps quiet down my chattering mind.

By DANIEL DEL CASTILLO

The ups and downs of being an American in Saudi Arabian academe

Last week's bombings may put an end to Arlo Schurle's stay in Saudi Arabia, but they probably won't end his days as an academic expatriate.