Arrival in Ethiopia

I arrived in Addis Ababa late Friday night. It was awesome to meet Joy who’s another JDC volunteer working in Ethiopia. The next working we got up and went for breakfast at a café close to her house. That’s where I fell in love…with an amazing drink that is. It’s a juice that has 4 layers, 2 of mango, 1 of strawberry, and 1 of avocado. I’m not going to talk about it too much because there will be a whole blog devoted to its deliciousness! After the café, I visited one of the places where Joy works and one of the JDC’s projects in Ethiopia, the Mother Theresa Clinic. When we arrived I got a tour of the facility. There were many people there of all ages with a variety of sicknesses. I was impressed with the general cleanliness of the place and attitudes of the people. After the clinic I went on a driving tour of Addis with the JDC’s driver. I knew very, very little of the history and culture of Ethiopia. It was awesome to have my own personal tour and chance to ask lots of questions. It’s currently a holiday here. It’s Easter and people here go all out for the celebration. People here do not eat meat for the 55 days leading up to the holiday. Night is the first time that they are able to eat meat. I saw the funniest sight as 40 people were pushing and shouting as they we trying to buy a live chicken out of the back of a truck. I saw many statues commemorating battles and past kings. I went to a touristy area and walked into the shops. Outside the stores there were many young kids selling gum. I enjoyed seeing this and was happy to give them 5birr for the gum. There are so many kids begging on the streets here and it’s nice to see some learning to work hard for money and not to beg. Most of the stores had grass all over the floor and I got confused by this. I found out that’s it’s a traditional Easter decoration. There were so many cows just walking on the street that were being sold for the holiday. I also saw many sheep. They were not there to be sold; they are the most environmentally friendly lawn-mowers! What an awesome sight to see! The man that I was with spoke wonderful English and I learned a lot about the country and Addis.

At night I went out for traditional Ethiopian food. I have to say though that I’m not a fan of injara, the traditional spongy soft flat bread. I did really enjoy the other food…and of course I bought another sprite juice. After dinner I went to a hotel to check my email. I was getting ready to leave and they invited me to stay for a traditional coffee ceremony which is part of the Easter celebration. They told me it would start in 20 minutes and in true African fashion it began over an hour later. It was ok though, I was entertained by a man from Japan doing card tricks and talking with workers at the hotel. For the ceremony incents were burned, they roasted the coffee beans over a small fire, and we ate lots of popcorn! From talking with someone the ceremony seemed like a way to bring people together. People invite other into their homes for the ceremony and visit many friends at their homes to take part in the ceremony.

When I arrived back at the house, Lily had arrived…Happy Birthday Lily!!!!!