First Days
(Evening 31 Aug 05)
For those who have been wondering - Yes, I have arrived safely. Moreover, even though I have been with a family almost continuously since arrival, I have already felt a bit 'lost in ethiopia'. Even amongst poor nations Ethiopia is one of the - perhaps the - poorest, and a certain amount of culture shock is necessary when traveling from the world's most affluent nation to the world's least.
The capital city of Ethiopia - Addis Ababa - is a city of contradiction, as many major third world cities are. Towering centers of wealth and commerce are interspersed amidst poverty. Dan pointed out that areas of Addis that would be considered 'slums' in a city like Nairobi are not 'slums' in Addis; they just are the city. Despite this, as someone noted, Addis Ababa and Ethiopia in general harbor a functioning economy. From an outside perspective, it is just immediately apparent that it functions at a much, much lower level than that to which we are accustomed.
My first tastes of adventure came today. I had my first traditional Ethiopian lunch, which consisted of a flat sponge-like bread served as a giant circle/platter upon which various thick sauces and vegetables were poured. You tear off pieces of the sponge, then soak up or scoop up the various sauces poured on it. Before we left for lunch I was promised an amazing drink of fresh juices blended together into a "rainbow" juice drink. Aparently the juices separate into their various weights leaving a ranbow effect on the drink. By the time we got around to ordering, however, we forgot the juice drink and ended up with the extraordinariliy original coca-cola. I am now promised the juice drink in Jimma, where it is supposedly better anyway.
The more adventuresome part of the journey centered on the taxi driver and his 'passionate' driving style. Now, I have, like many of you, ridden on any number of taxis and buses in Mexico, as well as both urban and rural Guatemala. No experience in either country was anything like this taxi ride. He drove against traffic on a regular basis, accelarating and braking constantly on slick roads surrounded by heavy traffic. A number of times I was convinced we were going to hit someone, and just kept brasing my legs against the seat in front of me. I remained brave enough to keep my mouth shut throughout the evening and our various stops, assuming this was normal behavior for an Ethiopian taxi. I found out later in the evening that his driving was far from normal, and the preferred assumption is that he was high on a legal drug something akin to marijuana. Its good information to know, as about half way through the ride I decided to stay away from the private taxis and stick to the group taxis, which rarely seem to get over 20km/hr.
(Next Morning 1 Sep 05)
I am doing an email dump, waiting on my coffee. The coffee here is wonderful, and for those who think they are drinking "fresh" coffee because they grind it themselves after purchasing it in sealed bags from Starbucks, at this point I'll have to disagree. In the morning our maid picks green coffee beans from the plants, roasts them on the stove, grinds them against a stone, and brews them while you wait. I hear the water boiling so my coffee must be close.
Today I am receiving an Ethiopian drivers liscense. I thought this might be something we would skip, but aparently its necessary. After last evenings taxi ride I don't think I ever want to drive on these roads, but perhaps it'll come in time - as all things must.
Until next time,
Michael
For those who have been wondering - Yes, I have arrived safely. Moreover, even though I have been with a family almost continuously since arrival, I have already felt a bit 'lost in ethiopia'. Even amongst poor nations Ethiopia is one of the - perhaps the - poorest, and a certain amount of culture shock is necessary when traveling from the world's most affluent nation to the world's least.
The capital city of Ethiopia - Addis Ababa - is a city of contradiction, as many major third world cities are. Towering centers of wealth and commerce are interspersed amidst poverty. Dan pointed out that areas of Addis that would be considered 'slums' in a city like Nairobi are not 'slums' in Addis; they just are the city. Despite this, as someone noted, Addis Ababa and Ethiopia in general harbor a functioning economy. From an outside perspective, it is just immediately apparent that it functions at a much, much lower level than that to which we are accustomed.
My first tastes of adventure came today. I had my first traditional Ethiopian lunch, which consisted of a flat sponge-like bread served as a giant circle/platter upon which various thick sauces and vegetables were poured. You tear off pieces of the sponge, then soak up or scoop up the various sauces poured on it. Before we left for lunch I was promised an amazing drink of fresh juices blended together into a "rainbow" juice drink. Aparently the juices separate into their various weights leaving a ranbow effect on the drink. By the time we got around to ordering, however, we forgot the juice drink and ended up with the extraordinariliy original coca-cola. I am now promised the juice drink in Jimma, where it is supposedly better anyway.
The more adventuresome part of the journey centered on the taxi driver and his 'passionate' driving style. Now, I have, like many of you, ridden on any number of taxis and buses in Mexico, as well as both urban and rural Guatemala. No experience in either country was anything like this taxi ride. He drove against traffic on a regular basis, accelarating and braking constantly on slick roads surrounded by heavy traffic. A number of times I was convinced we were going to hit someone, and just kept brasing my legs against the seat in front of me. I remained brave enough to keep my mouth shut throughout the evening and our various stops, assuming this was normal behavior for an Ethiopian taxi. I found out later in the evening that his driving was far from normal, and the preferred assumption is that he was high on a legal drug something akin to marijuana. Its good information to know, as about half way through the ride I decided to stay away from the private taxis and stick to the group taxis, which rarely seem to get over 20km/hr.
(Next Morning 1 Sep 05)
I am doing an email dump, waiting on my coffee. The coffee here is wonderful, and for those who think they are drinking "fresh" coffee because they grind it themselves after purchasing it in sealed bags from Starbucks, at this point I'll have to disagree. In the morning our maid picks green coffee beans from the plants, roasts them on the stove, grinds them against a stone, and brews them while you wait. I hear the water boiling so my coffee must be close.
Today I am receiving an Ethiopian drivers liscense. I thought this might be something we would skip, but aparently its necessary. After last evenings taxi ride I don't think I ever want to drive on these roads, but perhaps it'll come in time - as all things must.
Until next time,
Michael
posted by Michael Rodgers at 10:56 PM
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