Ethiopia the almost indescribable, but completely captivating

Here I am out of Ethiopia, through Dubai and have just finished my first day in Egypt which has been amazing, but more on that later. As you may or may not know I couldn't access the blog from Ethiopia, maybe because communications are difficult or there may be some other reason, most of the time I only had dial-up connection.

Let me catch you up on Ethiopia. Here's some highlights from the first week.

The view from gate- the blue tin is the corner store

How can I describe Ethiopia – in some ways it’s indescribable. It’s certainly a developing country – some large buildings are popping up in the city, one of which is a relatively new Sheraton hotel. It’s one of only 10 places in town where I can access an ATM and then only on my credit card – not my bank account. To get in we had to go through a guarded gate, and my ferangi face allowed us to go through fairly quickly. It also allowed us to get into the post office with limited body frisking – that is, they patted down Konjit but not me, but I had to give my camera to a policeman to be collected when I came out. When I had to go back to the airport to collect my previously missing bag I had to show my passport to the federal police to be allowed in and Ermi had to show his identity card and even then we had trouble getting him in. There are police and guards everywhere. When we were at Kaldi’s coffee shop and I wanted to go to the loo, in a different part of the building, I was allowed through but not Koni. They tell me that to them, after the restrictions of the previous government, this is freedom.

So my ferangi face is a source of curiosity (I don’t see too many others althaough there are so many aid agencies here there are plenty of foreigners in town) and is a sort of passport for us to be allowed to do some things. However, when we went shopping at the Mercato (the biggest market in town in the poorest area) then of course it was a liability. Ermi bargained and paid for another jacket for me and a long-sleeved light jumper. It was quite cold when I first arrived and my one warm jacket was quickly filthy. I had to buy my clothes at a men’s shop – no Ethiopian woman is my size – they are a slender race, I reckon the average size here is 8-10. It had to seem as if he was legitimately buying so Koni and I wandered off. The cost for the two was around 220 birr. There are 9 birr to the US$.

We head into the Mercato

The Mercato was incredible as are many of the streets in Addis. Donkeys, herd of goats (or maybe a man carrying a goat over his shoulder), beggars, unbelievable mud when it rains, the deepest pot holes I’ve ever seen, homeless kids everywhere, people selling ANYTHING that they can to earn some money to eat. Traffic is basically keep to the right and obey the signals or police at bigger intersections, otherwise it’s pretty much do whatever you want and keep blowing your horn. Pedestrians all over the roads, there’s lots of walking done here which is maybe what helps keep them slim, and Lada taxis in the most decrepit condition but still lovingly polished and sometimes decorated. We’ve been in one twice (we’ve hired a car otherwise - $US15 per day, I figure that’s a bargain) – once my seat wasn’t attached to the floor and the seatbelt didn’t work and the other time my door didn’t work nor my seatbelt (we came within a mm of an accident on that drive - that one even made Konjit gasp). There are Toyota High Ace vans and utes with a built in back that pack people in for small amounts of money. I’ve noticed that the Hiaces often leave the door open with a man standing leaning out and touting for additional passengers. Not a job for the faint-hearted.

At least this one's playing it a little safe

And there’s smoke and noise – the music is something like Indian music and they play it loud! But at night it’s as quiet as you could imagine being in the country in Australia.

The 12 girls here, and Yodit and Konjit (Yodi and Koni) treat me like royalty. The girls actually argue to be allowed to fetch things for me and do my washing, and I have to be careful how I dole things out to prevent jealousy. They are incredibly loving and I am constantly hugged and kissed and told how much they love me. The 16 boys in the Love Centre are every bit as loving, although a couple of them are a bit shy. Some of them have totally captured my heart and I’d love to take them home.

What traffic? On the way to Ermi's house. Later in my stay a lot of this road went under construction - absolute chaos!

Found some traffic...

Everything you want to do takes a long time – for example the bookshop, and almost every other shop still handwrites an invoice for you – the roads are so rough and the traffic so heavy that it takes ages to get anywhere. I feel a bit of a burden whenever I want anything as it puts everyone “out” to do things (not that they feel this way), like the mobile phone. You can only buy a 100 birr card (maximum) and that doesn’t even cover the cost of a call to the kids. And then I have to get someone else to load the phone for me as it’s all in Amharic of course. I wish it just worked like it was supposed to!

Anyway - more on my first week a little later

Love to all

Lyndall