Hello from Ethiopia!!
After many, many, many hours of flying we arrived safe and sound in Addis Ababa. There's so much I could tell all of you already, I don't know where to start!
Our layover in Turkey was thrilling (not so much)...though I did set off the alarm at security, which led to a pat down for me...oops! We hung out at the airport for three hours and tried to get cell phone service or internet, which was very much unsuccessful. After another five hours of flying, we finally landed in Ethiopia at about 1:00 in the morning. We got our Visas, and went through customs. Then, we went out to meet the people from the organization who were picking us up. Tamrat and Dundee both came, and are from the organization. They also brought two Swedish boys, who were volunteers that left to go home today. If only you could see the car we rode in. Six people, a lot of luggage, and a very tiny car. Me, Kendra and the other two volunteers squished in the back with luggage piled on top of us. It was a fun ride! There was absolutely no one out in the middle of the night but, get excited, I did see my first pack of donkeys! They just walked right out in front of our car, carrying all kinds of stuff on their back. I was pumped, to say the least.
When we got to our volunteer house, we were shown our room. Kendra and I are sharing, and have the room to ourselves. In fact, we are the only two volunteers in the house for a couple of weeks, since the two Swedish boys left today. We even have our own bathroom! But wait, it's not quite as luxerious as it sounds. When we arrived last night and turned on the faucet in our bathroom, nothing came out. We didn't have running water (though there was a bucket of water in the bathroom, apparently for cases like this). We tried it again today, and still, nothing comes out...better hope it starts working soon, cause we haven't showered since America! Ew :)
Our room is pretty basic, definitely nothing fancy. Two beds, a few shelves, and three little drawers. We unpacked as much as we could, and tried to get a little bit organized. I'll try to show some pictures later, but we don't have much internet yet so I'm trying to keep it simple. When you see pictures, you'll be able to tell I'm not living like I was in America...that's for sure!
After we got settled, we slept for a couple of hours and then got up for our first real day in Addis Ababa! This morning, we got out of bed and breakfast was waiting for us on the table in our little kitchen. Coco Krispies, milk in a bag (not a carton, a bag), and bread. Not bad. Next, Tamrat took us on a little tour of the area we're living in. I can't even begin to describe how different it is here than it is in America. When we leave our volunteer house, there's a little rocky dirt road. People are all over the sides of the road selling things and making things. Everyone seems nice, and it seems very safe. The kids all get excited to see us walk by and yell "faranje", which means "foreigner". After walking maybe half a block, we passed by a cow head. Just the head. On the side of the road. A nice sight to see. Tamrat walked us to the school/orphanage where we will be spending most of our time. There were no children at the school today, because they are off for a holiday. When they aren't at school, they are at the orphanage which is a little farther away. We got to look inside the school, but we won't meet the kids until tomorrow.
Tamrat then took us on a minibus to Kaldi's, the Starbucks of Ethiopia! The minibuses are crazy - they are essentially very cheap taxis (cheap as in about two American cents for a ten-fifteen minute drive), and you hop on and off wherever you need. People cram in, far more people than there are seats. Not only are the minibuses crazy, but driving in general is wild here. There aren't stop signs, street lights or street names, and there really don't seem to be many rules. Everyone just goes. On our short drive, I saw more donkeys, goats, and sheep than I think I've ever seen. They walk down the streets all over the place carrying things on their backs. Personally, I think it's awesome. We even saw some oxen! Despite the crazy roads, we made it to Kaldi's just fine and had some delicious (and super cheap!) coffee.
This afternoon, after stopping back at the volunteer house to enjoy a tasty lunch (again, waiting for us on the table...I'm going to get spoiled!), we went with one of Tamrat's friends to the Ethiopian Museum and the lion cages. The museum had just about everything about Ethiopia and the lion cages...had lions. And monkeys, actually.
The weather here is beautiful. It's warm and sunny, and perfect for walking around outside. Despite the fact that it does definitely look like a very poor country, it has a pretty landscape with mountains and hills all around.
All in all we are certainly roughing it, but we're actually having a really good time. I'm really hoping to get some time on the internet today so I can post this and talk to all you people back home! I miss you all already!! :)
After many, many, many hours of flying we arrived safe and sound in Addis Ababa. There's so much I could tell all of you already, I don't know where to start!
Our layover in Turkey was thrilling (not so much)...though I did set off the alarm at security, which led to a pat down for me...oops! We hung out at the airport for three hours and tried to get cell phone service or internet, which was very much unsuccessful. After another five hours of flying, we finally landed in Ethiopia at about 1:00 in the morning. We got our Visas, and went through customs. Then, we went out to meet the people from the organization who were picking us up. Tamrat and Dundee both came, and are from the organization. They also brought two Swedish boys, who were volunteers that left to go home today. If only you could see the car we rode in. Six people, a lot of luggage, and a very tiny car. Me, Kendra and the other two volunteers squished in the back with luggage piled on top of us. It was a fun ride! There was absolutely no one out in the middle of the night but, get excited, I did see my first pack of donkeys! They just walked right out in front of our car, carrying all kinds of stuff on their back. I was pumped, to say the least.
When we got to our volunteer house, we were shown our room. Kendra and I are sharing, and have the room to ourselves. In fact, we are the only two volunteers in the house for a couple of weeks, since the two Swedish boys left today. We even have our own bathroom! But wait, it's not quite as luxerious as it sounds. When we arrived last night and turned on the faucet in our bathroom, nothing came out. We didn't have running water (though there was a bucket of water in the bathroom, apparently for cases like this). We tried it again today, and still, nothing comes out...better hope it starts working soon, cause we haven't showered since America! Ew :)
Our room is pretty basic, definitely nothing fancy. Two beds, a few shelves, and three little drawers. We unpacked as much as we could, and tried to get a little bit organized. I'll try to show some pictures later, but we don't have much internet yet so I'm trying to keep it simple. When you see pictures, you'll be able to tell I'm not living like I was in America...that's for sure!
After we got settled, we slept for a couple of hours and then got up for our first real day in Addis Ababa! This morning, we got out of bed and breakfast was waiting for us on the table in our little kitchen. Coco Krispies, milk in a bag (not a carton, a bag), and bread. Not bad. Next, Tamrat took us on a little tour of the area we're living in. I can't even begin to describe how different it is here than it is in America. When we leave our volunteer house, there's a little rocky dirt road. People are all over the sides of the road selling things and making things. Everyone seems nice, and it seems very safe. The kids all get excited to see us walk by and yell "faranje", which means "foreigner". After walking maybe half a block, we passed by a cow head. Just the head. On the side of the road. A nice sight to see. Tamrat walked us to the school/orphanage where we will be spending most of our time. There were no children at the school today, because they are off for a holiday. When they aren't at school, they are at the orphanage which is a little farther away. We got to look inside the school, but we won't meet the kids until tomorrow.
Tamrat then took us on a minibus to Kaldi's, the Starbucks of Ethiopia! The minibuses are crazy - they are essentially very cheap taxis (cheap as in about two American cents for a ten-fifteen minute drive), and you hop on and off wherever you need. People cram in, far more people than there are seats. Not only are the minibuses crazy, but driving in general is wild here. There aren't stop signs, street lights or street names, and there really don't seem to be many rules. Everyone just goes. On our short drive, I saw more donkeys, goats, and sheep than I think I've ever seen. They walk down the streets all over the place carrying things on their backs. Personally, I think it's awesome. We even saw some oxen! Despite the crazy roads, we made it to Kaldi's just fine and had some delicious (and super cheap!) coffee.
This afternoon, after stopping back at the volunteer house to enjoy a tasty lunch (again, waiting for us on the table...I'm going to get spoiled!), we went with one of Tamrat's friends to the Ethiopian Museum and the lion cages. The museum had just about everything about Ethiopia and the lion cages...had lions. And monkeys, actually.
The weather here is beautiful. It's warm and sunny, and perfect for walking around outside. Despite the fact that it does definitely look like a very poor country, it has a pretty landscape with mountains and hills all around.
All in all we are certainly roughing it, but we're actually having a really good time. I'm really hoping to get some time on the internet today so I can post this and talk to all you people back home! I miss you all already!! :)
Milk in a bag. So strange. Haha. And "faranje" - perhaps from your awesome Ethiopian phrase book. ;) j/k So glad the internet is working and you can post!
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