The End

Back in Concord.

Barry Out

The Great Ethiopian Run

This morning I got up and donned my brand new yellow t-shirt, black shorts, and ethiopian flag headband and armbands. I was fully prepared for the 10k+ of walking I had ahead of me. Running/jogging may have been possible, if we would have decided early on, but there were way too many people in the way at the point that we started. I am still not sure who won, but Haile Gebre Sellassie had competition this year from the Kenyans, but I was assured that he would never let a non-Ethiopian win the race. It was described as the biggest road race ever in Africa,which was pretty cool to be a part of. I was suprised by how quickly 10k went by, it was not as difficult as i imagined. But then again, I was walking it. 3 weeks left until I am back in the States. I will try and blog one last time about my ISP once it is done.

More Pictures from Addis

Pictures from Addis

Back in Addis

I have been back in Addis for 2 weeks now, finishing up with my classes, taking exams, and finishing work that I had procrastinated. Monday begins my Independent Study Project time, and I am really looking forward to doing my own research, and not just in the library. Even though I probably will be hanging out in the library for quite a while. My project is on the animals of Ethiopian Religions, and may actually be the way that I link Zoology and Religious Studies. Who would've guessed that that would be possible? I just got back from taking pictures and talking to my advisor about ISP. I realized that I had lots of pics of travelling, but almost none of Addis, so I am trying to correct that problem, especially considering I spent most of my time here. I am finally done with my work and have the weekend off, so I plan to spend tomorrow wondering the city and taking pictures. It should be a good day. Just a little anecdote to finish this off: On the way back from the SIT office today I was walking at my usual fast pace, and then I found myself at the back end of a giant herd of sheep. It was either walk slow, or walk in the street and dodge cars. I chose the latter. Luckily I had my camera with me, because it was quite an absurd scene. That is all to report, I hope everyone is doing well back in the States.

Gondar and Bahir Dar

We are finally done with our travels for the rest of the Semester. The next month will be solely devoted to our Independent Study Projects. Our last trip did not disappoint however. We arrive in Gondar around ten o'clock and had a little bit of time to relax before we headed out to see the castles. For any Lord of the Rings fans, the town is named Gondar not Gondor, which is a little disappointing, but we still looked for a white tree the whole time we were there. The castle complex was amazing, definitely living up to its name of "Africa's Camelot". The main castle in the complex is still remarkably intact, and we were able to go inside and walk around on the second floor. The man with the key to the roof was not there that day, so we didn't get to go up the towers. The next day we went to a few churches. The inside walls were completely covered in paintings; quite spectacular. We then went to Dashen Brewery, and got to see all of the inner workings of one of the biggest breweries in Ethiopia. The bottling line was probably the most impressive part. We finished off the day at a few traditional music clubs, and then a modern club. Gondar is known for its club scene, and our teachers weren't going to let us leave Gondar without a little dancing. The next day we traveled to Bahir Dar by car, and hiked to a castle in the hills overlooking Lake Tana. I then proceeded to nap the rest of the afternoon. The next day we spent on Lake Tana, boating to the various island monasteries. The churches once again contained spectacular paintings, and some old manuscripts as well. I also saw a monkey on one of the islands, but no hippos in the lake. This morning we spent hiking to the Blue Nile Falls, which are now dammed and not as spectacular as they once were. If I hadn't been told this however, I would have been thoroughly impressed. Even with half of the water dammed, they were still amazing, and the spray got us all wet. Overall the trip was everything I had hoped for, and I got to hang out on a lake for a day. I couldn't have asked for anything else.

Harar

Harar is a city that will take any of your preconceived notions about Islam, and Muslim countries in general, and shatter them. The streets are bright with color, the celebrations are full of life, and the parties go well into the night. Our first night in Harar was the beginning of the Shewal Id celebrations, a holiday unique to Harar. It is a continuation of the Id celebration (the end of Ramadan) but occurs 6 days after Id. This is because women are not expected to fast during their monthly cycle, and so must make up the time in these six days. However, as a matter of solidarity, the men also fast these 6 days, and then there is a giant party that lasts until the next day. We only stayed for part of the night, as we had woken up at 5:30 that morning. The next day we visited the president of Harar's house, and we hung out with him. It was a very surreal experience. Then, the real fun began. Around 7 o'clock we loaded the van and headed towards the outskirts of Harar where the feeding had already begun. We pulled up to a man surrounded by ten hyenas, stick in his mouth, and meat hanging off the end. The hyenas would slowly approach and gingerly take the meat off of the end of the stick. We all were allowed to feed the hyenas from the stick, just not with it in our mouth. I was slightly dissapointed. The man burned through two 5-gallon buckets of meat and then was done. The hyenas quickly searched the spot for excess meat, and then disbanded as they prepared to enter the city for the night. I would like to tell you that I fed vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, but honestly they were afraid of me, and very timid. It was still a very amazing experience that I would do again and again. Also, to go along with the uniqueness of Harar, they have been in the process of taming the hyenas every year by feeding them a porridge during one of the Islamic holidays. They are viewed as almost saintly figures to the people of Harar. I finally have tried to load pictures, and guess what, it actually worked. Here is the first of more to come.

Lalibela

We arrived in Lalibela and immediately we headed for the rock hewn churches. We saw the first group the first day, which included 4 of the churches. They were a little disappointing because they were surrounded by scaffolding, but the insides were amazing. The next day we took another incredibly uncomfortable landcruiser ride outside the city to two more churches. The first was not rock hewn, but was a built-up church inside a cave. I can't remember the name, but it meant "The Savior of the World". The back of the cave was a place that monks go to die, and I was about 3 feet from a couple of human skulls. It was a little creepy, but not as bad as the next day when we saw a dead nun that still had some skin on her bones. That meant she was very pure of heart supposedly, seeing as she had been dead a long time. The second church of the day was rock hewn church known as Bilbala Giorghis. It was infested with Sacred Bees which proceeded to sting Lauren on the face, meaning she was blessed. Or in pain, same thing basically. The final day we saw the rest of the rock-hewn churches including Beta Giorghis, the famous one you can find pictures of if you google Lalibela. It was even more spectacular in person. We also walked up a skinny stone path that was representative of reaching heaven, so pretty much I am set. Right before hand we fumbled through a cave that is known as purgatory and was pitch black. I thought I was going to hit my head the whole time. Lalibela was a very chilly town, in the mountains with great views. My Tilley hat has been getting a lot of use, and I haven't been sunburned since the one day we played soccer a long time ago. Also, I shaved my beard off about an hour ago for anyone who cares.

Aksum, Yeha, Debre Damo

The journey began in a Fokker 50, the first propeller plane I have
ever been on. The flight to Aksum was about an hour and a half, and
then we had the rest of the day to explore the city. We tried not to
see the major sites, just so we didn't ruin the surprise. There was a
hill/mountain behind our hotel that we climbed on the first day in
order to look at the whole city. The climb was exciting, and the view
was gorgeous. The next day we travelled to Yeha, the site of a temple
from 1000 BC. It was part of the oldest sub-saharan African
civilization. The temple was devoted to Almouqah, a south Arabian
God. From there we drove about 2 hours on the bumpiest roads I have
ever experienced to the bottom of a plateau. We then climbed as far
as we could to the base of the cliff face, and the guys got to climb a
rope/ be pulled up by another rope. Then we were on top of Debre
Damo, then oldest surviving church in Ethiopia. It was founded by one
of the Nine Saints of ethiopia, who was taken to the top by a heavenly
snake. Then we came back down, which was harder then the ascent. The next day we went on a tour of the city of Aksum, including the stella fields, and the Church of St. Mary of Zion, and the house of the Ark of the Covenant.

I was slightly dissapointed by the Ark, not quite as
exciting as I had expected. The stella however were amazing, much
taller than I thought would be possible. We finished our time in
Aksum the next morning by attending a sunrise service at the Church of St. Mary. We woke up at 4:30 and walked around the church for and
hour by candle light. It was magical to say the least. We then left
for Lalibela later that day.

Heading Out

Not much to report from Ethiopia. I have been taking classes for 6 hours a day, eating dinner and doing homework. Luckily that will change soon. On Wednesday we leave for Aksum, Debre Damo, and Lalibela, so don't expect an update for about a week. I will blog when I return.

Erecha

The Erecha celebrations are held in Debre Zeit every year surrounding a giant sycamore tree that overlooks a crater lake. The celebration is an ancient tradition based on a nature religion of the Oromo people. Grass and flowers are offered both to the lake and to the tree as a demonstration of fertility. The morning was very calm and sacred, with chanting and incense burning. By the afternoon however, basically all of Ethiopia seemed to be in one square mile of forest, creating the largest crowd I have ever experienced. The riot police showed up to try and calm down the celebrations but they really just ruined the mood. They looked a little bit like storm troopers. On the way to lunch we were all almost trampled by the hordes of people, and we were pushed right through the middle of a fight. It seemed that someone had tried to steal something, and got caught. We finished the day at a Mexican restaurant, where I had a quesadilla, fried ice cream, and some people's leftover chocolate cake.

Meskal Celebrations

Thursday night was the celebration of the Finding of the True Cross in Ethiopian Orthodox belief. They celebrate the story of Princess Helena (Constantine's Mother) who came to Israel and found the cross that Jesus was crucified on. Every year, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians build a giant bonfire known as a Demera to help reenact the story. The story goes that Helena lit a fire, and the smoke arched through the sky and pointed to the place where the cross is buried. Thus the Ethiopians also build a fire to commemorate this day. We went to the downtown center, where most of the citizens of Addis come to celebrate. There could easily have been a million people there. They were handing out candles when we got there, and right before the bonfire was lit everyone lit their candles and the square erupted in light. Then the Patriarch lit the bonfire, and the fireworks started. I made it back to my homestay just in time to light the demera that we had there. It was smaller, but more intense because I was so close. The children/younger generation of the neighborhood are in charge of the meskal celebrations, and after the bonfire everyone sat around and ate lots of meat.

Addis Ababa

The city is much more modern than I would have possibly imagined. There are loads of tall buildings, and so much traffic I have trouble dealing with it. However, the Ethiopian approach to crossing the road is much like the college approach; walk out and make the traffic stop. However, that only works when the traffic is moving slow. If its going fast you still walk out, but just dodge the cars as they pass. I feel like walking on State's campus definitely prepared me for city life. The major road in Addis is known as Bole Road, and is where the up and coming business class hangs out. The guest house I will be staying in for most of the semester is located just off of Bole, so i should have lots of places to hang out. I think my favorite part of the city is the taxi service. There are three types of public transportation, taxis, minibuses, and buses. The taxis are more expensive and I tend to take the minibuses. They fit about 12 people in a minivan size vehicle. Needless to say, my knees don't really fit in the seats. I tend to have to sit at an angle, or get the back edge seat that has more leg room. I have been told not to take the buses because they are always packed, and you can get stuff stolen really easily. There was actually a goat that road in the minibus with us one day. It is less money for the sheep to ride though, since it sits on the floor. Overall, Addis is a very exciting city, and I could see myself living here in the future. Nick would be a big fan as well, seeing as everything is always chaotic, just how he likes it. Hope everyone is doing well back in the States.

Food in Ethiopia

I plan on posting about different aspects of my experience now instead of what is happening on a day to day basis. I will begin with the food because it is a crucial part of the experience. The base of every meal is injera, a sourdough pancake basically, this is used to scoop up the food. The meat is typically cooked in a spicy sauce of onions, and lots of oil, known as wot. Meat is a main part of the diet, and eating it is seen as a pleasure. I helped slaughter a sheep on the day after the millennium, and we have been having mutton in pretty much every meal. It is actually tasty, a little fatty for my liking, but I am getting used to it. Also, meat on the bone is very important to a meal as well, and I have been practicing actually cleaning a bone of the meat, Nick you would be proud of me. No more leftovers on the chicken bones. I also had raw meat at a restaurant we went to with my family. I think it was beef, but I am not sure. I now can argue the rare vs. well done argument, and I must say raw meat is more chewy then well done meat. I had to drink to get it down, cause chewing did no good. But, now I can say I did it, and I haven't gotten sick yet, so don't worry. It was a pretty fancy restaurant as well. Pasta is also very popular here, as well as pizza since the Italian invasion in the 1930s. I had penne for lunch that looked like it was freshly made. Probably some of the best pasta I have ever had.
Mikael, my homestay brother, and I cooked Shiro wot, a vegetarian dish for one of the fasting days. I now know what I was doing wrong when cooking wot at home. It needs a lot more onions, and a lot more oil. Plus you are supposed to let it cook for a long time. I am prepared for when I get home. That is all for now, be looking for another blog soon.

Millennium

The Millennium passed without any big surprises. I got to help slaughter a sheep, which is a new experience. I also ate chicken neck, bone and all.

I haven't really started classes yet because we have been on holiday for the new year, but they will start officially Monday. Life is good in Ethiopia. Nothing much to report this time, but I will keep everyone updated.

First Week (Addis Ababa)

I have been in Ethiopia for a week now, and seem to be adjusted to the new environment and culture. Orientation went very well, we got to see a whole lot of the city including the Emperor's old palace and the St. George Cathedral. We have started into our Amharic lessons hard, and I seem to be learning quite a bit in a short time.

I moved into my Homestay family's home on Saturday, and they are very nice and have made me feel like part of the family. The Father is an engineer who studied in Germany, and the two children are out of college and working in the city. Mikael is the brother and we played soccer yesterday with the rest of the kids in the group. We basically climbed a mountain for an hour to get to the field. I am pretty sore today. Everything is going very well, Addis is much more modern then I or anyone else would have thought before I came. I definitely feel completely safe; just like I was in New York. I will post again soon.

Leaving Charlotte

Preparations

I am finally all packed up, a little early I might add, but I am getting antsy to leave. My flight leaves Charlotte at 1:30 on Sunday, and I fly to New York. I leave from New York at 10:30 PM and arrive in London the next morning. I am flying straight from London to Addis Ababa and arriving there at 12:30 in the morning. My next post should probably be some time next week when I find an Internet Cafe in Addis Ababa, and I have gotten settled in.