Greetings from Ethiopia! What an amazing and surreal place to be. Gone forever is the image of Sally Struthers and some guy with a white beard holding a marasmatic child pleading for help from all the poverty and desperation. In its place are images of an absolutely beautiful and breathtaking country. A country of fertile valleys, fat healthy cows, clean beautiful farms and villages, rickshaws, donkeys, and lots and lots of people. This country is impressive.
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| Ethiopian boy with traditional Shepard's cape and staff (he has a tarp on his head because it is raining) |
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| Ethiopian country-side |
I am having an amazing week; packed full of anxiety, fret, excitement, learning, culture shock, fear, and a lot of travel, travel, travel. We have been through one little crisis after another this week; a strange set of circumstances has brought us here to the remote parts of Ethiopia for needed resolution. Smack dab in the middle of things, I wonder if it was ever going to stop. Looking back now, however, it is clear to see a blessing in almost everything little event. Needless to say we began the week on our knees doing a whole lot pleading for help and guidance. We now are ending this week also on our knees, but with hearts full of gratitude for the bountiful blessings we have been given. I'ts very hard to mistake the Lords hand in almost everything that happened this week and last--including the many trials and afflictions that we came up against. I have been schooled in many things and will share a very long list of blessings in the next blog.
What does it feel like to be in Ethiopia? Like I said its surreal, everywhere you look, you see an exotic scene from a national geographic photo; and you can't possibly take it all in. The most striking image is the people. Eighty million people and, I think they are all out walking the roads. Where they are going is anybodys guess, but they all seem to be heading one place or another.
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| Young girl carrying sticks back to her village, some women carry 4 times this amount on their backs |
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| Typical Ethiopian farm |
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| Stick and Mud Construction |
This country is clean. I didn't realize how really dirty things are in Ghana until I drove across Ethiopia. There is no garbage laying around. Perhaps it just looks cleaner because most of the huts and homes are dung/mud huts as opposed to cement that always looks just dirty. The homes and farms are just so organized and, well--clean.
Another fascinating aspect of this little adventure is the traditional Ethiopian food. There is a 'bread' called enjara that is eaten with every meal. No utensils are used, the enjara is used as a fork and sponge. This stuff is awesome. It is a cross between bread, a velvet dish-cloth, and a sponge. The stews are peppey! A bit of spice doesn't hurt anyone, but plenty of water is a must.
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| Enjara--its the velvety bread that the stew is wrapped in |
We landed in Addis Ababa Friday evening and set out to find Bahir Dar some 10 hours from the capital city. We drove about 600 km. That's an average of 60 km per hour. That doesn't seem all that bad, but this truly is an average. We either were going 150 km/hour or 3 hm/hr and not much in between. I have a sore head from the top of the transport, a sore shoulder from the side of the transport, and a sore....
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| We travelled through tons of villages--and they all look pretty much the same |
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| Streets of Bahir Dar |
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| Streets of Bahir Dar |
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| Streets of Bahir Dar |
Our driver (the district president in Ethiopia) is quite skilled at dodging goats, dodging people, cows, donkeys, dogs, and yes monkeys.
The weather is refreshingly chilly, although this is the rainy season. I feel right at home, but am ready to be back in Accra. We crossed the Nile and the great rift valley--amazing.
...Elder Fife
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