Across the country and back again

After three months at site our group of volunteers (G14) met together in Addis Ababa for a week of training. It felt great to reconnect with friends and share stories about our experiences thus far. It also felt great to reconnect with the outside world again with ample Internet access! It was a bit of a shock to be back in the big city but it didn't take long for me to get into the swing of things - hot showers, a comfortable bed, Thai food, Chinese food, Middle Eastern food, ice cream, oh how I've missed you so! During training we learned more about project ideas, changes within our programs, and reporting our work. I will meet with some of our group again in 3 months for another training and the entire group again in 9 months. 

After 'reconnect' some of us decided to travel together to Bahir Dar in the northern part of the country. Bahir Dar is in the Amhara region so Amharic is primarily spoken there. It's a major city with a bit of a tourism industry because it is on Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, and near to Blue Nile Falls.

We took a boat ride across the lake to a peninsula where there are a few Ethiopian Orthodox monasteries. The oldest one was built in the 14th century with paintings from the 18th century. It was interesting to learn a bit more about the religion. There were many women and children selling crosses, jewelry and religious artwork along the walk. 

Near the mouth of the Blue Nile River on Lake Tana. 

The next day we took a long, bumpy ride out to the falls. I enjoyed the drive through the countryside, it was interesting to observe the different styles of dress and adornment compared to my region. It was surprising to see many men wearing shorts there but it makes sense as it is much warmer than my part of the country. Some women there had more obvious facial tattooing; women in my region also have such adornments but more discreet. It was a beautiful hike to the falls. We basically made a loop from one side of the river to the other and then took a short boat ride across the river back to our minibus. 

The falls were very powerful when we were there. We were lucky, they are not always so impressive. 

The Blue Nile River joins up with the White Nile in Sudan and eventually becomes the Nile. 

After our sweaty, muddy hike we found a resort hotel where we could pay to use the pool and shower (the much cheaper hotel we were staying at rarely had running water) and a three course meal was included. Dessert was a brownie that was the real deal. You can find cake in every bigger town in Ethiopia but every time they look more beautiful than they taste. It's the never the cake I want it to be. But this brownie, this brownie was legit. 

On my way back to site I stopped in Hawassa, also a lake town but in the Southern Nations region. Here a variety of local languages are spoken. Some people speak Afaan Oromo because it borders the Oromia region so I started to feel a little more at 'home'. It happened to be the New Year celebration for the Sidama people who live in and around Hawassa. There were a lot of celebrations around town and many people were out and about wearing their traditional clothes for the occasion. 

When I finally made it to the last stretch of my journey back to site and got on the bus to my neck of the woods it felt like a relief. The bus was full of laughter and smiles for the Ferenji who was joining them and her earnest attempt to speak their language. Even though my Afaan Oromo is terrible they tell me it's terrific. These are my people.

After being gone for nearly two weeks it was great to see the smiling faces of my compound again. Wasilee, the 9 yr old neighbor girl, had a surprisingly long, strong hug for me; Makta, the 5 yr old boy, grew taller I swear; and Gosaa, the 11 yr old boy, greeted me at my door with his signature smile delivering a bowl full of marqa (porridge) from his mom. It's good to be back. 

Love from Ethiopia!