After
what seems like several long days of traveling, it is now 8:30 PM on Saturday
and we are settling down to relax and watch an Ethiopian movie at the house.
What a perfect time to update the blog! Our adventure began at 4:00 AM Friday
morning. I am not a morning person, but with the help of some bagels and Sprite
we were able to conquer early morning at RDU. Our flight to DC was on a smaller
connecting plane. We arrived in DC at 7:30 AM and had a layover until our
flight to Addis Ababa began boarding at 10:00 AM. Once on the plane, we found
our seats. Yeon-Mi, Julia, and Aubrey were seated in the front row of Economy, and
while Yeon-Mi slept with no problem, Julia and Aubrey had some trouble resting,
but passed the time by eating candy. The rest of us were seated closer towards
the back. Since the flight wasn’t completely full it turned out that Erin, the
Turlingtons and myself each had two seats to use which made the flight more
comfortable.
We
anxiously awaited our arrival during the 13 hour flight, and when we arrived it
was 7:00 AM on Saturday in Addis Ababa. We stood in line for our visas, and then
went through immigration before getting to baggage claim. All seemed well until
we were down to Aubrey’s bag. As we started to see the same bags go around but
not Aubrey’s, we found that there was a list of all the bags that didn’t make
it posted already. Sure enough, hers was on it! We are bummed for her, but the
airport says we should get it on the next flight from DC tomorrow. Fingers
crossed! The whole process took a lot of waiting, and after putting our luggage
through one final screening, we were out in the lobby of the airport by around
9:00 AM. Once in the lobby, we met our host Amy who took us out into the
parking lot. The weather is in the 70s here, so we were all happy to walk
outside and it not be unseasonably cold as it was when we left Raleigh. We met
our driver, Abbi and loaded into a van to make our way to the house. The
airport is on the opposite side of town from the house, so we jumped right in
as we rode through town. Now, since I tend to be carsick, I was in the very
front seat of the car, between Abbi and Amy. As far as traffic in Addis goes;
traffic lights are practically nonexistent, (there are two intersections that
have them in the city), the road is not divided into lanes, and jaywalking is not illegal. This means that when you
have an opening, you drive. If someone is crossing the street, you honk. If
three cars are trying to squeeze through the same place, you pray it works! Our
driver is a pro, and it was incredible to watch as he navigated the streets. As
we drove through the city, Amy pointed out some preliminary things in the city.
Public transportation in the city also happens in what we would call a “fifteen
passenger van.” There are two men that run it-the driver and the man who
collects the money. As the driver drives, the money guy yells out the window
where they are headed and then passengers hop on.
The
culture of Ethiopia is largely dominated by the Orthodox Church and their calendar.
We have been told that almost every day is a holiday in the Orthodox Church,
and today was no different. Today was the day of Saint Mary! We were so excited
when we heard this; it was if we were meant to be here today. This meant that
there were throngs of people surrounding each Orthodox Church we passed. Another
fun fact: apparently Ethiopia has more donkeys per capita than any other
nation, so there were lots of Donkeys to be seen. When we got to the house
after a 30 minute drive, we put down our things, showered, and settle into our
rooms. The house is lovely, with a cool kind of mid-century modern vibe which
is great for storage because there are tons of cabinets! We were all
(especially Mrs. Turlington) excited to see they have a dog named Rosie who
lives here as well. After our showers, we gathered in the living room for a
brief house/culture orientation with Amy. Some of the things we learned were
that the time and date are different here! It is currently the 21st
day of the seventh month in the year 2005. They are also on a 12 hour clock, which
I still don’t completely understand.
After
this brief meeting, we headed out to pick up Binium, a local Ethiopian friend
of Cherokee, who walked us through a traditional Ethiopian meal. After picking
him up, we headed to the restaurant. Mr. Turlington was the only one in the
group who had eaten Ethiopian food before, and we all agreed it was tasty! At
this point, many people were starting to nod off, but that didn’t stop Yeon-Mi,
Mrs. Turlington, and I from easily taking out everything on our plate. Everything
is eaten with the right hand, using spongy bread called injera as a vehicle for
the various dishes. Our group’s favorite dish was called chechebsa. The best
way I can think to describe it is that it’s akin to a soft chip like food made
of wheat that you top with honey and yogurt. It provides a nice contrast from
the spicier chick pea dishes. As Binium taught us, Ethiopia is also the
birthplace of coffee. It is custom to have coffee following all three meals of
the day. We will take part in a traditional coffee ceremony later in the week,
but this afternoon Binium took us to Kaldi’s coffee for a macchiato. The
macchiato is present in Ethiopia from when they were occupied by Italy, and remains
popular (apparently this also means the pizza here is pretty good!)
After
our macchiatos, the group was still really struggling to stay awake, so we came
back to the house around 3:00 PM for a nap. I was awakened by what I thought
was the setting sun and a call to prayer so when I woke up at 6:00 PM, I was
actually convinced it was the next day. When Mrs. Turlington told us dinner was
in 20 minutes I insisted we had actually slept through it. Julia and Aubrey
felt the same way. As soon as we were on board with the fact that it indeed was
still Saturday, we gathered for dinner. The house has a cook, who makes dinner
every night and various baked goods that are available for snacking throughout
the day. We had a delicious vegetable soup for dinner, and most of us also had
grilled cheese. One of the housemates, Will, is doing his Gap year here and
went to Sanderson in Raleigh, so it was fun to talk about different people and
places we both knew even though we are in the middle of a new country. Every
once in a while they watch movies here at the house, putting up a sheet to use
as the screen in the living room and then connecting a laptop to a projector. Tonight
is one such night! Since everyone is pretty tired, we are having a low key
evening watching an Ethiopian romantic comedy. The movie is in Amharic, but has
English subtitles. Although I haven’t really followed the plot because I have
been writing this blog, it has been funny because both Norah Jones and Michael
Buble have been featured in the soundtrack of the film!
It
has been a long two days, and we are all ready for bed. As you all know, tomorrow
is Easter in Western cultures, and we will actually be attending an
International Church that will celebrate Easter tomorrow. Hopefully the Easter
Bunny will find his way to Addis! We have had a wonderful first few hours in
Ethiopia, and are so excited for what is to come.
-
Florrie
McCard, ‘14
