Adventure In Ethiopia: Cabin Fever and Bajaj Rides

The definition of normal has certainly proven to be a relative thing. We’ve started describing things as normal and then realizing that its our “Ethiopian Normal”. Amazingly enough, we’re a third of the way through our time here but we’ve also started showing some signs of cabin fever. At home I always think of cabin fever hitting during the snowy days but with the rainy season in Ethiopia I can say we’ve got a mild case of cabin fever.

We’ve found ourselves somewhat trapped indoors while the rain beats down and knocks the power out. Friday night the lights were out early and out for the night. The heavy rain the other day even brought ice pellets which was certainly a surprise. Mannfred and I have found ourselves on many occasions sitting eating our supper in the dark. It poses some difficulties finding the plate of food and finding your mouth but its a nice solution for the meals you’re not too keen on eating.

Mannfred and I haven’t gone in great detail about the Ethiopian culture but a major difference we’ve found is that they aren’t shy in showing their emotions. Whether its a wedding and the honking horns go on for hours, a funeral where people cry openly in the streets or a simple greeting with a friend. Whenever you see a friend you ALWAYS stop to say hello. It could be a handshake, shoulder bump, a couple kisses on the cheek or a hug. We’ve started learning more and more about the cultural norms and like many cultures, food and eating is a social occasion. Saturday morning after a very interesting game of pool with our friends Esa and Gerefa we went out for lunch together. When you’re true friends you may ask “can we gursha?” This is essentially when a friend will feed you a nice large chunk of Injera and whatever other food you’re eating. I’ve been asked this question a couple of times and just could not take it seriously but I gursha (ed?, I don’t know the spelling or tense, its an Amharic word) on Saturday. Below is a lovely photo of Esa feeding me a nice bite of Injera, I guess we’re true friends now!

One way of dealing with our growing cabin fever has been attempting to journey farther and farther away from JUCAVM campus. We took our first Bajaj ride the other day in order to hunt down a comforting meal to sooth our stomachs. Assuming you’re unfamiliar with what a Bajaj is, its basically a 3 wheeled taxi about the size of a golf cart but with an engine similar to a ride on lawnmower. You feel like you’re on an amusement park ride going down the bumpy road, dodging potholes and pedestrians trying to hold onto the measly metal bar in front of you so you don’t slip out the side where the door is missing. We successfully made it to Honeyland Hotel for a nice lunch and some familiar food. On the way back to JUCAVM we were having difficulties finding an empty Bajaj so we hopped in one with some locals (5 people made for a slow drive) and split the fare to a central area where we were then directed to get one of the main taxis. Taxis here are basically shuttle buses (12 seater vans) with designated routes and I have no understanding of how the system works. Thank goodness people helped us because we miraculously ended up in the correct place. Transportation wise we have made some great accomplishments in venturing around town on our own.

Each day when we walk to down to get our daily dose of Vitamin C with a delicious glass of mango juice we pass by a couple schools where we can hear lots of children. We decided to stop and set an appointment to visit the ABFM Academy which is a private school owned by a Canadian in Ontario. The school we were at is kindergarten age 4-6 and later they move to the primary school which has 400 students. We had a nice little visit with some adorable children and can’t wait for when we can visit the primary school to do some simple English lessons and some children’s songs!

We’re in the midst of making travel plans to see more of the country so keep checking to see where we end up next!

Suze

I'm like a baby bird being fed