Destination: Ethiopia

It has been 1 year and 7 months since my first trip to Ethiopia.  I am so happy to be back!  Ethiopia is one of the most interesting countries I have had the privilege to visit. 

Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in East Africa.  With 85 million people, it is the most populated landlocked country in the world.  It does not appear to be so on the world map you find in school, but is is only slightly smaller than Texas ... times two!

Doro wot - injera serves as "plate" and "utensil"

Ethiopia is not known for yummy foods and 5 star restaurants.  However, I am quite a fan of the food!  And my waistline is too as appetizers and desserts are not common in traditional restaurants.  EVERY Ethiopian meal is served with injera.  Injera is made from tef, a sour-wheat-like grain that is mixed with cool water and a pinch of yeast. Injera is not only edible (and to me, delicious) but also serves as your utensils as you use pieces of injera to scoop the delicious food into your mouth. My favorite dish is 'doro wot'.  It is one of the most recognizable dishes in Ethiopia and is known as the "official" dish of the country.  As I was sharing this meal with friends from Ethiopia, I was told that because the dish takes time to prepare / cook (an entire day apparently) and with many ingredients, the dish is considered an expensive (time and money) one to make.  It is also the main dish shared after two months of fasting.  Therefore, when a woman wants to impress her boyfriend (meaning, get him to put a ring on it!) or husband to be's family (she must got skills .. in the kitchen .. if she's the fiancee), this is the dish she makes!  Eating local cuisine alone is definitely not as fun - reaching over each other during fun, light conversation, competing for the yummy goodness and then pushing it into your mouth with friends ... THAT is the way to enjoy Ethiopian cuisine.  Just an opinion.  Because you do eat with your hands, please be sure to wash your hands first! 

The capital city, Addis Ababa, is where I will be working, socializing and sleeping.  It is the third highest capital in the world  at over 8,000 feet (weez weez as I walk up hills in this country)!  Sometimes referred to as the "Capital of Africa", Addis Ababa is the home to the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.  Addis Ababa is home to quite a diverse population which is apparent through the large variety of churches, mosques and museums, including the Ethiopian National Museum which houses the fossilized skeleton "Lucy" discovered in the area in the 1970s.  Making themselves "at home" are also a large number of ex-patriots from around the globe. 

Addis Ababa, economically, is fascinating.  If you are in a car and looking out of your window there is so many contradictions which catch the eye.

In one moment you are on a paved alignment friendly road.  The next minute you are bouncing back and forth (buckle up for safety) on a gravel road which is accentuated by prominent  (and sometimes quite deep) potholes ... then of course there is the road construction, busted water pipes and damaged telephone lines... 

Keep looking out of the window ... you will see tall, new office buildings, nice, well built family residences, beautiful cathedrals or mosques, a sprawling hotel (Sheraton or Radisson Blu to name two ...) but take note of the small homes made of tin on every side, buildings which were partially constructed but are now abandoned, dilapidated houses with a leaky roofs, inside of which dwell people on the brink of being homeless.


Walking the streets you will see women decorated in gorgeous cotton wraps, business men in suits sipping on local coffee as they have their shoes shined, students crossing the streets in their uniforms ... but amongst these people, look out for the homeless man in front of the mosque, wrapped in a tattered blue blanket with his eyes closed, praying the next day will be a better day.  Or notice the old woman with no shoes who is selling that small cup of local coffee to that business man so that she can look forward to eating a meal and feeding others that may depend on her.  Look out for the young men who are not in a school uniform, but instead are covered in debris, no helmets, no gloves, no work goggles - who are busy constructing the newest office building or hotel.


Close your eyes and hear Addis:  car horns, prayer in the local language, laughter from the school children crossing the street, gossip from the ex-pats who sit next to you in traffic or look into the eyes of the homeless woman who has wrapped her child around her.  Listen to her when she approaches your car window, holds out her bony hand to ask you for a few birr as she supports her child whose forgotten tears of hunger are still traceable on his face.

None of what is in this blog is not to discourage anyone from visiting Addis Ababa if you are blessed enough to visit Ethiopia.  In fact, its mix of wealth and poverty it is reflective of many cities we see in the "wealthy" United States or anywhere else in the world.  I have been here for one week and look forward to the second week!  While being a single female is not the ideal ex-pat situation in this country (um because WHO wants to compete against the gorgeous Ethiopian women?!), I absolutely see the charm of what this city has to provide and would consider living/working here ... with my man (future tense, still single) in tow! haha

So, if you plan to visit, keep your mind and your senses open because there is so much to notice, to hear and to taste in the "Capital of Africa" ~ Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.