Ethiopia

No pictures yet of Addis Ababa, because we're trying so hard not to look like tourists. But here are some pictures from our trip out to the Afar region a few hours' drive outside of the city. (We'll take more pictures of Addis later in our trip.)

(This last picture is of Chad with our scout at the Awash National Park, with the grand and beautiful Awash River Falls behind them.)

And here is a list of interesting facts about Ethiopia that we have learned since our arrival:

-They have their own calendar with thirteen months (the thirteenth month has five or six days in it depending on whether it's a leapyear or not). September 11 of this year was their New Year's Day for the year 2003.

-They have their own way of telling time. At 6:00 in the morning, they start their day. So at 7, it's 1 o'clock, 8 it's 2 o'clock, and so on. At 6:00 in the evening, it turns 12:00 and then it starts over as 1 o'clock again at 7 in the evening.

-Ethiopians are early risers. We were out and about at 7 in the morning last Saturday, and it was already busy and bustling everywhere we went.

-The traffic rules could be compared to pirate's code--"more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules." There are very few traffic lights, and no signs naming the streets. And many of the streets and villages throughout the country have at least two, sometimes three, different names that they go by.

-The language spoken here is Amharic, which has 213 written characters. I don't know how the kids learn it, but they do. Also, there is no official translation of Amharic to English, so spelling of Amharic words in English can vary greatly.

-The employees here at the Hilton call me "madame." And they greet you by saying, "Good morning," "Good afternoon," or "Good evening." I like that.

-The exchange rate now is 1 dollar to 16.5 birr. A liter of milk or loaf of bread is about 25 birr, a meal at a really nice restaurant for two is about 350 birr.

-Most of the cars look old. One taxi ride I took was in a Renault car that was built 44 years ago (or so the driver said--and I believe it!).

-When you say thank you to people, they respond by saying, "OK." And "OK" translated to Amharic is "ishee," which they say a lot.

-To show respect, they hold their elbow when they shake hands with you, give you something, or take something from you.

-Women outside of the cities always wear skirts or dresses, and they can often be seen carrying heavy loads on their backs. (And in the Afar villages we visited, the men wear skirts too.)

-You will rarely see a man and a woman holding hands here, but it is very common to see men walking along holding hands with each other, putting their arms around each other, etc. It doesn't mean anything but friendship. I've seen the same with women, but it's more common with the men.

-Running is the popular sport here. You can see runners in the morning and throughout the day at Meskel Square, a huge, two-block-long open area with steps--the runners run back and forth along the steps.

-The beggars are really grateful when you give them anything, even if it's a very small amount.