Fw: Feeling at home...
on Tara's Ethiopian Adventure (Ethiopia), 15/Oct/2010 15:05, 34 days ago
I've been feeling pretty bad recently about the fact that I haven't been making such regular updates to my blog. It definitely isn't that I haven't been having fun, doing anything interesting or even that I have been far too busy. I think actually it is the fact that I am feeling so at home here now that finding anything 'out of the ordinary' to write about has been difficult. I decided long ago that I didn't want my blog to be a diary but more a series of ramblings about things that 'struck me' as interesting or unusual. At the moment everything is feeling very normal. Wonderful but normal and I guess I am now in danger of taking it all for granted. A few weeks ago I went on a trek with Brenda (a visiting friend from UK) in the Simiens...it was truly spectacular...we struggled for oxygen as we climbed Ethiopia's second highest mountain (4430m)...we were awestruck by stunning views near Imet Gogo...we spent hours oogling at hundreds of Gelada Baboons and a family of Walia Ibex and... we were truly spoiled by our guide and 5* cook [booked through Alex:alebachew_2005@yahoo.com]. It was one of those once in a life time experiences and yet it didn't 'strike me' as anything unusual or new to share on my blog.A week later a number of us had a fantastic weekend in Addis...on Saturday night we danced away to a friend's band. The name of their band is almost as cool as the music they play. They are called 'Ishi, Baka, Chow', which is Amharic for 'ok, enough, goodbye' and I never did get enough of them or want to say goodbye! On Sunday we headed to Meskel Square for the annual Meskel Celebrations. We were joined by about 80,000 others and watched colourful church groups parade and dance their way past the VIP balcony. After several hours of singing, speeches and parading- just as dusk began to fall- the huge Meskel bonfire was lit, a few fireworks set off and suddenly the whole crowd was glowing as everyone lit a candle. It was a beautiful moment. All around people were singing and nearby a man accompanied on a flute...magic! Now I am writing this it seems ridiculous that this event didn't strike me as anything worth blogging about...it was really special!The following week we continued our cultural immersion with another local festival. My friend Solomon insisted we couldn't miss it and I'm glad he did. The festival was Irecha, a favourite amongst people from the Oromo region of Ethiopia. My understanding of it is that people gather at this time of year (just after the rains) to give thanks to Waka (the one God) and to pray for the year ahead. The Oromo people believe that Lakes, Trees and Mountains are the best places to pray and so they bring an offering (in this case Meskel Daisies) to one of these points. Solomon agreed to wear cultural dress if we did and so I in turn convinced Rod (new Ambo Volunteer) to do the same! Birhanu and I had been presented with traditional Oromo outfits for our help in facilitating the build of a new library at Awaro Primary School. I wore my dress and Rod borrowed Birhanu's. When we met Solomon and his fiancée we looked like poor imitations...we really couldn't carry it off like they did but none-the-less it was fun dressing up! We were also joined by Megan and Miriam (Addis Vols) and the six of us enjoyed mixing with the throngs of happy people dancing and ambling around the lake. Rod (being 6ft 4 and dressed quite comically in local garb) attracted quite a bit of attention and we spend most of the morning walking from one photo shoot to another as people wanted a photo with crazy ferengi! According to local radio's approximately 3 million Oromo's made the pilgrimage to Lake Hora (Debre Zeit) that day. Not wanting to get crushed in the crowd we opted for visiting the lake after lunch and by then we simply witnessed the peaceful aftermath as the last of the visitors made their way to give thanks to God. It was a baking hot day and the lake looked so inviting...surrounded by small hills itwas also very beautiful. We thanked God then began our journey back to Addis. Again... now that I reflect on the experience it seems absurd that I didn't consider this event blogworthy...how have I come to take things like this for granted? How does this just feel so normal now? Now that I am juststarting to prepare myself for my final departure in December, Ethiopia is suddenly feeling very much like home.--- OnFri, 15/10/10, tara sleggs<tarasleggs@yahoo.com>wrote:From: tara sleggs<tarasleggs@yahoo.com>Subject: Fw: Feeling at home...To: "blog posts"<tarasleggs.ethiopia@blogger.com>Date: Friday, 15 October, 2010, 15:59I've been feeling pretty bad recently about the fact that I haven't been making such regular updates to my blog. It definitely isn't that I haven't been having fun, doing anything interesting or even that I have been far too busy. I think actually it is the fact that I am feeling so at home here now that finding anything 'out of the ordinary' to write about has been difficult. I decided long ago that I didn't want my blog to be a diary but more a series of ramblings about things that 'struck me' as interesting or unusual. At the moment everything is feeling very normal. Wonderful but normal and I guess I am now in danger of taking it all for granted. A few weeks ago I went on a trek with Brenda (a visiting friend from UK) in the Simiens...it was truly spectacular...we struggled for oxygen as we climbed Ethiopia's second highest mountain (4430m)...we were awestruck by stunning views near Imet Gogo...we spent hours oogling at hundreds of Gelada Baboons and a family of Walia Ibex and... we were truly spoiled by our guide and 5* cook [booked through Alex:alebachew_2005@yahoo.com]. It was one of those once in a life time experiences and yet it didn't 'strike me' as anything unusual or new to share on my blog.A week later a number of us had a fantastic weekend in Addis...on Saturday night we danced away to a friend's band. The name of their band is almost as cool as the music they play. They are called 'Ishi, Baka, Chow', which is Amharic for 'ok, enough, goodbye' and I never did get enough of them or want to say goodbye! On Sunday we headed to Meskel Square for the annual Meskel Celebrations. We were joined by about 80,000 others and watched colourful church groups parade and dance their way past the VIP balcony. After several hours of singing, speeches and parading- just as dusk began to fall- the huge Meskel bonfire was lit, a few fireworks set off and suddenly the whole crowd was glowing as everyone lit a candle. It was a beautiful moment. All around people were singing and nearby a man accompanied on a flute...magic! Now I am writing this it seems ridiculous that this event didn't strike me as anything worth blogging about...it was really special!The following week we continued our cultural immersion with another local festival. My friend Solomon insisted we couldn't miss it and I'm glad he did. The festival was Irecha, a favourite amongst people from the Oromo region of Ethiopia. My understanding of it is that people gather at this time of year (just after the rains) to give thanks to Waka (the one God) and to pray for the year ahead. The Oromo people believe that Lakes, Trees and Mountains are the best places to pray and so they bring an offering (in this case Meskel Daisies) to one of these points. Solomon agreed to wear cultural dress if we did and so I in turn convinced Rod (new Ambo Volunteer) to do the same! Birhanu and I had been presented with traditional Oromo outfits for our help in facilitating the build of a new library at Awaro Primary School. I wore my dress and Rod borrowed Birhanu's. When we met Solomon and his fiancée we looked like poor imitations...we really couldn't carry it off like they did but none-the-less it was fun dressing up! We were also joined by Megan and Miriam (Addis Vols) and the six of us enjoyed mixing with the throngs of happy people dancing and ambling around the lake. Rod (being 6ft 4 and dressed quite comically in local garb) attracted quite a bit of attention and we spend most of the morning walking from one photo shoot to another as people wanted a photo with crazy ferengi! According to local radio's approximately 3 million Oromo's made the pilgrimage to Lake Hora (Debre Zeit) that day. Not wanting to get crushed in the crowd we opted for visiting the lake after lunch and by then we simply witnessed the peaceful aftermath as the last of the visitors made their way to give thanks to God. It was a baking hot day and the lake looked so inviting...surrounded by small hills itwas also very beautiful. We thanked God then began our journey back to Addis. Again... now that I reflect on the experience it seems absurd that I didn't consider this event blogworthy...how have I come to take things like this for granted? How does this just feel so normal now? Now that I am juststarting to prepare myself for my final departure in December, Ethiopia is suddenly feeling very much like home.